Work on your business
Our new quarterly series of webinars are designed to help you work ON your business. These practical one-hour tutorials will address topics consultants need to know more about—but aren’t sure who to ask.
Fees
General Public: $79 per event
SAC Partners: $49 per event
SAC Members: NO CHARGE, INCLUDED IN SAC MEMBERSHIP
Purchase Past Virtual Events
As the events in this series run, the completed events become available for purchase. Click here to see list of past events, along with online purchase options. All past events are free to SAC members.
Upcoming Virtual Events
More coming soon!
Recorded November 7, 2018
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Business Development on LinkedIn: It’s All About Relationships — Sandra Clark
We’ve heard that LinkedIn is a great tool for prospecting and building your business. But are we sure we’re using it effectively? Join LinkedIn expert Sandra Clark to learn more about what works and doesn’t work on LinkedIn, as well as best practices for using LinkedIn more effectively as a solo consultant.
This webinar will help you use the new LinkedIn desktop user interface to your advantage to attract your target audience. It will help you ensure you can be found by your target audience on LinkedIn, and discuss how to use the platform to more effectively prospect and build relationships.
Sandra Clark is the Founder of LinkedIn Mentoring, a Silicon Valley company that helps busy professionals create powerful LinkedIn profiles and teaches them how to use those profiles for results. Trained in communications and social media, Sandra was Director of Communications for UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley and now leads a successful business helping clients create and manage their LinkedIn presence through individualized coaching. She is a frequent presenter about LinkedIn at both professional organizations and companies in Silicon Valley.
Recorded February 7, 2019
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Writing to Be Understood – Effective Writing for The Rest of Us – Anne Janzer
Effective writing builds your authority and expands the reach of your business. Yet many consultants are too busy meeting their clients’ needs to do the writing they want or need to do.
In this webinar, we’ll look at ways to streamline your writing through careful planning, and how to strengthen your written voice to enhance credibility and authority. You’ll learn which parts of the work you can outsource, and how to get the most from the time you invest in writing. Join us.
Anne Janzer is an award-winning author on a mission to help people communicate more effectively through writing. As a professional writer, she has worked with more than one hundred technology companies. She is author of the books Writing to Be Understood, The Writer’s Process, The Workplace Writer’s Process, and Subscription Marketing. Find her blog and online courses at annejanzer.com.
Recorded May 15, 2019
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Dan Weedin: Navigating the Insurance Maze – A Consultant’s Guide
How do you protect your consulting practice and your lifestyle from the unexpected? Do you know what business insurance policies a consultant should have to protect property, brand, and liability?
In this webinar, insurance expert Dan Weedin will guide us through the maze of various insurance coverages, including errors & omissions, general liability, property, cyber, life, disability, and long-term care. You’ll learn why third parties require certain insurances and how to know if those policies are really relevant. Dan will also discuss how to protect the personal wealth accumulated by consulting through insurance that can be purchased by your company.
About The Speaker
Dan Weedin is in the unique position of having over 30 years experience in the insurance and risk management industry– as both a consultant and an insurance broker. He speaks internationally on this topic and has two courses available on LinkedIn Learning. Dan resides near Seattle, WA with his wife Barb and two canine companions, Captain Jack and Bella.
Recorded August 6, 2019
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Brian Reider: Keeping it Legal – What Consultants Need to Know
How do you protect your consulting practice from the myriad of legal issues that can arise? In this webinar, Brian Reider, an attorney known for providing business solutions to legal problems will be talking with us about navigating the legal minefield. Brian will guide us through how to select an attorney, contracts and law, protecting work products, trade secrets and intellectual property, protecting assets through insurance and how to avoid legal problems.
We’ll have the opportunity to address and ask questions about some unique consulting situations. For example, the topic of independent contractors is stimulating chaos in California, and the question on everyone else’s mind is whether the issue will be isolated to California. Brian will also address the EU issue as well as consulting outside of the U.S. Last but not least, this is your opportunity to ask your legal questions!
About the Speaker
D. Brian Reider acts as outside general counsel for corporate clients, provides organizational and operational advice to businesses in a variety of industries, and counsels clients regarding human resource issues. He is a partner in the Business practice group of Best Best & Krieger LLP and serves as the Ontario office managing partner.
