Grace Smith/Epic First Dance
Wow your guests with your first dance as a couple! Dance is an art; when you are a dancer, there comes a point at which you don’t just hear the music, but the dance behind it. Epic First Dance‘s goal is to help people find that point. Your first dance is a statement.
The first dance is a beautiful opportunity for you and your fiancée to make that statement memorable, unforgettable and . . . Epic!
To be successful in your solo or small firm professional services practice, there are a few “psychological dance steps” you must absorb. The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
John Ray: [00:00:00] Hello. I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. To successfully build your professional services practice, you must learn a few psychological dance steps- I guess I would call them – with yourself.
John Ray: [00:00:15] You must understand the value of your intervention to the client. You must understand that it’s not about what I’m worth. The IT is the client’s perceived value of the outcomes you create for them.
John Ray: [00:00:32] You must not allow this realization to affect your confidence in yourself or the services you provide. Speaking of confidence, you must be told you’re too expensive on enough proposals to know your pricing is close to where it should be. You can’t be so needy for affirmation that you allow objections to cause you to discount to win business, and that move will fail anyway.
John Ray: [00:01:05] You must be bold enough to walk away from clients who you know are a bad fit for your practice, not just for you, but for them. You must be humble enough to acknowledge that you’re not the best provider for all clients. You must be grateful for the confidence clients place in you. Humble enough to recognize that you must always look for ways to deliver value, whether that benefits you or not.
John Ray: [00:01:40] You must realize that clients change, and you may not be the best fit for them indefinitely. And you must realize, of course, that you change as well.
John Ray: [00:01:51] And with all of this, you must give yourself a little grace and realize that you’ll never get it all exactly right. I know that’s true for me.
John Ray: [00:02:04] I’m John Ray on The Price and Value Journey. If you’d like to find our episode archive, go to pricevaluejourney.com. If you’d like to connect with me directly, email me at John@johnray.co. Thank you for joining me.
The title of this show describes the journey all professional services providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire, and trying to do all that at pricing which reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line as well as the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and can be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John a Studio Owner, Producer, and Show Host with Business RadioX®, and works with business owners who want to do their own podcast. As a veteran B2B services provider, John’s special sauce is coaching B2B professionals to use a podcast to build relationships in a non-salesy way which translate into revenue.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Nashville Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,100 podcast episodes.
Amy Bray/Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre was founded in 1977 by Lynn Snipes, becoming the first performing non-profit organization in Gwinnett County. The original mission continues: to provide local students with the training and performing experience necessary for a professional dance career while serving the community with entertainment, outreach, and education.
Following Ms. Snipes, Lisa Sheppard Robson took over as Artistic Director and provided 15 years of nurturing leadership. Under Ms. Robson’s tenure, GBT produced many dancers who became notable professional dancers around the world, including Princess Grace Award winner, Alessandra James (Charlotte Ballet), Jessica Collado (Houston Ballet), Robert Dekkers (Post:Ballet in San Fransisco), among many others dancing across the country. In 2011, Wade Walthall joined GBT as Artistic Director, and continued the tradition of excellence. Mr. Walthall presented two regional premieres, Journey and Pictures, which GBT performed in 2014 & 2015.
Patti Stafford and Kicki Schade
Up With People Jr. is a performing arts summer camp program for children ages 8-12. Their mission is for the campers to gain a sense of social responsibility, global awareness, confidence, and purpose, as well as the experience of and appreciation for working cooperatively as part of a diverse group. Campers will gain these experiences as they are learning songs, dances, and make crafts from the countries they are studying that summer.
Amy Bray/Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre was founded in 1977 by Lynn Snipes, becoming the first performing non-profit organization in Gwinnett County. The original mission continues: to provide local students with the training and performing experience necessary for a professional dance career while serving the community with entertainment, outreach, and education.
Following Ms. Snipes, Lisa Sheppard Robson took over as Artistic Director and provided 15 years of nurturing leadership. Under Ms. Robson’s tenure, GBT produced many dancers who became notable professional dancers around the world, including Princess Grace Award winner, Alessandra James (Charlotte Ballet), Jessica Collado (Houston Ballet), Robert Dekkers (Post:Ballet in San Fransisco), among many others dancing across the country. In 2011, Wade Walthall joined GBT as Artistic Director, and continued the tradition of excellence. Mr. Walthall presented two regional premieres, Journey and Pictures, which GBT performed in 2014 & 2015.
Arts & Commerce is hosted by Robin Young, a graduate of Sunnyside High School. Having left Tucson in 1985 to live along the coast of California, Robin returned to Tucson in 2015 and bought her forever home.
In her years in CA, she was blessed to live a life in which she balanced a life of art, commerce and raising her two wonderful children. With a life-long love of the arts and the people who worked in the arts, and a long history of building and working in small businesses, Robin’s goal with this show is to help businesses connect with the arts organizations and artists in Tucson, to the mutual benefit of each and an even wider benefit to the entire community of Tucson.
Today’s Guests on Tucson Business Radio – Arts & Commerce:
Michael Fenlason
Director
Strada Company
520-207-9611
Michael Fenlason is the Artistic Director of Strada Company and the Tubac Center of the Arts. Formerly, the Foundations and Corporations Officer at the Tucson Symphony, Marketing and Public Relations Director at the Tucson Museum of Art, Artistic Director at Unlikely Theater and Beowulf Alley Theatre, Michael has been a nonprofit professional for more than 25 years and every organization he has managed has run without loss or debt. Michael is also a professional writer and playwright and was honored by the American Association of Community Theatres for “far-reaching contribution” to theater.
