My family ...(Mom's taking pic)...from left- Erin, Garig, Gina, Jen, Dutch, Dad, me, Glenn

Hi all!  Happy back to work week!  I hope you all had a great holiday too  I am ecstatic that i got to spend the weekend with my family that I love so much on Hilton Head island. Okay- so here is my (immediate) family that you all have heard about.  If I do HALF as well as my parents in raising us- I will be thrilled…Erin (younger sis) just graduated Wharton.  Garig (younger bro) is an ER doctor.  Gina (his wife) is an ER nurse.  Jen (Dutch’s girlfriend) also just graduated Wharton.  Dutch is a GI doc.  Dad is retired and taught us about love, family, business and responsibility.  Me- well…you know me.  Glenn is a pro skydiver and Mom?- she is a photographer and the glue that holds us all together …she also taught us to speak our minds (with respect).  Together- our parents taught us that anything is possible and to believe in ourselves and that we can count on one another when the chips are down.  On the outside things always look great but we also have our moments of fighting, disagreements, sadness, loss, businesses gone bad- you name it.

So thank you family for always being there and wanted to send you all  a quick blog and would love to see your pics too!  Happy Thursday!

This was Mom, before she announced..." I WILL NOT STOP. I WILL HIT THIS STUPID GOLFBALL"...so thats where some of my perserverence comes from

With co-founder (along with TOny) Malgosia Monje of Ultimate Cupcake!

GOOD MORNING ALL!!!!!!

Okay- ALL I GOTTA SAY is that if you A) LOVE AMAZING CUPCAKES; B) LOVE SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURS WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN and C) LOVE AMAZING CUPCAKES- then go to www.ultimatecupcake.com to check out all the goodies you can mail order but even better- GO SEE THEIR SHOP!- it just opened outside of Dallas after Tony and Malgosia Monje put everything they had on the line to bring these amazing cupcakes to the world!  In the process they have found Rosie O’Donnell, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and others as RAGING FANS

If you want great cupcakes (seriously- trust me on this one- they have figured out how to send them and they arrive FRESH)- need an amazing gift or just want to eat one of the yummiest food earth has to offer- then give these guys a call…they are amazing

We love you TONY AND MALGOSIA for being GAME CHANGERS in the cupcake and yummy dessert space and can’t wait to get new pics of the shop!!!! xoxoxoxo- HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!

YUM YUM FOR MY TUM!!!!!!

[wpvideo qmc1Mgi9] So for fun- you all know I have told you about The Young Patronesses of the Opera (YPO) that I have been blessed to be asked to be a part of in Miami.  Its a group of [opera-loving] women who get together to put on events and activities that raise money and awareness of the opera for our community.  One of the neatest things is that the opera has programs that teach kids about this great art with our “In School Opera’s!”.

So- just when things start getting serious- the YPO members have made it a tradition that all incoming YPO members (called Provisionals in our first year) have to put on a SKIT (!!!!- OMG) in September at the member meeting.  With this SKIT comes a song that WE have to sing (OMG!!!!) …so THANK GOD for motivated women like our beloved Emeline- who finished this song at 12:30AM last night to the theme of Masquerade.  AH GEEZ….she can sing- now all we have to do is learn the song ourselves and we are GOLDEN! …no probs.  No probs.   (For reals!!!!)…think- its kind of like Summer camp when we were kids- just a lot cooler…costumes, music, wine- great friends and songs! – what could be better?! (and wine, and costumes, a friends and…)

So when you are off this Summer on your family vacation somewhere- THIS is what I will be doing! (learning this song!!!)….ahhhh…for the love of opera! xoxo- wow…maybe I should work on making a CD?!…okay.  Maybe not  Either way- COME JOIN US IN MIAMI!!!!!!!

From left- members of the YPO 2009 Provisionals- Vicki, Martha, me, Nicole, Emeline, Lisa and Maggie

[wpvideo 8EfRbyHu] Hi all! Lots happened at VMX ‘09 last week.  producer of my shows, American Made (CNBC) and On The Road with iV (www.ontheroadwithiv.com) Lyn graft shares his take on top three things he learned (and what you can learn too!)  Happy week!

