The Tecnicolour Report : The Latest Edition

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The Winter Edition

Welcome to our newsletter...in it we have information, articles, events to help you propel your business forward. I am really excited about adopting this new format for my newsletter and hope that you like what it's all about.

The Winter Edition



Welcome to our newsletter...in it we have information, articles, events to help you propel your business forward. I am really excited about adopting this new format for my newsletter and hope that you like what it's all about.



Happy Holidays and my very best wishes to you for a healthy, abundant and joyous New Year...making it great in 2008...that's my motto for the year ahead.


One way to make it great is to volunteer...on December 5th, the world celebrated International Volunteer Day. It's a way to recognize volunteerism. In Toronto, CITY TV staffers were involved with building a house for a family in need through Habitat For Humanity. Recently, I gave up a couple of hours on a Saturday to help prepare a meal for the homeless...my good associate and business woman Gail Hutton takes time out of her business life to spearhead this event that helps the homeless...She feels that in life...you have to have meaning and by volunteering she finds that in helping others.

I know I have been a mentor to a young entrepreneur and am on the board of directors at the place I pray at.



I have helped the homeless, raised funds for the Kids Help Phone, coached individuals, made phone calls, walked the Terry Fox walk a few times...the bottom line is when I volunteer, I get to enrich my own life.


I remember when I was with the Kids Help Phone Foundation. I assisted them for 5 years. I was in the promotional products business and met a ton of contacts through my work with the Kids Help Phone Foundation. I enjoyed doing that more than networking to be honest.

When I volunteer I feel real, a connection, like I am making a contribution and I am networking believe me. Only the networking isn't forced...it's natural...people you volunteer with get to see the "real" you. A you with time pressures, with assigned tasks, with ideas, with a helping hand.

If we are really going to make a shift in the world, it starts with us. Helping eachother...making a difference. 2008 is about community. We're already hearing the phrase "Buy local, shop local". We want to make our communities stronger and volunteering is a good place to start.

Rules of thumb though...get involved with something you're passionate about. Make sure you involve your business associates. My good associate Shawn Shepheard let's us all know about his involvement with Team Diabetes...he is a diabetic and the guy is hero in my books having run 3-4 marathons for that very cause...believe me Shawn let's everyone know about this charity and the work he's up too.

You may also find that going to those monthly networking sessions isn't bringing you much joy...well there is no better place to network then at an association you're lending time and energy too.

As you look ahead to 2008...choose a charity that you want to become actively involved with and volunteer...it makes good business sense. Why you ask?

Well...the networking you can do while you donate your time is one reason. The other is that you can test your skills sets to a new limit and bring that back to the business you run. Lastly, if you promote your involvement with a charity then let your clients know...it really puts you in a different position in the minds of your customers. You are now part of the community. You aren't just taking, you're giving something back.

Companies now are encouraging their staff to volunteer too. It brings forth better comraderie at work, it unites the team, and it helps to retain employees as well.

The facts are there believe me. It fills the soul when you volunteer. Be it your own or the soul of the company you own or work with.

In my religion, (Judaism) there is a standard by which we live. It's known as TIKKUN OLAM (teak oon Olam) and it means to mend the world. To make the world a better place while you were here. I live by that philosophy in my work and in my volunteerism. It's a good feeling too...seeing a project get completed.

In the new year, commit to volunteering and watch your sales and business improve vastly.




David Cohen



It's a jammed pack newsletter this month...as we are featuring two articles...the second is courtesy my good friend and associate Peter Miller...I think you'll like reading it.


There is a solution to everything!
By Peter Miller
Essential Communications
905-668-4141


Two years ago this May, driving through northern Portugal with another couple we encountered a dilemma which was about to ruin a good portion of our vacation. That morning we had left a lovely posada (historic resort) along the banks of the Douro River and had traveled winding mountainous roads with many stops for breathtaking views and small villages to reach our destination of Guimares. Arriving, I noticed the red knapsack, containing all our passports, prepaid hotel vouchers and airline tickets was missing. Upon reflection I could only hope I had left it at the checkout. To say I was unpopular was an understatement. We proceeded to tell the clerk at our new destination our story, register and attempt to figure out our next steps. However it got worse, we were told we were a day early. More trouble. The manager appeared, reached out his hand, welcomed us and simply stated “not to worry there is a solution to everything”. Sure enough he methodically worked his way through our situation first verifying that the knapsack was actually where we thought it was, then looked at alternatives for us to be reunited with the knapsack. He found that one of the staff from the previous posada actually lived reasonably close to where we were and arrangements were made for him to bring it when he came off shift. Everything else was resolved and we celebrated our good fortune - a few euros later. I will always remember the outstanding customer service provided by the manager but more his philosophy that there is a solution to everything. I use that in my life now and while it may seem intuitive, actually thinking that way has made a difference. So as life's day to day challenges hit you in the face, I think you'll find, as I do, that if you think that there is a solution - you too will find one.

