| Many companies start newsletters with the best of intentions. Then work gets in the way. The weekly newsletter turns bi-monthly, monthly and then quarterly and then on no particular schedule at all. Before long, your customers and people in your network wonder if you have a newsletter at all.
How do you get back on schedule and stay on schedule? First, recommit to getting a newsletter out on a certain day/week of the month. Create a budget of story ideas so you know what you will be writing about several editions in advance. And then, take advantage of the most underutilized newsletter hack out there: Guest columnists. Invite people from your orbit to contribute content every so often. Wait a second. Isn’t this a newsletter for my product or service? Why bring in somebody else who will talk about something other than what my company does? Well, first things first, you invite a guest columnist who does offer something of value to your readers. In the past, our sister company PR Works has welcomed contributions from business coaches, IT specialists, HR providers etc. Many of our readers own a small business and these topics are of interest. So, how did that help? First, it provided content. Don’t underrate that, especially when our readers found it helpful. Second, it provides insight into the types of professionals we work with. It certainly doesn’t hurt your company image to be associated with smart people. Third, it provides you additional audience members as your guest columnist will want to share your newsletter with their customers and network. Our own Joe D’Eramo recently showcased this strategy. In case you didn’t know, Joe started a newsletter called My Home Office Hacks, sort of a virtual water cooler for people who work from home. One of the work from home topics he addressed is what foods to keep in the house. He invited a Wellness & Nutrition Coach, Marissa Szabo, to share some pointers. That issue can be found here. “This was by far one of our more read issues,” said Joe. “What was interesting was the amount of people who saw the article on LinkedIn. Those are largely people from Marissa’s network. It really was a win-win and we’ll have Marissa back at some point with another wellness tip.” You can sign up for Joe’s newsletter here. If you would like to be a guest columnist for an upcoming My Pinnacle Network newsletter or PR Pointer, drop a line. |
Take credit for networking
At the My Pinnacle Network-Westborough meeting last Tuesday, David Allen of Balance Wealth Advisors encouraged members to take credit for “getting up and coming to a networking” by posting a screen shot of our zoom meeting and posting to social media.
While not everybody may be thrilled with how they look in Zoom world, it’s a good idea and practice for several reasons:
- Content for your social media sites, particularly LinkedIn
- Tagging opportunities on a LinkedIn post so you can be seen by the connections of your fellow networking group members
- Tagging the companies of those networking group members, also bringing you to another audience
- An increase in page views and reactions to your posts.
If you doubt the last one, give it a try with your next virtual networking meeting. To see what that might look like, check out My Pinnacle Network’s Joe D’Eramo’s post.
Embracing the New Workplace
Employers can’t fill critical positions. More than 40 percent of current employees are resigning. Customers and clients are annoyed by lack of service, product and attention. What can an employer do? In response to this crisis, a complimentary webinar entitled
“Embracing the new workplace. Hiring and retention solutions in challenging times” was held on Wednesday, December 8, 9 a.m. To RSVP, please visit shorturl.at/buCIJ. Employment expert panelists included Denise Noble of HR Engineers based in Franklin, MA; David Sawyer of Safer Places based in Middleboro, MA and Brad Pinta, Esq. of Pinta Law Group located in Quincy, MA. Steve Dubin of PR Works, Plymouth, MA moderated the discussion. The panel will offer specific advice, tips and examples of how to attract and retain the best and brightest.
Embracing the new workplace. Hiring and retention solutions in challenging times. Scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, 9 a.m.
Employers can’t fill critical positions. More than 40 percent of current employees are resigning. Customers and clients are annoyed by lack of service, product and attention. What can an employer do?
In response to this crisis, a complimentary webinar entitled “Embracing the new workplace. Hiring and retention solutions in challenging times” is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, 9 a.m. To RSVP, please visit shorturl.at/buCIJ.
Employment expert panelists include Denise Noble of HR Engineers based in Franklin, MA; David Sawyer of Safer Places based in Middleboro, MA and Brad Pinta, Esq. of Pinta Law Group located in Quincy, MA. Steve Dubin of PR Works, Plymouth, MA will moderate the discussion. The panel will offer specific advice, tips and examples of how to attract and retain the best and brightest.
