Ms. LaVonne Walker has been handling relocations in the metro Atlanta area for more than five years. Tune in to hear important things you should consider BEFORE you relocate. Ms. Walker is an EXPERT in helping people take the stress out of moving. She is an Accredited Buyers’ Representative, a member of the Prudential Honor Society and has been featured in Black Enterprise Magazine.

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Executive Director and founder of The Treasure Box School of Etiquette, Ms. Rhonda Hudson is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a Certified Corporate Trainer. She is Atlanta’s own 21st Century “Miss Manners.” Tune in to hear just how important etiquette really is and how it is critical to the success of your business.

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Lisa Bilal, “America’s Business Coach” is a graduate of Rutgers University. A successful coach and consultant to entrepreneurs and business professionals, her Atlanta-based company focuses on high performance, leadership and emotional intelligence. Get ready to be inspired as Lisa shares the tools you’ll need to become a high performer!

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In the context of people doing business, the true meaning of the word networking, is to know and be known without an agenda. There are some lines you don’t want to cross or you will not achieve the result you may have anticipated. The idea is that you build a relationship. You allow yourself to share your thoughts and feelings, although you want to keep those on the positive side. You make an effort to know the other person and what their interests are.

Your attitude should never be one that elicits a feeling that you are being patronizing. You should be genuine in your casual interest. Don’t rush or push it. Nothing is more obnoxious than someone who has no boundaries or is presumptuous. Always be polite and respectful. Be open, but don’t let it all hang out. This might be your new best friend, but right now you are a stranger.

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Born in Columbus, Georgia, dentist extraordinaire, Dr. Aldous Wilson spent most of his adolescent years in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He is the son of Dr. Thomas Wilson and Marilyn Wilson. He has two siblings, Dr. Natasha Wilson, a chiropractor and Byron Wilson, a graduate of Morris Brown College.

Dr. Aldous Wilson graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson in 1987. He was 4-times MVP in tennis and ranked nationally in Boys 18. He later attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1987-1992 and earned a 4-year tennis scholarship.

In 1996, he graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Wilson then completed a one-year Oral Surgery and a one-year General Dentistry Residency Program at Columbia University in New York.

In addition to cleanings, crowns and bridges, implants, root canals, veneers, bonding, Zoom Whitening, tooth colored fillings, invisible braces, dentures and partials; Dr. Wilson provides nearly painless tooth extractions.

His extracurricular activities include being a member of Omega Psi Phi; Delta Chapter 1992, Georgia Dental Association, American Dental Association, and fellow biker on weekends. He is also active in martial arts, which include Muay Thai, boxing and submission wresting.

He is married to Dr. Danielle Wilson, developer of Kissable, the new health and taste sensation in toothpaste. His office is located at 8737 Dunwoody Place, Suite #3. You can reach Dr. Aldous Wilson’s office at 678-206-0199.

Dr. Sharon Harley was inspired to become a physician at 15 years of age while volunteering at the University Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. After she moved to New York in 1973, she received her bachelor’s degree from Hunter College, City University of New York in Manhattan, and went on to receive her medical degree from Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York in Brooklyn.

She completed her Internship as well as her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training at Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York, and Kings County Hospital, which is one of the largest high-risk facilities in the United States.

Upon completing her training in New York, Dr. Harley moved to Atlanta. Her special interests are Laparoscopic Surgery, High-Risk Obstetrics, Hysterectomy Alternatives, Perimenopausal Health and Natural Remedies.

For over 20 years, Dr. Harley has enthusiastically served the metro Atlanta community. She has now added an Ageless Med Spa to her practice as a means to improving women’s healthcare and focusing on aesthetics.

Her Ageless Med Spa, LLC specializes in Anti-Aging Medicine, SottoPelle Therapy, LipoContour by Vaser, Radiesse, Botox, weight loss, skin rejuvenation, vein therapy, laser hair removal, chemical peels, Soy Wild Yam Sotto Pellets, natural detoxification, nutritional supplements and much more!

People You Need to Know proudly salutes Dr. Sharon Harley as our Person of the Week. You can contact the Ageless Med Spa, LLC by calling 678-500-1066 or by email.

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Though we’re now in the age of emails, blogs, video conferencing, podcasts, etc., there are still throngs of people who would prefer to get back to the basics of face-to-face marketing. The whole spirit of this kind of event is inspirational.

A few benefits of face-to-face marketing are:

• Meeting people who can use your product or service and either become clients or refer you to others
• It gives your business more credibility
• You become more than a voice, business card or flyer in the mail
• You have a chance to really show just how professional your product is to those who are not familiar with it
• You can distribute new and updated information via one-pagers, brochures, product samples, etc.
• You can collect business cards from potential clients to contact after the event
• You can run into old friends you haven’t seen in years because you’ve been too busy working
• And if you’re lucky, you can get your product photographed and placed in the local newspaper for even greater exposure! (Photograph to the right is from newspaper exposure.)

I hope you consider doing some face-to-face marketing. The experience can be priceless and the opportunities are endless.

