I was serving in the United States Air Force in Turkey, and found out that my Dad had been diagnosed with an incurable disease and given 6 months to live. In addition, I had recently experienced a couple of events that changed my life.One was a sergeant who worked for me had died of a heart attack and I had the responsibility of being the officer in charge of taking care of his family and his wife to help them organize a funeral and get them all back to the United States.  That event really made me think about how short life can really be and how very important family really was. Secondly, I was with my Commander on a trip from Ankara to Incirlik AB, and he said, “You know, the last 16 years of my life has been a blur. I don’t even know my own daughters.”  That statement blew me away!  I certainly did not want to be saying that in a few years, knowing I had sacrificed my family on the altar of rank, position and money.So, I believed I had some choices to make and one of those choices was figuring out how to replace my USAF career and salary. I really wanted to return home to build my extended family so I wouldn't make the same mistakes and have to miss my kids growing up and them not having the opportunity of being there with my Dad for the last few months of his life .I wanted to be able to move back to my Dad's hometown so we could be with him and the kids could experience the extended family.  That way, we could all be with my family and especially with my Dad for the last few months of his life.The thing is, I was trying to figure out how I was going to make money and secure a living in a new town. Without a salary or health insurance, that meant I may not be able to move back to my Dad's hometown so we could be with him and the kids could experience the extended family, let alone so I could be with my family and especially with my Dad for the last few months of his life.  And, that also meant that I may be putting my family at risk or at least in harm's way.To make things worse, I felt terrible because I and my family had been living in Turkey, overseas, for the last 5 years.  We suddenly realized that we did not even know anyone at home in the US anymore.   I felt even worse about the situation because I had no job, no money saved up and no idea what I was going to do to make a living for my family.  I had never considered getting out of the Air Force.  I always thought it would be my career, just like my Dad's had been for 20 years.  I personally felt like a failure as a Dad, and the weight on my shoulders was so heavy!The problem was that by not going home, my kids would never get to know their extended family. Which meant I would have to make the tough decision to walk away from a great career in the USAF with a guaranteed below-the-zone promotion to Major and a job as the Executive Officer for a Major Command General in the Pentagon.  However, I was more worried that my Dad would die without my kids ever really getting to know him or the extended family.Then, as if by chance, something amazing happened...Another event occurred to one of my people and I realized that family had to be the most important thing in life if I was going to be a good father and a Dad who could teach his children great character lessons in their lives. That's when I finally made a decision to resign my “regular” commission, my “reserve” commission as an officer, and find a way to be really good at coaching gymnastics and then, turning that dream and passion into a career and business that could support my family!It was now crystal clear to me that I could do it.  I could build a business that would make a difference in the lives of family and the children/athletes we would teach and coach.  Plus, I would also be making a major difference in the lives of my own children.  I finally could BELIEVE that I could make a living teaching and coaching gymnastics.I also believed that I did not have to operate a professional gymnastics club in a large city.  All I needed was to believe and then commit to get started, build momentum and the business would grow.  After all, we would be doing the right thing for my family, for our gymnasts, and for our community.  And when you do the right thing, for the right reason, the right things happen!As a result I built a gymnastics training center with my wife, kids, and extended family .After that initial start, we began building a community of families and children/athletes that understood the need to focus on family first and to live life with character first.  