A pandemic, racial justice, weather events, an election: it’s no secret business owners have been hit with unprecedented craziness this year. As entrepreneurs, we’ve had to become experts at pivoting. Heidi will share 3 real-life examples of recent shifts she’s made in her business, as well as some tips and tricks she uses to weather the PTSD of being a business owner. Communicator. Brand Builder. Trainer. Strategic Planner. Organizer. Customer Service  Advocate. Team Builder. UX defender. Writer. Mentor. Coffee Addict. Overall: gettin’ stuff done and makin’ it happen.  After 27 years in the retail industry, Heidi took on a new challenge. From corporate life to entrepreneurship. From fashion retail to the employee benefits industry. At 15 years old, Heidi started at JCPenney where she went from a sales floor associate to Divisional Vice President at the corporate office & led the largest brand launch in JCPenney history.   In her current role as a co-founder and COO, she launched freshbenies (as in, a fresh approach to benefits) to give employers and their employees practical tools to control their healthcare dime, time, and peace of mind.   freshbenies has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America four

Communication and effective presentation skills are of utmost importance to our success. Brian Williams uses his experience from being Head of Global Business Strategy at Ericsson Silicon Valley, and from reaching the World Semi-Finals in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking to share his insights and knowledge. On August 13th, he will be speaking about The Art & Science of Advanced Communication & Business Presentations. We met with Brian to find out a bit more about him and here are his answers to our short interview: Tell us something that not a lot of people know about you On my 40th birthday, I planned a day where I would run a half marathon (13.1 miles), parachute out of a plane, and preach a sermon…all on the same day. The day after, I planned that for the rest of my life, I would never do something that crazy again! :- ) What have you seen is the most common mistake(s) entrepreneurs make when delivering presentations They usually have no structure or system to create the presentation so it lacks an intelligent design that will produce the 3 B’s. They are experts at their craft and that’s clear, but their message can be

Robin Postman Benson For the last 15 years, Robin Postman Benson has worked at all levels of the western industry, from customer service, retail sales, product development, marketing, advertising, design, and manufacturing to CEO. She has helped lead several companies through growth and success, even in a slow economy, and is now working as an advisory CEO consultant for small business, mostly within this industry.

Beth Ann Jones Beth is a seasoned Training and Development executive with 30 years of experience in progressively more responsible leadership positions. She is currently the CEO of Leading Right, a leadership development and team building company providing training for all levels of managers, across industries, and for all sizes of organizations. Prior to founding Leading Right, Beth was the Vice President, Training and Communications for Safeguard Business Systems, a franchise organization. With Safeguard for 9 years, she also held the prior position of Vice President, Human Resources. She was also Vice President, Human Resources for Mosaic Sales Solutions, Sr. Director, Human Resources for Things Remembered, and Director, Training and Development for Famous Footwear.

Patrick Dougher Patrick is the Host of the TV show, “The Business Spotlight”, where he interviews business “celebrities” in the North Texas area at his studio. In the course of his interviews he uncovers their business successes and how they made their claim to fame. Even if you are not sure your story is interesting, Patrick loves to help create an interesting one for your business. Patrick has over 20 years in professional selling experience, 10 years directing a self-improvement seminar called “The Road Adventure”, a year with Zig Ziglar as one of his DFW presenters, 2 years as Director for Dan Kennedy’s DFW Insider Circle Groups and formed/ran several Mastermind groups. His passion is helping others reach their potential. Zig Ziglar always says “You can have anything you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

Tanis Cornell Tanis Cornell currently owns the Dallas market for EWF International which offers mentoring, coaching and leadership training for women executives and business owners through Peer Advisory Groups and educational events. Tanis has a broad business background in senior leadership roles in the technology industry where she served as Vice President for wholesale telecommunications companies WilTel and Level 3 Communications, was an equity partner with successful startup software company PhaseWare, and led the global relationship for one of NetApp’s largest strategic service provider partners. A frequent public speaker on sales, marketing and women’s issues, Tanis has been featured in Sales & Marketing Management magazine.