Music & Arts:Raven Sound Utilizes Twitter
By Nick Corsi

FOLLOW @RAVENSOUND

I recently began utilizing Twitter to promote Erie, PA based sound reinforcement company Raven Sound. I knew that I wanted to include at least one social networking site into Raven’s marketing mix, and the fast and easy updating potential of Twitter while on the road and on stage doing gigs was the deciding factor in incorporating the ever growing Twitter.

THE TWITTER PLAN

There are a few specific content and follow strategies I would like to implement in order represent Raven and its services. I primarily decided to use Twitter because of the massive amounts of content to be updated during the summer months. Raven Sound gets slammed during the summer with Concert Series, Music Festivals, Large Scale City sponsored Block Parties, Dance Reviews, Local Non-profit special events, and County Fairs, all the while running a store front in which customers such as bands, DJs or anyone come in and rent small sound and lighting equipment. This hectic schedule provides an exciting and unexpected series of days in which A LOT happens. Full length news articles and blog posts are just not feasible to continually update ravensound.com. Twitter’s 140 character microblog will allow myself and other Raven engineers to:

• provide sound engineering insights and tricks of the trade
• update followers about ongoing gigs
• promote local Raven produced events
• promote music artists
• keep in contact with road musicians, managers, planners, and producers who travel through Erie
• tell the world about all the fun we have!

CONNECTIVITY TO CREATION

There are many community calenders, blogs, and newsletters about local music, arts, and entertainment. In the summer, Raven Sound tends to be a common factor behind all the largest local events.  Not many people realize that the same company behind the Port Authority’s 8 Great Tuesday’s, Downtown Improvement Block Parties, and Celebrate Erie main stage is the same company that resides right in the heart of Erie at 26th and Peach and ALSO provides small DJ, sound and lighting equipment, and small rehearsal rooms for local bands.  We also have recently incorporate mobile recording for virtually any application. We are one of the links between the entertainment, the audience and fostering local growth. Telling people about what we are doing is much more than promoting a business, it is promoting a region’s artists and creative talent.

Nick has been working with Raven Sound for over two years as a sound engineer, webmaster, and marketer. Twitter is just one of the many up and coming initiatives at Raven Sound.

Work Hard, Take It Easy

Nick Corsi
Follow Me on Twitter

Consciousness: true selfishness

By Bob Martin

DON’T MAKE THEM LOOK FOR YOU!

About a year ago, I saw a great pizza shop ad on the back of a newspaper tab. It was full color, full page and it looked great. The ad actually made me hungry for pizza, so I decided to order. There was this great effective ad, but no phone number or address. I had no idea where the shop was. My resolve was to order from a competitor.

THIS AD WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY.

It made you go “looking” for the business and as we all know, consumers are too lazy to go to that much trouble. Hundreds of dollars down the drain not to mention the sales potential.

Don’t make your potential customers look for you. Make sure every print ad has your phone number for additional information and your address so we know where you are. I even encourage clients to use “landmarks” as a reference i.e. “across from Walmart” or “next door to Acme Motors”. The easier it is to find you, the more likely potential customers will be willing to come in.

Remember, without your address or phone number you’ve lost the “call to action” needed to motivate your client.

Next week… “Advertising’s Acceptable Lie”.

Make it easy for your customers to find you!

Bob Martin is principal of Martin Creative Consultants, providing advertising consulting and services to manufacturing and retail businesses. His MCC VoicePros division creates  audio voiceovers for radio, TV, internet ads and presentations.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

VANCOUVER CLUCKS!

Chickens in your back yard?…what do you think?

This “Monday” blog is written to honor what we believe are enlightened organizations and communities, and is normally posted on Monday, but our Monday posting has been delayed in hopes of results on a great story coming out of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Unfortunately, the  City Council will not vote until tonight on a resolution that will determine what you, if you live in Vancouver, can have clucking in your back yard. So I felt I could be late no longer. Lets talk about it and on Wednesday, I will give you the results of their vote.

IN A NATION OF FOOD BANKS – WE ARE JUST BEGINNING TO GET IT…

When you take away the ability of a people to feed themselves, you have total control over their lives.

