April 2015 Newsletter
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RPCN events help you make your business ever better
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By Dave Bassett, RPCN President
You may have noticed the “Making your business better” section of our monthly newsletter, with tips, resources and suggestions geared to consultants and small businesses. Well, here are some other opportunities to make your business better: Attend the RPCN Small Business Success Conference on April 7 or our Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala and 25th Anniversary Celebration on April 21.
The Small Business Success Conference will be a full-day conference at MCC, with a keynote address and 15 sessions aligned along three tracks, all designed to help you run and improve your business. After time to sign in, grab some coffee and do a little networking, the day will begin with keynote remarks from Dr. Bruce Katcher, author of An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice, providing some inspirational words to get us rolling.
We’ll then break into three separate tracks, focusing on business fundamentals, marketing and selling, and growing your business. You can “mix and match” your way through the day and pick the talks that seem most relevant to you. We’ve tried to maintain a broad array of courses so that, whether you’ve been running your own business for the past 20 years or are just starting out, you’ll be able to find material that’s interesting and applicable to your business.
There will be a strong emphasis on maintaining your focus on your clients and their needs. We also realize that many small-business owners have an excellent command of the product or service they deliver – that’s why you went into business on your own in the first place – but can still use help with some of those other tasks that are just as necessary for keeping your business profitable and successful.
Those tasks can range as broadly as setting up a “virtual office” to making use of the technology available today to make your business more responsive to clients, through planning – both business and financial – and onward to initial client interactions, including marketing, generating leads, writing proposals and landing clients. They can also extend into improving your customer project outcomes and expanding your business into new areas.
Click here for a printable PDF with the full conference schedule and workshop descriptions.
You can also read the full conference program book, which includes biographies of all of the presenters.
The night before the conference, on Monday, April 6, we’ll have a dinner with Dr. Katcher for those of you who would like to get to spend some more time with our keynote speaker. The dinner will be held at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, 1111 Jefferson Road, at 6:30 PM and the cost is $25 per person.
That’s not all we have going on in April; we’re also holding the Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala and 25th Anniversary Celebration on April 21. We are very pleased to say that Channel 8 News Anchor Rachel Barnhart will be our Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening and that General John Batiste will be our keynote speaker, addressing the topic of leadership. (See below for more information.)
We’ll be announcing the winners of our new awards, including “Entrepreneur of the Year.” This will be a great event where you’ll get to network with some of Rochester’s best and brightest consultants. It should be a lot of fun and I am very much looking forward to it.
I look forward to seeing you at these events. Thanks again for all you do to keep RPCN strong, relevant and useful; and thank you for letting me and our leadership team run this fine organization. Have a great spring holiday!
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RPCN Past President Jill Hurst-Wahl reflects on organization’s value
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Interview by David Powe, write-up by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
 As part of RPCN's 25th anniversary celebration, we have been talking with charter members and past presidents of RPCN to find out more about the organization's growth.
Jill Hurst-Wahl, RPCN president in 2001, wears many hats, including instructor, information consultant, speaker and author/blogger. In 1998, she began Hurst Associates, Ltd., to provide business intelligence consulting. She later branched into consulting on digitization programs for library-related organizations.
In 2009, Hurst-Wahl left Rochester to join the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) as an assistant professor of practice to teach in its library science program. She is now an associate professor of practice and director of the M.S. programs in library and information science and in LIS with school media specialization.
“I remember RPCN as a warm and welcoming organization,” said Hurst-Wahl. “Members were – and I’m sure still are – interested in helping each other and those interested in developing a consulting practice. The safe space that RPCN created is unique to RPCN. Other organizations want to have that type of environment, but can’t do it. I think the founding members were instrumental in creating and maintaining a welcoming environment.”
Hurst-Wahl accepted the role of RPCN president because she wanted to give back to the association, although her term of office was short-circuited by her move to Syracuse. “One of my joys is talking with students who have entrepreneurial ambitions. I can share with them what I’ve learned from my own business, as well as lessons I’ve learned through RPCN.”
She credits RPCN with helping her set up her consulting business for success. “I think my first RPCN meeting was within a month of starting Hurst Associates, Ltd.,” she recalled. “I was heartened to find a group of people who were like me, although in different fields. Here was a group that I could honestly talk with about all aspects of running a consulting practice. RPCN members gave me advice, listened to me talk about my business and were truly interested in how I was doing.”
