Blog: Doug Bruhnke

Jobing.com is hosting the next AZIGG event on March 2nd.  It features a presentation by Jeff Morhet, Chairman, CEO and President of InNexus Biotechnology (www.ixsbio.com), based at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.  There will also be a special announcement related to Jobing.com and AZIGG. Join us on Monday the 2nd for some international business networking.  RSVP at www.AZIGG.com. 

 

Jeff Morhet, Chairman, CEO and President

InNexus Biotechnology, Inc. 

"Building Biotech: The Science of Doing International Business"
 

Monday, March 2nd, 7:30am - 9:00am 

Registration starts at 7:00am  

  

Investment $10 by cash or check (payable to AZIGG) includes breakfast beverages

 

Jobing.com Headquarters 
  4747 N 22nd Street (about a block south of Camelback, east side) 
Phoenix , AZ 

 Due to construction in the parking structure, free parking is available all around the building in the 'one hour parking' areas.

 

All the best, Doug

 

Doug Bruhnke

Founder/President AZIGG

www.azigg.com

Thank you to the crowd of SJN'ers who attended the Entrepreneur panel at Temple Chai on Tuesday.  We were given a great opportunity to learn from four master entrepreneurs. 

If you were there and unable to connect with any of our four panelists, please let me know.

1. Lon Safko
2. Abhay Jajoo
3. Lesley Gates-McCallum
4. Jeffrey Taylor

Several of you asked about SCORE seminars for entrepreneurs and small business owners.  They are free and low-fee, and scheduled every week across the Valley.  Here is a list of upcoming seminars through the end of March.  More info: www.scorephoenix.org. 

By the way, Greater Phoenix SCORE is becoming a community partner of Jobing.com as SJN is today - watch for that soon.  Also some of the SCORE seminars are being held at Jobing.com.

February Seminars (www.scorephoenix.org)

Structuring A Successful Business Foundation -- Part Two

Wednesday 2/11/09 at ASBA – 7:00 to 9:00 PM

Intellectual Property – Part One

Thursday 2/12/09 at ASBA – 6:30 to 9:00 PM

 

How To Buy And Sell A Business

Saturday 2/14/09 at ASBA – 9:00 AM to Noon

 

Taxes, Business, Family And You

Tuesday 2/17/09 at WIU Chaparral/101 – 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM

 

Structuring A Successful Business Foundation -- Part Three

Wednesday 2/18/09 at ASBA – 7:00 to 9:00 PM

 

Quick Books Pro

Thursday 2/19/09 at Jobing.com 4747N 22 nd Street – 7:00 to 9:00 PM

 

How To Buy And Sell A Business

Saturday 2/21/09 at ASBA – 9:00 AM to Noon

 

Strategic Business Planning Workshop

Tuesday 2/24/09 at WIU Chaparral/101 – 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

 

Intellectual Property – Part Two

Thursday 2/26/09 at ASBA – 6:30 to 9:00 PM

 

Web Based Marketing – Part Two

Saturday 2/28/09 at ASBA – 9:00 AM to Noon

March Seminars (www.scorephoenix.org)

Loan Clinic

Tuesday 3/3/09 at WIU Chaparral/101 – 1:00 to 3:00 PM

 

Start Smart

Saturday 3/7/09 at ASBA – 9:00 AM to Noon

 

Survival Series Seminars at WIU Chaparral – 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM

          Business Plans – Wednesday 3/4/09

          Marketing – Tuesday 3/10/09

          Accounting & Business Risk – Tuesday 3/17/09

          Cash Flow – Tuesday 3/24/09

 

QuickBooks Pro

Thursday 3/10/09 at Jobing.com 4747N 22nd Street – 5:00 to 8:30 PM

 

Catapult Your Life to Success at ASBA – 7:00 to 9:00 PM

          Part 1 – Wednesday 3/11/09

          Part 2 – Wednesday 3/18/09

          Part 3 – Wednesday 3/25/09

 

