From the Chairperson–Check Us Out!

by Larry Stern

I would like to highlight a few of the visible activities your Entrepreneurial Actuaries Section (EAS) Council is making available to you: preferred vendor program, webinars and networking opportunities.

Preferred Vendors. I'm an entrepreneur. You're an entrepreneur. And we're all striving to make a living. But being in business for ourselves requires we assume many more roles than if we were comfortably employed in a larger company or firm. When you established your business, did you contemplate any of the following? How do I set up my business from a legal standpoint? (e.g., LLC, Sub S, Corporation, etc.). How do I set up accounting procedures? What about tax reporting? How do I create my Web site? What about insurance? How do I handle all these other responsibilities and still find time to promote myself as an actuary? I'm sure we were all faced with these decisions, and many more like them.

Did you know the EAS has developed a list of several preferred vendors willing to offer you discounts for their services? Many can assist you with the challenges in creating and managing your business mentioned above. This program started a couple of years ago under the tutelage of Michael Frank and has now accumulated 20 firms of various specialties, and the list continues to grow.

The list was assembled from recommendations and experiences of EAS members. Please note: A vendor appearing on the list does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or approval of the vendor or the vendor's products or services by the Society of Actuaries, nor are there any exclusive arrangements. The preferred vendors list is solely provided as a resource based on individual referrals of EAS members.

If you would like to add your business to the list, or if you have had positive experiences with a particular vendor and wish to recommend them, contact Michael Frank at 914.933.0063 or Michael.Frank@AquariusCapital.com. There is a nominal fee of $25 to cover administrative costs.

This list and summary of each of the current preferred vendors can be found from the EAS Web page.

I invite you to check us out. ...

Webinars. Our busy schedules do not always allow us the opportunity to attend SOA and industry-sponsored seminars, conferences and meetings. For those of us interested in maintaining our professional credentials and staying abreast of current events, an attractive, efficient way to receive continuing professional education (CPD) credits is through webinars.

Did you know in the last two years the EAS sponsored five webinars? Topics included: Business Building, Focusing Your Time for Superior Results, Project Management, Influential Selling, and Self-Promotion for Introverts. All of these were worthwhile and timely for entrepreneurs.

However, the most difficult CPD credit to achieve is for professionalism. This term and its use have become confusing as the reference to the credit requirement involves the traditional code of professional conduct/ethical issues. Whereas, the use of the term professional development by the SOA now includes the broad context of continuing educational opportunities. The EAS Council is now planning at least one (if not more) webinars to deal with professional conduct/ethical issues facing entrepreneurs.

Have you ever been confronted by a client wanting more than just an actuarial analysis with regard to an acquisition, private equity investment or stock purchase? What about offering an opinion based on personal experience rather than just prevailing expertise? These are legitimate concerns of our clients and issues we face as entrepreneurs. What about the professional conduct/ethical issues involved in rendering advice or opinions? We plan to bring these issues together in a webinar scheduled for this spring. Be on the lookout for the announcement.

If you have an interest in participating in one of the webinars, or have a suggestion for a topic, please contact Jim Ramenda at 860.676.1942 or jr@northington.net; or me at 704.904.8204 or larry_stern@earthlink.net.

I invite you to check us out. ...

Networking Opportunities. For those of us attending SOA and industry meetings, we are afforded the opportunity to network most often at receptions, luncheons and the ever popular early morning section breakfasts. How about trying something new? The EAS Council knows how important networking opportunities are for entrepreneurs. They are a great way to enrich relationships which may lead to a business purpose resulting in additional revenues. Be on the lookout for some nontraditional activities and events planned for this year's SOA meetings.

If you'd like to share networking opportunity ideas with the council, please submit them to Pauline Reimer at 516.935.0100, ext. 307 or paulinereimer@aol.com.

I invite you to check us out. ...

A final note. By the time this column appears in The Independent Consultant, we will have already conducted a survey of the EAS membership. Thank you to those who participated. The information from your responses will assist your council in planning section activities beneficial to us all.

Until next time, may all your experiences be profitable ones!

Larry N. Stern, FSA, MAAA, is president of Canterbury Consulting LLC. He can be reached at larry_stern@earthlink.net.