Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson is a Web Video Specialist and owner of Your Local Studio.

Nature of Business:

At Your Local Studio we make videos – videos for the web. We have a systematized process from script building, to recording in our professional studio, to finished video uploaded to the web within 48 hours. Subject-Matter-Experts, Organizations and Businesses use their videos to promote their services, highlight their expertise, answer questions and begin a conversation with prospective clients.

What Alex has been up to since his/her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

Financially, we’ve doubled the top line. We’ve progressed from occasionally renting a space, to a dedicated studio, and now – in 2012 – double the physical studio space. Since taking the 100-days to Abundance in the Spring of 2010, Your Local Studio has created processes to collect data, processes to communicate with clients, and processes to keep the indoor and outdoor woodpile full! We believe the success of Your Local Studio is directly linked to what we learned at 100 Days To Abundance.

In the fall of 2011, Cisco released a report stating that within the next 3 years, 90% of Internet Traffic will be video. It’s exciting to know we’re helping our clients be leading edge while getting their message out there and getting noticed. Video is the future – and the future is now.

Alex’s best advice to other small business owners:

If we could only give one piece of advice it would be to start a customer management system as soon as you can. We use Batchbook – it syncs with Google Apps, Mailchimp and others. You may only have a few clients now, but as you grow, being

organized is key.

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Alex you can connect with him on:

Twitter.com/YourLocalStudio, Facebook.com/YourLocalStudio and YouTube.com/YourLocalStudio

Read about other Team Nimbus All-Stars.

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Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Esha Herbert-Davis

Esha Herbert-Davis is the Founder & Vision Consultant of Events by Ashé.

Nature of Business:

I plan events for my clients that make them MORE MONEY. My clients are mainly small & medium sized business owners. The events I plan for them are workshops, seminars and conferences that win them more clients and significantly increase their
bottom line. I make their visions a reality!

What Esha has been up to since his/her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

I doubled my clients by the end of 100 days to abundance. I have continued to experience revenue growth since completing the class.

The sky is the limit! Events by Ashé has since expanded into travel for business professionals and we’ll be expanding into weddings this year through myamazingweddingday.biz.

Thank you Bill Davis! The work you do is so valuable to “crazy/sane” entrepreneurs like myself!

Esha’s best advice to other small business owners:

The most important nugget of information I learned through 100 Days to Abundance is ~ you don’t have to do everything yourself! I constantly remember this in my business planning and immediately think, “Who can do this faster and cheaper than
I can?”

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Esha, you can connect with her on:

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Read about other Team Nimbus All-Stars.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Marc Larin

Marc Larin is the owner of Cardinal Home Technologies, LLC

Nature of Business:

We design and install Home Theater and Surround Sound. This includes TV mounting and cabling in the walls of existing buildings. Our clientele includes home owners, small offices, doctor’s offices, and meeting rooms.

What Marc has been up to since his/her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

Team Nimbus was crucial in narowing the scope of my marketing down to my expertize; Home Theater. My sales numbers have been flowing consistently ever since. The people I met through Team Numbus helped me develop a strong marketing and referral system. I have been participating in a Rainmaker group for over a year and plan to continue to reap its benefits in growing my business.

I have been with Team Nimbus near 3 years and am proud to call Bill Davis a friend. Bill has made himself available to me for advice and encouragement many times outside of office hours. He is teaching me to become a competent business man. I am truly grateful.

2012 is the year in which our offices and staff will grow to meet the market demands.
The new staff will give me the opportunity to develop the firm and our market

Marc’s best advice to other small business owners:

Always prepare for whatever comes next; meetings, training, consultations or actual jobs. It will increase the efficiency of the time and give you the best appearance to your colleagues & customers.

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Marc you can connect with him on:

Inside 919

Read about other Team Nimbus All-Stars.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Darron Stover

Darron Stover, President of Invest for Change, LLC.

Nature of Business:
Invest For Change, LLC was founded by Darron Stover in 2007 for the purpose of providing financial services for individual & corporate clients that want their invested dollars to more closely correlate with their social values. It is the mission of
Invest For Change to reach out to investors to help them meet their financial objectives, while investing in the securities of companies that advance human rights and human dignity, that care for our natural environment, that protect employees,
families, consumers and their health/quality of life, and companies that are concerned about issues of community, education, social equality and peace … rather than ignoring the abuse of these issues for profit.

What Darron has been up to since his/her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

The Nimbus program really helped me identify and then develop the very unique niche I represent in my field.

Darron’s best advice to other small business owners:

If you want to be the best in the world, shrink your world!

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Darron you can connect with him on:

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter

Read about other Team Nimbus All-Stars.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Eileen Stevie is the owner of Stevie Organizing Services.

Nature of Business:  As a certified professional organizer, I concentrate on working with clients who really want to make a change in their current situation. Whether they need help with their paper piles, space planning, or just being able to find their keys when they need them. Whatever the problem areas are, we can tackle them together to find the best way for them to set up a system that will work in their environment and suit their lifestyle.
My clients are any one who is frustrated, overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to start to bring some sanity, tranquility and organization to their lives. If you are in business these days, you need to be organized so you can stay in touch with your customers and be as productive as possible to be as successful as you can be.

What Eileen has been up to since her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

I loved the idea of the “hedgehog principle” and keep that in mind when planning my advertising and marketing. I’ve reached many of the goals that I set and continue to come up with new ones.

