Congratulations to our 2008 Award recipients
Voted in by their peers, these 3 Business Owners will be honored at our annual Holiday party December 16.
The Entrepreneur Circle Entrepreneurial Success Story:
This award goes to The Entrepreneur Circle Member that has demonstrated the most entrepreneurial spirit.
1. Most creative idea
2. Followed their business/plan
3. Turned a concept into reality
Attorney Diana L. Bartolotta began her practice as a solo practitioner in March of 2006, after leaving a large, corporate firm because she realized that she could be more effective at helping the little guy in a smaller practice. This solo practice evolved into what is now B-Law LLC.
B-Law’s vision is to be the big law firm for the little guy. Attorney Bartolotta recognized that traditional billing methods of law firms were resulting in clients not hiring attorneys for proper planning in advance, but rather waiting until something went wrong and hiring an attorney to resolve disputes. B-Law’s client model is designed to encourage clients to hire attorneys for proper planning upfront, thereby saving money by eliminating expensive litigation down the road.
Attorney Bartolotta owes much of the success of the implementation of this vision to her participation in E-Circle, which has given her a network of passionate professionals who challenged her to expand her vision to meet the needs of her clients. She wants to thank all of those friends and colleagues who supported her in her nontraditional vision of what a law firm could be and challenged her to grow into the successful business B-Law is today.
B-Law, LLC specializes in Real Estate, Estate Planning, and Small Business Law.
The Entrepreneur Circle Member of the Year:
This award goes to The Entrepreneur Circle Member that achieved/exceeded their business goals for 2008.
1. Demonstrated business growth
2. Accomplished set goals
3. Innovative thinker
4. Persistence/Drive
Chris Meacham is the owner of Now IT Works, a technology management company providing fixed monthly fees and response time guarantees to the healthcare, non-profit and e-commerce customers. With an advanced help desk ticketing system and customized managed service plans, Now IT Works will tailor plans to fit each customer’s needs. This includes budget planning, measurable reporting and planning for future growth.
By focusing on proactive monitoring, scheduled maintenance, consistency in best practices and an excellent communication path, Now IT Works has been able to expand their services and their customer base in 2008. With this consistent growth, Chris increased business and revenue by 70%, along with doubling the technical team to 5 certified technicians. Also in 2008, Chris was an active member in the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, BCN Networking Group, The Entrepreneur Circle and was nominated for the “40 Under 40″ award through the Hartford Business Journal.
Chris and Now IT Works are looking forward to introducing new products and services to the healthcare, non-profit and e-commerce markets in 2009 as well as growing their technical and sales staff.
The Entrepreneur Circle Champion of the year:
This award goes to The Entrepreneur Circle Member that went above and beyond the call of duty to help out others.
1. Accessibility to members in need of advice
2. Mentoring
3. Support
Christopher Swanson is President of BMA Marketing, a marketing and sales organization located in Wolcott, CT. BMA Marketing is an organization that provides small businesses with marketing and sales solutions including the design and daily operation of outbound lead generation and sales pipeline systems.
A big believer in leveraging the power of technology, Chris was able to cut the overhead of his company by 50%. Chris took this knowledge and applied it to his product line, to create calculated and efficient campaigns. Since becoming a member of The Entrepreneur Circle he has been a tremendous resource for the organization. Educating members on utilizing technology to cut costs and create efficiencies. Chris has been very generous with his time, sharing his knowledge, and helping out his fellow entrepreneur.
Before purchasing BMA in 2007, Chris spent 12 years with a CT engineering software firm, assisting the organization with their climb from a $3m small business into a $20m industry leader who was acquired by the world’s 2nd largest engineering software developer.
Chris’ past successes include: Creating sales departments / Deploying enterprise level CRM systems / Managing marketing to over 500k+ clients and prospects / Developing automated messaging technology to allow small low-cost marketing and sales departments to deliver one-on-one custom communication to an audience of thousands on a daily basis.
