Business Summer 2017

BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE // VOL. 5 // ISSUE 1

THE ENDURING

POWER OF

PRINT THE REASONS ADVERTISERS ARE RETURNING AND WHY READERS REFUSE TO ABANDON IT.

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

BUSINESS VOL. 5 I ISSUE 1

PUBLISHER PRESIDENT & CEO GENERAL MANAGER ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER EDITOR

Rev Publishing Inc. Daniel A. Pasco Candace LeBlanc Alexandra Mills, Lucy Colangelo, John Fillion, Sheryl Hutton, Megan Leblanc David Mace Megan Pasche

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Tina Lanzillotta

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS

Rachel Bertrand, Sarah Meissner

IT/WEB DEVELOPER MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL WEBSITE

Justin Soungie Layton Risto Mariana Bockarova, Sheryl Hutton, Flavio Iammarino, Grant Lafleche, Layton Risto, David Somerville, Justin Soungie, Jill Tham, Gabrielle Tieman-Lee 905.356.7283 or 1.877.888.2825 todaymagazine.ca

ON THE COVER facebook.com/RevPublishingInc @revpublishing @todaymagazine www.revpublishing.com Business by Today Magazine is published by Rev Publishing Inc. All opinions expressed in Business by Today Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of Rev Publishing, it’s employees or owners.

Reasonable care is taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is as up-to-date and accurate as possible, as of the time of publication, but no responsibility can be taken by Business by Today Magazine for any errors, omissions or comments made by writers or interviewees that are contained herein.

Furthermore, responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through this magazine is not the responsibility of Business by Today Magazine. All unsolicited manuscripts and/ or photographs submitted are assumed to be intended for publication or republication in whole or in part. The right to alter, edit or refuse photos and/or manuscripts intended for publication is assumed. All unsolicited material submitted to Business by Today Magazine are submitted at the author’s risk. Manuscripts and or photographs intended to be returned must be accompanied by sufficient postage.

Business by Today Magazine does not assume any responsibility for any claims of our advertisers and reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

I’ve always been a paper person. As in, when I read a book or magazine, I want to hold the physical copy in my hands. I never jumped on the whole e-reader trend and I hate reading anything lengthy on my computer or phone; it’s just not the same. My crazy collection of books will attest to this. There is something about the feel of the paper that just really adds to the experience. I realize that coming from the editor of the magazine, this may seem biased, but it seems there is actually something to it. Check out the article on page 19 which delves into the reasons why print as a medium has stuck around for so long.

In this issue, we also cover one of my favourite topics, women helping women. There’s nothing more inspirational than women working to build each other up. And that’s exactly what Shannon Passero has been doing for the last several years with her Women in Business grant; nurturing a culture of entrepreneur and empowering aspiring business owners to realize their dreams. Jolene Antle, a recipient of the grant, gets a boost for her Garden City Essentials, and shares her experience on page 30.

If you haven’t heard yet, the Warehouse Concert Hall is St. Catharines’ newest, and only dedicated live music venue. We chat with Erik Dickson about realizing his vision for an intimate and acoustically appealing space, page 26.

This magazine is stacked with advice such as acquiring skills of persuasion, page 37 and increasing your productivity page 60. We also debut Mariana Bockarova’s advice column Ask The Expert on page 51.

So go ahead, smell the pages, flip to your heart’s content and keep for future reference.

Enjoy!

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 5

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS In 1957, Niagara Battery & Tire opened its doors on Bridge St. in Niagara Falls, in a time when gasoline was only 24 cents per gallon.

A lot has changed over the past 60 years, but one thing has remained the same, and that is the customer care at Niagara Battery & Tire.

Known in the Niagara region as a trusted family owned company, Mr. Singleton Sr. was very good at building customer relationships and loyalty with his belief that the art of doing business, “is to do your very best taking care of your customers, treating your employees with respect and when everyone is happy they’ll continue to come back.”

2017 marks the 60th Anniversary of Niagara Battery & Tire, as they celebrate 60 years of expert care and legendary service at each of their three locations in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls with in store contesting, daily prizes, grand prize giveaways and more.

How did they manage to build and maintain a

successful business for 60 year? Niagara Battery & Tire thinks it’s because they have been dedicated to their business model that includes three main pillars; trust, legendary service and quality – with a focus on customer service, and making sure their customers are always taken care of.

The company culture of working together as a team to satisfy their customers is the attitude that has kept Niagara Battery & Tire going strong year after year.

They’ve worked tirelessly over the years to maintain solid relationships with suppliers to ensure they can offer a great selection of leading tire and automotive brands designed to meet any vehicle or driving type to their customers.

Niagara Battery & Tire is proud to offer some of the best tire, automotive and rim brands in the industry which include; Michelin, Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, Firestone, Goodyear, Hankook, Sailun, Toyo Tires, A.C. Delco and Carquest automotive parts.

The team of service writers and licensed technicians at each location can service any vehicle needs, while the fully trained, experienced experts can assess the vehicle with advanced diagnostics equipment. They’ll also work with their customers to find the right tire for their vehicle and budget, and their ‘out-the-door’ pricing includes lifetime balancing, rotation, and flat repairs, with no hidden charges.

Trust, service, and quality, three words that represent Niagara Battery & Tire’s on-going promise to the Niagara region which they’ve proudly served for 60 years.

Thank You, Niagara for your loyalty and continued support over the years, we look forward to seeing you again soon.

St. Catharines | 79 Hartzel Rd. | 905.682.8450 Welland | 10 Wellington St. | 905.735.5616 Niagara Falls | 5559 George St. | 905.354.2182 www.niagarabatteryandtire.com

GRANT LAFLECHE Grant LaFleche is an award-winning investigative journalist and political columnist who has worked in Niagara for nearly twenty years. His work is found daily in Niagara’s PostMedia newspapers, and his commentary can be found on his blog at www.thegrant-rant.com. Grant is also an amateur boxer and coach and a well-known Sherlockian.

GABRIELLE TIEMAN-LEE

//CONTRIBUTORS

JILL THAM

A writer for REV publishing for over three years, Gabrielle has written for numerous REV publications including Taste, Shopping & Travel. She is a graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Journalism program and has written for a variety of newspapers including the National Post, Ottawa Citizen and Montreal Gazette.

Jill’s passion for writing came after seeing the movie Stand by Me. She prefers listening to Niagara bands to practising her guitar and running the track better than shopping. When Jill is not moonlighting as a freelance writer, she is an Elementary teacher juggling her three children. Along with being a regular contributor to Today Magazine, Jill’s articles have been featured in Canadian Running, Pedal, Allergic Living and @OECTA. jilltham.wordpress.com @JillBT

MARIANA BOCKAROVA

JUSTIN SOUNGIE

Mariana Bockarova is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto, where she teaches Psychological Resiliency, the Science of Happiness, and the Psychology of Relationships. Her research explores narrative medicine and mental health. She also holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University concentrated in Psychology.

Justin is a movie buff and lover of all things technology. When he isn’t glued to a computer screen or assisting people with their technological woes, he spends his time gaming, cooking and endlessly trying to innovate everyday life.

SHERYL HUTTON

LAYTON RISTO Layton is a recent graduate of Brock University with passion for social media and food. When she isn’t behind the computer she can be found around Niagara supporting local businesses and restaurants. As a strong believer that place matters, she is happy to be making the Niagara Region home.

DAVID SOMERVILLE

CFP

The founding partner at Capital Wealth Management Inc. has a passion for learning that has led him to attain a Certified Financial Planner designation; the highest level of professionalism in providing financial planning advice. Specialized in providing comprehensive wealth and estate planning advice to business owners, medical professionals and individual investors.

Sales guru by day, Sheryl spends her evenings and weekends volunteering for the local humane society, writing on her blog, and working on her three half-finished novels (Okay, she’s been writing them for the last six years. But who’s counting?). Her education is diverse, as are her interests. She is a strong believer in the sensory experience that comes from holding print media in her hands; whether it’s books, magazines, newspapers or cereal boxes. She enjoys quiet nights with her husband, Richard and their two cats, Bette and Hannah.

FLAVIO IAMMARINO PH.D., SW.,C.CHT Renowned for his amazing ability to affect profound change in people within an impressively short period of time, Flavio works with professional athletes, corporate clients and individuals. He has trained and instructed in the martial arts for over 30 years. He has established an excellent reputation as an effective and skilled therapist working largely on referrals from physicians, psychologists and lawyers.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 7

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//INSIDE LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

INNOVATION

TOOL KIT

REV INSIDER

10

26

37

53

ASSERTIVE OVER POLITE Whether it’s a case of a colleague simply crossing the line or someone taking credit where your credit is due, it is those who are highly agreeable, or rather, who handle conflicts with overwhelming politeness, which often fair the worst when it comes to navigating conflicts in the workplace.

14

KIDS ARE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO LEARN While some schools are now adding financial literacy into the curriculum, there’s an important role for parents to play in teaching kids how to manage their money.

17

THE 750 BILLION DOLLAR WEALTH TRANSFER Future generations can expect to inherit a wealth of additional assets, and with all the debt today carried by the 30-60 year olds, this intergeneration wealth transfer couldn’t happen at a better time.

19 PRINT IS NOT DEAD

Print has taken a hit over the past several years as the popular perception that digital would replace the medium has turned the print industry on its head.

New statistics reveal that although consumption of print has shifted, it is here to stay, as advertisers are finding their way back.

THE WAREHOUSE Dickson’s experience working in the music industry and living in the downtown St. Catharines area for the past 10 years, has led him to envision a concert venue where musicians could perform in an intimate and acoustically appealing space.

30

I’M WITH HER The power of women helping women in entrepreneurial endeavours is something that industry leader Shannon Passero believes in strongly and nurtures with her Women In Business Grants, elevating and empowering the next female powerhouse. Jolene Antle of Garden City Essentials, a 2016 recipient, is one of many she has helped to propel on that journey.

SKILLS OF PERSUASION The science of influence and getting what you want. While the principles of persuasion could indeed be used to manipulate, most people generally strive to do well in the world and generally operate within some sort of moral compass

42

WHAT TYPE OF EMPLOYEE ARE YOU Quiz time! You may be amazing at your job but just what kind of employee are you?

