Spotlight on Past Speakers
The Freelance Forum appreciates the speakers who have shared their time, energy, knowledge and skills with us at past meetings. We showcase these experts here.
2009
January - Gaining Greater Confidence in Freelancing
Break out groups
February - Connect with the Kind of Clients You Want
Hank Leeds, H L Leeds International, Inc.
March - How to Make Your Work More Useful to Your Clients
Robin Sherman
April - Freelancers! Unlock Your Rubber Room
Perry Binder, JD
May - Social Media: You Can Do It!
Mitch Leff, Leff and Associates
June - Simple and Effective Networking Strategies
Margo Geller- Seven to Ten Networking
July - I Don’t Have Time for Time Management
Jonda Beattie- Owner of Time Space Organizing
August - Do the Marketing Mambo
Nancy Gerber- Founder of Steppingstones
September - The Power of Personal Branding
Patty Binnis Farinola- Personal Branding Coach
October - 2009 Portfolio Show at The Solarium
November - Fun with Finances
Michael Williams, CPA; Tom Sherrill, Sherrill and Hutchins Financial Advisory
December - Freelancing in the New Year
Shannon Russo- CEO of Kinetix, LLC
2008
January - Gaining Greater Confidence in Pricing
Break out groups
February - The Thing About Contracts
Jon Lee Andersen- The Andersen Law Firm
March - Connection or Rejection: Bouncing Back When the Client Says, “No.”
Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK
April - Emile Paradis on Referral Institute Marketing
Emile Paradis, Referral Institute
May - What Losing 75 Pounds Taught Me About Growing a Business
Jackie Goldstein, Creative Alchemist
June - Dear Website - What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Bonnie Buckner Reavis, Zenith Design Group; Linda Travis, The Brand Renovator; Stacey Williams, Prominent Placement
July - Implementing the F.A.I.T.H. Model (File, Act, In-progress, Toss, Handoff)
Monica Ricci, Catalyst Organizing
August - Tax Planning for Independent Contractors
Stacey J. Gorowitz, S.J. Gorowitz Accounting and Tax Services
September - Painless Marketing for Writers, Designers, and Photographers
Dr. Dusty Rhoades
October - How Does Your Book Look?
Kevin Rej, Raise Studios; Christine Andrews. at Strottman International, Inc.; Tim Darnell Business to Business Magazine
November - 2008 Portfolio Show at The Solarium
December - Tap into the Power of PowerPoint
Jame Riley, Rileyworks
2007
January - Spend Your Time Chasing Real opportunities
Mark McGraw, Sandler Sales Institute
February - So…What Do You Charge?
Break out groups
March - Branding From the Outside In
Robert Roth, copywriter
April - Acquire the Art of Negotiation
Bill Hickman- President of The Gyst Group
May - Attract Your Ideal Clients
Tricia Molloy- Coach, writer of Divine Wisdom at Work
June - Make Your Earnings Count
Phil Calandra, Pinnacle Financial Services; Bob Schroeder - Stategic Alliance Partners
July - Unleash the Power of Email Marketing
Pam Adams- Digital Diva
August - Staying on Top of Health Insurance Options
Greg Yates; Amanda Fortunato; Heather Nesfeder
September 6- How Do You Say, “Thanks!”?
Linda McCulloch, Design that Works
October - How Does Your Book Shape Up?
Stacey Celata, The Creative Group; Steve Chalk, Synaxis; Q Cramer, Pure Red Creative
November - 2007 Freelance Forum Portfolio Show at The Solarium
December - Netweaving to Build Your Business
Bob Littrell, Netweaving
2006
January - New Year’s Resolution: Prioritize
Representatives from the Small Business Administration; Mr. Valentin-Stone- Veterans Affairs Officer; Dorothy Fletcher- Development Specialist
February - Networking Aerobics: The Freelancer’s Fitness Program for Building Profit
Wendy Kinney, PowerCore
March - Create the Time You need for the Life You Want
Peggy Duncan, Professional Organizer
April - It’s Nice to Share: Small Group Discussions on Critical Business Issues
Break out groups
May - Putting the Free in Freelance: Free Trials, Free Passes, Free Services and Just Plain Free Stuff
Georgia Dzurica
June - Taking the Fear Out of Protecting Your Computer
Kevin Livingston, Tosh Consulting; Les Capouya, Sensible Networks
July - Alliance Marketing for Dummies
Matt Tommey, Kairos Marketing
August - Protecting Your Business
Jon Lee Andersen, The Andersen Law Firm; Leslie White Berggren - attorney; Warren Traver, attorney
September - Blog, Schmlog-Who Needs It?
