Monthly Programs from ICA
2005 Program Summaries
November/December, 2005 Change Strategist and nationally-recoginized speaker Edie Raether, M.S., CSP delivered an inspiring talk for ICAers this month: Changing the Way the World Thinks... One Mind at a Time.
October, 2005 Adele Michal of In Your Success Zone is a counselor and business coach who works with creative entrepreneurs, and she offered advice on overcoming the business dilemmas that creative professionals often face.
September, 2005 Members often ask about the legal issues surrounding a solo business. And as professional communicators, we also confront issues like copyright and trademark. So we invited attorney Jim Sledge to answer our questions, and enjoyed a lively session with some great take-aways.
August, 2005 How to make clients love you? Thomas Beam, Past President of the Triangle's IABC chapter and a former communications manager at RBC Centura Bank presented some ideas for us to consider. By being respectful to a client's bottom line and then bringing some business creativity to bear, a long and productive relationship can often be forged.
July, 2005 Greg Norton, Vice President at R+M Agency, offered terrific insight on how freelancers/independents can win new business from agencies. From being clear about your personal focus to understanding an agency's pain points, Greg gave us some take-it-to-the-bank advice concerning this important market segment.
June, 2005 Al Zimmerman, managing principal and senior financial advisor with American Express offered members valuable business planning and financial advice.
May, 2005 This month, we received a 'Spring Tune Up' for our businesses from two dynamic speakers. First, business and career coach Sally Curry of the Triangle Career Center offered valuable tips for creating or improving our written business plans. Then, computer systems consultant Joyce Heflin offered advice for keeping those nasty computer bugs in check.
April, 2005 ICA's Round Robin Portfolio Review was a big hit. A cross between 'speed dating' and 'show-and-tell,' the format allowed us to break into small groups and share samples of our work. Since helping you find project partners is a critical part of ICA's mission, we'll likely schedule another one of these in the future.
March, 2005 As small business owners and independent contractors, understanding the needs of our potential clients is critical to success. Deborah Oronzio, VP of Business Development and Marketing at Gentris shared some great insights from the other side of the desk. As a corporate executive who hires independent contractors, Deborah described her process for evaluating new outside resources and how best to market ourselves to business leaders like herself.
February, 2005 Pat Kosak, owner of Accounting and Business Solutions of NC, talked about tax code changes that both sole proprietors and those whose businesses are incorporated should know about, and also how to make the best of the current tax year. Visit Pat's website for more information.
January, 2005 Independents love the freedom and flexibility associated with being your own boss. But the downside is that we're often limited in how much we can take on and, therefore, in how much sales revenue we can generate. That's where collaboration comes in. ICA members Ellen Bradley and Hollis Oberlies discussed how they've benefited from collaborating, and how to put such partnerships together.