Networking Strategies for 2012

As founder and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, Keith Ferrazzi works to transform old behaviors that block businesses from reaching strategic goals into new behaviors that increase value. Ferrazzi has perfected techniques of collaborative coaching and motivation of key constituencies that positively transform behavior.

Verizon Live presents Author, Executive Momentum Coach and Global Leader, Denise J. Hart is fulfilling her life's purpose by helping people define their Don't Quit attitude and KICK fear to the curb as they radically transform their mindset for a more meaningful life and career.

From graduating from college at the age of 32, to becoming a tenured college professor and owner of a brand and soul message, Mindset Mojo, llc, that helps millions of people around the world live a better life than they could have even imagined, Denise's life is a testament to her optimistic Don't Quit attitude!

Denise is a member of world renowned speaker and breakthrough specialist Lisa Nichols' Global Leaders Team and a featured weekly blogger at ForHarriet.com. Her work is guided by her 18 years as an entrepreneur and her service as a tenured professor of theatre where she has immersed herself in studying the principles of creativity and the transformative impact of creative thought and expression, and her study of the teachings of thought leaders such as Lisa Nichols, Andrea Lee, Marianne Williams, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey, Eric Maisel, Michael Beckwith, Edward deBono, Charles Haanal, Wallace D. Wattles, Rollo May and Louise Hay.

A lively, dynamic speaker and facilitator, known for delivering her message centered on truth, love and unlimited possibility in her signature style filled with humor and kick-in-the-pants honesty, Denise is also the author of the go-to-guide for people who want to thrive, "Your Daily Mindset Mojo - 365 power thoughts to help you change your mindset and transform your life!" Visit her blog for more insightful tips to help you thrive! http://www.motivationmama.com

Small business owners often throw all of their resources into their business and leave too little for themselves.

In this one-hour seminar, Jean Chatzky will talk about how to strike the right balance.

Join Robby Hill, HillSouth, as he discusses Your Business and the Cloud Evolution. Learn how cloud applications apply to your small business and understand some of the complexities and amazing features that the technology offers. Get firsthand information on the shift from just selling PCs to focusing on the many cloud computing products that are flooding the marketplace and understand what to look for to meet your needs.

Robby Hill is an entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of an information technology consulting firm called HillSouth.

Robby has received numerous accolades for his work through the years. The US Small Business Administration honored him as Young Entrepreneur of the Year for South Carolina and the Southeastern US in 2007. His company, HillSouth, was honored by the South Carolina Department of Commerce in 2007 with the Palmetto Workforce Partnership Award. HillSouth is ranked 994 on the 2012 Inc 500|5000 list, received honors in 2012 from CRN magazine as both a FastGrowth 100 company and NextGen 250 company for exceptional innovation and growth in the technology consulting industry. Robby has also been named Small Business Person of the year by the Florence Chamber of Commerce and for two years was honored at the White House as one of the top 100 young entrepreneurs in the country, as ranked by the Empact group.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Pee Dee Workforce Investment Board (WIB). In November 2012 he was elected to serve as Councilman for the City of Florence, which is South Carolina’s tenth-largest municipality.

View his LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/robbyhill/

Based on an excerpt from "The Small Business Bible," Steve Strauss will share creative, inexpensive marketing ideas like overnight radio, social media, pay-per-click, personal letters, e-newsletters, webinars, and more to help small businesses excel.

Steve Strauss is often called “the country’s leading small business expert.” The senior USATODAY small business columnist and best-selling author, Steve’s latest book is the all-new, 3rd edition of The Small Business Bible. A lawyer, author, and public speaker, Steve is also a frequent guest on TV and radio. He sits on the board of the World Entrepreneurship Forum and regularly speaks across the globe about small business strategies and global trends in business. His company, The Strauss Group, creates cutting-edge business content for everyone from Fortune 100 companies to small chambers of commerce. If you would like Steve to speak to your group, help your business grow, or if you would like to sign up for his free newsletter, “Small Business Success Secrets!” please visit his new website for the self-employed, TheSelfEmployed.com

January signals a time for all of us that the holidays are over, and it’s time to get back to the business of making money and growing our businesses. So, we're kicking off our 2013 webinar series to business owners with one that’s inspirational, aspirational and motivational! “The Most Important Secrets to Success...from the greatest sports coaches of all time”, will be hosted by Damien and Derek Hoffman. They are co-founders of the online news and investment guide, Wall Street Cheat Sheet.

Wall St. Cheat Sheet is a leading financial media company, providing top insights specifically for investors, business professionals, and entrepreneurs. Wall St. It also provides premium investment newsletters for serious investors in stocks, gold, commodities, and ETFs. The company was named the #1 Social Media Influencer on Wall Street according to Forbes, a finalist for Forbes List of America’s Most Promising Companies in 2011, as well as a top financial outlet according to the Wall Street Journal.

