1/26/2011: Erik talks blogging with Atlanta Business Radio
We didn’t have an official show this week, but I did get a chance to talk blogging and Bloggernaut with Lee Kantor and Stone Payton on Atlanta Business Radio. The interview was terrific — there was a LOT of good information and discussion about blogging (along with the common pitfalls). And, of course, we got to go into all the details about what makes Bloggernaut by Zero-G Creative such a great tool for busy entrepreneurs. You can listed to the podcast below.
We’ll be back with a new edition of GFR next week. Seriously.
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Our 1 Year Anniversary show! 2/2/10: Amy Pedersen of Slimpressions + Michael Tavani from ScoutMob
We had a fantastic time in-studio today chatting with two terrific Atlanta-based businesses. Amy Pedersen of Slimpressions talked about some of the unexpected highs of entrepreneurship and how she and her sister-in-law built their business — selling slimming shapewear to women — completely from the ground up from manufacturing to distribution and marketing.
Michael Tavani introduced us to ScoutMob, a local web business featuring one incredible discount every day and talked talked about their innovative model for promoting local businesses via web, email, text message and iPhone. ATLians should definitely visit the web site and sign up for the daily updates.
More details will be available soon, but be sure to mark your calendars for February 18th when Erik and Stephanie will be doing a book signing and presentation at Strongbox West.
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11/17/09: Real-Life “Mad Man” Patrick Scullin and Mike Schinkel from Ignition Alley
So, Patrick did not show up with a drink in hand so I guess things in the ad world have indeed changed from what we see on Mad Men. He did, however, show up with his cane and pillows as he was just two weeks out from hip replacement surgery so we appreciate him making the tremendous effort to come talk to us. As guests go, he has one of the most interesting backgrounds–he actually joined the circus at one point–in terms of all the places he has worked and lived. After many companies and many moves, he finally realized is that he isn’t a very good employee and joined forces with two former Ogilvy + Mather execs to form Ames, Scullin O’Haire, an Atlanta-based advertising agency back in the late 90s. He talks about how they first started out and what has changed in the past decade. He doesn’t believe advertising is dead. It’s just changed. Definitely listen to this interview. Good stuff in it! And, follow Patrick on Twitter or via his blog. He’s quite the funny guy!
Next up we had Mike Schinkel from Ignition Alley. He was also joined by one of his loyal members, Edison Thomaz who heads up Slife Labs. Ignition Alley is the first co-working space in Atlanta but it goes so far beyond just providing a physical space for people to go hang out and get their work done. They are truly interested in forming a community of entrepreneurs who can help each other and help develop Atlanta into one of the next big hubs for startups. Mike and his business partner, Tim Dorr (who couldn’t join us) have some very big plans for Ignition Alley. If you live in Atlanta and are looking for someplace other than a coffee shop to work, definitely check out Ignition Alley located just off Ponce de Leon near midtown.
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11/10/09: Chris Brogan Talks About Trust Agents and Jamie Turner, THE 60-Second Marketer Joins Us in Studio
We’ve interviewed some fabulous guests on GFR but it was a real treat to have Chris Brogan join us to talk about his new book that he co-wrote with Julien Smith, Trust Agents. Also joining us in studio was Jamie Turner, (who Erik likened to Ozzie Guillén ) who is the Chief Content Officer for the 60 Second Marketer, an online magazine that provides tools, tips and tutorials for marketers around the globe.
Chris talked about why he and Julien decided to go the traditional publishing route for their book and about being followed by robots. :) We also discussed some of the future trends we see happening in social media–everything from augmented reality to how social media will ultimately change how companies do business.
A big thank you to both Chris and Jamie for joining us today. Definitely download it and listen to it. It’s full of some great free advice from both of them.
Have a wonderful week everybody!
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9/1/09 – Riding Resource + Interviews from the Pam Slim Event
Today we had the pleasure of speaking with Erik Jacobs of Riding Resource who we met at the Pam Slim event a few weeks ago. Riding Resource is a website that enables equestrians to search for all things riding related or as their website says,
“Riding Resource is the only fully-searchable online database of riding stables and tack stores that lets you find exactly what you’re looking for. Founded in 2007 as a way to help riders connect with local facilities, Riding Resource is unique in that our visitors can fine-tune their searches with specific criteria in regards to location and services offered.”
Ainsley Hyman (who could not join us this time) and Erik built the site due not only to their love of riding but also because they saw that such a service was lacking within the riding community. Many of the over 13,000 database entries were painstakingly researched and added by hand by Ainsley herself. It is through their dedication and hard work that Riding Resource has become THE place for finding everything from stables, breeders, vets and beyond.
A big thanks to Erik for joining us and we’ll have him (and Ainsley!) back in a few months to check up on them and see how things are going.
For the second part of our show, we did a few interviews at the Pam Slim event. Again, that was a great event so definitely check out what people had to say if you weren’t able to attend. We hope Pam will make it back to Atlanta sometime soon!
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8/4/09: Author Pam Slim + Dan Greenfield of Bernaise Source Media
GFR is excited to be a sponsor of an upcoming event on August 15th with Pam Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation and the blog by the same name which she has been writing since 2005. Pam joined us via phone to talk about her book and her upcoming workshop, Reduce the Risk of a Failed Startup: Lessons from the Field.
