Monday, March 30, 2009

Headed to Atlanta this week for TravelCom09. Radio show on hiatus for the week, back 07APR.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Our speaker Liz Goodgold was great today on EGG call. Get her book at http://ping.fm/UGNsE

27MAR Vignette Speaker Liz Goodgold

The audio of today's call is available. It is free for all Charter members and $10 for all others. Please send an email request to egg@solutionz.com. Payment can be made on the Solutionz site under Vignette Recording.

You can order Liz's book by clicking on the book image

Liz Goodgold is the author, senior media correspondent, and feisty red head you have seen on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and in The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Many recognize her from her columns in Entrepreneur magazine reaching over 1 million each month.

Liz is a true American success story. Her own humble beginnings, unstoppable perseverance, and potent professional content make her a charming, funny and motivating force.

Despite early challenges, Liz started working for Arco Oil as a lobbyist and by the time she was 18, she was taking such luminaries as Bob Dole and Henry Waxman to lunch!

She now boasts 25 years of experience in every area of marketing, naming, branding, advertising and new media.

Liz’s early successes came when she had a chance to prove herself with the industry giants Quaker Oats, Macmillan Publishing and Times Mirror.

She took her first campaign for Times Mirror from infancy to a $9 million revenue stream.

In less than six months at Quaker Oats, she turned what was at the time, their little known Natural Cereal into the exclusive granola in more than 1500 Baskin-Robbins and TCBY stores.

Liz Goodgold has a world renowned reputation for developing winning names, taglines, and branding strategies, with guaranteed flawless recall, for companies such as Univision, AMN HealthCare, and Proflowers.com.

Liz even caught the eye of Simon Cowell ….Liz was hoping it was for her killer legs……. but no, he was interested in capturing her smart wit and on camera acumen for one of his shows, American Inventor.
Getting ready for Exec Girlfriends' Group call - today is Liz Goodgold, author Redfire Branding

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Tuesday am taking a hiatus from the show to travel to Atlanta for TravelCom.
Also looking for other kid/teen philanthropists for the Giving Show on Thursdays at 11am ET. 30 minutes live interview on blogtalkradio.
Decided today that we need to have someone on SolutionzLive to talk about practice of bartering. Any experts?
Just wrapped up Solutionz Live Personal Edition. It is available for download www.solutionzlive.blogspot.com
Monica was so poised on her interview. It was her first radio interview ever. She is 14. Listen to it http://ping.fm/phd9q download to your iPod
www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive at 11am Mark Healy author of Monica and the Zamboni
If you have a heart for giving, join us for young philanthropist Monica Healy.
Thanks for our sponsor the Barbados Tourism Authority. www.visitbarbados.org
Remember that if you miss listening to Solutionz Live today, you can download at http://ping.fm/phd9q
At 1130am ET join my co-host Chris Bradshaw and I for "Intellectual Gumbo", a recap of all 7 SolutionzLive shows this week.
http://ping.fm/phd9q Monica's dad joins us to talk about his book Monica and the Zamboni
At 11am ET on our Giving segment, 14 yr old Monica Healy joins us to talk about her big plans to raise $1m for 2 charities.
She is on right now. You can call in to 646-727-2840 to ask Pamela questions.
If you are struggling financially, tune in to http://ping.fm/phd9q to hear Pamela Yellen talk about her Bank on Yourself methodology
Join us on SolutionzLive! now. http://ping.fm/DvI6T At 1030am Pamela Yellen, author of Bank on Yourself

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

March 26th Solutionz Live Personal Edition


At 1130am ET, Chris Bradshaw and I co-host "Intellectual Gumbo", a recap of the week and discussion of our favorite authors.
At 11am our Giving segment will feature Monica Healy, 14 year old raising $1m for kids. www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive
At 1030am Thursday our guest is Pamela Yellen, author of Bank on Yourself for our Financial Health segment. www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive
Solutionz Live! show tomorrow starts at 10am ET with Phil and Amy Parham and Real Life Renovations. Our guest is Trainer DJ Jordan. www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive

March 27th Vignette Speaker, Author Liz Goodgold

See YouTube for the promotion for the full March lineup:

Please join us on the 27th to hear Liz.

Liz Goodgold is the author, senior media correspondent, and feisty red head you have seen on CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and in The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Many recognize her from her columns in Entrepreneur magazine reaching over 1 million each month.

