April 2008 Meeting:
April 9, 2008
Topic:
"Sales"
Speaker: Brad
Massey, Sandler Sales Institute
Freelancers invariably have to sell themselves to
potential new clients, but it might be hard to place
yourself in the buyer's shoes. Even experienced
salespeople have a hard time looking at a
salesperson's pitch from the customer's perspective
-- which is why sales can be so frustrating. Brad
Massey, who heads up Sandler Sales Institute in
Austin, will present on sales from both the seller's
and buyer's perspective, in order to give you a
better idea of not only how to become more effective
communicators in making your sales pitches but to
better understand what potential new clients might
really be looking for and how their thought
processes work.
About our Speaker:
A high-energy and high-content
speaker, Brad has a special gift for engaging his
audiences and stimulating people to think. He has
presented across North America, bringing a wealth of
practical
information to his clients and audiences.
Brad has acquired his message through real life
experiences building direct and indirect sales
organizations at start-up and Fortune 500 companies
throughout the US. He has been recognized as a Sales
person in the "Top One-Percent in the country" at
three different companies, including AT&T and McCaw
Communications. Brad took one new division from zero
revenue to over $10 million in less than three
years.
Brad has presented his insights on sales and
leadership to thousands of professionals in
countless business organizations throughout the
country. He has also published articles,
participated on industry
boards and panels, and delivered numerous
multi-media training programs, presentations, and
seminars.
He provides powerful, no-nonsense insights and ideas
that work, including dozens of specific, practical,
and effective success strategies culled from his
corporate experience, from hundreds of
salespeople, and from small business entrepreneurs
who are on the "front lines" every day.
As a certified trainer and franchise owner of the
Sandler Sales Institute in Austin, Texas, Brad has
combined his 20 years of successful sales and
management experience with a clear understanding
of how people gain knowledge, and how they learn to
change their behaviors. Brad is also certified in
the industry benchmark training programs including
SPIN Selling, Xerox Professional Selling Skills,
Miller-Heiman Strategic Selling, Solution Sales, and
Target Account Sales. As a result, his audiences
become skilled at cultivating habits of success.
Brad is a current board member of the Lake Travis
Chamber of Commerce, a past board member for the
American Red Cross and the Southfield School System.
He continues to volunteer as a coach in the Lakeway
Youth Association and the Lakeway Church Youth
Program.
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March 2008 Meeting:
March 12, 2008
Topic:
"Making the Most of Conferences"
Speakers:
Sheila Scarborough
Conferences, trade shows,
professional group annual meetings. All of these
events offer a wealth of information to help you
improve and grow your business. But they also
usually cost a pretty penny what with the travel,
hotel and registration fees.
Small business owners can't afford to waste a cent,
but they also can't afford to ignore the valuable
information and contacts available at conference.
So what's a business person to do? Sheila
Scarborough has some suggestions. An entrepreneur,
Freelance Austin member, writer, blogger and social
media aficionado, Sheila attends several such events
each year. And she's discovered there are ways to
maximize the experience.
Sheila shared her
secrets on getting the most out of a conference via
networking, learning online, in panels and at
post-meeting socials, just to name a few. Plus,
she gave those of us who didn't make it to South
by Southwest Interactive this year a report of what
went on at Austin's premier event.
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February 2008 Meeting:
February 13, 2008
Topic:
"Marketing Yourself: Getting Out There to
Get the Gigs"
Speaker:
Tom Myer, Triple Dog Dare Media
Wouldn’t it be nice if work
just automatically flowed your direction – without
any effort at all?
Dream on.
At Freelance Austin’s February meeting we heard marketing words of wisdom from Tom Myer,
owner and top dog at Triple Dog Dare Media. After
all, you just can’t go wrong with a guy whose
company tagline is “Collateral is for Damage – You
Need Marketing Assets!” Tom told us why
marketing yourself is so important and how to do it
effectively, and we had a longer Q&A so there was
more time for questions.
About our Speaker:
Thomas Myer is an author,
consultant, web geek, and owner of Triple Dog Dare
Media. Currently, he divides his time writing his
third book (on CodeIgniter, a PHP framework similar
to Ruby on Rails), helping his clients get more
leads and oomph from their web sites, and writing
business and technology articles for a number of
magazines and web sites. This is his seventh year in
business as a "free agent" and is thoroughly spoiled
enough that it's unlikely he'll get a "real job" any
time soon.
