Celebrate RPCN Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala Winners at September 22 Event

The Rochester Professional Consultants Network (RPCN) is pleased to announce its 2021 Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Award winners, honoring some of the region’s most successful consultants and their roles in impacting the economic development of the Rochester area. This year’s winners are:

Consultant’s Consultant Award: 
Laurie Enos, Blue Lilac Marketing Group

Entrepreneur of the Year Award: 
Maureen Ballatori, 29 Design Studio

Community Champion Award:
Tamara MacDuff, NOW Digital Marketing

Dave Young Dedicated Service Award: 
Bob Manard, Faces That Work

Linda Halliburton Friend of RPCN Award: 
Kate Meddaugh, Rochester Central Library

Steve Royal Lifetime Achievement Award: 
Lori Cohen, Compass Quality Solution

Leadership Award: 
Dr. Deanna Kimbrel, Chief Diversity Officer, County of Monroe

President’s Award:
David Finger, Computer Gardener

The 7th Annual Entrepreneur Wall of Fame Gala will be held on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at Glendoveers, 2838 Old Browncroft Blvd., Rochester, NY 14625. Registration and networking begin at 5:30 p.m., with seating for dinner at 6:15 p.m.

Our Gala emcee is Ginny Ryan from Channel 13 News. Keynote speaker will be Maureen Ballatori, founder and CEO of 29 Design Studio and a partner in Port 100, a co-working community in Geneva and downtown Rochester.

Tickets for the Gala are $35 for RPCN members and $45 for guests. For more information or to reserve your dinner tickets, here.

What Does It Take to Be a Consultant Entrepreneur?
(And, why do clients engage consultants?)

Can I Become a Consultant Entrepreneur?

A consultants’ myth is that they ride in on a white horse, solve problems with a flash from their brilliant minds, and ride off with bags of money. But independent consulting isn’t that simple, and superstars don’t start at the top. If you have valuable expertise, develop consulting and business skills, and persist, you’ll have a reasonable chance of success.

What Does It Take?

To apply your consulting expertise, you’ll have to start and build your own business, e.g.:

• Market and price your services.
• Manage your business (Plan, budget, etc.)
• Convince prospects to become clients (Propose, negotiate, sell).
• Deliver excellent service and timely results that satisfy clients.

What Do I Do First?

Until you have clients, your main task is Marketing. First, identify your target clients and find the value you bring to them. Then, build an “expert” image, credibility, and trusting relationships. 

• Interview potential clients about their problems and the value you deliver.
• Acquire testimonials and referrals from people who know your work.
• Do presentations. Conduct training. Write articles. Post.
• Network with potential clients.

Relationships: Why are They Important?

Consulting is you delivering your service. Others might offer similar skills, but clients hire consultants they know, like and trust. A trusting relationship motivates a client to:

• Engage and pay you for your services.
• Call you the next time they need help.
• Recommend you to others.

Why Do Clients Hire (Engage) Consultants?

• Expertise: Consultants provide skills the client doesn’t have. They can ask tough questions to understand and analyze a client’s problem, situation, and needs. They propose solutions and use their expertise to produce results.
• Timeliness: Clients often need to “fight fires” and can't spare the time to address a problem. Consultants can take prompt action, and clients don’t have to hire or train extra staff.
• Objectivity: Clients need trusted advisors with an objective perspective to work on their issues. Some clients reach outside their company for unbiased advice. A consultant won’t be influenced by office politics, or be parochial in proposing a solution. A consultant can be honest and direct with a client who is the source of the problem.
• Effective Approach: A client may only have access to ineffective, internal methods. The consultant can introduce effective and efficient ways to solve a problem.

Questions? Now that you know something about what it takes, and why clients might engage you, do you still want to be a consultant entrepreneur? If yes, I wish you well. Questions? Contact me, Bob Lurz, at RFLurz@ConsultantsAccelerator.com.

—Bob Lurz

From the Librarian,
Ruth Balkin

More treasures from KnowItAALL

Here's Why We're Seeing a Rush to Create New Businesses
Marketplace / 8.19.2021 
Introduction: When it comes to people starting new businesses, the U.S. has been in a decades-long slump. That is, until now. There were over 4 million applications for businesses last year, according to the Census Bureau--the most since the government started keeping track. What's behind that surge?
https://www.marketplace.org/2021/08/19/heres-why-were-seeing-a-rush-to-create-new-businesses/

Magical Me
David Whelan / 7.30.2021 / *Author Is AALL Member*
Introduction: Law librarians can sometimes feel like miracle workers. We find things that others can't. That's called expertise even if the result for the person wanting information seems magical. As we've worked from home, that merger of magic and expertise has appeared in technology too. We can take vital technology for granted and ignore things that are working because they don't demand our attention.

