Blair Kaplan Communications

A Real Moment in Time

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:40:50 +0000

It's true!

Yes, it is true. I love music and recently I have evoked a love for freestyle rapping….who know? You know what did this? Playground.is!

Yoga in Nicaragua? YES!

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 06:34:24 +0000

Copy Cats: Don’t Be One

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:50:59 +0000

Yes, it is true- all ideas stem from another idea. The goal is to be inspired to create something great and original. Sometimes the smallest change makes the biggest difference. As you know, I’m a big Pinterest fan and there are many alliterative versions to it.

Sadly, I had to hang my head in shame when I saw this article published by Mashable:

An app that takes the photos from your Facebook News Feed and puts them in a layout strikingly similar to Pinterest got the seal of approval from Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

The Facebook CEO pushed the “Like” button on the Friendsheet Facebook app, which launched in January but is now likely to gain plenty of traction from Zuckerberg’s thumbs-up. Nearly 12 million Facebook accounts subscribe to his Facebook Timeline.

The app displays public Facebook photos in small panels, just like popular social bookmarking site Pinterest showcases images on Pinboards. Although Friendsheet resembles Pinterest at first glance, the mastermind behind the app said it was also inspired by Facebook Timeline.

“The goal was to take Facebook photos, and turn it into a visual experience while maintaining speed, performance, and a great, intuitive experience,” Friendsheet creator Zachary Allia wrote on Facebook.

Friendsheet settings allow you to hide photo captions and comments for a more visual experience.

I’m curious to try it but the reason I love Pinterest is because it is so different. How do you feel?

Vision Board

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:35:04 +0000

Do you have a vision board? This is a place where you put images of goals that you want to (and will) achieve. Pinterest has made it easy for people to pin and share their goals. My vision board keeps growing so I wanted to share it with you. Do you have a vision board?

They Wear Your Shirt

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:59:32 +0000

Are you looking for an interesting and cool way to get your brand “out there” (wherever there may be)? Check out this company called I Wear Your Shirt. The name says it all…. They have a large audience, you pay them to wear your shirt and their audience sees. You get to buy 1 day a year, so what day would you buy?

Rapid Time Networks

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:35:57 +0000

Are you a connector or someone who is always passing and receiving referrals? A new paid for referral network has hit Vancouver by storm and I wanted to share with you more about it. It is called Rapid Time Networks.

Bringing Vendors and Affiliates Together In One Marketplace

Promote your product or service to a motivated network of business professionals who, in return for a commision which you determine, will find new business for you.

As an affiliate you can promote a myriad of different product and services to your own personal network and if your referral results in a new transaction for one of our vendor partners they”ll pay you a predetermined commission.

Earn lucrative commissions for referring both other affiliates and vendor partners.

If you are planning on spending anything, check the network first, get a better deal without haggling and earn commission on your own purchase!

Want to generate more leads and more customers? Get the affiliate network working for you!

We’re looking for new members. Earn $15 for each one you refer!

Know anyone wanting more business? Product or Service, let us know. We can help them get our affiliates hunting down new business for them. For every vendor that joins us you make $75 and for each sale that results you’ll be making even more residual commissions. Sign up a Vendor partner now!

If you are interested in learning more please contact me, go to the website or come and join us at a meeting! This has been a great network for growing my company and I have only been a member for a week!

My Affiliate Link is: http://www.rapidtimenetworks.postaffiliatepro.com/?a_aid=blairkaplan

The Breakup: Money

admin — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:33:22 +0000

Originally poster on Vashti Magazine.

“It’s not me, it’s you!” is the new acceptable thought when deciding to end a business relationship. The action of parting ways is also known as “the breakup.” In a non-business relationship when a breakup happens common feelings can be: a pain in the gut, tears that come at awkward times and feelings of anxiety. If any of these feelings happen when in a business relationship, you know that it is time to go your separate ways.

Most relationships have unique characteristics, which can lead to unique breakups.

There are a few types of business breakups, all with different outcomes. When you are new to business (and accepting your own clients) you may feel that certain “situations” don’t seem normal. As you talk to your mentors, you learn that when you are in business that anything can happen, including not getting paid! Money is known to make the world go round but when it isn’t given to you, your world can stop.

The least favourite breakup of them all is the “No Payment Breakup” which is when the client does not pay you.

This has happened a few times to me: doing business with friends (well, ex-friends), funds running out (and the client not telling me) and not receiving the last payment from a payment schedule because they “changed their mind” on what they wanted. The feeling of not getting paid after completing the work you were hired for is frustrating. Remember, to be the bigger person and keep your chin up.

You can report them to the Better Business Bureau but, sadly, you cannot force them to pay you.