Sales Training for Success

Saturday 3/21/09 at ASBA – 9:00 AM to Noon

All the best, Doug

Doug Bruhnke, Growth Nation and AZIGG

Scottsdale Job Network

MEETING: Tues, Feb 3, 20098:30-9:30 AM – Resume Reviews, Open Networking
9:30-11:30 AM - Meeting with Guest speaker
Location: Temple Chai, Phoenix

SJN presents a panel of entrepreneurial business founders and owners to discuss what it's like to start and work in a small business.  Considering the current economy, all work options should be considered!

Panel  

Lon Safko – Lon is an award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, CEO, consultant, author and speaker www.lonsafko.com.  His 18 inventions and more than 30,000 papers are in the Smithsonian, and he was recently selected by the Smithsonian to represent “The American Inventor” at their annual conference.  Lon is the founder of eight successful companies, including Paper Models, Inc.  His latest book The Social Media Bible by Wiley & Sons unlocks the mysteries of the hottest new Internet wave, Social Media, such as Facebook and YouTube.

Abhay Jajoo – Abhay is a serial entrepreneur with growing businesses in Phoenix .  One of his companies is Eupath, which provides US and Canada-based companies with software development, analytics and legal processing services to incubate and scale operations at lower cost in India while keeping their proprietary business processes "in-house" www.eupath.com  

Lesley Gates-McCulley – Lesley is the owner of Gates to HR www.gatestohr.com, which she founded after leaving Phelps Dodge.  She has extensive human resources management experience in diverse corporate and work site environments, including small business through Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Throughout her career she has created HR infrastructure and led project teams aimed at streamlining HR processes and establishing best practices resulting in improved human capital and operational performance.

Jeffrey Taylor – After a corporate career with Citibank and Peat Marwick, Jeffrey read an issue of Entrepreneur and became one.  During his successful consulting career he published two textbooks which are still used by global financial institutions. In the last couple of years he has lectured on Sarbanes-Oxley to major financial institutions, developed business plans for start-up companies, prepared companies to go public, helped companies raise both private and public capital and made independent movies. His new book, "Going from W2 to 1099", will be published this summer. 

Moderator: Doug Bruhnke of Growth Nation and AZIGG

www.scottsdalejobnet.com

Key Arizona-based government, education and business resources related to global business will be on a walking tour at the next AZIGG meeting on January 12th.

The AZIGG Global Business Fair is being held at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey www.ssd.com on the evening of January 12th starting at 5:30pm. 

Business owners considering global expansion in 2009 should attend.  SJN members should send an e-mail to Doug Bruhnke if you are considering attending.

 

Monday, January 12th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm 

Location: Squire, Sanders & Dempsey

(Two Renaissance Square, 40 N Central Avenue , 27th Floor, Phoenix )

Investment $40 ($50 after January 6th) includes dinner and hosted bar. 

  RSVP at www.azigg.com

SJN Members: e-mail Doug Bruhnke 

Here are the 35 organizations that have committed to have a table:

 

 

Association, Non-Profit and Government Resources

·         Arizona Department of Commerce

·         Arizona District Export Council

·         Arizona State University

·         Arizona Technology Council

·         City of Phoenix

·         GLOBALArizona

·         Greater Phoenix Economic Council

·         Greater Phoenix SCORE

·         Indo-American Chamber of Commerce

·         Maricopa County Small Biz Enterprise

·         Maricopa County Workforce Develop

·         New Global Citizens

·         Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations

·         US Export Assistance Center

·         World Affairs Council of Arizona

 

Int’l Consulates

·         Consulate of Canada

·         Consulate of Mexico

 

Int’l Businesses and Service Providers

·         Asian Bank of Arizona

·         Colonia Bank

·         Eclectic Communications

·         ESI Global Logistics

·         Eupath

·         FranWay

·         Growth Nation

·         InXpress

·         MarketRx

·         MSS Technologies

·         RSM McGladrey

·         Solugenix Corporation

·         Sonoran Bank

·         Squire, Sanders & Dempsey

·         TechOne IT

·         Transperfect Translations

·         Vistage

·         Weber Advantage Consulting

 

Come join us on this unique international walking tour.

