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Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





Cobb County Edition: Denise Wiggins, Entrepreneur and Author

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Denise Wiggins/ Lip Synk Cosmetics

LipSynk Cosmetics was founded in 2014 by Mrs. Denise Wiggins a dynamic woman of God. Mrs. Wiggins has always had a passion for helping others, especially women. Mrs. Wiggins has learned many valuable lessons from being a single mother raising 3 children independently; struggling to make ends meet by working 2-3 jobs; and realizing opportunities missed due to a lack of education. She now, inspiringly shares those lessons in hopes of empowering women from all walks of life to know that whatever situation you may find yourself in, as long as you can dream and have faith – there is no mountain too big to overcome. Mrs.Wiggins’ motto is “You must believe that all things are possible through Christ.” Mrs. Wiggins always remained a faithful servant of God, and her dream of encouraging, inspiring and giving hope to other women is now being realized through LipSynk Cosmetics. Mrs. Wiggins created this cosmetic line for women of all ethnicities, while having difficulties finding appealing colors complimentary to her skin tone. LipSynk Cosmetics encourages women to embrace their natural beauty. Our products naturally enhance the woman’s beauty, and are long lasting for longer wear.
We are dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and quality products to our customers. LipSynk Cosmetics is a brand that empowers women around the world while serving as a platform that will give back and make women feel beautiful, confident, inspired and empowered.

LipSynk Cosmetics is currently donating $1 of every purchase to help fight the war against Ebola and provide for children orphaned by Ebola in West African countries.

Denise Wiggins is currently celebrating the release of her new book “My Struggles God’s Glory”

Special Edition: Georgia Society of CPAs

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Today’s episode features guests who are members of the Georgia Society of CPAs.

Joel Pascaner/Jones and Kolb Linkedin

Joel L. Pascaner is a tax principal specializing in high net worth individuals, privately held entities, partnerships, S corporations, estates and trusts, not-for-profit organizations, and state and local tax matters. He also has extensive experience representing taxpayers before the IRS as well as numerous other taxing jurisdictions.

Joel is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and The Leaderhship Team of the Tax Section of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been an at-large member of the GSCPA Council. In addition, he has served as the Chairman of the Tax Section of the GSCPA as well as both the Federal Tax Legislation and the Georgia Tax Legislation Subcommittees of the GSCPA Tax Section, where he was involved in the drafting and introduction of proposed legislation. He is also a Past Chairman of the Depreciation Committee and the Tax Accounting Problems Committee of the NYSSCPA. Mr. Pascaner was a member of the GSCPA 2006 Tax Forum Planning Committee and served as Moderator at the Forum’s Luncheons with Georgia Tax Commissioner Bart Graham. He was awarded “2006 Distinguished Section Leader” by the GSCPA and served on their Task Force on Employment. Joel is a member of the Atlanta Tax Forum and the Atlanta Estate Planning Council. He is a graduate of the Philanthropic Advisor Leadership Institute and was awarded the “Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager” by Atlanta Magazine for years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

Joel has authored numerous articles in professional and industry publications including the CPA Journal and the Taxation for Accountants.

He has served on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Disabilities Network and the Board of Trustees of Georgia Shakespeare. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Finance Committee of the Atlanta Film Festival.

Prior to joining Jones and Kolb, Joel practiced as a tax professional with Stephen M. Berman & Associates, L.L.C, Laventhol & Horwath and Peat Marwick.

Joel is a CPA and received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania as well as his Masters of Science in Taxation at the Long Island University

John Masters, CPA, PC Linkedin

John Masters earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1969, followed by his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1975, and finally his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1979. During this period he was employed eight years in the Computer, Aerospace, and Electronics industries. During 1979 he was admitted to the Georgia Bar and received his certificate to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in Georgia and Alabama.

John has been active in professional, civic, and political activities throughout his career. He presently serves on the Georgia Society of Certified Pubic Accountants Professional Ethics Committee, and recently completed his term as Chairman of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants Tax Section. He has served as a SBA Score/Ace Volunteer Consultant, taught in the Junior Achievement Program and been a Future Business Leaders of America sponsor. He administered the “Call the Expert” on taxation program for 21 years at WGST News Radio where he also appeared as Tax Series Guest/Host. He has participated in various other radio and television tax related programs, testified at administrative hearings including the Georgia Special Council on Taxation, and held positions in other organizations.

