ABOUT US

Mr. Goldberg is a former fourteen year Citibank executive.  After leaving Citibank, Mr. Goldberg started DTR Inc., a business consulting firm.  While working for DTR Inc., Mr. Goldberg developed the program strategy, curriculum, competency statements, lesson plans, assessments, instructor training process, certification requirements, etc. for the Work Certified™ Program for the Treasure Coast Workforce Development Board (Florida), which was called the best work readiness certification program in the country by the National Skills Standard Board.  That program is now taught throughout the United States in Career Center Systems (unemployment office, welfare to work, etc.), high schools, trade schools, and more.  The results from the Career Centers is impressive:

• 96% of all graduates get a job within 30 days

• 89% of all graduates are still employed 6 months later

• 32% of program graduates have received promotions

• 82% of the individuals enrolled in the program obtain certifications

• Over 60 companies including Tropicana, Arby's, Wendy's, and Manpower have endorsed the program

Recently, Mr. Goldberg updated, modified, and augmented his program for the North Central Workforce Investment Board (Pennsylvania) for a program entitled Work Readiness Skills Standards.  In the development of these work readiness programs Mr. Goldberg looked at why existing training and education programs were not resulting in satisfactory employees for businesses (as evidenced by focus group results throughout the country), and concluded that changes in the methodology and  philosophies of workplace training programs was needed.  After constructing a new approach, Mr. Goldberg went on to develop innovative and effective curriculum.  For the S.E.E.K. program, Mr. Goldberg followed the same pattern.  He looked at why current entrepreneur training and education was not working (continued high rate of business failures), and created a program with a new approach that addressed those issues, and then developed innovative and effective curriculum to support the new program.  To quote Mr. Goldberg, "As much as I love my work readiness programs, I like S.E.E.K. even more.  It is a much needed program that will help entrepreneurs succeed which will keep people employed, and stop families from losing their savings and assets.  I can't wait until S.E.E.K. becomes the standard way of training entrepreneurs and their key staff, and we finally see a positive change in the percent of businesses operating profitably five years after opening."

Ms. Deal is a former highly successful entrepreneur who has been working in the not for profit arena helping small business owners since 1996.  Having assisted thousands of businesses in areas ranging from strategic planning, to marketing, to sales, to business growth and expansion, and more, Ms Deal has an excellent handle on the needs and abilities of small business owners.  To support her efforts Ms Deal has developed and accumulated a set of tools and exercises that:

• help existing entrepreneurs maximize their business' potential

• help individuals considering starting a business perform a feasibility analysis to determine if that business can earn enough to support the lifestyle of the potential entrepreneur

• help individuals considering starting a business understand what needs to be accomplished in order to establish a business that will be profitable

• help entrepreneurs understand what they don't know but need to implement if they are going to be successful

Ms. Deal was an integral part in the development of S.E.E.K.  In addition to many of her tools being incorporated in S.E.E.K., Ms. Deal represented the entrepreneur throughout the S.E.E.K. development process.  Ms. Deal performed this task using both her own entrepreneurial experience and her vast knowledge of small business owners.  She also continually obtained feedback from small business owners regarding the strategy and direction of S.E.E.K.  To quote Ms. Deal, "Little did I know that the success of the Construction Management Program I helped develop for Florida Atlantic University would result in the Palm Beach County Resource Center putting together the ideal team to create the most effective, innovative entrepreneurial training program I've ever seen.  This is the only program with a structure that comes from the entrepreneur's perspective as opposed to the education/training facility's perspective."

Mr. Skyers is a highly respected management consultant.  In addition to his role as Executive Director for the Palm Beach County Resource Center, Mr. Skyers has been sought out to serve on committees such as:

• The Palm Beach County Alternative Energy Task Force

• Overall Economic Development Program Committee for Palm Beach County

• Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee (CEDS) for the Treasure Coast Region

• Small Business Advisory Councils for Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach

• Business Partners Roundtable of the Palm Beaches and South Florida

Being on the leading edge of economic development and business success , Mr. Skyers is an expert in generating business plans, writing financial packages and obtaining financing for small businesses.  Mr. Skyers knows what types of businesses specific financial institutions fund, consequently, he directs businesses on strategies to ensure success in obtaining financing.  This ensures that entrepreneurs are not spending money on a "wild goose chase."  To date, Mr. Skyers has obtained funding for over 95% of the clients with whom he has contracted.

Throughout the development of S.E.E.K., Mr. Skyers ensured that S.E.E.K. incorporated tools and materials that he knows leads to businesses avoiding common (and not so common) problems, becoming successful and maximizing profits.  This was especially true in the areas of finance and strategic planning.  He also challenged the development team to create practical lesson plans and exercises from proven, highly-successful, businessmen detailed in books.   The development team met that challenge successfully and the result is some highly effective and innovative tools for business owners to use and customize for their businesses.  In fact, when discussing S.E.E.K., Mr. Skyers states that it is, "So unique and comprehensive in scope that it will reshape the way economic development will be done in the future.  S.E.E.K. will render many of the current tools used in economic development obsolete." 

Ms. Reynolds is the glue that holds S.E.E.K. together.  Ms. Reynolds coordinates instructor and Subject Matter Expert training, schedules S.E.E.K. classroom staff, enrolls participants into S.E.E.K., runs S.E.E.K. orientation meetings, manages S.E.E.K. material needs, and performs all of the other S.E.E.K. tasks that often go unnoticed and under-appreciated.  With over 15 years assisting small businesses, Ms. Reynolds understands the value entrepreneurs place on their time and understands the importance of superior customer service.   She therefore ensures that the S.E.E.K. program operates at peak efficiency not only for us, but for our S.E.E.K. participants as well.