46

NIAGARA JOB SEEKERS TAKE HEART...

These are not the days of your granddad’s job search, or even your parents’. For Baby Boomers it’s not even the job search of your younger years. It’s a whole new ballgame and you’d better know the rules.

49

HYPNOSIS Want to live a healthier, happier personal and professional life? The power is already inside of you, it is just a matter of tapping into it.

51

ASK THE EXPERT Mariana Bockarova gives advice to a reader who can’t convince their coworkers that they are working against all of their best interests.

THE EVOLUTION OF LOCAL BRAND MANAGEMENT Want your business to be at the top of local online searches? The Review Builder is a platform for collecting customer feedback and generating positive reviews for your business.

58

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA Layton Risto gives a brief overview on how social media can be a great tool to solidify your market position, grow your business and generate brand awareness faster than ever before.

60

TEN TIPS TO DOUBLE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY There are a myriad of digital tools created to help organize your life and business - but to narrow it down, who has the time? Justin Soungie (our IT guru) has complied a list of his time savers that have made the cut.

65

TODAY’S PEOPLE You out and about in the community celebrating International Women’s Day, Canada’s 150th, the Jazz Festival and more!

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 9

ASSERTIVE

o er polite

BY MARIANA BOCKAROVA

//LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

NAVIGATING CONFLICTS IN THE WORKPLACE

can be amongst the most cumbersome and stressful events that take part in one’s professional life. The reasons for this are particularly clear: Well defined power relations, nuanced power plays, and job security generally spring to mind as to why politicking at work can sometimes become commonplace. While some thrive in asserting their dominance in contentious situations, regardless of who their ‘higher up’ may be, it is particularly difficult for others to do well in overcoming clashes while keeping their needs met and the outcome in their favour, without any resultant embitterment. Whether it’s a case of a colleague simply crossing the line or someone taking credit where your credit is due, it is those who are highly agreeable, or rather, who handle conflicts with overwhelming politeness, which often fair the worst when it comes to navigating conflicts in the workplace. >> TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 11

A

The ability to know our boundaries generally comes from a healthy sense of self-worth, or valuing yourself in a way that is not contingent on other people or the feelings they have toward you.

person who is highly agreeable generally espouses characteristics of modesty, trustworthiness, kindness, warmth, consideration, and sympathy, and feels most comfortable in cooperative situations. For them, having to be dominant or assertive provokes feelings of high anxiety, which can be particularly troublesome when it comes to conflict. Often-times, people who are agreeable put their own needs and feelings aside in order to ensure the conflict resolved, even at the expense of themselves. In other words, they always take the polite way out, particularly in the workplace.

The result? Feeling bitter and often spending days, weeks, months, or even years re-living the conflict, thinking of what he or she could have done or said instead, and building resentment, sometimes intense, against the wrongdoer, at the expense of their own well-being. The problem with agreeableness is that it can truly be destructive to oneself: Take, for instance, the example of Madeline*, a 31 year old marketing manager who always prided herself on being “a nice girl”. As a child, she was taught that being kind to others was a virtue; she grew up paying special attention to the positive feedback she received for being nice and pleasing those around her. She derived much of her self-worth from putting the feelings and needs of other people well above her own. As she grew into an adult with a demanding profession in a leadership role, however, she found her work colleagues would constantly intrude on her personal life by asking inappropriate questions like, “why aren’t you married yet, who are you dating now” and would continuously dump outstanding work on her – which she politely agreed to do.

Perhaps worst of all, she would always find a way to take the blame for any project that went at work, leaving her stressed and at an increased risk for burning out at a young age. Though one’s personality can never fully be altered, there is a way to overcome this instinctual need to be polite which could be hampering your ability to move forward in the workplace. That is, building up the ability to be assertive by establishing boundaries can.

Boundaries can be defined as the limits we set with other people, which indicate what we find acceptable and unacceptable in their behaviour towards us. The ability to know our boundaries generally comes from a healthy sense of self-worth, or valuing yourself in a way that is not contingent on other people or the feelings they have toward you. Unlike self-esteem (which some research has found to be strongly related to the relatively fixed personality dimensions of high extroversion and low neuroticism), self-worth is finding intrinsic value in who you are, so that you can be aware of your: Intellectual worth and boundaries (you are entitled to your own thoughts and opinions, as are others.)

Emotional worth and boundaries (you are entitled to your own feelings to a given situation, as are others.)

Physical worth and boundaries (you are entitled to your space, however wide it may be, as are others.)

Social worth and boundaries (you are entitled to your own friends and to pursuing your own social activities, as are others.)

Spiritual worth and boundaries (you are entitled to your own spiritual beliefs, as are others.)

Though people who are agreeable may know their worth, they have a tough time enforcing it when it comes to conflicts because they feel badly when offending others; after all, knowing our boundaries and setting them are two very different hurdles to overcome. Setting boundaries does not always come easily and often a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. As renowned psychologist Albert Bandura noted, much of human social learning comes from modeling behaviour, so if we do not have adequate role models whose behaviour we can encode through observation and later imitate, we are at a loss, often left fumbling and frustrated.

In Madeline’s case, although she had high self-esteem, she derived her feelings of self-worth from people-pleasing, which was unhealthy and particularly detrimental in the workplace, particularly in a managerial position. If unchanged, her inability to be assertive could even cost her a future in her job. In addition to finding a stronger sense of self-worth that existed apart from the value judgements of others, she also needed to learn how to set boundaries, especially in her professional life.

If you find yourself identifying with this article and being overly agreeable or polite when engaging in conflict to the detriment of yourself, start setting your boundaries straight. This is how: Know your limits. Clearly define what your intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual boundaries are with strangers, work colleagues, friends, and even family, and intimate partners. Examine past experiences where you felt discomfort, anger, resentment or frustration with an individual. It may have been because your limits had been crossed. Create a ‘Boundary Chart’ which outlines each boundary per each relationship category and fill it in with the boundary criteria you feel comfortable and safe with, and vice versa (I don’t feel comfortable when work colleagues ask me about my childhood illness/dating life/parents’ divorce; I don’t feel comfortable when I am pressured to help a colleague on a task he or she should be doing by him or herself; I dislike it when others take credit for my ideas).

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By creating this sort of template you have a benchmark to assess when someone may be overstepping your boundaries. Your boundary criteria will evolve over time, so be sure to continuously update your chart with your growing experience and resulting needs.

Impose your limits. Creating and stating boundaries is great, but it’s the follow-through that counts. The only way to truly alert others that your boundaries have been crossed is to be direct with them. Being assertive, particularly if you are unaccustomed to doing so, can be scary. The key is to start small with something manageable and build up your assertive skill to larger tasks like these: Do you feel pressured to pay for your colleagues lunches? Ask the waiter for split bills.

Is your work colleague intruding on your dating life? Say “I respect you as a work colleague, but I like keeping my personal life to myself; I appreciate your curiosity but I’d rather talk about something else”.

Is a work colleague pushing his or her work onto you? Remind them that it isn’t within your scope, you are busy with your own work, and direct them to someone who will be of better service.

Did a colleague take credit for your idea? Remind him or her that you had discussed it with them previously and they hadn’t mentioned that they had thought of the same thing.

Do you apologize when you needn’t? Take responsibility for your actions, and apologize for only what you are truly responsible for. However, stop there: Allow others to set their records straight. At the end of the day, you do no one any favours by not letting others identify, take responsibility, and learn from their mistakes. Having an “autopsy” meeting of a failed project where everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts on what went wrong and what they take personal responsibility for can help each member of the team feel responsibility for wins and losses.

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Practice makes perfect. When you first start acting assertively, if it is a departure from your habitual state, you may be afraid that others will perceive you as mean or rude. But affirming your boundaries means that you value yourself, your needs, and your feelings more than the thoughts and opinions of your colleagues. Being assertive does not mean that you are unkind, it only means that you are being fair and honest with them (and, thus, kind to them in the long run), while maintaining your peace, dignity, and self-respect.

After all, not informing someone that they have crossed a line only leads to resentment on your end and confusion on theirs. The only way to set better boundaries is by practicing how to tell someone that they’ve crossed yours.

If all else fails, escalate up. Voice your boundaries first, then follow with action. As long as you have tied up loose ends, you have asserted yourself and made it clear to another person that he or she is not respecting your boundaries or “fighting fair”, it is okay to ignore correspondence from that point forward and contact HR. Remind yourself of your own worth, and that no one has the right to make you feel uncomfortable or take your self-defined space away from you.

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KIDS ARE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO LEARN ABOUT FINANCIAL LITERACY By: Scott McGillivray (NC) Children are never too young to learn basic financial skills. The earlier you start, and the more you teach them, the easier it will be for them to navigate the complexities of personal finance as they grow up. While some schools are now adding financial literacy into the curriculum, there’s an important role for parents to play in teaching kids how to manage their money. Here are some ways you can help your kids become financially literate.

1. Nothing in life is free. How many times have your kids asked for a new toy, with no understanding of the cost? Even young children can be taught the concept that things cost money. Let them know how much the item they’re asking for costs, and compare it to the costs of other items. It won’t register right away, but it will introduce the idea and give them something to think about.

2. An allowance. A great way to start teaching your children about money is to start giving them some. Help them set a savings goal. Is there a special toy they want? How much does it cost, and how much do they need to save to buy it? The allowance doesn’t have to be a lot––even a small amount will help teach them the value of saving.

3. Earning their allowance. You can take this one step further, and create a special list of chores. You may want your kids to pick up their toys, do their homework, or bring their dishes to the kitchen without any specific reward, but for larger chores, consider letting them earn a token amount that they can put towards their savings.

4. Open a bank account. Now that your child is learning how to value money and save, it’s probably time for them to open a bank account. Start getting them more familiar with words like compound interest!

5. Give a little (or a lot). An important lesson in life is learning that there are people who need a hand up. Now that your child is saving, don’t forget to talk to them about charity, and why giving to others is just as important as saving responsibly. Talk to them about charities you support and why. Habitat for Humanity Canada is a great example, because they don’t offer a handout, but a hand up. It’s a smart investment too — for every $1 you donate, there are $4 in benefits to the community.

