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Women Entrepreneurship Event January 30, 2012
Would you like to learn about the Miracle Growth Formula? Would you like to learn how to create more buzz around you and your business?
If so, come meet other curious ladies and men entrepreneurs & owners at a FREE light lunch 'n learn event, being held at the McMaster Innovation Park.
See above to register & learn more about this exciting event!
Entrepreneurially yours,
Shelley McQuade
Women Entrepreneurship - January 30, 2012
Program
11:30AM - 12:00PM
Light Lunch / Networking
12:00PM - 12:40PM
Presentation
12:40PM - 1:00PM
Question and Answers
Location:
McMaster Innovation Park, 175 Longwood Drive, Hamilton, Ontario,
L8P 0A1
Conference Room C+D (at the back of the lobby near the far elevators)
Women Entrepreneurship is back! At this Women Entrepreneurship event, we are welcoming Shelley McQuade of SalesFertilizer.com. Shelley will be helpful to you in finding the right niche for your business; one that the big guys aren't servicing and one that the big guys aren't solving. Shelley will also spread some light on the importance of communication and customer service for your business. You can view Shelley's bio here.
This event is sponsored by:
GOLD Sponsors:
TD Canada Trust
Additional Support from McMaster University
*We are always looking for further sponsorship. Please go HERE to learn more*
January Networking Events
If growing your business is one of your 2012 goals, there's nothing like networking to build relationships - (see under My Links on the left side - Events Calendar)
And according to research, relationships are one of the primary reasons people buy. If you're not sure where to start, perhaps I can be of some assistance (for those in the Halton Region). Each month in 2012 I will provide an overview of upcoming events that may be of interest through a calendar on my blog www.getknowinggetgrowing.com. My recommendation is to attend any given associations' events at least a few times to access the ROTI (return on time invested) and how you can give and get value.
BTW, once again this year, I will be involved with the Women Entrepreneurship Series at McMaster Innovation Park (men are welcome) facilitating interactive sessions-discussions starting with the first session on Monday, Jan. 30th (more details to follow). I will also be providing a couple of sessions on networking through the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. So if you want to grow your business check out the calendar and get knowing, get growing!
Re-wards for 2012
As we say sayonara to 2011 and usher in 2012 its prime time to consider the "3 re's"; re-focus, re-engage, re-commit. If what you did last year worked for you - great, keep doing more of that. If you want a different result make sure you are not living Einstein's definition of insanity "doing the same thing and expecting a different result."
- Be true to yourself - the only person you really ever have to answer to is you. Are you living the life you want? If yes move on to number two. If not, consider building a personal compass by identifying your core values and for one month rate yourself daily to see if you are on course. Click on the link for a list of Core Values and rating info.http://www.salesfertilizer.com/documents/corevalues.pdf
- Leave no regrets - one of my favourite quotes (which is on my e-mail signature) is from Nelson Mandela, "There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." Commit deeply to what you love (i.e. passion), dream big and follow through.
- Become Love - initially this may sound a little corny. To be clear we are talking about the big L Love - i.e. Love thy neighbour. Bitterness and anger, guilt and jealousy are emotional destroyers that take their toll. If you are resenting someone, the reality is you're punishing yourself more than you are punishing them.
- Live in the moment - Buddhists call this Presence - the art of fully being in the now vs. getting caught up in useless past and future mind chatter. Whatever you are doing, do it fully and completely and find joy in the moment.
- Give more than you take - Imagine how the earth (and all of her inhabitants) would benefit if we all had this mind set. Find other's with a similar mentality, work together and watch miracles unfold.
While resolutions and goals are good without getting to the core of what matters most to you, achieving those goals is likely to feel like a hollow victory. Why not make this your year and live your life accordingly each and every day.
a BIG gift!
Remember being a kid on Christmas morning. Lying
in bed awake for what felt like hours until you could finally get up, race down
the hall and see what Santa had left under the tree.