Pam escaped her cubicle in 1996 and began working as an independent contractor. She had a more flexible schedule and really enjoyed having more control over her time. But, as she worked for various corporations, what she noticed is that many people were not happy with their corporate lives. They wanted to work for themselves but didn’t quite know how to “escape.” She began her blog as a way to evangelize the benefits of being an entrepreneur and it is now one of the top career and marketing blogs on the web. Her book was an outgrowth of the blog and it is what she calls “a coach in a book” which people can use as a guide to help them transition from the corporate world to that of an entrepreneur.
The workshop will be an opportunity for attendees to not only interact with Pam but other aspiring entrepreneurs which Pam says is invaluable. Being around other entrepreneurs can be very helpful and energizing.
Finally, Pam’s free advice was the best: “Test often and fail fast.” She said that it helps to view your life through the lens of a scientist. Instead of seeing something that didn’t work out as a “failure,” view it as a hypothesis that simply didn’t get the results you wanted. Move on. Learn to laugh at your mistakes and try again.
Next up we were joined by Dan Greenfield, a veteran communications executive and principal of Bernaise Source Media, a new and traditional media consulting practice. Dan is also the organizer of an upcoming “unconference” called PR Camp which will take place on August 21 from 8:00-12pm. PR Camp will focus on the shifting role of PR in the age of social media and increasing transparency. Companies can no longer filter their message through a well-crafted press release. On the flip side, they now have an opportunity to develop more meaningful relationships with their customers and have the ability to truly listen to them and perhaps learn from them as well. PR Camp is for any company or anyone interested in learning what this new landscape looks like and how they can benefit from it. Here’s the lineup of speakers or “counselors” for the event:
- Katie Mingo, Senior Marketing Associate, Delta Airlines
- Marilynn Mobley, Senior Vice President, Strategic Counsel, Edelman PR
- James Andrews, Managing Partner, Everywhere
- Carol Flammer, Managing Partner, mRELEVANCE, LLC
- Christopher Jones, Digital Strategist, Ketchum PR
- Melanie Babcock, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Services, Manning Selvage & Lee
- Peter Fasano, Principal/Lead Catalyst, mass+logic
- Bert Dumars, Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing, Newell Rubbermaid
- Irfan Kamal, Vice President, Digital Strategy, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
- Jenny Schmitt, President and Director of Client Strategy, CloudSpark
- Shirley Powell, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Turner Broadcasting System
- Debbie Curtis-Magley, Public Relations Manager, UPS
Thanks to both Pam and Dan for joining us. Great show and we hope to see you at one or both of these terrific local events soon!
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Gravity Free Radio Sponsors an Exclusive Atlanta Workshop with Entrepreneurship Guru Pam Slim
Gravity Free Radio, a weekly national radio program, hosted by Erik Wolf and Stephanie Frost, is sponsoring an exclusive workshop with author, blogger and nationally-recognized entrepreneurship guru Pam Slim (@pamslim on Twitter) in Atlanta on Saturday, August 15 2009.
Pam’s workshop will be a lively and interactive event with presentation integrated with lots of Q&A. During the day-long workshop, Pam will discuss how to select and evaluate business ideas, how to build a winning personal brand, how to replace the need for a large budget with a focused effort, how to build a supportive team of peers, mentors and teachers and, maybe most importantly, how to manage the doubts and fears that get in your way.
The event will be help on Saturday, August 15 from 9AM to 4PM at the GTRI Auditorium at 250 14th Street in Atlanta, 30318. Attendance is being capped at 200 attendees, so be sure to register in advance. Tickets are $79 in advance or $99 at the door (if available, bring your checkbook).
For more information and advanced registration, be sure to visit PamSliminAtlanta.com.
Pam will also be signing copies of her book Escape From Cubicle Nation for all attendees so be sure to pick a copy up at your local bookstore or at Amazon.com before the event.
The Pam Slim in Atlanta event is being co-organized by Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs, Atlanta Web Design Group, Atlanta Social Media Enthusiasts, StartupChicks and Women Intelligently Networking.
7/28/09: Stephanie Lloyd Discusses Job Searching and David Eckoff Talks Startups
We had two excellent guests join us today. First up was Stephanie Lloyd, Founder and CEO of Radiant Veracity in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner, a division of Clarity Media Group owned by one of the largest media investment companies in the world. There she authors a highly-regarded career and job search advice column for 70 major markets nationwide. Joining her was one of her interns, Stephanie Perrett, to discuss job searching in a down economy. While it may be more difficult to find a job when the economy is down, it also presents some unique opportunities that recent graduates like Stephanie Perrett might not otherwise have if there was an abundance of jobs available. She is enjoying the chance to “try on” a few jobs to help guide her decision about what she ultimately wants to do. Stephanie Lloyd thinks this is a great idea and pointed out that for both recent graduates and those who have faced layoffs, an internship might be a great way to retool your career and transition into another field or broaden your experience. Both Stephanies think that the networking tools available such as LinkedIn and Twitter can be invaluable for expanding your network and meeting people who might be able to help you in your quest. Be sure to listen to this segment for other valuable job searching and recruiting tips.