Scott McGillivray is the star of hit TV series Moving the McGillvrays and Income Property on HGTV Canada and proud supporter of Habitat for Humanity Canada. Learn more at habitat.ca/150reasonstobuild. www.newscanada.com

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The 750 Billion Dollar Wealth Transfer

Future generations can expect to inherent a wealth of additional assets, and with all the debt today carried by the 30-60 year olds, this intergeneration wealth transfer couldn’t happen at a better time, says David Somerville Over the next 10 years, Canadian parents will be looking at passing on to their children up to 750 billion dollars via intergenerational wealth transfers. The greatest lottery ticket of all time is coming and those aged 35-60 will be the beneficiary of this vast amount of wealth transfer. This upcoming transfer is 50 percent more than was passed on in the previous decade.

Future generations can expect to inherent a wealth of additional assets, and with all the debt today carried by the 30-60 year olds, this intergeneration wealth transfer couldn’t happen at a better time.

In a recent study, CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal made some notable remarks about this wealth transfer. From an Angus Reid survey of 1003 panelists who has received an inheritance, he noted that over the past decade in provinces like BC, Ontario and Quebec, more than 50% of those receiving these inheritances ranged from 100,000 to 180,000.

Tal also noted in his report that the larger proportion of looming bequests is expected to go to high-income Canadians suggesting that even greater income equality will be transformed.

One of the biggest challenges with this wealth transfer is that those that hold the luck lottery tickets are not prepared for this instant wealth scenario. With that being said, there is some planning that can be done around this inheritance lottery.

1. Start preparing the heirs for this sudden wealth by educating them on financial planning. Maybe it’s a good time to introduce your financial advisor to your children.

Start building a relationship with both parties now so that when that time comes, both sides are prepared to continue on with the wealth transfer in a respectable manner.

As the classic saying goes…those that are spenders don’t suddenly become savers and those that are savers…don’t

‘those that hold the luck lottery tickets are not prepared for this instant wealth scenario.’

suddenly become spenders. It may take a number of years to educate your kids about the responsibility that comes with wealth.

2. Consider setting up a Testamentary Trust for the spendthrift child. Testamentary Trusts have been a popular and favored estate planning tool for a variety of reasons, one of which was tax benefits, and the second can be used to ensure that spendthrift beneficiaries do not exhaust or spend the trust assets too quickly. A testamentary trust is a trust established by a person as a result of his or her death for the benefit of another person. You must and should consult both a lawyer and an accountant before even considering a trust within your estate.

3. Consider funding a life annuity investment with the proceeds of your estate for the beneficiary who is unable to manage his or her financial affairs effectively. Certain insurance companies now offer intergeneration wealth products to help those leaving behind a significant bequest to those beneficiaries who aren’t financially sophisticated with regards in handling money. These products can be invested and they can produce income payments for life of the annuitant benefactor. The benefit of these plans is they are easy to set up, very cost effective and income annuities are guaranteed.

The bottom line is that when Canadians start passing down that 750 billion of wealth over the next 10yrs to the intended beneficiaries, it’s important to implement some financial planning advice along with that distribution. The key reason is the wealth that is being passed down which may have taken a generation or two to create, is simply not used on every wish or whim, and wasted away prematurely. Hopefully the beneficiaries of this amazing windfall will respect and manage this good fortune effectively for their lives and the lives of those coming after them.

David Somerville CFP Certified Financial Planner Capital Wealth Management

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 17

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PRINT IS NOT DEAD

BY GRANT LAFLECHE

Print has taken a hit over the past several years as the popular perception that digital would replace the medium has turned the print industry on its head. New statistics reveal that although consumption of print has shifted, it is here to stay, as advertisers are finding their way back. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 19

A

‘IT WAS REMARKABLY EASIER FOR A PERSON READING A PRINT AD TO REMEMBER A BRAND AND ITS MESSAGING THAN THE PERSON READING THE SAME THING ON A SCREEN. BRAND RECALL FOR PRINT ADS WAS 70% HIGHER THAN IT WAS FOR DIGITAL ADS.’

ll things being equal, you are reading this article on a page in the printed edition of this magazine.

You could have got here on your computer. Or on your smartphone. But you didn’t. You chose to pick up the physical magazine.

Before reading any further, take a moment and feel the weight of the magazine in your hands.

Run your fingers along the page, over the letters printed in black ink.

Flip through the magazine, cover to cover, and listen to the faint rustle of the turning pages.

Readers have experienced those sensations when they pick up a magazine or a newspaper or a book for nearly six centuries. Of course, the means of creating these pages have changed considerably since Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Computers and high-quality paper have replaced a hand-powered printer pressing ink onto parchment. Still, in technological terms, the printed page is archaic. The publishers of the 21st century are, on a very fundamental level, still using a 15th-century solution to mass communication.

Digital communication is the present and the future. That is the conventional wisdom, anyway. This page could be transmitted to you at the speed of light and read on the powerful micro-computer you keep in your pocket.

So who needs a magazine or a newspaper, when you can get all the news and information you want at the touch of a button?

Circulation declines have struck nearly every market of every print publication in Canada. Daily newspapers, including those in Niagara, have been struck by waves of job cuts. The country’s most influential magazine, MacLeans, now publishes monthly instead of weekly, joining its newspaper cousins in pushing its most current work to the digital sphere.

Print, they say, is dead.

Except, all things being equal, you are reading this article on a printed page. And that may say something.

“Print isn’t dead, that’s for sure,” says John Hinds, president and CEO of News Media Canada, an industry research and public affairs organization. “Remember in the 1970s they said print was dead. Television was

going to kill it. But here we are in 2017, with 6 out of 10 adult Canadians interacting with a print product every week.”

The internet, and our around the clock exposure to it, has undeniably impacted print products in a way television never could. As more readers shifted to online publications, advertisers followed, cutting deeply into print’s traditional source of revenue.

So the conventional logic says the transition to digital is inexorable and it is only a matter of time before all the money leaves print and becomes exclusively digital.

But Hinds says there are signs that the bleeding is slowing down. Even as readers consume online products, printed newspapers are still being read at the same time by the same people. Magazines have successfully found ways to survive the digital onslaught. Most critically, advertisers find more bang for their buck on the printed page than on a screen.

These facts run somewhat counter to the common narrative about Canada’s print publications. Those stories are often about falling circulation and revenue, job losses and general anxiety about the future of newspapers, magazines and fate of journalism in the country.

Dig deeper, beyond the headlines, however, and there is another story about the influence of print over digital that is worthy of your attention.

According to the fourth-quarter 2016 readership study released in June

by Vividata - a firm that tracks data on the print & digital offerings of magazines and newspapers - only 16 per cent of newspaper readers exclusively consume their news through digital products. Some 37 percent are consuming news through a combination of print and digital. And 46 per cent of Canadian adults read a physical newspaper each week.

While newspapers now depend on engaging readers across multiple platforms, in the world of magazines print is still king.

According to Vividata, three-quarters of Canadian adults read magazines, with the highest readership found in Ontario.

While there is a significant number of people who read both the digital and print editions of magazines, a full 60 percent of readers are only reading the print copy of their magazine of choice.

So while print isn’t the only game in town anymore, it is far from dead. >>

A FULL 60 PERCENT OF READERS ARE ONLY CONSUMING THE PRINT COPY OF THEIR MAGAZINE OF CHOICE.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 21

ADVERTISERS ARE ALREADY SHIFTING THEIR AD BUDGETS TO PRINT AS THEY ARE REALIZING THAT THERE IS A REAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PRINTED WORD AND ITS READER THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THE DIGITAL WORLD.

The reason that print hasn’t faded to black despite the pressure of digital competition has a lot to do with the human brain, Hinds said.

“Studies have shown that we read differently when reading something online compared to reading something in print. We absorb information differently and retain more when we read something on a page,” Hinds says.

He points to a 2016 study funded by Canada Post that looked at the neuroscience of reading print vs. digital. Canada Post was interested in finding out how effective internet advertising is versus the printed, direct mail flyers the post office has been delivering for decades. Like newspapers and magazines, Canada Post has a financial interest at stake as advertisers shift to digital.

The study found that it requires 21% more cognitive effort to process and retain information from digital messages than printed ones. It was remarkably easier for a person reading a print ad to remember a brand and its messaging than the person reading the same thing on a screen. Brand recall for print ads was 70% higher than it was for digital ads.

Hinds says readers also spend more time on the printed page, absorbing the content of the physical material they are reading for both editorial content and advertising.

“The ad on a physical page is always there, whereas you can just skip past an ad online,” he says. “Print works.”

Hinds says some advertisers are already shifting their ad budgets to print. Automotive advertising, for instance, is migrating back to print products.

This effect of better information absorption is most acutely seen in magazines, he says.

Newspapers are publishing stories on events as they happen. They are read and disposed of daily. Magazines tend to linger longer in homes, offices or hotels.

“The culture of reading magazines is different than newspapers,” says Don Williams, vice president of research at Vividata. “They tend to be read over a longer period.”

Hinds says magazines often carve out a particular niche in the marketplace. Where newspapers are usually generalists by design,

publishing stories on a broad range of subjects, magazines often focus on a particular subject for a particular market.

Automotive. Weddings. Finance. Entertainment. Sports. Video Games. Or just about any other subject imaginable that caters to a target audience, which in turns attracts particular advertisers.

For instance, Rev Publishing - the company that owns this magazine - publishes nine specialty titles aimed at business, hospitality, weddings and tourism.

That kind of focus, Hinds says, keeps readers and advertisers connected to the publication and helps shelter magazines from the forces eroding newspaper sales.

Digital technology, despite all the advantages of speed and cost effectiveness, doesn’t necessarily trump human nature, Williams says. A lot of people prefer the feel of a page than the glare of a screen. They’ve developed a habit of reading their newspaper over their morning coffee or on the subway to work.

And habits are notoriously difficult to break.

“Remember, printed books were supposed to die. Not that long ago e-readers were going put an end to the printed book,” he says. “It didn’t happen, and no one really thinks that is going to happen now.”