Liz is a true American success story. Her own humble beginnings, unstoppable perseverance, and potent professional content make her a charming, funny and motivating force.

Despite early challenges, Liz started working for Arco Oil as a lobbyist and by the time she was 18, she was taking such luminaries as Bob Dole and Henry Waxman to lunch!

She now boasts 25 years of experience in every area of marketing, naming, branding, advertising and new media.

Liz’s early successes came when she had a chance to prove herself with the industry giants Quaker Oats, Macmillan Publishing and Times Mirror.

She took her first campaign for Times Mirror from infancy to a $9 million revenue stream.

In less than six months at Quaker Oats, she turned what was at the time, their little known Natural Cereal into the exclusive granola in more than 1500 Baskin-Robbins and TCBY stores.

Liz Goodgold has a world renowned reputation for developing winning names, taglines, and branding strategies, with guaranteed flawless recall, for companies such as Univision, AMN HealthCare, and Proflowers.com.

Liz even caught the eye of Simon Cowell ….Liz was hoping it was for her killer legs……. but no, he was interested in capturing her smart wit and on camera acumen for one of his shows, American Inventor.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Friday March 20th Michelle Bersell, author Emotional Abundance


EGG members join us on Friday at 4pm ET for vignette speaker, Michelle Bersell, author and life coach. Michelle is a licensed psychotherapist, life coach, speaker and author of Emotional Abundance: Become Empowered. Her main goal is to teach others how the current masculine viewpoint on our emotional well-being has led women to continue to face challenges at work, in relationships and with their own sense of self. Through having a feminine insight that allows women to feel emotionally empowered, they are able to create the life balance that they desire.

Due to the current financial crisis, she has also been working with the media on how to “Emotionally Weather These Financial Times.” With this topic, she shares with people how to best handle their stress and then tap into empowered choices in order that they do not stay stuck in a rut of fear and worry.

If you would like to know more about her work, please visit her website. Her book is available in the EGG Book Club Store.

Solutionz Publications offers 50% discount to EGG Charter Members

Today the Executive Girlfriends' Group announced an offer for all EGG Charter Members to receive a 50% discount on all Solutionz Publications. Select EGG PUB from the discount drop down list for any of our publications.

Don't miss the white paper on the Drive Market. Over 85% of all Americans drive when they travel, yet our industry has totally missed this mass market opportunity.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

March 13th EGG Vignette Recording Available - Marcia Brixley, Author The Money Therapist



EGG Members, the audio recording for Marcia Brixey, the author of the Money Therapist is now available. Her book is available on the EGG Book Club Store site.

Please send an email to live@solutionz.com with Marcia Brixey in the subject line. The recordings are free for Charter members of EGG and $10 for all others.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Executive Womens' Forum and Special EGG Dinner with Libby Gill


If you can only attend one event this year, it should be the TravelCom Women's Forum in Atlanta, sponsored by American Express.

The event has been characterized since its inception (when it was a part of eTravel World) as a 4 hour event where 70+ executive women from our industry connect and where no one wants to go to the bathroom because they don't want to miss anything!

If you are not able to attend the full TravelCom conference this year due to budget cuts, there is a separate, lower fee for the Executive Women's Forum. Our keynote speaker at lunch this year will be Libby Gill, talking about the importance of personal branding. Libby was the branding brains behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show.

EGG is also hosting a special private dinner for Charter Members with Libby, following the TravelCom launch reception. For those that would also like to attend the Google bash that evening, we're working to have the dinner in close proximity to that party. Please RSVP to chicke@solutionz.com. If you are not yet a Charter Member, it is not too late to join. Click HERE for more information and to pay online.

Hope to see you in Atlanta!

TravelCom Atlanta


If you have not yet registered for TravelCom'09, please click on the logo above to see the schedule. You can sign up online.

The butterfly to the left is part of the branding for this year's TravelCom Conference, coming up on March 31-Apr 2nd in Atlanta. This year's conference is being held at the Omni, near CNN's world headquarters.

The butterfly is a very interesting symbol and in and of itself is a symbol of struggle and indeed a miracle. The process of going from chrysalis to butterfly is one that cannot be rushed and it cannot be helped.

If the butterfly doesn't struggle within the chrysalis, it's wings would not strengthen enough to let it fly when it emerges from the cocoon. Just try cutting it off and see what happens to the butterfly. Second thought, don't. Let nature's work be done.

