VoiceAmerica Radio Show
Acorns To Oaks is an Internet radio show that brings experts and successful business owners to you to help business owners be more successful. To subscribe to email notices of future shows, click here.
The show is currently undergoing a redesign. Please enjoy past shows in the archives.
Archives of Past Shows
Planning
Management
- Management Is Only For The Big Guys
- This Business Would Be Great If It Weren’t For The Customers
- Alliances Are Way Too Much Trouble For Me To Worry About
- Why Do I Need A Business Advisor Or Coach – I Have Friends And Relatives?
- Turnaround Management
- Leadership And Small Business
- Management Systems For Small Business
- Change Management For Small Business
- Are My Employees Resisting Change And Preventing My Company’s Growth?
- Self Aware Management
- You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Great
Marketing
- I Can’t Afford Marketing Or Branding
- My Product Or Service Has Great Functions And Features, So Why Isn’t It Selling?
- Business To Consumer Marketing and Pricing
- Advertising, Branding And Small Business
- Successful Networking
- Why Write A Book? Is It Of Any Value To A Small Business Owner?
- Text Message Marketing
- Guerrilla Marketing for Small Business
Sales
- I Don’t Have To Manage My Sales Staff – They’re All On Commission.
- Sales Management In the New Millennium
- What is the Role of Comedy in Business Motivation and Sales?
- What Do I Do When My Traditional Way of Selling No Longer Works?
Finance
- I Never Have Enough Cash
- The Biggest Mistake An Owner May Make
- Raising Capital
- Mergers and Acquisitions as a Strategy for Growth
Human Resources
- How Do I Manage All The Demands And Problems Caused By My Own Employees
- How Do I Manage Problems Caused By My Employees
- Growing a Business Through People
- Bullying in the Small Business Workplace
Technology
- Is The Internet Of Use To A Small Business?
- “People-Ready” by Microsoft
- Using the New Internet Technologies to Market Your Business
Operations
Entrepreneurship
- What Does It Really Take To Be A Successful Entrepreneur?
- Amanda Klingman, President, Klingman Group
- Chuck Duff, President, Thai Bodywork
- Allan Hug, President, Safeplace Technologies
- Tom Casale, President, Simplified Solutions
- Jeff Marpe, Director, linenine
- Bill Koziol, President, Kozy Mortgage
- Deborah Krohn, President, Krohn Studio
- Business Planning As The Key To Entrepreneurship
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Guest: Kimberly M. Dougherty, President, Birch Advisory Services International, LLC
Topic Title: I Don’t Need a Business Plan
Description: Many small business owners do not have a business plan and do not plan in general. How big of a problem is this? Is this a source of failure or just a waste of time?
Topic Title: Management Is Only For The Big Guys
Description: I’m small. Why do I have to worry or even know about management? What is management anyway? My employees just manage themselves; they’re all experienced.
Guest: Bob Killian, President, Killian Advertising
Topic Title: I Can’t Afford Marketing Or Branding
Description: What can I do? I have almost no money to spend on marketing. Besides, my customers all know me and what I do. Is this just some business school topic or does it matter to me? Is branding only important if I’m big?
Guest: Jon Paul , President, Value Added Finance Resources
Topic Title: I Never Have Enough Cash
Description: What can I do if I’m always short of cash? Do I need a line of credit? How do I know if I’m undercapitalized? What is cash flow planning anyway and how do I do it?
Guest: Steve Fretzin, Owner & Coach, Sales Results, Inc.
Topic Title: I Don’t Have To Manage My Sales Staff – They’re All On Commission.
Description: Without sales we have no business, so why is managing sales such a problem? How can I do a better sales forecast? What do I have to do to double sales in the next 12 months?
Guest: Brad Farris, President, Anchor Advisors
Topic Title: This Business Would Be Great If It Weren’t For The Customers
Description: Customer complaints, late payments, returned products – it’s enough to make me want to quit. What can I do to manage my customers relations and perhaps find better customers?
Guest: Walter Herbst , Dean of the Northwestern University New Product
Development Masters Degree program
Topic Title: My Product Or Service Has Great Functions And Features, So Why Isn’t It Selling?
Description: My products are twice as good as my competition, but mine aren’t selling. What’s the problem? Do I need to add still more functionality to win?
Guest: Doug Duncan, President, Your HR Solutions, Inc.
Topic Title: How Do I Manage All The Demands And Problems Caused By My Own Employees
Description: When we were small, it was like a family. But with growth has come too many headaches. All I seem to do is handle people problems. What can I do?
Guest: Steven Oschman , President of Oschman & Associates LLC
Topic Title: Are My Employees Resisting Change And Preventing My Company’s Growth?