I have fond memories of Christmas mornings.
One in particular when I was eight years old and got a shiny blue bike with a
white banana seat. My Dad patiently
brought it outside and watched me go up and down the snow laden street with
glee while my Mom watched out the window warning us of the cold and donning hot
chocolate to warm us up. There’s no
doubt about it those early experiences shape who we are.
And for that reason and in honour of my Dad
my holiday donation is going to Big Brothers Big Sisters. My Dad was a big brother whose relationship
with his little brother continued until he passed away this fall. Over the
years my Dad took his little brother Vince under his wing; canoeing at the
cottage, sharing in the joy of his Studebaker car he restored, and inspiring
his artistic talent (which lead to self publishing two comic books).
As a big sister and now having the
opportunity to work with Big Brothers Big Sisters I have witnessed firsthand
the profound impact a caring adult has on a child. We often think of children
on the other side of the world needing our help and while this is true, the
kids in our own back yard need support too.
So this holiday season, take a trip down
memory lane and see Christmas with wonder through the eyes of a child and do
your utmost to maintain that joy through 2012.
Best wishes to you and your family this
holiday season,
Shelley
Talk's not so cheap after all
Is talk really cheap? Not when you consider effective communication is a proven money maker.
Join me at Halton Entrepreneurship Week on Tuesday, November 15th (see link below to register) to learn a simple communications formula that yields big returns.
http://halton2011eweekbrandingandcommunication.eventbrite.com/
I hope to see you there!
Innovation Contemplation: How 1 Company Made “It” Happen
You see a successful company in action or in the news and it all seems well seamless. While many a CEO has mastered their “game face” and spouts no problems propaganda, the CEO’s that are near and dear to my heart are the ones that give you the goods - the real deal.
And according to neuroscience we get that. When a leader is authentic and speaking from the heart we sense it and respond by fully engaging and giving back with our all.
Last week I had the fortune of attending the GHMN/GHBN Breakfast session where Steve Meldrum of Eco Waste Solutions shared his perspective on innovation and reverse engineered their project success. A real deal CEO it became increasingly apparent as he spoke that his leadership played an intricate part in their overnight success (which in reality was made up of many, many nights) and helped his team tackle the task at hand with aplomb. They were awarded a significant contract from NATO to design a remote waste management solution. Sounds pretty simple at first blush for a company that specializes in waste solutions. Ah ah ah, not so fast, there were significant constraints. Like the “must be able to withstand the elements and operate in snow blizzards, sand storms and the rainforest”, or the “must be shipped in a 20 foot shipping container”.
Steve shared nuggets of his innovation wisdom. I’ve taken the liberty of synopsising them add putting my spin on it:
New ways are much harder than old ways: You design a better mouse track, heck you even create new processes that are going to make it way easier to build. Everyone is going to be excited, jump on board and make it happen ASAP. Or folks could struggle with the idea of doing things differently, want to stay in their comfort zone and it could take a little (okay a lot) longer than anticipated. The salient point - be prepared for resistance (often unconscious or at the very least unexpressed resistance) when introducing new things to your team. Find your change agents, engage them early on and identify and help the resisters get on board.
“Easy changes” take forever: Little things mean a lot. Little things can really stack up. If you estimate it is going to take a week - double or triple the time and the cost. Enough said. Underestimating “easy changes” can kill your project and prevent you from focusing on the “high return” components.
It seemed like a REALLY good idea: You’ve gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. It’s 10 pm, the teams been at it for hours, your all pumped with caffeine - and you find the latest, greatest solution - until the next morning when you realize what seemed really hot is not.
Failing is a part of innovation: failing fast is smart innovation. Know when to let an idea go to make room for a better solution.
