Featured Writers

Cathy Alessandra, President/Publisher/Editor

Cathy is a wife, a mother of three, and the CEO of What’s Up For Kids and Today’s Innovative Woman. Cathy became an entrepreneur mom in 1995 when she launched What’s Up For Kids, a magazine and event company serving local families in Los Angeles. In working with entrepreneur moms through the National Association of Entrepreneur Moms, she realized a need for a publication serving smart, savvy entrepreneur women. In 2011, Cathy published the first issue of Today’s Innovative Woman filled with articles from business tips and resources to food, fashion, and fun!

Cathy was awarded the 2011 Top 50 Momprenuer of the Year award by Babble.com, nominated as a finalist in the Ali Brown 2011 Platinum Excellence Awards and has been featured on career-intelligence.com,  cbs.com and KFWB news radio in Los Angeles.  Find out more about Cathy at www.CathyAlessandra.com

Jennifer Bourn, Featured Business Writer

Jennifer Bourn is the brand strategist, WordPress website designer, and graphic designer behind the award-winning branding and web design firm Bourn Creative, LLC near Sacramento, California. Bourn Creative helps successful entrepreneurs who are frustrated with their brand and website transform their marketing materials and their business into an extraordinary and lucrative brand through a combination of speaking, consulting, and done-for-you services.

In 2011, Jennifer co-authored two best-selling books, Millionaire Moms In The Making: Inspiring Stories of Successful Entrepreneur Moms Doing and Having It All! and Success Rituals 2.0: Winning Habits of High-Achieving Women; How She Does It and How You Can Too. She also contributed a chapter to the powerful marketing book, Soulful Marketing: Heart-Centered Marketing for Conscious Entrepreneurs.

Known best for her clean, beautiful, and functional websites, her SEO prowess, and her talent for extraordinary brand design, Jennifer is also a taco eating, chocolate loving, book reading, television watching, mother of two, who spends way too much time at Target and works with her husband, Bourn Creative CEO Brian Bourn. Learn more at www.bourncreative.com.

Kirin Christianson, Fashion & Beauty Writer

Red Haute Mama, Kirin Christianson, lifts women from the doldrums of everyday and back into the ‘va va va voom.’ She helps them re-discover their inner bombshell. From toes to tresses, no nook goes uncovered without examination. Providing expertise in all things glam, she steers women toward the holy grail of glamor. Advice, workshops, tutorials and haute deals, taking them straight to the best glam tips. FEEL amorous, glamorous, and flat out fabulous. Learn more at www.RedHauteMama.com.

Joy Chudacoff, Featured Business Writer

Heralded as “The Coach for Women” in the millennium, Joy Chudacoff has x-ray vision when it comes to helping women discover their Big Ideas, Dreams and Goals! Joy draws on both her personal life and entrepreneurial experiences to support women in achieving better ways of living. It’s her passion, her purpose and her business. She is a Professional Certified Coach, highly skilled group leader, motivational speaker and a gifted communicator.

An entrepreneur for over 2 decades, Joy knows what it’s like to be a woman who integrates family and passionate work together. As a wife and mother of two, Joy understands the importance of self-care, family and reaching her entrepreneurial dreams of supporting women.

Whether you’re looking at what’s next in your life, a new business owner or have been in business years, Joy has easy, proven and simple programs that you can take advantage of to get everything in life that you want and deserve. Visit Joy’s website, www.SmartWomenSolutions.com, where you’ll find more articles by Joy plus information about her Women’s Success Circles, Smart Women Smart Solutions Coach Certification Programs, Speaking engagements, teleclasses and upcoming events for women who are ready to live their Big Ideas, Dreams and Goals. You can contact Joy at 310-454-2005 or by email, Joy@SmartWomenSolutions.com.

Lisa Cole, Featured Fashion & Beauty Writer

The purpose and passion behind Lisa Cole’s signature message is to inspire women to see the possibilities as it pertains to fashion and body image. Her events, media appearances and seminars have inspired thousands of women. Lisa embraced her own “challenges” with solutions that not only made her feel empowered but equipped her to reach women in a new and innovative way. Her programs are endorsed by leading women’s apparel companies and red carpet stylists. She devotes a percentage of her annual revenues to women’s causes. More information about Lisa can be found at www.StyleFitSolutions.com.

Nancy Drew, Featured Business Writer

Nancy Drew, international sales expert, author and speaker, is the go-to authority for empowering female entrepreneurs and business owners with proven sales techniques that produce staggering success. Nancy’s clients regularly reporting revenue increases of up to 700%, all without that feeling of being too pushy or “salesy.”