How many young people today could last for a few weeks or even days, without money or the availability of a supermarket or a fast food chain to feed themselves? Do they even know where chickens come from? My mother did. As a young girl, she recalls having unexpected company arrive which meant the older children (aged 8 and up) were sent out to the back yard to chase down a chicken, chop its head off, pluck it, and bring it in to add to the soup which could then feed whoever showed up. My mother also remembers never being hungry during the “dirty 30’s” or the depression.

Today, the City Council in Vancouver will be vote to determine whether you have the right to have a few chickens in your back yard.
HAVE YOU EVER EATEN RANGE-FED CHICKENS?

Most urban dwellers, unless they buy organic, do not even know what a chicken really tastes like. But I recall the incredible aroma from my grandmothers kitchen as a plump chicken roasted in the oven or simmered in a pot with fresh dill to be ladled over home-made noodles. What she was embarrassed to serve as peasant food, is now a gourmet delight after huge multinational food companies have  deadened our taste buds, training us to expect instead, the taste of chemicals and processed foods. The crowning achievement of that lowly chicken was the soup made with chickens feet, now thought to have medicinal properties. But that was something my grandmother already knew from folklore and experience, without a double -blind study, and she served it to each and every ill child, grandchild or great grandchild.

AROUND THE WORLD

In most countries, feeding yourself with whatever you can raise to survive is considered common sense. My nephew, born and raised in Egypt, talks of how his family raised pigeons for food on the rooftop of their home…he cannot understand why we would have these huge lots in the city of Calgary, Alberta, and not be using them to raise food to feed yourself.

MANICURED LAWNS

So when did the idea of beautiful, manicured lawns overtake the sensibility of using your land to generate food? Whatever purpose do these lawns serve? In our current, and lets face it  future economy,will we be able to let go of the Hollywood notion of an artificial life where someone else takes care of us? Will we get closer to the land and do that which is necessary to sustain ourselves?

It is not the evenly cut lawn, or the garage with 3 cars that will fill our bellies.

VOTE WITH YOUR COMMON SENSE, VANCOUVER!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant

author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about:  www.theconsciouscorporation.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

network marketing: global trends

IF IT DOES…YOU HAD BETTER RUN

Ah, greed. How quickly it can seep into our brains and cloud our, otherwise, clear thinking. I have spoken to people about legitimate network marketing companies, only to have them reply,“I just don’t do that type of thing”.

Then, astoundingly, later, I have had some of them call me to propose a blatantly illegal pyramid structure they would like me to participate in. In response to my confusion as to why they would turn down a legal business opportunity, to be taken in by this obvious scam, they reply, “But all kinds of doctors, lawyers, accountants are doing it!’

IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE …IT IS…

Network marketing is a legitimate direct selling business structure that has been regulated by government legislation since the 1970’s.

The size of this industry may surprise you. According to the Direct Sellers Association, the  worldwide workforce looks like this:

• 68 million distributors
• 110 billion in annual sales
• only 12% work 20 or more hours per week
• 71% have more than a high school education; 29% technical school, 32% college graduates, and 10% postgraduates

YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS

Legitimate companies are those who take quality products into the marketplace at a fair pricing structure. The advantage of direct selling to the consumer, is they can purchase from someone they know and trust, they can access the product in the comfort of their homes, and with many new technology or wellness products, they gain the benefit of education and support to learn how to use the product…a feature no longer offered in the world of discount “Wal-Mart” marketing.

In a world in financial crisis, the advantage to the distributor is the power to be totally in control of when, where, and how much effort you put into earning an income. The only one who can lay you off…is you.

KNOW WHAT A PONZI SCHEME LOOKS LIKE

If  it seems the sole emphasis of a company is making fast money, it is time for you to sit back, take a few deep breaths, and ask yourself, “If it is really so easy to get a swack of money, why isn’t everyone doing it?”

I listened to a radio program a couple of days ago alerting local people to the rerun of a very old Ponzi scheme, Women Helping Women. I was astonished at the naivety of the callers who said when they attended these meetings and saw lots of credible people from their community, they thought it must be ok!

Listen to your intuition! Do you really think a legitimate business would be one in which you give someone $5,000.00 and you sit back and wait for your $40,000.00 to materialize!

The sad thing for me was the confusion the callers and the hosts had with thinking what they had just signed on for was no different than the juice company their brother was asking them to take a look at. They still did not get it!