[wpvideo GYrGpMAC]  Hi guys:  Meet Brian Brushwood- the guy who quit Dell when they offered him a raise to pursue his love of majic full time.  He has been featured on The Today Show, The Tonight Show- you name it!  

he taught us how to “SCAM OUR WAY TO THE TOP OF iTUNES”.  To find out exactly how to do it- watch his segment on VMX ‘09.  For some quick tips on making that happen:

1) define your niche and rock it!

2) rating on iTunes are actually based on most hits/current activity (fastest growth) as opposed to most downloads over time (he can explain in his video on vmx’09)

3) in Brian’s case- he wanted SCAM SCHOOL to be listed at the top of iTunes downloads.  So when he was invited to give a presentation in front of 1,000 people- he created a way to “SCAM HIS WAY TO THE TOP OF iTUNES” by asking everyone in attendance to put in thier “vote” all at the same time…so all at once- he had 1,000 people downloading SCAM SCHOOL…putting SCAM SCHOOL in the top 5 of all iTunes downloads for that day!  The accomplishment gave SCAM SCHOOL the attention it needed and wanted and new fans started hitting the site and downloading content- keeping SCAM SCHOOL on iTunes top list going forward.

Meet Brian and see how being different (!) and following your passion- can lead to some pretty interesting (and lucrative) experiences …i highly recommend watching his segment which can be found shortly on www.vmx09.com

Want to see how the best video bloggers in the world got where they did and how they did it?! Then TUNE IN TODAY to www.vmx09.com!  I am hosting the conference and you can see us LIVE on stage ALL DAY!  have a great day!!!  OFF TO VMX09!!!!!

Arriving in Austin- stop by my MBA alma mater- UT Austin McCombs School of Business

In AUSTIN!  here for VMX ‘09!  The FIRST conference for online producers/ directors/ videographers….LEARN HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND!

I am totally pumped…got friends/ colleagues flying in town, my buddies have organized a killer opportunity to network and hope you all can make it!  Go to www.vmx09.com to register.  Its at the Hilton downtown in Austin.  Can’t wait to see you there!!!!!  (and I hear there are some AWESOME pre parties tonight…i am rushing back down from Dallas so have fun everyone and see you peeps tomorrow!)

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Hi all!  

SOOOOO excited!  Bond Girls Unite!!!!  I have earned my skydiving license (an “A” license)- which means I can now jump out of planes with other licensed skydivers!

All I really want to say about all this is that I am really proud to share this with you.  I have a lot of work to do, but if you happened to watch an older post (the video is below)- I have really enjoyed taking you along the journey with me as I learned to be a skydiver!  The below jump was # 4 or 5 (i think?!)- when I still had to go out the door while being held by my coach Glenn.  Now- as you can see in the above video, “Look Ma!  No hands!!!”- ALL BY MYSELF!  lol  Isn’t that FUN???!!!!!!!  WOOHOOO!!!!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYQii1RzLYA]

So in summary- I thank all of you for continuing to join me in my entrepreneurial adventuring- from business, money and life ….and I am living proof that ANYTHING you set your mind to is possible!  I have always wanted to fly- and when I started basing here in Miami- I did so keeping in mind two things I wanted to make happen: #1) become a licensed skydiver (DID IT!!!) and #2) become a licensed pilot (working on that now).  I was on a SUPER tight budget when I got here and most people I know would say “I can’t afford it- maybe sometime later I will learn [to skydive].”

here is how I made it happen:  My older brother Dutch (a doctor here in Miami) also became a licensed skydiver.  He introduced me to the BEST place in the world to learn to skydive (SKYDIVE MIAMI!!!).  I heard that one of the owners of the drop zone had a need for business services I could offer.  I got in touch with him and made him a deal….I would help him get a new business off the ground and running if HE would help me get my skydiving license!  He made a few calls, worked deals and next thing you know- we had OUR deal to get going!  So while I was working my Rolodex in business- he got his going in skydiving and we are both leveraging our skills to help the other get what they want…

So never underestimate what is possible and all the ways you can get things done.  Just set your goals, give yourself deadlines- an then get creative on how to make things happen.  Don’t you know that all the people who have set out to do AMAZING things in life NEVER did so by doing it “just like everyone else?!”…so think big!  Dream Big!  and make it happen! xoxo IV  (PS:  almost a Bond Girl now!…pilots license and have to wield my gun a bit more effectively and then YES!  Daniel Craig!- HERE I COME!!!) lol

Sean Combs, aka P. Diddy and Aaron Arnold's former boss & mentor

Aaron Arnold is blazing trails in the field of music.  A mentee of Sean Combs, and his former assistant- Aaron left his high paying job to work under Combs to pursue his love and passion for everything music.  When I asked him about leaving that job- he told me that he actually “got the call” to work directly for Diddy right before leaving for his 2 week honeymoon.  Aaron had a tough choice to make- go on the honeymoon or stay behind and learn from the man who over 10 years ago defined what being a music mogul is all about.  Arnold stayed (and he’s still married …).