Nancy’s abilities as a motivational sales knowledge speaker and trainer are unsurpassed. Using proven techniques that are easy to learn and easy to apply to real-world situations, Nancy helps women in business to understand how to sell in an authentic, service-based manner that gets them the customers they want, close those great deals without feeling pushy and have a plan that will keep them on track for long-term sales success. Nancy’s knowledge helps her audience realize powerful life-changing results – right now! Nancy can be found at www.drewandassociates.com.

JJ Flizanes, Featured Fitness Writer

JJ Flizanes is the Director of Invisible Fitness and was named Best Personal Trainer in Los Angeles for 2007 by Elite Traveler Magazine. She is the Amazon Best Selling Author of Fit 2 Love: How to Get Physically, Emotionally, and Spiritually Fit to Attract the Love of Your Life as well as Knack Absolute Abs: Routines for a Fit and Firm Core. Featured in many national magazines such as Shape, Fitness, Muscle and Fitness HERS, Women’s Health, JJ has appeared on NBC, CBS, Fox 11 and KTLA. JJ’s passion is transforming women’s bodies and relationships through their fitness and self care routines. For more about JJ, visit www.invisiblefitness.com.

Bibi Goldstein, Featured Home & Family Writer

Bibi started Buying Time with a friend to give everyone the opportunity to have access to support and assistance with any task. She believes most of us just need someone that is not emotionally attached to help purge and/or de-clutter various areas in our lives whether in our home or office. There has not been an organizing job large or small where emotions do not rise to the surface. Having the ability to focus on the individual and their feelings then work through those feelings gently always keeping the goal in mind has served Bibi well. With over 22 years in the transportation/logistics industry Bibi has specific experience in space and time efficiencies through Six Sigma training for warehouses from 1,000 to 30,000+ square feet. This provided her the ability to visualize the final outcome even when the client cannot. Bibi recently co-authored “Get Organized Today” with other organizing experts hoping to reach out and help more people. Bibi can be reached at www.buyingtimellc.com.

Lisa Kanarek, Featured Business Writer

Lisa Kanarek is one of the nation’s leading home office experts and the author of five books, including Working Naked: A guide to the bare essentials of home office life. She has been featured—as an author and in interviews—in hundreds of publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek and Entrepreneur, and has shared her expertise on several national programs, including Good Morning America, CNN Financial News, and CNBC, among others.

Lisa is also the founder of HomeOfficeLife, a consulting firm that advises home-based business owners on all aspects of working from home and is founder of WorkingNaked.com.

Erin Kurt, Featured Home & Family Writer

Erin Kurt, B.Ed., discovered her passion for studying families when she herself was a child, interviewing her friends’ parents and siblings to learn more about their family life. Throughout her education and years of experience, Erin became an expert on child development, child psychology, family counselling, and methods of improving children’s self-esteem and learning capabilities.

Erin has been a teacher and a nanny in five different countries. She’s worked with children of all kinds – at all ages, at every socio-economic level, with all kinds of personalities, some with disorders and some with family issues – and through this experience, she discovered that she used the same four steps over and over again to transform the kids she was working with. Erin turned these four simple steps into a full-scale, easy-to-implement system for transforming kids into children who want to behave, be kind, respectful and considerate, and who are incredibly happy and self-confident, while also creating a harmonious, beautiful family life. Visit Erin’s web site at www.erinparenting.com to learn more about her live events and teleseminars, and to subscribe to her weekly e-zine for moms.

Jessica Mathews, Featured Business Writer

Jessica Eaves Mathews is America’s Advocate for Women in BusinessTM, business lawyer and leading authority on helping women entrepreneurs step into their power and create brilliant business without fear and without undue risk to their assets or hard work.

Jessica has spent her legal career representing businesses and business owners, from solopreneurs, to mom and pop shops, to professional service-providers, to Fortune 500 companies and some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. She is also a multi-passionate entrepreneur herself, having launched a number of successful ventures of her own throughout the past 16 years. Jessica has now taken her legal expertise and has created the ultimate legal services solution for entrepreneurs. Through Leverage-A-LawyerTM, women entrepreneurs can get their legal foundation in place in 90 days, so that they can get on with the work they love without facing unnecessary risks or exposure as they operate their businesses. www.leveragealawyer.com.

