Mainline Business Trust

Mentoring - Ken Dooley

2009-08-28T13:42:00.002-04:00

Joe,

I read your follow-up note concerning Springfield mentoring. Based on the apparent need for certification, and:

we are dealing with minors (always a liability hanging over our heads);
school has put one hurdle after another in place – time delays, etc.;
students will be very early in their cycle for selecting career paths;

I suggest we consider dropping the high school program and substitute a college / university and select mature, adult students in their Junior year:

not dealing with minors and threat of liability;
more mature individuals who have selected a career path;
colleges / universities know how to work the internship / mentoring model.

Overall, I believe we would generate a much more serious and productive program.

Ken

October 8, 2008 Meeting

2008-10-08T10:02:00.000-04:00

Some Notes on this morning’s meeting.

1. Attached is a document from a networking group that we can copy some procedures etc., please read and give me suggestions on what you think we should incorporate into our procedures. It was agreed that we need some sort of structure in our meetings in order to accomplish a successful meeting.

2. We now have a web address http://www.mainlinebusinesstrust.org, there was some discussion about what the website should contain and how presented. We decided that there should be a mission statement, contact page, page for members that would link to their own website.

3. Send Roy a photo, and resume for your personal webpage on the website.
On giving back…Susan came up with the idea that we could “mentor” to students in our own discipline by giving presentations at some venue like the local high schools or colleges. Roy will contact Jim Capalupo principal at Springfield High School to get information on getting in front of of these kids.

4. We need a concise mission statement incorporating the mentor aspect of what we want to do. The current mission statement is as follows:

“A Main Line Philadelphia based exclusive networking and social environment for professionals serving individuals, small businesses and corporations helping each other grow their business.”

5. Next meeting Nov 5 at PattyMacs.

MLBT AUGUST 12, 2008

2008-08-12T10:39:00.000-04:00

The following is a narrative edition of the last two meetings and the intermezzo. I have suspended minute keeping formality in exchange for expediency. At the end of this memo is a suggested agenda for Wednesday’s 8/13 meeting…believe everyone will be there.

A meeting of the Group was held on July 9, 2008, hosted by Susan Shute. All were in attendance. Mike Brown, CPA, a principal in Brown Financial Group, LLC (BFG) was introduced as a new member by Roy Innella. Mike’s accounting practice is located in Paoli and its target market is small to mid-size businesses. BFG has a specialization in the area of multi-state tax consulting.

Ken Dooley, President of Superior Publications, Inc, publisher of Chester County Life was featured as a guest speaker for this meeting. With over 30 years of experience in the publishing industry, and extremely active in the Chester County business networks, Ken gave a thorough presentation concerning his 4 year old magazine and insight on to how the Group could capitalize on this marketing and networking venue. There were no reservations expressed that the magazine is a high quality, well targeted product.

Chester County Life’s business plan stresses an emphasis on highlighting “people, businesses, organizations and institutions” in specific sections throughout the bi-monthly publication, and on a rotating basis for feature lead articles. Its circulation is 17,000, of which 16,000 is mailed to a controlled audience. The content is 70% editorial, 30% advertising, with the caveat that “editorial” includes articles on featured advertisers as part of the ad package. Most of the articles are in the 700-900 word length with complimenting photos. Ken described his ad base as very pro-active small business owners, the majority of whom were Main Line/Chester County based.

Led by Paul’s dialogue, it became obvious to the Group, that there was a possible new direction the Group could take if we were to be featured in an article in the magazine. Ken’s response was that would be “an excellent idea”.

Before adjournment, the Group discussed possible coordinated pro bono efforts (Ken mentioned the Hickman Group, as an example), the need to develop a mission statement (emphasis on professionalism, quality, Carol’s 80/20 formula reference), and, once again, what other disciplines needed to be added to round out the Group’s profile. There were also preliminary discussions concerning a possible website and a collective marketing piece, such as a bi-fold pamphlet.

What followed subsequent to this meeting was a flurry of emails amongst the Group sparked on by the enthusiasm generated from the meeting with Ken Dooley and what this opportunity presented as far as the Group’s growth and focus. Those emails resulted in a meeting hosted by Paul McCabe on July 21st.