Noble will expand upon new methods of attracting quality candidates to the workplace and how to create a work environment that encourages employees to be heard, seen, valued and connected to a common goal. Sawyer will outline how to use custom background checks to make a better and more informed hiring decision. Pinta will underscore his personal challenge with hiring and firing legal staff and the ironic litigation that could arise from these processes.
The business community is encouraged to attend. The event is sponsored by three leading organizations including My Pinnacle Network which hosts monthly meetings for business-to-business professionals at five locations throughout Massachusetts including Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, and Westborough; South Shore Networking Professionals which connects business people monthly at locations throughout the South Shore; and Rockland Trust, offering a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as through online, mobile and phone banking.
Please RSVP for the event at shorturl.at/buCIJ. Or call My Pinnacle Network at 781-582-1061.
Rebroadcast of “Maybe Franchising is Right for You Or Not”
You’ve thought of being your own boss, controlling your own destiny, expanding your income and latching onto a proven business model. This webinar entitled Maybe Franchising is Right for You? Or Not provides some answers as Dana Hall of FranNet outlines what the advantages and pitfalls of franchise ownership.
The first part of the discussion focuses on whether you have the mindset of someone who is not a wild-eyed entrepreneur, but an independent business owner ready to plug into a tightly woven system. Hall also addresses the general upfront financial requirements, potential buildout costs, operations and sustainability of various franchise models.
Dana Hall is a franchise consultant with FranNet of Boston and provides expert advice and guidance for prospective franchise business owners. FranNet’s proprietary Personal Franchise Assessment tool, thorough and personalized one-one consultation, and a 30 plus year history of excellence sets FranNet apart. Hall has more than 30 years of experience in financial analysis, strategic business planning, operations, and local store marketing.
Hall was the director of finance for retail operations for Panera Bread during a period of rapid store growth and increased profitability. He was responsible for budgeting, strategic financial planning, KPI development and reporting, store metric evaluation, and profitability improvement for 900 company-owned locations generating $2B in revenue. He held a similar role for the Wendy’s Company in the New England Division, in addition to a strategic Marketing role for the Northeast Region. Hall has also served as a Franchise Business Consultant advising and counseling franchisees in the field on improving operations, driving incremental sales and generating increased profits.
He graduated from North Adams State College with a BS in Business Administration/Accounting and holds an MBA from Suffolk University in Boston.
The event was sponsored by My Pinnacle Network, which hosts monthly meetings for business-to-business professionals at five locations throughout Massachusetts including Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, and Westborough; South Shore Networking Professionals, which connects business people monthly at locations throughout the South Shore; and Rockland Trust, offering a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as through online, mobile and phone banking.
My Pinnacle Network honors achievements of Massachusetts B2B networkers
Even during Covid, My Pinnacle Network’s Networking Ninja Awards have been a constant for the past seven years. This year is no exception as My Pinnacle Network, a business to business networking group with monthly meetings in Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, and Westborough, MA, recognized the networking efforts of B2B professionals in Massachusetts.
The big winner this year was Sheldon Prenovitz of ConnectPay. He received the Networking Ninja for Lifetime Achievement. Prenovitz is in My Pinnacle Network’s Westborough group.
“Sheldon is a networker’s networker,” said Joe D’Eramo, one of the founders of My Pinnacle Network and the leader of My Pinnacle Network-Westborough. “He’s always on the lookout to connect people and pass leads and referrals and he actively recruits people to our group. This recognition is extremely well deserved.”
In addition to Prenovitz, five other B2B professionals received Networking Ninja awards.
Edward Musmon, of Brookline, MA-based I Need a CFO, won the Best Connector Networking Ninja Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Needham.
Dennis Riley of Goals To Results in Falmouth, MA received The Most Ubiquitous Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Braintree and My Pinnacle Network-Westborough.
Lisa Levesque, a FocalPoint Business Coach from Foxborough, MA, won the Most Altruistic Networking Ninja Award. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.
John Adams, owner of Carver, MA-based AdamsComm, took home the Brightest Beacon Award. He is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Pembroke.
The Rookie of the Year award went to Robin Clapp of Web Design by Robin, a Rehoboth, MA-based web design firm. She is a member of My Pinnacle Network-Mansfield.
