Why buy or not buy an Annual Membership? This is a strange way at looking towards the cyclical question of what motivates people to purchase. The answer is neither complicated, nor overly elegant; and in light of the challenging economic and geopolitical environment – it flies in the face of convention.

Consumers (including small businesses), are motivated to spend or trade to acquire goods and services in one of two ways: is it an expense or investment? Slick marketing, advanced sales techniques and much focused advertising have produced a high level of discordant success in communicating what ‘we need’. We often do not “need” what we are told that we “need.” The trend has migrated from seeing and agreeing to a value of a relationship, and movement towards ‘off the shelf’ and ‘a la carte’ solutions. The use of the term ‘investment’ is used too much in cases where a customer has purchased through this manner.

These are always expenses, and depreciate over time. Any dispersal or trade for goods or service of equal value that appreciates is an investment.

Consumer goods, large ticket items, computer hardware and 95%+ software is not only an expense…it is almost exclusively throw-away expense (proof? – CCA is 2 years – meaning it is a fully depleted asset – per UK, USA and CAN governments). Automobiles depreciate 35% in one year. Real estate is a tough call. Staff? Can be an investment, if you are careful and committed to continually ‘investing’ in them, but the vast majority are an expense.

You can create more sales to generate more income, and tools bought or traded for to achieve this end are an investment. You cannot fabricate more time, so it is simply a case of determining what expenditures are classified under and time allocation costs.

Small business owners, professionals, entrepreneurs and medium sized businesses generate 67% of the total wealth and jobs in North America (these numbers grew from Canadian and American census data collected in each country in 2010 and 2011). The number one desired investment of small sized entities? Time.

If you are not spending time generating revenue or investing in the growth of the value of your assets…it is either an expense or a waste of time. The Calgary Business Network, was designed, and has developed into a networking and communications organization that is exclusively focused upon turning the time you spend within Breakfast Networking Meetings, Lunch & Learn Programs or MasterMind Level series into an investment of time and money. In my opinion, I don`t want to invest time and money into other networks that limit my ability to truly network.

Just this last week I made a connection that is worth millions of dollars because of someone that I met at the CBN. It was not just that I established a relationship with someone of like-mind, but it went beyond the original experience in that the first person was compelled to connect me with the second person. The opportunity that is now before me is not only one of tremendous financial profitability but it also has set the stage for an upcoming venture of momentous potential affecting economy and the ecology of the entire Western Hemisphere. Those are the kind of people that we meet due to the CBN.

We may go month to month to a variety of meetings and never make an “investment” of our time or our money. We can put in a little and take out little, but when we have made an investment into an organization such as the CBN we now are partaking on an ongoing campaign for our own success. The CBN is presently morphing into not just a place of networking but one of knowledge as well. Our investment allows it to supply us as business owners with access to strategists, marketing experts, financial advisors and investors who have also made an investment. Together this provides a conglomerate of people who have an investment in each other’s success, and it gives us continual access to excellent quality counsel that will ensure the longevity and prosperity of our own efforts.

Kevin MacKinnon is currently the CEO of Green Hearth Technologies and a business strategy consultant from Calgary, AB. Kevin has a background in operations, technology acquisition and implementation, accounting, and project management. He assists others to do more with less – Once. Kevin has a well documented history of linking Strategic and Vision to Tactical and Operational deployment thus integrating the Board Directors to the Customer. His motto is “Solve the issues, kill the problems – CHANGE THE WORLD!”

I have a really good friend who is an editor of a fantastic magazine. I was shocked one day when she told me that people actually call her up and offer to be on the front cover as though they would be considered for that privilege. Can you imagine the audacity? She told me that even further many of them had never even read the magazine. They had never purchased marketing pieces. They had never contributed an article. In fact, some of them never even met her before! Astounding…

I see the same thing as a business owner. Sometimes someone comes along who wants to make a deal or trade a service with Loyal2U our marketing company. I like deals. I consider a lot of things. But a deal needs to be a deal for everyone involved. If I offer to do some marketing for you then I better get some done. If you offer to do something for me then I should see results. I am always suspect of those who make offers but three months later I am not seeing some kind of finished product.

