Issue 6
Inside this issue:
Audie McCarthy founder and president of Marrek Solutions Inc. Click here for Audie's bio
Contact:
63 Southmeadow Cres. Stoney Creek, ON L8G 3E6
Phone:
905.662.3407
Email:
Web:
Do you have your copy of Leadership?Click here to order
Have you been to a Beyond Networking Workshop?
Check for upcoming workshops and register for one today!
August already! Where does the time go? I hope everyone had a safe and happy long weekend and that you are all rejuvenated for the work week! Or if you had to work on the weekend I hope you at least found some time for yourself, family and/ or friends. That is what it is all about. As they say, no one ever said, on their deathbed, that they wished they had spent more time at the office!
Enjoy this week's newsletter & have a great week.
Audie
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Events
Beyond Networking is taking a break until September! However, that will be here before you know it so please mark your calendars for the following fall dates:
Hamilton
September 8 - Working Wardrobe Modules - presented by Angèle Desgagné, Imagélite International.
October 20 - Personal Branding - presented by Jessica Scrivastava, of Inward Training.
Oakville
September 22 - Maximizing your Website - presented by Jemma Fong, In Site Creations.
Watch for our second Marrek Trade Show this fall October 27th, 2005 in Oakville.
Hope to see you there!
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Audie is going back to school! No, not as a student but as an instructor! This fall, Audie will be teaching courses at Sheridan College, Oakville and Mohawk College, Hamilton.
Here is the scoop for September.
Polishing Your Speaking Voice
September 14th, 2005
3 consecutive Wednesday evenings at Sheridan College
Creating Amazing Customer Service
September 19th, 2005
9 am to 4 pm at Mohawk College
Effective Supervisory Skills
September 22, 2005
9 am to 4 pm at Mohawk College
Resolving Conflict
September 23, 2005
9 am to 4 pm at Mohawk College
Getting the Best From Difficult People
September 27 & 28th, 2005
9 am to 4 pm on the 27th and 9 am to 12 pm on the 28th at Mohawk College.For more info email Audie@marrek.com. The courses will also be on the college websites.
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This week, a subscriber asks;
"How do I know whether I can afford to move out of my home office and rent office space from someone else - even for a couple of days a week?"
Audie's response;
"Do the math. Can you generate enough business on your "office" days to pay the rent?
Knowing you can cover your costs is the first hurdle. Generating additional revenue, after your new expenses are covered could be an ongoing challenge for a while so think about your marketing strategy in advance. How are you going to promote your new space? Don't rely on the "build it & they will come" theory because they probably won't. Tell your existing clients, maybe in a newsletter, email or postcard. Spread the news. Know what you are getting into before making any long term commitments to a landlord."
Ask me a question and I'll provide some awesome advice!
I invite our readers to share their success stories by emailing me at audie@marrek.com.
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Want to have more effective meetings? Try the following:
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Stay focused. Have a written agenda and stick to it. Have a time keeper to keep you on track.
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Establish norms. Come to a group consensus on what behaviours you will or will not tolerate during meetings. ie, Everyone arrives 10 minutes prior to the meeting. No side conversations. All cell phones turned off.
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Enforce the norms. Establish a "penalty". For example, anyone who violates one of the norms puts $5 in a jar for charity.
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Start on time. Even if it means you start without some of the team. And don't go back over what you have covered once they show up. Make it their responsibility to find out what happened on their time, not yours.
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End on time. Even if it means you have to defer some items to another day.
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Keep simple minutes - no one has time to read a novel. Note action items, due dates and who is responsible for completing the task. Also make a summary of decisions that were made.
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Follow up. At the next meeting, the first thing you should do is ask for a status on the action items.
Meetings are a necessary evil. You can't run a business without them so make a commitment to your self and your business, to start having more effective ones.
Good, well run meetings will increase your effectiveness, customer service and bottom line.
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Inside Sales/Customer Service for industrial lubricant/commercial oil company (Hamilton). Providing customer service in person and on the telephone, increasing sales, record keeping and occasional outside sales/customer service calls. Experience in technical/mechanical environment an asset; computer proficient in Word & Excel & MYOB preferred. (A detailed job posting is available by request to jobs@hr-fusion.ca)
Please apply, stating salary expectation, to jobs@hr-fusion.ca quoting ‘Posting #02-0705’ in the subject line. Closing date: August 12th @ 4p.m.
August 3, 2005
