I’ve been out a lot meeting friends and acquaintances to strengthen our relationships in order to build each other’s businesses.
I’ve met with Lisa Darby in Hudson, Angel Miller, Pat Nichols, Carol Truit, and Leo Muzzin of Gulf Tile and Creations. We invested time in learning how to use SendOutCards
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Then, I visited with:
Rhonda Cantu
Elemental Events Inc.
Rhonda and I met at the Centre Club for about an hour. She told me that she had been in retail management for many years. She was excellent in her job. But, she was not fulfilled. She wanted to be more creative. She wanted to be able to bring people together to accomplish common goals. Rhonda told her husband how she felt and he told her to quit her job and go out and do what she wanted to do! So, Elemental Events was born! You can see by these testimonials how much she loves her new business:
Diane Marie Cavanaugh, Business Development, Marketing, Public Relations, Cavanaugh Consultin“ I would like to recommend Rhonda Cantu for all your weddings and special events. In a time where everyone seems to do the "minimum required", Rhonda goes above and beyond all your expectations. With her always sunny attitude, creativity and great follow through, you can be assured the job will not only be done well; it will be done the best! In addition, I respect Rhonda for using her talents for charitable events, including "The Spring". When people are that unselfish, you know she will care for your causes and events the same way. Please give her a call and give her your business! Diane Cavanaugh Consultant” May 3, 2009
Shane Saunders-CITRMS, Worksite Voluntary Benefits Account Executive, Colonial Life “Rhonda is a true professional that cares about her client’s needs and desires. I love referring Rhonda because I know she will take care of anyone I recommend her too. She saves her clients money and stress, while putting on an excellent event. I call her the "Wedding Planner of Professional Events" because she puts the same care and personal touch into her events as a wedding planner does when planning weddings. You will happy with the service that Rhonda provides.” April 28, 2009
Joe Malinowski, Broker, Pre Paid Legal Services Inc.“Rhonda has been a tremendous help to me and I appreciate her very much. She is always going out of her way to help not only myself and other she networks with, but she also give her time to numerous charitable organizations. She is organized and capable of putting together great functions. Rhonda is a out there and making it happen, she is definitely someone to keep an eye on if you study success!” April 20, 2009
Tina Bubb, Owner, 3Bs Bubbs Biz Basics LLC “Rhonda and I met at E Women Network and I liked her instantly. Rhonda later became one of my clients and I got to know her better. I admire Rhonda's leadership skills and I am impressed with her professionalism. Rhonda has extensive business and marketing knowledge and that is why I asked her to be the social chair for the Tampa chapter of WIN that I lead. She is an outstanding addition to our leadership team.” April 2, 2009
Minh Pham, Founder, www.Walking-on-Water.org “Rhonda is very trustworthy and honorable. That is the first and most important trait in a person and she definitely has it.” March 29, 2009
Sharon Less, Consultant, Kara Vita Skincare “Rhonda has been working with us at WIN and also FNI. Rhonda is very organized and extremely helpful and reliable.” March 20, 2009
“Rhonda is a very dependable person and loyal to whatever project she's working on. She has a balanced demeanor and everyone likes working with her. If you're looking to hand-off a project or your business to her, she'll treat it as if it were her own and you won't have to mortgage the farm to pay her services. Harold Becker Emerging Business Solutions 727-723-8179” January 29, 2009
Aida Achin (aachin@benefittitle.com) of Benefit Title Services Met with me at Centre Club for SOC Training. She only had a few minutes. However, we were able to cover setting up a marketing campaign.
Jim Jacobs
Westshore Communications Corp.
Jim and I met at the Centre Club and visited for about an hour. Jim is really a nice guy. He is an independent mobile phone representative and he can find the best deal for you. He is active in the Neighborhood Networks organization.
I had “Lunch with the Expert!” John Teixeira, Perry Financial Group
The Centre Club Business Committee arranges for experts in their field to hold a lunch meeting once a month. John fits into that classification very easily. While we enjoyed a great Centre Club lunch, John explained different investment methods using the stock market. He was open to all questions and did very well in fielding them. A few days later, John and I met at the Bistro to get to know each other better. He came from Boston 3 years ago because the Tampa weather is much more to his liking. While in college, he thought that he would like to go into Operations Management. But, after interviewing with the Perry Financial Group, he knew that financial management is where his heart is.
John says, “Our mission is simple…..To serve the needs of successful executives, business owners and affluent individuals seeking a single resource for comprehensive wealth management strategies. We pride ourselves on our ability to integrate and organize every aspect of our clients' financial lives and are committed to providing a meaningful experience for each of our clients.”
