Being Connected

One of the best things about doing business in Calgary is the way that people do business in Calgary. I don’t know what your experience has been but mine has been truly awesome.

I spent 12 years in ministry and entered into the business realm with fear and trepidation about a year and a half ago. I was unfamiliar with business practices and really green in operational procedures. I had some ideas of how to do some modern marketing based on some experiences that I had and some great results that I had been able to achieve on a few projects. I felt that I could learn what I needed to, hire some experts and see some good things happen. It was not really a planned entrance into the marketplace so it is with great pleasure that I can announce that we are around and doing well at this time. We are beating the odds and seeing growth every month, hiring new employees and making a major impact in the marketplace.

Loyal2U is growing and with the acquisition of the Calgary Business Network we are in a very exciting place indeed. We are showing with the two companies an increase in profits each month and we are quickly establishing a market niche and seeing real results for those who choose to do business with us. This last month we took on beautiful office space in Douglasdale at the Destiny Business Centre. It has got to be some of the top lease property in the city. The whole building is absolutely gorgeous with floor to ceiling hardwood doors, glass and tastefully colored walls. There is a foyer, a marvelous boardroom and a great kitchen. If that is not enough the owner even provides coffee, tea and bottled water for us and our clients (There is space available if you need some 403-809-3146 and the address is 105, 11500 29 Street SE).

On top of all of that one of our clients for Loyal2U Jim Pescott has adorned the walls with his world renowned paintings. Jim is a pointillist who travels to Italy, New York and Toronto regularly. He has been written up in major third party magazines as a Master Pointillist and it is an honor to showcase his work here for personal and corporate viewing.

Things are looking very rosy for Loyal2U and The Calgary Business Network but did we do it all ourselves. It is true that over the last few months we have brought on some exceptional team players. We have a sales team that is absolutely gifted at relationship marketing making the customers interest the highest priority. We have some very competent people working behind the scenes as well getting out the message for ourselves and for our clients online. These are all good. However, our team is much larger than those that make the payroll.

I believe our increasing success has less to do with us and more to do with those that we have connected with. It has to do with people like Jim Messner who was the founder of the Calgary Business Network who took a chance on us when nobody even knew who Loyal2U was. It has to do with Velda Paynter who owns Velda’s Grower Direct and has become a friend and a contributor in many ways. It has to do with many of the business people that I met personally over the last year and people who have sown into my life and the lives of my staff through personal mentorship.  Guys like Pepsi Fortin and Alex Privalov who took a deep interest in the training and mentoring of our sales staff and personal mentors like Kathleen Mailer of Today’s Business Woman Magazine and Doug Tibben who have aided us with advice and service. I could list many more here as there have been dozens that have contributed and I am sure there will be dozens more in this next year.

In business there are many twists and turns. Connections to others that care and that know things that you don’t know are very important. The right connections connect you with more right connections. The right connections refer you. The right connections are easy for you to promote as well.

I recently re-read “The Go-Giver”by Bob Burg. I love that he left the connector until last. The connector was the link in the net that made networking so profitable for everyone else in the story. The connector made everything else possible. I hope to be a great connector when I grow up. How about you?

It is not what you know, but who you know that matters. And it really matters how well you know them and that they know you too. Really know you...

Always Loyal2U,

Kerry George

Addendum 

This is a video on how NOT to network. I had to chuckled at some of methods and catch phrases...

The Right Connection

At Loyal2U we go to a lot of networking events. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. Every week I go to at least one and sometimes three and I have trained the sales team to do the same. We love networking meetings so much that we happily acquired The Calgary Business Network just after Christmas this last year just so we could go to more of them and have a hand in what makes networking so awesome.

Between networking and the social media vortex that we have created online we get a lot of new business from these events. We build relationships with our customers by taking them along and connecting them to their ideal clients. We create relationships with new prospects by meeting them at the events or solidifying relationships that we made online. So having had a little experience in networking I always enjoy hearing a fresh perspective.

Recently I attended a Real Estate networking event. There was beer and food and lots of networking. One of my clients had asked me to come and she was a marvelous hostess introducing me to many of her colleagues and friends with tremendous edification. I was having a delightful time meeting new people and enjoying many conversations.

Earlier in the week an associate of mine had advised me to take stacks of business cards and to work the crowd, but I found myself instead drawn to just a few good people where I was truly building relationships. At one point in the evening I ran into another “networker” friend who made a profound point that I shall never forget.