John has taught courses at Oglethorpe University, Clayton Junior College (now Clayton State College) and the Becker CPA Review Course. For the last several years he has been an active member of the Dekalb Peachtree Squadron, Georgia Wing, of the Civil Air Patrol where he currently holds the rank of Major, and has been an active member of the Northside Atlanta Jaycees and the Decatur Dekalb Kiwanis Club. His is currently a member of the American Bar Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Bar Association, Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

John practices in Atlanta, Georgia principally in the areas of taxation and accounting, taxpayer representation before administrative bodies and tax tribunals, and related fields.

Julian Fortuna / Taylor English Duma LLP

Julian A. Fortuna is a member of the Corporate and Business practice group at Taylor English Duma LLP where he practices business and tax law with a focus on domestic and international tax planning for business entities, owners and executives. He also represents clients in tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Georgia Department of Revenue, United States Tax Court, Georgia Tax Tribunal and various other federal, state, local and foreign tax authorities and judicial bodies. With more than 30 years of professional tax experience, Mr. Fortuna is capable of handling all tax matters related to the formation, financing, operation, restructuring, and disposition of a wide variety of business entities.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Fortuna was Vice President and General Tax Counsel for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) where he was responsible for structuring the domestic and international tax impacts of numerous mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other corporate transactions, as well as construction projects, leases, exchanges, and other real and personal property transactions. Mr. Fortuna was responsible for state and local tax matters (including property, sales/use and occupancy taxes). He also directed tax research and planning for cross-border financing, captive insurance, and the worldwide use of trade names and other intangible assets. He represented IHG before the IRS and various other tax authorities on audits, appeals, and ruling requests, and pursued tax regulatory and legislative changes for the benefit of IHG with US Treasury and Congressional personnel in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining IHG, Mr. Fortuna spent 11 years in the tax department at Deloitte and Touche where he served a variety of corporate and individual clients, and prior to that he served four years in the US Treasury Department at Office of the Chief Counsel for the IRS where he was responsible for litigation in the United States Tax Court.

 

 

Cobb County Edition: Simply Charessa of SE Visionary Planning

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Charessa Sawyer/ SC Visionary Planning

Charessa Sawyer is a certified Event producer and CEO of SC Visionary Planning & Production, Personal event Coach, talk show series personality and advocate for Cancer Survivors. As a CEO she develops, coordinates, and consults event productions primarily for charitable organizations. She is the producer and organizer of the “The Table Talk Series” which travels across the United States promoting positive debate and conversation, and highlighting nonprofits and individuals providing great work in their communities. She is a strong advocate of celebrating survivors of social, economic and health challenges and is best known for her, Charge Up campaign celebrating breast cancer survivors . Additionally, Charessa is host and producer of “The Brown Swan” project, a documentary focused on the trials and tribulations of survivors.

Charessa and her work has been featured on several media outlets including Amirakal Talk Radio, I’m Every Woman Radio, Florida and Georgia Star, ABC News Channel in Georgia and North Carolina. She shares that her mother’s strength is the master of her faith and reason for her hard work. Charessa’s motto is “a vision unseen is a dream unclaimed, encouraging everyone to create a vision and push for their dreams.”

Cobb County Edition: Alexandria Alli of F and W Style and Shanda Cadet of Business, Babies & Beauty

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Alexandria Alli/ F&W Style 

My name is Alexandria Alli and I am the Owner / Designer at F&W Style. I started my passion for fashion at age ten, when I persuaded my mother to let me assist her at her Fashion Design Studio everyday after school. At that young age I learned a lot about design and running a fashion business. At the age of thirteen my family moved from Nigeria to Atlanta, Georgia and I started my modeling career. I modeled for major companies throughout the United States.

As my modeling career advanced I fell in love with the beauty and glamour of the industry. I fell in love with the well crafted luxurious Items specifically handbags that I got to wear. But I soon realized that most women including myself could not afford the luxurious accessories and clothing that I modeled in magazines and on the runway.