The Best Burger in Every State 
Food & Wine / 7.26.2021
Excerpt: The following list, packed with classic, straight-shooting burgers and the old-school institutions still making them, is for you.

84 Books Coming Out in the Fall That We Can't Wait to Read 
Next Big Idea Club / 7.26.2021
Introduction: Every season, the Next Big Idea Club editorial staff reviews dozens of upcoming books to identify the most exciting, must-read nonfiction titles. We start with a broad pool of nominees, and then share them with our curators--Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Malcolm Gladwell--to identify a small handful finalists and, ultimately, two official season selections. Today, we're excited to share our list of nominees for Fall 2021

Using Social Media for Government Research  
Slaw / 8.4.2021 / *Author Is AALL Member*
Introduction: Government information is ubiquitous in social media platforms. Government agencies at every level (federal, state/province, country, city) share a significant amount of information and data on social media. 

Can You Match the State to the State Animal? 
Mental Floss / 8.2.2021
Summary: How many official state animals do you know?

Everything You Need to Know About Google Drive's Big Changes 
Gizmodo / 8.5.2021
Introduction: Big changes are coming to Google Drive, and they affect the way that you share, back up, and manage files from your computer. If you use Google's cloud file storage system, here's everything you need to know about the most recent upgrades-and what you need to do about them.

Why You Should Learn Your Family Medical History (and How to Find It)
Lifehacker / 8.6.2021
Excerpt: The American Medical Association (AMA) advises collecting the following information about yourself and each of your first-, second-, and third-degree relatives (both sets of grandparents, your parents, and their siblings, and all first cousins) to compile an accurate family history.

RPCN Video

Watch the introductory video here.

Upcoming RPCN Events

Visit the RPCN website for a list of all upcoming events.

Member News

RPCN member Lawrence R. Berger tells us that he has had another poem published by Spectrum Publishing. Congratulations Larry! Click here to read it.

The Melody Masters Big Band, directed by RPCN member Marcia Bornhurst Parkes, will present a free concert on the theme of "Love, Heroes, and Hope" as part of the annual Jazz 90.1 Lawn Series. The public is invited to attend.

Jazz 90.1 radio is hosted by the Greece Central School District at Olympia High School, Greece, NY. The station features local to internationally recognized talent via community concerts and live-radio broadcasts. The concert was rescheduled from July 27 due to weather. Should the weather become inclement on September 14th, the concert will be held indoors at Olympia High School. For more information about the band, please click here.

Melody Masters Big Band
Marcia Bornhurst Parkes, Music Director
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
6:00 to approx. 7:15 PM.
Greece Olympia High School
1139 Maiden Lane, Rochester, NY 14615
Bring a lawn chair.
Parking is in the main school lot.
https://jazz901.org/events/
https://www.melodymastersbigband.com

Did You Know? Do you have an opportunity for consultants Like Yourself?

Are you aware of a presentation or a workshop that would be valuable to other consultants? How about an article in a local publication? Are you aware of a consulting job looking for an expert?

If you can relate to any of these questions or know of some other event or publication of interest to consultants AND if you are a member of RPCN, you can publicize it on the RPCN website.

Start by logging in, and then let your cursor hover over “MEMBERS ONLY” from the main menu. Choose “Opportunities for Consultants.”  A screen will come up that will let you create your own opportunity topic.

Click on “Create Topic.” Your name appears at the top. Below it, enter the subject of your opportunity. Then click on the box below the shaded area. Write your text here. This is much like writing an email or a Word document. The options for bold, font, italic, left, center, and right, etc. are all there. If you would like to add an image, click on “More” at the top right corner of the page; then click on “Add an image.”

There is also an icon for “link.” It looks a bit like a backwards S. If you want to link some text to a website, highlight the text you want. Next, click on the “link” icon. Then “Insert Link.” A box will appear where, in the upper left corner, there is a place to enter the URL for the link. You can also enter an email address.

When you have completed the text and links, go to the bottom of the box, where there is an option to “Create.” Click on it and your opportunity is published. All members (who have subscribed to this option) will receive notification the following day that your opportunity is available for viewing.

Not taking advantage of this member-only feature would be a “missed opportunity.”

—Steve Royal

Membership Information

RPCN welcomes the following new members:

Helen Jae Cheves
Michael Roach

Not an RPCN member? You can join RPCN now to receive great benefits, including free admission to RPCN presentations, a listing in the RPCN Member Directory, and discounts to RPCN events. Click here for more information on joining RPCN.

Program Ad Sheets

At every RPCN meeting, and at our events and tradeshow booths, RPCN distributes the Program Ad sheets.

Ads are inexpensive and support RPCN. The cost for members to advertise is $20 for 2 months. For non-members, the cost is $40 for 2 months. The deadline to get your ad included in the September/October 2021 calendar ad sheet is August 20, 2021. Sign up for your ad here.

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