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Welcome to a new era
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by Michael Van der Gaag, President
As we start a new fiscal year with new leadership, the board members and I are excited about a new mission for our organization and look forward to engaging members in making it a reality.
Throughout RPCN’s nearly 24 years, strategic planning has enabled the organization to make subtle shifts in direction, program focus and member benefits. The latest round has resulted in a bold leap: RPCN’s new mission is to enable its members to develop premier consulting businesses that deliver customer-centered solutions that are better, smarter and more innovative.
We have been an organization that promotes professionalism, ethics and excellence in consulting. We’ve provided opportunities for members to develop and grow in their profession, network with other consultants and the business community, and acquire mutual support.
We will still provide educational programs, technical forums and business forums, but they will be focused on business areas that directly affect members’ success.
Make no mistake, this is ambitious! We intend to measure the success of the organization by the success of the members (as you, the members, define it). As you know, we are currently surveying the membership to understand where we are currently in setting and meeting our business milestones. Now that we will measure RPCN’s success by your achievement, we will need your support and involvement more than ever. In the near future, we will be conducting focus groups to refine our understanding of your needs. We will need you to help us define, find and sometimes deliver the topics, training and support programs that members need to enable them to set real objectives and achieve real success.
In support of the new strategy, we are planning other areas of growth:
- We are looking to expand our offerings through a “Learn from the Best” program in which we will periodically engage well-known practitioners and thought leaders from a variety of industries and areas of business. “Learn from the Best” will help our members enhance their skills and business acumen and grow by adopting new thinking and innovative techniques.
- We are exploring the possibility of adding evening sessions. Those of you who are too busy to make Friday morning sessions would have more convenient alternatives for special “Learn from the Best” topics or perhaps just for networking.
- The Boot Camp for starting a consulting business (conducted last year) was so successful that we are considering running it again and perhaps making it an annual staple of the organization. We are also thinking about adding a “level 2” version to help experienced consultants expand their techniques as well as their business.
- Just as we have published promotional videos and member stories on the website, our future plans include live webcasting and recording of meetings to help those of you with scheduling conflicts to participate in and keep abreast of RPCN happenings.
- Finally, in the next few months, we will be engaging with you to examine the website to identify needed improvements and to better support the new programs.
As I said, this is ambitious! It's a lot to tackle all at once, but with your help and participation, we'll prioritize and accomplish these changes in due course. For the programs and improvements to be successful, we will need your participation, your support and your guidance. After all, this is your RPCN.
The full strategic plan is online; click here to view.
I look forward to working with you to make this the best RPCN year ever. Welcome to the new era.
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Introducing the new VP and board members
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In the recent election, David Bassett was selected as RPCN’s new vice president, and he will serve a three-year term, becoming president in year two and immediate past president in year three.
 David Bassett has been a patent agent registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office since 2004 and has experience in biomedical, optics, business methods, computer utility patenting and design patenting. He has been treasurer of RPCN for several years, and also is program chairman of the Independent Entrepreneurs Council and a member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the National Association of Patent Practitioners.
At the June RPCN board meeting, the following members were selected and approved to serve on the RPCN board of directors: Paula Randall, secretary; Kim Pandina, treasurer; and Janice Hanson, Bob Lurz, David Powe and Mike Molaire, members at large.
They will join Michael Van der Gaag, the newly elected president, and Brian Kane, immediate past president, as the slate of officers for the coming fiscal year (which runs July-June).
We thank Brian Kane for all of his work as RPCN president over the past year, moving the organization forward in a more strategic direction and helping consultants achieve results.
We would also like to say thanks to Jen Ulrich for her contribution as secretary for the past three years and Lori Cohen for her efforts over the past three years as immediate past president and manager of the Membership Committee.
