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Ava Seave: The Curse Of The Mogul - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Consultant, and principal and founder of Quantum Media Associates, and co-author of the insightful and eye opening book The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Ava Seave, describes how the biggest media companies in America failing their customers and their shareholders through self-deception and grandiose self importance. She describes how the media companies are failing as businesses through misguided business goals and through belief in many myths including their content being king. She shares how the media can overcome these challenges, even in an internet world, and become successful and responsive companies.

Ava Seave is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, July 1, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Consultant, and principal and founder of Quantum Media Associates, and co-author of the insightful and eye opening book The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Ava Seave, describes how the biggest media companies in America failing their customers and their shareholders through self-deception and grandiose self importance. You will learn:

* Who are the media moguls and why they are cursed

* How media companies are failing their shareholders and customers

* How to spot the myths used by the media moguls to defend their actions

* What the media moguls must do to become more profitable companies

Ava Seave (photo left) is a Principal of Quantum Media Associates, a leading New York City based consulting firm focused on marketing and strategic planning for media and entertainment companies. As a Quantum Media principal, she has led numerous consulting engagements and has provided senior-level management consulting services to many companies in a broad range of assignments.

Before founding Quantum Media Associates with four others in 1998, she was a general manager at three leading media companies: Scholastic Inc., where she directed the Trumpet Club and Scholastic Specials business units, at The Village Voice where she was responsible for all non-advertising revenue and administrative management including circulation, shipping and distribution, list sales, print and on-line syndication and consumer advertising and public relations and at TVSM, the country's largest cable listings magazine.

Ava started her career at Dell Publishing (a division of Doubleday) and as an editor at two horticulture magazines. Professor Seave's teaching experience beyond CBS includes stints at the New York University School of Professional and Continuing Education in the Masters of Publishing and E-management programs. She has been a lecturer at numerous Folio Conferences, FMA conferences and for the Magazine Publishers' Association Executive Education programs.

Professor Seave is on the Board of Davler Media. She is also on the non-profit boards of the Pembroke Center at Brown University and the Archaeology Institute of America, serving as head of the Archaeology Magazine committee.

My book review of The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies by Jonathan A. Knee, Bruce C. Greenwald, and Ava Seave.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with consultant, and principal and founder of Quantum Media Associates, and co-author of the insightful and eye opening book The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Ava Seave, as she describes how the biggest media companies in America failing their customers and their shareholders through self-deception and grandiose self importance. She describes how the media companies are failing as businesses through misguided business goals and through belief in many myths including their content being king. She shares how the media can overcome these challenges, even in an internet world, and become successful and responsive companies on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies, Ava Seave, mainstream media industry, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Melinda Emerson: Become Your Own Boss In 12 Months - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Entrepreneur, professional speaker, social media strategist, small business coach, and author of the very practical and results oriented book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works, Melinda F. Emerson, shares her 12 month step by step plan for making a successful transition from employee to entrepreneur. She describes the critical importance of planning not only the business but also one's personal goals. Melinda provides a series of activities, to be completed each month, prior to opening and operating the new start-up business. She also presents some practical tips for establishing a successful business and for maintaining it over the long term. Learn as well how to think like an entrepreneur instead of an employee.

Melinda F. Emerson is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, June 29, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Entrepreneur, professional speaker, social media strategist, small business coach, and author of the very practical and results oriented book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works, Melinda F. Emerson, shares her 12 month step by step plan for making a successful transition from employee to entrepreneur. You will learn:

* How to think like an entrepreneur rather than an employee

* Why a 12 month preparation process will create a more successful business

* Why personal and business planning are critical for success

* How to bridge the business knowledge gap that derails many new entrepreneurs

Melinda Emerson (photo left) is known as “SmallBizLady,” and is one of America’s leading small business experts. She is a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, social media strategist and small business coach.

Melinda has lectured on small business at The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Rosemont College and for clients including: IKEA, Verizon, GlaxoSmithKline, National Association of Women Business Owners, PA Governor’s Conference for Women, International Association of Business Communicators, the Small Business Administration, and the Center for Women’s Business Research. Her areas of expertise include small business start-up, recession-proof marketing and social media strategy.

Melinda Emerson began her professional career in television as a producer. Within five years, inspired by Oprah Winfrey’s HARPO Productions, Inc., she left television to pursue her entrepreneurial dream to create an award-winning production company. Melinda is a dedicated wife, mother and woman business owner who believes that faith is one of the most important ingredients in a successful business.

Melinda hosts #Smallbizchat a weekly talk show on Twitter. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.

Melinda Emerson has developed a small business TV news segment and published several articles and special reports including 44 Things To Do Before You Go Into Business. She has also recorded an audio CD, 10 Things You Must Never Forget in Business. Melinda Emerson’s first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works was published March 9, 2010 from Adams Media.

Melinda has been featured on NBC Nightly News and in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report and Black Enterprise. She is a graduate of Virginia Tech.

