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Tip Of The Day #101 - People Power 11/16/2017

Tip Of The Day #100 - That’s Right Neighbourly of Ya! 11/15/2017

Tip Of The Day #100 - That’s Right Neighbourly of Ya! Thursday, Sept. 28/ 2017 will be Good Neighbor Day in the US, where it is actually a national holiday, originating back in the early 1970’s, thanks to the enterprising Becky Mattson, of Lakeside, Montana, who wanted a day set aside to celebrate the importance of maintaining a close-knit community. On September 22, 1978, President Jimmy Carter made National Good Neighbor Day an official date, stating that it should be observed: "with appropriate ceremonies and activities." Numerous cities in Canada and around the world seem to have established their own version of Neighbour’s Day held on various dates, depending on the location. Calgary’s next one is June 18, 2018. Strathcona County held theirs in June this year as well. But, regardless of when you formally honor the concept of celebrating the friendship and support of fellow workers and community members with block parties, picnics and potlucks, the point is that we should put ourselves out there as a “good neighbor” every day. How rewarding would it be to help your neighbor with their spring cleaning or gardening, or clear their driveway of snow as a surprise! We here at Preferred Client Services chose September 1st to launch a coffee bar with cookies and chocolates to show our neighborly appreciation for our clients. Please come join us for a coffee anytime! How many of your neighbors do you know, on your block, in your office building? Why not choose a day yourself, and hit the hallways, visit up and down the street, armed with chocolate, cookies perhaps, or another fun treat, and turn those acquaintances into a support network of friends. Neighbors are an integral part of our social lives – whether at home or at work. Good Neighbor Day promotes kindness and consideration towards the people who surround us. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “A good neighbor is a priceless treasure.” There’s an old Czech proverb that says, “A good neighbor increases the value of your property,” In essence, it’s all one and the same thing! /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5948892

Tip Of The Day #99 - Success å la Job’s Top 10 11/14/2017

Tip Of The Day #98 - Remember Me! 11/13/2017

Tip Of The Day #98 - Remember Me! Behavioral investigator and best-selling author, Vanessa Van Edwards cites five ways to make yourself the most memorable person in the room. Embrace your imperfections: Charismatic people are not perfect, but they’re confident in who they are and comfortable in their own skin. They know they have their flaws, and they don’t pretend otherwise. This makes them very memorable because we can relate to their imperfections. Don’t be afraid to show your own. Ask interesting questions. “How are you? Where do you work? Where do you live?” Bo-ring! Try to spark a more emotional response by asking questions like, “What project are you working on now that you are passionate about? What is the most exciting thing that happened to you today?” Gush about people! When you make introductions, make complimentary connections, speak favourably of the person you’re introducing. For instance, you might say, “Judy is one of the leaders at her firm in bringing in the highest number of new clients over the last year.” Show your hands. Studies show that speaking with your hands brings more passion to your words. For example, when you talk about something you love, move your hands slightly toward your heart area. When comparing two points of view, use the right hand for one point of view, and the left hand for the other. If you’re a guy, make sure you don’t hide your hands in your pockets. That’s where your cell phone belongs, or, girls, tuck it away in your purse before entering the room. Never, never cross your arms as this makes you unapproachable. Look people in the eye…to establish a connection, NOT to creep them out. Be sure to read the signals. If you find networking, or even just talking to strangers to be a challenge, first practice your conversation skills on people you know. As Vanessa Van Edwards always says, “Being memorable is the key to success.” Discover more online about Vanessa and her wealth of information on effective social interaction. /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5941045

Tip Of The Day #97 - In The Beginning There Was Bookkeeping 10/31/2017

Tip Of The Day #97 - In The Beginning There Was Bookkeeping In the beginning, there were numbers. Then Luca Pacioli of Florence, said, “Well, let’s add them up!”, and so it came to pass that Double Entry Bookkeeping was created, and Pacioli, born in 1447, became known, in Europe, as "The Father of Accounting and Bookkeeping", publishing the first work there ever on the double-entry system. Suddenly, people could organize their massive amounts of information into journals, and then produce summary financial statements, primarily comprised of income statements and balance sheets. The income statement showed total revenues minus total expenses over a specific time period, resulting in either a profit or a loss. The balance sheet, compiled at a designated point in time, illustrated assets, debts, and the difference in the owners’ equity. These amazing new financial tools enabled the entrepreneurs of old to allocate resources more effectively. As an example, if the business person owned two restaurants, he could determine, by looking at the profits or loss on each income statement, which one would benefit from further investment, and which one he’d be better just to close. On a larger scale, trading ships were soon analyzed by company income statements, and, as the understanding of accounting principles grew, more and more decisions began to be made using these reporting tools, leading to greater efficiency of capital management that literally “saved” their society. Out of the income statement came the intellectual miracle of the return on investment (ROI) which allowed investors to compare investments mathematically with the simple ROI formula and, soon after, the business community started to add risk to the analysis, which was another game changer. An entrepreneur could predict which potential investment would be safer by calculating which one had the least risk. This addition of “risk and return” into business analysis became the basis of modern business theory and decision making. As they became more financially literate, people began to make wiser decisions. As markets grew around the world, wealth began to be created on a scale never seen before, lifting millions and millions of people out of poverty. Are you using your financial information to make better business decisions and investments? If not, spend a little time with your bookkeeper, then your accountant. If the income statement can change society in the 1400’s, I am pretty sure it can make a positive difference in the jingle in your jeans today. /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5896529

