Often it is the case that when small business owners hear the word, “export”, they flip a switch, change the channel or otherwise tune out.  Today on the “Connect + Collaborate with ICOSA” segment of the Experience Pros Radio Show, the message was loud and clear: TUNE IN!

Jan Mazotti was joined by regular guest expert, Martha Butwin, Sr. International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s Denver Export Assistance Center.  Butwin stated that exporting was not just for the mega-companies, but with assistance from the Export Assistance Center, resources were abundant to help small business owners coordinate partnerships with purchasers of their products and/or services in overseas markets. …click here to read more

“One in five children in America live below the poverty line”, said Cristin Tarr, co-founder and managing partner of Business Service Corps, LLC.  “Corporations and small business owners are being called upon to up their efforts surrounding the corporate service responsibility (CSR) and philanthropic efforts relating to non-profit organizations serving our communities.

As a general rule, not-for-profit entities rely solely upon the benevolence of those moved to support their cause.  Unfortunately, only about 5% of all donated monies are given by those who are most well-suited to bear the weight of philanthropy: America’s businesses.  This leaves the burden of giving to individuals, many of whom have large hearts, but empty bank accounts.

Business Service Corps is challenging all of America’s corporate entities (including small businesses) to step up to the plate and engage in supporting those non-profits who are in place and ready to serve where needed most.  In order to help, business owners and C-level executives are encouraged to coordinate with Business Service Corps, and align themselves with a non-profit organization (or several).

The Sustainable Communities segment is a new feature of Connect + Collaborate with ICOSA, a part of the Experience Pros Radio Show featuring Angel Tuccy and Eric Reamer.  The Experience Pros Radio Show has been named “the most positive business talk show in America” by Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of BNI Networking Groups.

Donna Cutting is the author of The Celebrity Experience. A few years ago, Donna wrote a customer service article [www.customerservicemanager.com/make-your-customers-feel-like-stars.htm] offering 6 secrets to get your customers buzzing about you. The premise is that we don’t treat our customers as celebrities, and if we did, their experience would be much different than the blasé treatment most customers feel like they receive these days. The customers at Nylund’s Collision Center in Englewood, CO may not be celebrities to the rest of the world, but to the expert team at this auto body repair shop, they are treated as such.

Give Them The Red Carpet Treatment

In Donna’s article, she recommends that your give your customers the red carpet treatment. At Nylund’s Collision Center, when you pick up your repaired vehicle, there is a giant bow enveloping your better-than-it-was brand new automobile. According to one customer, “My car literally came out of the shop better than the day we took original delivery.” …click here to read more

The website, LinkedIn, allows you to grow your professional network online. It’s a valuable resource for managing your professional identity and engaging with other professionals. Claimed to be the world’s largest professional network, professionals are still stumped on how to engage others especially when it comes to recommendations.

LinkedIn suggests that users with recommendations are three times as likely to get inquiries through LinkedIn searches. They even go so far as to suggest that you ask your colleagues to recommend you. This is where the modern rules of social media need to kick in.

Don’t ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn – give one. …click here to read more

You want more time. You need to get more done. There aren’t enough hours in the day. This is the overwhelming cry of many professionals, and the cause for so many books and courses on time management. It is possible to manage your time. It is possible to get more out of your day. The question that remains is: what will you do with it? Being mindful of saved time will ensure that the effort and changes you make will actually make it worthwhile to be more organized. The struggle that professionals have is that you manage your time, only to have it filled in with new time-consuming activities. Take control of why you’re looking for more time in your day, and you’ll discover that the tips for time-management won’t be wasted. …click here to read more

From underwater lunch on the deck of the Titanic to spending time with the silverback gorillas in the forests of the Virunga Mountains, Colorado businessman Gaylord Layton has seen more than most.  Mr. Layton was the featured guest on “Connect + Collaborate with ICOSA” during the national broadcast of the Experience Pros Radio Show.
…click here to read more

Denver, CO – It has been said that if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.  In the case of one busy person, Angel Tuccy, it has been said over and over again.  Tuccy is a full-time mom, nationally syndicated talk show host, bestselling author of six books, professional public speaker and the founder of a business women’s group numbering nearly 300 members.  She is the Chair-elect of the Chamber of Commerce of Highlands Ranch, Colorado and actively involved in several other chambers.  Tuccy created Experience Pros University, a one-year training course that has helped dozens of small business owners develop word-of-mouth marketing for their companies, and on Friday, September 17th, 2011, she was recognized as the “Most Influential Business Woman of the Year” by the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Leadership group.
…click here to read more

The Experience Pros Radio Show welcomed Sharlene Briggs (Rely Local, Littleton, CO), Kate Edelstein (Social Media Energy) and Andy Bell (Handyman Matters Franchising) to the show today.  Each of them offered valuable tips and insights to listeners, and illustrated why they are the best in their respective industries.

We spoke to Tracy Nash, one of the board members of Douglas County Partners, about the urgent need for mentors for youth in Douglas County (Colorado).  Special emphasis was put on their annual fund raiser, the Diamond Celebration and Gala, happening on Saturday, Sept. 17th.

We were then joined by Captain Darin Overstreet of the Colorado National Guard.  Capt. Overstreet shared several updates about the mission and value of the guard, as well as the benefits that guardsmen (and reservists) bring to the workplace environment. …click here to read more