CCPA

By Irina Baranov, Director of Marketing, Council for Relationships

In November, CCPA president emeritus Krista Bard invited Matthew and Terces Engelhart to Philadelphia for an event that promised to be fast, furious and juicy… and indeed it was.

The Engelhart’s intention for the day was to influence, empower and create leaders who are ready to make a difference in the world, and ready to build sacred commerce and sacred communities.  They came to Philadelphia to give a small group of people an experience, filled with ideas that would alter the rest of their lives.  They asked people to share openly – particularly the difficult things.. the things that they didn’t particularly want to share.. to stretch up their hands and step out of their comfort zones, which is the only way to create something new.

The following are key points from their workshop:

Businesses can be the places where people “wake up.”  They are the new ashrams.
There is no absolute “truth” in business (or in life) – just particular viewpoints.  All we need to do is try them on for size and see if they fit.
Whatever experience we are having (good or bad), we are creating it.  We can always exercise power in choosing what kind of experience we wish to have (personal and professional).

The Engelharts have created a very successful business by creating communities of amazing, caring human beings.  They actually try to talk people out of working for them during the interview process.. they explain that if they come on board, they will constantly be pushed to confront what/who they’re afraid of being.. on a daily basis.  But the end result is a committed, passionate, caring group of people who make Gratitude Cafe what it is.
One of the major factors of success (personal and professional) for their employees is the fact that they all get daily “Clearings” (which is a $250k budget line item!) – clearings are done daily for everyone and consist of a 3-5 minute conversation where two people are fully present, with the following questions/statements: 1. “What is distracting you (or missing or wrong) right now, that’s keeping you from fully enjoying the present moment?” 2. Reflect back – “this is what I heard you say..”  3. “What does it feel like for you when this is happening?” 4. “Tell me what you love about your life”  5. “I’d like to acknowledge you for..” (sincere noticing/compliment – not necessarily related to what they said, just truly stated from a very ‘present’ place).

An alternate clearing experience is the following:
1. What do you want to be forgiven for?
2. What do you want to acknowledged for?

The goal of the listener/clearer is to be a Zen mirror, with no reactivity and no solutions (when you start fixing or helping someone, it automatically moves their thoughts/feelings/issues into “problem” mode vs. just passing clouds).

Listening is the highest form of loving.  It is empowering.  Let people have their experience, and let it pass.
The only place you can give/receive love is in the present moment.  The Ego cannot give/receive love – it only lives in the past (regret, remorse) or in the future (anxiety, anticipation).
There’s nothing – nothing – that can’t be healed.
Shift from an evidence-based world (he stole, therefore he is a thief) to a faith-based world (he is a loving human being who is wounded).  Send the message – “there’s nothing you can do that will make me stop loving you.”  Don’t give up on people.  Your job is to see in someone what they can’t see in themselves.  If you see what’s wrong, “wrong” shows up.. but if you go from faith and see (sincerely) brilliance, then brilliance starts to shine.  People tend to “show up” exactly as we create them in our minds.
Get passionate, act.  What’s a big enough vision to get you out of bed every morning, all lit up?
Your level of involvement in your community will determine everyone’s level.
Failure is OK.  All it means is that you played a “big game”.. that you went all out!
There are 4 basic tools that the Engelharts shared:

1. Clearing (see above)

2. Acknowledging (can be done spontaneously, by asking someone what they’d like to be acknowledged for, or asking someone to acknowledge you – this is not a “norm” of our culture, but it can be cultivated/practiced and has wonderful benefits).  We restore love by acknowledging.  The best way to acknowledge is to focus on the being (thank you for being so thoughtful), which elevates a person’s sense of self.  We can actually start calling into being the qualities that we’d like to see present from someone else.  When we affirm into presence the unseen, it tends to show up.

3. Apology.  A leader always takes 100% responsibility and apologizes first.  It is the only place where real power resides (self-responsibility).  We can take responsibility not only for what we say/do, but also for where it lands.  An apology is different than being sorry – you don’t have to be sorry – just responsible and owning your part of the created situation.  An apology will always free and elevate you, regardless of what the other person does with it (accepts, rejects, ignores, etc).  You can even apologize to someone who you think has wronged you, for judging them as bad/incomplete/etc.. (i.e. “I apologize for being untrusting of your awakening process and not loving/accepting you unconditionally.  I am no longer committed to that.  I am committed to experiencing you as the extraordinary person that you are.”)