They say hind sight is 20/20. However there is something else about hind sight. When you have lived and breathed an experience day in and day out it becomes hard coded in your brain and you have a deep sense of knowing next time around. According to Steve his organization learned much from overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds. Success breeds success and having done it before, gives you the confidence to do it again, so innovation is deep seated in your organizations DNA. A competitive advantage to be sure.
How to Out wit, Out play, Out smart the Incumbent!
Some business succeed to do a lack of
competition, others succeed in spite of it. If you can make it in the airline
business my guess is you could make it in pretty much any industry. Consider
the following. First, you need a whack
of capital to start and build your business. You are navigating a number of
“uncontrollables” like fuel costs, airport fees, and catastrophe’s like 9-11.
Yet in spite of the odds being stacked against him Robert Deluce of Porter
Airlines rolled the dice and began Porter Airlines almost 5 years to the date.
For Small Business Week he’s out and about sharing his story from a Chamber
keynote yesterday to an interview with Lang and O’Leary earlier this week: http://www.cbc.ca/video/
As one who looks for patterns of success
and has a fondness for synthesizing information I thought I would take a crack
at recounting the “Porter Success Formula”
- Culture Counts – One of Porter’s biggest successes and an on-going challenge is building and maintaining a strong corporate culture. Engaged employees spawn loyal customers. Loyal customers improve profitability – enough said.
- Resilience Matters -The business plan was written, the real estate (aka Toronto Island Airport) secured, the plan for the bridge to transport people over was designed – and then it was turned down. Some would have thought – no bridge, no business. Instead Mr. Deluce picked himself up, dusted himself off reworked the business plan, dug deep to find more capital and made sure he had the best and brightest senior executive team to get the job done. Roadblocks are a fact of life; overcoming them is critical.
- Little Things Add up to a Lot – Free beverages (and not just any beverage – wine and beer), pleasant snacks, more leg room, leather seats, a lounge with great seats, wi-fi and the crème de la crème friendly people! Customers like to feel special. Porter’s customers feel cared for. So much so that their customer satisfaction rating was 83% - a higher number than Ipsos Reid had ever seen in the airline industry. Crafting a good customer experience and aligning all of your touch points provides a solid pay back.
- KISS – Keep it simple s_ _ _ _ _ _ ! Speed, convenience, service – those are Porter’s foundational pillars. Whether you create a guiding principle like the Four Season’s (do unto others as you would have done unto you) or foundational pillars like Porters; a simple, succinct message that helps your employees understand what matters most makes sure your unique competitive advantage gets walked and talked every day.
- Costs Controls are King – Sure it’s great that you can provide a superior customer experience but if you can’t do it efficiently you’ve got a hobby not a business. Porter’s breakeven load factor hovers around 50% in comparison to other industry giants – low cost carriers come in at 73% while legacy carriers are at a whopping 83%. Figure out how you can give more than your competition and keep your costs lower and you’ve got a recipe for success.
"Ruff" Ideas to Create More Time
It won’t be long before the kids are back in school, vacations are a distant memory, and you are back in the groove.
Which begs the question, how well is your groove working for you?
I often hear people lament – specifically on the work front – that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Well the hours in a day are finite, how we use those hours is a choice.
How does one in essence create more time?
Rule # 1 – Multi-tasking is a myth. While we may be able to do a couple of rote tasks at the same time doing two or more things at once and/or switching tasks consistently – reading the report, checking e-mail, talking on the phone, back to the report – means our brain literally has to shift gears as different tasks use different parts of the brain. This mental gymnastics takes time – both the switching and the refocusing. Commit to a task and stick with it to get more done in less time.
Rule # 2 – Energy = Productivity. You can have the best of intentions; be sitting in front of your computer, and even typing words however, if you are not in a peak state (i.e. high energy) you are accomplishing less. When we are in “flow”; that state where time flies by and what we are doing feels effortless, we achieve our personal best. We need to be accessing all of our brain to be in flow. Physical activity helps, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of rest to name a few.