In either case, newspapers or magazines, what ultimately keeps readers coming back is content, says Sarah Hill, president and CEO of Vividata. Online or in print, being a “trusted source” of reliable information for readers is what differentiates newspapers and magazines from your typical blog or social media post.

None of this is to say printed publications will somehow push their digital counterparts into extinction. After all, the printing press hasn’t gone anywhere in 600 years, and there is no reason to think the internet won’t enjoy that kind of epic longevity.

But it is to say that the printed page hasn’t been relegated to the dustbin of history. Not yet.

There is a connection between the printed word and its reader that doesn’t exist in the more ephemeral digital world, and so long as that exists, so will print.

After all, you’re reading this story on a printed page, aren’t you?

HUMAN NATURE TRUMPS ALL THE ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY; PEOPLE PREFER THE FEEL OF A PAGE.…

ULTIMATELY WHAT KEEPS READERS COMING BACK IS CONTENT AND A REPUTATION FOR BEING A “TRUSTED SOURCE” OF RELIABLE INFORMATION.

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WAREHOUSE CONCERT HALL

WHERE LOCAL MUSIC SHINES

BY JILL THAM I PHOTO: COURTNEY MICHAUD

//INNOVATION

The phrase

“If you build it they will come,” was made popular by the 1980s movie Field of Dreams.

Although Erik Dickson definitely doesn’t hear voices in his head telling him to build a baseball field, the movie has a slight parallel. Dickson’s experience working in the music industry and living in the downtown St. Catharines area for the past 10 years, has led him to envision a concert venue where musicians could perform in an intimate and acoustically appealing space.

“Our primary function is to provide a concert venue dedicated to live music,” explains Dickson. “Most bookings will be original music, not cover bands,” explains Dickson.

Wanting to have a location for local and mainstream artists to share their talents, Dickson began searching for an intimate concert hall perfect for any function requiring exceptional acoustics and a stage. “Over the years I have realized that there are a lot of people in need of an appropriate space for their event, but are unable to find one,” says Dickson.

For the past six years, Dickson has co-owned IndoorShoes Music, a music production company and record label.

“Working with Indoorshoes is what has inspired the process of opening a venue as I was planning in other people’s venues,” says Dickson.

Dickson has an impressive list of bookings under his belt.

From Paul Langios of the Tragically Hip, Matthew Good Band, Said the Whale, the Sheep Dogs and Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, he has booked many Canadian artists heard every day on the radio.

For the past six years, Dickson has co-owned IndoorShoes Music, a music production company and record label.

“Working with Indoor Shoes is what has inspired the process of opening a venue as I was planning in other people’s venues,” says Dickson.

Dickson has an impressive list of bookings under his belt.

From Paul Langios of the Tragically Hip, Matthew Good Band, Said the Whale, the Sheep Dogs and Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, he has booked many Canadian artists heard every day on the radio. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 27

One Oneofofthe themost most gratifying gratifying aspects aspects for Dickson is the ability to bring to the region a venue for artists that hasn’t existed before.

“We don’t have a dedicated live music space for this specific context. If you go to Waterloo, which is of the same size as us, there are three venues dedicated solely to live music,” explains Dickson. “In St. Catharines there are bars that host functions but it is not their primary goal.”

With a background in live music promotions and bookings, Dickson has taken his experiences in the industry and applied them to the local music scene. “There is such a thriving music scene in Niagara,” says Dickson who keeps a list of all active artists in the area. “At any one time there are up to 100 active artists that I am aware of,” says Dickson, “There is a disproportionate level for the amount of people here to venues. We could easily fill the calendar with just what is happening locally.”

The Warehouse Concert Hall will provide a venue for local talent to perform in where they may not have been able to crack into the downtown scene before. Subsequently, where mainstream artists may have performed at a larger venue similar to the Ontario Performing Arts Centre, now there is a more intimate space.

Dickson is ecstatic to be delivering a wide range of bands to the city. “I’m pleased to host a variety of musical genres that people otherwise may [have] had to travel outside of the region to see,” says Dickson. “Jazz or blues bands are less common in a bar environment. I am hosting Juno award winner blues musician Steve Strongman from Hamilton,” says Dickson. “That isn’t something I would of done before as a company: I am stepping outside of the box.”

With the understanding that bookings in music often come in waves, Dickson has found his stride with the business side of the music industry. With confirmations of local artists two to three months in advance and six months to a year notice for mainstream artists, the Warehouse Concert Hall will be the go-to spot for everything local in music.

It will be an exciting spring at the Warehouse Concert Hall as Hollerado will be performing on May 26th. The HTZ-FM Rocksearch semi-final competition will be held on June 2nd and 8th where the final eight bands will square off. Juno nominee and Canadian heartthrob, Scott Helman, will hit the stage on June 16th, 2017.

Erickson and his business partner, Brian MacPhee, also plan to host a variety of events outside of concerts. “We have a stag and doe in May, a film screening scheduled in June, and a couple charity fundraising events as well,” says Dickson.

“The difference with the Warehouse Concert Hall is that now I can improve the production value of the concert,” says Dickson, who had his heart and mind set on securing the old carpet store on Geneva Street the first time he saw it. “It’s a small personal environment rather than a seated one,” he explains. “It would fall in the middle between a bar atmosphere and concert space.”

With over 60 individual panels on the ceiling, the Hall’s acoustics will speak for

themselves. “You can hear a drastic difference when you talk in the washroom and then in the concert area,” says Dickson.

“We want our reputation to be the best place to hear a band.”

The venue is is located a located in in close close proximity proximity to to Court Court Street Street andand St.St. Paul Paul Street.

Avenue.

There There is a is a parking parking lot out lot out frontfront of the of building the building and and the the venue venue is only is only a short a short distance distance awayaway fromfrom the the Catharines St. St. Catharines Bus Bus Terminal Terminal and additional and additional parking parking lots. lots.

The Warehouse Venue’s focus on local talent applies not only to the music, but the refreshments as well. “We offer a variety local craft beers and wine,” says Dickson.

“We will also have what you get in a normal bar, but with more attention on Ontario craft beers, wine, and spirits,” explains Dickson.

Collective Arts Brewing, Brimstone Brewing Company, Silversmith Brewing Company, and Steam Whistle Brewing are among the taps featured in the Hall.

Dickson has been overwhelmed by the support and excitement for the venue and the potential that it brings to the downtown core. “People have come in and helped paint and work on the hand-crafted feature wall that is made of wooden fence posts,” explains Dickson. “The community sees the importance of the venue and knows that it will help to improve the local music scene.”

Dickson has lived in the downtown area for just over 10 years. “I was here before the Meridian Centre and Performing Arts Centre. “The music and arts community has always been downtown it just had a different focus. There are so many great businesses downtown, I am excited to be one of them,” explains Dickson, who takes pride in the opportunity to be part of the revitalization at the heart of the city.

Dickson started out in the business of booking bands as more of a hobby and now in 2017 he is bringing more than 100 shows a year to the Niagara area. The Warehouse Concert venue is certainly a valuable addition to Niagara’s music scene. For more information visit The Warehouse Concert Hall on Facebook.

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I’M WITH HER

BY GABRIELLE TIEMAN I BY MEGAN PASCHE

Jolene Antle, Garden City Essentials

Lori McDonald, Provisions Food Company

the power of women helping women Inspiration can come from a myriad of sources; a rousing speech, a film that strikes a note, or a persistent creative thought from your own heart and mind. And though you could have all of the drive in the world to foster this inspiration and build from it, taking off further can sometimes require the support of other like-minded creative souls. >>

on this page – Shannon Passero TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 31

This was the case for principled fashion designer and successful entrepreneur ponent and we will award 10 thousand dollars to one woman business owner,” Shannon Passero. From the very beginning, Passero has teamed with women said Passero. “We found that, in previous years, recipients commented on how from across the globe as well as in her own Niagara backyard to grow her busi- valuable it was to have even a minimal amount of mentoring that naturally ness and help develop her own creative ideas into successful products and a went hand-in-hand with the award. So, this year, we changed our grant so we thriving business; in tandem, embracing the fact that it takes teamwork and a can focus on providing that vital assistance, plus the $10,000 dollars, which will village [sometimes multiple] to turn a dream into a reality. be given to one deserving business for the year.”

For years, Passero has made ethics, sustainability and environmentally Passero has kept the application and business requirements straight forward; friendly manufacturing processes cornerstones of her thriving clothing busi- applicants must be Ontario-based businesses with women in a significant leadness. That has helped her to build a successful business she can feel good about ership role which utilize the principles of social consciousness, sustainability while fostering the growth and the and innovation in their products well-being of the thousands of Third and in their production.

World women who help to manufacIn addition, Passero also ture her products. looks for a solid business plan As co-founder of the Pure Handknit and a long-term growth stratline – a collection of individually hand egy for each applicant. All must knit sweaters that are famous for their also demonstrate how the grant recycled coconut shells buttons – she money will enhance the growth of employs over four thousand woman their business and show financial knitters in Thailand. Her clothing line documents that reflect the current Neon Buddha, a lifestyle line of comhealth and future potential of the fortable and versatile clothing which current business. can take you from work to home to “When you start building a yoga with the right accessory tweaks business, you don’t usually have – also employs another eight hundred any extra funds or access to seed staff. money,” said Passero. “So, for me, Today, she is playing an integral part just like for any entrepreneur, in the remodel of downtown Thorold receiving a financial grant would – her successful storefront The Post have definitely helped with any Office on Front Street continues to number of things.” thrive as she expands into home furPassero said the grant will now – Sheryl Sandberg, nishings and expands on her local gift go hand in hand with mentoring Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and décor suppliers. and networking opportunities – Passero as well has taken to philanas assistance should not stop once thropy and supporting local female the cheque has cleared. entrepreneurs just like herself.

“Our grant program will also now provide mentoring, camaraderie and netSince 2013, the Shannon Passero Women’s Business Grant Program has working opportunities, which are vital when you’re launching your business or helped give female entrepreneurs in Ontario the extra push they need to grow trying to take it to the next level,” said Passero. “I recently read a study about their businesses; annually awarding two grant recipients $12,500 dollars each mentoring that found that 63 percent of the more than 300 businesswomen to further their dreams. interviewed said they never had a formal mentor. Yet, mentoring is considered “I got the idea for the grant program after reading Sheryl Sandberg’s book to be essential to career success.