This gal told me that her approach was entirely different. She no interest at all in making dozens of connections with people who would not remember her next week. No. She was there just to make 2 or 3 connections with key people that she would want to do some business with over the next year. She had not specifically targeted an individual. It was not a ploy to ‘get in good’ with the leader of XYZ Corporation. It was just a simple method that worked for her. She would meet up with friends, find out about people, and trust that timing, instincts or Divine intervention would put her in front of 2 or 3 great contacts that would really matter in the larger picture of life. She would simply be herself, be confident, and be available for something GREAT to happen.

What was really interesting was the fact that after she told me this method one of my long time colleagues became a fresh contact and an instant friend that very night. It was a pleasure to see two great people line up together to do future business endeavors.It was a moment of absolute Divine Appointment as her dream came true, her method worked and she made an important contact for her business' success.

Later in the evening I too found myself in a long and powerful conversation with someone that I had not spoken to in months. That encounter positioned me as well for some awesome opportunities in the next year.

So in the end I would recommend that we all could learn from her. It is not always the number of people that you connect to. Quality and real heartfelt connection are better in many cases than shear numbers. Enjoy your events. Enjoy your relationships. Enjoy your success. After all, what else is there but good food, good friends, family and the joy of a good life?

When In Cowtown...

In business we can always tell a newcomer to the area because they don’t recognize the culture. This last week a colleague of mine was telling me how they just got a job working for a company that has been doing business in Calgary for the last 25 years. This Oil and Gas Corporation has a longstanding reputation in the community and my friend was completely impressed that they gave every employee last Friday off with pay so they could take their families to the Stampede Parade downtown. This is a practice that is not uncommon with businesses in the area. Most will have employees break out the cowboy hats, decorate their establishments or even put on an annual free pancake breakfast. The entire city comes alive when the atmosphere of “The Greatest Show On Earth” spills over into the streets. This year especially with it being the 100 Anniversary of the Calgary Stampede just about everyone will get in on the action.

In contrast another company with over 20 years experience in their industry who recently arrived on the scene did not even acknowledge the festivities. They could not comprehend why people may not be willing to show up to leadership meetings hosted on the weekend. A corporate executive from yet a third company also new to Calgary was heard complaining about the decline in sales during the Stampede week.

Some people just don’t get it do they?

Calgary is Cowtown. If you just don’t understand why, may I recommend a little day trip out of town. In fact, take your kids, take your business partners, or just take yourself out to Bar U Ranch only 62 km south of Calgary and get in on the real picture of why Calgary is Cowtown. This was ranchland. It was wild and rugged and unfenced with some of the largest herds of cattle roaming free across the land for years and years. It was the stuff that legends were made of and heroes were born out of.

So when you see all of the cowboys (real, or playing dress up for a day) realize that this is the heritage of our city and whether your ancestors rode the west on the back of a horse or if they just arrived last year it is appropriate to put on a pair of boots and a hat and join in the fun.

In Calgary the Stampede is about as big as Christmas. So when in Cowtown – make like a cowboy, especially the week of the rodeo.

Always Loyal2U,

Kerry George

ps. For all of my cowboy friends this is about the funniest video I have ever seen. For anyone who has ever tried to herd cattle, cats, or people you are going to absolutely love this!

Put Your Cowboy Hat On!

The Calgary Stampede means different things for different people. It is a time for Calgarians to show their heritage and get out their cowclothes complete with buckles, belts, boots and hats. Gentlemen are more likely to open a door and say “Mam” as they pass by and then there is the good ol’ hospitality of lots of free breakfasts, barbeques and beef on a bun.

Those of you in the tourist or retail industry are very likely pretty excited. After all this is a big time of year for you. If you are in the sales industry may be more or less excited depending on what you sell. In our industry of social media and online footprinting we are in a huge upturn. Every time of year is good right now. Everyone needs us.

Being part of the Calgary Business Network puts our team at Loyal2U around all kinds of business people within a variety of industries. I have had some professionals tell me that during the Stampede they send everyone on vacation because no sales can be made because everyone is stampeding this month.

Personally I am more of an optimist than that. I feel that every day is a good day for making a sale and that there are no bad times of the year, just bad attitudes that hold us back. 