4. Making a request.  Operate your relationships (personal and professional) from a standpoint of integrity.  Make straightforward requests and truly give the receiver of the request to say yes, no or counteroffer.  Remember that a no is not a personal statement.  It is simply someone else’s inability to meet your request right now.  You have to develop the ability to both hear and deliver a clean “no,” so that you can have the freedom to give a clean “yes.”

More information about Terces and Matthew, their journey, and Cafe Gratitude can be found at www.cafegratitude.com

by Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

I had the pleasure to present today the monthly Business Meets Technology Brown Bag Braintrust about Email Marketing Does & Don’ts. If you missed it, here’s a summary of what was discussed.

Why Email Marketing?

It’s affordable: Email marketing is an easy way to stretch a tight marketing budget. Unlike direct mail, email marketing requires virtually no production or postage costs.

It’s effective: You can turn your customers into loyal customers. By staying in touch with them you make sure they remember you when they are in need of the products or services you provide.

It’s immediate: Email communication can generate an immediate response. A quick last-minute announcement or special can instantly drive more sales.

It’s measurable: Unlike most marketing options, email marketing is measurable. Most email marketing services allow you to easily track who opens your emails and what links they click on. You actually know who is looking at your messages!

It’s easy: Email marketing services make it easy for you to create professional-looking campaigns with no design or expertise.

Does & Don’ts

Gathering email addresses

DO: Invite people to sign-up themselves, check for email fraud

DON’T: Gather emails here and there and add them to your list

List management

DO: Segregate your lists and by interest and provide information via email based on that information

DON’T: Send a lot of information about everything to everyone

Frequency

DO: Adapt your frequency to your message and your audience

DON’T: Send as many emails as possible

Email Settings:

DO: Turn the permission reminder on

DON’T: Write lengthy email subjects with plenty of words like “Win” or “Free”

Look & Feel

DO: Design an inviting and branded email

DON’T: Write miles and miles of copy about several subjects without separating them in articles

Content

DO: Keep your content clear to the point, relevant to your audience and interesting

DON’T: Gather a bunch of specials and promotions, sent randomly whenever there is enough info to fill

Analytics

DO: Refer back to the analytics of the sending software

DON’T: Ignore the numbers and assume that people will call if they’re interested in something

What’s next

DO: Adapt your content to what your audience reads, clicks, respond to

DON’T: Send emails without getting feedback from your audience once in a while

This is a very simple summary, a lot was discussed around the table, if you have any specific question you can contact me here or  put them in the comment section.

We’re talking about a real estate leader here… the man owns most of hipster neighborhood Northern Liberties!

Bart Blastein, principal at Tower Investments, Inc. gave a good story from his childhood in Northeast Philadelphia: “When you grow up in the Northeast, it’s another world. They even have their own airport”, his first investments and successes: “I knew how to invest money at 23. I took my earnings and I bought a Porsche”, to his risk-taking deal “Most men do stupid thing when they’re in mid-life crisis” that conducted him to create Northern Liberties.

An enlightening story about the launching of Piazza at Schmidts and the double-murder that could have killed the place but instead create instant buzz, and the support shown by his tenants. And finally, as the audience tried to pick his brain on real-estate investments, some genuine advice: “Trenton, Norristown & Camden are dumping grounds. Not good places to invest.”

If I heard it right, keep on looking North. Temple and east of Temple is the way to go, and there is no better time to invest. So if the economic shake-up didn’t leave you without cash-flow… you might want to listen to Bart Blatstein.

By Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

A great attendance yesterday for the premier “Marketing Meets Technology” Brown Bag Brain Trust Series. Keith Scandone from interactive agency O3World did a great job at discussing the blogging phenomenon and answering the audience questions.

As a follow-up, here’s a list of resources that were discussed, or mentioned yesterday:

Buy a domain name:

• www.godaddy.com
• www.mydomain.com
• www.register.com
• www.pacnames.com
• www.docalmdomains.com

Figure out a blogging tool:

• www.typepad.com
• www.wordpress.com
• www.blogger.com

Register your blog:

• www.feedburner.com
• www.technorati.com
• www.google.com
• www.yahoo.com
• www.msnsearch.com
• www.dmoz.com

Give people ways to share your content:

• www.stumbleupon.com
• www.digg.com
• www.reddit.com
• www.twitter.com
• www.friendfeed.com

And finally, a great resource for all your questions on social media: www.mashable.com!