That meeting seemed to signal that the Group was moving in a new direction from developing as an intra-referral network to marketing the Group to the public as a single entity of presumed leaders in our respective fields. The following ‘talking points’ came out of that meeting:

It was agreed that an article/advertising strategy with Chester County Life should be pursued, but the consensus was that it was premature to try and to “rush to print”, since we barely had our own act together yet. Using Paul’s paradigm of P-S-R, “problems, solutions, results”…we were a wee bit short on boosting of results as a Group. The thought was to point to an early 2009 article publication, possibly followed with a collective or individual ads in subsequent issues.

The Name…..seemed to be equal split on keeping or changing the name of the Group….everyone was asked to come up with possible alternatives by the next
meeting.

Mission Statement……same as the name…..once we can reach consensus on this and a name, Paul has offered to work up a promotional scheme incorporating logos, etc,

Incorporation…..Joe advised to provide individual liability protection for each member for the Group’s effort, it made sense to pursue incorporation as a LLC.
Costs for same estimated to be around $300, with Joe offering to donate legal
work. Although it was the consensus to pursue this, it would have to obviously wait until a name was agreed upon by the Group.

There was discussion about asking Ken Dooley to join the Group. Although considered a positive option, it was tabled as premature.

Building a track record….the Group seemed to feel that the most effective way to
Get to the “result” stage may be through a pro bono charitable association. To that end, everyone present agreed to look into specific avenues for this possible
effort, with the following assignments:

RON: PAOLI HOSPITAL
MIKE: ROTARY, PACPA
JOE: CHESTER COUNTY BAR
PAUL: MAINLINE CHAMBER
JOSH: FIRST TEE

CAROL: SUBURBAN/WAYNE TIMES
ROY: LIVING THROUGH CANCER

Preliminary reports were due back at next meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th at 7:30 at Ron’s Paoli Travel Agency in Paoli.

Proposed Agenda:

Name of Group
Progress on Mission Statement
Prelim reports on pro bono possible projects
Establish timetable for Chester County Life or other marketing
Group Expansion

Feel free to expand on these comments or the proposed agenda.

Meeting Minutes Meeting June 5, 2008

2008-06-19T17:44:00.004-04:00

In attendance: Roy Innella, Susan Shute, Joe Davison, Ron Bridge, Josh Isler, David Luce and Carolyn Luskin

Absent: Paul McCabe

Susan was once again a gracious host at her new position:

1. New Horizons:

Susan Shute: VP Bank of America, Consumer Real Estate:
TEL: 610-225-8034
CELL: 610-564-1904
susanshute@bankofamerica.com

Roy Innella: Investment Advisor Representative
The Wealth Advocate Investment Group
Tel: 610-977- 2422
roy@yourwealthadvocate.com

Carolyn Luskin: Keller Williams Main Line Real Estate
610-520-0100 ext 6611
Cell: 610-585-1301
carol@CarolynLuskin.com

Congrats to Roy and Susan on there new associations……Welcome aboard Carol, who has a diverse background in both commercial and residential real estate, as well as other entrepreneurial endeavors.
Carol appears to be a solid addition to the group and is most welcomed.

2. Carolyn introduced herself, as a professional commercial/residential real estate broker, with IT experience and retail operational experience in a gardening center with her husband. Consensus was if she is willing to commit, group enthusiastically endorses her membership.

3. Group Size and Specialties: The continuing concept is to grow the group to a working maximum of 10 to 12 committed individuals. With Carolyn’s acceptance we are now at eight strong. Roy is bringing Michael Brown, a CPA, as a potential member to next meeting. Members’ consensus is that diversification of experience and professional skills should be the goal as to rounding out the core group.

4. Ron led a discussion on business promations possibilities. He explained how his company had placed advertising with adjunct articles in the fairly new Chester County Life Magazine which is targeted at a high end demographic market. Cost was @ $1500 an issue, yet it has seemed to promote business. Ron has used the republished articles in promotions with his client base. This led to a roundtable of generic thoughts on promotions from the group, highlighted below:

· Book “Good to be Great” authored by Jim Collins was a recommended read.
· Strong emphasis on need to nurture existing client base (most felt 60 to 85% of business was based on repeat clients/ referrals from same.
· David stressed the value of “brand awareness” and utilizing endorsement from
satisfied customers.

