Eric Taylor has inspired, educated and entertained more than 2,000 audiences over the past 25 years. He became an entrepreneur at birth and began his career at 18, selling cookware door to door. He started his first company, Elite Entertainment at 26 yrs old. After 8 yrs and annual revenue of $1.2 million, he sold the company and bought a sales training franchise. At 36, he launched The Empowerment Group, creating, promoting and producing business seminars, featuring top thought leaders in sales, marketing and personal development. At 40, he earned 2nd runner up in an international fitness challenge. At 43, he co-author of “Mastering the World of Selling” and “Mastering the World of Marketing” published by John Wiley & Sons. At 44, he stopped creating children after his wife gave birth to #5. At 49, he was offered his first job, by a former client. At 53, he is the Director of Client Marketing and Partnerships at CFO Studio and is the Chief Transformation Officer at GetLeanUSA.

Karen Pisciotta helps entrepreneurs and small business owners launch, build, and grow their businesses using skills she honed working with large corporations in finance and corporate communications. Karen has helped executives and entrepreneurs define their businesses and articulate their strategies to clients, potential investors, strategic partners, and other constituents. Karen has worked with private and publicly traded companies and non-profits on initiatives including strategic planning, business plan writing, financial modeling, competitive analyses, marketing plan development, media outreach, and more.

Vicky Llerena is CEO, host, and digital marketing strategist for Social Vibes Media. No amateur to the media industry, Vicky brings with her over ten years of experience having worked at Univision WXTV-41, Hudson Media Group, and PRNewswire. She works with small businesses and solo entrepreneurs to help them grow their business online. Vicky is also an adjunct professor at New Jersey City Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ . Her articles have been featured in Huffington Post, NY Press Club, CEO Blog Nation, Hispanic Market Works, and many more online publications.

Sarah Matista is the Marketing Communications Manager for Vistaprint Digital. Leading brand messaging and content marketing for Vistaprint’s digital services division, Sarah spends much of her time communicating with small business owners about what will help them reach their own audiences more successfully. She shares insights about online identity, social media, and branding in publications like Adweek, SUCCESS Magazine, FitSmallBusiness, Small Biz Daily, and SocialMediaToday, as well as on the Vistaprint Digital blog. Over the past 10 years, Sarah has had the opportunity to communicate on behalf of companies large and small in various industries like tech, hospitality, photography, and real estate. She is passionate about providing small and micro business owners with the tools and education they need to compete in a crowded marketplace.

Shakira is a 13 time award-winning public relations, corporate communications and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience leading external and internal communications strategies for various small businesses, corporations and professional services firms. She has been featured as an expert in PRWeek, BrandWeek, Woman's World, Working Mother, Creditcards.com, Black Enterprise, US 1 Princeton Magazines, Jersey 101.5 FM, MidJersey Business Magazine, AOL Money & Finance, Plastic Surgery, Practice Advisor, NJBIZ and Smartmoney.com among many others. Shakira, also known as "The Small Biz Whisperer" is also the host of the weekly small business podcast, "Moment Masters Show" (http://momentmasters.com) available on iTunes and Google Play.

Jason Dukes is a business success coach and founder and CEO of Captain’s Chair Coaching. He is also the creator of the audio series “Give Your Gift to the World—Tools to Live Your Better-than-Ideal Life” available on Amazon.com. In addition to being a contributor to BlackEnterprise.com, he is also a frequent contributor to other media such as American Business Journals Media Group publications as well as Forbes.com.

Michael is a business coach and founder of Braveheart Men's Retreats. Michael is also an author, actor, producer, meditation teacher and transformational retreat architect. Prior to founding 4 different companies, he was a Continuous Improvement Manager at a Fortune 500 organization and received a chemical engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Michael supports coaches and influencers in creating freedom businesses aligned with their life purpose. He started the Cutting Edge Coach Program to help coaches around the globe build abundant businesses and live every day like a vacation. Michael is also an author, actor, producer, meditation teacher and transformational retreat architect. He's professionally trained as an ontological life coach and online marketing coach. He liberates and empowers men around the globe through international retreats, consciousness development programs and writing.

