Small Business Today Magazine JUL 2014 PHENOMENAL PRODUCTS | Page 5

SBT Houston Staff JULY 2014 PUBLISHER SCOLUMN Chairman John Cruise President/Executive Publisher Steve Levine Vice President /Associate Publisher/ Creative Director/Editor Barbara Davis-Levine From the Publisher Steve Levine Business Development/PR Maria Deborah DuBose Bill Huff Aaron Kaplan Intern Jesus Gonzalez Graphic Designer Lavinia Menchaca Photographers Gwen Juarez Contributing Writers Don Brown Barbara Davis Mila Golovine Lorraine Grubbs Bruce Hurta Jeff Jones Aaron Kaplan Craig Klein Hank Moore Mike Muhney Mayor Annise Parker Howard Partridge Christi Ruiz Rita Santamaria Gail Stolzenburg Holly Uverity Aimee Woodall Chief Advisor Hank Moore Publisher’s Advisory Board Shah Ardalan Roger Burks Helen Callier Sonia Clayton Donna Cole John Cruise Dirk Cummins April Day Dr. John Demartini Maya Durnovo Kathie Edwards Leonard Faucher Mila Golovine David Holt Richard Huebner Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Jeffrey Jones Darryl King Craig Klein Wea Lee Hank Moore Lisa M. Morton Mike Muhney Leisa Holland Nelson Mayor Annise Parker Page Parkes Howard Partridge Susan Repka Maria Rios Grant Sadler Rita Santamaria Allen Shapiro William Sherrill Pam Terry Linda Toyota Jack Warkenthien Carlecia D. Wright Aaron Young Phone: 832-419-2814 E-Mail: [email protected] Or Write: Small Business Today 5380 West 34th Street, Ste 230 Houston,TX 77092 See us on the web at www.SBTMagazine.net Free APP for Android & iPhone go to your APP Store and type in Small Business Today Magazine SMALL BUSINESS Today MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. 5380 WEST 34TH ST., STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER - STEVE LEVINE: 832-419-2814 CHAIRMAN - JOHN CRUISE: 832-460-2020 www.SBTMagazine.net ADVERTISING RATES ON REQUEST. BULK THIRD CLASS MAIL PAID IN TUCSON, AZ. POSTMASTER: PLEASE SEND NOTICES ON FORM 3579 TO 5380 WEST 34TH ST., STE. 230 HOUSTON, TX 77092. ALTHOUGH EVERY PRECAUTION IS TAKEN TO ENSURE ACCURACY OF PUBLISHED MATERIALS, SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OPINIONS EXPRESSED OR FACTS SUPPLIED BY ITS AUTHORS. COPYRIGHT 2012, LEGACY PUBLISHING GROUP, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. Who Is In Your Corner? A nyone who is familiar with me knows that one of my favorite movie series is “Rocky” (I, II, III, IV, & V) which starred Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, Talia Shire as Adrian, Burgess Meredith as Mickey, Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, and Burt Young as Paulie. Small-time boxer Rocky Balboa gets a rare chance to take on the heavyweight champions of the world.  From the beginning as an unknown fighter, Rocky (literally) “fights” his way to become a champion with the help of his manager/trainer Mickey, the prayers from his priest Father Carmine (played by Paul Micale), the encouragement from his friend Paulie, and the inspiration from his girlfriend Adrian (Paulie’s younger sister who later becomes Rocky’s wife in “Rocky II”). All of these characters were “in Rocky’s corner” and helped him achieve greatness. In “Rocky III”, Mickey suffers a heart attack and Rocky’s opponent from “Rocky I & II”, Apollo Creed, steps in to take over as his coach, trainer, mentor, and friend.  There were other characters that were ringside during the fights and each had a role to play in Rocky’s success and bringing him back from defeat. Where I am going with all of this has to do with what I have learned from our cover honorees:  1.No one accomplishes greatness on their own. 2.There is always a team of people that encourage us to achieve our goals and dreams. For me, they are my partners Barbara Davis-Levine and John Cruise, our Publisher’s Advisory Board members, my many friends and mentors (like Marshall Haas, Ruben Gonzalez, and John Duffy), and my new coach and mentor who is this month’s cover honoree, Howard Partridge of Phenomenal Products and Howard Partridge Roundtables. I met Howard at a Women’s Council of Realtors® Luncheon in 2005.  I had the opportunity to share his story and the story of his (now) multimillion dollar “turnkey” business, in a November 2006 issue of “REAL ESTATE EXECUTIVE”. When my partner John Cruise came to me with the idea of us producing a publication for and about aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners, Howard was the first person who came to my mind as a potential cover honoree. Howard is one of the most positive, motivating, and knowledgeable people I know who also shares the same passion that we do for empowering small business owners to achieve their dreams of big business success.  It made sense to not only have Howard nominated for a cover honor but also added to the Publisher’s Advisory Board and included as a monthly columnist.  He truly understands our mission and shares our passion.You will enjoy his story! Speaking about “teams”, I am very proud to announce the newest members of the SBT “TEAM”, Maria Deborah DuBose/