Posted: November 6th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
My friends Nick and Judi Hughes of Your Planning Partners posted this on their blog on October 27th. I think It’s a great story!
Ed Mirvish was 15 when his father died. As a result, he had to drop out of high school to run the not very successful store his father had opened in Toronto. He struggled to keep it afloat for 9 years before conceding defeat. But this inauspicious start to Ed’s business career was not indicative of what was to follow.
Ed and his wife Anne then opened their first venture together, a dress shop. It was perfect timing because the war had started and Toronto was filling up with young single women who had flocked to the city to take up the thousands of factory jobs opened up by the war; and they had money! When the war ended and the single young women went home or got married they decided to change their shop into a discount dry goods store. And opportunity knocked again.
His landlord died and Ed jumped at the opportunity to buy the building. Over the next few years he took over the adjoining properties until his store occupied the entire block from Bathurst to Markham Street. Honest Ed’s, the new and greatly enlarged discount store opened in 1958 and Toronto was never the same again. It is garish and fun with 20,000 blinking lights and self mocking funny signs covering its exterior. If you live in the Toronto area and have not yet visited Honest Ed’s; go now. If you are visiting Toronto; go now!
I think Ed must have bored easily because by the 1960’s he was looking for new challenges. He heard the Royal Alex theatre was up for sale. At that time the theatre, built in 1907, was in an awful state of disrepair and was located in a run down area populated by ugly warehouses. In fact the theatre was to be torn down, which was a common reaction to old buildings in the 1960’s.
Knowing nothing about the theatre business Ed bought the Royal Alex for $200,000 and proceeded to spend an additional $400,000 to renovate and restore it. A huge amount of money in those days! For Toronto, his effort and investment was well worth it. It is a beautiful and graceful theatre that is another “must see” if you haven’t been inside. And it is successful!
But when the newly renovated theatre reopened Ed realized there was nowhere nearby for theatre goers to have dinner. So he bought the ugly warehouses and opened his first restaurant; Ed’s Warehouse. Its menu was simple; roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, peas and mash potatoes; that’s it! Nothing more! But it too was a huge success. And so he went on to open other restaurants in the ugly warehouses; Ed’s Chinese, Ed’s Italian, Ed’s Follies, Ed’s Seafood. They are all gone now but the area is awash with a large variety of excellent restaurants; all thanks to Ed paving the way for these others to follow.
Ed had never been to a theatre in London England. In fact he had never been to London. And yet when he heard the Old Vic, an old prestigious London theatre, was up for sale he bought it and again spent a fortune renovating and restoring. For his efforts at reviving this historic London theatre the Queen rewarded him with a CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He thought it meant Creating Bargains Everywhere.
In the 1980’s huge blockbuster plays became popular. One of them was Miss Saigon, which Ed wanted to bring to Toronto. There wasn’t a theatre in Toronto large enough to hold the play so he built one. The Princess Diana Theatre opened in 1993 to great acclaim and has continued to hold successful plays ever since. Located just a stones throw from the Royal Alex it completed the renewal of the area into today’s well known theatre district.
Why was Ed Mirvish so successful? He certainly didn’t follow the normal business rules of staying focused on one thing. He was all over the map; discount stores to theatres to restaurants. But wait; I do see a focus here. He brought entertainment to the public. Honest Ed’s may be a discount store; but it is very entertaining. And his restaurants were entertaining; full of glitz and glamour and flamboyant antiques. And of course the theatres provided entertainment. So he was focused! I also think he was successful because he just loved doing what he was doing; challenging himself with high risk ventures and loving every minute of it.
He was a very liked and trusted man by friends, family, business associates and employees. Even those of us who never met him had great respect for him and for what he was doing to our city. When he died in 2007 at the age of 92 Toronto lost a little something special. Richard Ouzounian wrote in the Toronto Star: “He may have begun by showing us where to find a bargain, but he wound up by giving us much that was priceless.”
