• President’s message
• Member story
• RPCN blogging partnership
• Of interest
• Upcoming events
• Member news
• We want you

President's Message


Wall of Fame to honor stellar consultants in five categories

By Laurie Enos, RPCN President

Join RPCN as we honor area entrepreneurs for their contributions
to the region’s economy and their support of RPCN at our 3rd Annual
Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, at the
DoubleTree Hilton Hotel (1111 Jefferson Road). The gala starts with cocktails
and networking at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and awards presentations
starting at 6:15 p.m.

Our winners this year include two RPCN board members, Robin Dettman
(Community Champion Award) and David Powe, our iimmediate past president
(Dave Young Award). Our other winners are Luis Martinez (Consultants Consultant),
Doug Mabon (Linda Halliburton Award) and Mike Molaire (Entrepreneur of the Year).

Our keynote speaker is Alex Zapesochny, CEO and founder of iCardiac
Technologies, Inc., presenting “Lessons in Consulting & Entrepreneurship.”
iCardiac Technologies has grown in no small measure due to consultants
and has often worked with consultants to improve its strategic direction,
scientific understanding and operational functions. iCardiac has also
gained many clients due to its own iCardiac Consulting Services, which
it makes available to its clients. As both a buyer and seller of consulting
services, iCardiac has gained some insight about what works and what
doesn’t. He will outline those lessons, and the often-indispensable role
that consultants can play in helping entrepreneurs grow their companies.

Ginny Ryan from WHAM TV-Channel 13 is our emcee.

There may stlll be space to attend. To register and for further details, go
to 2017 Wall of Fame Gala.


Member story

Consultant or coach, Bob Lewis is loving the life
By Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, RPCN Newsletter Chair

Bob Lewis, owner of The Coach (rlewis@
rochester.rr.com), considers himself a coach rather than
a consultant. “My sense is that a consultant works with a
company on one particular matter, while coaching gives an
overview of the whole business,” says the Penfield resident
of his approach to working with clients. Nevertheless, “I’m
a big advocate and promoter of entrepreneurism.”

Lewis brings almost 40 years of staffing and human resource experience to his coaching business, primarily in the franchise world. He offers business strategy/planning, business support services, coaching, facilitating, management consulting, problem solving and professional organizing.

Lewis’s ideal or predominant client is “someone who owns his own business
with an income of $500,000 and up, who is looking to grow,” he said.

For Bob's complete Member story, CLICK HERE.

Promote your business to RPCN members and visitors!

• The blogger must be a current RPCN member.
• The blog post must be educational and not sales-oriented.
• The ideal length of a blog post is 150–250 words. The maximum length is 500 words.
• You must include a non-copyrighted image with your post, and you must have permission to use it.
• A maximum of three brief sentences at the end of the blog can be about the author and have the author’s contact information.

Submission process

Here’s what to do if you would like to post to our EBP blog.

1. Submit a post to the RPCN Blogging Program Committee (bloggingwithebp@rochesterconsultants.org).
2. Each submitter will get a confirmation e-mail to indicate the post was received.
3. To ensure a high-quality product, the editor will review and edit all submitted posts. If your blog does not pass the review, it will be sent back to you for final edits with suggestions on how to improve it.
4. A confirmation e-mail will be sent back to the submitter when the final blog is received.
5. Steps 3 and 4 will be repeated and the post returned to the author, if necessary, for additional edits. The editor will choose the date your blog will be sent to Eastman Business Park. It is up to EBP to set the date when the post will be published.
6. A confirmation email will be sent back to each submitter when your post is published by Eastman Business Park.

RPCN will schedule all blog posts. Your post may not be used in the week you desire, but will be published within the Blogging Topics Schedule.

Upcoming Blog Topics

http://www.eastmanbusinesspark.com/

Of interest

Cross-services project management: order to chaos

By Sandra Glanton, Owner, Projects Accomplished! (sg@projectsaccomplished.biz)

Why do you need a project manager?

Have you worked on a project for a client or customer and were unable to deliver
on time? Have you had projects that went over budget? Were your quality and
productivity objectives or shareholder expectations not met?

Skilled project managers resolve these issues, especially on complex projects.
They are in charge of the plans; funding; resources; schedules; and risk control,
management and resolution during the project. Project managers stay in touch
with all the key people during the life of the project so there are no surprises.
They are at the center of all project functions, and when the project is complete,
they are in charge of the project close.