So here are a few of my personal tips for making the most out of Stampede Week. I hope that you like them:

• Get out your cowboy hat and jeans and make contacts at the Stampede Tradeshow and book them all for the week after.
• Take potential clients with you to the rodeo.
• Take advantage of all the free pancake breakfasts by meeting clients there, taking sales staff there, making new contacts there. Use http://flapjackfinder.com/ to find out where they are.
• Get back on LinkedIn and see who you can do business with in another city where there is no Stampede going on.
• Take your camera along and get great shots of potential clients and put them on a Send Out Card with a note about getting together for coffee the week after the Stampede. (If you go to the link I have arranged a free one just for you.)

Got any other ideas? Send them to me at Loyal2Uinfo@gmail.com and I may post them for you.

What Is Courage?

According to online dictionaries: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty, or The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution; bravery.

This morning I had posted a comment on LinkedIn about courage and a friend had commented on it which made me think more deeply about the subject.

Is a person who is courageous in general more likely to be courageous in most things? I think so.

I have known people who would not stand up to bullies and they typically are more easily pressured to lie and not stand for righteousness on the job either. I once knew a 50 year old man who lost his position at a large oil company for stealing an electrical cord by carrying it out in his backpack, but the truth was he was taking it for someone else who had pressured him to do it. Even when faced with losing his position he would not tell the truth about the matter to save his own hide and keep his $150 000 a year job. I have seen young boys bullied by overbearing mothers grow up and be abused by vicious manipulative wives.

On the other hand the kid that stood up to the school yard bully and bloodied their nose later became the one that dove into a freezing river in March to save the life of their best friend’s dog. That same person endured years of persecution to become fearless in business, an author and an authority in their realm.

Courage seems to me to be more of a choice and that choice is ongoing so that it becomes a lifestyle.

Do those who have shown a lifestyle of continual moral compromise suddenly change and become a person of solid convictions? Would they suddenly take a stand?

The day on the riverbank there were four people watching the dog die over a 45 minute drama. The young man who was 6 feet tall and strong as thunder tried first. The 15 feet of open water before the thin layer of ice that was 30 feet across to the quivering animal was deceptive. Although the water looked to be open jagged layers of ice cut into the man’s legs as he went deeper into the frozen liquid. He reached the ice layer and attempted to break through with his hands. After a few minutes he retreated bleeding and cursing stumbling up the bank.

Next was the dog’s owner who had been watching in horror. This was more than the family pet for the last 9 years, this was a trusted friend and family member. So this woman had formed a plan. She would pick up a rock to attempt to break through the ice to make a trail for the animal to escape the trap. She plunged into the river and made it through the first few feet of open water and began to smash through the ice with the rock. She had not been prepared however for the force of the river and the depth of the water. As she forged her path the ground beneath her began to disappear and suddenly she was up to her neck in a burning sensation. When she turned around a look of sheer terror was on her face as she fled the river.

Another man stood on the riverbank that day. His name was indecision. Indecision will never meet with courage. He was playing with the idea of using a rope that would not reach the animal and kicking at the ice on the side of the bank as though he was kicking around the idea of doing something while wishing that the whole situation would just go away.

The dog owner was now in a crumbled heap on the river bank sobbing her heart out as she could not reach her beloved pet and all seemed to be lost.

Yet there was one more person there that day. This was the least likely candidate. A woman who hated the cold, a person who was not that physically fit and someone who does not even care much for dogs. Yet this person loved the woman who was sobbing uncontrollably in the dirt. This was the best friend of the one who was in the most pain and although everything seemed to point to ultimate failure this person was one of strong convictions and the strength to never give up. Before the others even knew what was happening she had put on the already wet life jacket and lunged into the river. When the water burned her legs she pushed forward till the numbing overtook the burning. When it got up to her chest she fought past the panic and shut the switch off that screamed of her demise. When she reached the ledge of ice she did not attempt to break through but instead swam up to it and pulled herself onto it moving forward a foot at a time using the weight of her body to crush it beneath her chunk by chunk. As she got closer to the dog she locked eyes with it speaking calmly and then grasped it’s front paws in her hands and with one final push broke through the last few feet of ice taking both her and the animal into the drink. When they came up the path was clear and they pushed and pulled each other back to safety scrambling back to their cheering team on the riverbank.

Courage is a choice. Whether it is a child in a burning building or a dog in a river or facing a gunman we all have a choice to make. Whether the choice is to have the courage to do the right thing, say the right thing, or stand up for the one who can not stand up for themselves all of these take courage in that moment. Whether it turns out well like it did at the river that day or if it has the eternally damning consequences of failure the man of courage takes the stand and makes the decision. Come what may, the choice is made.