Tip Of The Day #96 - Going Post-It Over Networking 10/26/2017

Tip Of The Day #96 - Going Post-It Over Networking Allow me to refresh your memory of the term, “Who Luck”, coined by leadership expert, Jim Collins, which refers to the happy circumstance of finding just the right connection you happen to need, by being in the right place, at the right time. So… here you are. Having gathered your courage, and that last ounce of strength after a long, overwhelming workday, you’ve actually made it to the networking event. What now? It’s bad form to stand by the entrance, ready to pounce on potential connections like a lion attacking a wounded gazelle. Hiding in the corner behind a plate of food won’t win you any popularity contests either. How then to make the best of your experience? Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People suggests that you want to make a warm approach when meeting a stranger for the first time, by sending off what she calls “Friend Signals”, such as direct eye contact, visible hands ready for the shake, and open body language, as opposed to crossed arms. Next, having aced your “Warm-up”, you’re now ready to speak to your new “friend”. According to Van Edwards, the best “opener” as she terms it, is also the most basic, a tried and true opening line like, ‘Hi, how are you?’ Step #3 is The Shake, quite an important act in the “meeting ritual”, because the moment your skin touches someone else’s, you both release certain chemicals that help you bond. Now it’s time to introduce yourself, and start building rapport. Begin with who you are and how you’ve arrived, and then bounce the ball to their court. “This is my first time at this conference, how about you?” Most people respond readily, and lo and behold, you’re having a conversation with a new contact who could turn into the perfect client or collaborator. Using food and drink as an opener is quite effective as an easy way in. Sitting at the bar is a relaxed way to make conversation with the people who come and go. Sidling up to the buffet line to chit-chat also puts you in contact with countless people. Take small amounts of food so you can return a few times, or don’t bother to eat at all, but rather just keep others company in the lengthy lineups. They’ll be grateful you made the waiting pass enjoyably for them, especially if you ask interesting, intelligent questions that spark an emotion in them, or, in other words, release the pleasure-producing chemical, dopamine, in their brain. “What was the most exciting event that happened to you this week? Who is the best speaker that you have ever heard? Researchers have actually found that when dopamine is released in the brain, it creates a “mental Post-it note”, in essence, making you someone they’ll not soon forget. So why stop at one “mental Post-it”? Next networking event, challenge yourself to get out there and paper the room! /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5880884

Tip Of The Day #95 - Your Attitude Latitude 10/25/2017

Tip Of The Day #94 - QuickBooks Tricks 10/24/2017

Tip Of The Day #93 - Take Power Over Your Program 10/23/2017

Tip Of The Day #93 - Take Power Over Your Program As a business owner, do you feel annoyingly powerless when your bookkeeper complains about the shortcomings of slow and ponderous Sage, compared to the aptly named QUICKBooks? Thanks to Beverley Goodall of Evolution Business and Tax Advisors LLP, you can now impress your beloved bookkeeper with your program prowess, as you communicate with her in fluent “techno-numberspeak” while passing on these “sage”, time-saving tips. Warning: the following content may cause comas in some listeners. Refrain from listening to this while operating heavy machinery. Ready? Here we go! Struggling to visually make out which line is which on Sage? Why feel old before your time? Add some colour on alternate lines to all your modules to make things easier to see! - Go to Tools - Go to Options - Click Colours tab - Click box to right hand side of module name and go crazy with the colours! - Click ok to save. Just beware some are quite bright! Want to close all your Sage screens down in one go? -Press Ctrl + Alt + Q while chanting, “Abracadabra!” Sick of seeing the “welcome page” EVERY TIME on start up? - Go to Tools - Go to Options - Click View tab - Go to Global settings at bottom of the box - from here you can place a tick in the box to remove that unwelcome “welcome page”. From here you can also set how you would like your opening page on Customers, Suppliers & Bank etc. and turn off all dashboards and process maps Why not use the "Lock Date" function to stop back posting into prior periods? - Go to Settings - Go to Lock Date - Tick box and enter cut-off date for posting - This will now prompt a message each time you try and post in the period that has been locked, and users without the manager logon will be denied access. Are you still awake? The point is you don’t have to passively put up with the perils of your accounting program whether it’s SAGE, or just plain foolish. Use these shortcuts and take command! /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5868966