Melinda Emerson has also won numerous awards including Top 50 Women in Business in Pennsylvania, Top 30 Leaders of the future by Ebony Magazine, and the National Association of Women Business Owners’ Woman of Distinction Award.

My book review of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works by Melinda Emerson.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with entrepreneur, professional speaker, social media strategist, small business coach, and author of the very practical and results oriented book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works, Melinda F. Emerson, as she shares her 12 month step by step plan for making a successful transition from employee to entrepreneur. She describes the critical importance of planning not only the business but also one's personal goals. Melinda provides a series of activities, to be completed each month, prior to opening and operating the new start-up business. She also presents some practical tips for establishing a successful business and for maintaining it over the long term. Learn as well how to think like an entrepreneur instead of an employee on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works, Melinda Emerson, personal and entrepreneurial success, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training by Jonathan Bernstein - Book review

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training

By: Jonathan Bernstein

Published: March 17, 2007
Format: Paperback, 90 pages
ISBN-10: 1450582206
ISBN-13: 978-1450582209
Publisher: CreateSpace

"Even if you have given many 'good news' interviews in the past, you're almost certain to say or do things you'll regret if you have not been media trained when in a 'high pressure' media interview situation", writes President of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., Jonathan Bernstein, in his practical and eye opening book Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training. The author describes how media training will help develop key messages, to improve the chance for balanced coverage, enhancing transferable media relations skills, and assisting in identifying effective media spokespeople.

Jonathan Bernstein recognizes that media training is not a guarantee of favorable media coverage, or that the book is even of an effective substitute for full scale media training. What the book does accomplish very well is establishing the critical importance of understanding the media and the importance of presenting a strong and honest message to journalists. Along with media training not being a magic formula, Jonathan Bernstein emphasizes that media spokespeople must practice their media skills intensively, to ensure their optimal effectiveness. Whether the media is the traditional mainstream or the alternative media of blogs, social media, and podcast, a business person must have training and continual practice in responding to journalists' questions.

Jonathan Bernstein (photo left) points out that training and practice not only includes the wording of the statements, but also the non-verbal signals of voice tone and body language.The author devotes the majority of the book to providing practical media training advice, including the all important areas of honesty and ethics. Because the book focuses on media relations effectiveness during a crisis, when the chances of escalating the problem or creating an even larger problem, Jonathan Bernstein shares his three C's of crisis communication:

* Compassionate
* Competent
* Confident

For me, the power of the book is how Jonathan Bernstein demonstrates the crucial importance of media training for the representatives of any organization. In a crisis situation, where tempers are short and events may be changing by the moment, having well trained spokespeople, who show a compassionate, competent, and confident attitude are more likely to be believed and trusted. In the area of media training, the author describes how journalists work, to show organizational spokespeople the view from the other side of the microphone. At the same time, Jonathan Bernstein teaches business people the techniques that can optimize their media interviews most effectively. The author also cautions spokespeople that there are differences between media, between different reporters, and the critical importance of being truthful and ethical at all times.

I highly recommend the very useful guide Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training by Jonathan Bernstein, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the importance of media training, and looking for sound, real world advice for effective media interviews on behalf of an organization during a crisis situation. The author provides step by step techniques that can and should be practiced on an ongoing basis to learn, develop, and enhance media relations skills.

Read the entertaining and very readable book Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training by Jonathan Bernstein, and discover the transformational power of effective media relations for any business. The author shares usable techniques and methods of practice to ensure that your organization has the optimal interviewing skills for facing any crisis situation.

Tags: Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training, Jonathan Bernstein, media relations, business book reviews.

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months by Melinda Emerson - Book review

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months

A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works

By: Melinda F. Emerson

Published: March 18, 2010
Format: Paperback, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1605501115
ISBN-13: 978-1605501116
Publisher: Adams Media

"To achieve success as a small business owner, you need to be flexible, pay close attention to your market, and figure out what you do not know about running a business", writes entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda Emerson in her very practical and results oriented book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works. the author describes a plan for preparing and launching a business in twelve months, combined with a personal plan for becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Melinda Emerson understands the critical importance of planning to achieve success in an entrepreneurial venture. She also recognizes that not only does a business require planning from the idea stage to the grand opening, but that the prospective entrepreneur must learn some crucial life lessons about what it means to be an entrepreneur. Not only does a potential business owner require a Plan A, but also a Plan B, Plan C, and even more, to ensure that unexpected events don't derail the entire enterprise. Because there is so much business and personal planning required to start the business off on a successful path, Melinda Emerson provides a twelve month preparation process. This one year time frame is designed to ease the steep learning curve, and to establish an entrepreneurial mindset in the new business owner. Since potential entrepreneurs often don't even know what they don't know, each month, another piece of the knowledge gap is added toward bridging that divide.