In 1836, La Presse, a French newspaper was the first to include paid advertising in its pages. Since that time, print advertising has virtually exploded. Everywhere you see print, you’re being exposed to advertising. On the plane, train, in your doctor’s office, beauty salon etc., it’s there trying to get your attention.

Commercials are great and so is the Internet; however, there’s something comforting about holding a magazine in your hands, slowing flipping through each page at your own sweet pace, taking mental photographs of each ad, visually drinking in the beauty of it all.

Frankly, it can be quite soothing and mesmerizing to see a creatively designed ad with colorful, and beautiful pictures, which jump off the page—softly selling products and services almost effortlessly. Print advertising seems to be one of those things which will never go out of style when it comes to creating brand loyalty and reinforcing brand image.

If you’re thinking about putting together an ad for your business, remember words can be just as powerful as pictures when it comes to making your ad sizzle and adding just the right punch. Richard Bayan wrote Words That Sell, an amazing book which can help you move in the direction of adding word power to your print ads.

Think of words that stop you in your tracks when you look at someone else’s ad in your field, and incorporate similar ones in yours. Since you’re introducing yourself to complete strangers, most often for the first time, think about the impression you’d like to make and try to connect with them on a familiar and emotional level.

Yes, I believe print advertising is here to stay and ads like the one that promotes Dr. Danielle Wilson’s Kissable Toothpaste are always in style.

At Natural First Chiropractic Clinic, patients are treated for aches and/or pains (injuries) related to: sports, automobile accidents, slip-&-falls, over-work, etc. Dr. Little also specializes in adjusting extremity joints. He is a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner (CCEP). Extremity joints include: hips, ankles, feet (orthotics), wrists (carpal tunnel), elbows, knees, and shoulders.

Dr. Little does very thorough exams. X-rays are taken and read on-site. He also works with a Lab in the fabrication of customized orthotics for foot related problems (ie. flat feet) as directly related to lower back, knee, and/or ankle problems.

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You’ll always find a multitude of cheerleaders who shout “Think Outside the Box!” but have you noticed how the crowd quickly dwindles once you actually take steps to put new ideas to work? They will gently or sometimes firmly ask, “Why can’t you be like everyone else?”

I struggle every day to stay outside the box while other people struggle just as hard to keep me locked inside. I’ve never been one to follow the herd. People who are content with being locked inside a box seldom make great discoveries.

Brave souls are used to taking a leap of faith into the unknown. They’re comfortable with walking down the road less traveled to make the world a better place via new inventions and new ways of doing things.

So…to my fellow “outside the box thinkers,” keep doing what you’re doing. There’s nothing inside that box but the same colorless, tasteless, dull, dim, lifeless atmosphere.

Inside the box thinking is too limited and the world is much too big to think small. I’d rather live one minute of freedom in the realm of possibilities than a lifetime inside of a box.

Jacqueline Benjamin-Thomas

Lions have gotten some great PR over the years; so much so, most people believe they are the King of Jungle. The truth of the matter is, they mostly inhabit grassy plains called savannas.

But what I’d like to focus on is the fact that they live the largest part of their lives in territorial groups called prides or in our business language, a network. They are the only permanently social, or group-living cat; all other cats are solitary…which brings me to my next point.

Our People You Need to Know Grass Roots Publicity Tour has revealed to us that the one-man band marketing approach is down to its last song. We realize most people wouldn’t see the fault in this one-man band approach because of our individualistic culture. Still…this marketing technique is not as effective in today’s “less trusting” business climate.

We promote an array of businesses in our publication and our clients don’t have to be at the Business Expo because we’re representing them. We’re all there as a team. The one-man band’s one-pager or business card gets lost in the shuffle compared to a first-class publication, which has more power than a solitary business card or one-pager.

My advice would be to find an organization that’s committed to promoting your business in a variety of ways, but above all else, make sure they promote teamwork via a publication, brochure, newsletter, networking event, etc. In the end, the “orchestra” has a better chance of succeeding than the one-man band.

No one is going to know your business exists unless YOU tell them about it, render the type of service and quality to get others talking about it or pay someone else to get the word out for you. And the quickest way to do that is to invest - yes, invest - in advertising. But where should you advertise and how much of it should you do? How much should you spend? How often should you advertise? What form should it take?

Lots of questions. Let’s look at some of the answers. And please note: Every advertising plan is unique, so these answers are just possibilities - suggestions - and should not be construed as YOUR plan. You will need to investigate the possibilities for your product and your target market and come up with your own plan before you begin.

Where you advertise depends on your type of business and the area you want to cover. You might choose local magazines and newspapers, or publications that are distributed free at local supermarkets and other retail and private outlets. You might also consider radio spots or press releases to augment print ads.

However, if your business or idea could be of interest to people nationwide, you might consider purchasing ads in vehicles that reach a wider market; sending press releases to newspapers and other publications throughout the US; or developing an Internet website or blog to reach clients who are hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away.

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