David Erickson, founder and CEO of Free Conferencing Corporation of America, won a Stevie Award for Best Executive in the 2007 American Business Awards.  We look at the vision and strategic initiatives behind his successful company.

David Erickson gives new meaning to the phrase “chronic entrepreneurialism.” With more than a decade of telecommunications experience and an unparalleled market vision, he designed and implemented FreeConferenceCall.com from the ground up, including the current network infrastructure that offers conferencing facilities in twelve cities across the United States and in ten European countries.

At the same time, Erickson has instilled a strong sense of commitment throughout the organization by creating long-standing, value-based client and employee relationships. “It has been a true honor to be recognized for such a prestigious award as The Stevies,” said Erickson “but I share this accolade with the entire company as a total team effort in helping our global customers reap all the benefits of our conferencing solutions.”

A Telecom Industry Thought Leader
Unlike other competitive offerings from paid and non-paid audio conferencing services, FreeConferenceCall.com’s pioneering all-digital network is built on voice routers versus analog-based conference bridges that can be prone to static and other noise. Says Erickson: "Our mission is to redefine the one-to-many communications industry by providing high quality features, excellent customer service, and the best pricing models available."

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SafeHarbor Technology Corporation, winner of a Stevie Award for Best Overall Company with fewer than 100 employees in the 2007 American Business Awards, helps large corporations to save money while increasing customer retention, satisfaction, and loyalty. We delve into the history of this David among Goliaths, with clients including American Airlines, IBM, Sun Trust Banks, T-Mobile, the state of Washington, and Washington Mutual.

Employees of Seattle-based SafeHarbor describe their company as a survivor.  Once a struggling dot.com era company, SafeHarbor now includes many household names among its clients. 

The company’s success results from its expertise in moving customer service to the Web, helping clients develop a culture of customer self-service through technology and business practices.

Creating the Culture of Self Service
Increasing Web self-service interactions significantly will drive down support costs. According to the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA), resolving just 40 percent of support cases online can reduce support costs by as much as 24 percent. 

SafeHarbor claims to help companies achieve this while combining fast implementation with the flexibility of minimal investment.

As a service company itself, SafeHarbor is ever mindful of the partnership and value they must deliver.  The company understands that technology alone does not transform an organization, so SafeHarbor’s business model is a technology service layer that helps clients work with existing investment to drive web self-service.  The results are lower service costs and higher user satisfaction. 

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Monday, October 1 is the last day that entries will be accepted for the 2007 (4th annual) Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Contact the Stevie Awards office to request a short deadline extension if you'll need one.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honor women entrepreneurs, executives, and the companies they run - worldwide - in more than 40 categories including Best Entrepreneur, Best Executive, Women Helping Women, Lifetime Achievement, Best New Product or Service, Best Blog, Best PR Campaign, and more. The judges are leading women business leaders, journalists, and academics.

Finalists will be announced in mid-October, and winners will be presented their Stevie Award trophies at a reception and awards ceremonies on Monday, November 12 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

		Learn More About the Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Blogs, or web logs, are all the rage these days. Each month in this space we'll point you to several blogs that we think might be of interest to you.

Trend Sightings : Insights on marketing to women from marketing guru Martha Barletta.
Release Me : "A good place to post press releases" as the organizers, Marketing Sherpa, say.
Small Biz Resource : SmallBizResource.com has been redesigned as a blog site, connecting to technology news, information and features for small businesses.
bmighty.com: Blog page for CMP's bMighty.com eZine, covering IT topics for small and mid-size businesses.