Toby Bloomberg, Bloomberg Marketing
October - Shape Up Your Portfolio
Lauren Schuler- Edelman Atlanta; Danielle DeHass- Manning, Selvage and Lee; Stephen Brown, Manning, Selvage and Lee
November - Annual Portfolio Show at DeFoors
December - What’s Hot in Digital Communications
Jason Davenport, Going Interactive
2005
January - Synchronize Your Career for the New Year
Natalie Gold, The Highlands Company; Lanie Damon, Synchronicity at Work
February - Tax Help 101-What Freelancers Need to Know About Taxes
Chet Burgess, Treasury Department representative; Ben Bowen,- Bowen Consulting Group, Inc.
March - De-Stress Your Work Life: Take Back Personal Power You Already Own
Marlene Svoboda, Life coach; Tom Haynes- Shambhala Meditation Center
April - Vos Ist DOS?
Kevin Livingston, Tosh Consulting; Les Capouya
May - Anniversary Party
June - Untangle Legal Issues
Jon Lee Andersen- The Andersen Law Firm; Perry Binder- attorney; Debbie Stone- attorney
July - Best Practices for Surviving and Thriving as a Freelancer
Paul Glickstein; Steven Knapp; Jay Montgomery; Charissa Schultz; John Slemp
August - Selling Value Instead of Price: How to Sell What You’re Worth
Renee Walkup- Owner of SalesPEAK
September - Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization
Stacey Williams- Prominent Placement; Todd Michaels- Paint Creek Consulting; Derek Fulford- Medium Blue Search Engine Marketing
October - Freelance Forum Annual members Portfolio Show at SCAD
November - Lose the Stress, Keep the Fun
Paul Johnsonn The World’s Only Professional Troublemaker TM
December - Small Talk: Working with Other Small Businesses
Peter Bowerman; Debra Mercaldo; Bobby Hickman; Jame Riley; Jon Lee Andersen; Tim Shannon
2004
January - Staying Solo, Going Virtual or Taking the Agency Plunge
Melissa Libby' Melissa Libby and Associates; Jamie Turner,-Turner Partnership; Rich Goidel,- rich.goidel.interactive.media
February - Unleash Your Own Energizer Bunny: Jumpstarting Your Creativity in 2004
Shira Miller, Shira Miller Communications
March - Money is a Mindgame: Nine Stategies for Making More
Marietta Edwards, Starmaker Enterprises
April - To Pro Bono or Not to Pro Bono? Working with Non Profits to Boost Your Portfolio
Linda McCulloch; Paul Glickstein; Rich Godfrey
May - Working Smarter Pays Off
Mia Stichel, President of Corporate Order; Liz Jarnagin; Kim Wray
June - Dealing with Difficult Clients and Sticky Situations
Judson Waites, attorney
July - Keeping Your Computer Happy Part II
Steve Heckler; Kevin Livingston
August - 10 Powerful Principles for Taking Giant Leaps with Your Life
Bill Treasurer, Giant Leap Consulting, Inc.
September - Shape Your Portfolio
Nancy Pineda, Hire Profile, Inc.; Cathe Jacobi, Cartoon Network; Laura Goodman, Cobalt Design; David Kelker, Ambrosi Atlanta
October - Annual Portfolio Show at the Forum at DeFoor
November - New Ways for New Times
Peter Bowerman
December - Protecting Your Health and Wealth in 2005: Top Tips and Trends in Wellness, Healthcare Coverage, and Retirement Planning
Edward Bradley, Stuart Financial;Jeffrey Irle, Standard Equity; Curtis Williams, Wellness Center at DeKalb Medical Center
2003
January 2003: Give Your Brand a Hand
Linda W. Travis, MBA
February - Six Degrees of Lead Generation
Sherra Bell and Nancy Bailey-Pineda, Creative Know-Who, LLC
March - Resources for Independent & Small Businesses
Steve Bloom, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
April - Get It Together—and Get Back Your Life!