Recorded November 19, 2019
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Michelle Johnston, CPA: It’s Not What You Make, It’s What You Keep – Financial Literacy for Consultants
About the Speaker
Michelle Johnston has been a partner of Burns & Johnston CPAs since 1993. The firm provides a full range of accounting, tax, QuickBooks, and bookkeeping services to small companies ($500K – $10M) and high net worth individuals.
Recorded February 26, 2020
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Linda Popky: Marketing for the Non-Marketer: How to Stand Out from the Crowd
Award-winning marketing expert Linda J. Popky, the founder and president of Leverage2Market Associates, transforms organizations through powerful marketing performance. Her clients range from small businesses and consultants to mid-sized companies and large Fortune 500 enterprises.
She lives and works in Silicon Valley, where she’s been involved with many of the companies who developed and deployed the technologies that have changed the world over the last twenty-five years, including Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, NetApp, PayPal, SAP, Plantronics, Autodesk, Applied Materials, and others. Named one of Silicon Valley’s Top 100 Women of Influence and a member of Alan Weiss’s Million Dollar Consulting® Hall of Fame, Linda has extensive experience in marketing – in industry, agencies, and consulting. She is the co-executive director of SAC, the former president of Women in Consulting and is certified as a master mentor in the Private Roster Mentoring Program.
Recorded May 12, 2020
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Tanya Hall: Book Publishing Options – How to Choose The Right Path For You
A book begins with an idea, followed by aspirations running the gamut from business calling card to writing the proverbial great American novel and everything in between. In the not so distant past, there was only one way to get published: through the traditional New York houses. Today, the development of digital printing and publishing models has all but eliminated any barrier to entry in producing books – and has given rise to a sea of “publishing” options. This presentation will help authors to:
- Identify their goals, risk comfort level, and timeline constraints
- Understand the pros and cons of the major publishing options – and avoid the pitfalls of each
- Learn the first steps to take in pursuing each publishing option
About the Speaker
As CEO of Greenleaf Book Group, Tanya Hall drives the company’s growth efforts and fosters a culture built around serving authors. Prior to her current role, Tanya worked directly with Greenleaf’s authors to develop publishing strategies (including multiple New York Times bestsellers) and built Greenleaf’s distribution organization, working directly with retailers and wholesalers to develop one of the fastest growing distribution businesses in the industry. She is a columnist for Inc.com and the author of Ideas, Influence, and Income.
Recorded August 11, 2020
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Dwight Holcomb: The Top 5 Secrets to Accelerating Your Consulting Sales Using LinkedIn
Key Learning Points:
- The top secrets to creating an effective LinkedIn Sales & Marketing Strategy
- What others are doing wrong
- The secrets to getting the meeting
About the Speaker
Dwight W. Holcomb is the author of the #1 Amazon Bestseller “The Lean CMO”, a Member of the Forbes Business Council and the host of the business television show, “SaaS CEO Success TV”. The show airs on the C-Suite TV Network which has global distribution in over 59 million households and more than 90 million views per month.
Recorded November 11, 2020
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Health Insurance 101 for 2021: Understanding and Anticipating – Anna Grubbs-Hodel
Do you want the BEST health plan? The reason there are so many options is because there just isn’t such a thing. But there may be a BEST plan for you, if only you could make sense of it all!
- What IS the difference between On-Exchange and Off-Exchange?
- Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum…are we just talking about jewelry?
- PPO, HMO, EPO, HSA…which acronym should I pick?
- Deductible, Copay, Coinsurance, Maximum Out-of-Pocket…what language is this?
- And if you are approaching Medicare age, there is Part A, Part B, Part C, Part D…and now Part E?!
In this webinar, we will clear up the mystery, as well as give you insights into where the Individual, Family and Senior markets will be going in 2021. We will look at ways to maximize your benefits and minimize your costs. But first, we need to understand what they are, then consider the avenues and approaches available. We will also address what to expect as you near retirement, and how to properly plan so you aren’t caught off guard.