If you have any questions, feel free to post in the comment section. We’ll be happy to answer them.

By Audrey Julienne, Raison d’Etre

www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk

On Wednesday, September 16, 2009, David Neff, from Neff & Associates, presented a Brown Bag Braintrust titled: Staying Alive: Advertising in Today’s Market. Here are a few tips that David shared with us, and that, as a marketing professional myself I would give to all my clients!

Tip #1: Have a budget!

Whether it’s $500 or $500,000, commit to a marketing & advertising budget for the year. Once you determined this envelop it will be easier for you to come up with a strategy that is based on return on investment, not opportunity.

Tip #2: Consider Public Relations

Very valuable because of the 3rd party endorsement they provide, Public Relations are a tool to considerate especially when your marketing & advertising budget is under $20,000.

Tip #3: Set-up goals

If you’re a business-to-business service: cultivate a list of companies that you would like to do business with and spend your marketing and advertising dollars in that direction.

Tip #4: Cultivate relationships

Whether it’s clients or customers, they have to like you before they hire you.

Tip #5: Be creative

Find the new and different angle that will make you unique in your market place, or hire someone to help you do that!

By Marlene Talasnik, Simplified Living, LLC

The Center City Proprietors Association (hereinafter known as “CCPA”) sponsored a wonderful presentation entitled “Create a Positive Lasting Impression” as part of its wellness-related brown bag series.
It was presented by Karen Kaufman, Co-Founding Principal of The Kaufman Partnership, Ltd. (hereinafter known as “The Kaufman Partnership”).

With her husband Don, The Kaufman Partnership has trained and coached thousands of managers and executives who are committed to increasing their organizational value by creating a more accurate impression of their ability to communicate and influence others.

As leaders in their field, they have identified and organized impression factors into the “Kaufman Impression Management System” (hereinafter known as the “System”)

The Box of Items

The presentation started with a box of items …some commonly used items (i.e., paper clips; scotch tape) and others unusual such as a slinky and an egg timer.  Karen’s instructions were “pick the one item that would assist in creating an impression of yourself and your business”.

As we went around the room, each participant crafted a very interesting impression of themselves and their businesses using the item they had chosen.  When it was my turn, I showed that I have a tendency to bend the rules a bit because I used three items to weave the story of Marlene Talasnik and Simplified Living, LLC.

Since Simplified Living, LLC was conceived to keep people on track by providing solutions to their monetary; legal; communicative; spatial; time management and infra-structure needs (i.e. paperwork and computer inboxes) , my props were a box of paper clips; an egg timer and a bottle of Purell.  This is why I picked these items and why they express Marlene Talasnik and Simplified Living, LLC:

• As a Personal Business Provider, paper clips are never far away.  They are a necessary item to have if you wish to de-clutter a cluttered area.
• An egg timer can express the finiteness of time with such visual clarity when time management is the issue at hand.
• And, what can I say about Purell…it is my savior…since most of my work environments would never pass a “white glove” inspection!

The exercise accomplished its goal …a playful way of learning who each of were and what they did.  Although some impressions were more favorable than others…everyone had an identity!

The System

Next each of us completed an assessment.  Then we briefly compared our assessments with partners of our choosing.  When we were finished, each of us clearly sensed the following information:

• You are always making an impression;
• Success is determined by the perception created in the mind of yourself and others;
• Impressions can be learned through goal-directed Impression Management activities;
• Impression Management is a pre-requisite for meaningful business relationships;
• By managing your impression, you manage your relationships; and
• When you alter your impression, you alter your relationships.

Personal Note

I want to thank Karen for one the best presentations that I have had the pleasure of attending in a long time.

Upcoming Events Sponsored by The Kaufman Partnership

The Kaufman Partnership is conducting a one day program called Impression Management for Leaders.  It is designed for individuals who have been identified as key organizational talent with the goal of supporting their success through combining their strong technical experience with an increased ability to relate well with their colleagues; staff and clients.

If you or someone you know would be interested in attending the program on July 22, 2009, call 215.592.9709 or register online at www.kpartners.com.

