Jacky Teplitzky is a highly successful real estate broker in New York who integrates cause-based marketing into her overall plan. Here we talk about how she chose the charity she works with (The Pajama Program) and how she uses her involvement to not just "give back" to the community, but to gain exposure for her business as well. We also touch on real estate trends in Manhattan and her thoughts about the thousands of people still getting their real estate licenses.
Siamak Taghaddos is Co-founder, President and CEO of GotVMail Communications, a telecommunications provider for small businesses. At the age of 25, he already has an impressive history of success as an entrepreneur, including the 2005 "Young Entrepreneur Award of the Year" from the US Small Business Administration. He was recently named a small business "Power Player" by Entrepreneur Magazine. Here we talk about how looking out for the best interest of the customer ultimately benefits the company and how he discovered a need and designed a product to fill that need.
Lon Cohen is the founder of Lon Cohen Studio Rentals. After moving to Hollywood to pursue his passion for music, he started his company when, as he jokingly says, his "red leather rockstar pants wouldn't fit anymore." Here we talk about starting a business around an industry you love and how his "learn as you go" history developed into a successful business. Lon shares his tips for other small business owners who want to turn a passion into a profitable enterprise.
Mike Shiley of Shidog Films quit his corporate sales and marketing job to become an independent documentary film maker in Iraq. He has a fascinating story, but within his experiences are things that entrepreneurs can learn about not taking no for an answer and developing your own business model. We also talk about a growing trend of independent media creators taking advantage of new distribution channels on the Internet.