Gary Teaney
Transformational Consulting for Business
Gary is always a delight to visit with. He and I met about a year ago at the Profit Pros BNI. We have had a chance to meet face to face several times over that period and I always feel good after meeting with him. I asked Gary to explain what he does in consulting business. This is the way he explained it:
“Our initial Consultation is done over two meetings.
In the first meeting we get to know each 
other. I discover the areas you want us to focus on, where your company is now and where you want it to go. This meeting generally takes two to four hours. If the time we have spent together warrants, for you and for us, at the end of the first meeting I pick up four years of your P&Ls and Balance Sheets. I analyze them and share my findings with you in our second meeting.
In the second meeting we review what you want to accomplish from my involvement with you. We go over your Financials and the areas which require immediate improvement. This meeting lasts from two to four hours. At the end of this meeting you let me know if I have succeeded in addressing the areas you wanted improvement. When I present you with the $1250 invoice, you decide if you received the value from our meetings. If you feel it has been worth it, you pay the invoice. If not, you pay nothing. It's that simple. We only want relationships were we can be of benefit.“
Sam Belyea (Sam@massageredefined.com)
Massage Redefined
Sam was trained at Tampa Bay Technical High School in the medical arts, majoring in Physical/Occupational Therapy; graduating with both an 'Honors' status and a certification as a Physical Therapy Aide. From there, he pole-vaulted into Massage Therapy School at Erwin Technical Center, during his time there he was awarded with numerous Principal's Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance recognitions as a reflection of his scholastic and time-management skills.
Displaying an adeptness for Reiki energy work, he offers this subtle yet powerful energy through his hands during massage sessions, adding a secret touch to his work. In his off-time he has found a niche in Shamanic energy work, specifically working with animals, plants, and the three main realms of consciousness. Weaving Reiki and Shamanics, as well as Chakra work and intuitive energy balancing, he has created a "redefined" energy work all his own, which he offers as a service at Massage Redefined, LLC.
While in school for Massage, Sam came across Hawaiian Lomi Lomi Massage and was trained in the art by Alice Belusko. Taking it one step further, using the elbow and forearm techniques, paired with creative adaptations of his own design, Sam has created an "Integrated Hawaiian Massage" style. This variation has the ability to go intensely deep or be a flowing, relaxing paradise! A session from Sam, whether it's Reiki or Massage, isn't an ordinary experience, it's a true therapeutic awakening.
Michal Rhodus (michal.rhodus@gmail.com)
Team One Realtors
FOCUS ON YOU
Michal and I have been friends for over a year. We originally met at a South Tampa Chamber event. She is a great Realtor and a fun person to be around.
We met at the Centre Club to review SendOutCards. She has been a customer for over a year but wanted to do a review of the program with me.
Of course, I asked her what makes her so successful in her Real Estate business and she told me, “I'm committed to serving my clients. I work toward one goal… to make sure you're pleased with your home. I can provide a complete lineup of in-house services, from contract right through closing. It's top-flight professionalism at every step on everything you need.”
Chris Shultz (cshultz@stanleyworks.com)
Stanley Security Solutions
Chris and I met at the Profit Pros BNI. He wanted to learn more about SendOutCards and became my newest customer. I’ve known Chris long enough to know what he does in his business. In fact he is the top sales person in his company. I asked him how come he is so successful. His answer…
“We approach every prospect with a consultative approach, identifying all of the loss prevention concerns, designing the system(s) to address those concerns, and offer the solution to the prospect. We at Stanley C.S.S. understand that all businesses have different concerns, therefore resulting in different solutions.”
Kim Kenney (kim.kenney@investfinancial.com)
Baughman Financial Group, Inc.
I was really impressed with Kim during our meeting at the Centre Club. She has really come a long way in her life because of her determination. She has set her goals and she will meet or exceed them. She is a very compassion person as well. She has set up another side of her business life where she will provide free service to those who need her help. She is now in Italy on vacation but will return by the end of June. Here is what her company says about her:
“Special Needs Planning focuses on the need to provide for the special needs of loved ones with disabilities when parents and guardians are no longer able to organize and advocate on their loved one's behalf.
Kim Kenney, Financial Advisor and Special Needs Planner of Baughman Financial Group, is committed and dedicated to assisting families in the coordination of all components that will provide for the quality of life and dignity for your loved one.
Kim and her team of professionals will assist you every step of the way and to navigate through each element of the process.
Kim is a Registered Representative of INVEST Financial Corporation.”