My marketing company is called Loyal2U. Does that tell you a little bit about how I do business? It should. We are all about loyalty. We create loyal customers for our clients. That is our goal and our mandate. We also believe in being loyal to our clients. We carefully screen clients. We look for sound business ethics. We look for satisfied customers. We look for their unique selling features and we consider if they are a good fit for us. We may make a short term contract with someone that we are not sure of but annual contracts are with those that we have researched and that we feel we could feel good about representing. We try their products and their service. We get our staff to participate in the process when it is possible. We give everyone a good level of service right off the bat but as the relationship increases we go even further by continually looking to match up our clients with their ultimate customers through personal referrals and introductions. We believe that we should do business with people who do business with us. Doesn’t that make sense?

I believe that if you own a multi-level business you should own one that you believe in. If you want to show your dentist and he does not want to look, get a new dentist! Is that harsh? If that is your business it is your bread and butter. If it is a business, then it needs to be treated as a business. If you own a gas station and your dentist continually goes across the street where the price and the service are the same and he does not even know anyone there, how long would he remain your dentist? Is it wrong to be this way?

I am not saying everyone has to buy from you, but they should be open-minded enough to explore. If they are not open-minded then they may not be valuing the relationship, and relationship is everything.

So what about the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network?

I have already had phone calls from people who want to be speakers at our events. I have already had people ask me if I could lower the price of annual membership for them. I have already had those who have made us an offer but did not follow through. So how should I respond?

We are looking for partners. We are looking for mentors. We are looking for speakers. All of that is true. But there are some things that we are looking for in those relationships and that is because we want to provide the highest quality of standards for our Annual Members to enjoy, and we are not willing to make short cuts through the process.
We don’t want our Annual Paid Members to come to Lunch & Learn to be SOLD something. We don’t want them to hear a politician with their own agenda trying to manipulate their votes. We want to protect their time because time is valuable. So our evening Dinner & Workshops have a purpose. They are put on by a professional in their field. There is a cost for those who want to participate because value is being offered. Someone that we trust to give good value has been selected, and it is always a person who has invested time and money into the CBN. ALWAYS…

Here are a few basic rules of engagement in partnering with the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network:

• If you want to speak, buy at least a Level Two Annual Membership. Show us that you are serious about making an investment in the Calgary business market and that you believe in your own ability at least that much. Anyone who can’t afford that is not successful enough to be speaking at the mentorship level. We need to watch and protect our paid members from both charlatans and time wasters.
• If you want to advertise without coming to our networking meetings see the advertising page for instruction.
• If you want to put out a table at our events offer to pay, offer a service, offer us something. Wouldn’t you do that for anyone else that you did business with? Common respect and courtesy come before loyalty.
• If you want to use our network for credibility then get involved. Come to networking meetings, buy an Annual Membership, write an article for the blog, manage a group, or start a whole new chapter with a focus on your desired area of influence. Show us what you bring to the table. We are wide open for discussion.
• If you want me or one of the other Managers to give you a recommendation on LinkedIn or publicly acknowledge your contribution. No problem. Just contribute something and we will be glad to let everyone know that you did so.

Is that fair?

I believe in investing in each other. We are looking for a printer who would like to invest in us and we will invest in you. We are looking for a health care program for the entire network. Got one? Then make an investment in us and show us that you are serious. These are just off the top of my head, but we are willing to make a deal with a lot of different industries if you can bring something to the table that we need.

Every person or business that is represented, spoken of, or used repeatedly by the CBN is someone who has done business with us in some way. Doesn’t that make you feel good to know that we checked them out before we recommended them to you?

Every month we make an investment of time and money into the Calgary and Cochrane Business Network. We buy breakfasts, we arrange for coffee, we get gifts and prizes, we invest in speakers and locations. I personally get up at 5:00 to attend four breakfast meetings a month on average and I drive an hour and a half to be there, and I did that for months before I owned the network. I invest hours of planning and strategizing with a team of professionals about what is needed in our market here in our city. Why? Because I believe in you. I believe in business owners in Calgary and area. I think that you are worth the investment. What do you believe?

Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge some of our long time contributors who poured their heart and soul into this network as well as some of the newcomers who have given selflessly to the new vision.