Peggy Duncan, Duncan Resource Group, Inc.
May - Working Outside the Box
Ray Pelosi, Putting in a Good Word; Linda McCulloch, Design That Works Communications; Debra Dixon, Light of Gold PR, Marketing Communications & Consul Tim Shannon, PR-PICS.com
June - Annual CPA Panel
Neal Bach, CPA; John Hedin, CPA; Laimon W. Godel Jr., CPA
July - Health Insurance for Freelance Professionals
Sharon Gedert, Director of Consumer Affairs State of Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office
August - Covering Your Assets
Jon Lee Andersen, The Anderson Law Firm; Joan Dillon, Joan Dillon Law, LLC; Perry Binder, LLC, JD, Speaking the Law
September How to Keep Your Computer Happy
Steve Heckler, Joan Dillon, Kevin Livingston
October - The Ethics of Freelancing
Andrew I. Cohen, Ph.D
December - Estimating in the Dark - Getting the Job without Losing Your Shirt
Tracy Fenner, Fenner and Hamill; Guy Tucker, Ask Guy Tucker
2002
February - Jump-starting Your Creativity
Laura Biering, CPCC, True Voices, Inc.
March - Speak Up and Win More Business
Joey Asher, President, Chambers & Asher Speechworks
June - Letting Your Customer Sell You
Paul Johnson, Principal, Panache and Systems
July - What You Don't Know Could Hurt You
Panel: Neal Bach, CPA; Laimon Godel, Jr., CPA; and John Hedin, CPA
August - Drive More Traffic to Your Web Site
Stacy Williams, Founder & President, Prominent Placement, Inc.
September - Wear Your Sales Hat More Often
Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, Inc.
October - Discover the Real World of Copyright
Libby Johnson, Law Office of Elizabeth A. Johnson; Robin Wharton, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP; Bill Westwood, Westwood Medical Communications; Charles Boyter, Atlanta Medical-Legal Art
December - Acquire the Art of Negotiation
Bill Hickman, President, The Gyst Group
2001
January - Marketing Your Small Business in the New Millenium
Morgan Shorey- VP of The List, Inc.
February - Preventing Slow Pay, No Pay and How to Collect when the Worse Happens
Lewis Feingold- Attorney
March - Keeping Your Workplace Healthy and Strong
Bill Rumpp- Cybernet Solutions; Kevin Livingston
April - Business Etiquette: Minding Your P’s and Q’s for Successful Freelancing
Carolyn Luesing, Carolyn Luesing and Associates
May - How to Keep More of What You Earn: Tax Planning and Financial Advice
Neal Bach CPA, Bach, James, Mansour and Company
June - From Media Zero to Media Hero: How to Get the PR You Deserve
Marilynn Mobley- The Acorn Consulting Group, Inc.
July - Coaching: It’s Not Just for Athletes Anymore
Nancy Gerber, President of Steppingstones
August - Avoiding Legal Gotchas When Marketing Online
Libby Johnson, attorney
September - Members-Only Show and Tell
October - Communication Face-to-Face: How to Become an Effective Communicator
Dr. Carol Barnum, Southern Polytechnic University
November - Learning from the Mistakes of Others
Open forum: Keith Bishop facilitator
December - Marketing in a Down Economy: Creating Your Opportunities
Peter Bowerman- author of The Well Fed Writer
2000
July - Designing, Building and Maintaining Your Own Website
Ed King, Wowappeal; Bonnie Reavis, Zenith Design Group
August - Growing Your Home Office
Ruth Forristel, Made You Look; John Lasseau
September - Choosing the Best High Speed Connection for Home-based Business
Craig Harkins, Earthlink; Matt Bell, AT&T Broadband
October - Differentiating Yourself in a Competitive Creative Services Market
Bob Pitt, Ogilvy And Mather; Sarah Chane Abend, Coverdell and Company; Michael Douglas, Abovo Marketing Group
November - Break Bread- Learn What’s on the Menu for 2001
Potluck dinner/ informal forum
December - Moving From Print to Electronic Media- Positioning Yourself for the Future
Tim Hussey, Agnes Scott’s Director of Interactive Communications; Jim Divitale, Digital photographer; Evelina Shmukler, Digital writer; Bonnie Reavis, Zenith Design Group