Nancy Newcomer, Featured Food Writer

Longtime Santa Barbara radio personality, Nancy Newcomer is a food blogger and an accomplished cook & creator of simple, healthy meals made from fresh, organic ingredients. With an emphasis on gluten free fare and local farmer’s market bounty, her Facebook food blog, “Back to the Kitchen: Healthy Living with Real Food” is followed by people in over 22 countries. She is a contributor to several publications and websites including Santa Barbara Dining & Destinations, Today’s Innovative Woman, Empoweradio.com, and HealthRadio.net. On Nancy’s new website, she expands on her blog, shares recipes, shopping tips, dialogues with her fans, and continues to advocate cooking “real food “ recipes and sit down family dinners. Visit her at  www.nancynewcomer.com, or on Facebook: Back to the Kitchen: Healthy Living with Real Food.

Caterina Rando, Featured Business Writer

Caterina Rando’s life work is showing women entrepreneurs how to be loud and proud about who thy are and the value they bring. She share ways to build a thriving businesses with public speaking, teleclasses, webinars, radio and getting published.

She is a master certified coach, business strategist, creator of the Sought After Speaker Summit and The Business Breakthrough Summit. She is author of the national best-seller Learn to Power Think now published abroad in 11 languages. Caterina is the founder of THRIVE Publishing a firm that publishes multi-author books that build businesses and trains entrepreneurs on how to use their books increase their visibility and build their expert status.

To connect with Caterina email cat@caterinarando.com or ring her at 415 668-4535. Download your free audio on Caterina’s Top 10 Business Breakthrough Success Secrets at www.bizbreakthrough.com.

Katrina Sawa, Featured Business Writer

Katrina Sawa is known as The JumpStart Your Biz Coach because she literally kicks her clients and their businesses into high gear, turning their inspiration into implementation. Katrina is the creator of the JumpStart Your Marketing™ System with her annual event and quarterly virtual bootcamps. She works with motivated women entrepreneurs who want to start, grow and market your business the right way from the start moving faster and more affordably towards your ultimate revenue and professional goals. Get Katrina’s Free Entrepreneur’s Success Kit plus an opportunity to talk with her privately for free about your business online at www.JumpStartYourMarketing.com/gifts!

Lisa Manyon, Featured Business Writer

Lisa Manyon is an Award Winning Author, Marketing and Copywriting Strategist. She is a co-author of the #1 Best Selling book SuccessRituals 2.O –Winning Habits of High-Achieving Women: How she does it and you can too, the recipient of the Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Award in The Hot Mommas 2011 Competition she’s featured in the world’s largest women’s digital library of role models & mentors and the Write On Creative Blog received a 2011 APEX award for publication excellence. Manyon offers a complimentary Copywriting Action Plan and publishes Manyon’s Musings a free monthly ezine. For more information visit www.WriteOnCreative.com.

Marla Dennis, Featured Business Writer

In 2008, after 22 yrs as an entertainment publicist and talent manager serving celebrities, performing and visual artists, Marla re-packaged her purpose and expertise into personal branding, online marketing & mindset success coaching. She guides small business lifestyle entrepreneurs, creative professionals, and Dentists how to build quality online communities converting to clients, customers, and patients using the personal branding strategy. She accomplishes this by coaching you how to deliver your authentic message and branding via her signature marketing system: Social Media, a blog, and an ezine.

She coaches you how to “Embrace Your Spotlight with Confidence, Savvy & Ease” to drive value into your business. Personality is power in today’s marketing channels taking you out of the competition.

Positive-minded, highly-motivated, and results-oriented entrepreneurs learn to clearly communicate an authentic personal brand using the power of storytelling to deliver savvy marketing.  It is her belief Social Media is a platform to support one another in collaboration, cooperation, creativity, expansion and the increase for all.

As a previous image-maker in Hollywood, Marla designed traditional media campaigns for her celebrities, visual and performing artists illuminating their talents and projects (film, TV, theatre, music, events, etc.) to the masses. This strategy now translates into coaching you how to brand an authentic image to your well-defined market delivered via today’s HOTTEST channels of communication.

Marla was recently awarded the honor of being one of 100 Who’s Who Among Women in Ecommerce 2011 for WE Magazine.  She holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts & Sciences degree in PR Journalism, San Diego State University, 1983. She completed Anthony Robbins’ two year Mastery University program in 2007. She holds a certification as a Money Breakthrough Method Coach for entrepreneurs. Marla is a proud mother of a 21 year old budding entrepreneur blazing his own path to success in our social reward economy.