After earning my Masters Degree in Business Administration in 2008, I decided to put my educational background with my years of experience in the fashion industry and create a luxurious brand for the everyday fashionable woman. With the support my husband Alfred Alli, F&W Style was born.

Website: www.fwstyle.com

Instagram: @fwstyle

Facebook: F&W Style

Twitter: @fwstylebags

 

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Shanda Cadet/ Business Babies & Beauty Shanda Cadet is the founder of Business Babies & Beauty. An empowerment brand that helps women entrepreneurs  start a business and maintain a successful family life.

As a stay at home wife, mother, and homeschool teacher to her 6 children, she is also the President of Airbender, a premier HVAC company in Atlanta, GA and CEO of One Rich Lifestyle, a creative lifestyle brand. Shanda enjoys both her home life and professional pursuits, and is often asked how she does it all. That led her to create Business Babies and Beauty as a platform to speak to women and provide them tips, tools and information on how to manage family and business. Stay connected withShanda online: www.businessbabiesandbeauty.com  www.onerichlifestyle.com  info@businessbabiesandbeauty.com@businessbabiesandbeauty on Facebook and Instagram

Cobb County Edition: The Power of Networking w/ Keith Ivey

 

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Keith Ivey/Identity Theft Specialist 

Keith Ivey provides small business owners with programs that are specifically designed to enhance employee productivity, increase the bottom line and protect the business from all of the legal events of business life.

Keith Ivey is also an identity theft specialist and a dynamic speaker. He is a member of several Cobb County business associations and facilitates several networking experiences in Cobb County to help other entrepreneurs to build their business.

My Networking Groups
1. Kennesaw Area Business Networking Luncheon (RSVP Required) – 1st & 3rd Wednesdays – Noon –  http://www.meetup.com/Kennesaw-Area-Business-Networking/
 
2. East Cobb Business Networking Luncheon (RSVP Required) – 2nd & 4th Wednesday – Noon – http://www.meetup.com/East-Cobb-Business-Networking-Luncheon/
3. Marietta Business Association Networking Group – Thursdays – 3pm – Charles D. Switzer Public Library/Marietta
 
4. TipClubs in Alpharetta, Perimeter Mall Area and Buckhead (RSVP Required) – www.TipClub.com (800-798-0270/Jim Fox)

Cobb County Edition: Revive Consignment & The Book Stop

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Brice Fogle/ Revive Consignment

Jubilee Church established Revive Consignment in 2007 in Woodstock, GA to demonstrate that the church is more than just a meeting on Sunday but it should affect society itself. From the first day Revive Consignment opened, the hope was that not only would homes or clothing be “revived” but families, marriages, finances, and lives themselves would be “revived” by the grace of God.  In this desire to make a difference, not only in the store but also in tangible ways within the community, part of the proceeds goes to helping the homeless and the needy in the local area.

In February of 2014, with a lot of help from the existing Revive Team, Brice pioneered the effort to open a second location of Revive in Smyrna. We did this to build relationships in the community and plant another location of Jubilee Church in the Smyrna area. Our philosophy is that customer service is our number one priority and we hope you will find authentic friendliness from each and every employee. We realize that everyone who walks through our doors has a story, just as we all do, and it is with this in mind that we desire to know and care for each person. In prayer, God highlighted to the founders that Revive would be a place where many would come simply because of its very atmosphere. Free coffee, cookies, and wi-fi is offered in the coffee bars of both locations and people are welcomed to relax and visit with us, meet up with friends or bring their laptop and use the space as a quiet place to work.

The nature of the business at Revive is that of consignment . Simply defined, consignment is selling an item for someone else and receiving a percentage of the sale price for doing so. You will find that Revive is unique since we offer an abundance of high quality clothing, home decor and furniture all under one roof in each of our locations. We so appreciate our consignors and think they would agree that consigning is a safe, simple process and a great way to earn some extra money. We even offer a furniture pickup and delivery service!

We will be celebrating 8 years as a company on Saturday June 6th, 2015. It has been a wonderful journey, and we have really enjoyed participating in the Cobb County business community over the last year four months. The city of Smyrna has been a great host and the Smyrna Business Association has been a great welcoming organization to help us make business connections in the community. Jubilee Church now has two small groups that meet in homes throughout the week in Smyrna, and we hope to launch a Sunday meeting sometime next spring.