Jim Messner
Jim is the founder of the Calgary & Cochrane Business Network. For years he has worked tirelessly to provide an environment for natural networking and encouraged business owners to build relationships so that they could feel confident in recommending each other’s services. We are honored to carry on Jim’s vision to this day. Jim is a successful real estate agent with CIR Realty and knows the Cochrane market intimately. He is the best choice in the region if you need a home or condo. www.jimmessner.com

Chuck Collins
Chuck originally partnered with Jim in the vision and for years attended and assisted in meetings in Cochrane. He looked after the book keeping and helped Jim in the day-to-day management to keep the groups going. Chuck works for Anvy Digital and can take a photo, apply it to canvas and turn it into the most amazing advertising sign or display that you have ever seen! www.anvydigital.com

Jeannie Kennedy
Even though Jeannie is a successful and busy entrepreneur she always had time to bring out the coffee and goodies in Cochrane. The organization would have wilted away years ago without her continual care for it’s survival. If you need help losing weight Jeannie is the one that you need to see. www.metabolicweightlosscentre.com

Darlene Hull
Do you like this website? We love it. We especially appreciate that it is always kept up to date and that things are done in a timely manner. In today’s current market that does not happen a lot with web designers. It is one of the fine features that keeps the CBN on the cutting edge and ahead of all of our competitors. Darlene and her team from Hotspot Promotion do websites and social media for small businesses and they care about the little guy! If you need help getting on track and you are on a tight budget you want to be sure to give Darlene a call. www.HotSpotPromotion.com

Chris Burylo and Agostino Mosca
Chris and Agostino have been faithfully running the Downtown Chapter of the CBN for years. They have done a tremendous job of providing an engaging environment for business people each month and their warm personalities and professional attitudes keep a solid core of people returning again and again. As business partners they also run Pinnacle Equities a solid and trusted financial company offering tax services to both businesses and individuals as well as life insurance and land investments. www.pinnacleequities.ca

Kerry George
Kerry started doing the email marketing in 2011 and her company Loyal2U.ca still produces the ongoing newsletters, updates and marketing pieces for the CBN. At the beginning of 2012 Kerry became the owner of the CBN and added other marketing components and development strategies including project management to the overall structure of the network. She is continually adding to the CBN to create a strong network with mentoring and training for business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, trades people, and business students. It is her goal that the CBN provides ultimate value for every Annual Member as well as to those who attend occasionally.

John Wright
John has been bringing his coffee machines to both the Cochrane and the NE Calgary locations offering our members lattes and cappuccinos for our early morning gatherings. He provides an amazing fresh ground premium coffee to the workplace that is an excellent and fully serviced option for business owners who want the best quality hot beverages for their waiting rooms, dealerships, and staff.

Stephen Leber
Stephen is now the manager of the NW Calgary Chapter and also assists the team in sales and marketing. Stephen is a phenomenal networker for the CBN and he is also extremely gifted with innovative IT solutions ensuring the very best in business continuity with experienced teams of technical support. Stephen can set you up with network support that works. Call him today 403-815-0469.

Kerry George owner of Loyal2U and the CEO of Calgary Business Network. She is a published author and a professional writer with a gift for marketing and creating informational pieces on a variety of topics. She has written articles for major magazines, reviews for authors, and oversees the content publishing of several blogs and websites.

Next year a new WiFi (wireless) protocol will be ratified by the U.S. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The new generation of WiFi is called 802.11ac. This new technology, using a typical 3×3 array of 802.11ac antennas with an 80-MHz channel should, within an interference-free room, transmit over 1 Gbits/s. This will bring three times more speed when compared to the current fastest WiFi standard of 802.11n. The new 802.11ac will transmit wireless signals on the 5 GHz band, providing a larger range, and faster throughput for multiple HD video streams and more. It also has much more power for transmission penetrating walls.

Why is this exciting? 

Until now, wireless data and voice have been treated as an adjunct to a business local area network (LAN). WiFi LAN’s have in the past proven to be problematic to implement and have had issues with slow data throughput and with providing complete and uniform coverage. A big problem with legacy WiFi is the “hand off” that takes place as you move from the range of one access point (AP) to the next.

The new WiFi technology has overcome these problems so that today a business can use a pervasive all wireless LAN that provide employees with anywhere anytime access from any device to any and all business critical applications.
This doesn’t mean that employees must stay connected constantly, but rather that they never be out of touch again when they need to. The all wireless office today can now provide the same robust communications of a wired office, but with the additional advantages of the convenience of mobility at a substantial cost savings to the cost of office infrastructure.

The single biggest cost savings of a wireless office is the elimination of having to spend money on moves, ads and changes (MACS) within the office. Also, there are fewer wires to pull, and fewer switch ports to consume.
Today, with the new WiFi technology, a business can not only have their voice and data networks on a wireless network; they can also have their CCTV, video conferencing, and even implement asset tracking with radio frequency identity (RFID) all on the same WiFi network.