To read the rest of the article, including her five tips for new consultants, visit this page on the RPCN website.
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Celebrate 25 years at the RPCN Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala
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By Laurie Enos
 Join RPCN on Tuesday, April 21, at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel (1111 Jefferson Road), as we celebrate our 25th anniversary and honor local entrepreneurs at the RPCN Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala. Networking and cocktails begin at 6 PM with dinner at 7 PM. Our Gala emcee is Rachel Barnhart (pictured) from Channel 8 News.
 General John Batiste, a West Point graduate who led the U.S. troops during Desert Storm, is our keynote speaker. General Batiste became the president and CEO of Klein Steel Service when he retired from the military in 2005. During his tenure at Klein Steel Service, the company received numerous regional and national awards, including being named a “Best Company to Work for in New York State.” In 2012, Batiste left Klein Steel Service to become president and CEO of Buffalo Armory, LLC, a startup producing armor and high-strength steel for both defense and commercial markets.
Batiste is also a partner in Level Five Associates, where he assists companies with setting a course to achieve success and improve profitability. His consulting business does this by bringing its “Big 6” leadership principles to life, helping companies embrace strategic planning as the engine for change and setting a values-based culture in motion to develop an empowered team. Batiste’s keynote remarks will address leadership.
The highlight of the evening will be inducting the first winners into our Entrepreneur Wall of Fame. They include:
Consultant’s Consultant – Luz Flores Lee, All of You Consulting
Luz Flores Lee shifted her woman-based coaching business to a successful Lean Six Sigma and team-building business. She contributed to a successful coaching book and is growing her business.
Entrepreneur of the Year – Jon Schull, e-NABLE
Jon Schull of the Rochester Institute of Technology founded the worldwide volunteer community organization e-NABLE, which connects those needing prosthetic hands with custom-fitted 3D hands.
Community Champion – Mary Sperr, Blue Dog Marketing/Town of Chili
Mary Sperr was elected president of the Gates Chili Chamber of Commerce this year and promotes businesses in her home town. She is also a member of the Chili Town Board. Mary has been an active member of the Hubbard Spring Garden Club for more than 20 years and served on the FoodLink board for six years.
Dave Young Dedicated Service Award – Steve Royal, Royal Associates
Steve Royal maintains the RPCN website, conducts the monthly Tech Forums and answers the RPCN office phone. RPCN thanks Steve for all his volunteer efforts on our behalf!
Linda Halliburton Friend of RPCN Award – Tom Frisk, N.Y.S. Dept. of Labor
Tom Frisk is a huge supporter of RPCN. He included RPCN as a presenting organization for the monthly NYS Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP), allowing RPCN to reach many individuals just starting their own small businesses.
Please join RPCN in congratulating all of our winners at the Gala on Tuesday, April 21. Tickets are $25 for RPCN members and $30 for guests. Reserve your tickets now at www.rochesterconsultants.org.
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Making your business better
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What does it take to have the people you work with feel heard and valued? Beth Sears lists what the best leaders do to create a respectful workplace in a Democrat and Chronicle Nextpert column, Best Leaders are Respectful.
Event + Response = Outcome. This is a mantra that Vicki James discovered while reading Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles - How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Vicki shares more about how to change your response to control the outcome in her blog post, Take Control of Your Small Business.
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Where were you 25 years ago?
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By Janice Hanson
As RPCN celebrates its 25th anniversary, we will be including stories from RPCN members about where they were and what they were doing in 1990, when RPCN first started.
Here’s one from Ruth Thaler-Carter, "I can write about anything!," Communication Central and a member of RPCN’s Communication Committee:
“In 1990, I was living in Baltimore, MD, in my sixth year of full-time consulting and my first year of marriage. Client meetings and colleague interactions were in person; writing and layout could be done on a computer, but editing and proofreading were still on paper; documents went back and forth by courier; research happened at the library or with encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, textbooks; phones were just phones and cameras were cameras … I had no idea that I’d be back home in Rochester now, but this was where my wacky husband wanted to retire. I still feel lucky about how smoothly my personal life melded with my consulting business.”
To share your story (125 words or less), please email editor@rochesterconsultants.org.
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25 years ago...
In 1990, RPCN had its first meeting as an organization of consultants. That's also when the Berlin Wall fell, and East and West Germany were reunited.