IT IS A BUSINESS

Let go of the belief that maybe, somewhere, there is a bunch of money just waiting for you, if only you were in the right place at the right time. How many ‘Madoffs’ or ‘Nigerian Scams’ or other versions of Ponzi schemes, have to be exposed before people… get it!

1. There must be a sale of product, ideally a consumable product for you to have repeat customers

2. There must be customers - you cannot just get paid for signing people up

3. Is the product something you or your friends would like to purchase?…if so, there will likely be a market demand

5. You must have a passion for the product, beyond just thinking about the money you will make

6. The pay plan needs to reflect a reasonable bonus for you, but the company also has to make a profit if they are to stay in business. Typically, successful network marketing companies pay out between 21 – 52%.

7. You should not have to carry a large inventory.

8. The signup kit should not exceed $500.00 by law. You may choose to buy more products, but that is your choice.

9. You should expect to work... it is netWORK marketing. If you are being told all you have to do is sign up and the money will appear, you KNOW it is not legitimate, so quit hoping maybe you will get the money and get out before anyone is charged.

10. Expect to put in several years to build a full-time income. This is no different from any other business. You will have good days and bad days, but those who continue to work the business will reap the rewards.

Honesty – Integrity – Ethics ...are the best compensation plan…if what you are doing does not feed that basic criteria, you are in the wrong place.

HAVE FUN!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
Network Marketing Consultant and Trainer

author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about:  www.theconsciouscorporation.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

ALBERTA’S WINDIEST CITY

That seemingly constant, gusting wind I cursed when I lived in Grande Prairie, Alberta, had a different look and feel for Drennen and Jamie Hallett. It was the whiff of opportunity.

The Hallett’s, owners of Golden Sheep Power, officially opened their doors for business in Grande Prairie on February 1, 2009. They will be the first company in Alberta to offer home-owners a chance to get off the grid by using home-based wind turbines and solar panels.

A NEW WIND IS BLOWING

Their timing could not be better. The provincial government just passed regulations to allow for micro-generation in Alberta. And the City of Grande Prairie, a city that has seen explosive growth in the past 5 years due to oil and gas exploration, has shown its openness to explore other sources of energy by allowing the Halletts to set up a pilot project to demonstrate and test the home-based units.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PILOT IS SUCCESSFUL?

The main concern with wind turbines is noise, or the perception of noise.

The City of Grande Prairie have agreed to test a home-based unit and, if it is not too noisy, the City will change its bylaws to allow individual home-owners a choice for energy production – stay on the grid, or employ a home-based wind or solar unit to fully meet or supplement your requirements.

The pilot turbine is being erected in the centre of the city at the Fire Hall. It will not be set up to generate energy, but to gauge public reaction. The Hallet’s say the noise level of 15 to 30 decibels when it is running at its peak is equivalent to a whisper. Following the six month pilot, a survey will be conducted to get public reaction.

AN ALBERTA FIRST

If all goes well, that would make Grande Prairie the first city in Alberta to change its bylaws to allow for home-based generation. Only the tiny southern Alberta town of Cardston currently has bylaws to allow for wind turbines for residential use.

The Halletts have previous experience with micro-generation in Ontario where it has been approved by government for a few years. They believe homeowners will recover their installation costs (between $11,000 – $30,000.00 CDN) within 3-5 years. Most households, they say, will be able to produce enough energy for their needs. If a household uses more energy, they will just draw the additional from the grid.

The purpose of the Monday Enlightened Orgs Best Practices post is to draw attention to companies that are doing the right things – and doing them well. They become listed in our directory as Enlightened Orgs.

Today we recognize, not only Golden Sheep Power for taking the initiative and risk to become the first company in Alberta to offer residential micro-generation options, but we also take our hats off to the Mayor and Council of the City of Grande Prairie for their willingness to be…the FIRST!

We will keep you posted on the outcomes of this pilot project.

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a MindShift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.CorporateMindShift.com www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

network marketing: global trends

THE COMP PLAN IS SO GOOD – I CAN’T LEAVE IT WITH YOU!

Today I want to talk about network marketing pay plans, what works, what does not, what is legal, what is not; and how you can save yourself a lot of grief by telling the difference.

This is the 6th post in a series of articles on behaviours in network marketing I think need to stop immediately for the industry to attain the level of professionalism it deserves. This series of articles began with a post titled “People Don’t Dislike Network Marketing, They Dislike Network Marketers.”