The wireless voice is now the same quality and as reliable as hard wired phones are. The new generation smart cell phones are now equipped with WiFi as well as cellular capabilities so that you may use these phones in the office on your WiFi network, and as soon as you leave you office, the phone then seamlessly switches over to the cellular network. This may provide substantial savings on your cell phone bills.

Asset tracking can save your business thousands of dollars if you are encountering losses of laptops or tools in your business.

That’s great you may say, but common wisdom is that wireless is not appropriate for businesses because it is not secure. Anyone may intrude into a wireless LAN and obtain valuable proprietary information.
This has been true in that past. Today however, the manufacturers of wireless LAN solutions have provided complete security solutions for your business. It would be too much to go into detail in this article of how these WiFi networks provide security for the networks. Your WiFi provider can give you the details.

There are several manufacturers that offer wireless solutions today. They are not all equal. Some have different features and capabilities than others. The costs are different as well. Some brands are better suited for large implementations, and some more suited for the small business. I would encourage you to have a look at a few before deciding which one is best for your business. Brands include Cisco, HP, Aruba, Meru, Sonicwall and Dlink.
Before you commit to any wireless solution of any brand or from any vendor you should ask for references and a site tour of an implemented system if possible. Some manufacturers and vendors can offer a trial demo at your business. This is an excellent way to get a comfortable feeling of whether that product is suited for your business.
If you are unsure about the cost of a wireless system, ask your vendor for a Return on Investment analysis. You should consider the costs of wiring your business for voice, and data (and CCTV if needed). How much do you spend on MACS in a year? Would the ability for your staff to collaborate in real time increase their productivity? Would asset tracking prevent losses?

It is too early to know how much wireless will penetrate the business community. I suspect that this will become one of those displacement technologies that will become the norm for businesses in less than a decade. The advantages and cost savings are too compelling for a business to ignore.

Stephen Leber has worked with businesses providing IT, communications and infrastructure solutions for the last three decades. Stephen achieves great satisfaction from providing progressive and innovative business solutions that give you and your company that advantage over your industry competitors. His main focus is to you and your company’s success by creating the utmost productive business solutions and ensuring the very best in business continuity, with our experienced teams of technical and help desk support Next Digital has your IT needs covered. Go Tel sleber@gotel.ca 403-686-4357 x 402

Although it can be useful for employees to use mobile phones for work, it can also cause a lot of inconvenience and expense. Business cards need two numbers. Customers don’t know which number to call, so they tend to call the cell number because they can be assured that they will reach your employee where ever they may be; even if they are sitting at their desk. There are additional cell phone bills that can get out of control and grow to be your biggest monthly expenditure. Outbound calls from cellular number lines don’t display the corporate name. The cost of long distance from mobile phones is expensive. The user now has two mail boxes to check, and wants access to their e-mails while away from the office. If you allow your staff to use their own cell phone – they will take their customers with them if they leave your company for the competition.

A number of IP phone manufacturers offer a variety of ways to integrate your smart phone with your office phone system. These solutions can range from being simple and cheap to offering very advanced integration for a considerable investment. So before you look for a solution, you should establish some criteria of what kind of integration would work best in your company. Keep in mind what you want to accomplish: features that facilitate your mobile worker’s jobs and/or keep them in touch with your office. Then discuss with the various vendors what their system can do and match the right vendor to your particular applications.

There are five essential features that most IP office phone systems can offer:

1. Forwarding of incoming calls to cell phones: this feature alleviates the need for callers to choose from multiple numbers to find an employee. Inbound calls to the desk set are routed directly to the cell phone. Most IP office phone systems today offer some form of find me/follow me and maybe managed by an easy to use GUI interface. Incoming calls maybe routed to ring desk, mobile, and home phones simultaneously or in order.
   Calls may be routed based on time of day. User may have the ability to transfer calls between their cell and their desk set with a simple key press. User can also define, based on caller line ID to forward calls to their cell or to voice mail.
2. Making outbound mobile calls through the office phone system: Calling through the company phone switch provides the company with substantial cost savings on long distance. A lot of cell phone plans only charge for outgoing calls with free inbound calls. Putting the calls thru the company phone switch can eliminate these charges thus realizing additional savings for the company. Additionally, the called party sees the company’s caller ID instead of the cell phone number.
3. Making your smart phone an extension of your IP office phone system: having handset software opens up all sorts of other possibilities as well. This soft ware provides a graphical interface to some of the most powerful features of office phone systems; such as visual voice mail, displaying on the phone’s LCD screen a list of messages that the user can listen to in any order desired. Integration with the office phone system allows users to have just one phone number and voice mail box for all their calls. It also lets them dial others in the company by extension number and transfer calls to the office from their smart phones.
4. “Presence”: Just as one is able to determine if a staff is on the phone in the office, this software will enable callers to “see” if the mobile user is able to take a call or not. This capability is made possible with s/w that provides instant messaging functions, which let employees see who is online and available to chat on an IM service. That same information such as “available” or “in a meeting” will indicate whether the mobile user is in a position to take a call.
5. “Campus” Wi-Fi integration: Today’s smart phones are dual mode cell & Wi-Fi. With an interface on your office phone system, and a resident Wi-Fi system in place, calls coming into your office phone system can be directed to your smart phone over your local Wi-Fi network. When you leave the office or campus area, you’re smart phone will seamlessly switch over to the cell phone network. This can be a very worthwhile investment that can diminish your cell phone bill by as much as a half.

