You’ll find a new podcast posted on our web site where I interview Tad Hargrave. Tad is a coach for social entrepreneurs and he shares a few great ideas on how to build your business hub.
He’s very well known in his community for his unique approach to business and I’m sure you’ll enjoy his suggestions.
Filed under Networking
This week’s podcast is a little unconventional in that I wanted to just share with you 3 of the business books that I have read and found great value in.
I will be doing this from time to time as these resources were recommended to me throughout my business journey and now I want to pass along the knowledge to you.
In the podcast I mentioned the following books and thought it would be helpful to write down the titles and authors just in case you want to find these books at your local library or bookstore.
Title: Work The Pond
Author: Darcy Rezac
Topic: Networking
Title: Who Moved My Cheese?
Author: Spencer Johnson M.D.
Topic: Dealing with Change/Self discovery
Title: The Starbucks Experience
Author: Joseph A. Michelli
Topic: 5 key principles behind Starbuck’s success
The podcast about these books can be found at http://www.otterideas.com/podcasts/
Enjoy!
Filed under Generic, Networking, Sales & Marketing
The Olympic Flame in Vancouver, B.C.
Last week I was out in Vancouver, B.C. to soak up the spirit of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Sadly no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a way to vlog well from any of the locations I was at. The Olympic spirit was really quite noisy to the point where my voice couldn’t be heard above the crowds.
While it’s unfortunate that I couldn’t take you with me on my journey I can tell you that what I saw when I was out there was incredible.
From my experiences out west, and following the games on TV there are two main themes that I find are mentioned more often than not. These themes are “We support our athletes” and “Hard work gets the job done”.
Showing Canadian Pride
From walking the streets in downtown Vancouver, to knowing that all venues are pretty much sold out, Canada is proud to be hosting the winter games. Our athletes have spoken at length about the support that they feel from the crowds of cheering fans, their sporting associations to their loving family and friends. They attribute part of their success to these factors. They have a support network that they know they can rely on.
In the world of business I believe that no one can make it on their own. Support teams are necessary every step along the way. Your team doesn’t need to be massive but it does need to be comprised of people you trust and respect. These people are a part of your team to tell you the truth even if it hurts. They provide encouragement and tools to help you soar to new heights. There is a good chance that if they are your support team, you return the favour to them as well.
As we all know athletes are strong willed and dedicated individuals. They are committed to training beyond all reason, sacrificing parts of their lives to achieve greatness. The ultimate goal is being a medal winner at an Olympic games but athletes know it is a long road and even personal bests are a great achievement as you start out playing in these games. Their commitment to sport, constant improvement, ability to overcome obstacles and great mental anguish in the face of adversity are qualities that I greatly admire in them.
I think my favourite quote so far from these games is from Jon Montgomery, the Gold Medal winner of Men’s Skeleton from Russell, Manitoba. Upon winning gold he told reporters;
“You gotta stay in a positive frame of mind and believe that the work you have put in to get you to this point is going to get you through and if you can rely on that you’ll have enough to pull through these hard moments at the top of the track…”
It is this mindframe that I believe athletes and enterpreneurs share. I have been an entrepreneur for over 7 years and I don’t think I know any other way to live than to try and be positive, work hard, know that tough times can happen but in the end success is inevitable.
I’m sure that when the games are complete there will be more lessons learned that can be applied from Olympic sport to business. I can’t wait to see what I learn next.
Filed under Generic, Motivation/Inspiration
We have launched a new podcast that has Otter Ideas interviewing a lawyer and an accountant about business incorporation.
We get asked all the time by clients who are starting up their own businesses how they should set them up and so we thought having a candid discussion with EJ Stross of SmithValeriote Law Firm LLP and Derek Stoltz of Embree & Co. Chartered Accountants LLP would be a great way to have some of those questions answered.
Enjoy!
Tanya had the pleasure of interviewing the Lloyd Longfield, CAO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce. In this podcast we look at what chambers of commerce offer to small businesses as well as what is to come for the Guelph Chamber.
To listen, visit www.otterideas.com/podcasts
Filed under Sales & Marketing
There are no words for the experiences that I have had in Vancouver, British Columbia. I came here with no tickets to any official events but even with that I have been able to experience the spirit of the games. But this ability to take in excitement with little worry about the businesses at home didn’t just happen naturally!
As you might know I run two businesses. Otter Ideas, the business consulting firm, and Platypi Designs, a web site design and development company. While Otter Ideas doesn’t require 24/7 attention, the web site development company needs someone to at least oversee web site emergencies when the owner travels to a different province.