All the best, Doug

Economic conditions are placing obstacles in front of everyone. As a result we’re supporting a special educational seminar benefitting local businesses being done in cooperation with the Phoenix Business Journal (http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/) and Greater Phoenix SCORE (www.scorephoenix.org).

The special event is a marketing seminar featuring 3 speakers tuned in to local businesses on Tuesday, December 16th.  It will be held in the Maricopa County Board of Supervisor Auditorium, 203 W Jefferson in Phoenix at 7:30 am - 9:30 am.

GREATER PHOENIX SCORE AND THE PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL PRESENT

SUCCEED AGAINST INSURMOUNTABLE OPPORTUNITIES:

AFFORDABLE WAYS TO GROW IN 2009

 

• Using the Phoenix Business Journal -- Paul Sanders, Phoenix Business Journal
• More Marketing to Grow on a Shoestring -- Mike Shoun, Affordable Image
• Nine Marketing Secrets to Grow in the Downturn -- Doug Bruhnke, Growth Nation 

All proceeds benefit Greater Phoenix SCORE, a national nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of the nation's small businesses.  Greater Phoenix SCORE is a proud new community partner for Jobing.com.

More info and sign-up here:

http://www.scorephoenix.org/default.asp?S=eA

 

Whether you own a business or you’re looking for a job, keep marketing!

Doug Bruhnke
www.growthnation.com Scottsdale , AZ USA

The next Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG) is December 1st at 7:30am at SkySong. The topic:

 

Grow Fast in a Flat World: Scaling Your Business

 

You should attend if you are a business owner or a functional leader interested in cost reduction techniques. We are honored to have these expert panelists to draw from:

 

·          Dave Rice, CEO of TrueCloud

·          Abhay Jajoo, Managing Director of Eupath

·          Cliff Schertz, President and CEO of Tiempo Development

·          Sharad Mankapure, Director of BizLogic Technologies

·          Sarit Kommineni, CEO of SLK Holdings

 

Monday, December 1st, 7:30am - 9:00am
Location: ASU SkySong, 1475 N Scottsdale Road, Suite 200
(Southeast corner of Scottsdale Rd and McDowell)

Map to SkySong
Investment $10 Includes Coffee, Juice and Snacks
RSVP www.azigg.com

These turbulent times call for creative methods to grow. This month at AZIGG we have 5 top entrepreneurs and executives of fast-growing companies who are experts in helping companies scale their businesses using global resources - through good times and bad. For more info and to sign-up: www.azigg.com

 

Dave Rice - CEO of TrueCloud. Dave is a brilliant technologist who helps emerging and medium-sized companies scale their operations using cloud computing solutions like Oracle's NetSuite. TrueCloud provides "Less IT, More Growth". Before starting TrueCloud, Dave was the CIO of Insight, and he is on the current Board for AZIGG. www.truecloud.com

Abhay Jajoo - Managing Director of Eupath. Abhay is the talented and entrepreneurial heart for Eupath - a company that is the leader in incubating and establishing overseas operations for firms looking to save money on software development, legal contract management and analytics. Clients of Eupath have a need to keep their work 'in-house'. www.eupath.com

Cliff Schertz - President and CEO of Tiempo Development. Cliff is a sharp serial entrepreneurial who lowers clients' costs with software development and QA services supplied from facilities in Northern Mexico . Tiempo has developed an agile methodology that saves money and time, and they are the leader in regional near-shoring. www.tiempodevelopment.com