Our second guest was David Eckoff. As a technology entrepreneur and president of Revolutionary Ventures, a consulting company that specializes in taking revolutionary ideas from the drawing board to market, Eckoff has been an innovator in start up companies and Fortune 500 alike. He is also the co-founder of Spitter, Inc., an early stage company with private Alpha already taking place July 2009, and Beta planned August 2009. Spitter helps users connect with other sports fans and stay in touch with news about their favorite teams. We talked about some of the mistakes startups and entrepreneurs make and what it takes to be successful as an entrpreneur. Mainly, entrepreneurs need to be willing to work and work very hard. There’s no such thing as building a company to achieve “passive income.” And, the most important work an entrepreneur does is also the least sexy but it’s the thing that will make the company profitable. David also pointed out that the ability to listen to your customers is critical and then be able to quickly adapt to their changing demands. If you’re working for a startup or you are an entrepreneur, David offers some great free advice. Be sure to listen!
Thanks to all of our guests for coming on and we’ll see you next week on Gravity Free Radio!
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4/28/09: The Franchise Show with David Asarnow and Stan Friedman
What a great show we had today! We were joined by two great guests–both of whom are very successful in the franchise arena. David Asarnow, CEO of Clix Portrait Studios and Stan Friedman, President of Retrotax helped to break down the process of becoming a franchisee and what they, as franchisors, look for in potential business owners.
They both agreed that you must do something you are passionate about. You don’t want to own a restaurant if you hate food preparation for example. However, you don’t have to have much experience in something you know you will be passionate about. You can still be successful owning a portrait studio franchise even if you’ve never been a professional photographer. As with anything, it’s a lot of hard work and persistence. Just because you are buying a “turnkey” operation, you still have to do the leg work to find your customers, connect with the community and grow your business.
And, unlike starting a business from scratch, a franchise offers you the opportunity to be in business for yourself but not by yourself. As cliched as that might sound, it’s nice to have the support of a corporate office as well as a community of franchisees. You have a road map and systems already in place as well as operations manuals and proven methods for being a profitable franchisee. And, the franchisor can project with much more accuracy how long it will be before you will be profitable since they’ve already done it before.
For more information, listen to the podcast and let us know what you think. Thanks to both David and Stan for joining us! Have a stellar week!
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3/10/09 GFR Talks with Brian Patrick Cork
Have you ever sat across from someone and wondered how they’ve managed to pack about 10 lifetimes into one? Because we did that yesterday when we were joined by Brian Cork, a very successful entrepreneur who lives in the Atlanta area. Brian has been many things throughout his career–professional athlete, stock broker, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, executive coach, and recruiter…just to name a few. It seems like we always hear about something else he’s done each time we talk to him.
Brian is a highly energetic, charismatic figure who has channeled that energy and charisma into helping build successful companies and people. We asked him what it takes to build a successful company and above and beyond anything else, he says you need to have a plan. But, it also helps to pick good strategic partners and do a lot research including focus groups to make sure you have a viable product or service before you bet your house on that plan. He also said that an entrepreneur needs to be prepared to live without income for 18 months and expect that it could be somewhat stressful for your spouse and family. If you succeed, however, it will be well worth it.
Brian is a Catalyst Top 25 Entrepreneur and heads up brian cork Human Capital, a specialized recruiting company based in Alpharetta, GA. He is also very excited about the work he’s doing with his accelerator and with college students at his alma mater, Radford University. We will definitely have to have Brian back on GFR because even though he was our only guest, we barely scratched the surface with everything he has going on. And check out his blog, The Unsinkable Brian Cork when you get a chance. Thanks, Brian!
Have a stellar week! Stephanie will be at SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX so if you are there, say hello! Keith Fletcher will be filling in for her next week. See you then!
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Introducing Gravity Free Radio!
Starting on Febrary 3rd, Gravity Free Radio will be launched into orbit to bring listeners great business ideas, give them access to outstanding business people and offer “free advice” to entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their own business. Our show will air every Tuesday morning at 10am on Business RadioX, via our live streaming web feed and podcasts will be made available on the site after every broadcast.
We’re also extremely proud to announce our first two guests: Steven Rabago and Mike Wittenstein.
Steven has started an exciting new venture in microlending called Zimple Money. For the past 26 years, Steve has started, financed, managed and led rapidly growing companies and organizations. In 2001 he was a co-founder, CEO, Chairman and Investor of a highly successful location based services company called Telogis and its subsidiary GeoBase, where he remains an active member of the board. His current venture, Zimple Money offers users the opportunity to negotiate small loans from family + friends and manages the entire transaction along with the payment process.
For more than two decades, Mike Wittenstein has led change and innovation initiatives for clients in the fields of customer relations, services, retail, travel, media + entertainment, telecommunications, technology, sales, quick-service restaurants, non-profit, financial services, education, consumer package goods, healthcare, government and transportation.
We’re very excited to be kicking off our show with such outstanding guests! We’ll see you on Tuesday morning at 10!