There, Damien Hoffman is currently Editor-in-Chief of Wall St. Cheat Sheet. He has also worked for boutique sports investment bank Inner Circle LLP where he worked on the sale of the NBA franchise New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn real estate development firm Forest City Ratner Companies. He also appears on Yahoo Finance, Fox Business Network, and is a frequent guest speaker.

Derek Hoffman is currently the CEO of Wall St. Cheat Sheet. He is a regular contributor to CNNMoney and Fox Business Network. Mr. Hoffman has handled media investment and tactical strategy planning for Procter & Gamble and Gillette’s national asset portfolio. He has also worked in private wealth management for Morgan Stanley.

Please plan on joining us for an informative and motivating discussion, and maybe a few tips on how and where to put your money in 2013. As always, our webinars are free. So tell your friends and business associates--and help us to start this year’s webinar series with a bang!

Chris Dessi is a CEO of Silverback Social. He is also an award winning digital thinker, television & radio commentator, author, blogger, and public speaker.

Throughout his career in New York and London Chris has worked with Fortune 500 businesses and start-ups alike. To Chris, social media is much more of a spiritual awakening rather than a technological one. This revolutionary perspective has propelled his personality into the New York media landscape.

Dessi is a regular social media expert contributor on Fox Evening News, and Good Day New York. He has appeared on the Steve Adubato show One to One, and has made Radio appearances on the John Gambling show on WOR Radio in NYC, and the Mary Beth Marsden show in Baltimore on WBAL.

His first book “Your World is Exploding: How Social Media is Changing Everything and How You Need to Change With It”, shot to #1 on Amazon.com’s Hot New Releases in it’s first two weeks of publication.

We've asked Chris to join us, and talk about this. As you may have experienced, Social Media can be a real challenge for time-deprived small business owners. Between maintaining a company website and managing email communications with your customers and prospects, its difficult to stay on top of all the other Social Media tactics--and figure out which ones are working for your business.

Chris helps you sort through this jungle. But he also explains "why" you need to stay on top of this technology and provides you with insights on how its helping businesses to grow. If you're not convinced that you need to be on Facebook or Google+ or LinkedIn, and if you stll haven't sent your first Tweet to a customer, then you need to find out what you're missing.

It may be time to update your business plan for 2013!

Mark your calendars! And don't forget--Verizon webinars allow you to ask our industry experts about your specific business challenges...so register today!

The Company Corporation is a highly useful resource for Small Business owners, dedicated to helping small businesses with products, services and information that you might not be able to afford ala carte on your own.

Our presenter today will be John Meyer. John wears many hats at The Company Corporation. He’s a Start-Up Specialist, helping small business owners to get the information they need to launch their dreams. He’s also in charge of their Marketing efforts and manages all of their Strategic Partnerships. And, he’s a seasoned pro at webinars, managing The Company Corporation’s own webinar schedule,guest topics and promotions.

During this webinar, John will start by discussing the pros and cons of becoming incorporated—and whether this step is right for your small business and “why”. He’ll outline the various types of corporations that can be set up and clarify why you might consider one type of corporation over another. Finally, he'll talk about how you can get your business incorporated in 10 simple steps.

It’s not something you need to tackle on your own. And, you don’t need to worry if you have more questions after today’s webinar. The Company Corporation is also in the business of helping you through this process, and more!

So, plan on joining us to ask John Meyer and The Company Corporation all of your questions about "how" and "what" decisions you should be making for financial well-being and protection of your business.

Our presenter was named by Forbes Magazine as the #1 Influential Woman for Entrepreneurs; Melinda Emerson is also the host of an online live chat session called #SmallBizChat; She’s the Author of “Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months”. Melinda’s an expert in the areas of start-ups, social media and reinventing a business or brand.

Twitter is the perfect marketing tool for a small business. If you are a start-up or embarking on a reinvention or perhaps trying to become a thought leader in your industry, Twitter is the ideal platform. But do you know how to leverage your Twitter for your business? Melinda F. Emerson Twitter’s @SmallBizLady has one of the largest small business brands on Twitter and Verizon is partnering with her to teach you "How to Become a Twitter Ninja to Grow Your Small Business".

Webinar attendees will learn how to develop branded hashtags, create a tweetchat, the best resources for scheduling tweets, how to most effectively use twitter lists, and repurpose older content to grow your twitter following. @SmallBizlady is a Twitter Ninja and you can be too. Join us Wednesday, Oct 10th at 2pm EST for How to Become a Twitter Ninja to Grow Your Small Business. This webinar is not for beginners, only advanced Twitter techniques will be taught. Sign up today!

