Express Success Network

The Unconvention

Beauty and Branding Networking Event at Lord & Taylor

Borghese, Lord & Taylor and Express Success are partnering on a networking event Thursday, September 20, at the Lord & Taylor on East Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

Contributing authors of "Big Bold Business Advice from New Jersey Women Business Owners", Dr. Joy Pedersen and Adriana O'Toole, will be presenting. Pedersen, Success Consultant and Founder of Express Success, will open with a brief discussion on rebranding. O'Toole, a ReMax realtor, will be discussing the contents of her chapter, "A Brand-Building Checklist: Simple Strategies to Keeping Your Brand Current".

Borghese's Mary Mustakas will be discussing the Borghese beginning in the United as the first spa line on the market and how they branded themselves as well as the importance of branding as a foundation. Everyone in attendance will be receiving a personalized sample of their signature Fango product. 

Lord & Taylor's personal shopper, Teri Capparelli, will be discussing branding through the use of acessories. 

All in attendance will receive a $25 gift card from Lord & Taylor, a makeover and mini facial from Borghese valued at $100 and a copy of "Big Bold Business" valued at $28. This event valued at over $150 will be yours for only $48.

To reserve your spot, register at Express Success at the link here. If you have questions, call 973.706.8212 or email info@expresssuccess.net.

 

A Wonderful Celebration

 

Linda Santangelo-Mosley and Robyn Crane

Celebrating our 5th Anniversary was a great pleasure. I had the opportunity to share the evening with people who have been with me for many years. I also had the opportunity to meet some new people.

 

It's always great to meet new people as you never know what will come of the connection. But having built relationships with people over the years makes the occasion even sweeter. It's wonderful to share fond memories. 

Seeing the relationships that have been created over the years warms my heart knowing these people may not have met had I not had this event.  

I personally can't believe 5 years went so fast. It's wonderful though to have shared a good part of it with such great people.

Here's a few photos of some our attendees. 

 

Joy Pedersen, Lois Kramer Perez, Linda Santangelo-Mosley

 

Nancy D'Ascensio, Jeanie Kraft and Marlene Waldock

 

Kathy D'Agati, Debbie Mosel, Robert Leech and Geoff Steck

Mary-Ann Abida and John Boykas

 

Our Anniversary

It's time to celebrate. I'm embarrassed to say that I have lost count at how many years we've been meeting at the Paris Inn, but I can clearly remember when we started.

There were three of us that met at the bar at the time. Over cocktails the three of us would discuss our personal and business lives and bonded. We had a good time and that caught on. 

Over the years we have tweaked things to having a formula that seems to work. We have had countless people attend over the years. Many were regulars for a time and others come and go when available. We never know who will be in attendance. The only guarantee is they have always been a nice bunch. 

Those attendees have been generous by nature. The stories of connections made have been the most treasured part of my doing this. I love hearing that people met through this event knowing I had something to do with the friendship or business that came from meeting at my event. 

This coming Tuesday, July 17, we will be celebrating our anniversary. I hope you can join us and bring a friend. 

As usual, we will meet at the bar at Paris Inn, 1292 Alps Road, Wayne, NJ at 6 PM. The rest of the night will be an informal mixer rather than our usual sit down at 6:30. We will still have hors d'ouevres and the event cost remains at $15. 

Celebrate our anniversary and wonderful longevity!

Get Feedback

One of the numerous benefits of belonging to a regular networking group where you feel safe, is that you can ask for feedback. 

At the Express Success Network, we have mixed attendees. People come when they can come. We have regulars, semi-regulars and guests - a different mix each event.

There is a comfort level established and the intimate setting provides the opportunity for participants to ask for feedback. The benefit of that is they receive honest input from caring professionals who have either experience as someone who has done what they are trying to do or are possible consumers so they could give two different perspectives. 

Woudn't it be better to receive honest feedback from a select group before taking your show on the road to the masses? We've actually had a participant with a new business blossom with the feedback received from attendees. We watched her grow and flourish and it was heartwarming to see. 

Planning Ahead

To use your time effectively, schedule a one-on-one meeting with someone you want to get to know better. 

I am doing just that for tomorrow's meeting. We meet at 6 PM every other Tuesday. At our last meeting, Brenda Hendrickson, CSA attended. She was a first-time guest at our event. As it turns out, we are both authors through iUniverse. I have my book, Wisdom of the Guardian: Treasures from Archangel Michael to Change Your Life. Brenda wrote, How to be a Frugal Millionaire.

We are both also authors of chapters in the new book, Big Bold Business Advice to be launched next week. 

We found our common denominator so decided to meet at 5 tomorrow prior to our regular meeting to capitalize on the opportunity to network. Also, it gives us the opportunity to get to know each other and our respective work better. 

If we don't take the opportunity to meet one-on-one with people, we miss out on learning how to effectively connect. It is a time effective and useful practice so recommend all participants at our events pick someone to schedule a one-on-one before our next event. 

Natural Way to Treat Your Face

No Botox Required!

If you've ever been to Europe, you know it's true: women in Europe seem to age better than Americans.

Why? Is it the diet? The wine? Is it a more relaxed way of life?

A new business, Speranzi Fcial Spa, has opened up in Caldwell, next to the non-profit thrift store Willing Hearts, at 485 Bloomfield Avenue.

Owner "Yolanda" hails from Europe, and wants to share her non-surgical methods of refreshing your face.

"I want to help woman look at themselves in the mirror and see what they want to change - and change it - without surgery," she noted. "You do not need Botox. I have some simple solutions."

