500 Business Owners Have Spoken. They Told What They Did to Be Successful!

Press Release

500 Business Owners Have Spoken. They Told What They Did to Be Successful!

January 1, 2009 – Ron Finklestein, President of AKRIS INC, a Business Coaching and Consulting firm, and Robert Schepens, President of Champion Staffing, A Job Near Home.com and Drug Free Solutions NEO, have published a breakthrough book called Nine Principles For Inspired Action: A New & Targeted Perspective.

This is great news for new, home based business owners and small business owners who are struggling to grow prosper and get result. Ron Finklestein and Robert Schepens conducted research on nearly 500 successful business owners and discovered the Nine Principles that are being effectively implemented by those owners on a daily basis. They also discovered that many do not know they are doing it! They are only aware that they are getting the results they want.

“It is amazing how each individual really focused on their intelligent self-interest and how that intelligent self-interest drives not only their behavior but also the behaviors of their employees, customers and business associates.” said Finklestein.

Available wherever readers buy books and online at http://www.amazon.com for a cost of $14.95. ISBN 978-0-9760297-0-0

Ron Finklestein is a small business success expert and has been doing business and technology coaching and consulting his entire career. In 2001, he devoted his full time efforts to AKRIS INC, a business and technology coaching and consulting firm. Since that time he has been involved with hundreds of small companies and helped them achieve success by teaching them the same principles documented in this book.

Robert Schepens is the owner of Champion Staffing, A Job Near Home.com and several other businesses. According to Robert: “We have discovered that owners of start-ups, established businesses and re-established businesses who achieve success have done so due to a clarity of focus in their visions. We believe we have found the fundamental principles that lead to increasing the odds of being successful, not just as a business owner, but as managers and people.”

Finklestein continues, “These principles are so powerful, we have created several products to drive these behaviors in our clients and we have been so successful in helping them achieve results that we now offer a 100% money back guarantee on our popular Business Mastery Advisory Board.”

As a small business success expert, business and technology consultant, coach, speaker, and international author, Finklestein has written or coauthored three other books: The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery, 49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) to Grow Sales, and Celebrating Success! 14 Ways to Create a Successful Company!

Finklestein is available as a facilitator, coach and consultant for your business needs. He can be reached at 330-990-0788 or ron@akris.net. Finklestein is a lifelong resident of Akron, Ohio. Finklestein attended the University of Akron and Malone College.

Robert Schepens is an entrepreneur, and former president of several business trade associations. His companies have achieved: ISO 9001:2000 Certification, multiple Weatherhead 100 Awards for Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in Northeast Ohio, The First Staffing Service in Ohio to Achieve Level II Drug Free Workplace Certification by the Ohio BWC, multiple NorthCoast 99 “Best Companies to Work for in Northeast Ohio” Awards, Northeast Ohio Business Success Award and “Top 10 Most Dependable Staffing Firms in the Central USA” Award (Fortune Magazine 2008). He is the Host of “Entrepreneur to entrepreneur”, “Innovation Northeast Ohio” and “People Making A Difference in Northeast Ohio”, video channels on A Job Near Home.com which can also be found on You Tube and iTunes. Robert is a graduate of Valparaiso University, Christ College, and attended Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University.

For quantity purchases or how to implement these principles in your business please contact Ron Finklestein with any questions.

Contact:
Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

Robert Schepens
216-823-5900
ras@ajobnearhome.com

Business Mastery Coaching Announces 100% Return on Your Investment or it is Free!

Business Mastery Coaching Announces 100% Return on Your Investment or it is Free!

October 30, 2008, Akron, OH – RPF GROUP INC , the leading provider of business coaching, consulting and eLearning, announces a 100% money back guarantee on it popular Business Mastery Advisory Board program for all NEO companies with revenues of less than $10M!

“I am proud of this significant accomplishment. I’m not aware of any other program in Ohio that has committed to it clients a 100% money back guarantee. RPF GROUP INC has clearly demonstrated that small business owners are willing to invest in business coaching and consulting that get results and helps them solve their most pressing business problems,” said Ron Finklestein, President of RPF GROUP INC.