By Laura Sicola, PhD, Sicola Consulting Group

In the midst of Entrepreneurship Week here in Philadelphia, on April 23, 2009 the CCPA very generously held a half-day workshop entitled “Marketing for Tough Times: Strategies for Future Growth” at the Radisson Warwick Hotel. All three key presenters (CCPA members themselves) had valuable insights, suggestions and strategies to offer and I, for one, am very glad to have attended. Allow me to share a few highlights:

First off, Rick Simmons (President, Dinkum Interactive) addressed the increasingly hot topic of social media. Rick demystified a lot of the terms and purposes of social media marketing – e.g. blogs, Twitter, etc. – as it differs from other more traditional forms of communication, and very fairly offered suggestions for how to tailor a marketing plan to meet any budget, even a virtually non-existent one! A key point for me was the sobering realization that, as Rick said, online, the consumer is “in charge,” and the best we can aim for is to be visible. Then, once you’ve got their attention and they have clicked over to your website, you have a paltry two seconds to convince them to stay there and read more or click other links, otherwise they back out and try somewhere else that seems like it might be more immediately relevant to their needs. There’s a reason for SEO (search engine optimization) if I ever heard one!

Second, Steve Bauer (Co-founder, The Three Marketeers; Founder & Instructor, The Referral Academy) clarified the nature of referral relationships and how to position yourself to make the most of them, no matter what your role – buyer, seller or referrer. Ultimately, as Steve put it, referrers accelerate the process of finding the “fit” between the buyer and seller. After all, who wants to waste time and resources with lots of trial and error? Thus, it’s important to know enough about both parties to give a good referral that will fit the needs and values of both, thereby strengthening your own reputation and the three-way relationship. And of course, we all want to get referrals from others as well, so it was good to be reminded that we need to carefully consider the ideal referral profile, i.e. not only the market in general but the specific type of people in that market with whom we want to interact, e.g. an end user vs. company decision-maker. Then, the question becomes what you do with a referral once you have the contact information; having a clear system for follow-up builds credibility and trust for you as seller or referrer alike, and that’s where everything begins.

Finally, Bill Ringle (Founder, MyBusinessGym.com) offered a condensed workshop, Developing New Business: When the Economy won’t Co-operate. The overriding theme to Bill’s piece was “the universe rewards action,” which he professed and behaviorally reinforced throughout the session. Bill brought a variety of worksheets and handouts from his Business Gym, some of which we did there and then, and others that were for later independent use, ranging from Likert-style scale ranked concepts to open ended questions, with short term and long term analysis. In the end, all of the take-aways were very practical and thought-provoking. I left with lists of concrete issues to address and next steps to take, specifically relating to my own business.

Overall, this CCPA workshop not only gave me a clearer picture of where my business is, and in what ways I need to continue to clarify my vision, but it left a great impression regarding the caliber of professionals we have among us – as demonstrated by the quality of the presentations as well as the discussions among the participants! I look forward to the next CCPA opportunity of this sort, and whole-heartedly encourage everyone else to attend as well. Trust me – you’ll be glad you did!

By Laura Sicola, PhD, Sicola Consulting Group

April 20-25, 2009 was “Entrepreneurship Week,” a series of free seminars, networking events and other opportunities organized by the Empowerment Group (EG) (www.empowerment-group.org) to support the needs of budding and established small businesses in Philadelphia. I was fortunate to have the flexibility in my schedule to attend three events: (1) Certifying as a Minority- or Woman-Owned Business; (2) Get Noticed: Creative Marketing Strategies; and (3) An Evening with Philadelphia’s Business Elite. For me, as a sole proprietor and relatively new Philadelphia business, there were a lot of lessons learned – some intended, some probably not – that I’d like to share with you here.

First – certifying as a minority- and/or woman-owned business. The general gist of the lunchtime presentation was that if your business falls under either or both of these categories, you will be given preference for government contracts in your industry – provided your skills competitively match their needs, etc. – because (to put it bluntly) the government is obligated to meet a minimal quota in the diversity of their contractors and subcontractors. Why not take advantage of such an opportunity? For more information, go to http://mbec.phila.gov/home/. That’s the “intended” take-away I learned.

