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Presented By
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FACES & PLACES 
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The largest Job Links group of the year descended upon
Tarrant County College's Trinity River campus to hear a special presentation from Doug Marshall of The GameFace Company. Marshall tells his story (more below) of presenting on Shark Tank and receiving / accepting a combo offer from
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. Marshall, third from left, is pictured with (L to R) Dr. Robert Munoz,
TCC Trinity River Campus; Dr. S. Sean Madison, TCC Trinity River Campus; Doug Marshall, The GameFace Company; Betty Harvey,
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce; Benjamin Rand, TCC; Brandom Gengelbach, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.
View pics from a variety of Chamber events, click
here.
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 Reed on, eat well: Sales manager Stephanie Reed had Mr. B sold on Ruth's Chris Steak House with just five words delicately and delectably whispered -- "decadent white chocolate bread pudding." Ooooooooh! So Mr. B called a meeting of the nation's Chamber newsletter writers to be held at the great Fort Worth Ruth's Chris ... by satellite, courtesy of the restaurant's catering department. The great thing about satellite meetings is you don't have to share the incredible Ruth's Chris bone-in, 22-ounce ribeye or the tomahawk ribeye or the lamb chops; nor do you have to share the sweet potato casserole, the lobster macaroni or cremini mushrooms. You don't even have to share this $150 gift card for dinner, but it won't be so decadently delicious if you go alone.
Necking: If you recall, or even if you don't, Mr. B was looking for a cure for his Ally McBeal-ish turkey neck wattle before Thanksgiving so as not to be shot and stuffed or dressed as some Pilgrim's dinner. To the rescue, ta da, is Laura Riehm of Skin Deep Laser MD, a finalist for the Chamber's 2017 Small Business of the Year Award in the emerging business category. Riehm's ream into the neck is a Kybella injection, an FDA-approved, prescription injectable for the permanent destruction of fat cells under the chin (wattle). Those fats are destroyed, not tasered only to re-emerge next Thanksgiving. Hey doc Laura, would Kybella work for love handles, too? Get your neck dressed with this one-time injectable.
It all fits in one Square: Mr. B has been doggin' the bloggin' at the Sundance Square website for tips on where to lose out-of-town guests for shopping, eating and their own place to stay. Why let them B cloggin' the home Mansion? He read about a walking tour of just about every retailer along the Square, including a new toy store-y and an olive oiler. A tour of that many shops needs nutrition and hydration fortifications, of which there are 34 opportunities. Just one purchase on the Square earns you free parking, either valet or in the garage. You may have a similar destination need for your outlaws that may be visiting and Tracy Gilmour has made Sundance Square more enticing for two readers who win a $50 gift card.
Petal-ing: Gordon Boswell Flowers has the coolest small flower bouquet perched atop a sled in its holiday package of ideas. What's available online is quite a collection, from roses to wreaths, classic cheer to centerpieces. Listen to these names -- Holly Jolly Christmas, Peppermint Pleasure, Winter Wonderland and Joyful, which could be a tribute table topper. Boswell's Courtney McCaleb, on her way out permanently to a sunny beach in Florida, sent over a flowery goodbye note that included a floral ensemble that is sure to be the center of your holiday conversations.
Congratulations to December 7th Prize Winners:
- Clark Rucker, Kelly Hart
- Laura Riehm, SkinDeepLaserMD
- Blaine Paxton, POND
- Allison Milligan, TierReit
- Meghan Phillips, The Fort Worth Club
- Tony Prenger, Pinnacle Bank
- Cathy Lewis, Lewis Labels
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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Dollar for your thoughts: Many of the Chamber leads group members contribute "happy dollars" to benefit a nonprofit during the year. At a Lone Star Professional Alliance leads meeting at Ensemble Coworking, Don Oxman of his namesake The Oxman Group, said "I got rid of a pain-in-the-(neck) customer yesterday. That's worth a happy dollar."
 Get your game face on! Doug Marshall, founder of The Gameface Company, which manufactures and sells peel-off masks for sporting events, costumes events and hunting, is a Shark Tank legend for turning down a $1 million offer from Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for his entire company. Cuban and Shark Lori Greiner ended up making a deal for 35 percent ownership and 10 percent royalties for $450,000. Last week, Marshall took Chamber Job Links attendees at Tarrant County College on a look-back journey of the past three years:
- The idea for Gameface came to him in a dream.
- No. 1 rule for entrepreneurs? Don't tell anyone about your idea. First, get it protected.
- ABC Network previously had an option to take five percent of a company if a deal were done on Shark Tank.
- Shark Tank should "do a show on the auditions," Marshall said. "It's crazy."
- Due diligence to funding takes about six months. The New York Times reported 60 percent of agreed deals never get done.