Sheri Kurdakul is President of Holistic Business Solutions, a CRM consulting firm that specializes in small organizations looking to better manage their business processes in order to increase efficiencies and profits. They are based in Trenton, NJ. A leader in data and business process management, Sheri provides her clients with the tools and knowledge to effectively manage marketing, sales and customer care through information and technology. With expertise in knowledge management, process automation, case management, business intelligence, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, and sales and order management, Sheri and her team develop and implement affordable enterprise cloud solutions to generate more effective and efficient customer and client experiences. Sheri resides in Hamilton, NJ with her husband Deniz, two daughters and baby granddaughter. Her hobbies include running, reading, gardening, cooking, and driving around in her Beetle convertible with the top down.

Alan Samuel Cohen is a leadership, connection and communication coach. Prior to becoming a professional coach nearly a decade ago, Alan worked in public relations and human resources for over 20 years. In addition to writing his first book, "Those Difficult Talks for PR Pros: How Best to Say What Needs to be Said to Clients, Colleagues and Employees," Alan co-founded “The Positivity Project”, an initiative intended to create global optimism in the workplace. He is currently working on the leadership team for the Braveheart Men’s Movement, and a book about connecting in a disconnected world, which will come out late 2016. Alan is also a recovery coach, who helps men experience freedom from substance and process addictions, in order to achieve a greater sense of peace, purpose and connection. Alan is available for personal, executive, and team coaching, meeting facilitation, speaking engagements, workshops, and retreats. He lives in New York with his spouse and his wheaten terrier, Bueller.

Michael Shapiro is the CEO and Publisher of TAPinto.net, a network of more than 60 independently owned and operated online local newspapers in New Jersey and New York with over 5.2M readers. In October 2008, after five years of practicing law in New York City, Shapiro started an online, objective, local daily newspaper for his town, New Providence, as well as the adjoining towns of Summit and Berkeley Heights. He began franchising sites in December 2013 to people who wanted to start online newspapers in their own town. Shapiro is a graduate of Rutgers College, Rutgers University and Stanford Law School. Besides his involvement as a member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Berkeley Heights, Shapiro serves as President of the Suburban Chamber of Commerce, on the Communications Advisory Board of the College of Saint Elizabeth, and currently serves on the board of the New Providence Business & Professional Association and the Madison Chamber of Commerce.

Tayo is the CEO of UYD Media which is a strategic leadership and consulting firm that helps corporations improve their bottom line by incorporating diversity, inclusion and social justice strategies. He has spent over 20 years living and working in 4 continents and so is considered an authority in communicating effectively across cultures. As a cross cultural expert, he has spoken at the World Bank, United Nations Foundation among many other places and his work has been seen on NowThis News, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Among Worlds Magazine as well as Global Living Magazine. He is the author of The Ultimate Guide To TCK Living and his ground breaking work on "how to embrace your global identity" was featured in a German School book called ZOOM IN… Globalization and through his podcast, blog and video shows, he is heard and read by thousands of people in over 100 countries.

Ayana Iman is a native of Trenton, NJ, and proud New Jersey resident. In 2015, she launched her career as an Inspirational Speaker and Self-Help Blogger, using her website www.ayanaiman.com to teach others how to live in the “light” and cultivate an attitude of gratitude. She is also a Certified Life Coach and author of All That Matters: A Book About Families. Her focus on community collaborations has led her to a number of volunteer opportunities, partnerships, and leadership roles. Ayana is an advocate for education and recently received her Masters in Strategic Organizational Communication from Rutgers University.

Lorraine Allen has served as the director of the ASBDC-NJ @ TCNJ for 24 years. She has been responsible for assisting nearly 19,000 small business owners through training and direct counsel. The Center with three staff and six leading private industry consultants counsels over 500 clients a year and trains over 1,254 business representatives annually with business and marketing planning, procurement,financing preparation start up and most every small-business concern. Lorraine has forged original special projects including starting Trenton Small Business Week, QuickBooks Center for Business and Mercer countywide Keep It Local networking campaign.