For better or for worse, there were a few snafus the organizers encountered that made a stronger impression. Note: this is not intended as a complaint, but rather as observations and a helpful checklist of “don’ts” next time you need to hold an event of this sort. The problem was that the original venue was still under construction, and far from completion. I don’t know at what point they realized it would not be ready for use, but it wasn’t until I arrived that an EG representative standing on the corner saw my confusion and told me – and another confused attendee – about the relocation, handing me a bus token so I could head 10 blocks back in the direction from which I had come. The new venue must have been a last resort: it was a crowded Rittenhouse bar, and ill equipped to handle the event. We were packed so tightly in rows of chairs in our little corner to the point that I could not even take notes or reach under the chair when something fell, the din was so loud that the presenters were barely audible, the PowerPoint was projected onto a brown brick and cement cellar-like wall, making it partially illegible, and there were not have enough handouts so there was virtually no way to catch everything they were saying. At the end the speakers promised to send electronic copies of the PPT slides and handouts to anyone who sent an e-mail request. Sadly, what should have been a redeeming opportunity became a final disappointment to punctuate the event, as I e-mailed the two presenters (city officials) who had personally handed me business cards and invited my e-mail correspondence, but to date have neither responded nor alternatively provided the promised documents. I think you can gather your own lessons from this. Needless to say, it was a rather inauspicious start to Entrepreneurship Week. The good news is that thing got much better as the week – and even the day – went on!

That evening I attended a panel discussion entitled Creative Marketing Solutions panel at the Helium Club, with Sharon MacWilliams from Philadelphia’s City Paper, Adam Cohan from Brio Solutions, specializing in internet marketing, and Darrell Williams from NBC 10. For me, they really drove home the need to not only explicitly define my niche, but to even more explicitly define the niche customers I seek and establish a budget – no matter how big or small – to reach that specific market. Another important discussion topic pertained to measurement of the return on investment from any initiative, which can never be fully measured, but a variety of options were discussed, ranging from experimenting with a bunch of different “landing pages” for your website to see which gets the best result, to simply asking every person who calls, writes or visits you how they heard of you in the first place, and tally the results. The best part is that most of these ideas are free!

The panel also gave a very nice and succinct explanation of the difference between branding, marketing and advertising, three terms which many of us are familiar with but have a hard time clearly distinguishing. In a nutshell (in case you are wondering,) branding defines who you are, your image, and what you stand for, so consistency is a crucial factor in raising brand awareness! Marketing is how you get involved in the community you want to support, often through non-paying efforts, and advertising is simply how you try to reach your customers.

In the end, they all agreed on a few other key points. First, if you’re targeting the 20-30-year-old market, you must advertise on the Internet. Second, when possible speak to an account manager, ask for the medium’s marketing reports, and don’t let yourself get “pushed into” anything you are not comfortable doing, no matter what. Overall a very interesting and enlightening evening, and got my enthusiasm back up for future events.

Wednesday I went to “An evening with Philadelphia’s Business Elite” at World Café Live with Hal Real, owner of the World Café Live itself; Susan Ellman, co-owner of FruitFlowers; and Bill Decker, co-founder of The Hub. As a small business owner, I was encouraged by their stories of “building the plane in-flight,” and glad to hear that learn-as-you-go is a common path taken by just about all start-ups. There was a lot of valuable advice for larger companies with more employees as well. One example was reinforcing the need to create a strong system of operation since others will be executing the details when you are not around. Another was to remember to pay your employees first, no matter how much other “creative bill paying” you need to orchestrate to get through leaner times; the employee loyalty and trust is the motor that keeps your company wheels turning.

So there’s a rather lengthy description of the three Entrepreneurship Week events I attended, and lessons learned. Whether you are looking to get your business off the ground, or get a new boost to one that’s already established, I would recommend looking at the Empowerment Group’s website. They have a variety of resources and tons of contacts, so you will inevitably find something that suits your needs.

Good luck!

by Marlene Talasnik, Simplified Living, LLC

For those of you who weren’t able to attend this Non-CCPA event, here is a front row seat to a panel discussion with four local experts who want to help demystify the financial and emotional aspects of divorce.

