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Route To Success from page 8

it

Meer Apartments

Independent Living in a Luxurious Senior Community
-Personal Care Services Available-

a residence of Jewish Senior Life

6760 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322

Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus

Ask about our MOVE-IN SPECIALS
Complimentary JCC General Membership

6

1 /

$500 OFF

JEWISH SENIOR LIFE

First Month's Rent --- For information or to visit, call Tracey Proghovnick
on One and Two

at 248-661-1836 TTY# 711
or visit www.jslmi.org for an application!
People of all faiths and beliefs welcome.
Voted Best in Senior Housing
The Jewish FedPe7allo71.
Detroit Jewish News

Bedroom Apartment

OF EIETROPOuTRD DETROIT

2020430

HAPPY SUMME
For The Best Service Go

hail Sery

MUFFLERS and MORE is now Kenny's Lakes Area Auto Experts!

We've evolved: more training, more services, everything you need!
We're changing our name to reflect the direction we've been moving in for years.
The name is changing, but our hearts and commitment are the same.

,

KES

/An*

0 EX_BELM

Kenny "the Car Guy" Walters, owns
the award-winning auto shop
and is a member of Temple Israel

Auto
Value

ka ag l el i m o

Lakes Area Auto Experts

at 490 N. Pontiac Trail
in Walled Lake

248.668.1200

www.lakesareaauto.com

Seen Monthly on "Ir

WXYZ Channel 7

For years, Lakes Area
Auto Experts has
provided neighbors with '
HONEST, DEPENDABLE,
QUALITY information,
repair and service! They
live here and it shows! 1

10 July 23 • 2015

Email Kenny the Car Guy at
kenny@lakesareaauto.com

0

CV

SERVICE DISCOUNT

(labor only)

$10 OFF $50
$20 OFF sioo
$30 OFF $250 or more

size firm more than 25 years ago, but
after 9-11 she recognized that how the
industry does business was going to
change.
"In 2007, I purchased a tax service
in Wyandotte and a significant side to
this purchase was my ability to gain
Internet presence with the help of the
prior owner, who already had a tax
preparation website:"
Little did Siriani know that website
development was the easy part. She
still had to find a niche, which proved
more challenging.
"In March 2008, my daughter and
her husband moved to London. The
next year, when their tax return was
due, they asked me to get involved.
The wheels started turning and
ExpatriateTaxReturns.com was born!"
Siriani recognized that count-
less American citizens who live and
work abroad are confused about a
special U.S. income tax they had to
pay. Known as an expatriate tax, all
American expats must file income
taxes with the IRS each year even if
they are being paid a salary from a
foreign entity.
Siriani's business model was to mar-
ket to these expatriates through the
Internet and have tax experts around
the country prepare their expat tax
returns. Her company has grown from
preparing 100 returns the first tax sea-
son to more than 2,500 today.
Using Skype to videoconference
with clients from around the globe,
Siriani and her team of tax profession-
als patiently walk their clients through
the complicated process of preparing
expat tax returns. Even though Siriani
has a local office in Metro Detroit,
her business is borderless. She hires
accountants from all over the country
and uses social media to market her
expertise.
As a result of my development of
ExpatriateTaxRetums.com," she said,
we have brought our high-tech sys-
tems in house to our CPA firm, which
keeps us ahead of the technology
curve:'

"

Artist Banks On
Social Media
Former Detroiter Julie Staller-
Pentelnik has been a professional
Judaic artist for more than 30 years.

She specializes in Judaic art, ketubahs,
mezuzahs and calligraphy pieces.
Living in Cincinnati, with its relatively
small Jewish community, limits her
ability to sell her artwork tradition-
ally, but this entrepreneurial artist has
turned her busi-
ness into a thriving
e-commerce com-
pany.
Staller-Pentelnik
sells most of her
artwork online
through her well-
trafficked website
Julie Steller
(jspjudais.com )
Pentelnik
and social net-
works. Displaying
her artwork, like ketubahs, on social
networks like Pinterest, a website
that brides-to-be flock to before their
wedding, has really spiked her annual
sales.
She created a Web presence about
10 years ago and, in the past few years,
has realized that social media signifi-
cantly expands her marketing reach.
"Through social media connections,
I have been able to share my work, as
well as learn what other Judaic art-
ists have to share she said. "These
connections have been made possible
and enhanced by my ability to follow
and share on different social media
outlets!'

Online Marketing Boost
Cathi Lefton of Cathi Lefton's Closet
Redesigns found technology was
changing her industry and she had to
take part if she wanted to remain rel-
evant in a crowded field.
"Almost all of the new products
coming out in my
industry are intro-
duced by email and
on the Web!' she
said. "All of my own
marketing is done
online!'
Thirty years ago,
Lefton began work-
Cathi Lefton
ing for the company
that redesigned
some of the closets
in her own home. She learned the
basics from the owner and, when he
closed his shop, Lefton launched her
own company.

Route To Success on page 12