Matt has been an entrepreneur ever since he can remember. What he loves most about entrepreneurship is the part where he gets to HELP people – business owners, start-ups, marketing folks…other entrepreneurs. From selling mistletoe and managing neighborhood garage sales as a child to developing national online marketing programs for his clients today, his focus has always been on helping people. Now president of JoltCMS (www.JoltCMS.com), Matt gets to help a variety of business owners and entrepreneurs every day. Matt is also the author of Stop Selling. Start Helping. (www.StopSellingStartHelping.com) He speaks across the country, leading everything from small workshops and conference breakout sessions (30-45 minutes) to educational seminars and keynotes (60-90 minutes) to TED-style talks (less than 20 minutes). His “Stop Selling. Start Helping.” concept rings true no matter the industry or audience.

Bill Walton is the President of Bill Walton Sales Training, a national authority on client acquisition. Bill’s 25 years of experience as a sales leader, author and keynote speaker is helping clients “un-blur” the lines of differentiation among their fiercest competitors. His firm, Bill Walton Sales Training created the Value Creation methodology for corporate sales professionals. Bill has published two books, Taming the Four-Headed Dragon for Financial Advisors, and The Winning Way for small business that received the prestigious Quilly Award® and attained amazon best seller status. His clients include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, American Express, Avis Budget Group, Pfizer and Wyndham Worldwide to name a few. Bill has been a guest on CNN and is a guest facilitator at The Wharton School of Executive Education. He graduated magna cum laude from Connecticut State University with a degree in Business Administration and received a MS in Human Resource Education from Fordham University.

Freda L. Thomas, MBA is a serial entrepreneur with twenty plus years of experience as a business coach/advisor. Freda has extensive expertise helping businesses become more efficient and effective at running a business. Thomas has designed a strategic growth process that serves as the blueprint for a company’s future growth and direction. She has also designed an automated cloud based staff recruitment process that identifies highly effective employees based on behavioral characteristics and essential skills. As a business process engineer, Freda reviews her client’s current business processes and develops new methods to improve productivity and operational efficiencies.

Ian began his career at ToysRus.com and later found himself at the doors of MGT Design, an agency based in central New Jersey known for their work with Bed, Bath & Beyond and Chubb Insurance. Ian’s skills set grew to incorporate the creation of printed materials. After four years of helping Fortune 500 companies at MGT Design, Ian decided to embark on a freelance carrier working at agencies such as Up Design and Smith Design before the creation of Lform in 2005. As work became more abundant within a 3-year timespan the team grew from 1 to 3 people. Now Lform resides in an open-air facility in Verona, NJ. Ian supervises a team of 6 creative professionals delivering inbound marketing solutions. Lform is focused on B2B industrial technology and manufacturing clients for nearly a decade. When not at the helm, Ian is a mountain biking enthusiast and enjoys spending time with his wife Audrey, daughter Ava and son Evan.

International Speaker and Business Consultant, Willard Barth has gone from a life of total destruction to being one of the leading consultants in his field. He has been involved in the field of human behavior, personal and professional development for over 27 years. In that time what he has discovered is that for a business to be successful they all follow a system which he has defined as “The Anatomy Of Transformation”. One company using this system increased their sales by 93% in one year. Another company became one of the 10 fastest growing companies in NJ for 2014, and one of the 2,000 fastest growing companies in the United States. Willard has also used this system in many other areas. He is the founder of 3 successful companies. He also currently sits on the boards of two other Non-Profits.

Dany started a supplement drink company called Jersey Pump. Within four years, the unique drink became a house hold name in the state of New Jersey and Center of local MMA athletes, gyms and distribution centers. His branding approach and genius was on full display and captured the attention of other companies and investors. In 2015, his tenacity and refusing to give up on his vision after Hurricane Sandy destroyed his warehouse on the day he was scheduled to launch his drink earned him " man of the year resiliency award". His story was featured on the local news and was the best trending story on Chasing New Jersey for eight weeks straight. (http://www.my9nj.com/chasing-news/12222008-story) Dany sold his company in May of 2016 to pursue his other passions, Real Estate, Motivational Speaking and Music.