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Loebig Ink is a small business consulting firm
fueled by coffee, creativity and music to provide
SEO, web design and social media solutions.

Tag: BNI Capital Business Alliance

Meet Our Intern – Tori Burton

Posted on by Robin Renee

Loebig Ink Team Member: Tori Burton

Tori Burton with babyTori Burton first met Brian Loebig at one of his early morning BNI meetings when she was a freshman in college. There she was introduced to a wonderful environment full of small business owners who want to help each other succeed. Brian, then president of the BNI Capital Business Alliance chapter, was a natural leader and Tori could see why everyone gave him respect.  

It was later in Tori’s junior year that Naheed Oberfeld, her life coach as well as a member of Brian’s BNI chapter, connected the two once again. This time, Tori emerged from the meeting with an internship at Loebig Ink, LLC. It was exciting for her to find an opportunity for experience in a new field as a creative writer. 

Tori believes the best inspiration for writing comes when learning something new. Working with Brian’s team members proved to be an excellent place to learn. She found everyone to be exceptional at their jobs, understanding when she asked questions, and fun to work with. Over the summer of 2020 she was able to help with blog writing, social media marketing, and web design. A few of her favorite projects and lessons so far include writing a blog post and finding the balance between artistic expression and conveying information, conducting interviews with BNI members for a social media ad campaign, and helping to design a church website where her four years of high school commercial art came in handy. 

When Tori isn’t helping the team, she loves to bake. Fun, messy, and an art in its own right, after taking the advice of family members and following recipes, the best baking comes down to following your gut, according to Tori.

“Nothing beats the waft of warm chocolate roaming through the house and coating your senses, getting the perfect velvety consistency of fudgy chocolate frosting, then taking your first bite of chocolate cake,” she says. 

Her other favorite way to pass the time is playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Because it is such a personal game, it is difficult to describe. The biggest factor contributing to how the game will go is based on who the players are and how they work together to reach their goals or defeat the problems the Dungeon Master has set for them. Tori likes to invite others into the imaginative world of D & D: 

“If you have a cool group of friends and at least one person who understands the rules of the game, you should give it a try and see an adventure for yourself!”

Reach out to Loebig Ink for anything from a social media campaign to a blogging initiative to a brand new website and you may find the talented Tori Burton is on the case!

Why Invite Visitors to BNI?

Posted on by Brian Loebig

Why Invite Visitors to BNI?Business Network International (BNI) has some excellent statistics to boast about. It is the world’s leading business referral organization. According to bni.com, BNI passed over 11.2 million referrals last year, which resulted in more than 15 billion dollars in business. And as the president of the Capital Business Alliance Chapter, Brian Loebig is always happy to share about the effectiveness of making connections through BNI.

Are you a member? If so, you know about the benefits of going to meetings, networking with fellow business owners, and at times, being the one to make a featured presentation. But do you know the benefits of inviting visitors to your BNI presentation? Here are nine good reasons why you should take that opportunity.

  1. The Power of One: An important principle of BNI is that measuring your performance and progress matters. Taking just one action makes a difference, and you can expand that concept to several activities each week. As a BNI member, it’s important to attend the chapter meeting once per week. Then study one education unit per week. Have a sit-down one-on-one conversation with another member once per week and give a business referral to someone in your chapter each week as well. Keep at it and the benefits multiply. Add this to the list: Bring one visitor to a meeting each month. They will make connections, tell their friends about their experience, and the business possibilities increase for everyone. Let the Power of One do its magic!
  2. Increase Membership: The more often you can bring someone out to experience a meeting, the more likely you will find someone who will want to join the chapter. BNI accepts only one member for each business category so members are not in competition with one another. As membership grows, the more likely it is that members’ businesses will complement one another. If your group includes the owner of a wedding venue, the event photographer you bring as a guest could be a perfect new addition.
  3. Personal Credibility: Paid promotions are often a significant part of raising the profile of a business. Word of mouth, however, can be priceless. By bringing a friend to the BNI meeting who knows you and your business well, that person is likely to promote your work naturally by way of personal testimonials. If it is your turn to make a featured presentation on your work, you will give your guest a lot of immediate material to work with. Why not bring someone around who’ll help others see how you shine?
  4. Rack Up the Referrals: You never know who will connect with whom for business opportunities. That’s all the more reason to bring people together for conversations on what they offer and what they may need. If one of your visitors happens to hire a chapter member for a service, that’s one more referral on your list of accomplishments.
  5. Increase Revenue: The average BNI visitor bring $1000 in closed business to a chapter, even if they don’t, or can’t, join. You never know what services or products someone may need from a member of your chapter. I have invited close friends and family members to chapter meetings in the past only to discover, after the meeting, that they needed painting done on a porch or a will drawn up for a loved one!
  6. Points of Contact: It is always great when someone you’ve invited is interested and available to accompany you to a BNI meeting. But what if they can’t make it? It’s still good that you asked. Networking isn’t only achieved when the initial goal is met; just making a contact is important, as you never know what will manifest in the future. Extending an invitation kindles your relationships to all the people you’ve invited, even if they weren’t able to attend.
  7. Residual Visitors: Most of the people who you invite will not be able to attend on the day of your presentation. Though your invitee couldn’t make it when you first asked, they may keep it in mind. You may ask again. However it happens, that person might eventually make it to a BNI meeting. They may tell others about it, too, who in turn express interest in checking out BNI. One initial invitation could lead to visitors for weeks after the initial invitation was made.
  8. Inspiration: When your chapter members notice that you extend invitations consistently, it may inspire them to do the same. Your simple act can multiply positive action.
  9. LinkedIn Value: Inviting visitors on LinkedIn provides you with an invitation history right in the message thread. This is a great bonus value on the LinkedIn platform. The next time you want to reach back out to your invitee, you will see when and how you invited them in the past along with their responses. You will also have their current professional information and recent posts at the ready to help you engage them with relevant conversation.
  10. Getting Social: Inviting someone through social media increases your personal engagement. Every time you send a shout out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or another social platform, others have the chance to see your post and take an interest. It’s an easy way to keep in contact, spark conversation, and increase your online visibility.