Yolanda said her methods work - and she promises to teach you how to achieve a more youthful appearance, using her non-surgical methods.

Speranzi Facial Spa is having a grand opening on Saturday, March 31st from noon - 4:00 p.m.

Yolanda offers unique facial treatments, including micro-dermabrasion and oxygen facials.

"We also have a wonderful peptide serum (she recommended this for me) and offer memberships, so you can come in once a month and also use our techniques at home," she added.

If you've been considering Botox - give yourself a break and check out this world class spot right in Caldwell.

 

 

Knowing the Restoration Provider Before the Disaster

In light of recent events, this statement ” Knowing the Restoration Provider Before the Disaster” has never been more relevant. Most recently with our experience of the summer floods as a result of Hurricane Irene, businesses have been decimated leaving them either out of business or saddled with exuberant costs attributed to the hurricane damage leaving them financially unstable. The primary result of these expenditures can be attributed to a lack of a process to pre-qualify a competent restoration provider. A professional qualified restoration provider can be an invaluable asset to a business.  By facilitating a partnership with the restoration provider, a business can identify it’s immediate areas of concerns and initiate a plan to address these areas immediately when a disaster strikes. This can enable a business to experience little business interruption saving itself money and time in serving its customers and clients. This “Emergency Preparedness Plan” should be a vital component of any business’s operational plan.

Belfor Property Restoration is an experienced restoration provider specializing in creating these Emergency Preparedness Plans for its clients. Belfor is a single source provider with over 6,000 employees worldwide. The largest restoration provider in the world, Belfor understands insurance claim management and how to control cost expenses in the midst of a disaster. Belfor strives to achieve excellence by providing unparallel service 24 hours a day for any type of damage including Wind, Water, Fire and Vandalism, Commercial Drying, Storage of Contents, Board ups and Secure Property Reconstruction, Document Drying and Disaster / Business Continuity Planning.  

Employees of Belfor come from all types of diverse backgrounds and industry sectors. As Marketing Coordinator for Northern and Central New Jersey Denise Schmidt’s insurance background plays a vital part in assisting businesses with their specific needs. As a licensed insurance producer of Property and Casualty Life and Health Insurance in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Denise has experienced these claims first hand. As a previous Risk Manager with over 15 years of experience, Denise has mitigated insurance claims in her career with ADP and the Diocese of Paterson by implementing best practice guidelines for all members and entities of these organizations assisting these large organizations in instituting  an Emergency Preparedness Plans and partnering with a pre-qualified Restoration Provider. As a risk manager, her experience in first dollar property, liability and casualty claims including mitigating processes to reduce overall financial exposure saved these organizations substantial sums as result of her plan’s execution. 

If you are not a current Belfor client, the above statements will pertain to you. Anyone owning a business should have a plan in place. By not initiating a plan, you are leaving your business vulnerable to unqualified restoration companies who will inevitably increase your claim costs affecting your overall business operation. Disasters do happen. Rest assured, should they happen to you, you have a partner in Belfor. For a consultation and an assessment, please contact Denise Schmidt at Denise.Schmidt@us.belfor.com or call her directly at 973-216-2691.

About the author:

Denise Schmidt is the Marketing Coordinator for Northern and Central New Jersey. As part of Belfor Property Restoration, the world’s largest restoration provider she has access to all types of resources assisting her in providing single source solutions creating plans tailored to businesses specific needs. During her time has a risk manager for ADP and large non profits,  she was tasked with creating and putting into operation various initiatives, which produced a significant annual savings to the company in both premium dollars and overall claim’s reduction.

About Belfor Property Restoration:

BELFOR will restore your home, facility and personal and mission-critical contents. From emergency response, through structural drying and decontamination, and final rebuild, BELFOR is the Single Source for Emergency Service; Vital Records; Duct Cleaning; Electronics and Machinery; Environmental Services; Mold; Reconstruction; Pre-planning and Consulting. Call 800.856.3333 any time, day or night 365 days a year. A live operator will assist you with your loss. There are over 100 full-service BELFOR locations across North America.

Qualified Remodeler Magazine has ranked BELFOR USA #1 on the Top 500 since 2001.

 

 

Holiday Celebration

What a delightful gathering. Everyone reported having a wonderful time. Because of the size crowd, we had the large room at the Paris Inn which gave everyone plenty of room to mingle. Paris had set up our own bar and hor'dourves. 

The emails following sharing some of their success stories of people they met and are able to do business with is always rewarding for me to hear. 

It was such a pleasure to see everyone connecting so warmly. And it is always delightful to have the opportunity to share time with this generous and fun group of individuals.

 

Our Holiday Mixer

We had a wonderful evening of socializing and networking this week kicking off the holiday season. This annual event always brings out our participants from all over. It is a great opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones. 

Those that were new to the group expressed interest in returning to our regular, more intimate events and we look forward to getting to know them better. 

It was a reminder that it is the relationship that matters and the room was evident of some wonderful relationships that have formed from participation in the group. It was nice to see. 

Happy Birthday For Me

I am blessed to have a large personal network as well as a large business network. The personal network, however, kicked in yesterday to help celebrate my birthday.

I was delighted that a group of summer pool pals invited me out for a delightful afternoon of food and drink. They made my birthday one to be remembered. We also saw others from my business network there as well so it was an extra surprise. 

This followed brunch with other friends that I wouldn't have become friends with unless I had attended a business networking event where we first met. 

Obviously, I probably ate too much but limiting myself wasn't on the radar for this celebration. 

It doesn't matter how or where you meet. What does matter is creating a network of people with whom you can share the challenges as well as the celebrations of life.