Lean In,” says Passero. “I realized I wanted to inspire women to pursue new “It’s so important to have someone believe in your work and empower new opportunities and creative solutions to move their businesses forward in a sus- opportunities through mentoring and financial support, and I hope the grant tainable way.” does all these things,” said Passero.

And though the grant program has been hugely successful since its concepPassero's roster of past grant recipients is broad and varied. From innotion in 2013, the program plans to evolve in 2017. vative local foodie Lori McDonald, founder of Provisions Food Company “For [2017], we will evolve and change the award to have a mentoring com- which creates handmade, all natural food, accompaniments, picnic pairings

We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored’

and more; Jordan winery owner and winemaker Sue-Anne Staff, who's fresh innovative wine brand Fancy Farm Girl has quickly become an Ontario wide favourite; and entrepreneur Stacey Vukovics, founder and creator of Huggaloops – a line of baby carriers, wearable accessories and wrap- free baby wraps which keep mom and baby close, content and hands free.

The most recent grant recipients included Jackie Troup, owner of Blossom Bakery, whose vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free and kosher baked goods have created more options for sweet tooth lovers with allergies and aversions; and Jolene Antle, owner of Garden City Essentials – a line of formulated from scratch natural skin care products which are hand poured, blended and 100 per cent cruelty, synthetic and harmful ingredients free.

Passero said that Lori McDonald explained that winning her grant was a tipping point for her business; the following year, McDonald’s sales increased by 74 per cent.

“It gave me the capital contribution I needed to further invest in crucial resources,” said McDonald. “The grant enabled me to hire key people that I am able to rely on. As a team, we are able to pursue so much more than I was able to do on my own. It also gave me the opportunity to build up the infrastructure of my business. I was able to invest in two crucial pieces of equipment as well as hire experts to help with branding and marketing to take my business to the next level. And last, but most importantly, the grant has given me the confidence to pursue my goals and to reach higher than I thought possible.”

Passero said that she believes now, more than ever, that it’s time to instill confidence in woman entrepreneurs.

“I want to encourage creative business women who are focused on introducing and developing new innovative products,” said Passero. “According to a recent Statistics Canada report, while increasing numbers of women have become entrepreneurs in the past 30 years, men continue to dominate. In 2015, just 38.8 per cent of self-employed people were women. As well, women are less likely to have an incorporated business while self-employed.

In 2015, 34.2 per cent of self-employed women had an incorporated business compared to 53.2 per cent of men. Women are also less likely than men to have paid help, incorporated or not.

“As you know, I have great respect for Sheryl Sandberg, and she has said, ‘We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored’,” said Passero.

Information about Passero’s grant and business can be found on her website shannonpassero.com >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 33

J

olene Antle is the perfect example of a person who took a passion, ran with it, and turned it into one of the cities most promising new businesses. It was the kind of career transition that happened naturally, and was born of the motivation to improve her own life, while finding out along the way that what she was making was also something that other people wanted.

Her company, Garden City Essentials, creates all natural, sustainably sourced, organic, fair trade, cruelty free skin products, and she has amassed such a following due to her presence at the St. Catharines farmers market and local handmade markets, that she will soon be opening up a brand new retail spot on James Street later this summer.

Garden City Essentials is a second career for Antle, who has employed for several years in theatre and film, where she worked as a costume designer. She made her way to Niagara after getting a job at the Shaw Festival, and was soon after diagnosed with an autoimmune thyroid condition. This, she says, led her to really examine her health, and the products she was using on an everyday basis. She also began experimenting in her kitchen making soaps, which she says provided the perfect creative outlet. At the same time, she was visiting a massage therapist, who was helping her deal with the stress of her job; this therapist knew a lot about essential oils, which led Antle to become interested in them. She expands, saying, “I guess essential oils were the gateway, and also wanting to use all natural products. I always thought natural soaps were really nice. And I loved making them. Things just kind of snowballed from there.” She made the decision to go back to school at the Private Institute of Holistic Nutrition (from which she recently graduated), and her business eventually went from selling products to friends and family, to expanding her line, to include skin care items. She notes that the more she connected with people, the more passionate she became about promoting self care for everybody.

Her philosophy, right from the start, has always been about quality products, simplicity, minimalism, and never doing anything that would compromise the effectiveness of a product. Her aim is to keep it small and local, grow organically, while always keeping it simple and pure.

And of course, while her success is due to hard work and the quality of the products she produces, she mentions that there have been a lot of support from the community of entrepreneurs in Niagara, specifically woman, who spend a lot of their time buoying each other up. Antle was recently one of the recipients of the 2016 Women’s Business Grant from Shannon Passero, and she says that this grant has helped her tremendously in growing her business. She explains, “I’ve been using it to expand my production capabilities, and it helped me with my buying power, in terms of being able to buy larger quantities of ingredients.

And I’ve hired two part time employees, as well as invested in some

equipment to help streamline things.” And it’s not just Shannon, who Jolene says, “is just incredible. She puts herself out all over the place, and it’s inspiring just watching her, even from a distance. She’s a dynamo, and she’s offered great advice”, it’s a whole community of woman. Jolene continues, “someone else that comes to mind is Sarah Jarvis from Craft Arts Market, she’s just a very smart woman, who is great at business.

Tracey Duru, from Moksha Yoga is just such an amazing, warm, generous person who offers great advice. There are really great businesses being opened here by woman. There are a lot of women that are starting things up. I’ve met so many makers and small business women that have become my friends. The feeling of support is really strong.”

Jolene’s store, while quite tiny (it is going to occupy the space on James Street that housed Jewelry by Catherine for many years. It’s long and narrow and used to be an alleyway), will be the perfect place to put down some roots. Jolene’s products fill a gap in a local market, and this will provide a permanent place where people will be able to go to buy all natural products. She’ll be carrying her own line, as well as other local lines, that fit in well with the vision she has. Downtown St. Catharines has turned a corner in recent years, and is steadily growing into one of the most sought after areas to base a business. It’s still a small community though, which lends itself to the whole “work together and support each other” vibe that is often tangible down there. Is there a better way when you are just starting out? I doubt it.

And while Jolene is well on her way to building Niagara’s own natural skin care empire, she remains fully immersed in the local business community. She was recently a panelist at the Dream, Girl movie screening in St. Catharines, which saw several female business owners come together for a panel discussion. And she has some words of advice for anybody hoping to turn their passion into a business. “Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect situation or to have enough money. If you have something that can be viable, just go for it. Even if you start out making stuff in your kitchen. One thing leads to the next. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and just start. Do anything. Do something.”

“Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect situation or to have enough money.”

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 35

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THE SCIENCE OF INFLUENCE AND GETTING WHAT YOU WANT

BY MARIANA BOCKAROVA

N

ot too long ago, I taught a course at the University of Toronto titled the ‘Psychology of Persuasion’. The reason I believed the course was worthwhile was not, as I had initially worried, to encourage manipulative behaviour in the workplace or general psychological malice onto society - characteristics the word ‘persuasion’ generally conjure up to mind - but because in my pre-PhD career in advertising, I noticed the effect that certain influential skills had on the public from buying toys at non-peak seasons of the year to craving fast food after just having eaten dinner. While the principles of persuasion could indeed be used to manipulate, my rationalization for offering such a course, and now, writing this article, was to believe that most people generally strive to do well in the world and generally operate within some sort of moral compass. As sentiments similarly noted by the ‘Father of Influence’, Dr. Robert Cialdini, his six principles are worth taking note of: >> TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 37

COMMITMENT & CONSISTENCY

RECIPROCITY As a child, I noticed that whenever I was in a mall, salespeople would reach over to my mother and offer her a dollop of hand cream, a tiny vial of perfume, or simply a branded knick-knack, to which she would, almost without fail, wave her hand in protest. Whenever I asked her why she refused the kind gesture, she would say it was because she didn’t want to be indebted to purchase anything.

Indeed, the principle of reciprocity is a strong one.

This is because in our evolutionary history, cooperation is a skill of survival, and if someone ‘gives’, we feel the need to ‘give’ as well. Thus, if marketing a product, exerting influence using this principle can mean offering free samples or incentives to buy, like a price kickback, or offering informational services and being helpful to those around you, if in a more traditional role. The key here is to provide information that is helpful and positive, because, as Cialdini puts it, “there is a natural human tendency to dislike a person who brings us unpleasant information, even when that person did not cause the bad news. The simple association with it is enough to stimulate our dislike.” And, as detailed below, there is very little hope of exerting influence if we are disliked.

SOCIAL PROOF Here’s an easy exercise you can try at home: Play your favourite show which featured a laugh track (shows such as Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory are all good possibilities), and watch it with the laugh track removed (some muted versions of the shows are also uploaded on YouTube) or on mute with closed captioning on. Chances are, it won’t be as funny as you had first thought: According to research, audiences laugh longer and more often when a laugh track is running, and moreover, they tend to rate the material as ‘funnier’. Why might this be? As Cialdini noted, it’s social proof: We view a behaviour as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others similarly enacting it. This is why, you might notice, in situations which are awkward or difficult, people will look at others before behaving, to ensure their reaction is socially acceptable and/or “correct”: No one wants to be the black sheep or ‘odd man out’. Social proof is thus important to humans because we make fewer mistakes, hypothetically, when we go along with the crowd. Although there are pitfalls to going with instead of against the grain (such as the bystander effect, wherein everyone assumes another person is helping an individual in need and they are merely, like the others around them, bystanders), marketers have exploited the idea of social proof by touting that they have the “fastest-growing” or “largest selling” product or service. In other words, we tend to think, if everyone else is doing it, so should I!

As our society values commitment and consistency, so do we, as individuals: When we say ‘yes’ to something, we are much less likely to back out of it because keeping our word is a noble quality and it allows us to function well as a society. The need to ‘save face’ and be consistent is deeply ingrained in us, and we fear the shame attached to not being a consistent person: As Cialdini notes, “Embarrassment is a villain to be crushed”. Interestingly, according to new research, the older we get, the more we become ‘set in our ways’ and value consistency.