But how does that happen when it’s a one person company…..well I spent a good amount of time figuring out how I could make sure that people could be in touch with me if something went horribly wrong. I have systems in place that will allow me to react to a situation in an efficient amount of time to resolve issues – naturally hoping that I won’t need to use any of these systems in place.
My preparation included some of the following things:
This preparation allowed me to travel freely to a different province with a more comfortable feeling that I can keep the business going as I’m away from my office. I don’t think that I will ever feel 100% comfortable not being in my office environment when dealing with a crisis but this prep work totally helped.
Naturally as fate would have it, different issues started to creep up as I started my holidays and I could handle the glitches. My first day out in BC I woke up to voicemails saying that a site had been hacked – initially panic set in but then after a deep breath the issue was resolved quickly and I was free to carry on my holidays.
This kind of preparation is a good idea if you want to go away however it also is much easier if you have a good relationship with your clients. Thankfully my rapport with my clients is terrific and so while my response time was longer than usual I was as attentive as I could be and they knew I was trying my best. Believe it or not they felt bad for contacting me!! This kind of understanding and respect goes a long way and so while you might not be able to fix the issue right NOW it all works out perfectly.
So for the entrepreneur that wants to take advantage of that “once in a life time” opportunity that presents itself, remember that in most cases if you prepare well enough you can get away and enjoy your time knowing that if work emergencies come your way you’re going to be ok.
Filed under Generic
One of the greatest ways to meet fascinating people is through volunteering. Besides the great effect that volunteering has on the community that you live in, you can develop real and long lasting relationships with the people on committees and boards.
The fact of the matter is people to business with people. If you can hang out with other individuals that you have a volunteer initiative in common with and are passionate about, a lot of fantastic things can happen. You strengthen your community, building strong relationships and on the side you probably will find that you will use the services of some of the people you have gotten to know and visa versa.
There is a podcast dedicated to this topic that has just been launched located at http://www.otterideas.com/podcasts. So if you were thinking of ways to expand your reach and give back to your community, this podcast is for you.
Filed under Sales & Marketing
Starting February 12th, the top athletes of the world will be center stage showing what they have to offer in terms of their sport and leaving nothing back. These are the winter Olympic games!
They have trained harder than hard. They have invested everything they have into their passion. They play to win.
Does this sound like anyone you might know? An entrepreneur perhaps?
I am fortunate to be on my way out west next week to experience the spirit that surrounds the games. It is my first trip for 2010 and what a way to start the new year.
While I would never profess that I know what they go through to achieve the levels of greatness that they have to qualify for these games, I firmly believe that entrepreneurs share a lot of the qualities that these athletes possess.
Some qualities include:
I am hoping to reenergize, gain further inspiration from the athlete’s performances and come back even more empowered to help small businesses through Otter Ideas.
I will be reporting from Vancouver hopefully through vlog so that you can catch the same spirit of the games and bring that energy into your business.
We have just published a free podcast online at http://www.otterideas.com/podcasts/ to find out about how you can get more out of meetings that you are involved in as well as getting a few tips on how to quote more efficiently and accurately.
As a small business owner it was important that I maximized my time. Over the years I have learned from many business people how to prepare for and ensure that meetings are very fruitful. As well through my experiences of talking with many prospects interested in getting web sites, I devised a document that helped me keep my conversation on track, asked all the necessary questions and in turn cut down my quoting time because I had all the answers I needed from just that one meeting.
If you find that your time is valuable and want to learn how to make the most of it, this podcast is for you.
http://www.otterideas.com/podcasts/
Enjoy!
Filed under Generic
We have just updated our free business podcast listing to include a brief overview on why you would want to consider blogging, what tools are out there and how to get started.
Blogging is a great way to share your knowledge about your product or service with your current clients and prospects. Business use their blogs to provided timely updates, post newsletters and press releases as well as asking their readership what they want to know.
This new podcast is available for listening online or download at www.otterideas.com/podcasts/
For those of you in the Guelph and surrouding area….
Upcoming Seminars:
Networking for Business Seminar – January 27.
Running a Home Based Business Seminar – January 25
All seminars are from 7pm – 8:30pm at Otter Ideas’ office. Maximum 8 participants. $25 to attend. Free stuff includes a custom name tag for business functions and 30 minute session with Otter Ideas.
To register: http://www.otterideas.com/seminars
Filed under Technology
In the Otter World 