Tip Of The Day #92 - What’s on the edge of your T-Shirt? 10/22/2017

Tip Of The Day #91 - Frogs On A Log 10/21/2017

Tip Of The Day #91 - Frogs On A Log Leadership guru, John Maxwell often uses an old riddle his father told him as a teaching tool. “Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump into the water. How many are left?” One? Actually, if you analyze his words, you’ll realize there are still five frogs left on that log. You see, thinking about taking action, even right up to the point where you make the decision that you’re definitely going to take the action, is still NOT the same as the physical doing of the action. The lesson? You need to DO, not just plan. You need to act deliberately to accomplish your goals and realize your dreams, or they just remain wishful fantasies. You need to live INTENTIONALLY! In Maxwell’s book, No Limits, he cites three concepts that contribute to intentional living. Be Willful- Most people do not lead their lives. They just passively accept the events that come their way. The Greek Philosopher, Epictetus summed it all up. “It’s so simple really: If you say you’re going to do something, do it. If you start something, finish it.” Be Consistent –If you continue to spend more money than you earn, it adds up to huge debt. If you consistently take the path to instant gratification, it compounds to unhealthy living. If you are consistently negative, it follows that, because your thoughts create your reality, life obligingly gets worse. However, if what you do is continually positive, life immediately looks brighter and continues to get better and better. So be consistently positive! And thirdly, of course, as we learned from the frogs, Be Deliberate – Life is not a dress rehearsal. There are no “do-overs” for the days, weeks, all the years that are wasted sitting around, wishing and hoping. Would you rather live a life of failed attempts, or be tormented by regrets, because you never even tried? At least, you learn volumes from the failed attempts. /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5863291

Tip Of The Day #90 - QuickBooks Made Quicker 10/19/2017

Tip Of The Day #89 - The Rewards of Risks 10/17/2017

Tip Of The Day #89 - The Rewards of Risks “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” So said the American poet and literary giant, T.S. Elliot, and I have to agree. In fact, without taking risks, how can you grow your enterprise to maximum profitability? How can you achieve the success you desire? How can you avoid living no more than a small, limited, little life, if you don’t take a chance, and venture out of your comfort zone? Taking risks is how we, as humans, grow and expand our horizons. Yes, the action could end in failure, but, again, learning from our mistakes is how we eventually find the RIGHT path to successfully achieving our goals. If we let our fears hold us back, and we don’t even try, then we go nowhere. Some careless mistakes can be quite costly, however, so, when faced with the opportunity to take on a new project, how do you judge when to sensibly hold back and rethink your approach, and when to boldly go forward and take that chance? Make a list of all the positive things that could potentially happen if your project is a success. Then, on the other hand, compile the worst possible outcomes that could occur if everything blows up in your face. Be honest. Can you, and your business survive the worst case scenario? Yes! Well then, you have your answer. It’s full speed ahead! If the answer is no, then investigate how to adjust certain aspects of the project to reduce negative results. In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey advocates using your imagination to visualize the outcome you desire, so you start your project with a clearly defined image of its ultimate success. In Covey’s words, “All things are created twice. We create them first in our minds, and then we work to bring them into physical existence…begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.” /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5850671

Tip Of The Day #88 - Mentally Unbalanced Due to Your Balance Sheet? 10/16/2017

Tip Of The Day #87 - How Can Your Lovely, Hard Earned Profits Be Gross? 10/03/2017

Tip Of The Day #87 - How Can Your Lovely, Hard Earned Profits Be Gross? How Can Your Lovely, Hard Earned Profits Be Gross? Are you more confused and frustrated than you’ve been all year? Ah yes, well, no doubt you’ve just had that annual meeting with your accountant. Here’s the “financial reporting-challenged” business person’s mini-guide to understanding profit and loss. Repeat after me…'In-come State-ment' An income statement is a financial statement that reports a company's financial performance over a specific accounting period. Financial performance is assessed by giving a summary of how the business incurs its revenues and expenses through both operating activities and non-operating items, as in dividend income, profits and losses from investments, gains or losses incurred due to foreign exchange, and asset write-downs. It also shows the net profit or loss incurred over a specific accounting period. Okay, let’s try this one – Pro-fit-a-bil-ity Ra-tios Gross Profit is determined by taking the amount of your NET Sales minus the Cost of Goods Sold. (Net Sales is defined as Total Sales minus Returns, Sales Allowances and Discounts) If the Gross Profit is a positive number, you’ve made a profit before taking into account your marketing and administration expenses. Now your Gross -Profit -Margin is defined as your Gross Profit divided by your Net Sales, or, in other words, your Total Revenue. In general, the higher your gross profit margin is, the more efficient your business. This number is very important and should be monitored regularly to ensure your business is on track. This ratio explains how much money you have left over to cover marketing and administrative expenses ... you know important stuff like wages, debt obligations, government taxes, and shoes. You may also want to calculate your pro-fit mar-gin. Your Profit Margin is your Net Income divided by Net Sales (or Total Revenue) Again, generally speaking, the higher this number, the better. if your profit margin is falling consistently over numerous periods, look to see if your business has fallen in sales as well, or is it perhaps showing increased “cost of goods” expenses? (relates to gross profit margin). Other reasons could be higher general expenses (relates to profit margin) that now need to be passed onto customers or maybe even theft. /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5804399