SHARING THE PLAN – OPENLY AND HONESTLY

This 6th behaviour is about being open and honest with information about your compensation plan. My recent encounter with a “flash of a plan” was related to a company selling something about travel. It was “so hot and so amazing” that the individual could not let me see a copy, nor could I go to a website. The only way I was going to get information was if I attended a public meeting.

Not only is this an insult to my intelligence, it is also a warning to run. Making a decision about which network marketing company you should become involved with is a decision based on due diligence. Unfortunately, because the cost of getting started is low, many people do not take the time to check it out.

FOUR BASIC TYPES

Following are the basic compensation plans but there are many adaptations of each type. One of the best sources of information on compensation plans in the industry is Rod Cook, whose book I have profiled and whose research is behind much of this post.

UNILEVEL

There is a lot of success out there with this plan which usually has 50% of profits going back to consultants. It is one of the most popular at the moment. There is no limit to front line width and usually a limit of 5-10 levels in depth. It favors those who are willing to treat this like a business. For more information on this plan.

MATRIX

This plan has guidelines that limit the width and depth of your organization. A typical structure will by 2×10 or a 3×9. You have 2 recruits on your frontline and each leg can be built to 10 levels. You want to know what happens with attrition occurs. Can you fill in the empty spots with new people or does the bonus cheque break away to the company? This plan has often been linked to illegal pyramid schemes and is consequently losing popularity in the industry giving way to unilevel or binary plans.

BINARY
This plan allows only two legs with infinite depth that pay out whenever the volume in each leg matches. It is simple to work, but the problem occurs when you cannot get the volume in each leg to match. You have to wait to get your bonus cheque until this happens or you may be paid based on the volume in the weaker leg. It also means you are often doing all the work by placing recruits to earn your cheque. It rewards those who do not work. You need to keep a sharp eye on what is happening in both legs in order to earn your bonus cheque. The company can also often end up paying out too much, which can happen in the first 6 months to 2 years of operation, resulting in corporate bankruptcy if the commission payout is not properly controlled or managed.

STAIRSTEP – GENERATIONAL – BREAKAWAY

This plan is the oldest and most common plan with companies that have survived any length of time in the industry. It has been the most popular plan in the marketplace but the generational nature of the plan can create conflict between upline and downline. The plan allows for infinite width but restricts depth from usually 6-10 levels. It is important to make certain this plan has a no breakage aspect which means if a distributor does not qualify for his/her bonuses it does not breakaway to the company but instead gets paid to the next qualifying active consultant. Stairstep plans require additional investment to qualify for monthly bonuses which can be seen as a deterent over time. These plans have been the most successful but in the recent marketplace are tending to sag and many companies are making adjustments to these plans.

OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK

1.  How old is the company? Just like traditional businesses, most fail in the first 3 years. Here are the average survival rates in this industry. If the company has been in operation for…

less than 1 year – less than 10 % survival
1-2 years – 30% survival
2-3 year – 50% survival
over 3 years – 70%

2.  Are the cheques paid on time and can you see evidence of that?

3. Can see you a copy of a cheque – either from the person who is recruiting you, or someone else in the organization in your area?

4. It, by law, should not cost more than $500.00 to join. Buy the minimum and test the water.

5. To be healthy financially, and to survive, the company should not be promising a payout of more than  38 – 55% in bonuses.

6. Are you able to understand the plan or at least ask questions until you can?

7. If it promises to pay only for signing up people – run – it is illegal. You must sell to customers.

8.Most of all, the products should be something you can get enthused about.

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
Network Marketing Consultant and trainer

author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

A NEW BLACK GOLD

In the debt-free province of Alberta, where the black gold that first gushed from the ground in the 1950’s, has resulted in a Heritage Trust fund worth of billions of dollars being set aside for a “rainy day” – getting anyone to think about alternative energy sources is not an easy sell. But two framers from the tiny farming community of Vegreville have risen to the challenge.

Their innovation to create Biogas from cattle manure seems a perfect fit for a province that has ranching as it second largest industry. It is also timely for a province aware of the implications of the depleting sources of non-renewable oil and gas, and the challenges of a reliance on an industry with a Boom/Bust economic cycle.