We can use this principle to influence others by getting them to say yes to something small, preferably through a public declaration, then gradually making larger requests (also known as the ‘foot-in-the-door’ technique).

Another way in which we can profit by the use of commitment and consistency is to remind someone who is hesitant to side with you of decisions they’ve made in their past: By highlighting how your request is similar, you thereby indicate that the decision they are currently facing should be consistent with one they’ve made in the past.

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AUTHORITY

LIKING It should come as no surprise – particularly if you’ve ever been invited to an Avon sale, Tupperware party, or thinly veiled pyramid scheme like those of multi-level marketing companies – that we tend to say ‘yes’ to people we know and like. Hearing our name said over and over – a common selling technique – helps us like the person we are speaking with, especially if they are physically attractive, as does receiving compliments and finding similarities between ourselves and the person we are speaking with.

According to Cialdini, “One of the things that marketers can do is honestly report on the extent to which the product or service – or the people who are providing the product or service – are similar to the audience and know the audience’s challenges, preferences and so on.”

Simply put, people respect others who are credible experts in their field. We’d be much more likely to pay special medical attention to someone named ‘Dr. Oz’ than we would to simply a mysterious man from ‘Oz’ (pun intended).

We are similarly significantly more willing to purchase performance-enhancement products if they are promoted by people with superior physical skill (a reason why product endorsements are so lucrative for athletes). We trust our ‘dentist-recommended’ toothpaste brands, not because we understand the chemistry of toothpaste enough to differentiate between brands, but simply because we see ‘dentist recommended’ on the packaging, and who wouldn’t trust a dentist when it comes to toothpaste?

Even a well-known spaghetti sauce brand has recently used, in new commercial advertising, an interesting showing of authority to attest the greatness of their sauce: Italian grandmothers. Why? Because all of these authoritative individuals, Italian grandmothers and their sauce-tasting abilities included, are presumably far more knowledgeable about a specific topic than we are. It saves us time to put our trust in an authority; it’s cognitively resourceful and also helps shift the blame if the products we’ve purchased don’t turn out to be as wonderful as we’d been led to believe by the aforementioned authority. So, to employ influence, become a recognized expert about a certain subject and exert influence based on your expertise, whether that’d be on your work-team or your soccer team. Similarly, if promoting a product or service, incorporate testimonials from recognized experts which would help potential customers differentiate your brand from that of another.

SCARCITY “There are only a few pieces left!”, “Don’t miss this rare opportunity...”- “Here’s what you’ll miss out on if you don’t call within the next fifteen minutes ...”. If you’ve ever watched a shopping channel, or late-night infomercials, exploiting scarcity is a tactic that’s often used because it’s tried and true. According to Cialdini, in the case of scarcity, ”The feeling of being in competition for scarce resources has powerfully motivating properties…[and] the joy is not in experiencing a scarce commodity but in possessing it.”

The principle here, as it is commonly exploited, plays on the impression that we are losing something: “The idea of potential loss plays a large role in human decision making. In fact, people seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value.” Thus, in order to exert influence using this technique, emphasizing what someone will be missing by not buying your product or services, or not taking your advice, is a much greater strategy than emphasizing the benefits.

While not all of these techniques will work, as they are context-dependent and required to be carefully considered within a specific setting for maximum efficacy, being armed with the knowledge of the principles needed to exert influence can not only help us become more influential, but it can help us recognize when we are being influenced, as well.

You may be amazing at your job, but what kind of employee are you? Take our quiz to find out what type of employee you are.

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THETODAYMAGAZINE.CA 43

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TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 45

I knew what I had to do.

Appointment with job coach? Check. Books, CD’s and websites about charting my course? Check. Three-ring binder for a time log, pertinent magazine articles, interviewing tips and the newest trends? Check. Update my resume? Check.

Next, I registered with job sites, created a profile on LinkedIn and made it known to my friends on Facebook that I was looking for work. Check, check and check.

I keyed “Employment in Niagara, Ontario” into Google and there were over 3,000,000 hits! Surely, with all my brilliant planning - and all those jobs - there was a one for me! (I was already planning how to spend my first paycheque!)

Imagine my chagrin when two years later, I still didn’t have a job.

“Chagrin.” Interesting word. It means “distress” and “embarrassment.” Not quite deep enough, in my opinion. I would say I felt “demoralized.” There is (almost) nothing worse than being an adult who wants to work and can’t. I wanted to be a contributing member of my family, my community and the world. I might be exaggerating a little – but not much.

Sure, I’d tried the online job sites. I’d checked the classifieds.

I’d chosen specific employers and looked at their job boards, applying for whatever was available. I’d checked out the government job board. I’d sent out resumes to chosen employers, cold. I’d “pounded the pavement” by hand-delivering resumes, which these days, is an unusual way to conduct a job search.

Sure, I’d heard back from a couple. None had produced a viable job.

So, what’s a discouraged job seeker to do?

There comes a time when one must defer to the experts. My path was a little like a board game – one step forward, three steps back. I had some great strategies but I lacked the one thing I needed most: guidance and support from someone who knew exactly where to go and what to do.

Meet Anne Charette. She is a shining example of walking the walk. As President of Burke Employment Group in St. Catharines, she has guided her company through profound changes to the employment culture in Niagara over the last 35 years. As the culture changed, Burke Employment Group adapted to meet those needs.

Her enthusiasm for her work is evident in her voice.

“When I meet new clients,” Charette said, “it’s like a new job, over and over again!”

I’d contacted her to get advice for job seekers in Niagara. She provided that. But I also learned about her personal experience, as she built her company. I found it both helpful and motivating. Her ability to watch, listen, learn and adapt as the Niagara employment landscape changed is the very same strategy that job seekers need.

These are not the days of your granddad’s job search, or even your parents’. For Baby Boomers (those between the ages of 53 – 71) it’s not even the job search of your younger years.

It’s a whole new ballgame and you’d better know the rules.

DON’T PANIC This, says Charette, is the biggest mistake that job seekers make. You may be traumatized, angry, hurt and scared. A lot depends on the circumstances of your unemployment. Now is the time to take care of yourself. Eating healthy, staying hydrated and sleeping are as important now as they were while employed.

If your prior employer offers a transition program, take advantage of it. When I was out of work, I was able to check in with a job coach, who helped me get my work experience in order and edit my resume. Unfortunately, it was temporary.

This is why finding someone who will help you all the way through is vital to your ultimate success.

DON’T THROW EVERYTHING AGAINST THE WALL At first, you’re picky. You think you have time. But as the calls don’t come in, you panic (see point 1). You begin to apply for jobs for which you know you’re over- or underqualified. You get no calls. Nothing sticks.

Be thoughtful, particular and realistic about your job search.

I loved what Charette said about resumes and cover letters: “A resume is a statement of fact. It should not change from job to job. A cover letter is to sell yourself. This is a fluid, living document that will change from job to job.”

She added, “Read the job posting. Don’t skim it. Read it thoroughly, point by point. Use the same language in your cover letter. Don’t assume anything.”

DON’T TAKE THE FIRST JOB THAT COMES ALONG I remember going to a job fair shortly after becoming unemployed. I was interviewed and hired on the spot. Danger, Will Robinson! On the surface, it seemed okay. It was a long-time company. It was full time with benefits. I was there for exactly 1.5 days before I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.

Go back to the last point – be particular!

GET SUPPORT An expert will work on a job search plan with you and will move at your pace. They will provide options and introductions. They will have your back throughout the process.

“It sounds like you’re a little bit job coach, a little bit head hunter, and a little bit therapist,” I said to Charette as we finished our conversation.

“It is,” she answered.

If you’re looking for work in Niagara, take heart. And get support!

Charette summed up her philosophy about being a conduit for prospective employees and employers in one sentence: “You know you’re not alone.”

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 47

T H E

G A T E W A Y

T O

P O S I T I V E

C H A N G E :

HYPNOSIS

BY FLAVIO IAMMARINO, PH.D, SW, C.CHT

H

ypnosis is not new. It has been around for centuries and from the very beginning there have been substantial benefits to the use of hypnosis not only for mind body healing, but also for personal development and improvement.

In the late 50’s and 60’s hypnosis was not only accepted but it was thought to be on the verge of becoming mainstream — a medical commonplace. It was used quite regularly by doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, psychologists and other therapists as a means to help people get better and to develop a healthy non-invasive way to heal and make positive lasting change. In some cases hypnosis was even used very successfully as an anesthetic for surgery. Hypnosis was also used to help people experiencing and suffering from worry, fear, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms caused by stress. During this time thousands of doctors received training in this ancient medical tool and leading medical schools introduced it into their curriculums.

The truth is, the power of our mind has an incredible ability to heal the physical body when there is an emotional component involved. The body’s behaviour is constantly influenced by the mind and during hypnosis the mind becomes very receptive to suggestion. We have the ability to build rapport between our conscious and subconscious mind during hypnosis and tap into belief systems and habits that we may have developed even in early childhood. Through hypnosis a person can access these stored memories that may be shaping their current day decisions, and reactions to situations, and change them to create positive change instantly.

Unfortunately, as hypnosis became more popular there were certain groups and physicians that gave hypnosis a bad rap because of a lack of understanding of it. Different negative opinions about hypnosis started to surface, and because of this lack of understanding certain people accepted the negative opinions as being true.

Fast-forward to 2017 and even today there is so much about our mind that we do not understand or utilize fully. Hypnosis has been thrown into the ‘alternative medicine’ pool not because it is not an effective method of treatment for so many things but because it is not a mainstream modality.

Regardless of other people’s opinions about hypnosis I had to find out about it for myself. Could it really help people make positive change to their mind, body and spirit? That was about 20 years ago and since then I have been using hypnosis to help people make profound changes in a very short period of time.

I use hypnosis not only for my clinical practice to treat people suffering from stress, depression, anxiety, worry and fear but also in sports and corporate settings for personal growth and development.

