UPCOMING EVENTS & WORKSHOPS
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
Connectionmark Edge - Strategic Growth Accelerator
Connectionmark Edge - NextLevel | LeadingEdge | Accelerator
Getting from where you are today, to where you want to be tomorrow, next week/month/year is hard enough. We take the guesswork out of the process, and provide participants with a been there, done that approach to help them find Focus, Clarity, Direction, & Unwavering Confidence. Trust the process, and watch your business grow. This 6-week accelerator is the premier Strategic Business Planning & Communications Accelerator in the Pikes Peak region.
Think Differently, Align Internally, Scale Strategically Accelerator
WHAT MAKES THIS BUSINESS REFINEMENT TRAINING DIFFERENT?
Led by Two Seasoned Experts
Suzanne Tulien, Brand Ascension, & Mark Bittle, ConnectionMark—nationally recognized speakers, trainers, and consultants with 48 years combined experience in helping businesses grow with clarity and purpose - FROM THE INSIDE OUT.
Proven Processes, Accelerated Delivery
Experience the full Brand DNA methodology and a proprietary Strategic Organizational Growth System— all condensed into a no-fluff, results-first, experiential and collaborative format. Step-by-step exercises, assessment tools, and structured activities to keep you thinking strategically!
Minimal Slides, Maximum Impact
This isn’t a lecture. It’s an experiential deep-dive with HOT SEATS, collaborative working sessions, panel Q&A, and real-time application.
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
Business Essentials: Start with Direction
Business Essentials: Start with Direction is a low-cost, foundational workshop designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners who want clarity and a clear path forward. This session helps you understand what truly matters in the early stages of starting a business—so you can move from idea to action with intention, not overwhelm. You’ll gain a high-level understanding of business structure, common gaps, available resources, and how to identify your next best step. This workshop is the on-ramp to Connectionmark, creating the shared foundation that supports confident decisions and smarter growth moving forward.
BONUS DAY: Build a Business That Outgrows You: Documentation, Delegation & Leadership Transfer
VIP BONUS DAY
Your business should be designed to thrive with or without you. This workshop teaches documentation, delegation, leadership transfer, and succession principles used by sustainable, scalable organizations. Perfect for owners planning to grow, hire, or prepare for eventual transition.
AI Component:
Learn how AI can help you document processes, draft SOPs, and standardize operations more efficiently.
You’ll Leave With:
A succession-ready documentation framework
A delegation plan that reduces your workload
Templates for process creation
AI-supported tools that accelerate systemization
Stop the Spinning: Root Cause Analysis for Real Problem-Solving
Solve the real issue—not the symptoms.
Most businesses fix symptoms, not problems. This workshop teaches you how to diagnose the real issue behind recurring challenges in operations, communication, sales, financial decisions, and team dynamics. You’ll learn a practical, repeatable process that eliminates wasted time and creates meaningful solutions.
AI Component:
See how AI can help you organize information, map out options, and explore scenarios—after you identify the true root cause.
You’ll Leave With:
A root-cause analysis toolkit
A breakdown of your current challenge
A clear next-step decision map
AI templates for problem-solving
Brand Clarity for the Modern Leader
Your message is your magnet.
Your message is your magnet. This workshop teaches you how to articulate your value clearly, communicate with confidence, and build brand alignment across everything you do. Learn how to stand out by being the only one who does what you do—not the best at what everyone else does.
AI Component:
AI can help polish your message and generate content—if you first understand your brand, audience, and value.
You’ll Leave With:
A refined brand message
A clear customer value statement
A messaging guide for all communication
AI content templates that reinforce clarity
The 8 Pillars of Preparedness: CBPI Assessment + Roadmap
Know where you stand so you can decide where to go.
Every business succeeds or struggles because of its people and its pillars: Finance, Technology, Legal, HR, Operations, Branding, Marketing, and Sales. In this assessment-based workshop, you’ll discover exactly where your business is strong, where it’s vulnerable, and what steps you must take to stabilize and scale.
AI Component:
Learn how to use AI to analyze pillar gaps, track progress, and support systems—without replacing judgment.
You’ll Leave With:
Your Business Preparedness Score
A personalized pillar improvement plan
A prioritization matrix
AI dashboards that support your progress
Strategic Planning That Actually Works: 30-Day Operating Rhythm
Planning isn’t the problem. Execution is.
Traditional strategic plans are long, confusing, and sit on a shelf. This workshop teaches a simple, structured approach that helps you plan, execute, and adjust within a 30-day cycle. You’ll learn the same strategic framework used by high-performing businesses to create clarity and consistent action.
AI Component:
AI helps convert your strategic ideas into clean structure—after you define your priorities.
You’ll Leave With:
A 30-day action plan
A weekly planning rhythm
A daily focus tool
AI templates for strategic organization
If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Do It: Grit to Scale
Scaling is simple—not easy.
