tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29637895027471633192011-11-27T20:14:37.383-05:00SPrING is Service Professionals Industry Networking Group and this blog is the foundation of its community. SPrING is for individuals and companies who provide services to corporations (consultants, trainers, coaches, attorneys, recruiters, etc.). The group's purpose is to create networking opportunities, share best practices, and create new business and career opportunities for its members. To join, just click the Join SPrING button on the sidebar and join us via LinkedIn.Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.comBlogger91100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-74262542401911950872008-09-10T18:26:00.001-04:002008-09-10T18:26:47.984-04:00

So here's a request - right now we're an exceedingly small community (despite the 60 or so members of SPrING on LinkedIn). Where do you folks want this group to go (I know you didn't just join for the flashy LinkedIn badge...)? Where should we take the conversation? How do we grow this to be something meaningful and worth peoples' time to get involved? What do you want out of it? Comments are

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-45606241375811167552008-09-04T11:33:00.001-04:002008-09-04T11:33:52.072-04:00

Sure being a small and/or independent service provider has it's share of challenges (actually, more than its fair share), but there are benefits. One of my favorite ones is known as the Individual 401k that's available to certain types of business owners. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the regular "corporate" 401k plan that enables you to defer taxes on up to ~$15,000 of your income.

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-53047878049638199012008-08-25T09:27:00.001-04:002008-08-25T09:27:00.905-04:00

What's your favorite way to get a prospective client's attention? I have a few favorites and have had many of these tried out on me. In no particular order, here are some of the best (and worst) I've come across:- mass offline advertising (magazines, direct mail, radio, etc.)- pure face to face/phone networking- cold calling- social networking (LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.)- pro bono speaking

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-46932010313016703592008-08-18T09:45:00.000-04:002008-08-18T09:45:00.526-04:00

Have you ever had that uncomfortable conversation with a prospective client that went like this:"Hi Mrs. Prospect. This is Mike calling to see if you've got some time to catch up and discuss our services.""Thanks for the fourth follow up. As I mentioned Monday, I need some time to look at the budget. I didn't reply to your voicemails and emails on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday because I'm

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-15006421287742543722008-08-11T13:28:00.001-04:002008-08-11T13:28:01.366-04:00

We small guys and gals don't have the luxury of having a legal department. Sometimes it's even too expensive to have counsel on retainer (aside: hopefully we have some attorneys join this network to help us... Invite your attorney to join today!). Given that, we're left to our own devices to wade through the huge contracts large corporations ask us to sign.Do yourself and your business a favor:

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-83817196711398090662008-08-04T21:23:00.004-04:002008-08-05T08:36:49.666-04:00

First off - I don't look good in orange (actually, I do but saying so would defeat the purpose of the previous statement). This post is not about price fixing across companies. It's simply a thought starter on how to think about pricing your services if you're a small service provider. There are three major approaches (and one snarky one) I've come across (and would love to hear your thoughts on

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-46464956433428030382008-07-30T19:31:00.005-04:002008-08-05T08:37:31.245-04:00

No, I didn't spell that incorrectly (if you read my "I never want to be sic[k]" post on the thoughtLEADERS blog, you'll understand my maniacal focus on spelling accuracy). Complement someone. You're a service professional. You have a business built on leveraging your particular core competencies. Those skills likely provide you a wonderfully profitable niche. The difficult part comes when

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-46860956344110525722008-07-11T14:34:00.004-04:002008-08-05T08:38:02.759-04:00

Help someone. Do it because it's right. Do it because they need it. Do it even if it has no direct benefit for you. Pay it forward. A few recent examples just from this morning:A friend of mine is looking for a job. We spent time going over his resume and I'm sending it out to a bunch of people I know.I publicized someone's business to a potential customer.I made a connection between two

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2963789502747163319.post-77797812360170245132008-07-10T22:49:00.003-04:002008-07-11T11:23:21.535-04:00

Hi! You found us. Unfortunately there's not a lot to find yet. We're building the Service Professionals Industry Networking Group (SPrING). It's for individuals and companies who provide services to corporations (consultants, trainers, coaches, attorneys, recruiters, etc.). The group's purpose is to create networking opportunities, share best practices, and create new business and career

Mike Figliuolohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14145979594811375210noreply@blogger.com0