Tip Of The Day #86 - End Month End Before Year End 10/02/2017

Tip Of The Day #85 - Right Place, Right Time! 09/29/2017

Tip Of The Day #85 - Right Place, Right Time! You have just finished a 9-hour day from Hell, dealing with people seemingly from outer space. Your feet are killing you. Definitely, a headache’s coming on. The office bathroom mirror reveals that you look like you’ve not only come out the wrong end of RuPaul’s Drag Race but have been run over by most of the cars. The last thing you want to do is go to an evening networking event…but… If you really care about growing your business network, finding the highly effective people with whom you’d like to develop deep and enduring relationships, then push those comforting “couch” thoughts aside and get out there! There are definite energies at play in the networking Universe, and you never know when you’re going to be in the right place, at the right time, to meet the right people, not only someone you want to know, but someone who also knows others you need to know, and so on, and so on…. Leadership expert, Jim Collins, who coined the term “Who Luck”, claims that “the luck of finding the right mentor, partner, teammate, leader, friend—is one of the most important types of luck.” Yes, it can be time-consuming and exhausting to be out and “ON” all the time, so make your networking count. Target varied events for maximum business exposure, but only the ones where you have a higher chance of meeting people with like minds to cultivate as colleagues, and potential clients to include in your contacts. Business is all about ongoing relationships and networking is an incredible way to discover and develop your connections. Study networking techniques and learn how to work the room. Set a goal to meet at least 5 – 7 new people at a particular event. When you encounter that person who is not the type to let go, socially speaking, learn how to gently extricate yourself with an exit line such as this... “John, I know you came here to make some great connections, so I certainly don’t want to monopolize you myself all evening. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me. I will let you move on and meet all the rest of these interesting people.” If you don’t think you need to network, you’re wrong. You never know when you are going to meet the right person with whom to collaborate on your next big idea or the contact who’ll introduce you to a valuable connection who can assist you moving forward. As the American journalist, Armstrong Williams says, “Networking is an essential part of building wealth.” /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5790683

Tip Of The Day #84 - The Magic is in the Moment 09/28/2017

Tip Of The Day #83 - Failure is Inevitable 09/21/2017

Tip Of The Day #82 - I Fail Therefore I Am 09/20/2017

Tip Of The Day #82 - I Fail Therefore I Am “I Fail, Therefore I Am”, a phrase coined by business humorist and mindset mentor, Zandra Bell, is obviously, a play on the famous quote by philosopher, Rene Descartes, “I Think, Therefore I Am”. The point being that, as humans, failing is as natural to our earthly condition as thinking, in fact, even BREATHING for that matter! Failure is how we learn and move forward, just like a baby masters the ability to walk; try, fall down, get up and try again. In his book, Failing Forward, leadership expert, John Maxwell points out that Vincent Van Gogh ostensibly failed at being an artist in his time. Today a single Van Gogh painting would fetch in excess of $100 million, yet the now famous genius sold only one painting in his lifetime, four months prior to his death. Before developing his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein experienced academic failure, even expulsion from school. In fact, one of his teachers predicted that he would never amount to anything. Basketball great, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school sophomore team, but he went on to capture six championships in the sport, during his professional career. Failure didn't stop any of these amazing individuals from following their passion, doing what they felt compelled to do, but, conversely, it has paralyzed countless leaders, causing them to self-sabotage and fall short of reaching their potential. At some point, everyone believes they are failures, but the real leaders of this world, in spite of adversity, short-comings, and rejection, they persevere. They hold onto self-belief and refuse to give up. Had Winston Churchill given into his darkest fears during the 2nd World War, our lives would be very different now. This great leader, however, viewed “winning” as never giving up, as is exemplified in his famous quote, “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” /episode/index/show/preferredclientservices/id/5758697