Diane DiResta is president of DiResta Communications, Inc., a New York City
consultancy serving business leaders who want to communicate with maximum
impact – whether face-to-face, in front of a crowd or from an electronic
platform.

Jason Zickerman is the President of the Alternative Board, a franchise peer-support network with a presence across the USA. In this segment we talked about the boards work, and how they help the participants with issues they face in their businesses.

Our guest on this segment of the Smallbiz Brain is an expert in helping people who are over fifty start their own businesses.

Jeff Williams is the CEO and Chief Coach for Bizstarters.com, this resource was selected by the editors of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine as “The Best Entrepreneurial Web Guide For People Over 50”.
In 2007 he launched the Virtual Incubator Coaches Network to connect experienced 50+ business start-up coaches with 50+ entrepreneurs to help them plan, launch and grow their businesses.
He’s the author of eleven workbooks, guides and DVDs on business start-up, including his newest workbook:“The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide”.
Jeff’s a frequently contributor to Kiplinger’s, BusinessWeek.com, Fortune.com and MSNBC.

Our guest on this segment of the Smallbiz Brain has a diverse background with more than two decades of experience in marketing, management, and sales. Besides spending many years working in the corporate world, he has started and run more than five small businesses.

In this segment, my guest is Bruce Howard, author of Charting the Course. We discuss his new book and the relationship between human values and what makes markets. A fascinating conversation.

In my interview with Michele DeKinder Smith, founder of JaneOutOfTheBox, she talks about her progression from researcher to entrepreneur. Michele has created a wonderful entrepreneur-personality-typing system to help women celebrate their strengths and work on their weaknesses in business.

Our guest on this segment of the Brain is a marketing consultant and the author of 7 books on various subjects relating to business and non-profit organizations. In 1985 Shel Horowitz published the first of five books on low-cost, high-impact marketing. His client list now includes accounts in Europe, Asia, and all across the U.S.; his books have sold to dozens of countries, one of them has been translated into Korean, and another has been sold to publishers in India and Mexico.
Shel now offers not only copywriting and strategic marketing planning, but also speaks on affordable, effective marketing to national audiences.

All businesses need to consider motivating their employees to keep them happy by creating incentives to encourage them to deliver great performance on the job. Our guest on this segment of the Smallbiz Brain is an expert in creating programs that help companies do just that.

In my interview with Dr. Ritch Sorenson says that family businesses make the some of the most most important contributions to the American economy. He also is a true believer in the success of family businesses.Dr. Sorenson holds the Opus Chair in Family Enterprise at the University of St. Thomas- Opus College of Business’ /Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. In that role, he integrates family business concepts into the broader business school vision, serves as a family enterprise ambassador to the larger business community and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses.
Sorenson’s work has been published in many journals including Family Business Review, Journal of Business Venturing Group and Organizational Studies, The Leadership Quarterly and Academy of Management Executive.

Our guest on this segment of the Smallbiz Brain has 30 years of managerial experience in line and staff positions in Fortune 500, entrepreneurial, and educational contexts. Since 1989, Bill Monson has been in leadership roles in executive education at the University of St. Thomas first as Director of the Executive MBA program and now as Director of the Center for Family Enterprise. Prior to these positions he managed a start-up venture, was the Manager of Corporate Management Development at Medtronic, and was Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in Management at the College of St. Thomas.