· Josh was a strong advocate of the “Strategic Coach Program”, with emphasis on referrals and the common sense use of courtesy and manners when dealing with prospects and clients
· Joe and others specifically mentioned the need to always be prompt and always responsive to clients, as well as the need to constantly diversify your own professional network of contacts….”get out of the rut, and back on the highway”.
· Someone mentioned sport team schedule refrig magnets as an example of 90% of marketing is exposure meeting opportunity.

The group felt as a whole each meeting should have a portion devoted to a specific topic to roundtable such as this, and that the need for more formalized “working agenda” would be useful in maximizing all of our limited time, rather than bouncing from one spontaneous topic to the next.

A discussion was had concerning what we really are trying to accomplish with this group with no real answer provided. Some saw the value of Partnerships of Diverse Skills, others spoke to natural synergies such as David and Paul, and Susan and Carolyn as far as coordinated project efforts. Roy mentioned his concept of enhancing referrals of a more serious and continuing nature based on the collective experience and maturity of the group. When typing these minutes, I personally saw a key value of the group as serving in the role of a de facto Board of Directors for each of our individual businesses, in providing different perspectives to concepts and problems we might encounter day to day yet do not have a sounding board to bounce them against.

The idea of having a guest speaker or attendee was again raised and Ron was going to follow-up on that topic with the editor/publisher of Chester County Life magazine…..as of this writing Ron has confirmed that Kevin Dooley will attend our next meeting.

The thought was advanced to see if we could get some publicity via magazine or newspaper article for the MLBT. Roy and Susan were to follow up on this idea.

8 . Next meeting: Tentatively schedule for Wednesday, July 9 at Patty Macs in Berwyn at 7:30 A.M.

9. Agenda suggestion for next meeting: Intragroup communications……I am a blog and blackberry dummy….WE NEED A CENTRAL PLACE TO COMMUNICATE…..rather than this round robin email merry-go-around…Roy is in charge of this topic.

Again, thanks to Susan Shute and Bank of America for their hospitality.

Duly submitted,

Joe Davison

Minutes of April 2 meeting

2008-04-02T16:42:00.001-04:00

Minutes of Meeting April 2, 2008

Minutes of MLBT

In attendance: Roy Innella, .Susan Shute and Joe Davison

Absent: Josh Isler, David Luce, Paul McCabe, and Ron Bridge

Susan was a most gracious host to Roy and me. Was not much that we, as a trio, could accomplish but the following points were addressed:

1. Commitment: This idea of a power network group will only succeed if ALL members are committed to make it succeed. Investment of our collective time, which can be used elsewhere valuably, should yield returns. Based on Post-meeting Emails received this morning, it has already done so. On a personal note, stiffing a host, without advance notice, is unprofessional and I will leave it at that.

2. Group Size and Specialties. Roy, Susan and I concurred that One on One meetings have been a great success so far and should continue on a periodic basis. Again, post-meeting emails confirm this point of view. Susan is going to explore a residential broker contact, as well as a HR HealthCare contact over the next few days. I am going to pursue a commercial/development real estate contact. The three of us agreed we definitely should try to find a member with CPA practice that shares our views as to mutual aggressive networking. Idea is to get the group to a working maximum of 10 to 12 committed individuals.

3.. Next meeting: Lunch at Executive Suites in Strafford, I will be glad to host…first week in May, exact day and time to be determined shortly.

Secretary’s Synopsis: Same as Last: Priority on COMMUNICATION through group interaction 1/1 mtgs and blog; recruiting of other professionals to fill out the group in a systematic and logical manner.
Narrative note: Businesses, and organizations, such as we are trying to put together are in many ways like infants when first starting out…there will be a few skinned shins as we learn how to walk, but eventually we will run with abandon.

Again, thanks to Susan Shute and Bryn Mawr Trust for their hospitality this morning.

Duly submitted,

Joe Davison

Meeting April 2, 2008

2008-03-22T16:41:00.003-04:00

April 2, 2008 Meeting

Our next meeting to be held in the offices of Susan Shute at Bryn Mawr Trust Bank on the second floor.