About the Speaker
Anna Grubbs-Hodel is the owner and CEO of Grubbs Insurance Agency, Inc., based in Laguna Hills, California. Since 1994, she and her team have specialized in health and life insurance for individuals, families and seniors. Anna has discovered that the key to becoming and remaining a trusted advisor is in educating her clients and keeping them apprised of the changing market. She is a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters and has been a recipient of the NAHU Leading Producers Roundtable Excellence Award for several years. Anna also holds the designation of Certified Senior Advisor, CSA, and conducts countless workshops for seniors interested in learning about their Medicare benefits.
Recorded February 9, 2021
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Attaining Speaking Engagements: Action Steps to Boost Visibility, Generate Business Leads, and Create Thought Leadership – Steve Markman
Even during this pandemic, as most events have shifted to being virtual, public speaking remains one sure way to generate new business leads. In this webinar, Steve will outline key steps for ensuring you meet your speaking objectives, including:
- Creating a successful speaker program strategy to increase awareness of your personal or company brand
- Researching, identifying, and evaluating the “right” speaking opportunities aimed at your target audiences
- How and when to submit speaker proposals to event organizers – what to include
- Creating high-impact, compelling speaker presentations that will result in MORE speaking engagements
About the Speaker
Steve Markman is the Founder and President of Markman Speaker Management, LLC, a multi-service speaker agency founded in 1994. With over 30 years of experience in the speaker and conference business, Steve conducts customized one-on-one virtual training and coaching sessions designed particularly for independent consultants. These sessions are designed to boost visibility, generate business leads, and demonstrate thought leadership. Similarly, his firm conducts training for corporate marketing and PR/communications staff to develop or improve a company’s speaker placement process. Steve’s Executive Visibility Speaker service has helped clients in virtually all industries, get speaking engagements. His Speakers Bureau division, provides keynote speakers to organizations worldwide.
Recorded May 19, 2021
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Melissa Smith: How to Choose the Right Virtual Assistant
You know you can’t do it all yourself. You may have heard or even tried to hire a virtual assistant already with no success. There is a right way and a wrong way to hire a VA. Melissa Smith, The PVA is the expert when it comes to hiring a VA and has a 98% success match rate. During the webinar, Melissa will answer the most frequently asked questions, and those questions clients don’t know to ask, such as:
- What can I hire a VA to do?
- How much does a VA charge?
- What are the top 3 mistakes made when hiring a VA?
- Do I really need a VA?
- When is the perfect time to hire a VA?
Participants will also receive a complimentary copy of The PVA Interactive Hiring Workbook to successfully hire the right VA on their own using Melissa’s step-by-step proven process.
About the Speaker
Melissa Smith is an industry-leading expert in the area of virtual assistants and remote work hiring. She has been featured in Forbes, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. News & World Report, CareerBuilder, Spark Hire, Woman’s World, and made the list of 100 trailblazing female entrepreneurs to watch in 2021 by Enterprise League.
Melissa founded the AVA in 2019. The mission of the Association of Virtual Assistants is to be the most trusted source of information in the VA industry. They promote a high standard of excellence within our Association, which not only benefits current and future virtual assistants but those we serve – the client.
Recorded August 19, 2021
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Financial Planning: What Smart Consultants Should Know — Robert M. Birgen
What steps should you take now to build and protect your wealth? How can you protect your assets, while planning for unforeseen circumstances?
In this webinar, financial planning expert Bob Birgen will explain how to:
- Build tax deductible wealth, using a pension plan. Depending on your situation, you may get tax deductions north of $100,000 per year.
- Create a “super” Roth IRA with annual contributions of $40,000 that can grow into tax-free income.
- Grow your taxable investment accounts in a tax-efficient manner.
- Structure your investment accounts to get the best possible return with the least possible risk.
- Sell a highly appreciated asset and pay zero capital gains tax.
- Protect your income in the event of a career-ending disability.
- Protect your future self in the event of a long-term care event.
- Design an estate plan to protect your beneficiaries from creditors and divorce.
- Incorporate life insurance into your estate planning.
About the Speaker
Robert M. Birgen is a principal with Abridge Partners, LLC in Diamond Bar, CA. He provides wealth management services focusing on investments, insurance, and tax planning. Bob lectures frequently on insurance, tax, and investment.
