Theresa is the brand stylist, graphic designer and creative problem solver of Wilmot Designs, LLC. She works with business owners to help them give a voice to their message and mission through creative and effective design. Her background includes working for a global consumer goods company in their art department, a theater playbill publication and a hat company where she had her first experience with textile design. Theresa is taking her business to the next level with fun, new clients!
“…Someone in business for themselves probably does a wider variety of things than a person who works for a larger agency. And those things can span the, both the print and digital world.”
“So, after working in the areas that I worked in professionally, um, I say professionally, but for someone else, I, decided to go out on my own because we were living in Bentonville, Arkansas at the time…”
“So, a well-developed brand like I was saying before, is more than just your logo. It is your presence when you are not there. So, what a well-developed brand should do is communicate…”
“I belong to a women network and my favorite story out of that group so far is having volunteered to help with a promotional booklet that they were going to put together for a women's entrepreneurship week here in Milwaukee.”
“I'm actually just getting to know the people themselves because to me, part of networking is not only what I could do for them, but what they could do maybe for someone that I know or even for myself.”
“I would say to not be afraid of it, be open to the idea of it as being something that could be very natural and not canned or fake…”
“I think about this a lot lately just because of the business I'm in. And I think right now I'd have to say the traditional sense just because it's newer to me and I'm typically, I'm pretty good at making connect genuine connections with people.”
“To trust that I am enough, that I am talented enough that I am skinny enough that I am funny enough that I, I feel like back in my twenties I doubted myself a lot.”
“Aaron Draplin, the graphic designer, um, who I've been following… I would love to connect with him because he is a designer without, um, he seems very approachable. I think that's a good way to put it.”
“I love yours because it's, you interview a wide range of guests in a wide variety of businesses, um, about networking but also about their business journeys.”
“I would just say to be patient with yourself. Um, don't go into networking thinking that you have to, you know, make so many contacts right away or I know some people do that, some people have goals, you know, they want to make so many contacts at this event or that event.”
You can get in contact with Theresa at:
Facebook: Click Here
LinkedIn: Click Here
Lisa Dregne founded Yorkshire Insurance Advisors, LLC after being in the industry for seven years and she saw a need to provide individuals, couples and small businesses with comprehensive insurance planning either directly, or preferably in collaboration with their financial advisor, CPA or attorney. Although all areas of insurance are equally important to Lisa, her passion has been working with individuals/families on their long-term care planning.
“Definitely not. Um, and that's a common misconception is that insurance is a commodity, that it's the same no matter where you get it.”
“Absolutely. And the reason I say that as I've gotten a lot of feedback from, individuals that I've been working with, colleagues that they really like my business card, they actually remembered me.”
“It's actually been my number one resource for networking past those initial people that you already knew.”
“My favorite one, it was actually about a month ago is how it initiated with somebody. I had used to work with an advisor, and we got together for coffee at Starbucks, my favorite place to get together…”
“So, as I build my network, I am looking to try and at least keep in touch with the prospects, the best prospects once a month on with a personal touch, whether it's a phone call or an email, just with some tidbit of information I think would be helpful.”
“I guess leverage the relationships you have and don't be afraid to ask for those names and referrals primarily because if you are passionate about what you do and you believe in what you do, other people will help you.”
“Definitely the traditional networking in my particular space, insurance planning is a very personal thing. I'm also a certified financial planner, meaning that I've got that financial background.”
“That was an easy one. Now that I've found my passion, I really wish I had looked for my passion sooner. I ended up coming back to the state of Wisconsin…”
“I primarily read. There's a journal for long term care insurance specifically in it. It gives a lot of wonderful stories and helpful tips on how to present long term care to clients in a way that doesn't make it sound like you're selling something. Just pure education.”
“Never stop. Don't be afraid of it. I was in the beginning and now it's just so much fun. I have loved meeting so many different individuals and just networking. It's, it's funny, it ends up being a pretty small world the more you do it.”
You can get in contact with Lisa at:
LinkedIn: Click Here
Phone: (262) 366-2702
Email: Lisa@yorkshireinsurance.com
Kim Stezala is Senior Partner at Design Group International, a group of consultants that help leaders, businesses and nonprofit organizations navigate transformative change. Primarily working in higher education and philanthropy, Kim uses the power of process consulting to help organizations design effective programs and innovate, evaluate and improve what they do. Recently named CEO of the Society for Process Consulting, she is also building standards, courses, and credentials for the field.