Sharad Mankapure - Director of BizLogic Technologies. Sharad is the talented and successful entrepreneur for several local firms. One of his companies BizLogic Technologies offers outsourced IT support, personal assistance, data processing and recruiting help to business owners of mid-sized firms and physicians offices in the Southwest. www.bizlogictech.com

Sarit Kommineni - CEO of SLK Holdings. Sarit is also a talented and very successful serial entrepreneur with multiple firms. He helps small businesses reduce cost and scale their growth through the use of several offerings for medical transcription, software development and e-learning. Sarit has an expertise in financial services and small business. www.slkholdings.com

All the best, Doug

 

Doug Bruhnke, Scottsdale

www.azigg.com

www.growthnation.com

 

Here's good news for job seekers and the Valley.

LeTip International, Inc. is moving their headquarters from San Diego to Mesa.  LeTip is the world's largest, privately owned, professional business leads organization. It employs 15 Regional Directors who oversee more than 525 chapters and over ten thousand members in the US and Canada.

President and CEO Kim Marie Branch-Pettid leads LeTip, which is celebrating 30 years of service to the business community. Kim Marie is dynamic and smart - and you can look for great things from her and LeTip here in Arizona.

In celebration of LeTip members’ effervescent spirit, the company’s 30 years in business and the relocation of headquarters from San Diego to Mesa, LeTip invites the Valley to a Grand Opening.  Come on out to this free event and meet Kim Marie and her team.  I'll be there - because they're doing a great service for our community.

LeTip International

Grand Opening of Mesa World Headquarters

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

5:30 – 7:30pm

 

LeTip International at Pierpont

4838 East Baseline Road, Suite 123

Mesa, Arizona   85206-4675

RSVP: aoates@letip.com  

Kim Marie: “Our emphasis on creating warm leads through LeTip members works in good times and bad. It’s our way of putting ‘Dollars In Your Pocket’ and inspiring some hope among members to help stimulate the economy. Small business will bring us out of this economic mess, one new lead at a time.”

To RSVP for the Grand Opening Celebration this Wednesday evening, contact Abby Oates at aoates@letip.com, or 480-264-4600.  More at www.letip.com.

All the best, Doug (Growth Nation and AZIGG)

We thank Jobing.com for hosting the October event for AZIGG (Arizona International Growth Group, www.azigg.com).  Holly - you're amazing!!!

On the first Monday in November at AZIGG we have a special evening event jointly organized by the Thunderbird Alumni Phoenix Chapter and the Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG). It starts at 5:30pm on November 3rd (the night before election day).

We’re bringing together business owners in the Valley who have the desire to grow internationally with the number one ranked school of international business. International professionals will have the chance to network, exchange ideas and talk about global development and expansion for Arizona.

Five speakers and panelists with roots to Thunderbird School of Global Management will discuss ideas on how to stay current with international business practices and how to grow your business internationally.

Purpose
1. Inform on ways to keep up-to-date on the latest international business practices.
2. Share the value of Thunderbird for local companies with global ambitions.
3. Facilitate networking between the Thunderbird and the AZIGG communities.

Monday Evening, November 3rd, 5:30-7:30pm
FIRST MONDAY: ”Education Supports International Growth”
Special Joint Program with Thunderbird Alumni Phoenix Chapter, featuring:

• Jon Hobgood, International Director at Honeywell
• Bonnie Cameron Wells, Senior Director, Thunderbird
• Joseph Babcock, Director, Thunderbird
• Dr. Paula Shipper, Director, Thunderbird
• Dr. Roe Goddard, Associate Professor of Asia Studies

At Thunderbird School of Global Management, AT&T Auditorium
1 Global Place, Glendale

Investment: $10, includes appetizers

Sign-up here: http://www.azigg.com/, or http://www.sebconsulting.com/thunderbird

AZIGG meetings are typically held on First Monday’s. Our home locations are Jobing.com near 22nd and Camelback or the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Auditorium at Second Avenue and Jefferson in downtown Phoenix - on the south side of Jefferson. There are exceptions - - - like this month at Thunderbird!