Recorded March 30, 2022
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Cut the Crop and Harvest Publicity You Can Use — Russell Trahan
In this presentation you will learn how to:
- Fertilize your target market to grow them and develop new ones
- Sow the right seeds in the right fields to build media relationships
- Not just sit on the silo and sigh, but bust out and build a barn of national name recognition
About the Speaker
Russell Trahan, author of Sell Yourself Without Saying a Word, has more than 25 years in the public relations field. He started his career working with Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Associations coordinating their marketing, public relations, and event management. Gathering experience at a top 10 market radio station, Russell then returned to the non-profit sector. After a tenure with the Walt Disney Company, he joined PR/PR. Russell was educated at a liberal-arts college in Southern Oregon and attended the Institute for Organizational Management at Stanford University.
Recorded June 28, 2022
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Creating a TED Talk: The Process, Production, and Performance — Amy Lee Segami
Your TED Talk provides credibility and visibility globally. As a thought leader, this is a great way to spread your ideas worldwide. The best place to start is a community-based TEDx event. However, not all TEDx events are created equal. This webinar will give you the tools you need to create an effective thought leadership piece by crafting and producing an outstanding TED Talk.
Session goals and takeaways:
- Pitch your TED Talk effectively
- Craft your TED Talk professionally
- Deliver your TED Talk successfully
This webinar is created specifically for consultants. Once you register to attend, you will have an opportunity to submit questions in advance.
About the Speaker
Amy Lee Segami, a TED Residency Finalist, is a trusted advisor for TEDxChicago and a long-time organizer for numerous TEDx events, including TEDxLakeShoreDrive, and TEDxIIT — the longest-running independently organized TED event in Chicago. She has attended TED Global, and TED Summit. She has worked with hundreds of speakers — from international scientists to local entrepreneurs who speak on the round red carpet. Through her insights and proven process, she demystifies what it takes to have a TED Talk mindset and be an effective TED or TEDx event speaker.
Amy is an engineer turned artist, entrepreneur and international marketing executive featured on BBC, NPR, Chicago Crain’s Business and TED Blog. Born in China, raised in Hong Kong, and educated in the US, her life’s work is mastering the complexity of change. As a business consultant and keynote speaker, she provides valuable insights into leadership and innovation. She is the winner of the SAC Emerging Consultant Advancing Consultant Award 2019. Learn more about Amy.
Recorded August 19, 2022
SAC PRACTICUM Webinar Series
Organize This – Diane Garcia
In today’s volatile business environment, clients are overworked and overwhelmed. How can you help clients organize to be more effective, so your project is a success amidst the chaos? And how can you be efficient and productive when working with multiple clients and managing multiple projects? What tools and software options will help with your efficiency?
In this webinar, supply chain expert Diane Garcia will guide us through the maze of options for how to effectively organize multiple clients, projects, colleagues, and other resources. You’ll learn how she manages multiple priorities with client resources, colleagues, and other contractors in the most efficient manner. She will talk through how she tailors these tools based on the client needs and personalities to be most effective. Additionally, Diane will provide tips and techniques for maximizing productivity amidst chaos.
About the Speaker
Diane Garcia (Lorraine Consulting, LLC) has over 13 years experience in supply chain management and is an expert in helping clients improve on their unique operational business processes. Through the prestigious W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, Diane learned cutting edge supply chain performance optimization knowledge and implements these best practices with manufacturing and distribution companies in North America. From Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietor businesses, Diane actively participates in the delivery of solutions by assessing current state and thoroughly analyzing client business requirements.
Recorded November 1, 2022
SAC PRACTICU
M Webinar Series
How worried should I be? The truth about cybercrime and its impact on consultants and our clients – Adrian Francoz
Cyber crime has skyrocketed in the last several years. Whether you work with a big company or small, you are a target of cyber criminals. According to IBM, the cost of a data breach has risen by 10% to over $4 million! The increase in attempts has surged with India reporting a 4000% increase in phishing emails. Our speaker was an expert in cyber security before it became such a hot topic, and so we are excited for him to discuss the business of cybercrime, the increase he’s seen, and what we should be doing about it.
About the Speaker
Adrian Francoz is CEO of Zeta Sky, an IT and Cybersecurity provider for businesses. His company serves dozens of privately held companies, ensuring their networks are secure and protected from the constant threat of hackers. Adrian started his career in the corrections industry implementing technology solutions in jails and prisons. He later began working with privately held businesses and helped them leverage technology to grow yet maintain a secure perimeter.