Posted: November 1st, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
If you’ve worked with me you are aware that I am a huge proponent of market research. Not a focus group, not a telephone survey at dinner time, but the kind of market research where you have a chat with your client or customer and find out what they like, what can be improved and what they need that’s not being fulfilled. This has been gold for my clients and they are seeing significant growth in their bottom line as a result.
As you know, I make a big effort to walk my talk so I do my own market research on an ongoing basis. My last round was this summer and I got 3 major insights:
Insight #1: The need for ongoing support
My clients expressed that they wanted ongoing support and insights from me. Not only did they want help implementing their brand, but they wanted help with their revenue model and marketing. They wanted to make sure they were profitable and had strong cash flow. They pointed out that I was already doing this kind of work with them.
Insight #2: The need for learning from a reliable source
The second insight I got was their need to lean about things like LinkedIn and PR for a small business. They felt overwhelmed with promotions on this stuff and wanted a reliable source to get information from.
Insight #3: Keeping a positive mindset
The last thing that came through in my own market research was the idea that clients really liked and needed the “mindset” support. Lets face it, it’s not easy to be an entrepreneur!
The result: Your Revenue Ramp Up
So I took my learnings and put it all together into a new program that I recently launched, Your Revenue Ramp Up. Clients get 2 private coaching calls each month and 2 group calls each month. The Group calls alternate between topics like LinkedIn and positive mindset techniques. (my last call on LinkedIn rocked).
So guess what, it’s being well received and do you know why? Because they asked for it. So the moral of the story is…it pays to do market research. I can’t tell you how many clients I talk to that don’t. They have tons of ideas and offers but don’t take the time to get client or customer input. So do your market research! It will pay off big time.
(And if you’d like my help…Join the Revenue Ramp Up program)
Posted: October 26th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
About 5 years ago, I was introduced to the idea of putting a rubber band on my wrist and pulling at it every time I had a negative thought. Well you can imagine what happened the first few days. I had a very sore wrist. It was non stop all day. In fact I noticed that there were very few positive thoughts in there. Wow. It’s was pretty enlightening exercise and I started to do some research into this.
I learned that thoughts create feelings and feelings can create more of the same feeling which perpetuates your reality. For example at the time I was experiencing a lot of negative thinking that was leading to the feeling of anxiety. I was in a long distance relationship and my partner was pressuring me to move across the country (not too anxiety provoking). So I was in a constant state of anxiety and I was perpetuating it.
Long story short, I learned that If I wanted to turn things around I had to change my thinking. Not an easy task but I went on a quest to do this. I discovered Louise Hay’s work and for every negative thought I began to turn it into the reverse positive thought. It was pretty forced at first but It definitely helped. I was on a mission to turn this around. I studied, took courses and read books. I took the Hoffman Process in 2009 where I cleared out a lot of old patterns form childhood that were not useful to me.
There are many things you can do but it has to be a conscious effort. I turned things around big time! I have mostly positive thoughts going through my brain now and the days when I’m having the negative thoughts, they go by like a movie reel. I don’t give them much energy or attention (ok some days I still do, nobody’s perfect).
Overall I’m light years ahead of where I was. I’m in a happy place most of the time and attracting wonderful things into my life. It’s a work in progress but definitely worth the effort. And the long distance relationship? I ended it. Too stressful but I am proud to say I’m in a wonderful relationship now with a guy who lives 7 kilometers away from me!
Posted: October 15th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
Last week I did a group call for my clients where I interviewed Judi Bechard. Judi has created a program called “The Clearing Experience” which focuses on removing blocks that keep you stuck in business, relationships or health issues.
The focus of the call was “Clear Business”. Prior to the call, I did a “Clear Business” session with Judi and we talked a lot about expending energy. She gave me the homework of reviewing my revenues from the last year and looking at where I spent my greatest energy and got my greatest return. I created an excel spreadsheet and looked at each client from an energy perspective:
How I got the client
Cost of the sale (money and hours spent)
What I billed them
How much I enjoyed the work
Did I get repeat business
This is a VERY interesting exercise. I very quickly realized that the majority of my clients came through a referral or through a speaking engagement. The cost of the sale was zero and the length of time I put into getting those clients was about 4-6 hours. I enjoyed the work and the people, got repeat business and the billings were great. Then there was another group of clients where I spent a substantial amount of money on marketing, put in about 100 hours of effort and earned nominal revenue. Get the picture? It doesn’t seem like rocket science but it took going through this exercise to make me realize that I was expending significant money and energy in the wrong direction.