The investment to attend AZIGG meetings is typically $10. We welcome all members of Scottsdale Job Network www.scottsdalejobnet.com.  Snacks will be provided.  Attendees should RSVP here: http://www.azigg.com/.

Doug Bruhnke, AZIGG and Growth Nation

Part of any successful job search is staying in touch with the people who know, like and love you.  A good way to do that – especially if you have hundreds or thousands of people in your database – is to stay in touch with them via direct e-mails or newsletters.

 

E-mail marketing is a cost-effective way to stay ‘top of mind’ with people you know.  It’s a marketing tactic that will almost certainly be in the marketing mix for any small business and anyone looking for a job.

 

I’ll be talking about e-mail marketing on the John Adam Show, Friday at 9:00am, KFNN 1510 in Phoenix , or by podcast at www.thejohnadamshow.com. 

 

Here’s a top 10 ‘how to’ list for your consideration.

1. Build Your E-mail List, Selectively.  Your list should be permission-based.  Start by adding friends, former employees and good acquaintances.  Encourage them to forward it to others they know.  Double opt-in is becoming a standard here – and this entire subject probably needs a posting all by itself.

    

2. Address Your Readers’ Needs with Concise Content.  It’s all about them and their needs, not you and your stuff.  Talk to their needs and ideas and solutions that address them.  They have problems, you have answers.  Articulate benefits, not features.  Check and double check – no typos and grammatical errors. 

    

3. Pull Readers In, Don’t Push.  Take a philosophy of pulling in readers.  This approach impacts how you add people to the list (#1) and what content you generate (#2), ie keep it all about adding value to solve critical needs.  By the way, most of your marketing materials – including your resume – need to take this same approach!

    

4. Create Attention-grabbing Headlines.  Most people decide in less than a second on whether to read your e-mail.  Be interesting without being silly.  Keep it short and sweet, and action-oriented.  Notice the e-mail headlines that grab your attention, think about why and use those ideas to create yours.  In Constant Contact you can see open rates – monitor these and learn what’s interesting for your readers.

    

5. List Your Name as “From”.  Be clear that the e-mail is from you.  Adding a company name if you’re looking for a job is confusing to people who might be interested to help find you one.

    

6. Keep It One Easy Click to Info.  Simple is better.  Keep all the info there unless you have good information on a website somewhere, but then one click.  Monitor what people click on in Constant Contact.

    

7. Make Your Contact Info Easy to Find.  Keep your phone number and e-mail address easy to find.  Don’t let people hunt for it.

    

8. Reassure Readers that Their E-mail Will Not Be Shared.  Of course do NOT give anyone your private distribution list, and then let people know that you don’t.  That helps reassure them and will keep more people in your list longer.

    

9. Don’t Blitz.  Send out no more frequently than monthly or twice a month, otherwise people will feel spammed and you’ll see a high opt-out rate.  With newsletters, once you have a pattern set-up, keep them coming consistently, especially if consistency and quality are part of your brand.

    

10. Provide Unsubscribe.  Always allow readers to unsubscribe.  ‘Unsubscribe’ is a requirement for the better services like Constant Contact. 

Oh, and don't forget to including Scottsdale Job Network in your overall networking and job-finding strategy. Happy hunting!

All the best, Doug

Doug Bruhnke
www.growthnation.com and www.azigg.com

Scottsdale , AZ USA

Thanks for reading my last post about 'Reaching Out'.  I received several questions about how to structure what to do next. So let’s pause and provide some details.

I’ll be talking about these specific ways to integrate networking into your marketing plan this week on the John Adam Show, Friday at 9:00am, KFNN 1510 in Phoenix, or sign-up for the podcast at www.thejohnadamshow.com  Our friends at Jobing.com have ideas, too, as does the team at Scottsdale Job Network www.scottsdalejobnet.com.