Description: Growth often requires change, but when improperly implemented, resistance may doom the change to failure. How can I successfully implement changes in my company?
Guest: Patti Guerzo, President, Guerzo Business Solutions Center
Topic Title: Alliances Are Way Too Much Trouble For Me To Worry About
Description: Do I need a staff of lawyers to use alliances? How do I find alliance partners and what do I do when I find one anyway? I don’t have time to network to even look for alliances – why is this important?
Guest: Patrick Murphy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Management, DePaul University
Topic Title: What Does It Really Take To Be A Successful Entrepreneur?
Description: What is it that separates success from failure in an entrepreneurial business? How do I know if I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
Guest: Edward F. McCormick, CEO BizMach
Topic Title: The Biggest Mistake An Owner May Make
Description: Most small business owners have 75% or more of their total assets tied up in their business and are counting on those assets for retirement. The sale of their company is critical to their ability to exit the business, but many owners find their business is not saleable when they are ready to exit or they sell it for far less than it is really worth.
Guest: Carl Gould, Managing Director, CMT, International
Topic Title: Why Do I Need A Business Advisor Or Coach – I Have Friends And Relatives?
Description: What is the role of a business advisor? What of a coach? How do I select an advisor if I decide I need one? I’m nervous about having an outsider involved in my business. How confidential is our discussion?
Guest: Michael J. Derrick, President, The Partner Group, LLC
Topic Title: How Do I Manage Problems Caused By My Employees
Description: When we were small, it was like a family. But with growth has come too many headaches. All I seem to do is handle people problems. What can I do?
Guest: David T. Allen, Managing Partner, Lake Pointe Partners, LLC
Topic Title: Turnaround Management
Description: What is turnaround management? When should I consider bringing in a turnaround specialist? Can all failing companies be saved?
Guest: Robert Lambert, Partner , Samurai Business Group, LLC
Topic Title: Sales Management In the New Millennium
Description: With the end of the Baby Boomer age, how is sales management different? Without sales we have no business, so why is managing sales such a problem? How can I do a better sales forecast? What do I have to do to double sales in the next 12 months?
Guest: Patti Guerzo, President, Guerzo Business Solutions Center
Topic Title: Business To Consumer Marketing and Pricing
Description: I sell to consumers not other businesses, how should I market my products and services? How do I decide what price to charge for my offerings?
Guest: Al Ritter, President, The Ritter Consulting Group
Topic Title: Leadership And Small Business
Description: What is the difference between leaders and managers? How do I know if I am a good leader? How do I develop my employees into leaders? Is leadership different today versus many years ago?
Guest: Eric Zitron, President, Z Marketing
Topic Title: Advertising, Branding And Small Business
Description: I seem to be wasting my money by advertising, what can I do? How do I decide the best media to use? Where dos advertising fit in my overall marketing strategy. How important is branding to a small business?
Guest: Crystal Jurczynski, President, Crystal Point Consulting
Topic Title: Is The Internet Of Use To A Small Business?
Description: How can my small business take advantage of the internet? What is Search Engine Optimization and how do I take advantage of it? Should I consider using pay-per-click?
Guest: Brad Farris, President, Anchor Advisors
Topic Title: Management Systems For Small Business
Description: What is a system? Why have systems? What are the steps for creating a standard process? What are the critical management systems I need for my small business? What software is there to support my various business systems?
Guest: William Cloutier, Managing Director, Wall Street To Main Street
Topic Title: Raising Capital
Description: What do I need to know about how and when to raise capital as a small business? How do angel investors and venture capital investors make the decision to invest in a business? Do I need a comprehensive business plan in order to raise capital? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of raising money from friends, from banks and from investors?
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Guest: Patrick Seaton, President, Innovative Management Tools
Topic Title: Change Management For Small Business
Description: What are the foundations of change management? What are the key aspects of planning for change? What are the best ways to overcome resistance to change? What are the best ways to include and engage employees in the change management process?
Guest: Steve Wyrostek, President, Rent A Manager
Topic Title: Self Aware Management
Description: Self Aware Management consults real life examples, best practices, found management in literature and even verse to help managers realize that great management begins with the vigilant self-awareness of the manager. What is your definition of management? What are some examples of management gone awry that we may be familiar? What are some examples of good management? You say in literature there are examples of good management- Can you discuss a few of them? What is Self-Aware Management?
Guest: Herbert C. Shields, President, HCS Consulting
Topic Title: Supply Chain Management
Description: With gas prices so high, what can I do to manage all my transportation costs? What should I be doing to manage my various vendor relationships to maximize my value? How many vendors should I be using for each area of supply? Should I try to help my vendors improve their own internal processes? Is there software that can help me manage my supply chain?
