Choosing a GREAT “Dream Team” for 2012

Intro

Happy New Year! It’s a new year with new opportunities and new challenges. Most importantly, it’s a chance to re-create your awesome professional team of supporters and advisors—-almost like your own personal Board of Directors!

I am talking about your “Dream Team”—those individuals who are professionals but also confidants and advisors that will propel your business into the next level of profitability and sustainability. This blog will tell you WHO should be on this “Dream Team” and WHAT you should look for in a “Dream Team” Member as well as HOW you go about filling the slots on this “Dream Team.” Let’s begin.

Who and Why?

• Banker- This should be obvious but this Team Member has access to capital, i.e. money, that can help provide your business with cash flow or an emergency loan if one is needed.
• Attorney- Again, this should be another obvious Team Member. Nothing can shut down your business faster or eat up more of your profits than a lawsuit or unknown regulation or rule. Make sure you have a business attorney that understands businesses and can respond to your business needs. Of course, Kendrick Law Practice is always at your service (www.kendricklaw.net).
• Insurance Agent- This may be less obvious than the previous two (2) Team Members but remember that insurance (premises liability, umbrella, health, car, home, life, personal, etc.) is important to make sure in case something unexpectedly happens, your business and you are protected.
• Accountant- This should be another one of those pretty obvious Team Members. Someone has to count, record and analyze the expected cash flow that you are highly expecting to receive right?
• Business Consultant- This is someone who knows how to run a business and that can give you not only business theories but timely practical tips for short term tactics and long term strategies to grow your business.
• Marketing & Branding Expert- No one can sell your business like you but it never hurts to have some extra help to focus your time, money and energies towards productive marketing efforts.

What? (should you look for in these Team Members)

1. Look for someone you are comfortable with- Clearly you need Team Members that you feel you can trust and talk to about sometimes difficult business issues;
2. Look for someone knowledgeable- Your “Dream Team” is only going to be as powerful as your weakest Team Member; hire professionals and sleep easy at night;
3. Look for someone who has access to your ideal client- It never hurts to have someone on your Dream Team that can send clients your way; it just makes sense; and
4. Look for someone that believes in you and your business- A professional that just sees you as another “client” or “referral base” without believing in your mission is a LIABILITY and not an ASSET.

How? (to Choose Dream Team Members)

There are different strategies, wants and needs to picking individuals for your “Dream Team” but I will tell you how I did it for Kendrick Law Practice. I asked myself the following questions:

1. What is the most valuable asset for me for Team Members? For me, it was access. Even if I obtained Donald Trump or Oprah Winfrey as Team Members, if I couldn’t access them (email them and get a response or pick up the phone and call them), they were useless to me. So I choose professionals I could contact at home or on their cell phone and I knew were responsive to communications I sent.
2. Who is in my vicinity? Part of having access is the ability to drop by for coffee or lunch to maintain constant communications with my Team Members so I asked who was located where my business was located or in areas I frequented.
3. Are they in my area of expertise? Not only did I choose a banker, I chose a small business banker. I didn’t go to a large accounting firm; I choose an accountant who works with small business owners. These are not only potential referral sources but there is a connection with common goals and passions we both share.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:  Who else would you add to YOUR “Dream Team” and why?

Why Kendrick Law Practice?- We SAVE you money by:

1. Providing access to comprehensive legal AND business advice and consulting, creating value for
   your company’s investment in us.
   KLP’s Founder, Dar’shun Kendrick, holds a law degree and Master’s in Business
   Administration.
2. Providing security through our three (3) point guarantee:
   1. “24 hour guarantee”- You will receive a phone call from an attorney within 24 business hours of submission your information through our website;
   2. “72 hour guarantee”- You will receive your document drafted or reviewed within 72 business hours after payment (or it’s FREE!) and
   3. “Dispute guarantee”- KLP will negotiate the terms of any document that we drafted or reviewed FOR FREE should a dispute arise (*Does NOT include litigation costs.).
3. Providing predictability through our FLAT FEE pricing on most of our services. You know EXACTLY what you are paying for a completed document.

Choosing a GREAT “Dream Team” for 2012

How to keep the weight off -Shari Fitness

Weight loss can be a perpetual, frustrating, roller coaster.  One week you discover you lost 5 pounds and two week later, you discover you gained back the 5 pounds you lost only to gain another 2 pounds the week after that.

Or perhaps you had successfully lost 10-20 lbs or more only to find yourself gaining back the weight you lost and then some.