Last week I suggested that you reach out for help.  Sounds simple, right? So who do you call first?

Try the people that know you very well. After you make your list, add another column that designates how close the person is to you and how well they know you. I modified a methodology that I learned from Victoria Trafton, Owner of the Arizona Referral Institute, to group everyone I know this way, from closest to furthest:

1. SRP – Strong Referral Partner: These are people who have a deep knowledge about you and a propensity to convince others to meet with and consider you and your services. This latter point is important - - - they need to be quite forceful to cut through the clutter. For me this is 1 out of 1000 (0.1%) or 15 out of 15,000 acquaintances.

2. RP – Referral Partner: These are people who know you quite well and could be a good referral partner considering that they touch the people who you wish to reach. But because people are busy, and it’s hard to get more than a small fraction of folks to think about YOU, this group will be less efficient than SRP’s. For me this is 1 out of 100 (1%) or 150 out of 15,000 acquaintances.

3. C – Credibility Established: These are people you have worked with, good customers, and those you have helped - - - and so you are highly credible to them. They trust you based on direct, extended experience. This is not one meeting folks – they REALLY know you. They have interest in you (TCI: trust and credibility before interest!). For me this is approximately 1 out of 20 people in my database (5%), and 750 out of 15,000.

4. V – Visibility Established: These are people you have in your database that probably know you exist. They’re in your database because you like them or because they could help you someday. They may only know your name and may not even know where they know you from. They probably don’t have enough experience to call you ‘credible’ or to refer you. For me this is over 90% of the people in my database!!! Don’t fret - - - there’s only so much you can do ;-)

5. T – Targets: These are people who don’t know you yet, but from the Business Journal or somewhere you’ve decided that you want to meet them someday. They wouldn’t know you today from Adam. For me this is about 1% of my total list (150 out of 15,000). You should be reading the Journal and writing down these folks. Attend one of Paul Sanders' courses through the Business Journal to learn more www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/.

Start with your #1 through 3’s, and build the #1’s. When you outreach, keep the discussion about the other person until the conversation comes back to you. My philosophy is that it’s your responsibility to find a way to help them first, and then, turn-about is fair play, hopefully you’ll get them thinking about YOU.

Have you ever done someone a favor or even two or three, and you get NOTHING back? Hey it happens. Maybe they are in a bad stretch. Use your best judgment and decide whether to bump them down (or up) your list. There are only so many hours in a day, so you should spend them on folks where you have great mutual synergy.

Keep updating your list once a month or quarter - - - bumping folks up and down the list based on referrals and the level of credibility both ways.

Find new people in local networking groups where your peeps hang out. Are you looking for small business owners? Check out Enterprise Network, ASBA or AZIGG. Looking for tech companies? Try the Arizona Technology Council. Need larger company executives? Try the Arizona Chamber.

Automate your touch point to people you know through a regular e-mail newsletter. Start your own online groups on Linkedin, Twitter or Ning where you can reach out to your peeps and they can keep in touch with you.  Don't forget to emphasize value to THEM. 

Share the types of people and companies you're trying to reach with your #1's and #2's. Have them review your marketing materials with these targets in mind. They're in the circle and so you should get some honest feedback.

Touching folks you know is the most efficient and quickest method to find a job or get new business.

All the best, Doug

Doug Bruhnke
www.growthnation.com  
Scottsdale, AZ USA

This week 11 people have called or e-mailed me looking for work – which is way above the norm.  Is it just me, or is the market changing again for the worse?

I am so thankful for my Growth Nation customers that are keeping me busy.

Others are not so lucky, and you may be one of those looking for work right now.  Absolutely REACH OUT to people - - - it’s by far the best way to ultimately find a new position.  It will work, and here are some observations you might want to consider in your technique.

I’m very busy, and so when someone leaves me a voicemail and says “My name is John Smith and I heard your name mentioned by Mary Jones and I was wondering if you have some time for coffee to discuss my current job search?”

