All Topics in Chicago

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  Get a Grip on Your Business

  John McMahon, President, TractionLeadership, LLC

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Even the most successful entrepreneurs occasionally find running a business a challenge. They grapple with lack of control, profit, growth and people who don’t follow through. Hear John’s solutions.

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  Get (and Stay) Organized

  Erin J. Kelly, Professional Organizer, Arranged By Erin

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Self-Improvement

  Learn how to live a simple and organized life. Whether it’s your home or office, Erin explains the tools to help you be more productive and save time. Erin has given speeches all over Chicago including corporations, ADD support groups, and libraries.

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  Generation Z (Zoomers) in the Workplace

  Mary Erlain, President, Peak Development Strategies

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  The workplace has undergone a profound transformation in recent years, driven by two seismic shifts: the pandemic and the generational turnover in the workforce. MORE >

  Time has seemed to fly by, bringing with it a wave of change that many of us barely registered. A new generation has quietly entered the workplace, but have we truly acknowledged their arrival?

  For many, the answer is no—and for a good reason. Gen Z stepped into their professional roles during a time of unprecedented disruption. Remote work and virtual meetings on platforms like Zoom replaced traditional onboarding experiences, making their entry less noticeable but no less impactful.

  Their influence on organizations has been significant, though often misunderstood. This book, The Zoomers: Our Next Generational Wave in the Workplace, aims to change that. It offers an insightful and constructive perspective on Gen Z, challenging stereotypes and providing a deeper understanding of their values, behaviors, and expectations.

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  General Self-Defense

  Peter Honigmann, Founder and Head Instructor, Best Defense Concepts, LLC

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Health & Fitness

  Offering presentations, seminars or hands-on classes in basic self-defense. The presentation can cover the following topics: law of self-defense, situational awareness and de-escalation, simple and effective strikes and techniques for dealing with the most common street attacks, how to defend against attacker's with weapons, the use of improvised weapons/pepper spray, or any other self-defense related topics of interest to the group. MORE >

  Presentations will be tailored to the group and the topic. Any "hands-on" classes would require participants to sign a waiver.

  I am only available to give presentations weekday evenings and weekends, and limit my travel to suburbs north and west of Chicago.

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  Games Prospects and Buyers Play

  Bryan McDonald, Partner/Owner, onPurpose Growth

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Old ways don't open new doors. We hear two things consistently these days: everybody sells or everybody is in sales. Nobody wants be sold. The question we ask ourselves is how do these two things coexist? The traditional way of selling leaves your prospects wanting something different and you, wanting more prospects! In The Games Buyers & Prospects Play session, we will have a roundtable discussion that includes the underlying psychology driving your buyer's and prospect's behavior. MORE >

  We will present how the elite sales professionals and entrepreneurs, across industries, change the rules of the game and thus change the behaviors to improve the outcomes of their sales efforts.

  If you struggle with:

  ✦Having prospects that you thought sounded positive but never respond to follow up
  ✦Prospects that meet with you regularly and never pay for your service aka free advice
  ✦If you have ever said “I wish I just have smarter clients”
  ✦Frankly, if you are just tired of doing the same old tactics that never feel right nor, get you where you want to be, The Games Buyers & Prospects Play may just open the door to new possibilities for you.

  Join us and we will discuss a way to change your results!

  You will walk away with:

  ✦Understanding the commonly accepted selling steps
  ✦Learn about what is driving your prospects/buyers reactions
  ✦Discover the inherent conflict between the 2 above, that stops/slows down your sales
  ✦Be introduced to some key concepts that break the old model

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  From zero to launch: A walk-through of the website process

  Lisa Ghisolf, President & Founder, Gizmo Creative Factory, Inc.

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  I’ll share my step-by-step process (honed since the days of just HTML) for WordPress website creation or redesign. We’ll touch on content audits, theme selection (or should you go custom?), launch checklists, and post-launch care. Also freelancer or client management. MORE >

  Great for those who want to launch or relaunch their sites and those who work with clients.

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  From Darkness to Light: A Journey of Mental Health Resilience

  Jason Prinzo, Mental Health Advocate, Compass Marketing + Promotion

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Health & Fitness

  In this powerful keynote, Jason explores the reality of mental illness including, anxiety, depression and suicide while offering practical strategies for managing mental health. Deeply personal, honest and insightful, Jason shares his story of overcoming years of childhood trauma that led to decades of struggles with depression, anxiety and eventually teetering on the edge of suicide. MORE >

  Equal parts personal and educational, Jason leaves audiences inspired by his journey along with useful and actionable ways to maintain our mental health while shattering the stigma behind mental illness. Ultimately, this talk is a call to normalize conversations around mental health and empower individuals to take control of their well-being.

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  Five Marketing Principles Every Business Must Get Right to Maximize Results

  Mark James, Founder & President, Performance Advisors Group, Inc.

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Business

  Have you ever heard someone say this about their marketing: “We tried that and it didn’t work?” or, "We are not seeing the marketing results we expected." They are probably missing one or more of these principals. And it is costing time and money. Attend this presentation to see how these five key principals will help you: MORE >

  - Avoid the marketing “shiny key” syndrome
  - Prevent the "winging it" trap
  - Visualize marketing as a journey
  - Make better informed marketing decisions
  - Validate results
  - Understand what customers really care about

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  Financial Literacy – The Basics

  Renee N. Duba, Founder, Sonder Private Wealth Management

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Financial

  We live in a world now where the responsibility for a lifetime of financial well-being rests solely in our own hands. The increasing complexity of the financial choices and decisions we face have exposed a dismal reality: most folks do not have an adequate understanding of the financial principals, behaviors and attitudes that will foster financial well-being. MORE >

  In this interactive presentation, we discuss what financial literacy means and why it’s critically important for a life of financial security and enjoyment. Topics include the components of literacy and basic principles upon which attendees can learn to gain control over day to day financial matters, build for retirement, and enjoy the things in life they love today.

  This is an intro to a series of presentations that include Budget Building, Retirement Planning and Investing. Can be customized for your organization.

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  Fatal Incident

  Jim Proebstle, Author

  TOPIC CATEGORY: Miscellaneous

  Inspired by the true events of an Air Transport Command aircraft disaster in Alaska in 1944, Fatal Incident reveals the dark secrets of a WW II conspiracy and cover-up of how twenty U.S. military deaths have gone unsolved for over 70 years. The story will attract men and women interested in intrigue, Russian espionage, and heart-pounding drama; as the human emotions and lives of people in love, separated by war, are changed forever. MORE >

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