Would you like to learn more about BNI? Contact Brian about attending an upcoming meeting.

Meet Our Project Manager – Stephen Rabil

Posted on by Robin Renee

Loebig Ink Team Member: Stephen Rabil

Stephen Rabil and family
Stephen Rabil met Loebig Ink founder Brian Loebig through his father, Dick Rabil, who is a member of the BNI Capital Business Alliance chapter. Brian currently serves as its president. Because of that meeting about three years ago, Stephen developed an interest in getting to know the fundamentals of SEO. To that end, he attended a Loebig Ink online SEO class in 2017. Since then, he has taken on SEO projects and has continued to learn and branch out into new areas. 

Stephen has grown into the Lead Account Manager responsible for Web Design Project Management and Social Media Management, as he continues his ongoing work with SEO services. Tasks Stephen handles include planning, implementing, and executing social media marketing to increase customer engagement and brand awareness. He also focuses on overseeing and managing website designs and redesigning projects. As an early stage Project Manager, Stephen enjoys the opportunity to interface with clients daily. His favorite part is finding marketing solutions for clients that help push their businesses to the next level. Stephen is known to always keep client expectations in view as his number one priority. His drive to always seek and discern new marketing strategies helps him know what businesses need. 

Stephen grew up in Montgomery County, MD and graduated from York College of Pennsylvania in 2005. He has worked in several different industries including, sales, insurance sales, banking, and healthcare. Over the course of the last 14 years, Stephen has had a growth journey as a professional, during which he has evolved and changed tremendously. He especially enjoys interfacing with his colleagues at Loebig Ink. He likes the opportunities to gather together with the team to learn from one another, adopt new processes, and incorporate new ideas. Stephen is extremely fascinated by the leadership that Brian has shown him. He points out, “Brian allows me to make mistakes, works with me to get better, and gives me the space to grow.” He credits Brian’s positive reinforcement for helping him show his best self every day.

 The most important thing of all to Stephen is family. Stephen, his wife, and his two sons, who are three and five years old, enjoy spending time outdoors. They are always on the hunt for new activities. As a family, they love to explore their beautiful neighborhood in Washington, DC. Stephen also has a unique hobby; he plays Texas Hold‘em Poker! In the future, he would like to take more vacations overseas. Trips to Europe and Australia, combined with the chance to go skydiving, are on his bucket list.

 Contact Loebig Ink about web design, SEO, or for help managing your social media and Stephen Rabil may be the one to head up a team assembled for your project. 

Meet Our SEO Specialist – Wendy Salzman

Posted on by Robin Renee

Loebig Ink Team Member: Wendy Salzman

Wendy SalzmanWendy Salzman didn’t set out to become an SEO specialist. In fact, it was her husband, Kenny, who first took an interest. Brian Loebig and Kenny Salzman network together as the current president and vice-president of BNI Capital Business Alliance. When Kenny took on a project and discovered search engine optimization wasn’t for him, he thought it might be something his wife would be good at and enjoy. Luckily for her and the Loebig Ink team, he was right!

Wendy grew up in Montgomery County and attended the University of Maryland where she studied Special Education. She utilized her degree well; after college she became a Special Ed teacher and for 17 years instructed children with learning disabilities. In time, she sought something new and different. When a mathematics position became available, Wendy began teaching sixth grade math, which makes up the rest of the 35 years she has been in the classroom. An important focus of her teaching is conceptual learning, which helps students understand why a solution makes sense rather than relying on simple memorization.

Being a teacher with an interest in technology and a love of learning new things makes Wendy a natural at SEO. She enjoys writing metatags and meta descriptions. The process is somewhat like a puzzle. It requires taking a great deal of information, putting it together, fitting it into a small space, and making sure it all makes sense. She especially enjoys making changes on the back end of a website, and in a short time, seeing the measurable, positive results.

Wendy enjoys binge watching a TV series now and again, and she likes some quiet things like baking and crossword puzzles. But more often, she’d rather be active. She meets her sister-in-law for a 4 – 5 mile walk almost daily. If the walk isn’t on the schedule, she’s likely to be found doing an at-home workout from Beachbody.com. The T25 workout is one of her favorites. Also a big sports fan, she likes to follow the Nats and the Caps.

The most important thing of all to Wendy is family. She has been married for 31 years and has two children – a son who is 25 and a daughter, 28, who will be married at the end of the year. As a very driven and hard-working person, Wendy envisions a future in which she gives herself a little more permission to relax. She hopes to retire from teaching soon and to make time for more sunshine, beaches, and overall relaxation. A recent family trip to Colorado serves as inspiration to take it easy, travel more, and enjoy the simple things in life.

Learn more about our SEO services and request that Wendy work on your website SEO project!

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