Tell your friends about this one!

This is the last in our series to celebrate Women in Small Business. We hope you've enjoyed this series. Tweet us if you liked our guests and support for women in small business!

Why are we hosting a series of three webinars focused on Women in Small Business? Well, the obvious answer is because the whole month of October celebrates the contributions of women in small business.

The less obvious answer is because there are now well over 8 Million women-owned small businesses in our country. It's estimated that these entrepreneurs generate more than $1.3 Trillion in revenue. They're also employing more than 7.7 Million workers. And they now account for about 29% of all enterprises. Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased by 50% since 1997.

So, we wanted to gain and share the perspectives of 3 very unique, talented and highly successful female entrepreneurs. Each represents small business from a unique vantage point--from a very localized business to very national in reach and Brand. There's something for everyone in this discussion.

We'll find out how each of them got started, what they struggled with then--and now, and how their businesses are doing in the current economy. We'll also find out what's worked for them from a marketing and social media perspective and about how they plan to grow their businesses in the future.

This is sure to be an informative webinar, and as always, there will be an opportunity for you to ask our panelists questions, or for advice related to your specific business needs.

We hope you'll join us as we continue to celebrate the many contributions of women in small business today!

It all began with a dream, right? I mean, no one starts a business without the power of a dream. And once you get going, it's so much work, you have to know that underneath all the tough times, uncertainty and challenges, that the dream still lives inside of you. But sometimes it just gets lost...

"Big Dreams for Small Businesses" is about how to reconnect with that dream and discover ways to daily build the dream into something even bigger than your day-to-day struggles. Tips for how to stay inspired, and become fearless in making your dream come true.

Our guest presenter will be Deborah Franco, the co-founder of Destiny Entertainment. Deborah's early background includes work for political organizations, campaigns and educational commissions. She's also managed Hispanic marketing campaigns for numerous global Brands. Her latest role is her most ambitious yet--as an entrepreneur and the creative force behind Destiny Entertainment. Here she's created some memorable advertising spots for the U.S. Naval Academy, while seeking to provide a culture that mentors and embraces female filmmakers.

If that's not enough, Deborah is also an accomplished singer and songwriter, having won "Best New Artist" by both BET and Telemundo.

Please join us in welcoming Deborah to our stage, where during the months of September and October, we'll be focusing on the contributions of Women in Small Business. It's the Verizon Small Business team's way of supporting National Women in Small Business month in October.

As always, Verizon webinars are free to all small business owners, so please tell your friends about this important and informative series.

Top Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Website and Get Found by Customers

Whether you're one of the 40% of Small Businesses across the US that still don't have your own website, or you do but you're looking for some helpful tips to improve your site, this webinar's for you.

Join us, as our partners from Intuit share some best practices for building a more robust website. In addition, they'll provide some insights into how to get listed on major search engines--and get found by thousands of prospective customers.

Our presenter, Gary Kaber, is one of Intuit's most experienced product specialists and has assisted numerous customers to get their websites created and updated.

As always, our webinars are free and open to all Small Business owners. So please, invite your friends too, and get that website built today!

We'll share 5 ways to use new research, technologies and regulations in debit and credit card payment processing to help you to grow your small business.

Today, it is not enough to produce a good product and market it well: customers are slower to pay than in a good economy and they need more payment options.*

New technology and new regulations make understanding credit & debit card payments harder than ever. Join Chase Paymentech Solutions and Verizon July 25th for expert advice on payment processing that can help your business.

*entrepreneur.com 2012

Two things you may not know about today's guest speaker and webinar:

1) Guy Kawasaki was the Verizon Webinar Series #1 draw in 2011. Guy drew more attendees and more archived viewings than any other webinar we hosted last year.
2) For several years, Guy was one of the creative geniuses behind Steve Jobs. While Steve received all the credit, it's obvious to us that Steve also knew how to hire talent and exploit the creative mind!

Today's webinar is meant to take a little bit of a break from the norm. Rather than hitting you over the head with tips for your business, we're asking that you just sit back and enjoy Guy's recollections of working with the most creative mind in our lifetime. This is part motivational, part inspirational, and 100% meant to getting you to think outside of the box--and outside of how you normally think about your small business challenges.

It's really a webinar on creativity in business...something we all need to be better at, especially in the age of "instantaneous" comunication and competition.

When Guy is done, we hope you'll have some additional insights into how and why Steve Jobs was able to grow Apple into the world's largest and most successful Brand in history.

Help us to spread the word, and let's have another fantastic session with Guy Kawasaki!

In today's economy small businesses need an edge. It's harder than ever to get funding for start ups or expansion. One of the best kept business secrets is how to fund your growth using barter. Today, businesses across the country are learning how to leverage and turn their capabilities and expertise into a cashless currency and negotiate for the goods and services that they need.