“Congratulations to all the winners. We had a number of networkers nominated for these awards and these individuals stood out as the cream of the crop in our region,” said Steve Dubin, another founder of My Pinnacle Network. “Each of these winners has proven themselves to be first-rate connectors even under these unusual circumstances. These people who are givers first, which is how they ultimately receive referrals for their respective businesses.”
Added Dubin, “Networking, sharing information and opportunity, is what makes the world go around. Both whimsical and pragmatic, the Networking Ninja Awards provide recognition for many who typically do great deeds and humbly hang is the shadows.”
For information about My Pinnacle Network, please visit www.MyPinnacleNetwork.com, or contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061.
Working Smarter, Not Harder 101
FocalPoint Business Coaches Lisa Levesque and Dominic Grew led lead this one-hour, free webinar on the topic of “Working Smarter Not Harder 101”. The complimentary webinar will focused on sorting through the many hats that small business owners wear, which to wear and when.
This webinar is for business owners or those running businesses who want better results and a higher return from their investment of time, money and energy. This workshop will provide attendees with a straight-forward lens through which to drive better results and help set them up to make 2022 their best year in business yet.
Lisa Levesque and Dominic Grew are both FocalPoint Business Coaches. Levesque has an MBA from Babson College and a BS from Boston College. Grew has a MM from Cambridge College and a BA from Our Lady of St. Patrick’s College, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Levesque and Grew help the small business community to grow and become more profitable by coaching leaders to build strong teams and processes. Each coaching engagement is customized to the specific needs of each individual client in both content and frequency, and the foundation of each is based in the timeless training of small business expert, Brian Tracy.
The event was sponsored by three leading organizations including My Pinnacle Network which hosts monthly meetings for business-to-business professionals at five locations throughout Massachusetts including Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, and Westborough; South Shore Networking Professionals which connects business people monthly at locations throughout the South Shore; and Rockland Trust, offering a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as through online, mobile and phone banking.
Let there be light. Breakthrough new Unicorn Grow Light further simplifies the Home Grow process.
The new Unicorn Series 160W LED Grow Light from Green Goddess Supply is a unique new solution to simplifying the home grow process. The innovative light is specifically intended to be used in a confined space such as a home grow box and is specially tuned to generate high output at a very low wattage.
“We’ve been working on this light for years,” said Vincent Bitetti, Chief Cannabis Officer at Green Goddess Supply who leads the R&D efforts at the company. “It seemed simple and obvious at first, but we eventually realized that there wasn’t an off-the-shelf unit that gave us everything we needed in one package. That one is runs too hot, this one is too large, that one is too small, etc. We realized we were hunting for a unicorn and had to build it ourselves, hence the name.”
The game-changing light features both 112pc SMD and 2pc COB LED lights, dimmable switches and comes with a 3-year warranty. After a full year of research and development, the Unicorn represents the best combination of LED and COB lighting, low energy usage, large footprint, and high PAR output, for growing cannabis in a confined space.
The dimmable switches allow the home grower to dial up or down to maximize the growth of their particular strain, and optimize for heat output within a confined space.
The Unicorn Grow Light includes two rectangular arrays of 48 individual LEDs on the left and right of the lighting board. There are also two COB (Chip On Board) lights, made with thick glass domed covers, that produce modern day, artificial sunlight replacement.
The light also controls IR, UV and UVB which inhibit mold and mildew. Insects are also repelled by these LEDs.
“Lights impact the size of plant growth. Thus, with the Unicorn Grow Light, a home grower can expect larger, more bountiful grows,” noted Mr. Bitetti. He adds, “I have been experimenting with home grow for over three decades and have a whole office full of lighting units. We combined the best of components and technology in the Unicorn Grow Light.”
Eric Robichaud, also of Green Goddess Supply, asserts, “The biggest challenge with growing cannabis is managing lighting which impacts heat and radiation. Most lights do not allow you to lower or increase the radiation. The Unicorn’s switches allow the grower to manage that critical element with precision.”
Although the Unicorn Grow Light can enhance any home grow system, it was designed for use in the Green Goddess Supply trade-marked Armoire, a turnkey solution to home growing that was built to remove the mystery and challenge. The Armoire requires only two minutes of care daily to garner an impressive yield of 3-5 ounces of dried, hand-crafted flower in as little as 60 days. With its furniture-inspired look, child proof lock, ergonomic design, even the most judgmental and disapproving aunt would not suspect that you are growing cannabis in your living room, office or den.