You may cry. You may cuss. You may write an email expressing your frustration to this client but that is about all you can do. To avoid this situation you can ask for payments upfront, do a reference check before accepting a client or set up interval payments and not release all the work until paid in full. If you don’t get paid, consider that a reason to breakup! If you follow those few tips on receiving payments, you will have more to eat than Kraft Dinner.

There are many other types of breakups that will be explained in the future. Some of these breakups include: the mutual agreement of parting ways, time to upgrade and the one where it’s better for your health. Have you ever had a client that didn’t or wouldn’t pay you after they agreed to do so? Please share your stories in the comments below.

Nothing to Say?

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:12:44 +0000

What do you write on your blog when you have nothing to say? Usually, you will never run out of content to write about but when you are short on time or feel like your mind is blank there are a few options:

If you follow a blog that is related to what you blog about feel free to repost their blog posts. Remember to give credit to the author and link back to the original post.
Post lyrics to a song that is related to your blog or that means a lot to you. You can even embed the music video. It is best to include a few words on why you are posting this song.
Post a picture or pictures. It can even be as simple as snapping a shot from your phone. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy and you should include a description. People love looking at pictures.
Write a blog about writing a blog.

Be consistent with when you are posting and it is always better to post something than nothing at all!

What are your blogging tips for when you have nothing to say?

The Cheese Stands Alone

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:40:10 +0000

Originally posted on February 1, 2012- Vashti Magazine

Don’t we all dream of the day when we can work from home? You know, the dream that comes when it’s freezing outside, when you don’t want to leave your house and you are not the biggest fan of your coworkers or boss. Well, my friends, it is possible to work from home. Technology has allowed us to be able to telecommute and be connected from wherever we are. There are a lot of great benefits to working from home like a 30 second commute from the bedroom to the desk, not battling rush hour or traffic and setting your own schedule. With the good comes some bad. The worst thing about working from home is loneliness.

One of the best things about going to an office is the aspect of human interaction.

After a few years of having a home office (and multiple cases of loneliness) lessons have been learned and cures have been found! It is good to be surrounded by other living things. Pets are usually great coworkers; they even get you out of the house, forcing you to take a break. When you want to be less responsible for a life, you can take care of plants. The building I live in is a no pet building so I bought myself a Roomba. Yes, I bought a Robot vacuum and even put eyes and a nose on it. It works well on my floors and cleans up after me but is not so great at cuddling. People might think it is weird that I talk to a vacuum.

Leaving your desk and migrating to a coffee shop is a great way to have human interaction.

During the day coffee shops are full of lonely people being lonely together. The best conversations come from the person sitting beside me because all we both want to do is chat. Coffee shop working is not recommended for those who need peace and quiet, unless you have earplugs.

Partnering up with a few other professionals who work from home and getting together once a week is a fun cure.

You can have a mastermind group, share what you are looking for (clients, suppliers, etc…) or you can take a class like cooking, yoga, fitness or sword fighting. It is good to build this into your routine and hold each other accountable.

So, when you feel like you are the leading role as the cheese in the music video for “Farmer in the Dell” remember that everyone loves cheese and that you are not really alone. If you have a tablet, iPad or laptop you can take your office with your wherever you go. Leave your home office and go out into the world, interact with other humans or buy a robot vacuum!

Raising Funds on Facebook

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:55:35 +0000

A fun and creative way to raise funds is creating a promotion on your Facebook wall. This will help raise awareness about the cause and bring more people to your page.

Once you select whom you are donating money to (for example: Ovarian Cancer Canada and their annual LOVE HER gala) you can do the following:

Step 1: Create the content you would like to post. It is important to tag the charity and post their website. A sample of content would be:

For every like ON THIS POST I will donate $2 to Ovarian Canada until I reach $1000. We are proud to be a part of LOVE HER VANCOUVER. www.love-her.ca. Please help me get 500 LIKES ON THIS POST!

If I get 500 LIKES on this post I will donate $1000 to Ovarian Cancer Canada. For every like ON THIS POST I will donate $2. We are proud to be a part of LOVE HER VANCOUVER. www.love-her.ca. Please share this with your friends.

Step 2: Post it on your Facebook wall. A tip is to like the event’s Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/lovehervancouver) and when you mention them in your post but a @ symbol before their name and you will tag them. You will know if you were successful at this because the name will be highlighted in grey. Tagging helps bring more people to LOVE HER’s page.

Step 3: Tell your friends, family and customers that you are doing this. You can send out an email, send a message to your friends on Facebook, tweet it out, tell your customers at the point of purchase and have everyone tell their friends! You can even make a sign for your store or put a note on your website or blog.

Note: You will be responsible for monitoring your post. People might continue to like it once you hit your limit (and that’s a good thing) and it doesn’t mean you have to donate more.

Please share in the comments below if you have tried this and how much money you raised!