 

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Elaine Koziatek/ The Book Stop

Elaine Koziatek is an entrepreneur whose current endeavor includes The Book Stop, located in Smyrna, Georgia. A public speaker, she specializes in the arena of human resources. She received a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Charter Oak University in Connecticut and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Troy State University.

Having spent 25 years in the arena of Senior Management with various public and private companies Elaine branched out into her own consultant company, and purchased The Book Stop back in December 2013.

The Book Stop is a neighborhood book store specializing in gently used books, audio books, Usborne books, and as of May 1, 2015 is the proud sole distributor of “The Burse”.

The store purchases books from its customers for store credit (25% of publisher purchase price).  The books are then clean and put out on the shelves for purchase. The books are available at 50% off the publisher price. The Book Stop has over 25,000 books on its selves. The store utilizes the Dorwood Design which is a design focused on exceptional customer experience.   We offer individualized service and customized help for our clients to ensure their needs are met.

“The Burse” is the brain child of two local women who make purses out of hard back books. They remove the inside pages, line the inside with fabric and put handles on them. The process is amazing to watch it all come together. Similar items are available on Etsy for up to $150. “The Burse” is available starting at $29.99.   Special orders are the norm. The Book Stop does have an inventory of ten available for immediate purchase.

She has been active in the Smyrna Lions Club, Toastmasters International, and the Georgia Blind Sports Association. Currently her volunteer efforts are focused on the 2015 National Goal Ball Championships being held June 18 – 20, 2015 right here in Atlanta, Georgia, she is looking for volunteers for this Olympic level event. Did we mention she is Volunteer Chair for the event?

Elaine’s experience arises from her working around the United States and international in Costa Rica.

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

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Amyn Sadruddin / TiE Atlanta Linkedin Twitter 

Sid Mookerji / SPI Linkedin Twitter Facebook

Sid Mookerji is Global CEO and Founder of SPI. He has built the organization with a passion about providing the best client experience for Retailers worldwide looking for services and innovation in IT and is recognized as an expert on outsourcing, IT services and technology solutions for the Retail Industry. He has received the Indian government’s Excellence in IT Exports award twice. In 2008, he helped secure SPI’s placement in the Atlanta Business Magazine’s list of Top Ten Fastest-Growing Companies. He has been honored for SPI’s rapid growth by USPAACC as well as by Inc Magazine several times.

Sid holds a BE (Hons) Electrical and Electronics from BITS, Pilani, India and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. He serves on NASSCOM’s Regional Council and the Academic Advisory Board of SDM Institute for Management Development.

 

 

Cobb County Edition: Marietta Business Association

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Dave Olsen/ VP / President-elect of the Marietta Business Association,

The Marietta Business Association exists for the purpose of promoting the civic, social, commercial, economic welfare and business goals of its members. We are like minded individuals representing businesses who come together to build relationships, grow our businesses and to add value to the economic welfare of our association and community. We give back to the community through collaborative efforts on projects in the education and local community of city, county and state. We add value to each other both personally and professionally in the form of service, business and relationships by providing venues to promote and strengthen these relationships by providing events in networking, business referrals and service in the community.

Website: http://www.mariettabusiness.biz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariettaBusinessAssociation

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MariettaBiz

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3119879&trk=hb_side_g

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmma9LlXTG6djkHMaJom-_Q

Cobb County Special Edition: NorthStar Payroll

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Dave Olsen, President/ April Rhodes, Business Development Executive/  NorthStar Payroll

Dave established NorthStar Payroll on the foundation of 35 years of CPA and CFO expertise. His company provides payroll and employee management solutions to help clients improve operations and position them for future growth. They partner with small to medium sized businesses, churches and non-profit organizations ranging from 1 to 1000 employees to deliver a personal and customized approach.

Dave’s experience includes being a CPA firm partner, the co-founder and CFO of a food processing business, software industry executive, and many civic and non-profit leadership roles.

Dave’s company also integrates leading solution providers in electronic timekeeping, background checks, benefits, hiring assessments, and others to meet comprehensive employer needs.

Dave also serves as the VP / President-elect of the Marietta Business Association, a voluntary association of business people in the Marietta area who join together for the collective benefit of the members.