Enjoy this episode of Jason Tracey’s “Business On A Bike” he rides into Howell to spend time with Wendy Caverly, the Chief Referral Officer of Caerusnet Connections!
Author: Steve Zyskowski
-

Caerusnet’s Doug Moffat Talks Opportunity in Kairos @ Hero Roundtable
Learn something new and powerful from Doug Moffat, of The Moffat Group, leadership coach and Facilitator of the Caerusnet Brighton Tuesday 10am & Ann Arbor Wednesday 10am teams!
-

The Power of Referral Teams Episode 1
Great watch and learn from the Fuel4Business first episode on YouTube ! Great interaction and synergy with host, Chris Smith of Fuel For Business and guest, Wendy Caverly, Chief Referral Officer and Caerusnet Facilitator for Caerusnet Connections. Be sure to watch both Part A & B of Episode One of Fuel4Business.
-

POCAST: Seize Every Day With Caerusnet’s Doug Moffat & Roger Burnett
What would YOU do if you were able to pursue gratification instead of income? Doug Moffat, Caerusnet Facilitator, joins Roger Burnett from the “So You’re In Sales?” podcast for a discussion about the vital importance to seizing the opportunity found in every day, his pivot away from a career that made him miserable and what’s transpired in his timeline since that decision.
-

Alex Helps Referrals Find Their Perfect Franchising Fit In Caerusnet
Alex Roberts is a franchise consultant—a matchmaker and guide for people looking for an opportunity to be their own boss. Through a proven process, he helps them find franchise opportunities that perfectly suit their professional and personal goals, making career dreams come true.Why franchising? The world of franchising offers a plethora of benefits and support systems for people in all stages of their professional life: budding entrepreneurs, people looking to pursue a business opportunity while keeping their day job, business professionals in career transition, and those looking to plan for eventual retirement. By beginning with the franchisor’s playbook, a proven business model, the new franchisee has a higher likelihood of success. The franchisor provides extensive training and support, technology to support the business, established marketing and customer acquisition strategies. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. And new franchisees benefit from a built-in network: fellow franchisees who can share their experiences and tips for success.
What Alex does. Alex’s services are free and come with no strings attached. Through a proven and structured process, he helps people define exactly what they’re looking for, matches them with franchise opportunities that support their goals, and introduces them to the franchisor(s) they’re interested in working with. He completes a lot of the legwork and works only with prescreened, high-quality franchises that offer candidates a high chance of success.
Who to refer. Typical candidates for Alex’s free consulting services are men, women, or couples anywhere in the U.S., usually between 40-55 years of age, who have a strong desire to be their own boss despite having only worked for others throughout their career. Most have about 15-20 years of experience in corporate America and have built up strong leadership and communication skills, people management skills, and solid business acumen, which happen to be great traits for a franchise owner. People in career transition are great referrals. If they have been laid off once or twice and want to take control of their future, if they travel too much for work and want to have a better lifestyle, if they’ve hit the ceiling in their career and have few prospects for advancement, send them his way.Success stories. Through Caerusnet, Alex has had many successes. Here are two examples.
- An insurance adjuster who was offered the choice to relocate for the company or take a severance package had opted for the severance package. When mentioning his work situation to a Caerusnet member, the phrase “career transition” prompted her to think of Alex. She made the referral and Alex guided the candidate through his proven process. The former adjuster eventually invested in a restaurant franchise in Wixom. He’s now his own boss and enjoying business ownership.
- A husband and wife team were looking for a better lifestyle and work/life balance. The husband had taken a buyout from his company, and the wife has recently sold a small business that could not succeed without her full-time participation. A Caerusnet member who worked with the husband made the referral after hearing that he was considering buying a franchise. The couple invested in a boutique fitness franchise they can manage as semi-absentee owners and are continuing to work on other business interests. Boutique fitness is one of the fastest-growing segments in franchising today and they got in on the leading edge with the best franchisor in the industry.
What Alex likes most about Caerusnet. It is extremely well organized by the facilitator and the members quickly become friends and trusted partners as you get to know them, ideally through a Trust Builder Meeting.Alex’s approach to positioning himself as a resource. My approach is always to just be myself. Once I spend time with someone, they see that I am genuine, and I am an expert in my industry. The great thing about my service is that it is FREE to everyone. I never charge a nickel. All they invest with me is their time. So, what have you got to lose?
Strategy for success in Caerusnet. The best way to be successful with Caerusnet is to do Trust Builder Meetings with everyone in your group. This is the only way you get to really know, like and trust the others – which is a requirement when it comes to passing referrals. I also encourage people to visit other Caerusnet groups as there are many other people out there who “get it” and are willing to help promote you and your business.