As the economy has tightened, companies and business professionals have been forced to find alternative strategies for skill development. RPF GROUP offers an affordable and proven way to help small business owners increase effectiveness and get results on a limited budget.

According to Ron Finklestein, “this program is different because we have researched over 500 successful business owners and discovered they all implement the same nine behaviors. This program holds business owners accountable for implementing these nine behaviors. That is why we can offer this kind of guarantee.”

Litsa Voulgaris, Aris Financial Services states, “I live my life by these principles! I had Ron create a poster listing these principles that I put on my office wall to remind myself daily how to grow a profitable business!”

“I have totally changed how I think about my business and my life. These principles are truly empowering”. Maureen Gechter, Probate Attorney

“For over three years I have actively participated in a Business Master Advisory Board. The value is incalculable and the opportunities for focused personal and professional growth are the most effective I’ve encountered in over ten years.” Alan L. Plastow, MAT, PMP”

RPF GROUP INC began delivering this service in 2005 after three years of testing. Finklestein states, “We are now ready to take the business to the next level by making it safe and easy for other small business owners to engage us. As a result of delivering business coaching session through this process, I’ve been able to provide business owners with new ways to affordably benefit from this service,"

About Business Mastery Advisory Board

The Business Mastery Advisory Board allows company presidents, CEOs and business owners to discuss important issues and receive constructive feedback, practical advice, positive suggestions, and best practices that allow them to grow, flourish and get results. This allows business owners to make better, more effective decisions.

About RPF GROUP INC

RPF GROUP INC was founded by Ron Finklestein. Finklestein has been described by his clients as “Small Business Success Expert” “Entrepreneur.” “Passionate” “Leader.” “Motivator.” “Get Results.” “Team Builder.” RPF GROUP INC. makes the Business Mastery Advisory Board available to help others business owners grow, prosper and get results. The Business Mastery Advisory Board is available as a franchise opportunity for business people who want control over their own destiny. RPF GROUP INC works with start-up to small businesses with less than $10M in revenues

Contact:
Ronald Finklestein
RPF GROUP INC
President
211 Harcourt Dr., Akron, Ohio 44313
330-990-0788
sales@rpfgroupinc.com

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AKRIS INC Acquires B to B Connect Franchise

Contact: Ron Finklestein
Phone: 330-990-0788
Email: info@yourbusinesscoach.net 
Fax: 330-865-6922
Web Site: www.akris.net

AKRIS INC Purchases Popular Business Networking Franchise For Stark and Summit Counties

Northeast Ohio B2B referral organization expands reach to generate lucrative sales leads for members in Summit and Stark Counties

Akron, Ohio, June 23, 2008 – - AKRIS, INC., The Business Success Experts in Akron, Ohio announced today its intention to expand its organization by acquiring a BtoB Connect franchises for Stark and Summit Counties.

Announcing details of the new franchise, Ron Finklestein, Founder and President of AKRIS INC., said, “I have acquired significant new business by being a part of the BtoB Connect group in Akron. When the opportunity came up to acquire this territory, I jumped at the chance to grow my business using this exciting model.”

Jim Hornyak, Co-Founder and Vice President of BtoB Connect said, “The exploding demand for the services of a B2B group vs. B2C group is what inspired us to create BtoB Connect, and has now prompted us to introduce BtoB Connect as a franchise nationwide. We are excited to have Ron Finklestein as our second franchise owner.”

Laura Leggett, Co-Founder and President, notes that, “Ron Finklestein has been involved with BtoB Connect since the prototype days in 2003, which makes him uniquely qualified to show other B2B professionals how to grow their businesses through personal referrals. We could not be happier that Ron is our second franchise owner.”

Finklestein plans to use this opportunity to grow his Business Mastery Advisory Board (www.businessmasterynow.com) and he is quick to point out that a BtoB Connect franchise is truly unique because ownership doesn’t require abandoning his other business or career interests. The power of this franchise is that it can feed a continuous stream of qualified business referrals to AKRIS INC. and other BtoB Connect member, making it a key component of our business development activities.”