Not effective. 

Why?  Yes I believe in helping mankind, but my customers and family come first.  Friends are in their too.  Now you’re down there on the list – through no fault of either of us – but for me to engage I need something more.

So don’t just ask for help – offer help, too.  Think about how you can help me, and I’ll be more likely to help you.

Research me and my company and find a way to help me directly or indirectly.  Know a potential prospect?  Introduce them.  Know someone in my Linkedin group?  Do them a favor!  You’ll much more likely show up on my radar screen if you’ve given it a college try to make it a two way benefit.

In addition, give me information that I can quickly use to sort through what you’re looking for.  So many times I get something like “I’m looking for a company that respects peoples’ contributions.”

Fine, but who doesn’t want that?

What are the titles of jobs you’re looking for, in what industry, roughly what size company and in what geography?  Then tell me how you’re qualified to do that.  Summarize why in a minute or two – don’t give me the whole history.

My guess is that if you try this, you’ll be more successful in getting help from people in the community.  Turn to your friends, turn to friends of friends and turn to Scottsdale Job Network www.scottsdalejobnet.com.  You will weather the storm.

Doug Bruhnke 

Thank you, COLD STONE CREAMERY!

The Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG) had another excellent crowd - 135 - at the headquarters of Cold Stone Creamery last Friday the 15th.  Thank you to Lee Knowlton - President of International for Kahala Corporation - for hosting us.  Thanks, too, to all the supporters from Scottsdale Job Network for attending.

AZIGG is skipping September (the first Monday is Labor Day) and so our next AZIGG meeting is the first Monday in October - October 6th.  That meeting will feature Rod Miller of GPEC (Greater Phoenix Economic Council).  Rod will be presenting his 'International State of the State' that is now an annual event at AZIGG. We'll be at Jobing.com - near 22nd and Camelback.  Start time is 7:30am.

If you're interested in international, also check out the Governor's Int'l State of the State in September - more info here: www.pcfraz.org.  Network where the international folks are ;-)

The AZIGG November meeting is also a special one - on the night before the Election.  On that Monday evening November 3rd we'll be at Thunderbird School of Global Management and we'll be treated to presentations by successful alumni of Thunderbird. This is a joint meeting with the Thunderbird alumni association.

Thanks to everyone for your support of AZIGG. More info here: www.azigg.com

Doug Bruhnke, Growth Nation and AZIGG (Scottsdale, AZ)

At the next Arizona International Growth Group (AZIGG) meeting we’ll be discussing how to grow sales globally from Arizona with three experts who have been there, done that and continue to shine. 

Connect up with international business people and Arizona ’s top experts. More information here: www.azigg.com

Date:               Friday, August 15 th

Time:              7:30-9am

Topic:             Growing Your Sales Globally: The Ins, Outs and In-Betweens

Panel:                       

Gunnar Light, EVP-ForTheRecord, Melbourne IT

Oystein Konsmo, CFO/COO, The Yorke Group

Joe Gold, Global Business Internationalist

Moderator:     Doug Bruhnke, CEO of Growth Nation

Introduction: Lee Knowlton, President of International, Kahala Corp

Investment:   $5, includes drinks and snacks

Location:        Kahala™ Corp, Scottsdale

Cold Stone Creamery® HQ @ Loop 101 and Via de Ventura

9311 E. Via de Ventura, Scottsdale , AZ 85258

Gunnar Light works at Melbourne IT and serves as Executive Vice President - ForTheRecord, with responsibility to drive global growth in the company's world-leading digital recording services by expanding into new vertical and geographical markets. Before Melbourne IT, Gunnar worked for ATCi (Antenna Technology Communications, Inc) where he held the role of Managing Director Worldwide Sales and Marketing. In this role, he was responsible for managing channel activities, global sales strategies, marketing plans and partner contracts for North America, Latin America , Asia Pacific and EMEA. Prior to ATCi, he worked as the Director of Global Marketing and Business Development at Hypercom and in a number of Marketing and Sales roles at electronics distributor, Avnet. In addition to his extensive industry experience, Gunnar is a graduate from the Thunderbird School of Global Management with a concentration in Global Trade and Countertrade, as well as from Arizona State University 's MBA program with a concentration in Supply Chain Management and Global Marketing.  Gunnar is also a director at International Business Circle .