January 2008 Meeting:
January 9, 2008 --
"Death and Taxes, Especially Taxes: What
Every Freelancer Needs to Know about Organizing a
Business"
"The way taxes are, you might as well marry
for love." - - Joe E. Lewis, American writer,
(b. 1902- d. 1971)
"The art of taxation consists in so plucking the
goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers
with the least possible amount of hissing." -- J. B.
Colbert (served as French finance minister from
1665-1683)
"Rich bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not
fair that some men should be happier than others."
-- Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and poet ((b. 1854-
d. 1900)
"The only difference between death and taxes is that
death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets."
-- Will Rogers, cowboy, comedian, humorist, icon (b.
1879- d. 1935)
Now that you're smiling, there are two words that
strike fear into the hearts of most freelancers and
independent business owners each January: income
and taxes. That's when the fairy tale life of
not working for someone else ends and all those
1099s start rolling in like clockwork, one little
form after another - clogging both your mailbox and
your sense of financial well-being.
By the end of January/first week in February, we not
only know how much we've made, but also how much we
might need to pay. The end result is enough to send
even the most dedicated freelancer into years of
therapy.
We had a panel of experts - including a CPA,
personal organizer, financial advisor, small
business expert, and a tax pro - to help ease our
minds, answer the scariest financial and tax
scenarios we could dream up, and send us along the
path to a rosier financial future - whether we owe
the IRS or not.
We also had some tax swag and a door prize.
DETAILS:
What: Freelance Austin January Meeting
When: Wednesday, January 9 from 12:30 to 2 pm
Where: The Work*Shop's NEW LOCATION at 2438
West Anderson Lane - Burnet Rd. & Anderson Lane,
next to Terra Toys
Why: Because of uncertainty. "Certainty? In
this world nothing is certain but death and taxes."
- Ben Franklin
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December
2007 Meeting: December 12, 2007 -
Freelance Austin Holiday Gathering
It's been a long time since
Freelance Austin has hosted a happy hour gathering,
and we thought it was about time. We also opened up
this year's gathering to freelancers from other
organizations, making it an ideal event to meet new
people while also reconnecting with friends.
Cork & Co. features special happy hour wine pricing
from 5 to 7 pm, with an extensive list of bubblies,
sparklers, whites and reds by the glass for just $5
(usually $9 to $10/glass), plus a selection of
half-price beers and an assortment of soft drinks
and water. As those in the company of estimated
tax-paying freelancers can attest, a few bucks off a
glass of wine or beer is a boon to our bottom line!
Cork & Co. also has great cheese plates available
for not that much dough - perfect for noshing while
also networking.
DETAILS:
Who: You and a freelancing friend or
colleague
What: Freelance Austin Holiday Gathering
Where: Cork & Co., 308 Congress Avenue, at
the corner of 3rd & Congress, next to Manuel's
When: Wednesday, December 12 from 5-8 pm
Why: Because anyone who voluntarily gives up
bimonthly paychecks deserves it!
November
2007 Meeting: November 14, 2007
Note: The November Freelance Austin meeting was held in conjunction with the Austin Chapter of
Women in Communications.
Location:
The University of Texas Club at Darrell Royal
Stadium.
Topic:
Behind the Curtain: The Fine Art of Communication
Central Texans wear their hearts for the arts on
their sleeves, whether supporting live music,
theater, film, dance, visual arts or another form of
creative expression. This special luncheon brought
together four people who are in the thick of our
region's growing performing arts scene. Arts
organizer and moderator Mike Henry of the
Austin Poetry Slam talked with local leaders
about how they use a range of communications strategies
to build audiences and a sense of community among
their supporters. Panelists included: Jeanne
Claire Van Ryzin , Austin American-Statesman
Arts Critic, Ken Stein , Executive
Director, Austin Theatre Alliance, and
Melissa Eddy , Executive Director, Classical
Music Consortium.
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October
2007 Meeting: October 10, 2007
Topic: Getting the
Gigs
Whether you're a graphic designer, PR consultant, writer, journalist or
marketing pro, hanging out your shingle is one thing, but finding people who
will pay for your expertise is quite another. Representatives from Austin public relations
agencies, graphic design firms and news outlets -- all of whom hire
freelancers -- shared what they're looking for in an independent
contractor, and the best way to get your foot in the door,
tips for success and much more.
September
2007 Meeting: September 12, 2007
Topic:
Social Media Demystified
It's not just what you know. It's who you know. That's where social media
comes in. Veteran e-business journalist and PR Marathoner Nettie Hartsock
discussed how to better utilize the Web 2.0 tools for your clients, in
particular blogging and how to effectively build blog rolls, collaborate and
network in the blogging community and how to best approach bloggers.