It is also possible to roam through public hotspots via VPN’s securely connecting the handset to your office phone system.

The first step is to look at how your employees use their smart phones to facilitate their business. Determine which applications would benefit them the most and what the ROI is, if this can be measured. If you are looking at the Wi-Fi integration, then estimate what your cost savings would be on your cell phone bill. Often this will justify your investment and provide a compelling ROI.

Is there some part of your life that you would like to be more successful?

Wikipedia describes a new year resolution as a commitment that one makes to their personal goals, a project or to forming a habit. These resolutions involve change, usually a significant change, such as losing weight, improving health or finances. These types of changes are very difficult to make.

Many resolutions fail. Research shows that after six months, 50% of people have abandoned their resolutions and after a year, only 10% are still working to achieve their goals.

To maximize your chance of success, it is important to have the right attitude towards your resolution. You must really want to change, not just think you should.

You need to be specific regarding your resolution. What area of your life are you going to focus on changing? For example, is it your health, career, education or finances?

Select specifically what you want to change. Instead of saying you want to better your education, think in terms of eating better or losing weight.

Figure out a way that will measure your success. With regards to the health example, eating better can be measured by your cholesterol levels and losing weight can be measured by the scale.

Set goals or milestones that you can achieve. Focus on losing the first 10 pounds instead of the total number you hope to lose. Reward yourself when these steps are accomplished.

Keep track of your progress. This lets you see how far you have come in your journey.

Whether your resolutions relate to your personal or business life, the same steps can be used to make them a reality.

Suzanne is a promotional representative and writer for Loyal2U. Her passions include writing, oil painting, photography, interior decorating, traveling and many, many other activities.

One of the biggest expenses that businesses incur today is the maintenance and replacement of their electronic network equipment. Most people take the power that comes from the wall for granted. It is not realized that this power can wreak havoc on your electronic equipment. “It’s there almost all the time”. “My equipment is designed to be plugged into the wall”. “Why do I need to invest in these expensive power conditioners; won’t an inexpensive UPS from Costco do?”

A few questions that you should be asking are:

• What are the costs of replacing my equipment and computers?  
• If my operating equipment and or electronics are disrupted, damaged, or destroyed, what will be at stake?  
• Will my clients understand?  
• What is my cost of my downtime?

Equipment ages, breaks down and needs service or replacement on a regular basis. However, do you realize that a lot of this equipment failure over time is caused by uneven and unclean power? Electronics are very intolerant to power variations. In time the electronic componentry wears down and ages because it is either not getting enough power, or getting hit with power surges. These variances are known as “electrical noise”.

Problems with the power grid that cause wear on your electronic equipment:

1. Power surges: Caused by transformers, sudden power load caused by start up of heavy machinery such as elevators, faulty grounding, and much more. After a power outage, the biggest danger to equipment is the start up of power again by either the utility or your generator. This surge can be responsible for frying electronic equipment. Another obvious cause is lightening strikes.
2. Power Sags: Less visible but equally damaging are sags. If there is a large draw from the start up of a heavy piece of equipment; or just a heavy draw on the power grid, then the current diminishes. When electronic equipment doesn’t have the full current that is needed to run it, the electronic components get damaged. This is actually just as damaging as a power surge.
3. In house electrical equipment: On a day to day basis, much more electrical noise is created right in your own building by noisy electrical loads.  Switch mode power supplies, HVACs, copiers, coffee makers, power tools, vending machines, all throw noise back into the electrical system when used. Disk drives and printers use motors that often require large start up / inrush current that can cause transient power noise.
4. Complexity of chips: Semi conductor chips are more vulnerable to noise than ever. Each generation has more transistors packed into a smaller space. As transistors get smaller, the amount of electrical over stress they can tolerate gets lower. New semiconductors can now be disrupted by as little as 1/2V of electrical noise on your ground reference and only 10 V of electrical noise on your line-neutral.