April Manning
Word By Word Creative
This was another fun visit. April and I met at the Circle of Success. I was immediately interested in her business. And so, I could hardly wait to do a face to face meeting with her. We met at the Centre Club and we had the chance to visit for about an hour. Her business is writing the text for websites, training manuals, marketing, advertising, public relations, video/multimedia and much more. She is a very nice person to work with. I asked her about her experience in this field and she told me…
“I’ve worked with, literally, more than a hundred clients over the years. One thing I’ve learned is that each client is unique. As your copywriter, the last thing I’ll do is start writing. First, I’ll take the time to learn about your business, your expectations and your needs. I want to understand your target audience, underlying issues, past challenges and something of your corporate culture. Compelling copy has the power to communicate, educate and motivate. You’ll get copy that makes your customers and clients take action, copy they’ll respond to. As a freelance writer, I can write your copy quickly and accurately. And I’m proud to say I’ve never missed a deadline. Not once, ever. I personally write every assignment, so you can be sure your vision for your project is honored every step of the way.”
Kathy Pawelkop (kathy.pawelkop@kw.com)
Keller William Realty
Kathy was one of my first customers with SendOutCards. I met with her at her Keller Williams Realty office to do a review of the features that SendOutCards offers. Kathy had heard about my granddaughter Madeline’s heart operation. I had mentioned that Madeline likes butterflies. So Kathy had a couple T-Shirts designed with butterflies on them and mailed them to Madeline. Madeline loves them!!!
Here’s Madeline right after surgery and then two weeks later erasing her name off the hospital board as she leaves to go home.
Kathy and her son, Nathan, have a very successful team at the South Tampa Keller Williams Office. How does she do that in the present ecomony? She states…
“Our knowledge of Tampa and the surrounding areas allows us to service clients in many different parts of the city. Not only do we sell homes in Tampa we have a large network of agents that you can work with all over the United States. If you or someone you know needs assistance with a Real Estate transaction please contact us. The greatest compliment that our friends and clients can give us is a referral.”
Joe Fernandez (Joe@objectiveplanner.com)
Certified Financial Planner
Joe and I also met at the Centre Club. We are scheduled to meet again after the 4th of July…
Joe began his career in financial planning in 1994, working with American Express Financial Advisors in Tampa, Florida. Building his financial planning practice from the bottom up, Joe had acquired over $20,000,000 in assets under management within the first 10 years and catered to the needs of over 180 clients. As time went on, Joe began to grow frustrated with the “corporate agenda” and felt that he could provide a much higher level of service to his clients if not influenced by the needs of the firm. Today, Joe works independently of any one company, integrating the financial planning process with total objectivity in the choice of both product and advisor relationship. Independence within the context of the financial planning process means that his clients can be assured that they will enjoy the same beneficial relationship with a trusted and knowledgeable advisor, yet in a totally objective and unbiased environment.
Eric and Kelly Hendra (kelly@hendraassoc.com)
Hendra & Associates, Inc.
This is the first Husband and Wife team that I’ve had a chance to meet with at the Centre Club. I met Eric at the Profit Pros BNI. Kelly is also a BNI member but at another chapter in St. Petersburg. Kelly is the marketing arm of the business and Eric is the engineer. They are both really enjoyable to be around. We had a really good visit. I hope to be able to meet with them again soon. I asked them how they met. They told me how mutual friends had introduced them because they seemed to have so much in common. Their friends were right! Here is what they do…
Eric is a General Consulting Engineer with wide range of experience in private and public sectors. He engineers everything from commercial site plans design to disaster services to coastal & scientific diving work. He is a licensed Professional Engineer with 20 years of hands on experience. To put it in plainly, if you have rain water running into your garage, Eric will go to your home, survey the land and design a plan to keep the water out of your garage. If you need to build a seawall for your property, he can handle that as well.
Rob West (robert.west@micorp.com)
Rob and I first met at the Bernini’s FNI in Ybor City a year ago. We’ve kept in touch. But this week was our first face to face meeting at the Centre Club. Rob is doing very well in the banking business. However, his first love is coaching and teaching. He is currently working on getting a Doctorate Degree and teaching at night.
I have been in the banking industry for 8 years. Before banking, I was in retail management for 7 years with Wal-mart, Sneaker Stadium/Just for Feet, Dollar Tree, and Adidas. I am currently attending the Adjunct Academy at the University of Virginia and I am starting a doctoral degree program in organizational leadership.
I have a full service bank that provides checking, savings, CDs, money funds/markets, loans, home equities, mortgages, 529 college plans, mutual funds, insurance, estate planning and commercial services.
