Welcome to the new issue of Be Inkandescent magazine. Because February is the month of amour, in this issue we focus on the power and importance of truly loving what you do.

After all, having passion for your business is mission critical, according to Suzy Welch, former editor of the Harvard Business Review and the wife of GE guru Jack Welch. Suzy says: “We are hungry to work all the time. We are entertained by every aspect of business and we never want to stop working.” And Oprah Winfrey believes: “If you do work that you love, and the work fulfills you, the rest will come.” We couldn’t agree more.

February’s Entrepreneurs of the Month, Jim Bognet and Jeff Kaiser are indeed passionate about their firm, Bognet Construction. Their hard work and strong business skills enabled them to build their 1998 start-up into a $50 million company that employs 45 and competes with the biggest construction firms in the region. Don’t miss their inspiring Tips for Entrepreneurs.

And there’s more! In the 14 articles in this issue, our experts provide tips and insights to help foster passion for your business. Our new columnist Paige Rhodes, CEO of the recruiting firm Rhodes and Weinstock, shares the value of getting personal with clients to build lasting relationships. Another new columnist, Roxanne Rukowicz of Behind the Scenes Events, tells us about one of the most romantic museum spaces in DC to host a business bash. Fine artist Philip Brooker uses his talent to create a poster that will inspire people to donate money to earthquake victims in Haiti. And HR expert Sharon Armstrong teaches us ways to conduct stress-free performance appraisals.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Valentine’s Day. In this issue, our Inkandescent staff gives a special nod to Bob Dylan’s ballad “Tangled Up In Blue”, the inspiration behind our featured illustration (at top). It’s from the new book by our Inkandescent art director Michael Gibbs, which is entitled Blue Moons:

But all the while I was alone, the past was close behind, I seen a lot of women, but she never escaped my mind, and I just grew, tangled up in blue.

Here’s to your passion, and your success!
Hope Katz Gibbs
owner, The Inkandescent Group, LLC
publisher, Be Inkandescent magazine
president & founder, Inkandescent Public Relations

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Be Inkandescent, January 2010 — Welcome to the inaugural issue of Be Inkandescent: The magazine for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. Each month, our online publication will bring insights and observations from entrepreneurs in a variety of industries ranging from health care and human resources to books, education, finance, leadership skills, management tools, real estate, restaurants, wine, and more.

We’ll also be spotlighting an Entrepreneur of the Month, a business owner who earns at least $10 million a year, has been in business for 5 years, and is still running the company they created. They’ll offer Tips for Entrepreneurs, as will Our Team of creative professionals from Inkandescent Public Relations.

In this issue, we’re featuring the “queen of putting people’s lives in order” Julie Morgenstern, an organizational and time management expert, business productivity consultant, and nationally renowned speaker who in 1989 founded Julie Morgenstern Enterprises. She’s also a New York Times bestselling author, having published five books that are reference guides featuring techniques and observations culled from her 20 years of experience as a consultant to individuals and companies. Check out our profile on this incredible Entrepreneur of the Month, and read her insightful five Tips for Entrepreneurs.

We invite every entrepreneur to come up with stories that might be of interest to our audience and contact us with your ideas. After all, the goal of any company is to have more people know about their products and services. We’d love to help you spread the word.

Here’s to your success! — Hope Katz Gibbs
publisher, Be Inkandescent
president & founder, Inkandescent Public Relations

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It was a thrill to interview Sir Richard Branson for the National Press Club on May 19 when the English industrialist was in DC to lobby against the proposed British Airways/ American Airlines merger.

“We have survived the recessions in 1991, 2001, and 9/11, but if this alliance is permitted to occur, it will be like competing with our hands tied behind our back,” he told the audience.

Although most entrepreneurs don’t face the dramatic challenges that Branson does, they do bump up against competitors trying to elbow in on their market share. As public relations specialists, it’s our mission to help clients grab more of the thought space by doing just what the savvy Branson did — get in front of the very people who are going to appreciate your product or service, then do everything you can to convince them your approach is the most advantageous.

Of course, it wasn’t too hard on the eyes to watch Branson in action. Perhaps the best part of his hour-long speech was the question-and-answer session in which he talked about his plans to take his spacecraft Eve (named for his mother) into orbit later this year. “These are exciting days for flight,” he shared. “Once we perfect our approach, I think we might give the moon a miss and go straight to Mars.”

Here’s to shooting for the stars. Talk to you soon. —Hope

Hope Katz Gibbs, president & founder Inkandescent Public Relations / hope@hopegibbs.com

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Despite April showers, it’s been a sunny month thanks to some special opportunities, including being commissioned to write an article for the National Press Club’s newsletter and blog about everyone’s favorite Nanny, award-winning actress and activist Fran Drescher.

After struggling for eight years and seeing eight doctors in an attempt to figure out what was making her feel sick, Drescher was diagnosed in 2001 with uterine cancer. She went on to write two bestselling books, the second of which led to the birth of her nonprofit organization, Cancer Schmancer. Then, after years of persistent lobbying of the Bush Administration, in September 2008 she was named the U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Women’s Health.

“I am not glad that I got cancer, but I am better for it,” she told the audience that gathered at the Press Club on April 14. “I remember standing in my bathroom after the surgery looking swollen and bruised, and feeling nothing like the Superwoman I had felt I was my whole life. I wished I could have been anyone but me in that moment.”

Of course, Drescher did find the courage to go on, and although she continues to work as an actress, she has taken on a new mission: to inspire other women to take charge of their lives. “Stage one is the cure,” she counseled during her hour-long speech. “Know your own bodies and listen to that little voice. If it tells you something is amiss, don’t take no for an answer until you find the right doctor — and the right diagnosis.”

May we all be inspired, even in our darkest hours, to dig down deep and find ways to give back. Here’s to May flowers. Talk to you soon. — Hope

Hope Katz Gibbs, president & founder Inkandescent Public Relations
hope@inkandescentpr.com / www.inkandescentpr.com

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What a great month March has been! On March 2, I had the privilege of interviewing Vivian Schiller, the new president of National Public Radio when she spoke at the National Press Club in DC.

The topic of her talk was, “What Public Broadcasting can learn from commercial media – and vice versa.” Her advice: Shout from the hilltops about accomplishments and offerings. Who am I to argue? Following are some of the news hits and accomplishments our clients have garnered since our news blast in February.

And do check out Ms. Schiller’s entire speech here and on our blog Truly Amazign Women.

Talk to you next month! – Hope

Hope Katz Gibbs, president & founder
Inkandescent Public Relations / hope@inkandescentpr.com

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