Common Solutions:

1. Surge protectors: These actually provide a false sense of security. Surge suppressors do not operate until their clamp voltage is exceeded (approximately 250V or more on a 120V system). Voltage disturbances lower than that can pass right through into the equipment. They offer no protection from disruptive high-frequency noise and some will have little to no ground protection; some will actually dump your less damaging power noise to your more sensitive ground reference.  Over time, a surge suppressor can fail usually leaving the user with no indication that their equipment is unprotected. Even if the “on” light is lit - that only means that the power is on, not that the surge protector is working. 
2. UPS: Again, these are only a partial solution providing you with limited protection on their own. UPS’s can provide a backup power when the power goes down which can provide you the time necessary to properly shut off your equipment (or save whatever you’re working on your computer before you shut down). However, most common UPS are of limited life and it is all too common that it is discovered that the UPS no longer functions when the power goes out. Most UPS’s need to be tested regularly for their integrity, and too often they are not.

Our Solution:
Completely buffer your equipment from the power grid / source with an isolation transformer coupled up with the appropriate design of UPS. This will clean all dirty power before getting to your equipment. Your equipment will in turn be fed with steady, even power that will prolong the life of your equipment and maintain its integrity. By using isolation transformers to buffer the noisy power from the grid before it reaches your equipment, you can prolong the life of your equipment and keep your equipment running at its maximum efficiency.

What does Power conditioning do?
There is a lot of confusion over the meaning of power conditioning. People confuse power conditioners with other devices, such as surge suppressors, voltage regulators, spike arresters, or EMI/RFI filters. These devices are designed to treat one or a few of the symptoms of power noise. A true power conditioner will provide comprehensive protection from damaging power-line disturbances.

Four basic functions of power conditioning:

1. Reducing all electrical disturbances: Most computerized systems have some level of noise immunity built in them. The manufacturers can’t predict how effective their conditioning is because of the wide variety of system configurations their equipment may be used. In order to be effective under all circumstances, a power conditioner must reduce the worst possible electrical noise levels to levels that are harmless to semiconductors before powering your device.
2. Providing single point reference ground: Noise on the ground wire is either directly or capacitively coupled into the system’s logic ground. More than 1/2 V of noise here will be disruptive. It is crucial to provide a clean, single point, all- purpose reference ground. This is accomplished with a transformer -based power conditioner that safely and legally ties the line, neutral, and ground on the secondary at noise frequencies.
3. Preventing interaction between noise generating loads: The switching power supplies used in today’s computerized systems and peripherals can create a fair amount of electric noise. This can be a problem if you have a printer plugged into a computer next to it. The situation can be exacerbated if they are plugged into older-technology conditioners such as Ferroresonant and high isolation type power conditioners. A power conditioner must have a low-impedance output that prevents disruptive interaction between noise generating loads.
4. Providing peak current on demand: Switching power supplies that are found in today’s computerized equipment have a very high current draw during the portion of each AC cycle that they turn on. Ferroresonant and high-resolution conditioners cannot meet these peak current demands unless they are considerably oversized. Such units cost more and are less efficient, hence higher electric bills. A low-impedance conditioner will provide peak current on demand.

The investment that you make in a quality isolation transformer and UPS will ensure that you get the full life of your equipment, and that you will not experience any business disruption due to equipment failure. In addition, when you do experience a power failure, you will have adequate power back up protection to calmly handle the emergency.

Barry Calhoun & Stephen Leber

Stephen Leber provides IT consultation for businesses in Calgary at Next Digital. He may be reached at sleber@nextdigital.ca or 403-686-4357x 402 Barry Calhoun is a power quality specialist and provides solutions through his company: Pro Sense. He may be reached at barry.calhoun@prosense.ca or 403-902-0240

Goal setting is a powerful tool to use for your business as well in other aspects of your life. In order for it to work though you do need to have a plan. So take out a pen and paper and start physically charting a course. If we do not make a plan to succeed we will fail by default. Often the difference between the wildly rich and the incredibly poor is just the ability to make a plan and then to work it consistently.