About our speaker:
Nettie is a helps individuals, authors, and companies
focus on creating, conveying and connecting their
message to the world and creates actionable
how-to-programs which establish a powerful base for
attracting both blogger and journalists attention.
Nettie's client base includes authors Bob Prosen,
Erika Andersen and Lois Kelly. Her creative base
includes musician Bob Schneider and cartoonist Lloyd
Dangle. Her corporate client list includes Zegari.com,
Phytobase Nutritionals, Cogniview and others.
Her name can be Googled with some notable results.
Nettie has lived many more than nine lives as a
journalist contributing regularly to leading online
and offline publications including eWeek, PC
Magazine, Software CEO, Publish, PDFZone, PlanetPDF
and others.
August
2007 Meeting: August 8, 2007
Topic:
Saying Goodbye to Dilbert-Land! Making the Break, Growing and Managing a
Freelance Career
Thinking about leaving that corporate job in cubeland and pursuing that
graphic design/writing/PR/ consulting business you've always wanted? It's a
dream in theory, but it can be put into practice with hard work and
especially advance preparation. More people than ever are making the leap -
and not out the window.
At the August Freelance Austin meeting, attendees heard from a panel of experts who've
been there, done that - and also those who have great advice they could take
home and start using now.
Attendees learned:
- What to do to prepare before you make the
break
- Tips for "under-the-radar" marketing so you'll
have clients by the time you quit
- Resources for health and dental insurance,
plus information on simplified employee pensions
(SEPs)
- the freelancer's answer to a 401(k)
- Ways to get gigs - no matter what your area of
expertise
- How to deal with the IRS: quarterly tax
payments, how to estimate taxes, the truth about
the self-employment tax, and how not to get
audited
- Strategies for when worlds collide: Tips to
balance your business life and home life without
getting baby food (or dog biscuit drool) on your
computer, or a divorce
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July
2007 Meeting: July 11, 2007
Topic:
Optimizing Online Opportunities
Speaker: John Holmes
Now that mass market publications, trade associations
and private companies have integrated the Internet into their overall
outreach strategies, opportunities abound for communicators.
For writers, the advantages are obvious: Additional avenues for copy, from
mass market articles to technical writing to business marketing materials.
Similar prospects abound for those in the more visual and technical
communications arenas, from photographers to graphic artists to software
designers.
So what do online editors want in these areas? Is writing for the Web
different from producing copy for traditional media? If so, how?
What about other components? One of the Web's big attractions for
communicators is that it's a visual medium. How do you shape your work to
literally catch the eye of online editors? What do they want from designers,
graphic artists and photographers?
Attendees found out what John Holmes, an editor/producer of a national
sports Web site, looks for in these areas.
About our speaker:
John Holmes is the Interactive Producer for Turner Sports New Media, which
produces the official sites for the PGA Tour and NASCAR, among others. TSNM
is a division of Time Warner, and his Atlanta-based office also handles the
official sites of media entities ranging from CNN to GameTap to Sports
Illustrated to the Cartoon Network.
John's primary focus is
PGATOUR.com, where you'll find the official week-in and week-out
coverage for the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. He and his
group also produce a sister site, PGA.com, as well as the official sites of
such major non-PGA Tour-owned golf events as the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup
and PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
His background is in traditional media. He started as the entertainment
critic for the Texas Tech student newspaper, and worked for daily newspapers
in Lubbock and Corpus Christi. He moved to Washington, DC, to serve as a
Congressional press secretary, then jumped back into the media as writer and
editor for publications ranging from The Economist to The
Washington Post.
John was a co-founder of one of the Internet boom's early success stories,
Golf.com, in 1994 and,
after its sale in 1998, he played key roles in developing
Shark.com for golfer Greg
Norman and PGA.com for the
PGA of America. He joined TSNM in 2002.
June
2007 Meeting: June 13, 2007
Topic:
Attract the Perfect Clients with the Law of Attraction
Speaker: Jen Blackert
Are you ready to move your business forward?
In this interactive session, Jen teaches you how to:
- The 1 thing you MUST change if you want success
without struggle
- The only 2 things that prevent success and how to
change them
- Why money IS important, and how to attract all you
want
- Uncover patterns that are limiting success
- Retrain the mind to overcome limiting beliefs
Success is not about "getting" or "achieving"
anything. True success is about what you must BE in
order to attract everything you require to live the
life you have always dreamed of living.