Then there are those who have successfully lost weight, transformed their body, and have kept it off.  I happen to be one of those people.

I can tell you first hand that building a body that is fit and healthy takes commitment and doesn’t happen overnight.  Many people are in a constant battle of the bulge and too often they will start and stop a program and not achieve results.

Fitness is NOT an event, it’s a lifestyle
If you are like most people, your best weight loss success happens when you are motivated to lose weight and look your best for an event, whether that event is a vacation, a high school reunion, a wedding, etc., and as soon as the “event’ is over you go back to your old habits that were not contributing to your weight loss goals.  My question is, why go back to your old habits that were not contributing to your weight loss goals once the event is over?  Why not continue to do what you were doing?

Being healthy and fit is a lifestyle, and I stress the word LIFESTYLE, where you are consistent with eating healthy meals and you are consistent with your exercise program. I don’t have to think about eating nutritious foods and exercise.  Eating nutritious foods and exercising should be as natural as any other daily habit such as showering and brushing your teeth.

This mindset is what separates those who keep the weight off and those who struggle to keep it off.

Nutrition
Nutritional Sustainability 
Everyone knows that the basic rule of thumb of weight loss is calories in vs. calories out.  It’s not about the latest fad diet or a quick fix. If your nutrition plan isn’t sustainable, you’re not going to be able to stick to it.

Eating a balanced diet consisting of a variety of foods that are nutrient rich, flavorful, low in calories, that you enjoy is much more sustainable and enjoyable than the latest starvation diet or the latest fad diet that has you eating as much as you want of one particular item and very little of another item.  Simply put, while you may get results in the short term, in the long term you can’t sustain it and end up gaining back the weight you lost and then some.

Be Aware Of What You Eat
95% of the time, I am very aware of what foods I eat.  I don’t eat for the sake of eating.  I don’t eat out of boredom.  I eat to nourish and fuel my body and avoid foods that are loaded with calories that contain no nutritional value.

Unhealthy, unfit, overweight people tend to not give a second thought as to what they are eating and whether or not the foods they are eating are nutrient rich foods.

Precook your meals
Pre-cooking my meals for the week not only prevents me from grabbing foods that don’t contribute to my health and fitness, but saves me lots of time in the kitchen during week.  I create nutritious, mouthwatering, healthy meals on the fly that take 20 minutes from prep, to pan, to plate.

So, how do I do that?

Every week I pre-cook and prep all my food for the week which includes slicing and dicing all my vegetables, I  pre-cook chicken, beef, or fish on the grill and pre-cook a few sweet potatoes.  I also buy foods that are easy to pack in a cooler and carry on the go with me such as Low Fat Greek Yogurt, Apples, Nuts, and protein shakes so that I don’t have to eat unhealthy, processed, convenience foods.

If you talk to any physique athlete, or individual who has successfully lost weight and have kept the weight off, you will discover that we all share this same habit.

For many years I consistently buy all my groceries for the week on Fridays and precook my food for the week every Sunday which takes me about an hour to one and a half hours max.

If you have a very busy schedule or a family, I promise this will not only save you time in the kitchen during the week, but will have you and your family eating more nutritious meals and will save you money.

Fitness
Give it your all!
Regardless of what type of fitness program you choose, the key to being healthy and fit is to exercise at  least three days a week 30 -60 minutes and don’t just go through the motions when you workout.  Make each and every workout count and give it all you got!

Find an exercise program you enjoy doing, challenges you, and you follow consistently.  The best workout program will not provide you the results you are looking for if you do not follow it and you don’t give it your best effort.

Have a fitness game plan
Whenever I walk into the gym to do my workout, I always have my fitness game plan.  If you walk into the gym with some vague idea of what you’re going to do, chances are you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and spinning your wheels.

You should walk into the gym knowing exactly what exercises you’re going to do, how many sets and how many reps of each exercise.  Having a fitness game plan not only helps to keep you focused and motivated on your workout, but you’ll also be working out more efficiently and effectively.

Avoid Plateaus
I avoid training plateaus by changing up my workouts every three months.  Doing the same workout day in, day out, month after month not only numbs the body, but numbs the mind as well.

I’m constantly challenging myself physically and mentally in the gym by trying out different training programs, styles and techniques and look forward to my workouts. (Be sure to check out my product reviews of some of the workout programs I’ve tried.)

