Insiders Know-How: Running Your Own Business: Meet the authors

Liora Farkovitz

Born Mary Beth Bundy (married Stein) in the United States in 1962, she grew up primarily in Lexington, Kentucky, amongst many creative artist professionals. Graduating in 1986, with a Bachelor’s of Social Work from the University of Kentucky, Liora initially aspired to work as a family therapist, but upon graduation pursued a position that would expand upon her technical proclivities.

While living in Atlanta, Georgia she joined the Jewish Community and acquired the additional Hebrew name, Liora. She is the proud and adoring mother of three; a daughter and two sons, who reside with their father. Now remarried, and known as Liora Farkovitz, she lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Artist and Master Goldsmith, Louis Farkovitz.

Spending the first ten years of her career working in the corporate, technology sector, she built her experience as an entrepreneur with Bundy & Associates. In 1990, she started her first business which was a boutique automation and training consultancy. This first business evolved into a software packaging and distribution company founded as DupliSoft, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The business ran successfully between 1993 and 2000.

Since that time, Ms. Farkovitz has become an independent Content Strategist; writing, narrating, publishing and professionally promoting her work as well as the work of other new authors and innovators. With more than 20 years’ experience as an entrepreneur she often writes on the topics of small business and product development strategies, legal and judicial issues, as well as advocates for women’s and human rights with a special interest in digital forensics. Through her research of the judicial and family court system, she was certified as an ADAAA Court Advocate, and a Guardian ad Litem in the state of Connecticut.

Website: www.liorafarkovitz.com

E-mail: liora@liorafarkovitz.com

 

Kym William

Kym Williams is the Managing Director of BRS (www.brsresults.com), a fast-growing management advisory firm that assists clients in the infrastructure, government and resources sectors to achieve their desired objectives. Kym is also the co-founder of easyconsult (www.easyconsult.com.au), a coaching program for building great consultants and in 2014 Kym and his wife Nicole launched easygovernment (www.easygovernment.com.au), a coaching program focussed on building strong and effective government leaders. Kym’s purpose is to bring out the best in people from all walks of life, and he is driven by nurturing people and teams who are empowered, proactive and committed with a focus on openness and integrity. Kym’s strengths are his passion, enthusiasm and energy to deliver outstanding results to clients particularly in the fields of leadership, culture and high performance.

 

Paul Lindsell

In 1993 Paul founded Lindsell Marketing, a leading marketing and communications agency, serving corporate giants, through to smaller dynamically growing entrepreneurial firms. Since 2009, he also devotes his time to running and developing MindMetre Research, a market research company with clients in technology, finance, retail and a number of other sectors.

Paul has successfully grown several businesses advising and supporting organisations large and small on their marketing and communications requirements, particularly on how to integrate marketing with sales to produce bottom-line results. These organisations range from giants such as Siemens, Kingfisher Group and Regus, to small but dynamically growing firms.

Paul has developed his companies through a twenty year period of massive technological change, changes in business practice and economic uncertainty. He has developed those businesses to compete ahead of market developments, now operating across countries from the USA, through Europe, to Russia, India, China and Australia.

Paul also offers a particular expertise in grasping the power of the internet, mobile and social media, while retaining balance and integration with traditional media that still play a critical part in reaching and influencing audiences and markets.

He has also played a leading role in the development of thought-leadership marketing, the art of positioning companies as leaders in their field by researching and publishing insights into those companies’ markets in order to demonstrate the company’s expertise to customers, stakeholders, shareholders and influencers.

Throughout his career, Paul has also mentored and guided the marketing function- on a pro bono basis – for a range of charitable organisations. He is also co-founder of The Data Governance Forum and founder of the European Supply Chain Finance Forum.

 

Mark King

Mark King is PEER 1 Hosting’s EMEA Channel Lead, focusing on growing existing channel partnerships and initiating new relationships in the partner sector.

With a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from his work at Avnet in the IBM Business Unit, Mark maintains business growth in EMEA whilst continuing to deliver the exceptional experience to partners that PEER 1 Hosting strives to achieve. PEER 1 Hosting is the number one provider of web hosting solutions in the eCommerce sector.

 

 

 

Darren Hickie

Hi, I am Darren. I have spent many years setting up and running several businesses. There are two key components to getting a business working. Firstly, marketing and then sales.

If your company was set up like mine, I was good at doing my thing, and I set up a business to do it. But I soon realized that I needed to do the sales to make it work, once my family and friends had bought from me. I needed new people that I had never met.

I have spent many thousands of pounds on courses, coaches and hours learning how to get better at sales. I have tested most systems and processes. Being a process person I have built a system that proved successful, until I needed to remove myself from the sales process.

What I did was to combine my knowledge using all the other systems I have used over the many years in to this stepped process. The landscape of sales continues to change but the steps in the right order will always work.

I want to thank everyone that has helped and guided me to leaning what I now know. I hope that this process will help other key people in your business. I have always believed that everyone in the business is a sales person no matter what their job is so, everyone should read this.

 

Cathy Ewald

Cathy has a PhD in computer science from The University of Queensland for a thesis focusing on how to make different databases work well together.

She has experience in both business analysis – helping people work out what they need technology to do for them and how and systems analysis – drawing up the detailed plans as well as building or selecting actual solutions and has worked for a range of organisations including Queensland Health. She combines strong technical know- how with a passion for helping people use technology better.

She is an experienced speaker, who was invited to give seminar to the University of Queensland data and knowledge engineering group and wider IT research population in September 2013. She has also spoken at many other Australian and international events during her time as a researcher. After serious floods hit her city in 2011, she realised that small businesses didn’t have a trusted, independent advisor to help them with technology issues and founded The Electronic Lighthouse to fill this gap.

 

Patricia Baronowski-Schneider

Founder and President of Pristine Advisers, a marketing and communications professional with over 25 years experience in the financial communications and media relations industry.

Patricia began her career in investor relations and financial communications over 2 decades ago at Dewe Rogerson Inc.  She has held various positions, primarily in the IR/PR area. In her role as Managing Director in the Financial Communications department with The Altman Group, she led a number of IR and PR and Media programs for closed-end funds as well as publicly held companies globally.

Ms. Baronowski-Schneider is responsible for developing and executing financial communication programs that position clients effectively in the financial community. She has over 25 years experience working in the closed-end fund arena, as well as working in corporate communications, public relations, media relations and investor relations fields for CEFs, ETFs, MLPs, BDCs, REITS, Hedge Funds, Corporations, Restaurants, Extreme Sports, etc.

Patricia has an MBA in Business Management and a BA in Marketing.  Patricia is also a Certified Social Media Strategist, Notary Public, Member of NIRI, FMA International, FENG and AAII.