From the Publisher

Steve Levine

Who Is In Your Corner?

Anyone 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, “Clean as a Whistle” 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/Business Development, Jim Johnson/Business Development, and our new intern from the University of Houston, (Advertising Major) Jesus Gonzalez.

With these new members of the team, I know that we are bound for greatness!

“Yo, Adrian!”

Good Reading, Good Sales, & Success to You!

Warm Regards,

Steve Levine

SBT President/Executive Publisher