Melinda Emerson (photo left) covers the essential knowledge areas that a new entrepreneur must learn in order to start a successful company. The author shares how a potential entrepreneur must establish his or her personal long term goals, and how these goals must be in harmony with the type of business start-up and its commitment level. At the same time, Melinda Emerson also stresses that a budding business owner must understand his or her own personal strengths and weaknesses, as these factors can help or impede business success. The book also examines the critical importance of understanding personal as well as business finances. The author helps the new business owner set a time line for developing the needed business skills, and concentrating on activities for achieving a successful transition from employee to entrepreneur. The book contains powerful advice for setting business goals and for anticipating and overcoming obstacles.

For me, the power of the book is how Melinda Emerson shares her own real world entrepreneurial experience with the reader in a logical and sequential way. The author stays true to her vision for the book of creating a twelve month process for making the personal transition from employee to entrepreneur, and from the idea stage to opening a new business. Because Melinda Emerson brings her business start up knowledge to the book, she describes openly the pitfalls awaiting the unprepared, and the personal sacrifices necessary for success.

These vital lessons provide an often needed antidote to the over enthusiastic, but very unprepared would be entrepreneur. As a result, the book's main premise is that planning of both one's personal life, and the imperative of a business plan, form the backbone of the book. The twelve month process for preparation to become a business owner follows the central theme of planning for both the entrepreneur, and for the business.

I highly recommend the must read and essential business start-up guide Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works by Melinda Emerson, to anyone seeking a no nonsense step by step primer for starting a new business the right way. The author describes the process of becoming an entrepreneur, both in outlook and in business knowledge so well, that any would be business owner can utilize this book to make the transition from employee to business person.

Read the passionate and insightful book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works by Melinda Emerson, and make the move from cubicle to business ownership. This book is your one stop road map to personal and entrepreneurial success.

Tags: Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works, Melinda Emerson, personal and entrepreneurial success, business book reviews.

Mastering The VC Game by Jeffrey Bussgang - Book review

Mastering the VC Game

A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms

By: Jeffrey Bussgang

Published: April 29, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN 9781591843252
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin

"VCs acting in concert with entrepreneurs function as an essential and powerful engine of the U.S. economy", writes successful serial entrepreneur and general partner at early stage venture capital firm Flybridge Capital Partners, Jeffrey Bussgang in his very informative and insider information packed book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms. The author shares vital insights into the venture capital industry, and demystifies the VC process, while describing how the people involved in the VC world reach their decision.

Jeffrey Bussgang understands the venture capital industry from both sides of the table. He shares his experiences as an entrepreneur seeking funding, and his knowledge of the industry as an innovative member of the venture capital community. As a result of his insider status, the author recognizes that simply finding any venture capitalist is not enough. What an entrepreneur must do, according to the author, is find the right VC who is the right fit for both the entrepreneur and the start-up business. Jeffrey Bussgang admits that as a young entrepreneur, he both feared and revered the venture capital industry and the decision makers who held the keys to capital necessary for a new company. Through his years of experience, the author learned how people in the VC world think and reach their funding decisions.

Jeffrey Bussgang (photo left) takes the reader through the entire process of reaching a funding agreement with a venture capital firm. The author guides the prospective entrepreneur along each of the critical steps in the journey. From "the pitch" and negotiating the deal, to building the company and facilitating "the exit", Jeffrey Bussgang shares essential information that entrepreneurs need to know. The author also shares his thoughts about the future of the venture capital industry, and its explosive growth on an international scale. It is clear that the author has a strong affinity for the venture capital industry. The book describes the critical role of the VC firm in providing the initial capital that has built, and continues to nurture, some of the most recognizable and successful companies.

For me, the power of the book is how Jeffrey Bussgang takes the reader into the often misunderstood world of venture capitalism. The author pulls back the curtains of mystery that surround the VC funding process, and provides a practical, step by step guide to achieving a successful funding agreement with a venture capitalist. Along with the information about navigating the entire VC voyage from the initial idea to exit strategy, the author includes interviews and profiles of business people who have achieved success with venture capital.

The stories of start-ups becoming global leaders are both inspirational and informative, as they provide crucial insights into how entrepreneurs think, along with the thought process of the VC. At the same time, Jeffrey Bussgang points out that the vast majority of entrepreneurs don't take the venture capital road. This vital insight emphasizes that venture capital is not the only source of money, and may not even be the best course of action for an aspiring entrepreneur.

I highly recommend the essential and must read guide book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms by Jeffrey Bussgang, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how the venture capital process operates, and how to achieve success in finding the right VC. The book is a first rate introduction to the complex and relatively unknown world of venture capitalists and the people who comprise this vital industry.

Read the practical and entertaining book Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms by Jeffrey Bussgang, and discover how to level the playing field when approaching and negotiating with venture capitalists. Understanding that there is a right and a wrong way to navigate the process is critical. With this book, the quest of finding the right venture capitalist for a start-up venture is much more likely to reach a successful conclusion.

Tags: Mastering the VC Game: A Venture Capital Insider Reveals How to Get from Start-up to IPO on Your Terms, Jeffrey Bussgang, venture capital funding, business book reviews.