Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

Note: This episode recorded April 1, 2020. The guidelines on the Paycheck Protection Program are evolving daily. For the latest news, visit: https://www.umbrex.com/resource/paycheck-protection-program-and-sba-eidl-loans/ === Dave Haase runs Peninsula Accounting, which offers bookkeeping, tax preparation, and payroll services to small businesses. Dave's firm is working with ~100 of their clients th...

Maureen Pritchard is a trust and estates attorney based in New York City. In today's episode, Maureen discusses: What information you should gather before meeting with a trust and estates attorney What is the benefit of creating a will? What are the benefits of creating a trust? What are the considerations in designating a guardian for your children? What other documents, besides a will or trust,...

Over the past couple decades since I left the Navy, people have often asked me what it was like to serve in a submarine. Well, if you are sheltering in place, here are tips to simulate submarine life at home.

Why you should use a password manager Deep dive on how to set up and use LastPass

How to receive payment from a client in another country when your invoice is denominated in your own currency and when the invoice is in a foreign currency How to send payment to a subcontractor or vendor in another country when the recipient's account is denominated in your currency or in a foreign currency How to set up a recipient for payment – the account info you'll need A deep dive on how to...

When you have time between projects, here are some ideas on which skills you might want to spend time investing in. Also, some tips on resources to use. Suggestions include: Writing Slides Data science and programming Data visualization Software for creative professionals Core business skills Excel, PowerPoint, Google Suite Social media Google Search Liberal arts, science, engineering Industry-spe...

In this episode, tips on how NOT to submit expenses to a client. And my suggestion on one right way to do it.

This episode is U.S. specific, as I discuss the Paycheck Protection Program, which is an element in the CARES Act passed by Congress yesterday.   Topics covered: Who is eligible for the loan The maximum amount you can borrow How you can get the loan forgiven. Yes, I said forgiven. The interest rate for any portion of the loan not forgiven The application deadline And whether you can double dip if...

Marc Feigen is considered the leading CEO advisor in the United States; Fortune magazine called him the "CEO Whisperer." Marc currently advises a dozen Fortune 200 CEOs, and in today's episode he shares the questions those CEOs are facing and the steps they are taking to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. To learn more about Marc's firm, visit: http://feigenadvisors.com/

Umbrex member C.V. Ramachandran has three decades of consulting experience, having served as a senior leader at Booz Allen Hamilton, A.T. Kearney, AlixPartners, and Accenture. Today he runs his own consulting practice focused on digital transformation. In our discussion, C.V. shares a perspective on the impact the coronavirus will have on B2C and B2B businesses. To follow up with C.V., connect wit...

In a matter of days, Umbrex member Kaihan Krippendorf has organized a fantastic event to support the fight against COVID-19: the 2020 Outthinker Virtual Summit. 100% of the proceeds will go to charities working on COVID-19. Kaihan has lined up 20 amazing speakers who have each agreed to donate an hour of their time to providing a perspective on the crisis and answering questions. This online event...

Daniel Weiner is a prominent attorney with forty years of experience serving companies in distress, guiding them through restructuring efforts. He is widely published on the subject of bankruptcy, including co-author of the Collier Bankruptcy Practice Guide and  contributing author to  Bankruptcy and Its Impact on LLC Membership Interests , published by The Institute of Continuing Legal Education....

If you are looking to stay productive while between projects, one way to use the time productively is to invest time in creating or improving the marketing collateral of your firm. In this episode, I share 14 recommendations. I mention some previous episodes of this show in my discussion, including: Episode 211: LinkedIn Profile Best Practices Episode 235: Mark Williams on creating an amazing Link...

If you are looking to stay productive while between projects, one area to invest time is setting up technology tools for your practice. In this episode, I share 17 recommendations. I mention some previous episodes of this show in my discussion, including: Episode 172: David A Fields on setting up a CRM system Episode 236: Evernote Episode 237: MixMax Episode 73: Calendly

MixMax is a tool that plugs into Gmail or G-Suite email and provides you with email superpowers. In this episode I discuss the incredible capabilities of this tool, including sending sequences with automated follow-ups, finding out who has opened your emails and when, and scheduling emails to get sent at some future time. Sign up for MixMax at www.mixmax.com

I highly recommend Evernote - it is far more than a note-taking app.  You can also clip websites, save voice memos, store emails, and many more. In this short episode I give some examples of how I use Evernote. Sign up for your own Evernote account at www.evernote.com

Mark Williams, aka 'Mr. LinkedIn', is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, LinkedInFormed - I've listened to dozens of episodes, and much of what I know about LinkedIn I know from Mark. In this episode, Mark provides tips on key aspects of the LinkedIn profile: the headline, the photo, the about section, and the experience section. At one point I mention a specific episode of LinkedInFormed on...

Umbrex has set of a task force to help small businesses navigate the coronavirus pandemic. We'd love to get your help across these workstreams: 1. Create the content for the playbook 2. Design and publish the playbook (as a wiki? website? TBD) 3. Recruit coaches and consultants 4. Spread the word to business owners who need help 5. Administration of a database and reporting 6. Outreach to partner...

Our guest today is Umbrex member Susan Drumm, a BCG alum and the CEO of Meritage Leadership Development. Susan has extensive experience in running virtual meetings via videoconference, and in today's episode she shares a set of tips to make virtual meetings more effective. Susan is publishing an article on this very topic tomorrow, March 16, and you can find that article and more of her writing at...

Our guest today is Rhona Silverbush, co- author of Speak the Speech!: Shakespeare's Monologues Illuminated . Rhona teaches small-group classes and privates one-on-one coaching to actors on how to speak the language of Shakespeare. You don't need to be a professional actor to work with Rhona: some of her students are members of the regular public who just want to get a better appreciation of the pl...

Our guest today is Jay Charkow, President of International Tariff Management. For several years I've been wanting to understand the basics around tariffs. In the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, usually all you get is some very broad statement such as "the Administration has imposed a new round of tariffs on goods imported from China." I wanted to ask some basic questions: do Americans pay t...

Our guest today is Andrea Bonime-Blanc, a leading global expert in the area of risk management, and the author of five books, including the recently published Gloom to Boom: How Leaders Transform Risk Into Resilience and Value. Gloom to Boom expands the traditional risk-management framework of ESG, which stands for environmental, social, and governance risks, by adding technological risks, so the...

Our guest today is McKinsey alum Gaurav Bhatnagar. Gaurav is the Founding Partner of Co-Creation Partners, where he leads cultural transformations for his clients.  In this episode, Gaurav explains to me what a cultural transformation is, what you actually look at during a cultural diagnostic, and what sort of tools his firm uses to drive change in an organization's culture. To learn more about hi...

For executives who are thinking about becoming a consultant in a year or two, a time investment of two hours per week now can dramatically improve your chances of success when you launch your practice.

Our guest today is Jim McEachern, an independent consultant who has been working with the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (or ATIS) on developing technology to cut down on robocalls. For years I've been wondering why telecommunications companies haven't done more to eliminate robocalls, so when I saw Jim quoted in a  New York Times article about this work, I reached out to him....