I’m excited about the possibility of meeting new people and prospective clients. Everyone is different and every job is different. I really enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to help a new client get and stay organized.
Eileen’s best advice to other small business owners:

Take the 100 days to Abundance class – it will help you get focused on where you want to concentrate your effort to be as successful as you can be. Bill does a great job!

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Eileen you can connect with her on:

Inside919, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

George Alwon is the President of Raleigh Consulting Group.

Nature of Business:

We align people with company goals. Our clients are generally privately held firms in the $5 to $100 million dollar space. They are generally local and are committed to their people and their customers.

What George has been up to since his participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

I got a better sense of marketing and our need to find multiple channels to getting to our market. My accomplishments are more within myself and company.
George’s best advice to other small business owners:

Don’t give up. Keep your focus on what the customer wants and not what you can do. They don’t care. Customers want to know how they will be better because of their relationship with you.

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing George you can connect with him on:

Facebook and LinkedIn.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Sylvie Pleasant is the owner of K9 Solutions, LLC.

Nature of Business:

We serve dog owners who want well-mannered canines through preventing issues or correcting existing issues. Serving my community so dogs can stay in their homes.

What Sylvie has been up to since her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

Sense of urgency–faster to implement ideas.
Sylvie’s best advice to other small business owners:

Never give up if you are doing your passion!

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Sylvie you can connect with her on:

Facebook and LinkedIn.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Terrence Boykin is the President of Road Trip Executive Transportation.

Nature of Business:

We provide individual, family, executive and group transportation. Our fleet consists of sedans, SUVs, limousines, shuttle vans, and party buses. We operate 24 hours a day. During the day we primarily transport individual and group business travelers as well as residential families to and from the airport.. The rest of our day is filled doing corporate shuttles and shopping trips, as well as providing transportation for lunch meetings and client’s children. Our evening and late night services regularly include trips to dinner, shows, concerts, sporting events and bar hopping.
We work closely with wedding and corporate event planners, HR managers, project managers and executive assistants.

What Terrence has been up to since his participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

I think the biggest thing I took from 100 Days is that I have to work on my business, not in my business. It was also a big eye opener working with Bill to see what my time is really worth in real $. That has allowed me to get out of the way so that we could add more vehicles and staff.

I get excited every time we take a reservation, especially when its from a new client. The best thing happened a few nights ago during a trip when a new client pulled out his cell phone, deleted the number of the limousine company he had been using and replaced it with ours. It feels good to know that some of the largest corporations in the country use my service. I have to say I get excited like a little boy on Saturday morning when all the vehicles are lined up clean and shiny ready to go for the day.

Terrence’s best advice to other small business owners:

Don’t be the glass ceiling for your business. You can’t be afraid to ask for help and if your business is going to grow you have to delegate the day to day tasks of your business because you only have so much time in a day and so much space in your head.

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Terrence you can connect with him on:

Facebook, Yelp, The Gathering Guide and Inside919.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Bob Sides is the owner of Visual Advantage Signs.

Nature of Business:

We are a custom sign manufacturer. Our customers include all types of businesses who need interior or exterior signage. These include commercial property managers, restaurants, retail stores, law offices, CPA offices, companies with fleets of vehicles and many more.

What Bob has been up to since his participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

My business was only 1 month old when I participated in the 100 Days class. Since then, I have passed the 1-year mark and have a few profitable months under my belt.

As my business continues to grow, I look forward to adding people and equipment so we can do more of our work in-house and, therefore, strengthen our profit margin.

Bob’s best advice to other small business owners:

Understand your numbers. There’s nothing worse than “thinking” that you’re making money and then finding out you’re spending more than a dollar to make a dollar.

A wise man once told me: Hunt for small and medium-sized game and if an elephant just happens to cross your path.. shoot him!

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Bob you can connect with him on:

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Team Nimbus All-Star of the Week

Grace Thompson is a Business & Executive Coach and owner of Lendor Consulting.

Nature of Business:

Lendor Consulting provides business and leadership coaching to mid-level and senior corporate executives. It is a well known fact that people don’t leave organizations, they leave managers. Ineffective management and leadership skills results in your biggest resources (people and intellectual capital) walking out the door. Through coaching, managers become exceptional leaders who increase productivity, and the organization’s bottom line.

What Grace has been up to since her participation in 100 Days to Abundance/Team Nimbus:

Participating in 100 Days enabled me to get really focused about where I spend my time (and money) networking, and the importance of deepening existing relationships. It also gave me permission to say ‘No’. No to serving any and everyone. No to clients that I will not be able to serve in an exceptional way. No to attending ANY and ALL networking events. Very liberating.

I am excited about deepening my existing relationships and building my business through and with the people that I know, like, trust, and see. In 2012 I will present leadership topics to professional associations.

Grace’s best advice to other small business owners:

1. Know your numbers.
2. Set and monitor your weekly activity.
3. Raise your hand and ask for help.

Whenever I have fallen off these particular bandwagons, I can tell. Having a focus and purpose enables you to focus all of your daily and weekly activities toward achieving that goal. If you’ve set your goals yet still feel stuck, don’t go it alone. Hire a coach. It’s easy to get stuck, and it’s easy to stay stuck. The hardest thing to do is say “I need help getting unstuck!”

If you don’t have the pleasure of knowing Grace you can connect with her on:

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.