If you service your clients with that philosophy your business can not help but flourish.



Happy Holidays!!!

EVENTS:

This is one event I just love...it's a time where you can come together in prayer and meditation with all of mankind...and pray for peace, for abundance...for health, for the planet, for eachoter.

Plan to attend on the morning of December 31st...

It's the...

22nd
World Healing Event



Join the millions worldwide in the 22nd
World Peace Prayer/Meditation

Monday, December 31, 2007
6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
(Noon G.M.T.)

In Toronto the festivities are held at

St. Lawrence Hall
157 King Street East
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Southwest corner of King and Jarvis Streets)

For more info...log onto...

http://www.peace-the-21st.org/dec31/


The DSHBA has there next networking event on January 2nd...log ont www.dhsba.com to find out more about Durhams choice for networking

Also Small Biz Home Biz United starts up too in January with some networking events too...very friendly, relaxed and cozy...log onto www.smallbizhomebizunited.com

The Business Advisory Centre Durham is putting calls out to young people who want to start a business this summer. The Summer Company Program is taking applications for the 2008 program. If you are 18-29...and going back to school next year...then Summer Company may be the program for you. Log onto www.bacd.ca

Wanna start a business? Essential Communications in Whitby is taking applications for the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Program...if you are on E.I. or have been in the past 3 years and have a viable business idea, then the OSEB program might be the one for you. You get 8 weeks of business training, a completed business plan and also...income support and coaching for your first 48 weeks in business. Call Essentials at 905-668-4141 or log onto www.essentialcommunications.ca



Saturday, October 27, 2007

We're not kinder and gentler these days it seems


Is it me, or are you noticing the same thing in the business world these days?

Lately, I am finding people I am doing business with to be really kind of funky. The networking group leader I used to network with is out of contact with me. The paralegal person I hired to do some work for me, never calls me. My own financial agent, never checks in to see how I am doing. Prospects you call, and finally get to speak with don't return future calls. It's all kind of mind blowing sort of isn't it. A former VA just dropped my like a hot potato...without warning and checking to see if all was okay before she did that.


Now I don't want to come across like I am complaining, but wait a minute yes I am. I am complaining. What happened to common decency, courteous service, a friendly phone call once in a while, a word of encouragment even if the answer is "no". Especially from those in larger companies, when as a small business person your livelihood sometimes depends on your success with the bigger organizations. Just a phone call to say no...or to at least let me know where I stand, so we don't waste our time calling, emailing and embarassing ourselves. Let us small business owners have some dignity.

Where did that all go too?
What about what Aretha Franklin once sang, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T! A little respect would be nice huh?

Are we just too busy to do that? Or are we too wrapped up in our own world of concerns and priorities?

You know this week on the radio show our guest is a wonderful guy named Jack Mitchell. He's the author of "Hug your customer". He runs 3 clothing stores in Connecticut and he runs them based on the philosophy of hugging your customer. Treating people so well that it feels like a warm hug to them.

When was the last time you got that kind of service? A thank you card from a supplier, a kind word, a lead, a helping hand...it just doesn't happen so much anymore.

I think it's time to offer good service again. I think it's time to make people our priority. To nurture relationships instead of the dollar.

Want other examples of these kind of people? Go to Jeff at Durham Volvo, he'll lend you a car to test drive for a day or two? When was the last time someone trusted you like that?
Or go to Ceragem in Ajax off of Harwood...in the plaza, next to Pharma Plus. Leanne and Sil...ensure that you get a free massage, testing their massage beds. Free! No you don't have to buy. You can as often as you want and it's free. But it works...the company philosophy is based on Love, kindness, health...really amazing business principles huh?
What about the free massage thing though, you ask? Well...eventually you'll buy the massage bed or belt...but there is no pressure to do so and you are welcome in anytime. Maybe one time you'll tell someone who will buy Ceragem's products.
Love, health, kindness, trust, respect. Durham Volvo and Ceragem are leading the way.
Now I am not suggesting you give your car away to some guy that walks in off the street, but what about incorporating random acts of kindness in your business? It goes a long way believe me.

Here are some things you can do to encourage that you beef up your service level this fall...