I always feel a sense of accomplishment mentally and sets the tone for the rest of my day.  When I challenge myself in the gym, I feel like I can accomplish anything I put my mind to and am more productive and always in a good, positive mood.

Exercise for the Mind/Body
Lack of sleep and stress can interfere with your weight loss goals and being consistent with your exercise program is a great natural stress reliever.  Not only is being consistent with exercise a great natural stress reliever, it is also great for getting good, quality, restful sleep.

Conclusion
And there you have it.  If you want to lose weight, and keep the weight off,  it pretty much boils down living a healthy lifestyle that includes being consistent with your workout  program and eating healthy, nutritious foods.  I know this is something you haven’t already  heard before, but for some reason, most of us tend to let their fitness and nutrition habits fall by the wayside.  Don’t be one of them.

Shari Fitness

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Take a look at Shari’s 3 month special:

Balance for Atlanta Moms Set to Start in Buckhead

Design Courtesy: Kareen MacFarlane

It’s easy to feel all alone sometimes when you’re trying to juggle the demands of life. Balance Atlanta Family Chiropractic will kick off Balance for Atlanta Moms, a meet up group that will be a fun and nurturing way for moms to meet other moms for friendship and support along their journey of healthy parenting, maintaining supportive family relationships, enhancing physical well-being and developing emotional peace of mind. Whether you are expecting a baby, you’re a brand new mom or you’re an experienced mothering pro, Balance Atlanta invites all moms to share your wisdom and friendship. Balance for Atlanta Moms provides a relaxed environment for support, advice and education so mommies can take a breather, unwind with like-minded women, and find answers to questions without judgement.

Maybe you’ve been disappointed by the opinions of your doctors, relatives and friends. Perhaps you don’t feel like reading every parenting book listed on Amazon or what if you swear you are the only mother who ever wondered about a certain topic? Don’t stress. Balance for Atlanta Moms offers a look into the holistic side of health for baby and family now and in the years to come. The Meet Ups include time for moms to informally share ideas and support as well as a short presentations or demonstrations by invited experts in the health and parenting fields. Topics range from successful VBAC stories, having a healthy pregnancy, vaccination, allergies, breastfeeding, nutrition and baby’s first foods, stress relief, cosleeping, work-family balance, post-partum depression, fitness, and much more. Balance Atlanta will not market, sell, or convince. Instead, you will meet like-minded women, and in the process, learn some useful stuff to keep mind, body and family on the same page. By growing this group, they plan to create a community of people who seek a lifestyle that promotes balance for the whole family!

Dr. Caroline von Fluegge, Photo Courtesy: Balance Atlanta Family Chiropractic

Founder of Balance Atlanta Family Chiropractic, Dr. Caroline von Fluegge has been in practice for over 11-years. Her commitment is to empower patients towards optimal health by combining a specialty of family and sports chiropractic with nutrition, yoga, and neuromuscular therapy. The Balance Atlanta clientele includes pregnant moms, children, parents, business people, as well as celebrities in the entertainment industry. In addition, Dr. Caroline frequently contributes to fitness magazines, produces corporate wellness programs, and makes guest appearances on national television and radio.

WHEN: January 31st at 10:30am and last Tuesday of each month

WHERE: Balance Atlanta Family Chiropractic
360 Pharr Road, Lower Level 101
Atlanta, GA 30305
Ph. 404-261-4848

New Business in Lawrenceville

Anita’s Balm was formulated around 2009 in Lawrenceville, Georgia by Anita Horning.

One of her three sons has eczema and she joined the National Eczema Association for support and

contributed regularly to their newsletter - The ScratchPad, where people write tips and ideas.

She eventually ran a local support group and became the state contact for support.

She knew she needed to moisturize her son but was frustrated by

the list of ingredients to avoid in moisturizers.

She found:

• creams that had dyes
• lotions that added fragrance
• messy pumps that were difficult to use
• “natural” ingredients he had an allergic reaction to
• products that were too thin and didn’t  last long.

She experimented with olive oil and beeswax and Anita’s Balm was born.  It worked well and was convenient so

people asked for it and the company was founded in late 2011.

Anita donates a portion of the proceeds to the

National Eczema Association to further research and programs  for people with eczema.

To find out more about Anita’s Balm, visit her website:  http://anitasbalm.com/

The Real Unemployed – Antonio F. Branco

Antonio is the featured cartoonist here:

and now very active on TWITTER

Working together with so more liberal cartoonists on a new project here: