I'm very excited to be taking new big steps towards branding webbright and moving it to the next level. I expect great breakthroughs in 2012 for Webbright. As part of these steps, I am working with one of our Bright Partners, a creative agency specializing in branding, to "refresh" the logo and give it a more sophisticated and serious image. The team presented four different logo ideas. Thanks to my Bright Advisers, we decided on a new creative logo that has more modern feel, smart treatment of letters, and sophisticated design. The logo is the first phase; coming next, the website theme will also be updated.
About Webbright's Original Logo
I created the original logo in 2007 with the help of a seasoned graphic designer. With the original logo, the 'web' was the key element. It had a 'hidden spider' that reminded me of The Very Busy Spider, a fun book I enjoyed reading to my children when they were little. In this story, all the animals and bugs came to the spider asking to do 'stuff' during the day, but the spider was busy spinning her web. She was quitely and patiently working on her spider all day, until by night time she had a nice, big dinner. I often thought of this little spider during my early years of working on Webbright when it was hard work and quite. Luckily, daytime is almost over for Webbright as well; I'm finally starting to achieve some big breakthrough. While I'll miss my little spider, I'm ready to let go and start a new chapter for Webbright.
Stay tuned for more breakthroughs from Webbright!
I had the special fortune of meeting Mr. Jonathan Young, Director of Corporate Relations at Virginia State University and Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce board member, through the Chamber where he was the Member of the Month award for his contribution to the community. I got to learn about a couple of incredible business initiatives Mr. Young created for VSU students. One of them is a Business Week, were the university hosts guests from industries to speak to students about working in the “real world” and provide constructive feedback on their business skills through role playing scenarios. In addition, Mr. Young created and teaches a Professional Enhancement/Career Launch course where guests from industry facilitate student group discussion with a different focus each week.
As someone who is passionate about mentoring young aspiring students, I found both opportunities highly intriguing. I had the pleasure of participating in both of these programs. I was most impressed with the students’ skills and behavior. All the students I met conducted themselves in the most professional and positive manor. I was also most impressed with how well organized these programs were. Mr. Young puts in the extra effort to communicate all details to guests and make their experience pleasant and rewarding.
Virginia State University students are very fortunate to have these amazing opportunities thanks to the leadership and passion of Mr. Young. Having obtained two college degrees myself and worked in the “real world”, these programs Mr. Young is leading are what I wish I had when I went to school, and what I think each college should offer to all students whether they major in business or not; after all, they all will be working in some sort of a business or another.
Jon was kind to share more information on these programs in this 7-question interview:
- How would you describe Business Week?
Business Week constitutes an opportunity for nearly 1,000 undergraduate business students to be exposed to real-world professionals. Over 100 leading industry guests facilitated small group role-play, conducted team exercises, and participated in round table conversations. In a post event survey, 61.2% of students completely agreed with the proposition that the industry guests shared information relevant to what the student wanted to do professionally.
- How do you describe the Career Launch?
Career Launch constitutes a radical new approach to higher education. Representing a paradigm shift, Career Launch consists exclusively of small-group role-play pertinent to real-world topics facilitated by industry. In one semester, over 200 industry guests participate in coaching students on sales, cold calls, conflict resolution, customer is always right, etc. Career Launch is experiential learning; LECTURE IS NOT ALLOWED.
- How did you come up with these initiatives?
Career Launch’s origin was an industry focus group that I put together in 2010. I secured 17 leading professionals who participated in a four hour focus group to develop radical new real-world relevant curriculum.
- Can you explain some of the logistics that goes organizing the Business Week and Career Launch?
Haha, a lot and a lot of work!! First, it necessitates relationships with hundreds of industry leaders. Second, it demands a command of logistics equivalent to a platoon leader!
- What do you like most about teaching the Career Launch course?
It is probably the only class that I know of that when I announce at the end of the session each evening that we have exhausted our time, students boo because they want to keep going!
- Can you share examples of some of the guests that participated in your programs?
Oh goodness, it is a long list. Over 300 companies have now participated. This includes Fortune 500 companies and small entrepreneurs.
- Can you share some of the success stories that resulted from these programs?
Over 35 students have either secured internships and/or employment because of a relationship that a student forged by way of these programs.
Webbright is very pleased to welcome Chelsea Jackson to our internship program. Chelsea is a sophomore at Virginia State University working on her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Management Information Systems. Chelsea has been an active student at VSU working as a Student Activities Office Assistant and a Sophomore Class Vice President. Chelsea will be working on her Inbound Marketing certification while applying her new skills and knowledge to help with Webbright's marketing campaign.
Webbright's Inbound Marketing Internship is a 16-week, part-time, virtual internship program. Interns learn about Internet Marketing techniques and concepts through 16 online course series. Interns should be prepared to work independently and remotely. Interns are assigned a class and homework on weekly basis, and have a 30-minute phone meeting with Internship Supervisor to discuss progress, topics, and assignments. By the end of the program, interns can take a test and receive an Inbound Marketing Certificate from Inbound Marketing University.
Webbright's Internship Program is part of its mission to provide mentoring and support to promising, bright college students. Chelsea is the third student to join this internship program. Webbright is very thrilled and honored to have graduated two other interns to date; Erin Proctor and Brent Trotter both had a very positive and rewarding internship experience with Webbright.