The additional benefits of being on a Caerusnet team. I have developed deep relationships with several of the team members over the past 3 years. We’ve played golf, gone to events, and know what’s going on in each other’s lives. I have utilized the services of many of their businesses and feel extremely comfortable referring them to others which makes me a more valuable resource to my network and clients.
Make the Caerusnet connection. If you know anyone who is in career transition or who has mentioned a desire to be their own boss, send them to Alex. He can help them reach their goal of business ownership and capture their share of the American Dream. Alex can be reached at: [email protected] or 734-369-4551. Check out his website at: www.franchiseplaymaker.com.
Are YOU a Caerusnet Member with a story you’d like to share with the larger Caerusnet Michigan network? Let’s us know by contacting us here!
-

ReferralTopia August 2019 REPLAY

On August 29th, 2019, Caerusnet Michigan Members & Facilitators (past, present and future)
came together in Ann Arbor for ReferralTopia 2019: The Immersive Referral Experience!
This one-of-a-kind event was a tremendous success and we are looking forward to planning for an even better ReferralTopia in 2020.
We want to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped make the day a success.
We appreciate the Members and guests who attended. Thank you to all ReferralTopia exhibitors and amazing break-out session leaders.
Finally, we’d like to say thank you to the management at the Wyndham Garden Hotel for
being open to this event and for supporting the effort.
We also want to thank our 2019 Sponsors:
Workforce Payhub (Expo Room Sponsor / Keynote Sponsor)
Heidi K Insurance (Swag Bag Sponsor)
Paychex (Boardroom Sponsor)
Please enjoy some of the recap photos below:




-

ReferralTopia is THE Networking Event of 2019!

Watch the ReferralTopia 2019 Video above and BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE to the channel to get new videos about Referral Topia & Caerusnet as soon as they get released!
Ann Arbor, Michigan — Announcing ReferralTopia: The Immersive Referral Experience: An epic number of new referral opportunities will be created this summer as Caerusnet Michigan referral team Members, Facilitators and other like-minded referral driven professionals unite together in force for an action-filled professional development day featuring a deep-dive into the world-of-word of mouth marketing!
To celebrate Caerusnet’s10th year in business in Michigan, Caerusnet founder, Steven Zyskowski wanted to add a high value annual event to the calendar to better serve the entire Michigan Caerusnet referral network. With approximately 350 Michigan Caerusnet Members, their guests and promotion to the greater Michigan community, ReferralTopia plans to be Caerusnet’s hallmark annual Member event.
Make A Day Of it! Any professional can be an attendee even if they aren’t a Caerusnet Member! Click here to attend RerferralTopia!
OPEN NOW: Password to register is “ReferralTopia2019”
Check back often for updates and new videos being released!
Highlights/Initial Details:
- Event runs from 10AM to 5PM, with an early bird check-in at 9AM, Thursday August 29th at the Wyndham Gardens Hotel & Convention Center, 2900 Jackson Avenue, Ann Arbor MI conveniently located to I-94.
- is an exclusive for Caerusnet Members who have businesses they’d like to expose to the entire Caerusnet Michigan network the an opportunity to have an affordable exhibitor table in the grand ball room.
- Network like crazy with like-minded Caerusnet Michigan Members and guests. This event will also be promoted to the Michigan business community and non-Caerusnet Members are welcomed to be attendees.
- Jam Packed, morning and afternoon and mid-afternoon break out sessions given by small business thought leaders that will help you grow your referral driven business to the next level (included in the price of admission)! Topics will be certain to appeal to a wide range of professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs.
- The ‘Trust Builder Zone’: Designed for you to make the most of your new connections when you meet for your mini-trust builders at ReferralTopia in a quieter, less busy setting.
- Pre-ordered boxed lunches ready to eat by lunchtime.
- From 4-5PM enjoy The Happy Hour finale.
- Even more value to be announced over the coming weeks!
There are a limited number of exhibitor spaces available and sponsorships on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Julie Palmer, [email protected] for more information 734-904-9510.
-
Caerusnet’s Michigan Facilitators Love Referrals
Let’s take a moment to recognize Caerusnet’s Michigan Facilitators! Joining multi-year veteran Lansing Facilitators like Tom Hamp, Chaz Carillo and Olivia Somsel and Saline’s Steven Bebber, there are several new Facilitators starting new teams this year in Northville, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Milford and Plymouth. Even Chief Referral Officer, Wendy Caverly has expanded her footprint to include Chelsea. From Adrian to Bloomfield Hills, Caerusnet Facilitators are welcoming small business professionals into the world of referrals.Steven Zyskowski, Chief Referral Officer of Caerusnet Michigan commented “The Facilitators are absolutely some of the best people you will ever meet in the local small business community and they love helping others. Facilitators are the also the main competitive difference between Caerusnet and other structured referral organizations. We like our Facilitators and Members to embrace the concept of being in a partnership together, keeping their referral team healthy.”
Facilitators are passionate about their team’s success, because they are also small business professionals, as well. They can relate to the demands of today’s main street business world on
an individual simply trying to make it and thrive in today’s complicated entrepreneurial vacuum.Click this link to learn more about our Michigan Caerusnet Facilitators and THANK YOU for your continued support of Caerusnet referral teams. If you know of a small business professional in your local community who doesn’t know about Caerusnet, please feel confident referring them to any of our Michigan Facilitators.
Know of someone who you think might make a good Facilitator or are you considering Facilitating a referral team yourself? Click this link to learn more and/or share with a friend.
As always, don’t let the world change your smile … use your smile to change the world.
Stay connected,