The path wasn’t easy but its paying off.  He didn’t get paid to work with Diddy and everything else outside of business took a back seat.  The key to making this period of his life work was FOCUS.  In his gut he KNEW that music, and making his own mark in that industry was the one thing that he had been “called to do”.

Aaron took the opportunity and ran with it.  he spent as much time around Diddy as he could- learning everything he could about the business.  He found himself being featured on VH1’s “I Want to Work for Diddy” giving advice to aspiring music mogul and Diddy apprentice wannabe’s.  Aaron, it appeared had transitioned to being on the inside trusted team for Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Inspired, when his stint was over- instead of going and getting a paid job in the industry- Arnold did what every “called” entrepreneur has to do.  He dropped everything, moved to Atlanta and invested all he had left into starting a new company:  www.musicismybusiness.net.

CEO of Music is My Business, Aaron Arnold as featured on CNN

MusicIsMyBusiness is a fully integrated music company, which houses three components: *MIMB Music  (houses artists, producers, djs)  *MIMB Television/Film/Animation and *MIMB Brand Management.  We’ve  helped the likes of: ESPN, Heineken, The United Nations’ World Food Organization, MTV’s Making The Band, Platinum Selling Artists, Danity Kane, Grammy Award Winner Bryan-Michael Cox and several agencies to bridge the gap between their clients/brands and the consumer, music-entertainment (i.e., Gen Y) space.

Since the founding of his company, CNN has deemed this music mogul “Diddy 2.0″.  he has been recognized as one of CNN’s “Young People Who Rock”.  His music has been nominated by GQ Magazine’s “Gentleman’s Fund” for musical work he did with the United Nations World Food Program.

Aaron says, “MusicIsMyBusiness is part of the “next” generation of independent thinkers and we are on the cusp of that movement.  At the core, we execute exercises that create authentic experiences via music. This enables us to properly position our content/platforms/brands while helping the bottom-line…generating revenue. ”

For more about Aaron or Music is My Business, go to www.musicismybusiness.net.

If you have a GAME CHANGER you think we need to write about- please let us know!…here on iV’s Blog.

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Hi guys!

Happy Monday.  Yesterday (as you see) was beautiful here in Miami and now we are back at it!!!  I ALSO had the pleasure of seeing one of my four other “sisters”- co-founding members of The Billionaire Girls Club- Sarah Endline, Founder and CEO of Sweetriot.

iV and Sarah hanging in Miami talking about Stalkers & Margaritas!!!

Sweetriot is a fabulous chocolate company (our own Willie Wonka!!! woohoo!)- who imports chocolate from Latin America where the beans come from creating opportunities for local farmers who create their livelihoods here.  Sweetriot has turned into one of the most loved chocolate companies in the country and has fans including Jerry Seinfeld and is distributed in places like Whole Foods and now- on VIRGIN AIRWAYS!

We had lots of girl chat- but us getting together wouldn’t be normal unless we had some biz chat too.  So in the car on our way to the beach- we started talking about how to land a job in this economy.  Specifically, I told her about my younger sister who is about to graduate Wharton.  (She is sick smart- self taught investment banker, speaks 3 languages, chair of you-name-the-committee-at Wharton etc. etc.) Her ideal role is to work at a company like Diageo here in Miami.  Many of these companies, including Diageo are on hiring freezes.  So what does Erin decide to do (taking matters into her own hands?)….she is moving to Miami anyways and going to “make it happen”.  She is positioning herself to be a significant value-add to Diageo through creative strategies she already has in place (despite the hiring freeze).

I mentioned this to Sarah and her response?!- “Politely Stalking is the KEY to landing a job in ANY ECONOMY!!!”  SO WATCH ABOVE TO SEE WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO DO IT (and how it is different- very different- than the major no no, stalking)