On the latest edition of DeKalb Business Today, we look inside the worlds of corporate coaching, health insurance and tech help for seniors. Jeff Lovejoy tells us how ActionCOACH is helping businesses small and large to find new paths to success. Eric W. Smith talks about how the Affordable Care Act has changed and grown his business. Jane Ratliff explains how her 85 year old mother inspired a non-profit that’s now helping seniors all over Metro Atlanta.
Jeff Lovejoy/ActionCOACH
Jeff joined ActionCOACH out of a desire to help owners grow their businesses in pursuit of their dreams and to provide a positive contribution to their community. His goal is to take the seemingly complicated responsibility of running a successful business and make it simple and fun. He helps owners de-mystify sales, marketing, planning, profit growth, leadership, business systems, time management, team building and financial management responsibilities. In working with Jeff, business owners are able to increase the success of their business which increases profits while gaining more “free time”. Examples of the benefits Jeff has provided local business owners include:
Doubled annual revenue for two customers within first year of working with them
Dramatically improved efficiency of a nonprofit’s Executive. Dir.
Guided business owners of several companies create structure in their business
Guided owners of a 20 year old business in strategies that results in a more empowered workforce
Helped business partners gain strategic focus to double revenue and profits in three years
Worked with owner of engineering business to design his sales process
Prior to joining ActionCOACH Jeff had built a successful 26 year career in sales, sales management, sales support leadership, marketing and project management. As a Senior Vice President at Bank of America and Wachovia he led initiatives that achieved dramatic results.
Increased sales teams’ annual results by over 27%, on average, through training and simplifying the sales process
Played key role in driving division’s sales teams towards consultative selling
Developed a team that improved the quality of over 900 proposals
Led initiative to raise the quality of marketing communications
Received a national award for best practices in sales effectiveness in financial services.
Eric W. Smith/Managing Director, The EWS Financial Group
Having been involved in an eclectic array of business transactions across the country, Eric W. Smith brings 25 years of experience in the insurance and financial marketplace.
As the Managing Director of The EWS Financial Group, Eric W. Smith has had exposure to the most intense of marketing, sales and financial environments in some of the most competitive markets in the United States. Having consulted on several large projects, to include It’s Cool To Be Smart – Saving Our Daughters, Natural Solutions International – A Self Help Healthcare Club, the Atlanta premier of the movie PANTHER, and the fostering of international trade relations with Haiti and other Caribbean nations, Mr. Smith gained the integrity and respect from many of the firms flourishing in the Atlanta business community.
Mr. Smith brings with him the credentials of having worked with groups including, The Atlanta Empowerment Zone Corporation, Workplace Learning Solutions LLC, Staffing Innovations, Inc., The National Black Women’s Health Project, MHR International, Inc. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), The National Conference of Black Mayors, Software Technology Associates, Inc., and several other independent consulting operations.
The New Beginnings Network is an exciting blend of varied financial solutions for almost every personal or corporate interest. As affiliate consultant for the network, Smith offers access to many of the opportunities that serve to meet the needs of clients that are in search of protecting assets, building wealth, philanthropic giving, social change, travel/leisure and creating additional income streams and profit centers.
In 2008, Smith developed “Your Life, Your Legacy, Your Masterpiece” for our country’s Seniors. This entertaining, yet educational program is best described by the Office of Senior Affairs for Dekalb County, Georgia’s Human Development Department as providing a thought provoking “road map for any Senior that wants to have the final say on how they want to be remembered.”
Additionally, his very popular “Hey Dad! Will Your Dreams For Your ‘Little Girl’ Come True If You Die?” provides insurance solutions so that every ‘Daddy’s Girl” can live the life their father dreamed.
In closing, Mr. Smith’s exposure to such a diverse marketplace has afforded him the opportunity to sit on various panels discussing financial strategies, consult with new and established artists about marketing and contract negotiation and write for various publications about the virtues of natural medicine and alternative investments. This wide reaching background serves as a catalyst for innovative thinking and his ability to truly recognize and be a part of “the next big thing.”
Jane Ratliff/Executive Director, Bluehair Technology Group
Bluehair Technology Group (BHT) educates and guides seniors in the use of technology and social media, increasing their ability to stay connected to their family, friends, and the world. Through small hands on workshops, we work to build confidence and remove the confusion and frustration that seniors face surrounding technology.
BHT was founded in 2012 by Jane Ratliff after teaching her mother, then 85, how to use an iPad over the course of 3 months. Mrs. Ratliff realized the need for senior adults to have personal training about technology and the tools available to help them connect with their families and friends. BHT began teaching workshops to seniors living in the Metro-Atlanta, including Gwinnett County, with only volunteer instructors and 30 seniors. Since 2012, BHT brought on 5 paid instructors, had 300 volunteers from teenagers to retirees, hosted a 1,000 workshops at 28 different venues, and reached almost 2,000 seniors.