Over the past 20 years I have been asked many different questions about hypnosis. Let me begin by saying that hypnosis is not invasive and it can help you if you believe.

What is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a relaxed state of mind that allows positive changes to take place in the subconscious mind.

Is hypnosis safe? Yes. Hypnosis is totally safe because in hypnosis you are always in total control.

Can anyone be hypnotized? Yes. Anyone can be hypnotized if they wish to be.

Do you black out during hypnosis? Contrary to popular belief most people do NOT black out during hypnosis. Be aware that most people are socially hypnotized on a daily basis by commercials, music, TV, etc., and going into a hypnotic state is no different.

In the last few years I have been receiving calls of desperation from people that have tried everything to ease their mind. Stress from their jobs and the pressures of day-to-day life have become more demanding and difficult to cope with. The people who call say they have tried other ways to alleviate their stress but nothing works and they do not feel any better. They often say they are calling to try hypnosis as their last chance to regain peace. Once they try hypnosis they are amazed by the results and often say they wish they had tried it years earlier – it is life changing.

It is important to understand that there is no right or wrong therapy. The right therapy is the one that helps the client achieve a well-formed outcome. It is also important to remember that although hypnosis can help a person to achieve their desired outcome, what determines success is the proficiency, understanding and implementations of specific techniques by the therapist. Like in any field not all professionals are created equal and in therapy not all hypnotherapists are proficient or offer the same level of expertise. It is up to you to research. Ask questions until you are satisfied with the answers but more importantly until your instinct tells you it feels right. Remember that the only way that you can eliminate a problem is to find the root cause of the problem and then disconnect with it. By doing this the problem will disappear. Hypnosis can help you achieve a healthier, happier, and more abundant professional and personal life — the power is already inside of you, it is just a matter of tapping into it!

To learn more about how hypnosis can help you in your business and personal life call Flavio at 905-684-1717 or contact him by email with your questions at flavio@askflavio.com. He welcomes your enquiries.

A man is but the product of his thoughts.

What he thinks he becomes.

– M Gandhi

ASK THE EXPERT //COLUMN

Money vs Productivity

Seeing Above It All’s can’t convince their coworkers that they are working against all of their best interests.

By upping ther game at work they are essentially ‘working themselves out of a job,’....

Dear Mariana, I currently work in a temp data entry job for a large company. The pay is decent, but the work is a lot like working in a factory where our “productivity suggestion” from management is 150 new data entries every day. My contract is three weeks long but if the team of temps finish early, we only get paid for the time we’ve worked, not for the full three weeks. Some of the temps go way beyond the productivity suggestions, inputting close to 1000 a day. Then they brag about it. How can anyone be SO stupid? Don’t they want to get paid for the full time we’re here? I’ve tried explaining this to the people who sit around me, and telling them to stop working so fast, hoping that they’ll spread the word to slow down so we can get paid for all of the days in our contract, but they just laugh and say “it’s like we’re working ourselves out of a job!” and then continue to work fast and brag about how many new data sets they’ve entered. It makes me so mad! How are they this stupid? What can I do to get them to slow down and get paid for the full amount of time we are here?

Sincerely, Seeing Above It Dear Seeing Above It, Thanks for writing in. What you’ve done by trying to encourage those around you to work only to the suggested targets instead of beyond them in order to reap the financial rewards is based on an economic principle known as collusion. Collusion generally occurs when two or more parties act in their greatest interest by making agreements to stabilize the marketplace in a way that most benefits them. In your case, getting everyone to input less data would ensure that everyone is paid for the full three weeks,

‘What can I do to get them to slow down and get paid for the full amount of time we are here? ’

acting in what you presume to be the best interest for all of the temporary workers.

I wonder, however, in terms of your personal well being, how constructive it is to see your colleagues as stupid, and assume that what they value through this job is what you value. By that I mean to say, much of the focus in your email is centered around being paid for the full time allotted, and you derive anger from potentially not being paid and direct it towards your colleagues. As a running theme, this suggests to me that you value money over the work itself: Have you ever considered that perhaps your colleagues value doing as well as they can in their role more than being paid for the full three weeks?

Perhaps they feel the productivity suggestion is a goal which they take pride in surpassing, because they enjoy their work and find purpose in it. Doing well is therefore in their best interest. This may be especially true for people who score high on the personality dimension known as contentiousness, who are extremely hardworking, highly orderly, and actually feel negative emotions if they are not working to the best of their ability.

There are certainly ways in which you can persuade people by appealing to their wants and needs, but the real question you should consider asking is whether doing so is really worth your stress. I think, instead of focusing your energy on impressing your values upon your colleagues in hopes of changing them - something which you’ve already discovered does not work - the person who would get the greatest benefit from changing, as cliché as it sounds, is you: Finding more meaningful work, which is hopefully more stable and can take some of the financial pressure off, with goals that are challenging and thus can feel rewarding to overcome might be better suited for you.

Good luck!

Mariana

Need expert advice? Reach out to Mariana at asktheexpert@revpublishing.com with your concerns.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 51

]

THINK YOU DON’T NEED TRAVEL INSURANCE? THINK AGAIN.

]

Even when you’ve planned your trip down to the last detail, the unexpected can happen, so it’s best to be prepared. Travel insurance can help. Here is a real-life situation involving travellers who were glad to have the protection and assistance it provides when it counted most.

On Jason and Brenda’s Mexican vacation, Jason was injured in a paragliding accident. He was airlifted to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery.

After surgery, he needed to return home early. Because he had to cut his trip short, he also lost a good portion of his pre-paid trip costs.

Emergency hospital and interruption benefits: $69,800 USD All-inclusive package plan: $105 CAD

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//REV INSIDER

the evolution of local brand management

By Layton Risto

INTRODUCING REVIEW BUILDER AND LOCAL ALERTS One negative review of a business or service, accounts for the loss of 30 potential customers. At Rev Publishing we want you to avoid this misfortune, which is why we are introducing our exciting new product Review Builder and Local Alerts. This product encompasses listing verifications, and review management in order to enhance your online presence, and brand reputation. Local brand management is the new frontier of digital marketing.

Consider the following scenario: a customer is looking for a business like yours, what is the first thing they would do? Without a doubt, they would use a search engine like Google to find business in their area to fit their need. When the list of businesses appears, 53% of the time the customer will go to the business in the top spot.

Therefore, we want to your business to be in that top spot. The key to ranking prominently in local search engine results for business locations comes down to ensuring individual data is accurate and optimized, across every location in our brand network.

Rather than simply distribute your data as is, AdFuel performs upfront discovery and research to ensure the best possible data is delivered to the search engines and other channels. We conduct research to develop a search optimization strategy. Finally, we

focus optimizations around core keywords, ensuring a positive impact on longer tail search terms.

Once you are on top, we keep you there by providing proactive accuracy adjustments, listing updates and more. Further we track the accuracy and search-ranking performance for branded and non-branded terms your target market is searching for. By identifying opportunities to improve accuracy and search ranking performance for branded and non-branded terms, we guarantee success.

Our Review Builder is a platform for collecting customer feedback and generating positive reviews for your locations. Feedback requests are sent to your customers via email or text using customizable campaigns that you can setup and manage directly within the platform. By generating more reviews from your customers you are able to improve your online rankings and enhance your reputation online. Further you are able to prevent negative reviews form destroying your online reputation and driving away customers.

This comprehensive new product will generate more customers, enhance your brand reputation and lead to increased sales. We want to get Review Builder and Local Alerts working for you right away. Give us a call at 905 356 7283 or send us an email getstarted@adfuel.me to learn more. >> TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 53

THE BREAKDOWN The local SEO #1 spot gets more clicks than the #2, 3, 4 and 5 spots combined.

And we have the software proven to get you there.

HOW WE DO IT The key to ranking prominently in local search engine results for business locations comes down to ensuring individual data is accurate & optimized, across every location in our brand network. To say it simply, we make sure all the business data like address, phone number and hours, is consistent across the internet. Doing this dramatically increases your SEO presence, making you show higher in local online searches!

OUR LOCAL LISTING MANAGEMENT PROCESS DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH Rather than simply distribute your data as is, AdFuel performs upfront discovery and research to ensure the best possible data is delivered to the search engines and other channels.

RESEARCH Preliminary keyword and competitive research to develop a search optimization strategy.

OPTIMIZE Focus optimizations around core keywords, ensuring a positive impact on longer tail search terms.

OUR LOCAL SEO TOOLS ALL UNDER ONE ROOF

REVIEWS

Measure reputation by location from 20+ sites with daily email alerts

LISTINGS

Name, address, phone and website variation across the web along with duplicate detection

SOCIAL

Location mentions Facebook, Twitter, blogs & articles with daily email alerts

OUR LOCAL LISTING MAINTENANCE PROCESS

RANKINGS

Web and maps search rankings for custom keywords per location

PROACTIVE LISTING UPDATES

AdFuel’s service provides proactive accuracy adjustments, listing updates, and more.

MONITOR

Track the accuracy and search ranking performance for branded and non-branded terms your target market is searching for.

ANALYZE

Identify opportunities to improve accuracy and search ranking performance for branded and non-branded terms.

RE-OPTIMIZE

Continue to refine the optimization strategy and make proactive accuracy adjustments. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 55

HOW REVIEW GENERATION WORKS Review builder is a platform for collecting customer feedback and generating positive reviews for your locations.

Feedback requests are sent to your customers via email or text using customizable campaigns that you can setup and manage directly within the platform.

1.

2.

We set up the platform online that you’d like to build more reviews for.

(Facebook, Google, Business page, Yelp, etc...).

Customizable email and text message campaigns

Simply add your customer’s contact info (mobile number or email.)

Our API (Application Program Interface) allows you to easily Integrate Review Builder

Campaign analytics

Mobile friendly

3.

The AdFuel system will analyze which online platform needs more reviews and automatically send your client the review request.

Add positive reviews directly to your website

4.

You receive alerts from AdFuel telling you about your brand new review and where it was written.

Request customer feedback internally

White label platform keeps it branded to You

Unlimited contacts

BUSINESSES THAT

RESPOND TO OVER

50%

• Generate more reviews for your company.

