Two businesswomen combine forces with a new radio program, 'South Shore Live'

Published on Thursday, September 03, 2009

In this issue, we profile two businesswomen – Lisa Azizian, a human resources consultant, and Tiffanie Williams, owner of a Quincy-based marketing and communications company, whose personal and professional lives have crossed often. Their newest venture is a two-hour Monday night radio show, South Shore Live, on 95.9 WATD in Marshfield.

Both were nominated by the South Shore Young Professionals. While their professional credentials are impressive, it’s what Azizian and Williams have to say about being entrepreneurial in a fast-changing, technology-driven world made even more challenging by the long and deep recession.

Azizian was a human resources manager for nine years at the Horn Group before venturing into the consulting field on her own. A graduate of Emerson College with a major in public relations, she provides a broad range of human resources services to small and medium-sized companies who choose to outsource rather than hire full-time staff. She believes the current economy will encourage that trend even more, as companies require specialized services, but are unwilling or unable to sustain the costs of full-time staffing.

“A lot of businesses have decided to trim from their workforce, and overhead goes first,” she says. “That means the HR department too. Today, businesses want you when they need you, but don’t want the overhead costs all the time. Ironically, that also makes HR expertise more important than ever with the stress of staff reductions, terminations, COBRA requirements and extended unemployment benefits.”

Azizian sees herself as a model for the future, as fewer specialists will find that replacement position even when the economy improves. More and more, she believes, young professionals will have to market their own portfolios to multiple clients and customers in an entrepreneurial model.

“I think it is all about attitude and vision, taking time in our lives amid the recession to examine how we can have the most impact. I love the idea of working for myself and making the most of opportunities.”

Williams made the leap very young. She had the advantage of growing up in the Quincy area, where her father was a very successful attorney. But that can go only so far, she notes.

She could not have succeeded, she explains, if she did not have both a "vision" and "entrepreneurial DNA" as a fourth-generation business owner. "I grew up in an environment that if you wanted to do something, you did it."

“Once the vision is in place and articulated so you can communicate it well to others, you develop your team of advisors and mentors, beginning with a strong CPA and attorney,” she says. “Then, as resources allow, you build your staff, your operations team.”

Williams, who launched her company when she was 27, believes that as formidable as challenges are from the outside, the key to success occurs internally – with confidence in yourself. “It took me a while to assume my own business identity,” she recalls. “I had to learn to go out and speak on behalf of my own company. It was different being able to sell yourself rather than someone else’s business.”

Azizian says she is constantly aware that success depends as much on “knowing what you don’t know as what you do know. Finding the right mentors and alliances to help guide you is critical,” she emphasizes. That is challenging in a competitive environment, but by no means impossible. The key is to help each other.

Williams identifies strongly with that possibility. “I formed a dinner club with six other people who had their own public relations firms. Several friends at the time asked, ‘How can you have dinner
with your competitors?’ The fact is we all became good friends and mentors, and we have referred business to each other over the years.”

All the relationship building, however, fails if you don’t build your business on basic, often mundane, foundation blocks, says Williams. “It comes down to common sense. You have to live up to your promises. You have to call people back. You have to be a good communicator. You have to honor your commitments.”

Adds Azizian: “I really do think it is all about open communication and having a system that is tried, true and tested. Your business must be built on processes that you repeat each time, be it setting up an initial phone call to a statement of work you prepare for a potential client. It is about following up, direct and constant communication.”

"Business today moves so fast; technology makes everything instant. Keeping up with clients is hard enough with systems in place. Without them, you are certain to lose your way."

As young professionals, reliant on technology, both Azizian and Williams view the Cape and Plymouth market as highly unified.

“It no longer is about the Cape market or the Plymouth market or, for that matter the Cape and Plymouth regional market,” says Williams. “Today, almost any business can have clients worldwide.
My business is located in Quincy, but my referral base extends across the entire greater Boston market, the South Shore and the Cape. It’s all a unified market.”

Azizian agreed, noting that she spends a significant part of every week reaching out to business organizations, chambers of commerce and other networking groups whose reach extend across the entire south-of-Boston market.

That philosophy is very much behind their joint effort, South Shore Live, a two-hour radio program on WATD in Marshfield, supported by their Web site, www.southshorelive.com.

“The show is about where to go, what to do, and who to know from Quincy to Plymouth,” says Williams. Broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. Mondays, the show is divided into two one-hour parts: living and working in the region – its people, businesses and ventures – and then entertainment, food and community events.

The two women have known each other since they graduated from college and worked on local political campaigns. But this is the first time they have formally collaborated.

“This is a real business venture,” says Williams. The two see South Shore Live as a valuable way to promote their core businesses and continue networking, meeting potential clients and mentors. And given their backgrounds, they are extremely capable of marketing the venture themselves.

They have developed a partnership with a local magazine and a community newspaper group that provide news in exchange for advertising and marketing opportunities.

They also are relying on social networking tools, from Twitter and LinkedIn to Facebook. “We are tweeting all the time about the show, as well as developing our Facebook page,” said Azizian.

It’s advice she shares with business colleagues of all ages in all kinds of companies. “Take advantage of the technologies and tools in the market that now make it possible for businesses of any size to find an audience. Build your Web site, blog, tell your story.”

Both women try to apply to themselves much the same advice they give to clients. That begins with overcoming fear of change.

“Pitfalls and hurdles are everywhere,” says Azizian, especially in the current economy. “You simply can’t be prepared in advance for each obstacle, you just have to be prepared to adjust when one appears in front of you or hits you in the back.”

She and Williams are encountering many colleagues who are sometimes twice their age, but for the first time are being forced to become their own bosses. “We are in a very uncertain economy, and learning to be entrepreneurial is not a question of age anymore,” notes Williams.

“When you can let go of the fear of change, and ask where that change is taking your business, it is likely to take you to better places,” she says. “I tell people to just keep showing up. When you do, good things will continue to happen.” ■


Honoring the leaders of today and tomorrow

Cape & Plymouth Business, working with the Cape Cod Young Professionals and South Shore Young Professionals, is proud to announce its 40 Under 40 awards, honoring distinguished businesspeople under the age of 40. This program spotlights the region's top young business leaders who excel in their industry and show dynamic leadership. We’re sure they will make their mark on the area for years to come.

In addition to profiles in the magazine, we will be recognizing their achievement at awards ceremonies on Cape Cod and the South Shore in 2010.

We encourage you to nominate candidates under 40 years of age whom you believe are making a difference in our business world across our region – and beyond. Send nominations to 40under40@capeplymouthbusiness.com.

Both Azizian and Williams identify a common thread between them: a passion for networking. Getting out into the community and seeing where synergies and partnerships lie is critical.



Published in Cape & Plymouth Business September 2009