Midwest Society of Professional Consultants

June 7^th, 2006

MSPC Consultants College

The "Consultants" College concept in professional society meetings (originally conceived by Dave Taylor in 2003) was reintroduced last month and continues this month.  The June College program will feature four tracks.  All tracks will be conducted before and after dinner.  These smaller-group sessions will be more focused and allow for more interaction between participants and moderators. 

Business Financial Management 102
Moderator Phil Warren (QuickBooks Advisor)

Pre-dinner section:
Introduction to QuickBooks: No introduction of QuickBooks is complete unless we being the journey with the different flavors of QuickBooks.  We will briefly discuss how each version of QuickBooks can be best utilized by in either your own business or those of your clients.  We will investigate what is new in the 2006 product line, completing our orientation by working through several "how-to"s.

Post-dinner section:
Advanced Intuit Products:  We sill start with the more advanced features of QuickBooks; i.e. inventories and building assemblies; merchant services; full-service payroll; on-line banking and credit card processing.  We will then explore third party applications that now interface with QuickBooks.  There will also be a question and answer session - so bring your problems and issues.

NOTE: Intuit will provide a complimentary copy of QuickBooks 2006 to one lucky participant in this track.  If you have a notebook computer, please bring it to the session.  MSPC will provide a few notebook computers for participants to use in the session.  This track will be continued at the June meeting. 

Phil Warren  (QuickBooks Advisor) is a CPA and a Certified QuickBooks Advisor since 1999.  He has owned his own successful consulting practice for the last 10 years.  Phil brings over 25 years of Accounting and Management experience to the arena of QuickBooks.

Secrets of Six Figure Consultant Websites 
Moderator Bill Stocking (First Business Systems, Inc)

During this session William R. Stocking CMC will help you discover answers to the following questions:

• "Can a consultant actually book projects from their website?"  Success stories.

• "Is my consulting specialty one that will benefit from a good website?" 

• "What is 'Website Critical Mass' and how does it influence my chances of website success?"

• "Does a consultant need a website to generate Internet business?"

• "What is the single most important factor influencing consultant website success?"    (It's probably not what you think it is.)

• "How much will it cost to be successful on the Internet, both in time and money?"

• "Assuming I make all the right moves, how long will it take for my website to become successful?"

Bill Stocking has been developing consultant websites since 1996 and over that time he has learned a lot about what works and what doesn't for consultants.  Bill is a Director and the founder of WebSiteRevamp.Org.  He is no new-comer to the Internet; Bill has been involved in the design, redesign and deployment of websites since 1996.  Bill's skills and interests cover a broad area: "Lean" Website design and redesign, the effective use of Style Sheets, technical writing, photography, Internet Marketing and data analysis, to mention a few. He thinks one of his best abilities is being able to recognize exceptional talent in other people.  He is also an associate of the Northbrook Consulting Group, a technology consulting organization and owns First Business Systems, Ltd. a management consulting practice.  As a management consultant Bill has been helping companies large and small find cost-efficient and effective ways of managing information since 1989.  A graduate of the University of Minnesota in Psychology, Bill's additional professional experience includes being IT manager of a distributing business for eight years and eleven years as president of a manufacturers representative agency.  Areas of specialization include: E-business strategies for businesses and associations, accounting system management.

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic
Moderator Jerry Vrabel (ForwardSlash Design)

In September of 1999, Brett Tabke wrote "26 Steps to 15K a Day" in the Webmaster World forum.  A lot has changed since then.  Now is the time to consider a new 26-step plan for building website traffic that meets the current needs of web developers and web users (such as consultants).  Some of Tabke's old steps still apply (adding new content daily) and some don't (submitting to search engines).  In this session, we'll explain the challenges and the rewards of bringing traffic to your website.   It will take hard work, determination and lots of elbow grease. So if you're ready, roll up your sleeves and learn from these 26 simple steps, and within just one year you may generate enough traffic on your website to keep you busy for a long, long time!  This section will be repeated after dinner. 

Jerry Vrabel has experience working with leading companies in the technology industry.  He has worked with major manufactures of PC’s, software development, and cutting-edge internet companies. He has developed high traffic e-commerce sites, managed large scale internet projects, and recruited some of the finest minds in software development..  This experience has given him a unique perspective and privilege view of web design and development.  Jerry Vrabel is a partner in the creative firm, ForwardSlash Design, based in Chicago, Illinois.  

Consultant Science 551-Graduate Symposium
Moderator Ray Levulis (R J Levulis & Associates)

This is an advanced discussion group for seasoned consultants who want to exchange happenings within the last one to two months with respect to their relationships with customers, prospects, partners, competitors, vendors, etc.  Issues can range from good and bad times to problems they have faced and problems they have solved!  Topics covered in this session will include fee setting strategies, overcoming client/prospect objections, setting client/prospect expectations, and doing background research on client/prospects. This section is a continuous discussion.

Ray Levulis, a former MSPC president, has over 30 years of management consulting experience.  He holds a BS degree in industrial engineering from Lawrence Technological University and an MBA from the University of Detroit.  Ray is a Certified Management Consultant with the Institute of Management Consultants, and a Life member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers.  His services are geared to reducing costs, improving customer service and planning facilities, domestically and internationally.  Ray has conducted assignments in a variety of industries for organizations such as Deere, Steelcase, Ace Hardware, Kelsey-Hayes, Ford, Sears, Fiat, ITW, and the U.S. Army.