We simply used gymnastics as the vehicle to teach and coach character skills.Suddenly, I was making a living, leading with character first in life, and best of all……my Dad beat the odds too and not only did he live longer than the 6 months the Doctors gave him, but he is alive and well today, and together, he helped me and my family build our businesses.That’s when I realized that the secret to replacing my USAF career and salary all along, had been th belief that teaching and coaching character through the art and sport of gymnastics to children and athletes could become a reality.My plan was to start teaching and coaching children to reach their potential as gymnasts.  But there was so much more.  What about leadership, teamwork, critical thinking skills, problem solving, and much more?So we started by purchasing a building and all the gymnastics equipment I needed. But we didn’t stop there.We faithfully began teaching and coaching children and young athletes character education, people skills and gymnastics in classes and on teams.But there was still a problem...As my business grew, I was struggling to keep up, and pay the bills.  Having settled down in a small town of less than 9000 population, we did not have enough students to make ends meet, even though we were sometimes pulling children and athletes from other locations as far as an hour away.  Furthermore, shortly after we started, one of the leaders in our city personally told me, "you won't make it more than 6 months in this city."  So, the deck of cards in life were stacked up against me and my family.We ended up getting so frustrated by all the naysayers that we decided to double down on our vision of making a difference for children... young students and athletes.  I started another company, called DCS Netlink which pretty much right from the start provided a salary and health insurance to allow us to continue to operate the gym.  Meanwhile, my wife became the director at the gym, and my Dad, well my Dad became a full-time baby sitter helping to actually raise our kids while we taught and coached in the gym each night..We now had two businesses:  “Deutsch's Gymnastics Training Center” and DCS Netlink…our IT and Technology company.We thought if we could create something that would make it possible to help grow children in character and discipline through the art and sport of gymnastics, we’d be really happy, and fulfilling our dream with passion.After taking classes at WITC, and studying very hard by reading and digesting every IT book I could get my hands on, we created DCS Netlink, our IT company which helped us grow our gymnastics club and in turn allow us to make gymnastics a focal point of growing young children to be productive and healthy adults.After starting and operating two businesses over the last 30 years, and they are both still thriving, I can now show anyone how to take the ideas in their head, turn them into a belief and build/grow their own business and make a living while building and growing their extended family.We then started to coach and teach other people outside the gym on how to be better leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs.  So began our third company called Leadership, Management Development in Character (LMDC).As a result of all this we were able to achieve the following:Helped thousands of children and families over the past 30 years to learn how to lead and live life with Character First doing what we love in teaching and coaching the art and sport of gymnastics.Built a reputable and profitable IT company where we focus on helping companies of all sizes to become more Cyber Secure.Help coach and grow other companies in character, leadership and business growth skills.After creating our businesses, I was not only able to build my extended family and give my children the opportunity to know and grow up with their Grandparents, I’ve also been able to stop working just for the money. I can now focus on making a difference in the lives of my family and those that become a part of our gym family, because we can now go from idea to cash and still do what it is you want to do most passionately in your heart.And in the end, all of this means I’m now able to lead life with character first, confidently put my family first, and still handle any situation because my businesses make enough money and have taught me how to handle anything life throws my way.Oh, and I almost forgot….we totally beat the odds, remember the city leader who told us we would not make it more than 6 months in our city?  Well, he was wrong and so were many others!  We have been faithful to the original vision and have continued to coach and train children and young athletes for the past 30 years, in addition to building two more businesses in this small, little city. It is not the size of the city, or of the business, it is the size of your heart that makes all the difference!Imagine that!  Believe and Achieve….you can do it too!Go Make a Difference and Smile On!