“Inventing a new technology is a pure Alberta story… a great example that building a knowledge economy can happen on the farm, not just in ivory towers” – Evan Chapko, CEO, Highmark Renewables (Edmonton Journal, 02/08/09)

FROM POOP TO PROFIT…Alberta’s new Black Gold…

ALBERTA’S FIRST GREEN ENERGY MEGA-PROJECT

Shane and Evan Chrapko are taking the cattle manure from a 30,000 cow feedlot, owned by partners Mike and Bert Kotelko, and turning it into Biogas, something their company Highmark Renewables, markets as “renewable natural gas.”

They have just tapped into what is probably Alberta’s most abundant and renewable resource…cattle poop.

The greenist electrical generating plant in the province is now producing one megawatt of power which is enough to meet the electrical demand of the feedlot and 700 homes in the tiny communities of Vegreville and Two Hills. When the construction on this plant is completed, it will also produce ethanol to be added to gasoline without the current problem of having to take away from farmland to produce ethanol from crops like corn. Together, with the help of Xiaomei Li, a scientist from China, they have developed more than 40 recipes for turning waste, including slaughter house waste and municipal sewage, into biogas. Patents are pending.

Their motto: “Where there is waste…there is opportunity.”
Chrapko calls it a “virtuous loop – producing power, cattle feed, fuel and fertilizer .”

The goal is to have a string of plants across the prairies at sites where manure is plentiful. When you consider each cow produces the manure equivalent of six humans, the idea of continuing to spread this volume of waste and its resultant methane gas, over the land forever, without negative consequences, is to ignore a looming environmental problem.

Travis Nickel who heads up the company, Growing Power, responsible for the electrical side of this innovation, sees a time when every feedlot in the country will have such a plant to provide fuel for nearby towns and will deliver ethanol to the big refineries for production of gasoline.

Shane and Evan Chrapko are no strangers to successful ventures. They launched, built and sold The DocSpace Company for 811 Million (538 Million USD) in just 30 months from inception to final sale. Both are graduates of the University of Alberta. Shane is the recipient of the rare Early Career Achievement award awarded to one graduate from a pool of 100,00, who has achieved remarkable success in business within ten years of graduation.

ANOTHER LOCAL, HOME-GROWN SOLUTION…a company to watch in the future!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG
If you know a company that is making a Mindshift towards serving humanity while still turning a profit, we would like to know about them. Let us know by contacting::
attractingsuccess@soulabundant.com... or leave the information in the comments section of this post.

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

enlightened orgs: inspiration

ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS WILL BE FOUND AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Michael Kalmanovich, owner of a unique, organic food supermarket in Edmonton, Alberta, does not lack for inspired, innovative ideas to fulfill his passion to sell locally grown organic food, socially conscious products, and a free dose of education in the process. He took his first step of faith in 1991 by opening a store with $20,000 invested, $167.00 in his bank account and a huge abundance of dreams.

Earth’s General Store was opened in a small location on the fringe of the university in the capital city of the province. It is also smack dab in the heart of a ranching and oil-based economy. It was in this province that KD Lang, a home-town celebrity, riled local extremist ranchers who defaced community signs outside her home town of Consort, Alberta, after her public service announcement in which she spoke out in favor of vegetarianism.

If opening an organic food store in a business culture like that sounds like it takes guts and a leap of faith, that pales by comparison when you hear Michael’s latest dream!

A STORE WITH INTENTION

“I started the store in 1991 in response to some trends I noticed while conducting workshops on environmentally friendlier lifestyles:

• People wanted to know where to find the information that I was sharing outside of the workshops and more of it;
• People wanted to know where to purchase products that lessened their impact on the environment;
• People were concerned about the world – both environmentally and socially;
  
• People were scared;
• People wanted to do something about what was happening in the world.
  

I survive by people purchasing items from the store but it is not the purpose of the store to sell products just to sell them and to make profit. The purpose of the store is to create change. It is a tool for change.

“People have the ability to make choices at every decision in their lives. I am not talking about all the big ones where people angst over their decision, I am talking about all those small decisions. Many of these small decisions were made a long time ago and they become routines but these “small decisions” collectively add up to major effects. As a consumer you are always faced with a choice and each choice will involve a compromise.

The people that attain this level are called conscious citizens and since we are creatures that need to consume to survive we can also say that these conscious citizens will also be conscious consumers.”