Discover how to optimize the Law of Attraction to get
your desired results! We'll discuss pitfalls of the
Law of Attraction and how to move beyond them.
Open coaching will be offered at the end of the
session, so bring your marketing struggles and
questions, both practical and internal.
About our Speaker:
JEN BLACKERT spent 13 years in corporate America
holding executive marketing and internet marketing
positions at large corporations. She left the
corporate grind and launched an online-on-the-phone
nutritional coaching business, mostly through internet
marketing. In 8 months, she was sending an e-
newsletter to 6,000+ subscribers and getting more
clients than she could handle. Within 12 months she
sold her online business to a competitor. She now arms
small business owners with step-by-step, hand-holding
success and marketing tools that helps them attract
clients – so they can receive extraordinary profits.
Learn more about Jen online at:
http://www.jenblackert.com
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May 2007 Meeting:
May 9, 2007
Topic:
--
Freelancers
and the Publishing Industry
Panelists:
Liz Carmack, Melissa
Gaskill, Bella Guzman,
PJ Pierce,
Tweed Scott, Emma
Virjan, Barbara Wray - moderated by Julie Tereshchuk
Attendees
got
the inside scoop from freelancers who've
ventured into book publishing. The book industry
is a multi-million dollar juggernaut. That's
something no savvy freelancer can ignore. What
opportunities does this diverse business hold
for designers, writers and other independent
communication professionals?
Discussing their diverse book experiences were
panelists including freelance writer Liz Carmack, who is
publishing her first book this fall; freelance writer
Melissa Gaskill, author of two books and a short story;
retired broadcaster Tweed Scott, currently working on
his second book; Emma Virjan, commercial artist and
children's book author and illustrator; and Barbara
Wray, freelance writer/editor talking about her
experiences as a ghostwriter.
About
Our Speakers:
Freelance writer
Liz Carmack is the Austin
City Expert for the travel Website
www.HomeAndAbroad.com. Texas A&M University Press
will publish her first book, Historic Texas Hotels: A
Traveler’s Guide, in fall, 2007. In addition to
Texas travel, Liz writes about environmental,
scientific, and technical subjects for companies,
governmental agencies, and nonprofits. Liz is also a
Website usability consultant. She founded Liz Carmack
Communications in 2006. She has a bachelor’s degree in
journalism and earned a master’s degree in mass
communications from the University of Leicester in
Leicester, England.
Melissa Gaskill
covers health, nature and travel, primarily anything
outdoors, for publications such as Family Fun,
Wildflower, Nature Conservancy Magazine, Texas Highways,
Texas Parks & Wildlife, Texas Co-op Power, The Good
Life, Nurseweek, HEAL, Austin American Statesman and
others.
She is the author of Best Hikes with Dogs: Hill
Country & Gulf Coast, and Lacrosse: A Parent's
Guide (with University of Texas men's coach Noah
Fink), and published a short story, "Swift Water," in
the County Cork Fish Anthology. She has a degree
in zoology from Texas A&M University and a master's in
journalism from UT-Austin. She lives in Austin with her
husband.
Bella Guzmán is an
accomplished art director whose diverse graphic design
background includes logo and brand identities, marketing
collateral, brochure design, book design, web and much
more. She thrives on creative collaboration with her
clients, which include small business owners and
non-profits. Recently, Bella designed Renée Trudeau's
book, The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal.
www.bellaguzman.com
PJ Pierce's
first book, Let me
Tell you What I've lLearned: Texas Wisewomen Speak,
was released by the University of Texas Press in 2002.
Now in its fifth printing, it sells steadily and
continues to have a shelf life in several book stores.
Her current project, Liz Carpenter: Making It Happen,
will be published by UT Press. Pierce and her husband,
Jack, a retina surgeon in Austin, have three grown
children and three grandchildren. The author is a
regular long-distance bicyclist, likes to scull on Town
Lake in Austin, is an active member of Story Circle
Network, and spends quiet writing time each week at her
Sunday House in the Lost Pines of Fayette County, Texas.
www.pjpierce.com
Tweed Scott is a retired
broadcaster of 31 years, much of it spent with KVET/KASE
in Austin. His writing credits include CountryLine
Magazine and the Austin Business Journal. He
currently writes a monthly column about Texas for
Country Sunday Magazine, in Brenham, TX. In 2004, he
opened his own business, Tejas Communications, as a
marketing copywriter. Tweed’s book, Texas In Her Own
Words, was published in 2006 by Redbud Publishing,
an independent publisher. It is available at the Alamo,
the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, the State
Capitol gift shops and throughout Texas through Barnes &
Noble. The book went into a second printing in 8 months.