Give this one a try and see where you net out. I’d love to hear about it!
If you’d like the recording of the call with Judi, I’d be happy to send it to you.
Posted: August 21st, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | 2 Comments » |
When I gave myself the Twitter name “clarity girl” 3 years ago I didn’t realize the impact it would have on my life. In the last 3 years I have really stepped into that role and become “clarity girl.” I am amazing at giving people clarity…about all aspects of their business and personal life.
Giving clarity is my true joy and passion and I happen to have a fascination with business. I feel blessed to have this talent that I can share with the world. Clarity for myself…well that’s not as easy. Last month I spent an afternoon in Pebble Beach California at the home of my business coach Jane Deuber. I was feeling like things were moving quickly but unclear on where they were going. Jane started the session by asking me to tell her about the recent projects I’ve been working on. After about 10 minutes of my talking, she stopped me and said, “hold on a second…are you telling me that you are helping your clients with their revenue models, marketing plans and business development process…this goes way beyond branding”. This is business consulting! She gave me the homework of getting my head around what this meant for me. After digesting this for a day or so I knew that she was right but I felt that there were still a few missing pieces.
Nepenthe Restaurant, Big Sur California
Two days later Jerry (my sweetheart) and I went to an amazing restaurant called Nepenthe in Big Sur (check out the photo). You sit at a bar overlooking cliffs and the ocean. Jerry was sitting to my right and I noticed a woman on the other side of him who was journaling away. There was something intriguing about her – I had to meet her. Jerry went to the washroom and I started up a conversation. I asked what she was doing and she said she’s a blogger. As we got deeper into the conversation it turned out that her blog www.expectwonderful.com is a base camp for awakening humans dedicated to expanding human potential and creating a new earth. Just up my alley! By the time Jerry came back from the washroom, Meredith Murphy and I had begun a friendship.
I knew I had to connect further with her besides loving the name of her blog, she was telling me all about her business model and some of the interesting things she’s doing. I sent her an email when I got home and we had a call last week. When we got on the phone she asked how she could help me and I said that I didn’t know – all I knew was that I needed to speak to her. She told me that she went to my website felt that there was a lot missing. She felt that I was about a lot more than branding and there was a whole aspect to my business that was not coming through.
Meredith talked about the new paradigm in business based on authenticity and sustainability and she knew that I was all about this but my site and my photo seemed too corporate and conventional. She loved “clarity girl” and suggested that I do more with this. When I hung up the phone, I was totally inspired and knew that this direction felt right! They say that when the student is ready, the teacher appears – so thank you to Jane and Meredith – some clarity for me. What’s next? A new photo, a new website – communicating this better to you all, stepping confidently into it and expecting wonderful…stay tuned.
love and light Rhonda
Posted: July 12th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
Everyone liked my “coming clean” post a few weeks ago so I’ll tell you more about what has gone on for me the past month. I just finished the last module of my virtual course. I created 6 online learning modules where I take users through the 6 steps to building a strong brand. It’s a combination of video, audio and fill-in-the blank handouts. I am extremely proud of what I’ve created. The people who have participated in my test pilot are giving great feedback and finding it highly beneficial which is what its all about for me.
So now I’ll tell you about what was going on behind the scenes. 6 learning modules doesn’t seem like a major undertaking does it? Wrong!
Each module took over a week to prepare (when you have my kind of high standards). I was determined to deliver great value. So in addition to writing the content, creating a keynote presentation around it, recording audio to the keynote and turning it into an MP4 movie that I could send to California to post on the site…I created a handout for each module, a welcome message, an additional reading and resource list as welling as writing 3 bonus articles: market research made simple, naming your business and how to hire a graphic designer. I delivered the course live for 7 weeks – 2 live calls a week to discuss the content and answer questions. I interviewed some amazing people who I’ve worked with over the years – delivering a ton of great ideas and information to help the small business owner or less experienced marketer build their brand. I’m exhausted just writing this!