Priced at $299 MSRP, the Unicorn competes with grow lights priced at $399 MSRP that are made by other manufacturers and with the closest feature set.
The Unicorn Grow Light will be included in Armoires moving forward and can replace the lighting system included in earlier models. The Unicorn Grow Light can also be purchased separately for owners of other home grow systems. The light was also designed to daisy-chain multiple units together for grow spaces that require multiple lights to cover a larger footprint.
About Green Goddess Supply
Green Goddess Supply is a “cultivation to consumption” cannabis lifestyle brand offering a line of high-quality products to grow, store, prep and consume hemp flower and cannabis products. The company sells direct to consumers at MSRP through its website, and also offers wholesale and distributor accounts to brick and mortar storefronts and industry distributors. Green Goddess Supply strives to exceed expectations and delight customers with quality products and amazing customer service.
The Armoire is a trademark of Green Goddess Supply. Green Goddess Supply is a privately held company headquartered in Boston, MA with additional distributions centers in Los Angeles, CA; Long Island City, New York and Pooler, Georgia. For more information about Green Goddess Supply, visit the website at https://www.GreenGoddessSupply.com/
My Pinnacle Network announces July 2021 schedule of virtual B2B networking meetings.
My Pinnacle Network recently announced a full slate of business-to-business networking meetings for July. Currently, all those meetings will be held online via Zoom and you can get the meeting Zoom info by calling 781-582-1061 or sending an e-mail to admin@mypinnaclenetwork.com.
My Pinnacle Network July meetings are as follows:
- My Pinnacle Network – Pembroke, Thursday, July 1, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
- My Pinnacle Network – Westborough, Tuesday, July 6 from 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m
- My Pinnacle Network – Mansfield, Wednesday, July 7, from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
- My Pinnacle Network – Needham, Thursday, July 8, 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
- My Pinnacle Network – Braintree Third Thursday, Thursday, July 15, from 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
Only one B2B professional will be selected for each category. Those categories can be found at bottom of http://www.mypinnaclenetwork.com. Prospective members are encouraged to attend a My Pinnacle Network meeting before committing to join.
If you are interested in attending a meeting, please contact Steven V. Dubin at SDubin@MyPinnacleNetwork.com or 781-582-1061 to RSVP. There is no charge to visit a My Pinnacle Network meeting.
Free webinar – Avoiding the Oops and Oy of Zoom. Set for Thursday, May 27, 9 – 10 a.m.
We all have stories of Zoom meetings that have gone wrong during the pandemic. All of a sudden, your video locks up. Crazy background noise overpowers the conversation. Your foreground is so dark it looks that the rest of us need night vision goggles. Ah, the wonders of Zoom!
“Avoiding the Oops and Oy of Zoom” is a free webinar addressing the many challenges of Zoom. The virtual event is sponsored by My Pinnacle Network, Rockland Trust and South Shore Networking Professionals. The workshop is set for Thursday, May 27, 9 – 10 a.m.
Among the topics to be discussed are –
- What causes audio and video problems in zoom and how to quickly resolve them on the Fly.
- Digital enhancements to lighting conditions and your appearance.
- How to update your name temporarily for that Zoom call and permanently via the Zoom website.
- For hosts – managing security on Zoom calls.
- Keep your Zoom client up-to-date.
- How to work with Zoom backgrounds. Live demo to be included.
- Some people look distorted on Zoom. What causes this?
- What accessories do I need to invest in for Zoom – including lights, camera, tripod, etc.?
Presenters include Paul LaFlamme of Centrend, based in Worcester and Sturbridge, Massachusetts and providing on-site Information Technology (IT) managed services and consulting to business customers throughout New England and Lisa Fischer is the owner of Lisa Fischer of Fischer Photography in Milton, MA and specializing in corporate and family photography. Steve Dubin of PR Works based in Plymouth, MA will moderate the presentation.
My Pinnacle Network hosts monthly meetings for business-to-business professionals at five locations throughout Massachusetts including Braintree, Mansfield, Needham, Pembroke, and Westborough; South Shore Networking Professionals which connects business people monthly at locations throughout the South Shore; and Rockland Trust, offering a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as through online, mobile and phone banking.
Click here to RSVP for the event or call My Pinnacle Network at 781-582-1061.