Minutes for our First Meeting

2008-02-23T12:33:00.005-05:00

Minutes of first meeting Mainline BrainTrust: submitted by Joseph Davison Esq.

In attendance: Roy Innella, Josh Isler, David Luce, Joe Davison, Paul McCabe and Susan Shute

1. Group Size and Specialties:

This subject was battered about at different times during the meeting. Consensus seemed to be to keep the core group to a dozen or less, at least initially. Possible suggestions were to add were a CPA, a IT entrepreneur, and possibly a health care professional (either an executive or practitioner, such as a chiropractor). Emphasis was on capitalizing on the groups' maturity of broad and diverse contacts, rather than try to just "sell to each other"....diversification of group beyond white males and our only female member, Susan, was also placed on the table, and it was agreed it seems to make sense if the group is to maximize it contacts base.

2. Guest Appearances:

Once we have more solid footing as a group, thought was proposed to occasionally invite a guest professional to attend our meetings, not to expand the core group, but to expand the group's network of contacts and knowledge.

3. Need for One on One meetings:

Excellent idea offered by Paul. We should make a concerted effort over the next month or two to meet each other to share information as to our particular strengths, contacts and professional wants and needs. In that regard, all members were encouraged to initiate meetings with each other, and Roy was going to find a way to get each member email, cell phone and other contact info to get this rolling. With spring about to spring out, golf outings were bandied about as a possible venue.. As Josh duly noted, for this to work a trust factor is in play and there is a "need to know" the personalities at play in the group in order to match potential contacts.

4. MLBT Info Package:

Thought was to put together a concise presentation package of who we are as a group that could
be used to market the group to old and new contacts. This is still a subject under discussion, as to its eventual look, but consensus was it was worth doing in some way, shape or form. Susan's points about relocating professionals was what sparked this discussion.

5. Rotating Meeting Locations:

This idea seemed to win hands down. Move meetings from different spots on a monthly basis.
Was agreed that meetings will be monthly, on the first Wednesday of the month. Next meeting is scheduled for Wed 3/5 at Paul McCabe's office, 983 0ld Eagle School Rd (the Woods office complex), suite 619 at 7:30 a.m. Early breakfast meetings seem to be the group's preference for now.

Duly submitted,

Joe Davison

Because of a scheduling conflict with Paul McCabe (our host this month) we are re-scheduling our meeting to March 4th tuesday at 7:30AM.

Who is the Main Line BrainTrust

2008-02-15T11:30:00.011-05:00

Who we are: below is a listing of our members and a short summary of their capabilities.

Roy J. Innella
Financial Advisor

I help people achieve financial security. Financial security means different things to different people to some it may mean saving for retirement or a childs education or building wealth through investments and protecting their wealth with the proper risk mitigation strategies, all without affecting their lifestyle.

With over 30 years in business I offer written financial strategies to individuals and business owners who want a solid plan to further and protect their financial security. I draw upon my years of experience as a business owner and entrepreneur and apply my knowledge and experiences to developing a strategy for my clients.

website: Roy Innella

Joseph Davison Esq.
Extremely competent legal business counselor who focuses on pragmatic solutions to you or your client's concerns

Broad legal background with over 28 years of experience in corporate, litigation and administrative law. Lead transactional counsel on behalf of diversified international corporate group in acquisition of tiered integrated subsidiaries, which involved substantial real estate and environmental issues. Extensive trial litigation experience in areas of professional liability defense, contractual disputes, and antitrust. Appellate representation on behalf of private and governmental entities before state and federal agencies and courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Founding and managing partner of prestigious Philadelphia based law firms. CEO and president of start-up private business enterprise.