OF THEIR REVIEWS

GROW 2X

BENEFITS

THE RATE

• A single dashboard manages all external reviews as well as internal reviews/customer feedback.

• Improve rankings and enhance your reputation online.

• Prevent negative reviews from destroying your online reputation and driving away customers!

OF THOSE WHO IGNORE REVIEWS

GET TO THE TOP OF LOCAL ONLINE SEARCHES. Give us a call at 905 356 7283 or send us an email getstarted@adfuel.me to learn more.

When you support local business, you’re supporting a dream.

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U N D ER STA N D TH E P LATFOR M Before you begin your social media journey, you must first understand your options. There are five main platforms that prove to be beneficial for countless businesses. The first and main platform is Facebook. If you are not already on Facebook, get on it. This platform can be the most useful to encourage website traffic, publish news and entertainment content, and connect to a wide audience. The next social platform to consider is Twitter, which is best for real-time updates and news. Content that is time sensitive and behind the scenes is the best for Twitter. Instagram is the visual platform. A picture is worth a thousand words, and posting expressive images allows your audience to connect with you on a deeper level. LinkedIn is for business-to-business relationships, meaning you should only post professional content that is relevant, like business news and employment offerings. Finally, Pinterest is optimal for boosting site traffic, increasing in-store sales and driving online actions. It is ideal for companies with stores and exclusive designs.

FIN D YOU R VOIC E

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

By Layton Risto

Social media is a great tool to solidify your market position. It enables you to grow your business, generate brand awareness and even create connections with your customers faster than ever before. Similar to any tool, social media must be used correctly in order to ensure continued success. The following three tips will get you started in the world of social media marketing.

Now that you have selected your platforms, you must determine your online voice. In order to find your voice, you should define your audience, language, tone, and purpose of what you are saying. All are a part of an important symbiotic relationship.

Your audience is anyone you wish to interact with. Ask yourself: who are these individuals? What is their age? Where are they from? What brings them to the social media platform? In many cases, your audience will be a mix of customers, business partners and even the competition. Be sure that your voice accounts for your diverse audience.

Finally, consider the language you wish to use. You are able to be both casual and professional at the same time. By presenting yourself as business casual you are able to relate to the millennial and the baby boomer generation.

POST OFTEN Social Media is all about telling your brand’s story. To do so, you must post consistently for your story to be heard. Here are some general rules broken down by platform to help you avoid the pitfalls of over posting.

Aim to post no more than once a day on Facebook, you want your content to stay upfront on your fans feed but not be saturated with irrelevant posts.

On the other hand, due to Twitter’s real time nature, you can post as much as you want as long as the messaging is different. To be successful, aim to post at least 3 times a day.

Instagram uses an algorithm which no longer displays content based on when it was posted, so as long as your images are relevant, post as often as you would like.

When posting on LinkedIn, be subjective and only post when content makes sense to B2B viewers.

Lastly Pinterest. You should be posting often with a variety of products, looks and designs from your business so that customers can pin and save ideas.

Social media should be utilized in order to share your brand’s story, and connect with consumers. Not all platforms are beneficial for all industries, so be sure to evaluate your own business and assess the needs.

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 59

BY JUSTIN SOUNGIE

TEN TOOLS

TO DOUBLE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY

With

the days getting even busier we become more aware that every day is limited to only 24 hours, no matter how far technology advances. Instead of focusing on what we can’t change, the battle should be focusing on how we can use technology to make the most out of the time we do have.

But that opens you up to spending even more time you don’t already have. Even if you find the app, is it compatible with your iPhone? Or Android? Or PC? This all just takes more time to figure it out, reading reviews and researching online.

There are a lot of tools that were created to help you organize your life and business, but use this resource to see the tools that I’ve used over the past couple years that have made the cut. >>

TODAYMAGAZINE.CA 61

1PASSWORD

Passwords are something we can almost universally agree that we can’t stand.

We also all know that we can’t live without them. That is unless you don’t mind the wave of problems coming your way if your password is compromised.

1Password is one of the easiest password management tools that only require you to remember one master password to sign in to all your accounts. And not just passwords, but everything from credit cards to even the alarm code to your home. They keep your security at the top of their list with strong AES-256 encryption. It’s also compatible across all devices. 1password.com/

DROPBOX

The easiest way to think about Dropbox is like a USB stick that you can’t misplace. You can store everything on it from videos and images to files and documents, as you would your USB. It works on all devices and you can even share specific files with other people securely online.

SITE BLOCK

This easy to use Chrome Plugin only needs to be installed on your Chrome browser and it will get to work. The plugin allows you to assign yourself a certain amount of time to browse a website everyday, once you’ve hit the limit you are no longer allowed to access the site. This works perfectly with RescueTime to block sites like Facebook so you can get that extra help to stay focused.

SPOTIFY

Research has commonly proven that music can engage many different parts of the brain and change our state of mind. Spotify is a music service that has a seemingly endless amount of music and genres. It suggests new playlists and music, both based on your listening habits and even by the time of day. There are a lot of great lists created for studying and work productivity. You can even create your own playlists. See if Spotify is the app you need to help give you that extra bump of focus.

POCKET

We all come across interesting articles or videos and don’t always have time to look at them immediately, but we also don’t want to lose them. Pocket lets you save directly from your browser or even an app and is available on all platforms.

Now you can comfortably focus and get back to work.

RESCUETIME

Distractions, they happen to the best of us. And not all distractions are bad, check a Facebook post, look at an interesting YouTube video. But just how much productive time are you actually wasting in a day? RescueTime is simple to install on any computer lets you see just how much time you are spending (or wasting) on Facebook during the day. Knowing how you really spend your time will help you become more productive. RescueTime even lets you create goals, such as spending only 30 minutes of Facebook during work hours.

MAILCHIMP

Emailing is still one of the most effective marketing tools. It allows you to stay in contact with a lot of customers at once and even provide them exclusive offers or incentives. The problems though have commonly been the difficulty creating the emails and cost for a bulk email service. Mailchimp one of the most popular email service that gives you an easy “drag & drop” builder to create your emails, and even tells you when customers open and interact with the email you sent. This service is free to businesses as long as their customer email list is under 2,000 subscribers.

7-MINUTE WORKOUT

Life is busy, and it’s hard to find the time to exercise. Working out enhances both your physical health and mental clarity for better concentration. And each exercise is only 3 seconds with a 10 second break in between. All that is required is a chair and 7 minutes. This simple change is as only long as the average YouTube video but unlike that second cat video, it will make your workdays even more productive.

SLEEP CYCLE

Being the most productive version of yourself starts from before you even get your feet out of bed. The quality of your sleep is the cornerstone to your mental clarity and wellness. Our phones are now able to use their accelerometer sensor and microphone to track our sleep. The Sleep Cycle app’s goal is to track the quality and length of your rest. It will wait until you are in the lightest stage of your sleep cycle in the period of time just before your alarm is set, so you are waking up in the best state. You just have to set the time you want to wake up and the app will do the rest. The data is tracked on an easy to read graph so you can see just how good your sleep really was.

GOOGLE DOCS

Google Docs is best thought like a cloud-based version of Microsoft Office application such as Word or Excel. You can access your document anywhere and you can easily invite people to either view the document or be able to edit the document in real-time. This makes it simple for teams to work together on the same document while tracking things like who made changes, or make comments on notes that are visible to others. It’s a great tool for those who have trouble keeping track of what document is the latest one and the best part is that it is compatible with Word and Excel, so if you do need to save or upload a document you still can.

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YOUR CULINARY ADVENTURE BEGINS

TODAY’S PEOPLE

SHARING THE LAUGHS, CELEBRATIONS & NEW BEGINNINGS

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY 2017 On March 3, Women in Niagara held their 16th Annual International Women’s Day celebration at Club Roma in St. Catharines. IWD 2017 was co-presented by Performance Acura and PenFinancial Credit Union #BeBoldForChange was the theme for this year’s Internatioanl Women’s Day. Thank you to our presenting sponsors Performance Acura and PenFinancial Credit Union as well as reception sponsor ableworks.ca, reception & table wine sponsor Sue Ann Staff Estate Winery, table sponsor The Inside View Inc., Thank you sponsor Pen Centre, audio-visuals by Soundbox Productions, centrepieces by Vine Floral, social media sponsor Janice and Robin, and takeaways Shannon Passero, Scotiabank Convention Centre, PenFinancial Credit Union and Performance Acura.

Julie Rorison, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, City of St. Catharines

Rosemary Drage Hale, Professor at Brock University and Ruth Unrau, Focus Coach

May Allison, Treasurer - Performance Auto Group

Leadership Niagara - Cameron Jones, Shane Malcolm

Brock University Darryl Veld, Amanda Laprise, Megan Locker

BUSINESS AFTER 5 On June 6, the Hilton Garden Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake hosted our Business After 5 Member Expo, part of the 2017 Business After 5 series presented by FirstOntario Credit Union, the St. Catharines Standard, Welland Tribune and Niagara Falls Review. Thank you to everyone who attended and networked with us! >>

TODAY’S PEOPLE TD NIAGARA JAZZ FESTIVAL MEDIA LAUNCH On June 6, 2017, The Hare Wine Co hosted the TD Niagara Jazz Festival Media Launch. At this event the 2017 Line Up was revealed along with a $50 000 cheque presented to the festival co-founders Juliet Dunn and Peter Shea from the title sponsor TD Canada Trust by Coby Hawkins, TD District Vice President. The festival takes place in Niagara-On-The-Lake July 28-30, 2017.

Peter Shea, Juliet Dunn and Coby Hawkins, Vice President TD Canada Trust

WHITE EFFECT DINNER

June 15, Queenston Heights – Celebrating Canada’s 150th in their best red and white attire is Joseph DiLibero and Modesta Tongan (inset, right). Proudly displaying our nation’s flag are Badri Ricci and Lisa Mollica (above).

Doug Mundy

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Grand Opening - Royal LePage June 15, Niagara Falls – Mayor Jim Diodati, MPP Wayne Gates join Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper and the Royal LePage Niagara Team at their grand opening.

todayspeople@revpublishing.com 905.356.7283 ext.120

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