Q. What is your 30-second elevator pitch? 
A. YES Career Services provides Career Coaching and Resume Development, focusing on those in transition or reentering the workplace after some time away. Kelly Welch began the business and enables her clients by helping them to develop their unique value proposition and motivating them to take action in the course of their journey to career opportunities. Clients are from professional backgrounds in a variety of industries. The resumes she develops are accomplishment-based and highlight the client’s top strengths to support their value proposition. Her clients say she is professional, knowledgeable, personable and very motivating. They value her ability to wordsmith, both in coaching on how to communicate thoughts and in developing impactful resumes.

Q. When you were planning your business where did you go to get the information needed to justify starting your business?
A. YES Career Services was a natural progression for Kelly to capitalize on her strong talents in writing and enabling the success of others.  She researched various markets for her talents with global professionals and resources before focusing on the local market for helping those in transition or “on-ramping”.  Kelly enjoys her all aspects of business as it allows her to utilize a true passion for helping others succeed  each day.

Q. What market need do you fill? 
A. YES Career Services provides Career Coaching, including Networking, Interviewing and Negotiating, as well as Resume Development and Critique.  Kelly focuses on enabling individuals in career or job transition, with special expertise applied to women who are ‘on-ramping’ back into the workforce after spending time away to raise a family.  The core of Kelly’s expertise lies in honing in on the strengths and talents of her clients.  From this, she is able to help them organize and market their unique value proposition. 

Q. What is your background and that of your team? 
A. A graduate of AT&T’s Human Resource Leadership Development program, Kelly has a keen sense of business insight and judgment.  She has been consistently recognized for her professionalism, detail orientation, enthusiasm, and exceeding clients’ expectations.   Growing up with entrepreneurial parents, Kelly is more than familiar with extending the absolute best level of customer service to all of her clients and contacts.  She was raised in an environment where business hours were indeed 24/7, and so her work ethic knows no boundaries.  She has worked in strategic Human Resource management for 14 years, eight of which were spent in (mostly technical) recruiting.  Kelly has a BA in Communications and English and a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University.  She is also a certified Global Professional in Human Resources and serves on the Board of Directors for the Raleigh Wake Human Resources Management Association as Director of Communications. 

Q. If you raised capital how did you do it?
A. YES Career Services is self funded, and regularly reinvests a portion of profits in professional development and certifications to enhance Kelly’s scope of offering and expertise scope to her clients.

Q. What is the importance of being based in Raleigh?
A. Kelly moved here with her family from NJ 3 ½ years ago and never looked back.  Most of her clients and contacts also love the Raleigh area for its people, possibilities and proximity to many activities.  Kelly’s  aim is to enable Raleigh-based job seekers to stay in this area by giving them the tools and motivation to best market and present themselves to the opportunities they pursue. 


YES Career Services
919.744.8866
www.yescareerservices.com

Q. What is your 30 second elevator pitch?
A. The most cost effective method of marketing is "word of mouth". Providing clients and prospects with promotional products has proven to be an excellent catalyst to initiate conversations. The business challenge is to create a unique presence while managing costs. 

We launched All Motion Products (Apex, NC) to meet that challenge.  We now have an 8 year track record of offering truly unique, interactive promotional items that stand out among the everyday pens, hats, & t-shirts. Our efficient business model allows us to deliver this differentiation at value price points. Our liquid filled mouse pads & sand flowing paperweights stay on a customer's desk, not in the drawer......creating a natural conversation piece.

Today, companies are hyper sensitive to the return on every marketing dollar spent. All Motion Products has received high accolades from Cisco, Pacific Life,
and many others. To see how unique we are, order free samples at www.allmotionproducts.com or call 1-888-377-2461.

Q. When you were planning your business where did you go to get the information needed to justify starting your business?
A. We truly developed the business plan based on years of experience in sales, marketing, & corporate events/trade show management.  In the 90’s, I was responsible for buying large quantities of corporate gifts. So, I knew the challenges of finding something unique & creative. I purchased pens, t-shirts, hats, & mugs for years….but always wanted to locate fun items that wouldn’t be kept in a closet or a drawer.  Most vendors offered similar items when I looked in the $3 - $10 price range.  After about six months of planning, we built a small network of friends & business acquaintances to be a our focus group / sounding board……to validate the business need, review our website design,  and provide feedback on our overall marketing plans.  

Q. What market need do you fill?
A. Companies look at the number of impressions when they assess the value and ROI for their marketing budget.  We provide affordable, fun, unique gift items to help businesses stand out from the rest….and leave a lasting impression on their prospects/customers. But we also offer free consulting and support to help our customers find the right product to meet their objectives and to design it in a way that will deliver results.

