Polar vortex’s aside has this month seemed like a whirlwind? Over 8% of the year has already gone by! It certainly seems that way for me. Since the new beginnings post I have been working at getting in to a routine that addresses my new life format going forward. With my separation I now have the children 50% of the time, one week on and one week off. That means… Read More »8% Gone
So how did 2013 turn out for you? For me there was a huge unexpected ending over the last three months that caused me to really stop and have to put many things aside, including regular blog writing. I was in maintenance mode, mostly maintenance of and for myself. If you know me that is not usual. In fact that failure to care for myself was one of the factors… Read More »New Beginnings
I almost felt like I was living the 12 days of Christmas at a recent networking meeting; 12 Mortgage Agents lending, 11 Realtors listing, 10 Financial Planners investing……… You get the idea. When you have a large event there will always be multiples of businesses, vocations and specialties. So when that is the case, how do you stand out? Meet Donald Lofthouse of Keybase Financial Group. He likely… Read More »This little piggy went to networking…….
I am celebrating several independence milestones over the next week and invite you to join me. The first is that I have passed one year clear of cancer. I continually think about others facing this challenge either directly and indirectly and send them continued strength and wishes. Also over the next week see's Canada's 145th birthday – and it was on July 1st 16 years ago that I arrived in… Read More »What is the price of independence?
The recent news that Bombardier (the Canadian transportation company) had a strategy around it's business development and lobbying activity should come as no surprise. In fact I was astounded that the tone of the Globe & Mail article and certain commentators seemed to perceive this as somewhat deceitful. The particular business activity that was being analysed was their eventual win of a $2 billion train and maintenance contract for South… Read More »Your networking is confusing me. Am I missing something or has the train left the station?
I had the pleasure of attending a recent women’s entrepreneur lunch at the McMaster Innovation Park in Hamilton. It included a Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank style pitch by 4 local women run businesses in competition for some services and prizes to help them with their development and growth. The panel was made up of local service and successful entrepreneurs, but they were certainly much nicer than many of the… Read More »What is your personal brand U.S.P. ?
Through my wife's business I have had the opportunity to be connected to Keith Kochner at Mentorfish.com for the last few months and have found his teaching exactly what we need in the 21st century. Lots of great content, he is prolific with new insights and learnings – even for someone like me who tends to explore and read a lot! Keith is coming to Toronto next week to hold… Read More »What is holding you back from your personal brand?
This past week I attended a webinar by Chris Brogan, author of a great book with Julien Smith called 'Trust Agents' and Lewis Howes an expert on webinars. There were three good take aways for me as a small business owner, especially with regards to Google+ which had given up on. I summarised them in a short video that you can watch here. (Apologies the weather was so nice I… Read More »How to build your personal brand using social media
18 Minutes – Find Your focus, Master Distraction and Get the Right Things Done © 2011 by Peter Bregman, 263 pages, Hardback 5R Score: 28/35 The 18 Minutes Part One – Pause Part Two – What is This Year About? Part Three – What is This Day About? Part Four – What is This Moment About? On a scale of 1-7 Relevance – is it right for… Read More »Personal Brand Book Review – 18 Minutes
With consistency and progression comes change. As you spend more time consistently delivering on what you say your brand is and find your career progressing in the right direction, you are going to reach a point where new challenges and opportunities arise. New skills are developed and new ways to communicate your uniqueness present themselves. This week see's the 100th edition of the Tuesday Toonie weekly e-tip, which I feel… Read More »100 Toonies Worth