How often, in pursuit of the symbol on the upper right hand corner of the butterfly (money, profitability) do we ignore what is in the upper left (inspiration, innovation)? And we forget that communication between each of us is key to keep the flow going.

And yes, the struggle to get out of the cumbersome chrysalis and emerge strong as the beautiful butterfly is what we are all hoping for in these times of economic challenge.

If you aren't signed up for TravelCom because budgets are tight and travel has been all but cancelled, think again. Innovation is essential to life and hard times are essential to flight. You can touch more prospects at TravelCom than you will be able to touch in a full quarter and you will get more inspiration and ideas along the way. Networking and support are vital to growth.

I hope to see you there.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Monday, March 9, 2009

March 13th - Marcia Brixley, Author The Money Therapist: A Woman's Guide to Creating a Healthy Financial Life


Please join us on the 13th to hear Marcia.

During her 26 years working for the Social Security Administration, Marcia Brixey met thousands of women who experienced financial difficulties resulting from a personal crisis - husband's death, divorce, illness or loss of a job. Five years ago she founded Money Wise Women™ Educational Services to ensure that every woman be financially articulate, confident, secure and independent. Today she hosts Money Wi$e Women™ conferences throughout the Western United States.

Marcia is the author of Money Therapist: A Woman's Guide to Creating a Healthy Financial Life (Seal Press). Her enthusiasm, passion and down-to-earth approach inspire her audiences to take action. Marcia has been the featured speaker at numerous conferences, workshops and organizational meetings (Click here to learn more). Marcia is a member of the National Speaker's Association.

Marcia is a columnist for the Glow Project magazine and a former columnist for The Kitsap Sun newspaper, which serves the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington. Her media appearances include both television and radio (Click here to learn more). Marcia is a mentor for the Department of Labor Women's Bureau Wi$e Up Women program. In 2006 Marcia received the YWCA Woman of Achievement award.

She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Hayward.

SPECIAL EGG WORKSHOP March 11th - Andrea Sittig-Rolf The Blitz Master

This Wednesday afternoon from 4-5pm ET, Andrea Sittig-Rolf of Sittig Inc. will be conducting a special workshop on her BLITZ Experience™ for sales and marketing professionals.

The workshop is free for Charter EGG members and is $25 for those that are not members.

RSVP to Chicke Fitzgerald egg@solutionz.com

Friday, March 6, 2009

Job Posting - AOL Product Manager

EGG member Beth Caufield asked that we post this position. AOL is growing and is in need of good people!


Senior Product Manager, AOL Travel



Position Description:
Drives product strategy for AOL Travel which includes defining the consumer, business and platform requirements to create best-of-class offerings. Assesses industry developments to keep ahead of the competition and build innovative and differentiating experiences that synthesize user and business requirements. Position is based in Dulles, VA.

Duties/Responsibilities:
• Works closely with business owners to originate and develop product strategies and user experiences that achieve business goals
• Prioritizes product initiatives into an executable roadmap and sequences initiatives based on channel strategy, business impact and user experience
• Interacts with the business, sales and marketing to define product requirements
• Documents and defines product requirements and interactions
• Collaborates with teams across the organization and directs interaction with Development, QA and Operations teams to ensure smooth execution against product plans
• Monitors competitive trends and tracks feature/functionality of competitive set
• Uses analytical tools, consumer feedback and iterative optimization testing to refine offerings and drive new features/functionality
• Drives improvements in the product development process
• Manages relationships with data and content partners

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Minimum 8-10 years experience in bringing new products to market
• 5+ years of travel industry experience and strong knowledge of online travel consumer trends and buying habits
• Detailed understanding of how to execute best of breed consumer experience for AOL Travel to establish a competitive market position
• Ability to drive product strategy based on consumer needs and business goals
• Ability to document user requirements and interactions
• Strong technical background and deep understanding of Web technologies
• Previous experience working in a fast-paced iterative development cycle with global development teams
• Previous experience working with publishing and reporting tools/analytics
• Previous experience working in organizations where matrix inter-dependence is required, navigating cross-functional relationships collaboratively and efficiently
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal
• MBA a plus

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Audio now available for Joan Walsh - author Blazing your own trail



Audio recordings are free for Charter members and $10 for all others. Please pay online by selecting the Vignette Recording item under Executive Girlfriends' Group section.