1. Assess where you are now.

Before you can make plans for the future you need to really analyze where you are right now. When you look at a map there are two major points of reference. Where you are going and where you start. Once you have determined that you are ready to select the best route to get there.
So ask yourself some questions and write the answers down. There are many questions that we could ask depending on the nature of the business. What is the revenue right now? What has been working well? What has not been working? How many new prospects did I see? How many did I close? Did I get any business from my website? Has social media been working for me? How many customers do I need to have go through my location each day? Are we profitable?

Brainstorm with a colleague from your industry to think of other provocative questions to genuinely help determine your current effectiveness.

2. Look at the bigger picture.

Take your head out of the work right now and think long and hard about where you want to be in five years from now. Do you want to be in the same business? Do you want to be in the same position? Do you want to sell? Do you have a good exit strategy? Where do you want to end up in five years?

3. Strategize

Make that pen and paper work. Now you know where you are, and you know where you want to be. So there is a lot of ground to go over to get to the promised land. So what would step 1 be? And Step 2? What will you have to put in place? What will you have to give up in order to make it happen? What can you put on hold? What do you have to do more of? Who do you need to hire? Who do you need to form a strategic alliance with?
We can’t continue to do the same things over and over and expect that the results will change. They won’t. So what do you need to change? How are you going to change it? Is it all up to you, or can you enlist the help of others? Put your team together for your success.

3. Make steps along the way.

What is phase 1 of the plan? And then what is phase two? You have thought about strategies, now make a plan. Step by step map out the route to get to the ultimate goal of where you want to be in five years. Make milestones along the way, so that you know when you have arrived.

4. Build rewards into the plan.

You will lose heart and your family will desert you along the way if you don’t build some rewards in along the way. So build them into the plan. Go back through your milestones. How will you reward yourself for your success at each level? How will you reward your loved ones? How will you reward your team? Celebrate with your partners, your friends and those who support you. Love life along the way or you may arrive at your goals having lost all that is important.

5. Share your goals with someone that you trust.

It helps to talk about your goals but don’t share your awesome five year dream with people who will only see where you are right now and not believe for your victory. Don’t let a dream-stealer take your destiny away from you. Protect it from negative small minded people like you would protect your new baby from poison or wolves. But there are people you would leave your infant with for an hour while you run to the store to get more milk. Find the cheerleaders who believe in you and share your goals and your dreams with them. Find those who already are where you want to be and rub shoulders with them. Learn how to fly higher and faster by hanging out with the astronauts. Before you know it you will be on their team.

Kerry George

Kerry George the co-founder of Loyal2U. She is a published author and a professional writer with a gift for marketing and creating informational pieces on a variety of topics. She has written articles for major magazines, reviews for authors, and oversees the content publishing of several blogs and websites.

We all know we need one, we’ve all been caught fumbling when someone asks us what we do – or worse, we give the pat “I’m in real estate” kind of answer.

Well, that all ends today. We’re giving you the template to create two pitches – the first is a 10 second pitch that answers the question “What do you do?” (which is the subject of today’s post) in such a way as to get the next question “Tell me more” (which we’ll deal with on Saturday).

So, get your pens and paper out. Ready?

The 10 Second Elevator Pitch

1. Answer the questions “who” and “what”. For example:

• Who (subject): I or we – not much more choice unless you’re marketing someone else.
• What (verb): sell, guide, encourage, support, consult, teach, etc.

2. Identify your the negative emotions you’re ideal client is experiencing. For example:

• overwhelmed
• frustrated
• desperate
• struggling
• angry

3. Identify your ideal client:

• pet lovers
• small business owners
• migraine sufferers
• bad drivers
• homeowners
• real estate investors, etc

4. Name your solution:

• learn a fast and easy way to…
• create the ultimate plan to…
• discover a secret source to…
• position themselves to…
• find the time they need to…etc.

5. Identify what those ideal clients want, for example:

• More leads
• financial freedom
• pain free existence
• find honest labourers
• get the best deal
• find a perfect house in their budget, etc.

6. List 3 benefits to your client:

• get the best price
• experience a pain free life
• get out of debt fast
• retire financially free
• have a happy puppy

See how easy that is?

So, now you put it all together and play with it until it “clicks”. Here’s mine so you can get an idea of what it might look like:

I help struggling, frustrated small and home business owners create an affordable, easy to manage marketing program that enables them generate more leads, attract more clients, and make more money than they have ever made before.