Tweed is currently working on his second Texas book,
Texas: 50 over 50.
Emma Virjan is an
accomplished commercial artist who brings visual
solutions to communications challenges. She loves it all
- graphic design, illustration, marketing
communications, advertising, sales promotion, corporate
identity and packaging. Emma’s clients range from
national brands and nonprofits such as Infinity
Broadcasting, Save The Children®, and The United Way to
local emerging companies such as CyrusOne, WaterTexas
and The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. When
she’s not doing all of that, she’s fulfilling a lifetime
dream of becoming a children’s book author and
illustrator.
Like many Austin freelancers, Barbara Wray
saw some of her earliest bylines in the Austin
Business Journal, where she honed her skills as a
profile writer. Barbara is editor for Texas Meetings
& Events magazine and has contributed features and
columns to a number of local and regional publications.
She has been involved in book projects for which she has
expressed the voice of the client as a ghostwriter and
others by writing profiles. Additionally, Barbara serves
as writer/editor for several corporate and association
newsletters.
April
2007 Meeting:
April 11, 2007
Topic:
--
Keeping Life Stories Alive
Speaker:
Mike O'Krent,
LifeStories Alive
Mike O'Krent discussed a brief history of life stories and
then concentrated on the importance of, and methods of,
gathering the life stories of the audience's clients.
Emphasis was on interviewing techniques.
About Our Speaker:
Mike O'Krent, founder of LifeStories Alive,
specializes in making personal history videos for
families that value their heritage. They create family
heirlooms in video – digitally mastered records of life
stories with personal accounts, photos and mementos of
family history.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and graduating
from Southern Methodist University with a BBA in
Marketing and Management (and a minor in History), he
entered his family’s retail floor covering business as
the 4th generation in that business.
Between 1996 and 2000 Mike interviewed Holocaust
survivors for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah
Visual History Foundation. During that incredible
experience, he discovered the process and the importance
of recording the life stories of our loved ones.
Mike moved to Austin in 1998 when he bought and managed
a local floor covering business; then sold it in 2004.
He finally found his passion in business when he started
LifeStories Alive.
Mike is married to his soulmate, Linda and has two
wonderful children: Jason - age 22, and Alyssa - age 20.
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March
2007 Meeting:
March 14, 2007
Topic:
-- “Say It Well” – A Marketer’s Guide
to Writing Powerful and Compelling Copy
Speaker:
Brett Lloyd Abbott,
Senior Marketing Consultant, MYM Austin, a Y2Marketing
Agency
Brett will share the 7 secrets to
writing copy that jumps off a page, and commands a
reader’s attention. Shunned and ignored by most Madison
Avenue stuffed-suit executives, these secrets have
produced irrefutable results for 150 years, and continue
to work today more than ever. Use these secrets and
start charging more for your freelance services.
About Our Speaker:
Mr. Abbott is the owner and senior
consultant of MYM Austin, a Marketing and Advertising
Agency in Austin, Texas. MYM Austin is a licensed agency
of the "Monopolize Your Marketplace" System from
Y2Marketing.
His agency has worked
with dozens of different small and medium-sized
businesses, both in the B2B (business to business) and
B2C (business to consumer) arenas.
Mr. Abbott is a frequent
keynote speaker and seminar leader, teaching business
owners how to improve the power of their marketing, and
grow their business.
February 2007 Meeting:
February 14, 2007
Topic:
"Cash
Health - Growing Your Business with Balance"
Speaker:
Kristi Isacksen, CPA
Attendees learned healthy cash management and business
tools that will help them plan for the future, while
attending to the present and not getting trapped in the
past. They also learned tips on how to reduce tax bills.
Also part of the
program:
Freelance Austin
Board member Kay Bell discussed the Taxpayer Advocacy
Panel. It's a volunteer group that works with the
National Taxpayer Advocate's office and the IRS to
improve the tax-filing process and IRS procedures.
About Our Speakers:
Drawing upon 14 years accounting experience, Kristi
Isacksen, CPA specializes in financial analysis, growth
strategies, budget preparation, company performance
evaluation and tax preparation for companies and
individuals. With 9 years experience in public
accounting, Kristi has worked with a variety of business
enterprises, including real estate, professional
consulting, hospitality, health and wellness, high-tech,
publishing and retail.