Maryann Green
Executive Director
Tucson Fringe Theatre Festival
tucsonfringe.org
520-261-4851
https://www.facebook.com/tucsonfringe/
Maryann Green is the Executive Director of the Tucson Fringe Theatre Festival and also a Drama Teacher at Rincon High School. Maryann has also worked as an actress and storyteller in Tucson and recently took on the role of managing Live Theatre Workshops Etcetera series.
Chuck Ferraro/Family Promise of Gwinnett County
Family Promise of Gwinnett is a faith based organization that serves children and their families experiencing homelessness in Gwinnett County. Their mission is to mobilize communities of congregations that partner with social service agencies to end homelessness, one family at a time.
Samantha Shelton/Furkids
Furkids is a 501c3 nonprofit charitable organization that operates the largest cage-free, no-kill shelter in the Southeast for rescued cats and a no-kill division for dogs. At these locations, animals experience the best care in a loving, safe environment until they are adopted into forever homes. The Furkids mission is to help end pet overpopulation in Georgia through sterilization, high-quality adoption and by providing valuable spay/neuter services and pet care education to people in the community. Furkids cares for more animals on a daily basis than any other local organization and has rescued and altered more than 20,000 animals since its founding in 2002. Approximately 1,100 animals are in the Furkids program today, located in the Furkids shelters, 13 PetSmart and Petco adoption centers, and 400 foster homes.
Holley Calmes/Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre was Gwinnett’s first performing arts non-profit, founded in 1977. It is one of only three totally non-profit dance organizations in the Atlanta metro area, with both the school and the company holding a 501C3 status. Their annual production of “The Nutcracker” will celebrate its 35th Anniversary this holiday season when it presents this family favorite classic December 2-18 at the Infinite Energy Theatre in Duluth. Over 12,000 individuals annually enjoy this well-loved ballet.
Holley Calmes & Amy Ward/Gwinnett Ballet Theatre
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre has been nurturing young dancers since 1977. The first performing arts non-profit school and company in Gwinnett County, GBT has grown to become one of the most respected dance educators and performance companies in the metro Atlanta area. GBT’s “The Nutcracker” is Georgia’s second largest with 16 shows performed annually at the Infinite Energy Theatre (formerly the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center) the first three weekends in December and accompanied by the beautiful Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Orchestra.
Dr. Taushlea Green/Caring Hands Mobile Chiropractic
Caring Hands Chiropractic understands how hectic life can be. That is why they come to your home or office. Caring Hands Chiropractic provides spinal correction for adults and children as well as prenatal chiropractic care. They are dedicated to finding a better way for their patients to heal and reach their full potential. It’s their belief that everyone, no matter what age, can benefit from chiropractic care. Spinal misalignment prevents healthy cell metabolism and organ function. Physical and mental wellness is also hindered. They want to help you through chiropractic care. At Caring Hands Chiropractic, they believe that the human body has the power to heal itself. Pain isn’t something you should have to live with. They can help you get on the road to good health.
Josh Seides/Technocademy
Josh Seides is a high school senior from Alpharetta High School in Atlanta. He is the Founder/CEO of a nonprofit organization called Technocademy. They help senior citizens and veterans connect with their family and friends by offering free technology lessons throughout the community. They have helped over 170-thousand people learn technology and have spread awareness of digital illiteracy to over 18.3 million people through online campaigns. They have been featured in U.S. News and World Report, Yahoo!, Entrepreneur, and others.
Kyle Valencia/MotivDeals Fundraising
Supporting cancer research, upgrading sports equipment, remodeling your school cafeteria, or building a great youth center. Motivdeals was created to help people who are motivated to get things done. They help local sports teams, schools, churches, and other organizations raise funds in a new and exciting way. Forget the candles, cookies, gift wrap, and deal cards that people either don’t want or they lose. Motivdeals has developed a user experience, whereby members can access tons of local deals 24/7 using their mobile devices.
CLICK HERE to watch the video of this show.
Dan Kaufman & Mike Bartlett/JE Dunn Construction
Founded in 1924, John Ernest Dunn, Sr. began JE Dunn Construction as a small family-owned residential contractor and grew to be one of the largest commercial contractors in the United States, with approximate annual revenues of $2.7 billion and 20 office locations coast-to-coast. JE Dunn Construction is an employee-owned corporation specializing in construction management, program management, and design/build projects of every size. However, the Dunn Family continues to retain majority ownership. Currently, three generations of the Dunn family are actively involved in the day-to-day management and operations of the firm. With cutting edge resources and a $3 billion bonding capacity, they have consistently ranked among the top 20 contractors nationwide according to leading industry publication, Engineering News-Record.
Steve Jones/ATL-Steppers Connect
ATL-Steppers Connect is a dance and entertainment company. They offer Chicago stepping dance lessons for groups, special events and wedding parties, private lessons are also available. Chicago stepping (or steppin’ as it called) is an art form that combines rhythmic movement and soulful music.
Bernard Levett/B Levett & Company
B Levett & Company started in November 2002. They are a design-build firm specializing in commercial and residential construction. Bernard Levett received his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Tuskegee University, and has over 20 years of experience.