 

Oystein Konsmo is CFO/COO of The Yorke Group based in Tucson .  Oystein’s background includes fifteen years of international management and entrepreneurial experience with US and European software and hi-tech companies. He has practical experience in strategic and financial planning, implementation of enterprise applications, marketing research, channel partner development and venture funding. Oystein’s specific technology experience includes telemetry, wireless data communication, smart cards, intelligent transportation, enterprise applications and video/data switching. Oystein holds an MBA in Business Administration from Arizona State University and an undergraduate engineering degree from Oslo College of Engineering.

 

Joe Gold is a successful multilingual sales executive with extensive international experience selling to OEMs, distribution and end-users in both information technology and electronics.  Most recently for White Electronic Designs ( Phoenix ) he created the electronic memory card products business for the embedded and portable computing markets, generating over $40 million in global sales to OEM and specialized distributors.  Joe has extensive experience in a variety of businesses growing businesses – particularly in Europe .  He is a graduate of Cornell University , Ithaca , NY , and was a Lieutenant (jg) in the U.S. Navy.  He speaks English, French, Italian and German.  Joe is the Director of the Austrian Society of Arizona, Membership Chairman of the English-Speaking Union Phoenix Branch, member of the Alliance Française, member of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations and member of the Arizona Center for Germanic Cultures.

 

The John Adam Show (www.thejohnadamshow.com) has moved to financial news radio 1510 on KFNN in Phoenix starting on July 11th.  Jobing.com is sponsoring Tom Perry's humor segment - way to go Jobing.com!

If you haven't heard the show - you should!!! John's 112th show airs Friday, July 11th at 9am on 1510, and then every Friday at 9am and Saturday at 8am.

WARNING: Listening to The John Adam Show may cause higher profits and a renewed sense of passion!  So sit down, listen up and join John and his lineup of high-profile big shots, brain-straining PhD's and other brilliant minds if you want to make it in this dog-eat-dog capitalist world. Your American Dream is as close as their next broadcast.

John treats small business owners and entrepreneurs as they should be treated - as American treasures. We're all in this together - listen up!

On Friday, July 11th, John will be talking about Innovation, and the great Lon Safko (www.lonsafko.com), Arizona's top entrepreneur and favorite son of Ossining, NY, is the first guest on KFNN.

Get To Know One Of America's Most Exciting And Inspirational Entrepreneurs Lon Safko: The Inventor Of The First Fully Graphic Human Interface For The Computer, The First Computer System For The Disabled, And The First Computer To Save A Human Life!

All the best, Doug

Doug Bruhnke
Growth Nation
Scottsdale, AZ USA

Holly Schor of Jobing.com knows an amazing amount of information for job seekers to be successful. On Tuesday, July 15th at Scottsdale Job Network, Holly shares invaluable tips on branding YOU. If you’re not branding yourself, people are doing it for you. Is that what you want? I don’t think so!!! Attend SJN next Tuesday and listen to Holly’s words of wisdom, and ask her all about branding YOU to be effective in your job search, your entrepreneurial adventures or whatever you’re planning to accomplish in life. It all starts with your brand. Scottsdale Job Network Tuesday, July 15th, 9-11:30am Temple Chai in North Phoenix www.scottsdalejobnet.com “Building the Brand Called YOU” Holly Schor, Community Manager at Jobing.com Doug Bruhnke Growth Nation Scottsdale, AZ USA www.growthnation.com www.azigg.com