The Panel Members:
William H. Donahue, Jr., Esq., APM – Donahue founded Transitions Mediation Center in 1995 to address the growing need for mediation as an alternative to expensive and emotionally draining litigation.  Through Transitions, he mediates a wide range of family disputes, including divorce.  He specializes in the mediation of high conflict cases and cases involving children.
Pam Rosser Thistle – Thistle is a full-time Philadelphia Realtor dedicated to helping buyers and sellers achieve realistic goals.  She currently is currently working with many first-time homebuyers, set to receive their $8,000 tax credit.  She has been with Prudential Fox & Roach since October, 2007.
Mark Lenard – Lenard is a Home Loan Consultant at Countrywide Home Loans.  He has been in the Mortgage financing business for fifteen years, the last two at Countrywide Home Loans.  He works with homeowners and realtors.  His philosophy is to make the process easy and “transparent”… meaning one where there are no surprises at the settlement table.
Dana F. Goode, Psy.D – Dr. Goode is a graduate of the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widener University.  She is in private practice in Center City Philadelphia.  She specializes in working with families adjusting to divorce and helping parents develop co-parenting skills.  Dr. Goode has worked with divorcing parents and families for ten years.

Why Divorce Mediation
Did you know that almost half of all first marriages and more than half of all second marriages will end in divorce?
The American divorce litigation system ruins lives, bankrupts families and scars children for life.  Millions of people have put up with this antiquated system because of a belief that only divorce lawyers can protect your “rights”.
There is a cost-effective, civilized alternative for couples seeking divorce.  It represents either spouse.  It is called mediation.  With the use of a mediator, couples can understand their legal rights and responsibilities, and then work with them as they create a settlement that will meet their financial and emotional needs far into the future.
While the immediate goal is to get divorced, the long-term goal of mediation is to achieve what mediators call a “good divorce”.  To tell if a divorce is good, you need to look at all the family members several years after the divorce.  They should all be thriving, which means the parents have obtained financial and emotional stability and have developed new relationship, and children have reached their expected development stages.
Mediation is not just for spouses who are friendly or even on speaking terms.  On the contrary, angry, bitter and out for blood couples will benefit most from its use.  Without it, they will most likely tear each other apart in court and have thousands or even tens of thousand of dollars in legal, court and expert fees to show for it!  If it doesn’t work, couples can always litigate!
Mediation can be used at any point in the divorce process.  Donahue believes that earlier the better (i.e., when one decides they want to divorce and especially when one of the parties doesn’t want the divorce)!  But, he also sees the benefits thereof when the parties have been battling in court for months or even years.  By calling a truce during this period, mediators can open up a dialogue that encourages the parties to separate their immediate emotions and demands from real long term interests and needs.

Figures
Couples earning less than $100,000 per year are more likely to use mediation.
Cost/Time Involved in the Process: The average cost for mediation is $35,000.  (A traditional divorce usually costs three to four times as much.)  The average mediator makes $300/per hour.  But costs can run as high as $600/per hour.
The process usually consists of six one hour sessions…but they can run as high as ten one hour sessions.  Sessions do not have to run consecutively.

The Process
Once the parties have worked out their differences in mediation, they will take the agreement to their respective attorneys who will examine its terms.  If there are no contractual issues, the attorneys will present the agreement to the court who will issue a decree of divorce.

Mediator Qualifications
Mediators come from all walks of life!  In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the pre-requisite to receipt of an APM accreditation is completion of a forty hour divorce mediation course; a practicum under an established mediator and four – five years of work experience.

Other Considerations in the Divorce Process

• Marital property is usually the single most discussed topic in divorce.  Options traditionally have been one party buys the other out or the property is sold and the proceeds split amongst the parties.  The economy has made for some interesting alternatives.  Realtors are seeing more rentals in lieu of out right sales.  In this situation, appraisals are becoming the single most problematic area for divorcing couples.  Their conservativeness is at odds with the housing boom valuations.
• Mortgage guidelines have reverted back to the thirty year fixed conventional or FHA mortgage.  Interest rates are presently at 4.78% with no points.  The purpose of the loan is essential to its rate.  Another crucial factor is credit scores. Hurdles due to divorce are seen mostly in the area of alimony and child support.  There are no longer any side agreements; it must be part of the agreement of sale.   To qualify, the mortgage company requires the recipient must be receiving alimony (or child support) for a period of three years and the starting period begins after the first years has elapsed.  HUD has added an additional guideline designed to circumvent the one year requirement. Under its guidelines, there can be no escrowing of funds to meet the one year alimony and/or child support rule.

Psychological Reactions to Divorce

• Dependent Spouse: A dependent spouses’ focus is financial survival.
• Initiating Spouse: An initiating spouse suffers most from guilt, especially when children are involved.  The focus is what their interactions will look like post-divorce.

