Newsletter—February 2012

President’s Message

Hello and welcome to our February newsletter! I hope the winter weather (such as it is in the GTA this year) isn’t getting to you, but Spring Training is starting soon (for us baseball fans that’s a significant moment) which means that soon things will start to warm up…and when things in your business warm up, you’ll be negotiating with clients and suppliers! So this month’s event features amonavi consulting group‘s (and AIC VP Communications) Darla Campbell presenting “Negotiate for Results”.

At January’s Event

Last month, Andrew Schiestel of tbkCreative presentation on “Turning your Consulting Firm into a Social Media Machine” was warmly attended by an enthusiastic group who braved our only snowstorm of the season (so far). I picked quite a few nice ideas, some of which I’ll be using both in my own practice and for AIC.

If you missed last month’s event, (or if your were there and didn’t take any notes), here’s some of mine:

• In today’s world, you are the publisher/media company – you don’t need a third party.
• The fundamentals of Marketing haven’t changed – but we now have many new, low-cost, easily accessible channels called Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
• The best thing about social media for a consultancy is that, with the exception of your time, it’s free.
• Social media can level the playing field for entrepreneurs vs Big Business.
• Your three main concerns are the platform(s) you choose, marketing and content.
• Choose the platform that your clients are on.
• Connect electronically at first and build a relationship but eventually you must get face-to-face.
• When it comes to content, the #1 Rule is DON’T BE BORING. Rule #2 is “see Rule #1″.

Andrew also provided us with an an analysis of the various platforms and suggestions of which is better for what kind of business or consultancy.

For more information, see tbkCreative.

AIC in the Twittersphere

Speaking of Social Media, don’t forget that AIC has very active Twitter stream, with links to interesting articles, blog posts, event announcements and and event reviews (no, we’re not up to live-blogging our events just yet, but that may come soon!) Pop on over to Twitter and check us out at @aiconsult.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Would you like to see your logo and a 50-word description of your firm here in the newsletter (actually in the sidebar to the right)? You can sponsor the newsletter! It’s $75.00 for members and $125.00 for non-members and we send it out to slightly over 1,000 people, plus mentions in our Twitter stream (@aiconsult). Contact Ell Wilson  (marketing1aiconsultca)   (our VP Marketing) for more information. Ask about how you can also sponsor the monthly events, which is another sponsorship opportunity.

Car Pool with a Member

Consider car pooling with a member to future AIC events.  Even i you both have a vehicle, two or more in the car gets you into the diamond lane (and besides, car pooling to an event is fun–you can always talk about the presentation on the way home).  If you are interested, send a reply to this newsletter expressing interest in car pooling (and tell us what part of the city you’re in) and we’ll try to connect you with another member in your area.

Interesting Articles and Links

“Everything I know about business I could have learned from Star Trek” by Rick Spence

“Nine ways to be more productive at home” (from CBS MoneyWatch)

A propos of last month’s topic: “Social Media Consultant Gone Bad, Real Bad!” by Pam Moore (@PamMktgNut)

And AIC Member David Gargaro (@DavidGargaro) weighs in on the coffee-shop-as-office in “Home office or coffee shop?”

Quote of the Month

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
Wishing is not enough, we must do.”
~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, author

Reading List

Recommended
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink.

(If you’ve recently read a business book that would be of interest to your fellow members, please drop me  (president1aiconsultca)   a line!)

Professional Development Credits

AIC’s events may quality as Continuing Professional Education/Development credits for the Society of Management Accountants (Ontario) and the Certifed General Accountants of Ontario.

That’s it for this month! See you at the Crowne Plaza on February 27th!