Founder & Facilitator / Chief Referral Officer, Caerusnet -

Caerusnet Teams That Overcame Challenges & Now Flourish
In the not too distant past, both the Brighton Tuesday 8AM and Canton Thursday 1PM Caerusnet teams were both experiencing shrinking pains. Each team was losing more Members than they were gaining and it got to a point that it was necessary to call a “time out” from the regular meeting agenda. At one time, each team was in the mid-teens. However, each team was reduced down to a size of approximately eight Members each.During an off-script meeting, Zyskowski met with each team and they discussed in the open the dwindling membership size and the
dysfunctions it created. Each Member was asked if they still had the desire to be part of an active referral team and to help it attract new Members … or if they had enough and wanted to throw in the towel.
Steve Zyskowski, Caerusnet founder and Facilitator of the two teams commented, “When teams lose a lot of Members, it can be an energy drain on everyone as it’s disappointing to see people quit. But the fact of the matter is, not everyone is cut out to make it in the world of referrals. Businesses go out of business every day. People change professional fields. Some people aren’t focused. Some people are distracted. No matter, I take what I do very seriously and am here to help teams be successful. The Members of both Brighton Tuesday 8AM and Canton Thursday 1PM all recommitted to making greatness happen.”After briefly returning to running “Core Team” styled meetings (since the sizes of each team had fallen to under 10
Members each), today both teams are fast approaching or have passed the 20 Membership size mark.“We overcame challenges together and today, they are two of my favorite team meetings to Facilitate because we’ve built relationship sweat equity together and you can feel the synergy as a result.” Zyskowski added.
Hats off to the Members of both of these teams! If building great referral teams was easy, everybody would be doing it. With Caerusnet’s vision of a partnership between Members and their Facilitator, the sky’s the limit to the continued success they will have!
-
SHUT THE DOOR! IT’S A “FOUR-SCORE!”
Caerusnet Michigan recently received notification that it was awarded Best of 2019 Business Marketing Services!This is a tremendous accomplishment in that there is only one winner per year in the city of Brighton. There are five active Caerusnet teams in Brighton and our Facilitated Referral Team organization has won now won back-to-back-to-back-to-back (we also won the award in years 2016-2018).
We completely recognize that it wouldn’t be possible at all without the consistent effort and commitment of the amazing Caerusnet Brighton Members over the past 10 years! They are truly fun to be around, dependable, passionate about what they do and successful in their practice. Brighton Members understand the value of being involved in a great, facilitated referral network, like Caerusnet. These are people who love their community and we are honored to serve them.
Steven Zyskowski, Caerusnet’s Chief Referral Officer commented, “Did you know that in a past survey of over 150 randomly selected Caerusnet Members, 100% of respondents said they would recommend Caerusnet to other business professionals? 100%! That’s amazing. The average time a person is a Caerusnet Member is three years. And that’s pretty cool when you consider that Memberships are renewed monthly. We also collected some great feedback from Members about how to improve and are implementing many of these great ideas as you read this!”
With close to 30 teams in Michigan now, the sky is truly the limit to the level of success we can reach together. If you know of someone who could be a great Member or Facilitator in Caerusnet, please refer them to us to help expand the network.
Thank you for your support and we intend to HIGH-FIVE this award around the same time next year!
Stay connected!

Steven Zyskowski
Chief Referral Officer, Caerusnet Michigan
Facilitator: Ann Arbor, Brighton, Canton

