Archive for the 'Networking' Category

Volunteering – Great Way to Increase Your Work Experience – Part 2

At the end of July we did a post on Volunteering, but I wanted to expand on that more.  Over the last year I’ve had the pleasure of working very closely with a fantastic organization, and you guessed it, as a volunteer.  It’s been beneficial in so many ways!  Let me hit on a few […]

Google Doodles Show Fun Corporate Culture

I’ve always been a fan of the Google Doodles, and I really like the interactive ones! Today’s doodle paying tribute to the 46th Anniversary of the original series of Star Trek doesn’t disappoint! You get to use the transporter, see them on the bridge, and smack a bad guy over the head! Lots of fun.

Volunteering – Great Way to Increase Your Work Experience!

We’ve talked about Volunteering in the past and how great it is for Networking in our post Overlooked Networking Opportunity – Volunteering! But what about for the great experience it can give you? The amount that you can learn is phenomenal, and often you don’t have to pay a thing for it, in some cases even they pay for you to increase your experience.

Social Media – Not a Replacement for Real Life Connections!

We had a great open discussion this morning at my weekly networking group about social media, and many other topics too. But one thing that came up was how impersonal Social Media can feel and how some people in the group did not like it because of that. The discussion really reminded me of how important it is to make sure that you connect with people beyond online.

You’re the Expert at What You Do!

One of the biggest lessons that I had to learn as a business owner is that I am an expert. This by all means does not mean I know everything about my field, far from it, but I know more than the average person, thus, I am an expert. As dictionary.com puts it, an expert is “a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field”. It’s not saying I know everything just that I have skill and knowledge.

Success Tip – Take Time for You!

One thing that I hear all the time from business people is how busy they are. Almost like how many hours you work equates with how successful you are as a business person. I mean, you must be pretty important if your work world would fall apart if you didn’t work an 80 hour week, right? I have different views! I would say you must be pretty important if you can make the same amount of money and work only 20 or 30 hours a week – seems much more valuable to me, or at least you’re making more per hour! But really though, when did the shift go to spending tons of time at work instead of taking time to enjoy life being success?

Overlooked Networking Opportunity – Volunteering!

There are so many different events out there, great causes, places to connect. So many different choices and we’re always wondering, what’s going to really make the most impact? It can often be near impossible to decide how to split our networking time most efficiently. Now, when you go to networking events, who do you remember the most? The people sitting at your table, the couple people you spoke to briefly while grabbing your cup of coffee? Perhaps. But I bet you’d really remember the people working at the event – the lady that greeted you at the door, maybe the gentleman at the registration table, and of course the MC of the event. Which is my point, a lot of the time our networking can be turbo-boosted by simply getting more involved.

4 Tips to Increase Your Profitability

One of the biggest problems of being self employed is that you wear all the hats – CEO, CFO, Office Manager, HR, etc, etc. So how do you balance all that and still manage to sell your product or service and do all the work? I’ve learned a few tips along the way that I try to implement myself as much as possible, let me share a few of my favourites with you.

How do you answer “So, What’s New?”

We’re all used to the common questions when networking tying to start up a conversation. Last week I focused on a common question of “So What Do You Do?” and another common one I get all the time when networking is “So, What’s New With You?” super common but more often then not answered incorrectly which could end a perfectly good conversation before it even has a chance to start! Probably the most common answer that I hear is “Oh not much, how about you?” and I say FAIL! (Not that I’ve never done it myself of course!)

How do you answer “So, What Do You Do?”

I’d have to say, next to asking your name or how you’re doing, one of the most popular questions you hear when networking is “So, what do you do?” Knee jerk response is generally to say what your job title is, what you ARE, so answers like “I’m an accountant” or “I’m a house cleaner” are the norm. It not only can end the start of a conversation, but it leaves the asker of the question to fill in the blanks and really decide what you do according to whatever experience or stereotype they may have already. Would you want that? I’d think not.