Keep playing with it until it feels natural, and then memorize it so it’s always ready!

Share your Elevator pitches below! I’d love to see what you come up with.

On Saturday’s post we’ll take a closer look at part 2.

So, you think a networking group would be a really useful place to market your business.

You’ve done your research, picked a few you’re interested in visiting, and you head off.

At each meeting you exchange cards, and then go home and….wait. And….wait. And…………wait.

The phone doesn’t ring. Your email is not flooding with requests.

Your conclusion? Networking meetings don’t work.

Or maybe there’s a better way to do this!

One of the most important things you can do to make a networking meeting useful, is to show up – again and again. You become a familiar face. Conversations go deeper than just “Hi, what do you do?” You actually start making friends, building trust, and getting a reputation for hanging in there for the long haul. You refresh old relationships and keep making new ones.

Fly by nights don’t do well with networking meetings, but the person who’s willing to show up again and again will find him/herself in a position to make many important contacts and create those kinds of relationships that gain referrals over and over again.

So, before you decide one way or the other, choose a networking group (doesn’t really matter which one) and decide you’re going to be a faithful participant for at least a year. Get involved. Be open. Be faithful.

And at the end of that year, I’ll bet you find yourself with a rolodex of people who become friends, business partners, and dream clients.

Darlene Hull

Darlene Hull is the owner and founder of HotSpot Promotion, a marketing company that specializes in affordable marketing for the “little guy”. She is also the manager of the NW Chapter of CBN.

Following along from our last post, here’s how to continue with phenomenal follow-up so that it makes a huge impact on your client:

1. Paste Mackay66 Questions into your “notes” section on your contact management system
2. Connect with your contact on all the Social Media opportunities you have in common
3. Search each client online as thoroughly as possible and fill in the answer to as many of the Mackay 66 questions as possible. Make sure, at a minimum, you find out their birthday and anniversary and enter those into your calendar with a reminder that comes up 2 weeks previous to the date. If no birthday is available schedule in your contact management system to send them an “un-birthday” card 3 months from today, and an “unanniversary” card, 4 months after that. In those cards, request their actual dates if they’re willing to share (“If this card arrives on or near your birthday, I’m delighted! If it doesn’t and you’re comfortable sharing the dates, I’ll make sure that next year it’s sent on time!”) If you get the info before the card goes out, make sure you enter it into your client management system.
4. On the coffee date: Take an actual interest in their lives, and keep the conversation over coffee focused on them as much as possible. The purpose of this first meeting is to make them feel appreciated, understood, and valued. Use the fantastic tips in the book How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less to make a lasting and positive impression. At this coffee date you also want to invite them to any networking groups or events you’ll be taking part in over the next month or so.
5. After the coffee date send another thank you card as above, and put your client into the most appropriate follow up card campaign. If they mentioned any special event coming up, or something they’re working on that’s important to them schedule a follow up call to see how this went. At this point it might be useful to also send your client/prospect a quick email and invite them to be a part of your newsletter. Put the sign-up link in the email so they don’t have to look for it. If you’ve written a blog post that pertains to their industry/problem, put in a link to that, as well
6. Schedule in your calendar to follow up with them on a Face-2-Face 3 to 4 months later. If face-2 face/phone contact happens sooner for any other reason, adjust this date, so that you are making face-2-Face/phone contact at a minimum of every 3 to 4 months.
7. If, in your day-to-day reading, you find something of interest – a magazine article that talks about their industry, a family engagement, graduation notice in the paper, you hear of their promotion, etc. send a note or send the article.

I know this looks quite overwhelming at first, but I assure you, with the right tools you can automate 90% of it, and it can be amazingly affordable – a 12 month, completely personalized campaign can often be sent for the price of one very nice card – postage included. Fully automated is easy, but it’s also easily ignored (how many newsletters do you delete without reading in your daily inbox?) By augmenting your automated, online campaign with a physical, personal card, you enter into the realm of “wow” follow up, and your clients tend to eagerly open your cards (especially if you make sure the cards are directed at your client, not at yourself).

If you’re interested in discussing this further, give us a call.

Do you have a really effective follow up system you could share? I’d love to hear from you. Share it below so we can all benefit! If you want to see how my system works, email me with your mailing address!

Darlene Hull

Darlene Hull is the owner and founder of HotSpot Promotion, a marketing company that specializes in affordable marketing for the “little guy” and Phenomenal Follow-Up. She is also the manager of the NW Chapter of CBN.