“So, process consulting was really created quite a while ago by Edgar Schein who's a professor out of MIT. Okay. And it takes basically a very humble and iterative approach to consulting where even though we might have expertise in a certain area, we work with clients to really pull out their expertise.”
“So, it really came from many of us who were doing process consulting, looking for place, if you will, looking for community and wanting to work together to put these standards and ethics in place to provide…”
“Well I happen to work with a lot of scholarship providers and the attending their national conference not only as a regular participant but as a speaker is really successful in terms of networking because I have a really niche market with some of the clients that I work with.”
“I would like to say I used to be better at it. I'm, I'm kind of circling back, I had a huge growth spurt in my business and kind of trying to keep up. Um, but in terms of staying in front of people, I really prefer the personal touch.”
“I would say, um, get out of your own pond or your own pool. Okay. And so sometimes I will go to events where I don't know a single person there. And the reason is to just understand how other industries work and operate.”
“For my particular type of work, it's definitely the traditional. Okay. Because it's so relationship-based. Probably 90% of my business comes through referral and…”
“I really thought about this, you know, and for me, I think I would tell my younger self to listen more. I was a kid who on the report card in school would always say talks too much in class…”
“Okay, you're probably going to laugh. My husband told me that this is crazy. I have a celebrity crush on Jackie Chan…”
“Well, um, two books. One is about building communities of practice by Emily Weber. I think she's a British author and I, I go back to it. I've read it before. It's so simple. It's like 70 pages, but it helps me learn and understand that because our business is structured as a community of practice…”
“I think the biggest thing, just listening over the last half hour is really that thing about getting out of your comfort zone.”
You can get in contact with Kim at:
Email: kims@designgroupintl.com
Cheryl Litvin is a master question asker and problem solver for Mangen-Kloth Insurance in Brookfield, WI.
After graduation from St Norbert College in 1996, she started her cross country living while learning the ropes of OSHA and federal contracting. After 22 years and 6 states, she and her family moved back to Wisconsin to become the 4th generation owner of MKI. She is a proud member of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber of Commerce, eWomen Network and the Brewer’s Association.
“Probably the biggest difference is I work for you. I have your back. If you were to have a claim, you deal directly with someone local here in your area. Me, you know, you have cell phone numbers. You don't have to always go back and go to the 800 and re-explain your story 15,000 times…”
“…and then having to go back and try to find the person to fix all of those problems and you could never talk to the same person, uh, was really, really, really trying…”
“A lot of people think that they, that you can just get insurance from anywhere, which I guess you can. It's not always in particular in my case. I wasn't insured correctly, which made me have to fight as a consumer to fight to get what we were entitled to have. So, it's not a one stop fits all. It's a very unique…”
“So I started getting into these networking groups and what I found with that, I was actually finding women who really wanted to move, do something better, um, and change this community that they were in.”
“I'm not a spotlight kind of person. If I can push that onto you, if I can help you in any way, I know that in my past experiences that it will somehow benefit me down the road. Whether you see it, or you don't see it. So that's serving others. Yeah. Serving others is a huge benefit I think to those that are successful…”
“I think that you have to find your unique niche and I know that's an overused term. Um, yeah, I was in a networking group and it just didn't feel right. Went to a few others and I knew right away that these were the same likeminded people that I was looking for.”
“…I just have to be me, and I have to be transparent. Um, and I found that it's easier on social media to kind of bust through some of the myths that, are either out there about my industry…”
“…I didn't think I needed personal or professional development. Um, and when I started doing that, probably just five to, yeah, probably five years ago, it changed a lot. Changed how I interacted with people, um, how I viewed myself.”
“I would love to meet JJ Watt. Okay. Not because I'm a football fan. Sorry… He grew up and went to the same high school that I did. And so, Pewaukee Wisconsin, super small. Like tiny… But more importantly, he's, he's him…”
“I am currently reading sales differentiation. Of course, the author is like escaping me, but again, it's about being different. Um, and I also am rereading actually relistening to, cause it's not a book, it's an audible, Mel Robbins take action or take control of your life.”
“Do what makes you feel uncomfortable. That's where the growth is, is outside the comfort zone.”
You can get in contact with Cheryl at:
Facebook: Click Here