To learn more about how you can learn more and benefit from this powerful concept (with no monetary investment required) please attended a 90-minute overview, July 18, 2008 at 11:30AM – 1PM, at 3700 Embassy Parkway, Montrose, as Ron, Jim and Laura roll out this opportunity to interested individuals. There is no charge for this event but registration is required. To register for this event: http://www.yourbusinesscoach.net/calendar.html

About BtoB Connect:

BtoB Connect is a business-to-business networking group with the mission to dramatically condense the sales cycle and eliminate the high cost of cold-market business development by providing high quality personal referrals to business owners and sales professionals calling exclusively on other companies. BtoB Connect is specifically designed to generate highly qualified business referrals for business people.

About AKRIS INC:

AKRIS INC (www.yourbusinesscoach.net) is a business coaching and consulting firm that inspires, educates, and motivates business people to action that leads to successful results.

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Dealing With Difficult People

I have not posted to this blog in over a month. I have been traveling around the country delivering a workshop on dealing with difficult people.

I want to share some observations with you about what I learned and observed.

First, some observations about the people who attended the Dealing with Difficult People Workshop.

There are three types of people who attend this workshop. The first type includes people who are not happy with their relationships and they find certain people and their styles hard to deal with. They want to reduce the stress associated with certain people.

The second type are the difficult people themselves and they know they are difficult and they want do things differently (or they attend because their boss told them too.)

The third type is the one that interests me the most. They are difficult and they come to the Dealing with Difficult People workshop because they are asked to as part of ongoing continuing education. The managers who send them hope they will understand that they are difficult and change their behaviors as a result of what they learn. These individuals are easy to identify because they try to take over the workshop. After all, they think they know the material better than me. I find this interesting because the material is based on a book I coauthored called The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery (available on amazon.com) and it discusses different behavioral styles, their strength and weaknesses and how to build on personal strength and it provides suggestion on minimizing weaknesses. It is the foundation of much of the business coaching and consulting I do to grow revenues, create and maintain a competitive advantage and provide accountability to my business owner clients.

I had four individuals from the same company (all IT professionals) challenge me during one seminar and I explained to them why people typically come to the seminar. They fell into the last category (managers asked them to come and did not tell them they were difficult). They realized their manager was sending them a message about how difficult they were. Once they realized why they were they were at the workshop they became model students.

I find it interesting that people are sent to a workshop and not told why. As a manager, I find that people can be difficult when they do not know the rules. They can also be perceived as difficult because the rules (for this style) are made to be broken. Let’s call this “It is easier to ask for permission than forgiveness” behavior style. For this type of individual that are primarily concerned with results – sometimes results at the expense of relationships. A simple adaptability strategy would be simply to understand others have different priorities and they can get more done with honey and not vinegar.

I will be talking more about the different behavioral styles in future posts. I can assure you they will not be so far apart.

I am doing a "How to Deal With Difficult People" workshop on 9/9/08 in Akron, Ohio from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. If you want to learn more contact me at the number below.

In my next post I want to talk about some variances I observed in the economy in different parts of the country.

To Your Continues Success

Ron Finklestein
Inspiring, leading and motivating others to action that leads to successful results. www.businessmasterynow.com
330-990-0788
ron@akris.net

49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) To Grow Sales Now Available Internationally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Ronald Finklestein, AKRIS LLC

211 Harcourt Dr., Akron, Ohio 44313
Voice Phone Number: 330-990-0788
FAX Number: 330-865-6922
Email Address: ron@akris.net
Website URL: www.49marketingsecrets.com

Local Authors Has 49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) to Grow Sales Published Internationally.

Akron, Ohio, 12-3-07 – Author and Business Coach Ron Finklestein has agreed to have his book 49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) to Grow Sales published by Rave Media of India.

The book was recently displayed at The Hamburg book expos in Germany. According to Bob Erdmann of Columbine Communications & Publications, 49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) to Grow Sales “was one of the more popular titles. In addition to Rave Media, they were 14 publishing companies in 9 different counties who requested review copies.”