Debbie Sardone, our much sought-after presenter, is an author and expert in the field of "Barternomics". Debbie puts on seminars around the country, teaching small business owners how to grow and improve their service business. Her book Barternomics, share how she barters thousands of dollars each year for the things she wants and needs. Her book is full of examples and tips on how to get what you need, and how to use barter to even attract cash-paying customers. Debbie owns several small businesses, so she understands what successful bartering can mean for your bottom line.

As always, Verizon webinars are free to customers and non-customers alike. If you're a small business owner, or know of other owners who would profit from attending Debbie's webinar, please register today--and share this link with your small business associates!

You probably think of LinkedIn as "that site" that your friends and business associates have used in the past to search for job opportunities. But LinkedIn has become so much more, to millions of business professionals worldwide.

Did you know, that from 2010 to 2011, LinkedIn grew at a rate of 115%, growth that was higher than Facebook, Google or Microsoft? In fact, in December of 2011, LinkedIn was the 36th most visited website on the planet.

So, we asked the experts at Venture Beat to help us explore LinkedIn a bit closer. We want to understand all the ways that people are using LinkedIn, and why the site just may be the best place for you to grow your small business. Join us, and discover new ways and new strategies for your company's presence on LinkedIn. It's much more than just a networking site!

This webinar topic isn't meant to scare you. It's not meant to make you feel guilty either. But, it is meant to help you--by forcing you to think about your important business assets and a recovery plan.

Disaster is an ugly word. It's not something that you think about everyday. It's something you read about or hear about in the news that affects someone else. But you should think about it--and you should be concerned if you don't have a contingency plan for business-as-usual operations after a catastrophic event.

Especially in the past couple of years, Americans have been exposed to increasing national disasters, including floods, tornados, hurricanes and wildfires. And that doesn't begin to speak to fires, break-ins and robberies, etc.

The question is "could your business survive any of these types of events"?

Recent University of Texas research suggests that only 6% of companies could survive a catastrophic data loss, and that 43% would never re-open, and of those that do re-open--51% would be forced to close within 2 years. Plus, Gartner Research estimates that only 35% of America's small/medium businesses have a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place.

We thought this would be a good time to introduce your small business to some very nice and very knowledgeable guys from a company called Firestorm. Founded in 2005, Firestorm is working hard to protect and to serve small businesses, like yours! During this webinar, Firestorm will provide you with tools and information you'll need to begin preparing your business--should any type of disaster strike in your area.

The best way that you can help your business today is to be prepared for whatever tomorrow may bring. This is your chance to learn how you can protect all of your company's assets--and an opportunity to ask our panel of experts about your individual concerns.

Every spring, the Verizon RISK Intelligence team publishes a report on Data Breaches around the globe. Verizon works with the U.S. Secret Service and several other law enforcement agencies from around the world to report on this type of Internet crime. 2011 was a banner year, and yet the report only captures the cases that have actually been reported to authorities.

Media coverage only focuses on the big breaches—those impacting national brands like Visa, MasterCard or national retail chains or large data processing operations. So, would it surprise you to know that Cyber Crime is turning its attention to Small Businesses? Can you guess why?

We thought that this was an appropriate time to talk about Internet Security for Small Businesses. Our webinar guests will share some insights as to “where” the threats are coming from, “how” and “why” your company might be a target, and what types of data they’re after.

But, this will also be your chance to ask our experts how you can better protect your company, your online assets, and your information.

Please join Marc Spitler, from Verizon’s RISK team and Ellen Yu, from the Verizon Small Business team, as they co-host this event. Helping them to answer all of your questions will be two leading security and industry experts: Sharon Miller, VP at Echoworx and Quinton Jones, Small Business Solutions Architect at McAfee.

And remember, Verizon Small Business webinars are always free and attendance is open to everyone. You’ll also have an opportunity to submit your security questions directly to our experts during the live event. So, please mark your calendars, and plan to attend!

If Facebook isn't getting you the new customers you'd hoped for, don't give up on Social Media yet. Google recently introduced Google+ and it may have the bells, whistles and more--that you wish Facebook offered.

Our guest speaker is Brad McCarty. He is the Managing Editor for the international technology news site The Next Web. A small business owner himself, he's spent years working with businesses to help them find the best ways to connect themselves to the ones who matter most - their customers.

Presently Brad is in the circles of over 14,000 users and whilst he’s an active user on his personal account, its his involvement managing TNW’s Google+ account that has seen it grow to 46k+ followers and being noted as the most engaged news group on Google+.

So, please join us to learn why Brad is so jazzed about what Google+ can do for business--and why it might be the only social media your small business needs.