1) Be of gratitude no matter what. Sometimes the people that cause us the most grief in our lives teach us the most important thing about ourselves. From a customer service point of view, thank your tough customers, or send a basket, send a card now and then for one of your clients who may be in pain with a life issue. Do something to pick the other person up.

2) Return all calls...even if it's no...From someone who sells and has a business I gotta tell you those who buy from us, it's frustrating as heck when you don't return calls. For gosh sakes have some courtesy and return a call...What is 1 minute out of your day to acknowledge a call, thank them for the offer and then politely say, "no just not now"?

From someone who sells something, I know if I didn't call a client or prospect I would lose the business...so for gosh sakes return all calls. You know, you never know when you might have to rely on that vendor again or when the tables will be reversed one day and it's you calling someone who doesn't reply back to you.

3) Connect with your clients once a year to review where they're at and where they want to go. In other words do a "Needs analysis" once a year.

4) Have some fun with your clients. A few years ago I booked tickets to see the Royal Canadian Air Farce at the holiday time. It was the "New Years" show too...so it was an even better show. I took my radio advertising clients and they got a chance to connect and meet one another. It was fun, interactive and free...not bad huh?

5) If you mess up...do something about it. I messed up with a client this year...yes...maybe more than I care to imagine perhaps...but on this occasion I messed up. I asked them if as a way to help the problem if I could make good on the error and also donate in their name something to their favourite charity. They loved the idea and so did the Sick Kids Hospital.

6) Be kind first. Gosh...it's such an insane world these days it seems. Wouldn't a little kindness to others go a long way? It's funny, I was walking the Nature Trail in Ajax on Sunday October 21st after my show was done. It was a gorgeous day out that day if you remember. Temperatures in the early 20's ...and as I walked the trail I was so delighted that about 80% of those I saw along the trail that morning...said hello and good morning...WOW...did that blow me away. Do that in Toronto and they think you escaped from the psych ward.

7) Give back to community. You know...we all have challenges these days, money, health, an aging parent, our kids, the environment. Take time out to give back to the community. As bad as we think we have it...there is always someone who has it worse than you...so give back a little. Donate food at Christmas, lend a hand to the Out of the Cold Program...help out at the Kids Help Phone, walk for a disease or volunteer to help a fundraising walk.

8) Slow down for 10 minutes a day. For gosh sakes. The world will go on without you, your job is safe, I mean if it's really that stressful of a job you do, ask yourself, "Who on earth would want it anyway"? You might be more unreplaceable than you think!

So slow down for 10 minutes, breathe, meditate, do some yoga...but take a break from it all.

You know with the end of the year coming soon, can we all resolve to be a little nicer to those in our lives. You can all learn from them, even though at first it doesn't appear that way and who knows what value and richness they can bring to your life.

Have an awesome month and a happy holiday season. Be good to one another and be safe!


Best Regards/David Cohen



EVENTS!


Who's going where? What's going on? Let me check my daytimer...and all that kind of thing...I love an event...


1. Bridges to better business...Small Business conferences and learning opportunities...one on the 1st of November in Vaughan and the other on the 6th in Newmarket...log onto http://www.york.ca/_Contact+Us.asp to get more information on these events...


2. TBDC is hosting the annual Holiday Show case featuring loads of holiday buying ideas from new business start-ups, crafts, jewellery, clothing and more on December 1st at 9 am. Located at 1071 King St. W. Toronto or log onto http://www.tbdc.com/


3. The DHSBA has monthly networking events...plus an upcoming trade show...log onto http://www.dhsba.com/ to learn more...


4. Brilliant will soon be online...a magazine for entrepreneurial women is set to go...log onto http://www.brilliantonline.ca/ to learn more!


5. If you're entrepreneurial, have been collecting E.I. within the past few years...(3) you qualify for the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Program through Essential Communications in Whitby. If you live in Durham, then you want to apply for the OSEB program now for the next round of orientation sessions. Call 905-668-4141 for more info.


6. If you live in Toronto and want to apply for the OSEB program, log onto http://www.tbdc.com/ to do so.


7. The E-Circles, it's a very creative way to learn, grow, overcome challenges and develop your business. Each session is facilitated and after the learning, we will mastermind. Costs are $119.00 per month and our first session is on November 1st at Isabella's cafe on Simcoe St. in Oshawa.

Monday, October 8, 2007

The Technicolour Report

Welcome to our newsletter...in it we have information, articles, events to help you propel your business forward. I am really excited about adopting this new format for my newsletter and hope that you like what it's all about.

Hang tight, a new article will be published soon.