Guest: John DiPietro, President, ABC/D – Advanced Business Concepts/DiPietro
Topic Title: You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Great
Description: John is the author of a new book, You Don’t Have To Be Perfect To Be Great, and it is going to be the bible for creating successes in sales and service. It gives several helpful points on gaining success based upon the actual work he did with Tim McGraw, Neil Diamond, Jay Leno, Kenny Rogers and many stars of the NFL, NBA, NHL and even the clowns from the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH!
Guest: Sharan Tash, President, The Professional Networker
Topic Title: Successful Networking
Description: What must I do to be a successful networker? What is the best way for me to learn how to be an effective networker? Why should I network on a regular basis? Is there a business for which networking is not helpful? How important is my elevator pitch in networking? What is the role of one on one meeting in networking? I am spending a lot of time networking, but I am not getting leads – what am I doing wrong?
Guest: Amanda Klingman, President, Klingman Group
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: Klingman Group specializes in recruiting for small to medium size law firms and in outsourced HR services for small to medium size companies. Amanda is a successful entrepreneur who has faced many challenges as she has grown her business. This show will focus on how she has achieved her success.
Guest: Chuck Duff, President, Thai Bodywork
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: Thai Bodywork is a services company devoted to training practitioners of Thai Massage. Emerging from a strongly Buddhist tradition, the practice of Thai yoga massage is a practical expression of Metta, compassion toward oneself and others. Performed on a mat in comfortable clothes, this "lazy man's yoga" creates a therapeutic "dance" incorporating rhythmic motion, invigorating stretches, palming and thumbing along energy lines to invoke emotional calming and deep relaxation. This show will focus on Chuck’s transition from a single massage practice to a business in which he trains other therapists.
Guest: Allan Hug, President, Safeplace Technologies
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: Safeplace Technologies is a security services startup company focused on supporting emergency responders by providing detailed video of the interiors and floor plans for the building to which they are responding. Allan is a successful entrepreneur and this show will focus on the plans for Safeplace and the challenges he is facing.
Guest: Tom Casale, President, Simplified Solutions Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: Simplified Solutions is an Internet focused marketing startup company devoted to helping companies use the internet to make money. Our Simplified Solutions are simply the best web products and new web marketing services available. Whether it's email marketing, building websites for associations, or businesses, >commerce, 
custom webcasting, or search engine marketing- we know how to deliver what you need. This show will explore how Tom has grown his company into a successful competitor in a crowded Internet marketplace.
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Guest: Jeff Marpe, Director, linenine
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: linenine is a visual communications company specializing in commercial video and films. Jeff founded linenine over 15 years ago and this show will explore many of the challenges he has faced. Linenine has developed films for many of the world’s largest companies including Apple, Pfizer and Budweiser.
Guest: Katherine Topel, President, Powership, Inc.
Topic Title: Growing a Business Through People
Description: Katherine Topel is the founder and President of POWERSHIP®, INC. She recently authored a book by the same name. POWERSHIP® is a nine part proven process guaranteed to engage your people, execute the impossible and get you results you can take to the bank. For over 15 years she was a CEO of a prestigious consulting firm in the Chicago area that she also founded. She utilized the POWERSHIP Culturescape™ model to grow the firm from only 3 people to a multi million-dollar corporation. Her extensive experience in the IT, Consulting, Manufacturing, Logistics, and Supply Chain industries allows her to have the understanding of what it takes to run a company large or small in today’s business world.
Guest: William Topel, Partner, Powership, Inc.
Topic Title: “People-Ready” by Microsoft.
Description: Small to Medium size businesses for years have been striving to understand and align themselves with technology that works and solves their business issues. These companies struggle with many complex matters.
This session will allow you to hear from one of Microsoft’s top business partners on how you and your people can grow with technology through Microsoft’s recently announced new vision of “People-Ready”. The session will discuss new technology solutions that are available for you and your company to take advantage of. The solutions will provide you with opportunities that you never thought possible for your company regardless of the fact that you may be 2 people, 22 people, or 202 people.
Guest: Bill Koziol, President, Kozy Mortgage
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? What are the most critical problems faced by the owner of a new business? What can be done to overcome these problems? What is the right balance between the ownership, manager and technical responsibilities? What is your plan for growth and when do you plan to reach it? How important is it to develop a standard set of processes in my business?