Ron Finklestein, a uthor of Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to Create a Successful Company and The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery decided it was time to address one of the biggest problems businesses experience: marketing. Says Finklestein “many of business challenges I encounter in my business coaching and consulting practice are marketing problems. Smaller business owners don’t understand marketing, its importance or who to trust. I wanted to create a safe and inexpensive way for business owners to know what works and give them enough information to implement these marketing success tactics in their business. Hence the book 49 Marketing Secrets (that work) to Grow Sales was born. I also wanted to help Akron by promoting successful people that few people know about.”

The book is available on www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com. The price for this soft cover book is $19.95. You can also order it at www.49marketingsecrets.com.

Here is what others had to say about this book:

“The heavy hitters, the shining stars, the bright lights — they’re all here for you in this brilliant and enlightening book. It should be mandatory reading for anyone who loves marketing and profits.” Jay Conrad Levinson, The Father of Guerrilla Marketing, Author, “Guerrilla Marketing” series of books, over 14 million sold; now in 43 languages

“Success in business requires a strong vision, a positive attitude and knowing what to do and when to do it. I’m astonished by how many answers this book has to the questions business owners ask all the time. Strong marketing paves the way to lasting success, and you’ll find what you need in ’49 Marketing Secrets’ to get wherever you want to go.” Joe Vitale, author “The Attractor Factor” and “Zero Limits”

For additional information on 49 Marketing Secrets (THAT WORK) to Grow Sales, contact Ron Finklestein or visit www.49marketingsecrets.com. A special thanks to all contributors who shared their knowledge and experience to make this book happen.

ABOUT AKRIS LLC – AKRIS LLC is a business coaching and consulting firms that helps businesses get results. AKRIS LLC publishes books through its publishing imprint Celebrating Success. For a review copy call 330-990-0788 or send an email to info@yourbusinesscoach.net

Title: 49 Marketing Secrets (that work) to Grow Sales

Audience: Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, Marketing Managers

Format: Paperback

Publication Date: 4/1/07

Price: $19.95

Available From: Celebrating Success – a Morgan James Publishing Imprint

Imprint Address: Ron Finklestein, 211 Harcourt Dr, Akron, Ohio 44313

Publishers Address: David Hancock, Morgan James Publishing, 1225 Franklin Ave., Ste 325, Garden City, NY 11530-1693

ISBN: 978-1-60037-248-1

To order or for more information call 330-990-0788 or send an email to info@yourbusinesscoach.net

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Telecoaching – without cost or obligation – not a sales pitch

On Going Business Coaching to Grow Your Business
without cost or obligation
and not a sales pitch

Successful people are always learning. They know that their success is driven by how much they know and how well they implement their what they know. They want to continually add value to their clients and the on-going learn process allows them to do that. All the topics we will discussed are business topics and most of them will come from Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company.

I also believe it is important to give back. By providing these free calls I can give a little something back. It also allows you to explore what I know to see if you want to do business with me.

Don’t worry these are not sales calls – I won’t be selling anything. I fully expect to provide value on every call. It is just my nature to do that. Sometimes I plan on having guest participate so you can get different perspectives. The topic we will discuss will allow you to safely and easily learn new things and see if they make sense to implement in your business.

I chose lunch in my time zone (EST) because I found that is the best time for people to take a break from their busy day, and enjoy a sandwich while learning something they can apply in their business.

If you have a specific topic you would like to hear more on please send me an email. If it makes sense we will make that happen.

Format: This teleconference is designed to promote a dialog between listeners through a 30 minutes discussion of the intended topic. After the initial 30 minute discussion, you the listener will have an opportunity to ask questions and solicit comment. The purpose is to create a shared learning environment between Tele-training attendees – all without traveling and leaving the convenience of your office.

What’s in it for you? You can expect to learn something new each time you join the call and have an opportunity to ask questions on topical issues important to you. You will not only get feedback from the moderator but listeners will have an opportunity share lessons learned and best practices.

NOTE: I am limiting the calls to the first 25 participants that register and if you register please plan on attending.

About the Moderator: Ron Finklestein is the moderator. Ron has been given the tag line of Small Business Success Expert by his client because of his passion for their success. Finklestein has written or coauthored several books: Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company, coauthored books with Scott Zimmerman and Dr. Tony Alessandra called The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery (Available November 2006) and Jack Canfield and Bob Proctor called 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life Volume 2.