"I am very glad I got the chance to work with Webbright. I learned a lot more than I could have in a classroom environment and I will apply what I have learned in future jobs or internships." -Erin Procter, Bright Inter
Since working with Webbright, Erin has had two more internships and is gaining valuable experience for when she graduates. Erin is currently a senior at St. Bonaventure University and is going on to a marketing internship in Boston with Karmaloop this Summer. She plans to stay and work in Boston for a few years and attend Emerson College to get her master's degree in Publishing.
"The experience has been invaluable. I've learned a lot and look forward to learning more in the future. I probably wouldn't have come across IMU or all the avenues of knowledge it took me down had it not been for Webbright.-Brent Trotter, Bright Intern
Brent is an Entrepreneur, Blogger and Freelance Writer. After successfully completing his internship with Webbright, he moved on to have two more internships before landing a full-time position as an Assistant Account Executive for a top advertising firm in Chicago, IL. Brent resumed his relationship with Webbright past his internship and is currently offering marketing/branding consulting services for Webbright on an ongoing basis.
Help me welcome Chelsea by leaving her a message in our comments section.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RICHMOND – Feb. 8, 2012 – Webbright founder and president, Ms Lamees Abourahma, has partnered with the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) to grow their membership by launching an online marketing campaign.
“We are excited about our new Executive Director, Ms Abourahma, who has hit the ground running,” said Mike Mayeux, RPOA co-founder and Novotus president.
Ms. Abourahma initially helped RPOA develop an RPO marketplace, called the Buyers’ Guide. The Buyers Guide is the first and only one of its kind in the RPO industry; it helps companies looking to hire an RPO provider to find and connect with the right provider. Since its launch last October, new providers are joining the Buyers Guide on daily basis. The content has boosted up the site traffic and leads a great deal.
“Not only is Lamees a fantastic leader for the RPOA, she is also a web development and marketing star,” said Mr John Younger, RPOA president and Accolo founder.
The RPOA has been going through a transformation that includes membership structure and benefits. “One of the first things I will be working on is conducting market research to help define membership value for the RPOA's members,” said Ms. Abourahma. “The website has some great content including videos, tools, and articles; however, this content has never been optimized for search engines.”
“There are so many good things we can accomplish together that will help build a strong industry for all of us,” said Mr. Mayeux.
An effective online marketing strategy helps businesses get found by qualified leads, capture and nurture these leads, and then analyze their performance. These are the foundations of the popular Inbound Marketing methodology that will be put in place by Webbright Services.
“There is a lot of work to be done, but I’m excited about the journey ahead and the results that we can accomplish together", said Abourahma.
About RPOA: The Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) was founded in 2003 by John Younger and Mike Mayeux to educate the market and promote RPO best practices. Recruitment Process Outsourcing is a form of business process outsourcing (BPO) where an employer transfers all or part of its recruitment processes to an external service provider. More information about RPOA can be found at http://www.rpoassociation.org/
About Webbright Services: Webbright is a woman-owned, small business agency providing website design and Inbound Marketing services for small businesses and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and throughout the world. More information about Webbright Services can be found at http://www.webbrightservices.com/
# # #
I am very excited and thrilled to be attending 3 outstanding sales and business training sessions starting this January. These sessions are:
HubSpot Exclusive Agency Sales Training Series (January 2012)
This exclusive webinar series is hosted by Corey Beale and Jeetu Mahtani from HubSpot. The sessions dive deep in to the tactics and tools which have resulted in over 5,500 customers to date for HubSpot and their partners.
This series of 8 webinars, which begins on Tuesday January 17, 2012, cover the HubSpot Sales Methodology to help advance sales skills around topics such as:
1. Generating leads from referrals, networking and inbound marketing
2. Researching leads and Prospecting
3. Connecting over the phone and starting your sales qualification process
4. Execute an Inbound Marketing Assessment (IMA) to build trusted-advisor status and continue your qualifying process
5. Diagnosing and setting goals with your prospect
6. Leveraging a HubSpot Trial in your sales process
7. Use the Inbound Marketing Workbook to build a custom Inbound Marketing GamePlan
8. Writing a contract based on agreed upon scope and budget. Close.
The Blueprint Series Presented by Hubspot (February 2012)
Paul Roetzer, author of The Marketing Agency Blueprint (Wiley, December 2011), and founder and CEO of PR 20/20, introduces The Blueprint Series, an interactive five-part webinar event built for agency leaders and freelance professionals who are looking to transform and thrive in the coming age of marketing services.
Presented by HubSpot, the series will be conducted live every Wednesday in February through GoToMeeting. Each session is a deep dive into concepts and processes from The Marketing Agency Blueprint. Registration includes access to five live events and on-demand recordings, session resources (slide deck, worksheets and template forms), and a signed copy of The Marketing Agency Blueprint*.
Dale Carnegie and Jeffery Gitomer Sales Success Course (January 2012)
Two of the greatest names in selling have combined to create Sales Success: Jeffrey Gitomer and Dale Carnegie
This never-before-seen combination will give you the attitude, confidence and systems you need to become the award winner you know you can be. As Jeffrey says "People don't like to be sold, but they love to BUY!" Let Jeffrey Gitomer and Dale Carnegie show you how to tap into the desire to buy in a way you never could before
“The Dale Carnegie principles and the Jeffrey Gitomer strategies of sales, combined into a program that will help you in your quest for success.” - Jeffrey Gitomer