Her progressive coaching company is a perfect fit for those ready to monetize their personal brand via Social Media with an online marketing system. Marla inspires and awakens imagination and possibility thinking to excel in our social reward economy!

How to begin the branding process? Go to www.yourcompellingpersonalbrand.com.

Elizabeth Bernay and Kara Noone, Featured Business Writers

Elizabeth Bernay and Kara Noone are Financial Advisors with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. With a combined financial services industry experience of more than 30 years, they address a broad spectrum of wealth management concerns. Their business is tailored to the concerns of women and their families to help them identify and prepare for life’s challenges and opportunities.  They believe the way women approach managing their wealth can have a profound affect on how they take advantage of new experiences and enjoyment throughout their lives. To that end, they offer on-going financial advice and educational opportunities to their clients and the community.  They can be reached at 949-955-7552 or kara.p.noone@mssb.com.

Linda Cotter, Featured Business Writer

Linda Cotter is a graphic artist and fine art photographer. Her goal is to help her clients produce better results through great design. Whether it is a logo, business card or website, she incorporates each client’s unique personality and style into the design with an eye-catching flair.  This creates the opportunity for them to attract the desired clients and results they are looking for. Visit Linda’s website at www.LindaCotterDesigns.com.  She can be reached at (310) 486-3108 or by email at Linda@LindaCotterDesigns.com.

Deborah Genovesi, Featured Business Writer

Deborah A. Genovesi, APR, “Your Communications Co-Pilot” is a media trainer who prepares authors and experts to dazzle on TV and radio interviews. She teaches how to design and communicate a message that gets heard and moves audiences to action, so that you SELL as well as tell. You’ll also learn how to best play the media game while naturally being yourself on-air. Deborah can be reached at Deborah@CommsCopilot.com.

Michele Pariza Wacek, Featured Business Writer

Considered one of the hottest direct response copywriters and marketing consultants in the industry today, Michele PW (Michele Pariza Wacek) Your $Ka-Ching!$ Marketing Strategist, has a reputation for crafting copy and creating online and offline marketing campaigns that get results.

Michele started writing professionally in 1992, working at agencies and on staff as a marketing/communication/writing specialist. In 1998 she started her business as a freelance copywriter.

But she quickly realized her vision was bigger than serving her clients as a one-woman-shop. In 2004, she began the transformation to building a copywriting company.

Two years later, her vision has turned into reality. Michele PW/Creative Concepts and Copywriting LLC is the premiere direct response copywriting and marketing company today, catering to entrepreneurs and small business owners internationally, including the “Who’s Who” of Internet Marketing. Some of their clients include:

• Ali Brown
• Lisa Sasevich
• Brian Tracy
• John Assaraf
• Bernadette Doyle
• Alex Mandossian
• Kendall SummerHawk
• Alexis Martin Neely

In addition, Michele is also a national speaker and author, has completed two novels, and is a contributing author to the “Entrepreneur Press Start Up Guide to Information Marketing” and “Trust Your Heart: Transform Your Ideas to Income” (which is also an Amazon Bestseller). She holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and her two border collies, Nick and Roxie.

Nicole Beurkens, PhD, Featured Home & Family Writer

Nicole is the founder and director of the Horizons Developmental Resource Center in Caledonia, Michigan, is a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a master’s degree in special education.  She holds a professional teaching certificate and has been certified in many specialized therapies for Autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders.  Dr. Beurkens has authored numerous articles and books, and writes a popular newsletter for thousands of subscribers each week.  With a background in child development, classroom teaching, family-based therapy, and research, Dr. Beurkens is an award-winning therapist, consultant, and speaker for families and professionals throughout the United States and abroad.  You can find more of her strategies for parents and professionals, and sign up to receive her newsletter at www.HorizonsDRC.com.

Michele Scism, Featured Business Writer

Michele Scism is the leading authority on social media and online marketing and the Founder of both DecisiveMinds.com and The Global Social Media Managers Association. Her clients call her “The Results Lady” because as a business strategist she uses her signature “Take Action Get Profits” system to help entrepreneurs get visibility and then turn that visibility into profits. Michele’s knowledge in the areas of online marketing and social media marketing have been recognized during recent interviews on several web TV shows, including being interviewed by Kristi Frank from Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, as well as multiple Talk Radio shows and tele-classes. Whether you want freedom and flexibility, more time to be with your family, more money, or the feeling of satisfaction you get from creating a successful business, Michele is there with her expert business knowledge, strategies and accountability skills to help you get the results of your dreams.