Registration: Scroll down and check the schedule. When you find a topic that is of interest to you go to www.yourbusinesscoach.net and click on the calendar function. Select the teleconference(s) you want to listen to and participate in and fill out the registration information. Registration is required. A few days before each call I will send out via email the telephone number, conference code, password and a brief overview of what we will cover on a specific call. A valid email address is required to receive information about the call.

Cost: None

Note: These calls may be recorded for future uses such as pod casts.

Schedule teleconference and topic follows:

3^rd Monday of each month except for holidays

10-16-06 – Finding passion in your life through attitudes and behaviors of success

11-20-06 – Why a business plan is important and how to create one

12-18-06 – Creating better relationships

1-15-07 – Marketing – Creating Buzz – Ron “Boozoodle” McDaniel

2-19-07 – Sales – How to sell without selling – selling for the non sales professional

3-19-07 – Creating a Company Culture – and how a company culture can make or break a company. You doubt that – just look at Enron and Arthur Anderson.

4-16-07 – Creating an IT Strategy in 90 days by focusing on the critical processes with your business.

5- 21-07 – Finding what works and making it predictable – Behavior drive results.

6- 8-07 – How to create trusted relationships – The value of contract and some items to have in all contract.

7-16-07 – How to innovate – Guest speaker – My intent is to have David Akers join me but he does know that yet.

Registration: Scroll down and check the schedule. When you find a topic that is of interest to you go to www.yourbusinesscoach.net and click on the calendar function. Select the teleconference(s) you want to listen to and participate in and fill out the registration information. Registration is required. A few days before each call I will send out via email the telephone number, conference code, password and a brief overview of what we will cover on a specific call. A valid email address is required to receive information about the call.

About the Moderator: Ron Finklestein is the moderator. Ron has been given the tag line of Small Business Success Expert by his client because of his passion for their success. Finklestein has written or coauthored several books: Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company, coauthored books with Scott Zimmerman and Dr. Tony Alessandra called The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery (Available November 2006) and Jack Canfield and Bob Proctor called 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life Volume 2.

How Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company Was Bor

I have been asked by several people how I decided to write a book. Read on to learn more.

Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company.
How the Book Came About

On 9/1/01 I was laid off from my job as a Principal in a consulting practice. This happened, in a large part, because the Y2K conversion effort that many companies under took in the late 1990 was so successful.

On 9/11/01, the unthinkable happened. Terrorist destroyed the world trade center in New York City. This single act, in my opinion, changed more lives that any single act in the history of the United States, except the civil war, including mine.

In the past, when I lost a job, I never had any trouble improving my position in the next opportunity. This changed as a result of 9/11. Companies cancelled:

• Hiring plan
• Capital improvement projects
• Major investments in there business
• And Acquisitions of other companies

After looking for a job and spending over $10K dollars on employment services to help me find another job, I faced one on the toughest decisions I would ever make.

I decided I needed a change of locations and I decided to move from my lifelong home. I did not want to, but having discovered no opportunities here, I decided to go somewhere where there were more opportunities.

I talked it over with my wife and she understood and was just as concerned as I was. My son Aaron was a senior in high school and the impact on him was not as great as the impact to my daughter Emily who was a sophomore.

I sat down and talked with Emily and told her the decision I came to and why. I told her that she would be able to finish high school and she could join me after she graduated. I was surprised when she didn’t seem concerned and I wonder if she really understood the impact of what we were discussing.

After about a week, she came back to me and said that if she went to summer school she would graduate a year early. I was surprised at this because she was captain of the soccer team, in Character Counts, Latin Club and a variety of other organization. I asked her why she would do this and she simply said, “I don’t want to be away from you for two years.”

At that point I made three decisions. The first was that my problems are not my children’s problems. The second was that I would no longer be unemployed because I have great skills. I hire myself and start my own company. The last decision was I would do something about the job situation in my home town. I was tired of my friends and family leaving the area because they were limited opportunities available.

I started my business AKRIS LLC, a business coaching and consulting firm to help businesses take the next step in personal and professional development.