- Marshall's biggest surprise? The international audience for Shark Tank. Heavy call volume from international soccer teams, he said. "We get weird calls, too; I get calls from mimes."
Is this a guy thing? Nathan Vasseur, a veep at
Vasseur Commercial Real Estate, says he and Hallie "have been dating two or three years now. I'm sure she could give you the exact date." Mr. B guesses Nathan is hearing the exact date right about now.
Well done! Congratulations to the
Chamber's Small Business of the Year Awards finalists. They will be introduced to Chamber members at a Jan. 19 Business After Hours and the winner in each category will be announced at the Mayor's State of the City luncheon Feb. 22.
Northstar Bank is the presenting sponsor. Emerging businesses:
Alchemy Pops,
Alpha Industries and
Skin Deep Laser MD; 1-10 Employees:
Cornerstone Projects Group,
M-Pak and
Z's Café; 11-50 Employees:
Arlington Heights Animal Hospital,
Sutton Frost Cary and
The Fulcrum Group; 51-150 Employees:
DOCUmation of North Texas,
Sellmark Corporation and
Southwest Office Systems.
Very considerate: Left-hander Laken Avonne Rapier (is that the best name ever?) is quite the considerate one. The PR specialist at
Justin Brands was asking/looking to sit next to a fellow lefty at lunch so her WWE-flying elbows wouldn't smash into a righty's table rights.
This is classified: Levi Cowsert's job title at
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics -- F-35 Electronic Warfare / Countermeasures -- sounds like James Bond meets Rogue One. Says Levi: "It's a rough job, but somebody's gotta do it!"
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"I like diversity (in meetings). If everyone looks like me, we're doing something wrong."
--
Dr. Joe Michels
Solomon Bruce Consulting
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Sell, sell, sell: Just in time for a new year, Donnie Boivin of Sandler Training - Sales Mastery Consultants, Inc. has four tips about plans and compensation to help sales managers be more successful. 1) Measure the right data; 2) Create STAR (Simple, Timely, Accurate, Reviewed) action plans; 3) Keep the compensation plans simple; and 4) Manage the behavior with the numbers.
For you the Bell toils: Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter, told a Chamber luncheon at City Club last week that innovative solutions and technologies are the long-term answer for the company. "That means changing the culture," he said. Bell has "code named" e3 i - engage, empower, execute and innovate. "We try to capture, retain and grow our talent," he said. "Innovation is the key to our growth."
- The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is very near certification and the production line is up and running.
- The Bell V-280 Valor, a third-generation tilt-rotor being developed with Lockheed Martin for the Army, will have its first flight next fall and has the potential to replace every Black Hawk and Apache.
- Tarrant County College is a "great training partner" with us.
Steal? From me? Did you know there was an inexpensive business "crime policy" offered by insurers. Brandon King of
Hub International says employee dishonesty claims average more than $1 million.
Music to our ears: Scott Orr, a
Chamber board member representing
Fidelity Investments, helped facilitate a $32,000 gift of musical instruments to band students at
FWISD's Dunbar High School. The donation included assorted numbers of marching snare, tenor and bass drums, marching quints, drum mallets, crash cymbals, flutes, clarinets, trumpets and saxophones. Dunbar has to supply a drum major with baton itsownself.
Not your father's ATM: Some time this month,
Chase will open an "advisory model" bank at the corner of University and Berry. It is the first of its kind for Chase in Texas.
Networking 1001: This quarter's
Fort Worth Business Press CEO magazine has a feature with 19 prominent networkers in
Tarrant County. Mr. B says he knows them all but one...a Netty Matthews at the
Fort Worth Chamber. The list is a tsunami for sales folk.
 Commercial timeout: Last year,
Fort Worth's population grew nearly 4%, which is about 30,000 people, and if you drive around, you know it shows no sign of slowing down. People want to be here. And do business here. Your company can tell newcomers and oldtimers alike about your successes and services in the 2017
Fort Worth and Metro Area Relocation Guide. The printed magazine and its companion website,
RelocatetoFortWorth.com, provide in-depth editorial, photos and maps, and offer a variety of advertising options.
Texas Monthly Custom Publishing will complete the print and digital magazines in February. Advertising deadline is Jan. 13. For more information, contact
Sunday Leek at 972-365-3666 or
Jason Schefferstein at 512-354-9199 or jschefferstein@texasmonthly.com
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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Date Event Name
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FREE MAGAZINES/RELOCATION GUIDES AVAILABLE!
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Our Fort Worth Metro Area Relocation Guides are free for members who would like to come by and pick them up (no shipping charge). Up to 100 copies per member. Email
Christine Gores or call 817-338-3332 to schedule pick up.
The Free magazines in bulk are only available until Dec. 21!
View the digital copy of our guides
here. Order additional publications
here.
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