Children
Psychologists see lots of behavioral changes due to the separation/divorce.  It is the spouses’ job when working out custodial arrangements to put aside “fairness” and do what is best for the child!

By Marlene Talasnik, Simplified Living, LLC

For those of you who weren’t able to attend the March 31, 2009 luncheon at Le Bec Fin, here is a front row seat to two interesting men and their insights on the Philadelphia Magazine, print media and other topics of interest.

David H. Lipson, Jr.

David H. Lipson, Jr is President of Metro Corp., the entity that publishes Philadelphia and Boston Magazines, as well as many other publications that serve these two cities.

Lipson is a native of the Philadelphia region and has been associated with the Metro Corp. in various capacities for more than twenty five years.

Lipson began his career in advertising at Boston Magazine and worked his way to Philadelphia after a stint in New York.  This is where he introduced the move to a “relationship marketing approach” to sales…an innovative marketing approach that is developed around the advertisers’ needs.

Additionally, Lipson initiated the effort to introduce ancillary and shelter magazines to strengthen the publications’ foothold in Pennsylvania and Boston.  In Pennsylvania, those magazines now include the Philadelphia Wedding and Philadelphia Home, amongst others.

With a mission to enhance the lives of readers who live in the communities served and help advertisers (and sponsor committees) reach luxury high end markets, Metro Corp has launched such renowned programs as “Philly Cooks! and the annual Best of Philly, and initiated the involvement of publications in numerous sponsorships across the region.

Lipson is continuing the family legacy started by his grandfather S. Arthur Lipson. 101 years ago and we look forward to many more years of the Philadelphia Magazine.

Larry Platt

Platt is a respected national journalist and author, who took the helm as Editor of the Philadelphia Magazine in September, 2002.

Platt has been affiliated with the Philadelphia Magazine for almost fifteen years, writing features on sports; politics; media and business. His work has also appeared in other publications, such as GQ; the New York Times Magazine; Playboy and others.

Additionally, he has written several books. the last being Only the Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson (Regan Books, October 2002).

About Philadelphia Magazine

Did you know what the average income and educational level of its readers are?  Would you be surprised if I told you they earn a minimum of $200,000 per year and have post-graduate level degrees?

Mission: If it can be distilled to one sentence, Lipson would say that it is to bring information to those living in the Philadelphia area.  For Platt, each issue has to pass the “time capsule test”, which means “if you retrieved it twenty five years from now, would it reveal the “soul” of the time”?

Goal: According to Lipson, he loves Philadelphia and wants to make it better than it is! As an editor, Platt wants to share its “passion”, which he defines as its lifestyle and its power, particularly who’s doing what or should be doing it better!

Strategy: Lipson stated that you must treat the magazine as a “brand”…which was defined as one that possesses a tony, upscale lifestyle.

Print vs. Digital: Although the present and future includes the exploration of digital medium for readers, Lipson said there will always be a need for print media.  It works best in the 5000 word piece arena (i.e., “The Battle for the Soul of Philly’s Jews” article in the April 2009 issue).
Digital media at the Philadelphia Magazine currently looks like phillymag.com. A visit to phillymag.com/restaurants will provide a search of more than 900 listings, make reservation and share your own reviews.  At phillymag.com/bop you can search five years of the areas’ best restaurants, shops, services and more.  If you want to get the real deal on upcoming sales and the latest boutiques, phillymag.com/shopping is a must!  It is also evident in the use of “contextual advertising” for advertisers and can take one of two formats.  One a guide to info from advertisers who wouldn’t normally advertise, the other the promotion of events in forums designed specifically to capture targeted audiences, such as the very wealthy.

Competition: Platt’s definition is not another publication.  Rather, it is the reader and their time!

Topics of Interest aka Questions

Views on Use of Internet: Lipson said the future will have less free information.  In fact, he envisions a charge for a “micro-minute” of an article.  Eventually, he sees delivery taking the form of a “tablet”.

What is the Philadelphia Magazine looking for when it prints an article? The criteria is would appeal to the general interest of all, according to Platt.

Allen Iverson: No question and answer session would be complete without questions regarding Allen Iverson.  And, Platt did deliver.  His comparison to the Beverly Hillbillies show brought the house down!