Character Building Secrets

My Ephiphany Story from USAF to Entrepreneur & Business Owner

This Interview Is About The Top 3 Factors Every Business Needs To Get Secure And Stay Secure On The Internet. Tips, Tricks & Secrets: Dane Deutsch Reveals How Every Business Owner Can Protect Their Business With Good Password Management, Firewalls, And Social Engineering.”INTERVIEW DATAInterviewer’s NameBenjamin BlancAuthor’s NameDane DeutschTarget Audience (SINGULAR)Business OwnerTarget Audience (PLURAL)Business OwnersKeyword Theme of the interviewThis interview is about the Top 3 Factors every business needs to get secure and stay secure on the Internet.Topic of the InterviewThis interview will focus on what the Human Factor is and how that is the weakest link in terms of cyber security.  Furthermore, we will discuss how to overcome the Human Factor being the weakest link by teaching how to strengthen those Human Factors.Payoff of the Interview (For Target Audience)how to protect yourself and your business with good password management, firewalls, and social engineering.   

The One Key Element for Improving Your Small Business Cyber Security - The Human Factor

Hello...  I am Dane DEUTSCH your host....coming to you with another episode of The Ararat Connection.  This is going to be an episode where we focus on Business Continuity. In business it is more important to continue operating than to have to recover from a disaster.  So, prevention is worth more than an “ounce of cure” as they say. In this day and age of ransomware, viruses, trojans and other threats, risks and vulnerabilities exist, it is almost a certainty that some kind of attack, or catastrophe will affect us.  Therefore, we have to plan for the inevitable. If that day never comes, more power to us, but better to be safe than sorry. So, today, we are going to share with you, our listener, how to not only be more secure, but how to proactively manage your IT and have a way of being alerted if hardware, software or other threats/risks should occur.  “The Way IT should BE!” We are here with Jennifer Ewing from a partner of ours that specializes in Business Continuity.  That means hardware, software, security solutions, backups, disaster recovery and more. Welcome Jennifer Ewing. Hello Jennifer….and welcome to BlogTalkRadio….The Ararat Connection. You are the Partner Development Manager at a company that partners with us and specializes in Business Continuity.   We are partners with your company because we needed to expand our ability to service our customers in a more automated way with fewer engineers and technicians on our team...from monitoring servers and computers, to updating patches and service packs in Windows, to automating backups and disaster recoveries.  So, we have been partnered with you for about 6 years now. Please share with us and our audience what our company does to make us a stronger managed services provider and what our mission and vision is? Can you tell us a little about how our company provides those services? Our company has created a product, service and solution called FIT Care Club.  That stands for Freedom IT Care Club. We wanted to find a solution that would FREE you the business owner to take care of everything needed to manage your IT Services automatically and keep track of changes, etc.  In other words YOU, the customer, had more freedom, and that means more time, to focus on your business and your customers because we have the right solution in place that CARES about you and your IT and network. So, today, we use the FIT Care Club to monitor and manage entire companies with all their servers, computers, and software...and we do all that through a single “pane of glass” with what we call our Network Operations Center (NOC).  One of the services and benefits with FIT Care Club is that we have over 200 engineers that stand at the ready to help our customers with anything IT.  They can easily contact our help desk at our 800 number or chat with our help desk for tech support right the convenience of their own computer screen. The engineers are literally just a “click” away..  Easy resolution and back to business. Our FIT Care Club provides the High caliber results that make IT simple and more stable than ever before.  No more “piece meal” approach to cobbling IT systems together. Now IT is really simple and FUN! Let’s talk about even more benefits and resources our company provides to provide “rock solid” service to our customers?   Another benefit is that there is a central console for us to manage our customers’ networks, computers and IT.   And, we don’t need to come on site physically with the customers, we can simply remote in to their server or computer to do the job.   Project based services:   One off computer repair, service, and support Is it affordable?  The answer is YES! Way more affordable than having to pay for IT services and repair on a Time and Materials basis.  You pay one monthly fee and the engineers stand at the ready to help you with whatever your IT needs are for that month and as often as you need them.  Once price...no more surprises or unknowns. How great is that?! Easy on your budget and simple. We have taken the complexity out of IT. Now you can have the freedom too with our Freedom IT Care Club….because we CARE! What may have been some of the pain points or challenges that keep a customer from adopting our managed services system? Let me give you a “real world” example recently.  Our new FIT CARE Club customer had a MS Exchange server that was setup incorrectly by a competitor.  We needed some MS Exchange experts to help, because of the complexity. So, since this new customer was a FIT CARE Club member, we simply had a couple of the Exchange Certified engineers dive into the Exchange server and Whoola!  Their Exchange server was fixed in 30 minutes. No extra cost, no downtime, and no surprises!!!! And again, it is Fun....!!!  “The Way IT Should Be!” We can even provide a network assessment to determine what is on your network and how the FIT CARE CLUB could benefit you.  Just contact us after this radio show and we will be happy to discuss setting up a network assessment for you.  What is life like after a company has used our FIT CARE CLUB?  Simple, Secure & FUN….you can go back to doing your business. We do what we do best and give you the Freedom to do what you do best. Thank you Jennifer for sharing with our customer your journey to better Business Continuity. If customers are interested in learning more about DCS Netlink Dynamic Cloud Solutions FIT Care Club.  Simply call me at 877-327-6385.  or find us on the web at www.dcsnetlink.com. We care about your IT.  We can help you install the best business continuity solution to help you sleep better at night and be more productive during the day.  “The Way IT Should Be!” This is Dane Deutsch and Jennifer Ewing on Blog Talk Radio at the Ararat Connection...and remember, Stay FIT with your IT today.  Why not get your freedom back by joining our FIT CARE CLUB today?! Because we CARE, we can help you get Started on your new IT journey Today…..Partner with DCS Dynamic Cloud Solutions, a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business. Until our next journey on the Ararat Connection, this is Dane Deutsch, your host… join our FIT CARE CLUB TODAY and remember “Security is Everyone’s Business.”  Keep leading with character first! Smile On!