I am really jazzed up about blogging with you...and posting the Technicolour Report...on a more regular basis.

I would love your feedback and comments too.

Best Regards/David Cohen
Coaching, learning and radio

Technicolour Report

Welcome to our newsletter...in it we have information, articles, events to help you propel your business forward. I am really excited about adopting this new format for my newsletter and hope that you like what it's all about.

Here is our latest article:



Maintaining balance in a seemingly unbalanced world

"Hey David, it's summer still ease up on the the topic matter man...why so heavy"? I can totally relate to what you're saying about my choice of topics. It is kind of deep considering it's summer time still. I know , I know, you're thinking..."Hey we're busy getting the kids back to school and labour day is upon us and you want to soak up every last moment of the summer break "...Yet, technically this time of year signifies the ending of summer...and it's a good time, time to contemplate the meaning of life, don't you think? Some personal development workshops you attend suggest life is meaningless and empty.

That isn't a bad thing ok...I mean life is what you make it and that is what is behind the idea that life is meaningless and empty. Viktor Frankl while interned in sub-human conditions in a Nazi concentration camp...found meaning through meditating. He would overcome these horrendous and barbaric conditions by holding a mental image of him speaking to a group of International Psychiatrists at a special dinner event.

Sure enough that mental image that Viktor Frankl meditated on came true. This isn't to say he didn't endure the hardships that Jews and others of different ethnic backgrounds went through as well, but what kept Viktor Frankl going was his dream, his goal, his vision. What's yours? What is the vision you want to see realized in your life as we move into the fall season and back into action after taking it easier during the summer months? You see Viktor Frankl is a master of meaning. After he was released from the Nazi Concentration Camp he went onto study Psychiatry at the University of Vienna and developed the concept of logotherapy. The following list of tenets represents Frankl's basic beliefs regarding the philosophy of Logotherapy:

Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones. · Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life. · We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering. A short introduction to this system is given in Frankl's most famous book, "Man's Search for Meaning", in which he outlines another important conclusion of logotherapy, Frankl states in his book:


"If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life - an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the SS were unable to destroy. Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival."

Man in Search of Meaning, p. 123



These theories helped him to survive his Holocaust experience and how that experience further developed and reinforced his theories. The human spirit is referred to in several of the assumptions of Logotherapy, but it should be noted that the use of the term spirit is not "spiritual" or "religious." In Frankl's view, the spirit is the will of the human being. The emphasis, therefore, is on the search for meaning, not the search for God or any other supernatural being. Frankl also noted the barriers to humanity's quest for meaning in life.

He warns against "...affluence, hedonism, [and] materialism..." in the search for meaning.

What's your will wanting? What's so deep inside you that you really want to realize it, something so deeply profound and life fulfilling that it inspires you into massive action? What's holding you back is maybe a better question to ask don't you think? Who can you call on to hold you accountable to realizing this one big goal you have inside you?

You see Viktor Frankl isn't the only one talking about meaning. Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King all lived with such strong conviction and purpose that nothing else mattered. Martin Luther King was a brilliant orator and his landmark speech entitled "I have a dream" shaped and molded a Black community that at the time were still treated horribly almost still as slaves in the United States. Martin Luther King was a man of peace and and non violence, so much so that in 1964 he became the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

As a British-educated lawyer, Gandhi first employed his ideas of peaceful civil disobedience in the Indian community's struggle for civil rights in South Africa. Upon his return to India, he organized poor farmers and labourers to protest against oppressive taxation and widespread discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for the alleviation of poverty, for the liberation of women, for brotherhood amongst differing religions and ethnicities, for an end to untouchability and caste discrimination, and for the economic self-sufficiency of the nation, but above all for Swaraj - the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led Indians in the disobedience of the salt tax on the 400 kilometer (248 miles) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and in an open call for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years on numerous occasions in both South Africa and India. Simplicity, truth, non-violence, leading without fear of what might happen to him. That was Gandhi's purpose, passion and meaning.

I challenge you to look inwards this fall and really commit to leading a life you were meant to lead. I don't know about you but all summer I have been feeling this edge come about me. I am wanting change, truth, meaning in my life and a connectedness with what's real.If you want to connect to what's real, I go back to things I value. It may sound silly but here goes...but my values focus mostly on peace and freedom. I value, peace, good conversation, freedom, family, good friends, the joy that attending an outdoor jazz concert brings, a day at the baseball game, abundance, financial freedom, balance in life, god (in whatever way that shows up for you), community and success on your terms. What's your value list about? What meaning do you want your life to have?

What is your legacy going to be about this fall?