Richard H. Bell, II (Rick), Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harvard Business Services, Inc. Rick started the Delaware company formation service in 1981 in Wilmington, Delaware to offer an easy and inexpensive way for individuals to go into business for themselves and fulfill their dreams. Today the company employs 25 people and helps over 5,000 people per year to start their own company. Rick grew up in publishing as the son of the President of Highlights for Children magazine. After college in Switzerland, Italy and Ohio, Rick worked for Rolling Stone magazine in San Francisco in its infancy. In 1980, he moved from California to Delaware to work for The Company Corporation, where he helped revolutionize the company formation business. For the past 28 years, Rick has built HBS into one of the largest companies of its kind, with clients from around the world and all across the USA.
Christina Cornelius is a writer and editor, an entrepreneur and an educator, who currently lives with her husband in Lugano, Switzerland. Born in California, the oldest of four children of a naturally creative, psychologist-turned-work-at-home mom and a dynamic, ambitious entrepreneur, Christina always knew she wanted to be a writer. She crafted her first piece at only three years old, a song entitled, ‘I can’t believe we are moving from California,’ the Ukulele version of which she took on tour…all the way across the country. Needless to say, she grew up on the East Coast and then headed south to Emory University in Atlanta for college, where she graduated with a Bachelors of Art Degree in English. She has worked as an editor and freelance writer for CNN and the High Museum of Art and spent four years as a curator for an Atlanta-based Art Consulting firm. In 2002, Christina formed her own company, The Writing Studio, LLC through Harvard Business Services and in 2009; she started to think out loud in the blogosphere.
Jake Cornelius is an avid reader of almost anything. He has a BA in International Relations and is a librarian at a small university in Lugano, Switzerland. Jake has been reading incessantly since he first got his hands on a book, worked at a bookstore when he first began college, and has no expectations of ever being without a book. Jake’s political science interests keep him picking up books that may offer information about decision making, game theory, economics and the like. When not working or reading, Jake grabs his camera and hikes around the Alps.
Carleigh Lowe is the Managing Editor of The HBS Blog. Most recently she worked at Dwell Magazine and Chronicle Books in San Francisco where she lives with her husband. While working in traditional publishing she realized that she wanted to be a part of the blogosphere the “next frontier” of publishing. By sharing ideas and information on The HBS Blog she hopes to empower people to follow their bliss. Carleigh admits that she often daydreams about businesses she wants to start, but needs a little more encouragement to take the plunge. She hopes that by running this blog her entrepreneurial dreams will manifest into a reality.
Brett Melson, Director of U.S. Sales for HBS, a graduate of Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Delaware, Brett’s career at Harvard Business Services started where many well-known success stories through the years have originated: the mail room. Brett excelled at managing and organizing what is a very mail-intensive business, receiving and routing many thousands of pieces of mail in a timely manner, not just for Harvard Business Services but important documents on behalf of clients. Once Brett had the opportunity to interact personally with those clients, however, another talent came to the fore. With a natural feel for the issues and concerns clients face, Brett created sales opportunities across a whole new spectrum of business owners. Since then Brett’s knowledge of Delaware business entities has become encyclopedic. In addition to managing and training other members of the company’s sales staff, he is able to help customers across a broad range of business and professional fields, including accountants, attorneys, Tenant-in-Common groups, consultants, trades people, and those in the transportation industries just to name a few.
George Merlis is a media trainer and crisis communications consultant who uses his forty-year print and broadcast media career as the basis for his workshops and consultations. Over the last two decades, Merlis has trained spokespersons in commerce, science, government and entertainment. As the go-to trainer for NASA and the popular music secto his clients have ranged literally, from rocket scientists to rock stars. ABC News morning anchor Diane Sawyer said of him: “George Merlis knows everything about blasting through the back-ground sound and making your point. He is not just a great coach for acing a media interview – his rules work for all of life.” He is the author of “How to Master the Media.” As a TV producer, Merlis has been nominated for nine national Emmy awards and has won one. He has been executive producer of “Good Morning America,” “The CBS Morning News,” “The Dick Cavett Show” and “Entertainment Tonight.” He has conducted or overseen more than 10,000 interviews, the vast majority of them on live television — the most demanding situation for both interviewer and interviewee.
Paul Sponaugle, IT/Systems Administrator for HBS, but was a part of the Sales team for 4 years before assuming his more recent role. Born and raised in the coastal resort area Sussex County, DE, Paul is the son of locally well-known restaurateurs who taught him very early in life the value of hard work and dedication. As with all family businesses they require the whole family to participate, so as soon as he was legal age (and maybe a bit before) Paul found himself washing dishes as a teenager at his parents’ establishment. It was there he began to learn business, and more importantly the “business of people”, and how courtesy and great service can go a long way. During Paul’s college years he began messing with computers, but never really considered it as a career. He spent two years in the mountains of Morgantown, WV, before deciding to complete his B.A. in Biology at U of D as a Fighting Blue Hen. After graduation Paul had no prospects of going into the medical field, so he returned to Delaware’s beaches where he resumed work at his family’s restaurant and at a local nightclub, this time as a server and bartender. Over the next few years Paul continued to sharpen his customer services skills, but the long hours had him looking for a change of pace from frenetic restaurant life. In December of 2004, he parlayed his computers skills and his people skills into a career with Harvard Business Services.
David Zeigler is a Sales Executive with Harvard Business Services, Inc. in Lewes, DE. He graduated from Salisbury University in 1985 and has a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Pre-Law. Born in Pennsylvania, David has been a sales professional for more than 20 years. David lives in Lewes with his wife and son. He enjoys creative writing and poetry and hopes to inspire and inform others through the blogosphere. David is ready to help you through the process of incorporating or forming an LLC by phone or email. He is knowledgeable and informative and he enjoys walking people through the process.