Rule # 3 – Prioritize. Business guru Peter Drucker said it best “Do first things first and second things not at all”. As human beings we are social creatures and research has shown “feeling in on things” is a prime motivator for employees. So much so that I believe people attend meetings they don’t have to, throw their hat in the ring to be part of a project when their expertise could be better utilized elsewhere. Make a list of everything you are currently working on. Prioritize what you feel will yield the highest return based on your organization’s goals. Do you have the time you need to work on this? If not, what could you drop to free up time? If you lack objectivity bring a trusted colleague into the scenario to help and offer to do the same for them.
Time really is on your side, it’s up to you to make sure it stays that way.
Cheers,
Shelley
Come to your "senses"
Ahh back to reality... (and now that summer is here not too harsh of a reality). Yesterday I was at the Royal Botanical Gardens -a beautiful venue - where I was practising what I preach; networking after a networking workshop I did for the Burlington Chamber. While sipping on wine we got to talking about wineries. Living a half hour drive from Niagara wine country we lamented how good the wine tastes when you are at a winery and the winemaker is passionately telling you about the grapes he selected, why he selected them and his entire process from vine to bottle. Top that off with tasting tips on how to best enjoy it in the glass (letting it breath, swirling before smelling and tasting – you get the idea). One of my fellow networkers Rick lamented “and then you buy three cases but it just doesn’t taste the same at home”.
We are sensory beings ruled by emotion vs. logic (although we like to think the contrary). We respond to stories, are stimulated by sight and sound. It’s how we’re wired or hard wired according to Evolutionary Psychology which tells us our brains haven’t changed all that much since we roamed the Savannah. It is indeed the emotion we feel from experiences that shape our lives.
As a business we have an opportunity to create a mediocre or spectacular experience. So what kind of an experience are you giving your customers? Is it happen-stance or have you carefully crafted it to meet their needs. Is it consistent and memorable or easily forgettable? Back in my advertising days, one of my key messages to clients was “I can get them in the door, what are you going to do keep them”. Before you discard the concept, thinking your business is different, you don’t sell wine or food, think again – a transformational experience is possible in any business, it simply needs to be gift wrapped uniquely for your customer. And the bonus – companies that provide exceptional experiences are rewarded with loyal customers that happily pay a premium. Perhaps it’s time for your company to move into brand prominence.
Cheers,
Shelley
Ode to Canada
As Canadians we have a good reputation around the world and are viewed as accommodating. A strength to be sure but isn't it time to individually and collectively be our personal best and stop settling for second best. Recently I heard Brian Williams speak at the BEDC Entrepreneur of the Year award and he talked about "the winds of change" he witnessed firsthand at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Brian noted the changes he began to see before the games and an interview with skier Jennifer Heil, a gold medalist 4 years earlier in Turin. She said "for Canadians it's not just enough to show up anymore, we're better than that". We live in a country filled with natural beauty and numerous resources. We are a diverse mix of people with multiple skills and talents. It's time to rise to the occasion and bring our passion to the forefront. We can do it as individuals and while that is a part of it, the real magic comes in collectively pulling together. It's time to stop waiting in the background for the government to do something, or the economy to get better. It's time to find ways to make a difference and then quietly or not so quietly go about doing just that. So I'm putting my money where my mouth is and sharing with you my vision (that I am actively working towards each day). My vision is though collaboration, every workplace in Canada (heck North America and the world) will be a place where: = People can be their personal best = Align to a shared purpose = Find solutions where none previously existed = To achieve organizational greatness An ambitious goal and vision to be sure, but a worthy cause I believe. I encourage you to formulate your vision, blue sky it, then write it down and develop a plan of action. BTW, I'm actively recruiting advocates to help spread the word and make my vision a reality. I'm doing it in my work with clients, my volunteer efforts, and doing my best to get it "viral". So feel free to join in! The words of Nelson Mandela sum it up, "There is no passion to be found in playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
Cheers, Shelley |