Also happening in the background my mothers closest friend since grade 10 who has been ill for 4 years began to decline rapidly. This was not only my mothers closest friend but a dear friend to my family. The matriarch of a family that I grew up with, that I slept at their house every weekend growing up, that we went on trips with every summer, that we still do fireworks with on the Victoria day weekend – an extension of my own family. A person that I really loved.
My talent of clarity is a double-edged sword. I am so highly tuned to others that I can quickly and instantly figure out how to help them. I am also so highly tuned to others that when they are in pain I feel it. Hence pain! Big time – while trying to complete this course that I’ve committed the last year of my life to. Some days sitting down at my computer and trying to produce something was torture other days it came easy – and all the while waiting for that dreaded phone call. In many ways being on this mission of my course helped me – being able to focus and help others – the live coaching was fun and gave me a great distraction. I discovered that when I do live coaching – I’m in my passion and the ideas just pour out of me.
The call came a week ago. I was in the middle of module 6 and I had to stop, go to a funeral etc. I wrote to my students to tell them what happened and of course everyone was compassionate and understanding. Yesterday I completed module 6. A few days late but content that I feel proud of.
There were some big learnings from the last month and the last year for that matter. Those who say “I think I’ll create an online course” should be prepared. Don’t give up no matter what. Stay true to your passion – even in the toughest times being passionate about your work makes life easier. Be honest and real with your clients – we’re all human and going through the same things. Be kind to yourself – it will never be perfect but it can be really amazing. Get lots of sleep and when there’s chaos going on around you remember to keep breathing!
Posted: June 9th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | 1 Comment » |
Hello everyone. Sorry I haven’t written in a while. I’ve been all consumed with the launch of my virtual course. I appreciate all your wonderful feedback on my blog and I enjoy sharing my personal stories with you. Here’s another good one.
How often do you hear me on a rant that one of the most important things about building a brand is delivering on your promise? Three weeks ago I launched my virtual course. I hired a customer service person who was highly recommended to do a number of things such as welcome phone calls to the participants, manage the Webinars, etc.
You know how important it is for me to deliver a very high standard product (I’ve discovered that I’m a bit of a perfectionist). The day of the course launch, I found out that many of the participants had not been contacted and they didn’t have the correct call-in information. The first Webinar went great and the idea was that it would be recorded and posted to a website where people who missed it could watch at their leisure. The Webinar wasn’t recorded properly. There were tech problems and the list of other things that went wrong goes on.
Have you ever woken up at 5 am in a panic? Sweating, mind racing, etc. That was me on Monday morning. The list of things that went wrong was playing through my mind like a bad movie. Then I added in some self criticism “How can I rant on about delivering on the promise and have these screw ups, I’m going to lose my credibility, etc.” I’m sure it all sounds familiar to you.
I decided to take the bull by the horns and take action. First thing on the agenda was to dismiss that customer service person as 9 out of the 10 things that went wrong were related to her. Then I restructured the format of the course and eliminated the Webinar and the technology problems that went with it.
Then I came clean. I sent out a note to all of my students explaining what went wrong and how I am correcting it. I apologized for any inconvenience and took full ownership for the foul ups. I was transparent about it and as a result receive thanks, appreciation, and understanding. I wonder why we humans think we need to be perfect all the time. Why is there so much shame and fear in admitting we screwed up?
So there’s the lesson in all of this my friends. Shit happens – we don’t have to be perfect and the more transparent we are…the better! By the way…my course is even better now as a result of all the problems. It rocks!
Posted: April 12th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
It takes 9 months to give birth in the conventional sense (been there done that). Last week, I gave birth in the non-conventional sense. My book know your difference™ was delivered. It has been a labor of love since late 2008 when a number of friends who were hit by the recession asked me to help them figure out their difference.