In an effort to give something back to the community and help solve the problem of people leaving the region, I help create the Celebrating Success! The Northeast Ohio Business Conference. The purpose of the conference is to change the regional mindset by educating them on what local companies do to be successful. I want to help these companies and individual focus on what is right and good about their companies and the region.

In 2002, the conference was starting to take form. I was working with a number of volunteers who owned small companies. Many of these companies formed because of a downturn in the local economy. These were individuals who did not want to leave their homes and were looking for ways to grow their business while giving something back to the community.

During our first year we decided to make it easy for companies to nominate themselves. All a company needed to do was write a paragraph about what they did right. Once we received the nomination we would take each nominee through a structured interview. The outcome from the interview process was a one page story that highlighted their success, with an emphasis on lessons learned and actions taken. The story, along with the nomination and interview notes, were given to the conference judges. The judges would then select the top 12 companies that would present at the conference.

As I conducted the interviews I realized that all the companies did the same things. Many time they used different terms but when I peeled away the nomenclature, all the results could be distilled down to specific action steps. One afternoon, I met with one of the conference volunteers to review the interview results with her. We were sitting at Barnes and Noble, enjoying a cup of tea, when I told her what I found. She listened quietly as I discussed the highlights of the interview process. I remember telling her how glad I was that I was not a judge. The stories were good and it would very hard to chose; especially since I met each company individually and I could see the passion they had for their work. She suggested I write a book documenting the results. I will be forever grateful for her suggestion because it changed my life. But I did not embrace the idea enthusiastically.

At first I was cynical about her suggestion. I did not think I had anything “different” to say. Also, I was afraid to tackle a project of this size. I never written a book and I did not know where to start. Finally, I just started a coaching and consulting company and I was not sure I wanted to take the time to do this project.

I sat on the project for a few months. The economy was slow, getting appointments with prospects was difficult and companies were not spending money. Since I had some time I decide to write the book. Once I got organized and started writing I was surprised by how much information I had and how easy it was to get started. As I started writing I had an epiphany. Before I started my own company I worked as a consultant for over 20 years. During these 20 years I was involved with thousands of companies and worked on countless problems and projects within these companies. I finally realized what small companies do to be successful.

The book is about what companies do to be successful and how they move through the process from startup, through the growth process, to a mature company. The book not only contains the results of the interview process but it contains the 20 years of experience I gained as a consultant. I started to clearly understand why things worked in these larger companies and how these concepts could be easily implemented in smaller companies.

Out of this book great a second book and a coaching and consulting methodology. The true challenge was not in writing the book but taking all the knowledge I gained over the last 20 years and pulling out for others to use. I stated earlier in this article that I did not think I had anything “different” to write about. I did. It was the marriage of over a year of research on three dozen small successful companies and blending with over twenty years industry consulting experience, a powerful blend of research, experience and results.

To purchase the book follow this link: http://www.aboutbusinesssuccess.com

Ronald Finklestein
President
AKRIS LLC

Finklestein has published two books: Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company and The Platinum Rule for Small Business Mastery. He founded The Business Leadership Association, co-founded Celebrating Success! Northeast Ohio Business Conference ( www.neobusinessconference.org .) Other Board affiliations include: Advisory Board, Center for Information Technology and eBusiness of the University of Akron and Advisory Board, and Kent State University Center for Information Management.

Finklestein is available for coaching, consulting and speaking engagement, workshops and seminars. You can contact him at info@yourbusinesscoach.net or reach him at 330-990-0788. Sign up for his newsletter at www.yourbusinesscoach.net.

Why a mastermind group & how to run one

Why Have And How To Run A Mastermind Group.

After two years and two different mastermind group I finally figured out how to run an effective mastermind group. This articles talks about why a mastermind group and what process to use when you create one.

Why a Mastermind Group

We all know that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem or creating a result. So imagine having a permanent group of 8-15 people who meet at least monthly for the purpose of problem solving, brainstorming, networking, and encouraging and motivating each other!

This process is called masterminding and is one of the most effective success tools you can adopt! It is a powerful way to support your dreams and bring unlimited resources to your business and personal life.