I believe it is the smaller choices that we meet head on every day that prepare us for the ultimate choices that we face in those larger moments.

What do you believe?

Do you believe it strong enough to face the frozen river?

Always Loyal2U

Kerry George

Website Tools For Building Families

One of the wonderful things about owning a marketing company is that we are often able to represent some fantastic new ideas and companies. When we find a really superb one we like to share it with others.

Me In A Tree presents one of those rare and amazing opportunities to help others and we would like to tell you a little more about them. They are totally focused on assisting parents in the parenting process with positive and upbeat methods that work for today's modern family. You can experience a whole new level of joy and unity in your home just by playing around with an online program with your kids while having fun!

I could talk about it all day, but even better, why not go and sign up for their FREE pilot project and try them out yourself.

Below I posted a link to another article of a friend of mine who is also raving about the benefits.



It's A Great Day To Be Alive: Website Tools For Building Families: MeInATree: My goal is to raise up balanced children who know how to love others even in the midst of conflicts. To me, life isn't so much about avo...

Focus {EAV:31f9adc2080cbf38}

It is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day struggles of putting food on the table isn’t it? In business I hear business owners always talking about how they have no time, and it is true that time is the one thing that limits us.

There are time stealers everywhere. Television, hobbies, church commitments, sports events and the work, work, work... Some of those things are even “good” things. It is important to spend time with the kids and the spouse. It is important to have some “me” time and some reflective time, but time gets away on us all too easy. We get busy working with our head down to the task and we forget to look up and around at the landscape. We forget to plan. If we do plan, we forget to look at the plan and to work on the plan.

Last week I was at an event with Doug Tibben and he encouraged us to find out the 20% of things that we do that creates 80% of our income, and then to double the time that we spend on that 20%. It immediately made me more profitable when I zoned in and focused on that 20%.

Focus is important.

When we play a game of darts we don’t just want to hit the board. There is a place on the board that we specifically want to target. We need to focus the same way in business.

There are certain activities that we do every day that we could train somebody else to do. So why do we waste our time there? Why don’t we hire someone to work for us for $10 an hour and get someone doing that for us so that we can focus on the things that make more money? There are other things that are highly specialized to our field and we are the only one in the company that can do those things. Those are the things that we should charge our premium time for. That is where we want to be. That is focus.

As the business owner we are the master of the ship and we are the one that steers the course for the entire crew. With compass and navigational charts in hand we need to keep going in the right direction. When a storm blows us off course we need to acknowledge it and redirect. When we have been making good time it may be good for moral for a quick stop at a sunny location to load up on supplies and have some R&R with the crew and then get back on course.

We need to let the team know the direction that we are taking. We need to engage them in the process and enlist their help in keeping us focused. It is great when one of them realizes their contribution and says, “I’ve got this, go and deal with that larger issue.” They can only do that though, if we first have taken the time to train them for it and then encouraged them by releasing them to do it. Having that person up in the lookout keeping an eye out for dangers ahead keeps us focused.

The owner of the business needs to know the plan and take ownership of the plan. If we don’t have a plan, then nobody has a plan. We can’t get bogged down slopping the deck. That is not our place if we want to get anywhere. Rest assured that the entire staff does not want the ship to be dead in the water. They want to be proud of where they work. They want to see benefits increase. They want to be part of something that is moving forward. They are happier when we are focused.

So how does one get focused?

Doug taught us that we should firstly write down 10 goals for the year. Then prioritize those 10 things. Then put a date on them. Next we should look at those goals every day for 7 days. I have been doing that and it helps. For myself I decided to go even a step farther and make a plan for the month based on those 10 things. What are the priorities? What activities do we need to do more of? What activities can I personally do less of? Who can I get to do some of the 80% activities so that I can be freed up to do the 20%? If we are going to grow this month what are the key areas where I need to focus as the owner to cause that growth to happen? Who can I enlist in the process to ensure success?

Focus, focus, focus...

This month we have hired sales people for Loyal2U and additional posting staff here in Calgary and in other cities. We are training others to do the 80%. We have also put specific people on specific tasks for the Calgary Business Network. We have goals for that company as well.

It is going to be an exciting month this month within our companies. How is it going to be at yours?


Always Loyal2U
Kerry George