MICHEAL’S LATEST INNOVATION – GETTING A LOAN FROM HIS CUSTOMERS

Right from the  outset, Michael’s dream was much bigger than the location he has occupied for the past 18 years. Now, in the midst of an economy that has most businesses ducking for cover, he is ready to expand.

But, in a very novel way.

Although he is able to get financing from the bank, Kalmanovich says, “I would rather be beholden to the community rather than to a bank.” (I think I a lot of people around the world today, Michael, would agree with you!).

Two weeks ago, Michael sent a request, through his newsletter, to his regular customers making them an offer.

He is asking for a loan.

Investors will get a 15% discount on their store purchases for purchases up to the amount of the loan! He is also adding a further 5% gift to their loan, which means an investor who puts in $2,000.00 would actually get  $2100.00 in discount credits.

The sentiment of the dozen people who have already donated upwards to $2,000.00, is they see it as a no risk investment, certainly at much higher levels of return than they can get anywhere else today, and mostly, they see it as an investment in their community.

WOW – THAT’S A MUCH BETTER OFFER THAN I HAVE SEEN FROM ANY BANK!

WELCOME! -  EARTH’S GENERAL STORE – to our directory of Enlightened Orgs.

IF YOU LIVE AND SHOP IN THE EDMONTON, ALBERTA AREA, WE HOPE YOU WILL GIVE THIS INNOVATIVE IDEA YOUR SUPPORT. TELL A FRIEND!

Sustainable business will emerge through creativity, innovation and inspiration. This economy is the best possible stimulus to get us thinking and being more creative than we ever dreamed possible.

Does Michael’s idea trigger any others that might make your business more viable and sustainable? If so, let us know!

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG

Organizational Behaviour Consultant
author: Imagine Your Soul Abundant: Attracting Success, Fulfillment and True Happiness
more about: www.soulabundant.com
Judy’s book can be ordered from her website www.soulabundant.com.  Special prices for bulk orders upon request. Seminars and retreats customized to the needs of your group or organization.

business opportunities: careers: job boards

by David VanAmburg

COMMUNITY MATTERS

Are you looking for a job, rather than building your own business? Or are you looking to solve your hiring problems for your business? There are some wonderful resources available.

I invest some of my time as a member of the Northwest Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board. Last year I donated $100,000 in billable time in creation of a strategic plan draft that was ultimately not used. There is a lot of useful information in that document. If you are interested in reading a copy, email me for access to it.

As a part of its development I looked at how people find jobs in the current marketplace, and how employers advertise and recruit. One of the common tools is the plethora of job posting sites.

JOB POSTING SITES FOR YOU

Here are 130 job boards relevant to job seekers in northwest Pennsylvania. The majority are of use to those looking throughout the U.S., and some internationally.

It’s unfortunate that there is no one comprehensive site showing all listings.

If you want more information on the job market, whether for employers or employees, leave a comment in our related blog post, and we’ll provide further useful resources and analysis.

WHICH LISTING SERVICE HELPED YOU? ARE ANY A RIP-OFF?

Whether you’re an employer or employee, which of these job boards have you explored? Which were of any value to you? Should any of these sites be removed from our list? Next week we’ll post a simple survey for you to complete and share your experience with others. When we have some results, we’ll let everyone see which job boards receive the highest ratings. Thanks.

FIND THE LISTING FOR YOUR NEXT JOB

Click here to access the 130 job boards.

corporate mindshift: management

OBAMA INAUGURATION

Hope – Optimism

Around the world, there will be no shortage of great commentary today as millions of people gather in Washington, or huddle in front of their television sets, to watch the inauguration of Barak Obama. It will be one of those, “Where were you when…” days.

COLLECTIVE MINDSHIFT

But I want to focus less on the man – and more on the consciousness of the moment.

Watch the crowds – feel their energy – interpret that energy.

This is not about a man, a superhero, able to clean up a serious global mess. This is about a moment in which global collective energy is positive, hopeful and optimistic.

My hope is that we understand the power of that energy – sustain it – focus on what is good – create more of what is good for all of us…believe we can each contribute to making this a just and loving society.

If we will commit to doing that – then, this day will have meaning.

We would like to hear the thoughts and feelings you are having on this historic day. Please leave your comments.

BLESS BLESS
JUDY BERG