I started working with people in my living room and creating worksheets with exercises that would force people to think about themselves and their business in a different way. It forced them to get clarity. It was not me telling them something but me pulling it out of them. The exercise worked and I could see people’s faces light up as they got clarity and that gave me great joy. One of the people I was working with suggested I take these worksheets and put them into a book and that’s how it started.
I worked on it in every minute of my free time – I ate drank and slept this book. I realized that books are never really finished because every time you look at it you think of something new to add. I worked on it on the dock at the cottage, at coffee shops and everywhere I went, it came with me. At one point I was even sleeping with it! I have to admit there were days when I looked at it and thought “what am I doing and who’s going to want to look at this stupid book.” Those days passed and fortunately I had a lot of cheerleaders – a must have!
When I finally got the book to the point where it was starting to look like something, I asked my friend Maxine to find out from her friend Arielle Ford, famed publicist for authors “what do you do with a book?” Arielle suggested a free teleclass that she was putting on that week where she would be interviewing some people in the publishing industry.
My mom and I listened intently on the call and at the end they said “were looking for 25 new ideas and if you have a great idea send us your idea tomorrow” My mom (who is my number one fan) looked at me and said “go for it” so I did. I sent in my idea and an hour later got a call from the publisher saying “we want to talk.”
The rest as they say is history. I suppose I should say a bit about the book itself. It’s a workbook that takes you through the steps to getting clarity on your uniqueness. I have also shared the wealth of information and knowledge I have gained from my 20 years working on global brands, my background as a graphic designer and the personal journey I took in my life that lead me to the place of being able to publish a book. If you want check it out the link is
http://www.knowyourdifferencebook.com
P.S. Thank you to all my wonderful friends and my family who participated in the cheerleading!
Posted: March 29th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
Yesterday I woke up with a terrible cough. I mean really bad. You know the kind where you’re hacking away and can’t stop and then your ribs and muscles start to hurt. Yes that kind. I was scheduled for a call with a client at 10. I was planning to take my son out for lunch to Cantine to see Jane Roos’s new installation. Then I was planning to spend the afternoon working on a naming project. I was also scheduled for a call with the person who is helping me with my marketing and then my beloved Yoga in the evening! All out the window!
Amazing how quickly plans can change. I thought maybe some fresh air would help but it was minus 7 outside so I didn’t try that. Then I thought about steam. Steam worked so I spent the entire morning in the bathroom with the shower on until I ran out of hot water. I had a naturopath appointment at 2:30 and was trying to do what ever I could to hang in until then. I’m a natural girl but I finally succumbed and took Buckley’s. Hey you gotta do what you gotta do. (It does taste terrible like the ad says and btw, they’ve done an excellent job in differentiating their product) So the day went on. My naturopath put me on a bunch of stuff and said to take the Buckley’s as needed. I tried to sleep, I tried to work, I tried to watch TV. I couldn’t get comfortable. Finally the stuff I was taking started to kick in and I was able to relax a bit.
At night, I took a hot bath with Epsom salts to help with the muscle pain from the coughing. As I was getting into bed I was thinking what a terrible day it was. Then I stopped myself. I took a look at all the inspirational books and things in my bedroom and said to myself “I’m going to find gratitude in this day.” After sitting for a few minutes, I thought of 15 things that I was grateful for…starting with the fact that my 19 year old son went to the drug store and got me the Buckley’s, then drove me to the doctor waited for me and drove me home, then cooked dinner for me…the fact that my naturopath was able to squeeze me in and put me on the right protocols to help me get well quickly, the fact that my wonderful boyfriend made me home made chicken soup and brought it over, the fact that the Buckley’s worked for me and calmed down the coughing, the fact that it was a sunny day…the fact that the steam helped, the fact that I have a nice warm bed and a comfy home…see where I’m going with this? I went to bed happy last night and feeling grateful for all of these wonderful things and guess what…I felt much better today.
As part of my branding program, I ask people focus on what’s working in their businesses. So often we tend to focus on the things that are going wrong. I decided last night that every night before I go to bed I’m going to make a list of all that I’m grateful for that day…no matter what!