Guest: Mike Nall, CPA, CM&AA, Founder, Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors
Topic Title: Mergers and Acquisitions as a Strategy for Growth
Description: In some industries and for some companies, a merger or an acquisition may be a good way to grow. How can a small business owner determine if M&A is an alternative to be considered? If an owner decides to merge or make an acquisition, what are the steps that need to be taken? What are the signs in M&A that a deal is a bad one? Besides the owners, who needs to be involved in a merger or acquisition deal?
Guest: Robert S. Engelman III, President, Engelman Management Group, Inc.
Topic Title: Why Write A Book? Is It Of Any Value To A Small Business Owner?
Description:
Why do you want to write a book?
- Ego
- Credibility
- Marketing and promotion·
- Money
- Feel you have a story to tell
- Passionate about something
- Legacy / permanence
- Challenge
- Self discovery
3 Key Questions before getting started
- What is the purpose of your book?
- Do you have passion to see it through?
- Are you willing to make changes along the way?
Guest: Deborah Krohn, President, Krohn Studio
Topic Title: Entrepreneurs Showcase
Description: What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? What are the most critical problems faced by the owner of a new business? What can be done to overcome these problems? What is the right balance between the ownership, manager and technical responsibilities? What is your plan for growth and when do you plan to reach it? How important is it to develop a standard set of processes in my business?
Guest: Jim Washok, President, OTAir
Topic Title: Text Message Marketing
Description: Do you know what Text Message Marketing is? Do you know how it might benefit you business? What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? What are the most critical problems faced by the owner of a new business? What can be done to overcome these problems? What is the right balance between the ownership, manager and technical responsibilities? What is your plan for growth and when do you plan to reach it? How important is it to develop a standard set of processes in my business?
Guest: Rick March, President, MHA Communications
Topic Title: What is the Role of Comedy in Business Motivation and Sales?
Description: What is the role of comedy in the business workplace? What benefit is there to using comedy in my company? Is this just something to be done at company outings and annual meetings? How do I take steps to use comedy effectively? What are the risks for this type of program?
Guest: Chris Kremer, Blue Engine Enterprises, LLC
Topic Title: What Do I Do When My Traditional Way of Selling No Longer Works?
Description: The traditional sales approach of emphasizing functions, features and benefits no longer works as well as it once did, so what is someone in sales to do? What is the difference between a sales-focused selling approach and a customer centered approach? What is systematic selling and how does it work? What is the best way to deal with customer resistance?
Topic Title: Lean Manufacturing and Small Business
Description: What exactly is Lean Manufacturing? Does it apply only to large companies? What benefits should I expect if I adopt it? How do I institute Lean Manufacturing practices in my company? How long will it take for me to see benefits? How do I get my people up to speed?
Guest: Orisha Kulick, Social Worker
Topic Title: Bullying in the Small Business Workplace
Description: How does bullying happen in the workplace? Is this only a large company phenomenon? What can I, the owner do about bullying? What risks am I facing if I don’t effectively deal with bullying in my company? Are there policies I need to implement in this area? Do I need to train my people to be aware of this problem? Are there laws I need to be aware of pertaining to bullying?
Guest: Jason Jacobsohn, SBDC Director, Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center
Topic Title: Business Planning As The Key To Entrepreneurship
Description: Do I really need a business plan when raising money through a bank? What needs to be in my business plan? How do I get help in developing a plan? Do different sources of capital require different content in my business plan? How can the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center help me get my new business going? Other than help with business plan development, what other services does the Center offer?
Guest: Rick Hopf, Financial Representative, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Topic Title: Financial Planning for Small Business Owners
Description: Financial planning is critical for small business owners, so why do so many avoid the topic and not take action? How can an owner insure their own financial picture will be secure when they finally exit their business? What can an owner do financially if he or she wants to keep the business in the family after they retire?
Guest: Debbi Bifulco, President, Bifulco Business Solutions, LLC
Topic Title: Guerrilla Marketing for Small Business
Description: Guerrilla Marketing was first established by Jay Conrad Levinson in 1983 as an innovative approach to marketing, but what is it? How can the concepts and techniques of Guerrilla Marketing help the small business owner establish a more effective marketing program? How can Guerrilla Marketing help the business owner produce first-rate marketing plans and materials without having a big budget?
Guest: Tom Casale, President, Simplified Solutions
Topic Title: Using the New Internet Technologies to Market Your Business
Description: First there was email then Web Page optimization, but now a whole new set of techniques are being used to market over the Internet. This show will focus on how the small business owner can take advantage of Blogs, Vlogs, Podcasts and other techniques to promote and market their business. Sites like You Tube and MySpace are in the news, but is there a way for the business owner to take advantage of these types of offerings too?
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