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Mike Molaire formulates a new career as a consultant
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by Ruth E. Thaler-Carter
A native of Haiti who has become such a confirmed Rochesterian that he now prefers local weather to tropical climes, Michel “Mike” Frantz Molaire of Penfield, owner of Molaire Consulting LLC, is a dedicated RPCN member with a well-conceived consulting business based on a long-term career at Kodak.
Molaire’s primary consulting business is “basically technical,” he says. “I help clients develop new materials and put them into formulations. They’re often developing new products. I help them plan to fit into their timeline and budget. I provide advice and sometimes help their staff implement the project.”
Molaire brings a substantial level of skill, training and experience to his consulting business. He absorbed much of that background as a chemist in materials and formulation research and development at Kodak for 36 years, where his job was to invent things. In November 2012, he was recognized by the Museum of African-American History as one of 100 “Inspiring Minds: African-Americans in Science and Technology.”
Molaire launched his consulting business about a year ago, after being downsized from Kodak in 2010. The first client for his consulting business was a company in South Korea, proof that a consultant “can do the work without leaving home or moving.” Click here to read more about how he prepared for his consulting business, and how RPCN has helped him to develop and promote his business. Here is a video interview with Mike Molaire.
RPCN member Ruth E. Thaler-Carter is an award-winning freelance writer, editor and proofreader. She can be reached at Ruth@writerruth.com.
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Making your business better
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Small business advice: What's one thing you learned from running and growing your own business that might help other small businesses? Submit your advice along with an original photo of you at your business (with complete caption information of everyone pictured) to RocNext@DemocratandChronicle.com to possibly be featured in a gallery on RochesterNext.com. That section focuses on small businesses and innovation news, tips and trends. For examples of others, visit their website.
Setting rates: Weighing whether to charge by the hour or per project, wondering what formula to use when setting your fees? Read Ruth Thaler-Carter's blog post Freelancing Basics: How and What to Charge for Your Freelance Work on the Society for Technical Communication website.
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RPCN welcomes one new member this month. Click on the link below to view her profile.
Tracy Jong
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Upcoming events
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Technical Forum
Friday, July 5, 2013
No meeting due to holiday.
Getting the Most Out of Your Trade Show Experience
presented by Ruth Balkin, Balkin Information Services
Friday, July 12, 2013
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
Planning to attend a conference, exhibit at a trade show, or just look at the booths at the SOHO exposition or other show? Learn what you need to do to prepare in advance, "work the trade show" and follow up effectively. Here’s a video introduction to the program:
Business Forum
facilitated by Bob Lurz
Friday, July 19, 2013
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Pittsford Community Library
An informal, facilitated roundtable discussion of issues regarding starting or running a consulting business.
RPCN Board Meeting
Friday, July 19, 2013
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pittsford Community Library
RPCN's monthly board meeting begins at approximately 10:00 AM following the Business Forum. Everyone is welcome to attend, but only board members may vote.
Patenting Under the America Invents Act (AIA)
presented by Dave Bassett, Bassett IP Strategies
Friday, July 26, 2013
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM
Brighton Town Hall - Downstairs Meeting Room
The America Invents Act brought many changes to the U.S. patent system. Dave will review the patenting process and the protections patents provide to inventors, how these changes to the law will affect inventors, and discuss what steps inventors should take to preserve their intellectual property.
Here’s a video introduction to the program:
RPCN Summer Picnic
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Rand Lodge at Powder Mill Park
1:00-5:00 PM
(eat at 2:30 PM)
There is no charge for members and their guests; $5 for non-members. Meats, beverages (water & soda) and utensils will be provided. Members are asked to bring a dish to share.
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Update on RPCN member survey
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RPCN is currently conducting a brief survey of the membership to identify and provide programming that meets your needs and expectations.
Your participation in this five-minute survey will get us started. If you haven’t already done so, please visit the website and click on the link on the home page to participate (members only).
Our goal is to get 75% of members to complete the survey. If you haven’t completed it online, then you will be getting a call asking you to participate.
Remember, we want RPCN to grow in a way that will help you and your business to grow.
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