Posted: March 7th, 2011 by Rhonda Page under: General | No Comments » |
By Dr. Sandra Folk, Founder and Director, The Language Lab
How is that some people are so easily able to stand in front of a group of people and hold their attention while speaking? This question about presentation delivery skills made me think of my sister, a lawyer, and a prosecutor no less. I was curious to know what she thinks is most important when she addresses the court, so I decided to give her a call. Without hesitation she said, “Start with a strong argument!”
Conventional wisdom has it that presentations and speeches should start with a personal anecdote, but I wouldn’t dare dispute my sister’s point of view. (Since we all know who would win that argument!) Besides, she works with a very specific kind of presentation, just as politicians or government leaders do. Even so, her point is well taken – a strong argument and the ability to be persuasive will help you with any form of public speaking.
The reason presentation delivery skills came to mind is in part due to my recent Language Lab blog post, Public Speaking: It’s Really About Writing. In that post I emphasized the importance of writing when it comes to preparing for presentations. But I didn’t want to leave you thinking that great presentations were only about the writing. As you’re well aware, there’s more. Knowing how to hold people’s attention and the tricks that help get you through any nervous sweaty moments you may have when facing a crowd is another important skill set.
The following Language Lab tips will help to develop that skill set and will ensure your presentations aren’t dull:
Fake It Till You Make It:
Even if you’re not feeling confident, act as though you are. Your body language communicates more than you realize – slumping or fidgeting with notes conveys uncertainty or anxiety. Make eye contact with the audience. Scan the group from east to west and north to south– before you even begin to speak. Otherwise, you’re certain to appear rushed and nervous.
Get Personal:
Personalize your communication so that your audience sees you as an individual, a human being with a point of view. We all respond to individuals who seem to speak directly to us as people. Few of us enjoy being bombarded with reams of information and facts.
Aim For The Target:
Be sure to ask yourself “Who is my audience?” Aim your content at that target. There’s no point speaking as though you’re addressing a jury when in actual fact you’re talking to, say, a group of computer-phobic employees about improving their computer literacy skills.
KISS:
Keep It Simple Stupid is admittedly a little rude, but it makes the point – avoid over complicating your presentation with elaborate, obscure language or sentences. Use clear, short sentences, the best way to get your points across. And it goes without saying (or it should!), know your material well.
Wax Enthusiastic:
Be animated and enthusiastic – there is nothing worse for an audience than having to listen to a monotone, or to be dragged down by a presenter’s lack of energy. I’m sure, like all of us, you’ve suffered through classes where the teacher literally put someone to sleep. That’s not the kind of presenter you want to be!
Crack A Smile, If Not A Joke:
Humor can be a great element of a successful presentation. But you have to be comfortable with making a joke or you’ll fall flatter than the rug on the floor. (Speaking of jokes that aren’t that funny.) So if you do decide to inject humor into your presentation, be sure it’s humor your audience will understand; humor that won’t offend. And if you aren’t comfortable joking, at least manage the occasional smile!
The above tips are just a few ways you can improve your presentation delivery skills, and avoid boring your audience. But, if you’re just starting out, you may want to get some formal help from the tried and true in the public speaking business:Toastmasters.
Even if you have a lot of experience, it never hurts to brush up your presentation skills or to learn new techniques. When I first had to speak a lot in front of audiences, I went to Toastmasters for the basics. Not long ago I returned for a public speaking checkup. Although I’m not ready for the courtroom, I’m confident that my audience won’t be nodding off while I’m doing my next presentation.
What are your best tips for presentations?
Dr. Sandra Folk is founder of the Language Lab, an organization specializing in improving the oral and written communication skills of business executives and employees worldwide. Sandra understands how poor communication skills can damage an organization’s reputation or diminish a person’s professional image. She ensures that Language Lab courses improve the presentation and written communication skills of both ESL and native English speakers. You can reach Sandra atinfo@thelanguagelab.ca. You can also follow the Language Lab on Facebook and Twitter.
rhonda page has been helping brands to know their difference for more than 20 years.