Q. What is your background and that of your team?
A. I have 24+ years of sales and marketing experience…mostly in the IT market. For a number of years, I planned and executed corporate events and trade shows. As a part of that responsibility, I purchased a variety of corporate gifts. Our team has an assortment of backgrounds (accounting, job recruiting, product marketing, web design). This really helped our business become well-rounded, as everybody has their role.

Q. If you raised capital how did you do it?
A. Family capital was used to start & run the business.

Q. What is the importance of being based in Raleigh?
A. Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park area consistently rank among the nation's best economies year after year. We know that Raleigh is one of the fastest growing markets and has a considerable number of companies who historically have a need for our services and products. Some of those key industries include: pharmaceutical, healthcare, finance, and technology. CNN Money’s survey from last July has Durham ranked as #12 in the Top 100 Places to Live and Launch. This area also brings a great talent pool for networking and business expansion.

All Motion Products, Inc.
(919) 363-9938
www.allmotionproducts.com

Q. What is your 30 second elevator pitch?
A. Cute Buttons Gift and Paper Boutique is the place for customers to find colorful wares and pretty paper. Nestled in downtown cary, we strive to make every shopping experience festive and relevant. We work to meet the needs of our customers by offering a selection of unique gift and paper items that they cannot get anywhere else. We love paper, and we love to work with our clients to select the best paper for their invitations, correspondence and announcements. We also specialize in helping clients select the best gifts that will put a smile on their recipient's face.

Q. When you were planning your business where did you go to get the information needed to justify starting your business?
A. Everywhere and everyone. in fact, at times, I think I was on information overload. I read everything I could get my hands on. I went to the library a lot, read information from the Internet, talked to other small biz owners/retailers, talked to my banker, went to see the folks at SCORE and just tried to educate myself as quickly as possible. In fact, the New York Times Small Business section has become my daily read now. I had been dreaming of opening my own boutique for a few years, but got serious about planning and preparation in early 2008.

Q. What market need do you fill?
A. People are looking for great customer service and are always happy to support a local, small business. I feel we provide them with an opportunity to fulfill both of those needs. My customers have shared with me that they like shopping in my boutique because we take the time to get to know them and their needs. That way, it will help us help them find the right gift. There's always someone who needs a gift for themselves or for any occasion. At my boutique, we help them find the right one. I also work with lots of local brides to help them select the best invitations to set the style for their upcoming nuptials. In addition, I help clients find invitations for parties, baby announcements, and baby showers.

We don't push our customers into buying from us. If they do, great, but if we cannot provide a product that they like, we try to help them find it somewhere else.

Q. What is your background and that of your team?
A. I am a writer and owned an online stationery business before I opened my store (www.tikilynn.com). For my day gig, I am a former newspaper reporter and political operative. I wrote for the News & Observer and lived in Washington, D.C. for 10 years working at the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors' Association and for the 97 Inaugural Committee. I still freelance from time to time.

Q. If you raised capital how did you do it?
A. Personal loans and lines of credit. I was able to secure this capital before the economic rollercoaster ride that this nation just jumped on.I wrote a business plan and presented it to the bank for funding. I am using personal funds to live on as well. I’m being patient because I know perseverance is one of the keys to living out your dream.

Q. What is the importance of being based in Raleigh?
A. I'm a native of Durham so I have seen the great changes that the Triangle has experienced over the years. Even though, I moved away and came back home, I found that there is nothing like the atmosphere and the people of the area. Many people go out of their way to support local businesses, and as a business owner, I am very appreciative of that. I also like that fact that there are so many ways for a business like mine can get involved in the community through educational, civic and charitable organizations. giving back is a very important component of being a good business owner.

cute buttons gift and paper boutique
919.462.9618
www.shopcutebuttons.com

Q. What is your 30 second elevator pitch?
A. SCORE Business Systems, LLC provides management consulting in lean transformations, employee engagement and employee on boarding. Our processes are designed to empower and engage the existing workforce and help them achieve breakthrough results. We focus on the employee side of the equation developing the correct culture and behaviors that will lead to a successful transformation. As part of my lean transformation work, we incorporate the use of a balanced SCOREcard system.  The SCORE in the name is actually an acronym for Safety, Customers, Organization, Results, Excellence.   Every company should be measuring themselves in these categories.   We drive the actual metrics from the strategic plan, so each associate ends up with line of sight to how their individual performance drives the success of the company.

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