2012 Power Hour Series
New for 2012, the Kelowna Chamber introduces the “Power Hour”! This one hour, early morning (8am – 9am), learning opportunity will take place at the Chamber board room. You’ll have the opportunity to learn and encourages networking and allows for great discussion.
Pay only $50.00 and pick your favorite five to attend.
Call the Chamber Office at (250)861-3627 to reserve your seats.
Jan. 10 – Krishna Lakkineni of ROI Media Works (8 - 9am Kelowna Chamber Boardroom)
Google Adwords - How to pay less for more leads?
- What is Google Adwords?
- How to set up targeted campaigns?
- What types of Creatives / Ads to set up?
- How the keyword bidding works?
- What is the quality score, how it affects your ad position?
- How to track conversions?
Feb. 6 – Simon Shaw of Zesti Media (8 - 9am Kelowna Chamber Boardroom)
If it isn’t Mobile, it’s not New
People are regularly using mobile devices to view websites yet few are optimized for the smaller screen and as a result are difficult to use. QR codes have become common place but they are only meant for smart phones and tablets with cameras on them, yet the resulting websites are often not optimized for the smaller screens. Up to 30% of visitor traffic can be from mobile devices, so if your website is not optimized for a small screen, then you maybe turning away more customers than you are gaining. If its not mobile, its not new! I will discuss the process of optimizing a website for the small screen and how to deploy it.
Mar. 6 - James Shaw of Twin Creek Media Inc.(8 - 9am Kelowna Chamber Boardroom)
Social Media Marketing for Business 101
Social Media doesn't have to be scary, boring, or silly. With a little learning, the right partners to help along the way, and a genuine desire to connect with others, you'll be one of the "elite" in no time.
The presentation will cover:
- The Golden Rule of Social Media
- Social Media from 30,000ft: how does it fit with the rest of my marketing/promo efforts?
- Should my business be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, the Flavour-of-the-Week?
- How are others successfully using social media for marketing and promotion?
- What are the current trends?
- Super practical tips to get started using social media right away
Apr. 4 - Interior Savings
Borrowing and Cash Management for Small Businesses
May. 1 - Myrna Park of Max-U Inc.
Networking with the "Airplane Game"
Networking can be a challenge and feel awkward. Myrna Park will teach you her "Airplane Game" and the techniques that will increase your comfort level and your success in developing new business relationships. Come prepared to play!
June 6 – Todd Sanderson of Sanderson & Company Chartered Accountants
“Vanity, Sanity, and Reality – Understanding your Financial Statements for Entrepreneurs”
Description -
2012 Speaker Series
Also new for the Chamber this year is the 2012 “Speaker Series”. This noon hour, (12pm – 1pm), learning opportunity will take place with no more than twenty local companies in the Chamber board room. This small group size encourages networking and allows for great discussion.
Jan. 17 – Anne Postlewaite and Bryn Gilbert of Grant Thornton
Tips on Buying & Selling Your Business
This presentation is for the business owner contemplating buying or selling a business including to family members. We will look at what you need to consider minimizing taxes on sale and transfer including:
- What are the objectives for selling your business? What you are hoping to get out of the sale can influence the end results.
- Determining and maximizing value – What’s the value to your potential purchaser/investors and why is it important to plan ahead?
- Structuring your business for sale – properly structuring your business ahead of a sale can better help you reach your objectives and maximize your investment.
Anne Postlewaite, CA is a partner at Grant Thornton LLP. Anne heads up our tax services team, and she specializes in working with the small to mid-sized business owner/manager with all their tax planning needs including succession and estate planning.
Bryn Gilbert, CA, CBV is a partner at Grant Thornton LLP. Bryn is one of our valuation specialists with experience in mergers and acquisitions, litigation support, and sourcing of debt and equity capital.
Feb. 21 – Susan Connaghan of Pushor Mitchell, LLP
Business Succession Planning
How to get started, what options are there and what to expect in doing the deal and after.
Mar. 20 - Karen Luniw of Attract More Now
Leveraging Brilliance: Unleashing Team Potential
We all have untapped power. What would it take to easily tap into your teams’ personal power, every day? It’s possible. Karen has been able to shift top performers into unstoppable forces by unleashing their brilliance.
Your Group Will Learn:
What stops them from living their brilliance every day
What techniques will work for them so they can easily tap into their personal brilliance
How a leader can quickly shift teams into high performance
Why shifting from goals to targets is essential to a company’s long term success
Personal and Business Attraction Expert, Karen Luniw is the creator of the very popular iTunes podcast “The Law of Attraction Tips”. This podcast has been downloaded over 12 million times by people all over the world.
Karen Luniw is the author of her new book “Attraction in Action: Your How to Guide to Relationships, Money, Work and Health”, is a contributor to The Huffington Post and has been featured in the Vancouver Sun, on Global TV BC, CHBC TV, CHEK-TV and CKNW. People with personal and business mindset challenges come to Karen to attract more from life and business, using tools from her “Five Step System.”
Apr. 17 –Shawnee Love of Love HR
Social Media in the Workplace
People are actively using social media to network and communicate, but few employers know how to engage with their current and potential employees using these tools. Join Love HR to discuss the three hottest social media tools, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In, and explore practical ways your business can use them to hire, retain and even motivate your people.
Shawnee is an HR professional with seasoned leadership experience. Along with a Commerce degree from UBC, Shawnee has a lengthy career leading and managing human resources in a broad range of industries and company types. She has consistently helped build businesses through effective HR strategy, practices and people skills. Over this time, she has seen how customized, practical HR solutions that complement organizational culture can help businesses meet and exceed their goals.
May 15 – Tracy Cobb of Sky Communications
Branding and Communications
Communications is a part of every facet of any organization; it’s the planning, development and distribution of facts and information to both internal and external audiences in regards to corporate identity, products, culture and philosophy. This session on branding and communications will show you how strategic communications is essential when building your brand. You will walk away with a stronger understanding of what strategic communications means and ways to begin incorporating it into developing a powerful brand.
Sky Communications specializes in guiding organizations through a strategic and integrated approach to business, marketing, employee and stakeholder communications. Tracy Cobb, owner of Sky Communications, has worked with local, national and international organizations over the past 20 years. Her extensive experience includes working in a variety of sectors such as consumer products, B2B, not-for-profit, food and hospitality, tourism, and many more.
June 19 – Speaker not confirmed
November 20 – Douglas Gray of Graycon Group
The Money of IT
Your IT touches nearly every process, every person, and every decision in organizations today. It also represents a significant cost of doing business and an equally significant source of savings.
We'd like to help you demystify your IT spend. That means giving you objective, actionable information that can save you significant money by bringing your organization's IT resources, requirements, and expenses in line with your business objectives.
In this session we will discuss...
- An "insider's" view of real costs, values and money pits in IT
- ROI, TCO and other acronyms that can distract or add value
- Smart company approaches and tricks to maximizing their IT dollars
- Top money wasters in IT
Douglas Gray is the Founder, President & CEO of Graycon Group Ltd. Doug holds a business degree from the University of Calgary, is a recognized leader in the IT industry. He started Graycon in 1989, with a goal to shift IT from merely a business cost to being a key business enabler. Since Graycon’s grass roots beginnings, Doug has led Graycon to support over 500 organizations in all industries. Graycon is the premier choice for IT Support and Solutions for medium and small businesses in W