website: http://www.jrdavison-law.com/

Josh Isler
Property and Casualty Broker

Licensed in Property & Casualty and Group Health Insurance
· Focus mainly on Business Insurance, but also handle Health and personal insurance.
· Located in Malvern, I am an independent broker meaning I represent several different companies, Selective, The Hartford, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Harleysville, etc…

website: http://www.shevland.com/

David Luce
Point of Sale Printer

Seasoned Sales Executive with nearly 20 years experience in B2B business development, with a focus on outsourced IT training and consulting services. Excellent network with Human Resources and Information Technology contacts at Fortune 500 companies with headquarters or offices in the Delaware Valley region. Strong consultative sales skills with a demonstrated aptitude for customizing offerings for new customers, identifying new distribution opportunities as a reseller, and cross-selling related products to existing customers. Exceptional ability to penetrate new market segments, grow existing market share, and sustain high renewal rates. Professional affiliations include; IT trade groups, career services and training organizations. Key areas of expertise include: Solution Based Selling Relationship Building Business Development
Account Management

website: http://www.mmdisplays.com/

Ron Bridge
Travel Agency

We have been in business 20 years this year. We are a full service Travel Agency, with high degree of personalized services, located in the Paoli Shopping Center between Baxter’s Restaurant and the Hardware Center. We have a highly traveled staff of 8 people with such specialties as Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, Hawaii, Alaska, Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, U.S. Destinations, and others. We also specialize in Golf, Spa, Ski, Hiking, Biking and other adventure travel.

Our mix is 40% Leisure/Vacation Travel, 45% Corporate Travel and 15% Groups. We sell Cruises, Vacation Packages, Custom Tailored Itineraries, Escorted Tours, Group Trips, etc. – worldwide.

On the Corporate side, we provide business travel services - from the one man company up to companies with 300 travelers. We organize meetings, conferences and incentive trips for corporations.

We have done groups on Cruises, to Resorts, etc. We have escorted company recognition and/or incentive events for All State Insurance, Century 21, Vertex, Inc, etc.

We are affiliated with Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a $26 Billion Travel & Hospitality company with offices in all major countries of the world. We rely on the Global Company of Carlson for Preferred Supplier relationships for Air, Hotel, Car, and more.

website: http://www.carlsontravel.com/paoli

Susan Shute
Mortgage Banker/ Bank of America
I have been in the residential mortgage business for 25 years working with clients to purchase and refinance their primary homes, vacation homes and residential investment real estate. Bryn Mawr Trust has been financing real estate transactions for over 100 years.
Our lending area is primarily the Main Line (Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties) but we do lend around the country for our clients purchasing second homes. Our services include:

Fast pre-approvals and commitments.

Long term rate locks for new construction.

Fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgage options.

Swing/Bridge loans

Home Equity Loans and Lines of credit

Construction-to-permanent financing for custom homes All credit decisions made locally We are a mortgage banker and fund our own loans. While my speciality is in residential loans, Bryn Mawr Trust has a well-known commercial lending group as well.

Results of our informal breakfast

2008-02-13T13:59:00.000-05:00

Meeting Wed. February 13, 2008

Because of the inclement weather the formal first meeting is postponed to Wed February 20, 2008 at Pattymacs in Berwyn.

Present were : Roy Innella, Dave Luce, Paul McCabe, Joseph Davison.

We discussed the future of the group, what it meant to each of us and what each of us expects to take away from the group. I will post a short resume on each member as I get them so that we can get to know each other and have some talking points for next meeting.

Our First meeting

2008-02-05T10:26:00.000-05:00

First Meeting February 13, 2008

7:30 AM at Pattymacs in Berwyn

Next week will be the inaugural meeting of the BrainTrust of the Mainline. We look forward to meeting and exchanging ideas on how we can help each other grow our businesses.

We will be seeking additional professional members in varying categories.

The members who have expressed interest are the following:

Roy Innella- Financial Advisor Independence Financial Associates
Joseph Davison Esq. - Attorney
Jim Davison - Real Estate Sales
Susan Shute- Mortgage Broker BMT Mortgage
Josh Isler - Property and Casualty Insurance
Dave Luce - Point of Purchase printing and displays
Ron Bridge - Travel Agent CarlsonWagonlit Travel
Paul McCabe - Marketing/Advertising Specialist The McCabe Group

If you are interested in joining this group please send an email Roy Innella

Here’s what we have so far in this group….

Banker Accounting
Financial Advisor Roy Innella
Business Lawyer Joe Davison
Mortgage BrokerSusan Shute
Realtor Jim Davison
Printer
Point of Sale Printing Dave Luce
Construction Company and allied trades
Property and Casualty Insurance Broker Josh Isler
Advertising Agency Marketing Consultant Paul McCabe
Chiropractor
Travel Agent Ron Bridge
IT Person
HR Person