Participating in a mastermind group has been critical to me. Every breakthrough I have in my business has been the results of two mastermind groups I participate in. I can’t imagine achieving all I have without one, and it certainly made my goals happen much faster.

A Process for Accelerating Your Business and Personal Growth

I have taken the best of the two mastermind groups I created and merged them into one powerful educational and success driven mastermind group. The basic philosophy of a mastermind group is that more can be achieved in less time when people work together.

This group will be composed of people from your own industry or profession or people from all walks of life. The focus is on business growth through person growth. I found the more I grow personally the more I can grow my business.

Within your mastermind group, you benefit from the other members who empower you and draw out your full talents, resources and abilities. They trigger you, stimulate and motivate you to become all you are capable of being.

Ten Steps to Running an Effective Mastermind Group

The key is to choose people who are already where you’d like to be in your life – or who are at least a level above you. In joining your mastermind group, we will start by carefully enrolling another friendly, on-purpose, like-minded individual. As the group grows we will add others until the group reaches the desired size. The group will select and unanimously agreed-upon individuals who will work in total harmony for the good of each other and for the good of the group.

The entire purpose of the group will be to create more business and personal success using The Platinum Rule (Treating others the way the want to be treated), created by Dr. Tony Alessandra. Our success is directly related to our business skills (what we know) and our people skills (how we get things done). This Mastermind group will follow this format.

1. This group will consist of 8-15 people. This will allow a great cross section on ideas and concepts to be generated and shared.

2. The Mastermind group will meet monthly for three hours. This meeting must be held sacred as a priority and written in ink on your calendar. A one year commitment is required. This is not usually a problem but setting expectations before the group gets started is a powerful way to work through some difficult times that happen in every group. The meetings will be upbeat, encouraging and beneficial to each individual and focus on the group’s purposes. We will start each meeting with a prayer or an invocation or inspiring story.

3. Each member must agree to play all out — to openly share ideas, support, contacts, information, feedback, and anything else that will help advance the individual and group goals.

4. We have each member share something positive and good that happened since the last meeting.

5. Next, have each member share an opportunity or problem they have experienced since the last meeting and ask for whatever support they would like on it. We will appoint a time-keeper to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of time. This is important if you want your group to last. Everyone must get value at each meeting. This is typically very short less than five minutes per person to solicit feedback from the group on a specific issue. There will be plenty of time for further interaction on an issue.

6. We then have two members of the group take up to 45 minutes each to discuss in detail a specific opportunity or problem they want feedback from the group on. This could be a problem customer, review of a business plan, new business idea, a specific business problem, etc. This format can vary from group to group depending on the mastermind purpose and duration of the meeting.

7. We will then take a specific educational topic and study it, discuss how we can implement the idea in our business. The group will decide what topics they want to learn more about. Our focus is becoming The Platinum Rule experts.

8. At the end of the meeting each member will define a specific goal the Mastermind group will hold them accountable for accomplishing before the next meeting.

9. This is not a referral group. You will be asked not to sell to others in the group.

10. End by sharing appreciations and acknowledgements.

You’ll find one of the real values of a mastermind group is the accountability factor – other members checking up on you to make sure you meet your stated commitments. It’s one way to ensure you’ll accomplish a lot more!

We have Groups starting on a regularly. Call Ron Finklestein at 330-990-0788 (ron@akris.net) to learn more.

About AKRIS LLC

AKRIS LLC was founded by Ron Finklestein, President & CEO. Finklestein has published two books: Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company and The Platinum Rule to Small Business Mastery. He is the founder of Celebrating Success! NEO Business Conference www.neobusinessconference.org, formerly the Greater Akron Business Conference.

Ron Finklestein is available for speaking engagement, workshops, seminars and business coaching and consulting. His topics include: Attitudes and Behaviors of Success, Three Principles all Successful Companies Implement, Being Untouchable, and Celebrating Success! Fourteen Ways to a Successful Company, and Creating Passion in Your Life.

Business Coaching Article You Will Enjoy

Coaches give CEOs assists

Executives bring in help to listen, identify problems, find solutions

By Jan Norman

Orange County Register

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/14841334.htm