Kristi is community oriented and conscious of the
contribution each individual makes toward the
collective. The sense of responsibility that this
awareness brings shapes both her personal life and the
way she conducts business. Her memberships and
affiliations include Austin Independent Business
Alliance, Austin Unique, Hill Country Outdoors, Texas
Society of Certified Public Accountants and Wheatsville
Co-op.
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Kay Bell is a
professional writer who finally made it back home in
2005 to her native Texas, the inspiration for some of
her best unpublished stories!
Since settling in Austin, Kay has written for
austinwoman, primarily for the magazine's "Worth"
personal finance column. It's a good fit, since money --
how to make it, save more of it and spend what you do
have wisely -- is near and dear to Kay's heart,
personally and professionally.
In addition to her Worth articles, as principal of her
editorial services company, Write Here!, Kay has
developed online copy for a major Maryland-based mutual
fund company, designed and produced a financial
management course for a Florida bankruptcy law firm,
created how-to guides for the business website Work.com,
and writes regularly for the National Federation of
Independent Business.
During the federal tax-filing season, Kay is the tax
editor for Bankrate.com, the respected personal finance
site. The Bankrate job is a natural for Kay, who joined
the Florida-based company in 1999 to help launch its tax
section. It was only the irresistible desire to return
to Texas that lured Kay from a full-time tax writing
job. And on Tax Day 2005, Kay cleared out her Bankrate
cubicle and a few weeks later was back in the Lone Star
State. As soon as she unpacked her office supplies, she
started Write Here!
Kay's works has been published on USAToday.com,
CBS.MarketWatch.com and AOL.com, as well as in numerous
newspapers nationwide, including the Austin
American-Statesman. She also is frequently interviewed
by other media outlets, most recently NPR's Marketplace.
In November 2006 was named to the IRS' Taxpayer Advocacy
Panel, a perfect position for a self-proclaimed tax
geek. To maintain her geek credentials, Kay maintains
two tax blogs:
Eye on the IRS for Bankrate and her personal one,
Don't Mess With Taxes.
January 2007 Meeting:
January 10, 2007
Topic:
"Managing
Change in the New Year"
Speaker:
Michelle Ewalt, Founder/President - Team in
Transition (www.teamintransition.com)
e-mail
Michelle
Click here for
meeting handouts.
About Our Speaker:
Michelle Ewalt is a coach and
leadership resource. Founder and owner of Team in
Transition: Michelle takes a teaming approach to
grow and help executives and professionals
transition : embracing total engagement to achieve
results. Michelle’s focused approach and resource
management skills drove strategic implementations
for Motorola college recruiting programs captured
record 85% accept to offer rates for remote site.
Her creative approach with DBM, Toyko-Electron, and
Broadwing, transitioned 300 clients into new jobs
and careers in a depressed economy. Leadership
development principles at Applied Materials were
utilized to grow executive team and facilitate
organization realignment, and yielding affectivity.
Michelle instituted change management activities for
Arthur Andersen and Team in Transition clients
creating emerging leaders. Her coaching skills with
university leaders managed positive change and
perception on Texas campuses for Governor Rick Perry
by leveraging education programs and instilling
leadership principles. She provides creative
solutions through training and development programs
and creates realignment. Michelle’s customized
solutions and practical application yield results.
Michelle has an Organizational Leadership degree
from Purdue University. Click here for a copy of Ms.
Ewalt's recent article,
Business Trends: The new bottom line begins with a
search for meaning.
December 2006 Meeting:
December 13, 2006 --
"Holiday Get-Together"
Freelance Austin members were
invited to enjoy Holiday Laughs and Lunch at the
December 13 annual holiday celebration featuring the
hilarious Mary Gordon Spence. A complimentary
light lunch was served.
Well-known Austin humorist and public radio personality
Mary Gordon Spence grew up in a small Central Texas town
where family storytelling and sing-alongs were everyday
rituals. She officially began her speaking career at age
four when she and her sister conducted church services
on their front porch. She has lived in Latin America,
taught kindergarten to college, written Texas history
materials, drafted legislation, directed statewide
environmental programs and worked for a former
president. Her storytelling, ukulele playing, wit and
wisdom have been legendary throughout her career. As a
professional speaker, humorist and storyteller, Mary
Gordon's ability to find magic in the mundane is a gift
to her audiences.
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November
2006 Meeting: November 8, 2006
Topic:
"Smart
Networking for Savvy Freelancers"
Speakers:
Scott
Ingram - Levelfield and Network in Austin, Carlos
Saenz - A.M. Jenkinson & Assoc.
Scott and Carlos shared personal anecdotes and
networking exercises with the group.