Business Continuity

Title:How Can Effective Leaders Shape Company Culture Short Pitch:Learn how effective Character driven leadership is critical in shaping company culture.  Find out how you can become a more effective leader and make your company more successful and significant! Detailed Description:We hear about leadership quite often, and even how important leadership is in all facets of our lives.  However, most people don’t study leadership and even more, most people likely don’t practice or work on their character skills or their leadership skills.   I love Dr. John C. Maxwell’s definition of leadership, “leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.”  In today’s society we have moved from what Dr. Stephen Covey called the “Character Ethic” to what he called the “Personality Ethic.”  Dr. Covey encouraged us as leaders to get back to The Character Ethic. During this episode of The Ararat Connection, we will joined by our Guest Andrea Olson.  Andrea is the author of “No Disruptions: The New Future for Mid-Market Manufacturing.”  Together, Dane and Andrea will be exploring the definition of real leadership as well as why leaders need to lead by example with Character First to be an effective leader in shaping their personal, family and corporate lives.  We will be discussing what it takes to grow real leaders who can positively influence themselves, their families, their teams, company cultures to be more successful and more significant in life. We will delve into why character driven leadership may be the key to a healthy future in the mid-market manufacturing arena. That is the topic of today’s podcast:  How Effective Leaders Shape Company Culture. Today we have Andrea Olson as a guest. Andrea is the author of a book titled, "No Disruptions: The New Future For Mid-Market Manufacturing.” Andrea Olson is inspiring and educating industrial business leaders on how to transform their outlook and approach to Marketing, Technology and Communications to operate more efficiently and increase profitability.  Andrea's 19-year, field-tested background provides unique, applicable approaches to creating leaner, more effective, technology-driven, customer-facing operations. A 4-time ADDY® award-winner, she began her career at a tech startup, and led the strategic marketing efforts at two global industrial manufacturers.  Andrea is the CEO of Prag'madik, an Operational Strategy Consultancy, and also the Director of the Midwest Manufacturing Business Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of mid-market manufacturing in the US. Andrea's most recent book, "No Disruptions", provides manufacturing leaders an easy, educational read on how to increase revenue generation through marketing, branding, and effective technology implementation.  In addition to writing, consulting and coaching, Andrea speaks to leaders and industry organizations around the world on operational strategies to discover new sources of revenues and savings.   If this podcast has peaked your interest in leadership, you can learn more about the Leadership Management and Development in Character company or you can simply call me at 877-327-6385.  or find us on the web at www.lmdc.us. We are your partner to help you reach your full potential in life by leading with character first. Start your leadership journey today…..Join us and find out how you too can be a more effective leader in shaping your company culture.Until our next journey on the Ararat Connection, this is Dane Deutsch, your host… and remember... “Keep leading with character first!”  Smile On! 

How Can Effective Leaders Shape Company Culture

Title:Cyber Security and the Risks & Challenges in Manufacturing Today! Short Pitch:Learn what you really need to know to keep you, your family, and your company safe in the Internet connected world today!  Find out what the greatest challenge to cyber security in the manufacturing sector is. You will be surprised to find out it is not the entity you think it is!  Finally, learn how as an effective leader for your company, you can be even more effective and efficient by providing your company the right kind of security strategy both inside and outside (on the Internet) your network. Detailed Description:We hear about leadership quite often, and even how important leadership is in all facets of our lives.  During this episode of The Ararat Connection, we will be joined by our Guest Andrea Olson. Andrea is the author of “No Disruptions: The New Future for Mid-Market Manufacturing.”  In October 2017, Dane and Andrea explored the definition of real leadership as well as why leaders need to lead by example with Character First to be an effective leader in shaping their personal, family and corporate lives.  Today, we will be taking that a step further and discussing what it takes for leaders to keep themselves, their families, their teams, company cultures more secure in this totally digitally connected world we live in now.  We will delve into network and internet security best practices as well as things you need to have in place to detect and prevent breaches and security compromises from happening in the first place.That is the topic of today’s podcast:  Cyber Security and the Risks & Challenges in Manufacturing Today!So,during our show today, we are going to do three things:   Define Cyberspace (Network/Internet) and the Human Factor in terms of Cyberspace and Network security,     Let our audience know 3 key takeaways that they can implement immediately after listening to our show today that will help them minimize the Human Factor and Immediately improve their security posture in the cyberspace world which today is called the Internet of Things?    Learn about National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and why NIST Security Framework can help you know what you need to do to get compliant with the government for contracting purposes.  However, even if you are not involved in government contracting, as cyber security becomes more important and proof of “good faith effort” required by every company to prove they have a security program, the NIST framework will assist you.Join us and find out how you can be the key to security for every sphere of influence you reach and touch today!

Cyber Security and the Risks & Challenges in Manufacturing Today!

Training and Coaching on Leadership, Management, Technology and Character

hubhopper

Character Building Secrets

hubhopper