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We want you!
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The RPCN newsletter welcomes news, success stories, tips, resources, events and other items that would be of broad interest to consultants. Submit a newsletter item by email to the Communication Committee. RPCN members also may write articles for our website; submit articles here. In the newsletter, we'll highlight submitted articles aimed at helping consultants make their businesses better.
If you have newsletter questions or suggestions, or ideas for how RPCN could improve communications, contact the Communication Committee:
Janice Hanson, Chair
Barbara Moore
Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
Steve Royal
Sheryl Rhodes
Please send articles for the May newsletter by April 15.
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Upcoming events
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Technical Forum
Facilitated by Steve Royal
Friday, April 3, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Pittsford Community Library
An informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of any technical issues that consultants encounter in running their businesses, including computers, the Internet and phones. Wondering what kind of questions people are asking? For a list from recent forums, click here.
RPCN Dinner with Dr. Bruce Katcher
Monday, April 6, 2015
6:30 PM
Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, 1111 Jefferson Road
Are you attending the RPCN Small Business Success Conference? Kick-start your learning early by joining our keynote speaker, Dr. Bruce Katcher, for an intimate dinner. The cost is $25 per person.
RPCN Small Business Success Conference
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center, Monroe Community College, 1000 East Henrietta Road, Rochester
Learn what it takes to start a small business, keep it going and create the building blocks to grow successfully. The conference features three tracks – business fundamentals, marketing and selling, and growing your business – and great speakers, including a keynote address by Dr. Bruce Katcher, author of An Insider’s Guide to Building a Successful Consulting Practice.
Writing a Winning Project Proposal
Presented by Judith Shenouda
Friday, April 10, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
Project proposals serve as our written communication vehicles to decision-makers who give us work or send it elsewhere. What we say in writing and how we say it are critical. In this session, we will explore ways to make our project proposals win us work, time and again. Here is a video introduction to her presentation:
Business Forum
Facilitated by Bob Lurz
Friday, April 17, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Pittsford Community Library
An informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of issues regarding starting or running a consulting business. Wondering what kind of questions people are asking? For a list from recent forums, click here.
RPCN Board Meeting
Friday, April 17, 2015
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pittsford Community Library
RPCN’s monthly board meeting begins at approximately 10:00 AM, after the Business Forum. Everyone is welcome to attend, but only board members may vote.
RPCN Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Hilton DoubleTree Hotel, 1111 Jefferson Road
RPCN celebrates 25 years by hosting the Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala. The gala begins with cocktails at 6 PM and dinner and awards at 7 PM. Rachel Barnhart from Channel 8 News is the emcee and General John Batiste is the keynote speaker. The cost is $25 for RPCN members and $30 for non-members.
Enlightened Leadership: The Rising Spirit Of Leadership
Presented by Bruce McLellan
Friday, April 24, 2015
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
Have you ever achieved great success only to feel that something is missing or to wonder what's next or to experience a lingering sense of ennui? You are not alone. Join Leadership Coach Bruce Wayne McLellan on a journey to the grand state of Maine, to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and then deep into your authentic self as we explore the spirit of leadership. You will take away steps to enhance self-awareness, a to-do list to improve overall happiness and a recognizable pattern to work towards a lasting success. Here is a video introduction to his presentation:
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SOHO Rochester: The 14th annual Small Office/Home Office show is designed for small-business owners, managers, employees and entrepreneurs. There will be more than 100 display booths with a varied cross-section of companies providing products, services and resources to small businesses. Additionally, you can network with other attendees. Wednesday, April 1, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Rochester Riverside Convention Center, 123 E Main Street, Rochester. For more information, click here.
Constant Contact workshop: Considering publishing your own email newsletter? SCORE Rochester hosts this free workshop on the Constant Contact toolkit, which includes newsletters, surveys, events and registration, and social media. Thursday, April 16, 2015; 8:45 AM - 12:30 PM; Rochester Business Alliance (RBA), 150 State Street, Room 313, Rochester. For more information, visit the SCORE website.
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RPCN welcomes the following new member. Click on the link below to view his profile.
Michael Koeppel
Not an RPCN member? You can join RPCN now to receive great benefits, including free admission to RPCN presentations at Brighton Town Hall, a listing in the RPCN Member Directory and discounts to RPCN events such as the conference and TrendTalk. Click here for more information on joining RPCN.
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