Cross-Services Project Manager

There can be individual project managers for each expertise within a project, but the
most versatile project manager is the one who brings all of it together and keeps it
on-track: the cross-services project manager (CSPM). The CSPM does the following:

Interviews the stakeholders – the people involved in the initiation of a project
and/or those affected by its outcome – to determine what they want done. Many
times, the stakeholders are also those people who are funding the project, either
through their own resources or with the help of others (i.e., banks, grants and so on).

Drafts a plan that incorporates all of the stakeholders’ needs, wants and the
resources needed.

Reviews the plan, schedule, budget and resources with the stakeholders to get
their buy-in. Once the CSPM has the stakeholders buy-in, the project can begin.

Throughout the stages of the project, the CSPM acts as facilitator and ringmaster.
The CSPM needs excellent communication and negotiation skills.

The CSPM rarely has a direct reporting relationship with any of the parties involved,
so he or she must use their proficiency in communication and negotiation to ensure
the project gets through all five stages (initiation, planning, executing, controlling and
closing) successfully.

Once the project execution and control are complete, the CSPM has a role to play
in closing the project with a Lessons Learned. The CSPM should ask all parties:
What did we do well?  What could we have done better?  How would we make
improvements the next time?

If the project has produced controversy between the teams or groups involved,
the CSPM should conduct the initial Lessons Learned separately with each group.
The consolidated Lessons Learned, without any associated names, should be
 shared with all groups and together they should determine the improvements
 that could be made to make the next project better. The Lessons Learned should
 be completed without any finger-pointing or blame. The desired outcome is to
make improvements for the next time.

Once the Lessons Learned, finances, plan and schedule have been finalized and
shared, the CSPM is done. The project is complete and the CSPM should file the
project documentation for future reference with similar projects and move on to
 the next project.

Sandra Glanton ([585] 230-0649, sg@projectsaccomplished.biz) is the owner of
Projects Accomplished! She spent 12 years as a CSPM in a local multinational
corporation and launched her entrepreneurial business six years ago to offer her
project management skills to local nonprofits and other clients.

Upcoming events

Special Wednesday Night Presentation

"Uncommon Strategies to Find and Land Opportunities”
Presenter: "Absolutely Abby" Kohut

April 26, 2017
6:30-8:30 PM
Ruth Braman Room,
Penfield Public Library
(1985 Baird Road,
Penfield)


Would you rather be ignored by 50 potential
clients or catch the attention of just five who think
you’re brilliant … at the risk of a few thinking you
are a little crazy? “Absolutely Abby” Kohut shares
tips in this special free workshop. Register HERE.




Marketing Workshop

“Eight Steps to Solving All of Your Marketing  Struggles”
April 28, 2017
8 AM-9:30 AM
The Brainery
(176 Anderson Avenue,
Rochester, 14607)


Marketing is the weak link for a lot of other wise great
consultants. That is why this workshop provides a
simple (not easy), actionable, eight-step process
that will make you as good at marketing as you are at
consulting. Presenter: Mark Dulaney, “Result Strategist”
and founder of Champions YOUniversity.com, who helps
business owners create the four required strategies to
reach the specific marketing, performance and duplication results they desire.

Technical Forum

Friday, May 5, 2017; 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM; Special Location: Irondequoit Community Library

Facilitated by Steve Royal. 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? Click here for a list from recent forums.

The Millennials Connection

Friday, May 12, 23017; 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM; Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, 14618

Presenter: Chris LaForest

Millennials will soon outnumber all other sub-generations combined and in five years will control 75% of the spending power in America. How do they think, buy and communicate?

Business Forum

Friday, May 19, 2017; 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM; Pittsford Community Library

Facilitated by Bob Lurz. An informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of issues regarding starting or running a consulting business. Wondering what kind of questions people are asking? Click here for a list from recent forums.

Board Meeting, Friday, May 19, 2017; 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM; Pittsford Community Library

The RPCN monthly board meeting begins at approximately 10:00 AM, after the Business Forum. Everyone is welcome to attend, but only board members may vote.

Leverage LinkedIn for your business success

Friday, May 26, 2017; 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM; Brighton Town Hall, 2300 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, 14618

Presenter: Tamara MacDuff

Many companies leave money on the table when it comes to LinkedIn because they aren't sure how to use the platform. Don't let this be you!