Scaling is simple—not easy. This workshop separates busyness from progress, helping you build the discipline, accountability, and execution habits that drive growth. Learn how high-performing leaders stay focused, avoid burnout, and build momentum that compounds.
AI Component:
Use AI to help track habits, set reminders, organize priorities, and create accountability structures that support your discipline.
You’ll Leave With:
A personal execution rhythm
A grit-to-growth operating system
A weekly discipline framework
AI-supported accountability tools
Act Like You Already Won: Elite Leadership Mindset
Identity drives behavior. Behavior drives results.
Leaders rise or fall to the level of their identity. This session helps you shift from reactive leadership to intentional leadership using principles from strategic execution, conflict management, behavioral influence, and presence. You’ll learn how to think, act, and communicate like the leader your business needs.
AI Component:
Learn how AI reflection prompts can help you think deeper, prepare for conversations, and stay aligned with who you want to become.
You’ll Leave With:
A clearly defined leadership identity
A 12-week leadership activation plan
A behavior-to-results framework
AI-supported leadership coaching prompts
Network Your Way to the Top
Your network is your greatest asset—if built strategically.
Networking is about communication, intention, and building aligned relationships—not collecting business cards. This workshop teaches you the strategy behind meaningful connections, how to communicate your value clearly, and how to strengthen relationships that lead to real opportunities.
AI Component:
Learn how AI can help you draft introductions, refine follow-up messages, and prepare for networking conversations—while keeping your communication authentically human.
You’ll Leave With:
A strategic networking plan
A value-based introduction script
Follow-up templates that strengthen relationships
AI-generated message guides for outreach
Funding as a Strategy: Why It Hasn’t Worked Before
Funding fails when strategy is missing. Fix that.
Funding fails when strategy is missing. This workshop explains how lenders evaluate businesses, why many owners are denied, and what financial, legal, and operational foundations must be in place before seeking capital. You’ll learn what banks, investors, and lenders actually look for.
AI Component:
Use AI to help you organize funding documents, conduct lender research, and prepare summaries—without replacing your strategic thinking.
You’ll Leave With:
A funding readiness checklist
A simple capital preparation packet
A 90-day funding improvement plan
AI templates for preparing loan materials
Systems That Run the Business So You Don’t Have To
Build a business that works with OR without you.
Every owner eventually becomes the bottleneck. This workshop teaches you how to document tasks, create structure, delegate effectively, and build systems that allow your business to run smoothly—even when you’re not present. You’ll transform overwhelm into organized clarity.
AI Component:
Learn how to use AI to draft SOPs, outline workflows, and help you build repeatable processes faster.
You’ll Leave With:
Your first documented process (completed in class)
A 5-step system-building formula
A delegation plan you can use immediately
AI templates for workflow and SOP creation
The Numbers That Matter: Your Most Important Metrics
You can’t scale what you don’t measure.
Most business owners feel intimidated by numbers because they’ve never been taught which ones matter. We simplify financial awareness by showing you how to understand revenue, expenses, cash flow, breakeven points, and basic forecasting—without turning you into an accountant. You’ll learn how these numbers drive confidence, planning, and business stability.
AI Component:
See how AI can help you track, interpret, and visualize your numbers—once you understand them.
You’ll Leave With:
A list of the 5 most important metrics for your business
A simple, downloadable dashboard
A financial clarity cheat sheet
AI tools that make your numbers easier to understand
Getting from Here to There: Using Your Strengths + AI to Accelerate Growth
Your strengths and AI are the new power duo.
Business owners get stuck not because they lack effort — but because they lack alignment. This session helps you identify where you’re misaligned in your purpose, communication, team expectations, and leadership behavior. You’ll learn how to leverage your natural strengths and eliminate the friction that slows your growth.
AI Component:
Learn how to use AI to amplify your strengths through personalized prompts, communication scripts, and focus tools — without losing your authentic voice.
You’ll Leave With:
A personal clarity profile
Your customized “From Here to There” growth map
A strength-based decision guide
AI tools to help you stay aligned and focused
Business Essentials to Scale Strategically
Start with stability so you can scale with confidence.
Most business owners are overwhelmed because no one ever taught them the foundational skills of how a business actually works. In this workshop, we demystify the essentials: clear communication, operational expectations, basic financial understanding, and how productivity is tied to people—not time. Attendees learn the core principles we use in strategic planning engagements to eliminate confusion and create clarity.
AI Component:
We introduce ways to use AI to organize information, summarize ideas, and support decision-making — but emphasize that AI only works when the human has clarity first.
You’ll Leave With:
A clear definition of your business model
A simple “focus filter” for daily decision-making
A checklist of essential systems to stabilize your business
AI templates you can use immediately to stay organized