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Upcoming Teleclass: The NEW Facebook–Greatest Web Tool

Angela — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:14:43 +0000

With half a billion current users and more joining every day, Facebook is one of the best and easiest ways to get your name out to potential clients. Are you utilizing this tool to your best advantage? Whether you’re brand new to Facebook or have been using it for years, join us on Monday, August 2nd at 10 AM EST to learn how to make your fan page more compelling, launch a successful Facebook Ad Campaign, understand recent changes to Facebook, and take advantage of the #1 thing you must understand to win the Facebook Marketing game!

Our featured guest will be Shama Kabani–president of The Marketing Zen Group, a full service digital marketing firm that serves clients around the world. She has been dubbed the “master millennial of the universe” and “an online marketing shaman” by Fast Company, and was listed as one of Business Week Magazine’s ’Top 25 Under 25′ entrepreneurs in North America.

Upcoming Teleclass: Step Up Marketing Using Social Media

Angela — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:54:22 +0000

Did you know over 400 million people have Facebook accounts and 75 million keep up with friends and colleagues via Twitter? Or that three quarters of global consumers who go online visit social networking sites regularly?

Social media has the capabilities to take your business to new places, but you have to understand how social media interacts with your existing marketing plan. You might be posting to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube many times each day, but do you know eactly how this is benefitting your business? Are you sure that you’re using these powerful social media tools smartly and effectively?

Check out our next live Teleclass on Wednesday, July 28th at 8 PM EST entitled “Step Up Marketing Using Social Media” with social media expert Tia Singh and learn how to take advantage of this amazing technology. Tia has used social media to take her business from the ground up, and will teach you the tips that have made her a success. By the end of the call, you’ll be equipped with 3 social media steps you can implement immediately in your business! Click here to register for our next call.

Quote of the Week

Angela — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:01:01 +0000

“Anyone can sympathize with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathize with a friend’s success.”

– Oscar Wilde

Powerful Keynote Tim Sanders

Angela — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:17:05 +0000

Tim Sanders opening keynote was noteworthy to say the least. Tim brought true meaning to the phrase “givers gain”. He told vivid stories of how many business pioneers blazed the business trail by connecting other people first. Simply introduce three people who can benefit from each other each week, Tim challenged us, and see the magic unfold. When you help other people find the resources they need by introducing someone to a new business you will earn their trust and become a valuable resource. When you are a valuable resource you become the go-to person that people naturally turn to including when they need what you offer or when a friend of theirs needs what you offer.

Tim was full of incredible information and was very inspiring. You can learn more from Tim’s books Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends and The Likeability Factor at his web-site.

So…who are three people that you can introduce to each other? Maybe you have a client who is moving and you can introduce them to mover and a custom closet company. When you send the e-mail introducing everyone be sure to include the reasons why you thought they might be able to work with each other.

Here’s to your new habit!

Last Day For Buy 2, Get 1 Audios

Christa — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:46:04 +0000

Last Chance! Buy 2 Audio Recordings, Get 1 Free
(2010 Conference Offer, even if you didn’t go to conference)

We’ve opened our conference offer to everyone in our database. For three more days you can purchase 2 Audio Recordings and get 1 Free. Offer ends May 31 at midnight and coupon code is Conference2010.

We have over 50 Audio Recordings to choose from and many may apply towards your continuing education credits. Click here to see our audio library.

Keeping Track of CEU’s?
Depending on your services and scope of work, A Red Bench Audio Recordings may apply towards your continuing education units. With each audio purchase you receive a certificate of attendance upon passing the class quiz. Calls are 75 minutes long and may count as 1 CEU.

NAPO Conference 2010

Angela — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:51:49 +0000

This year’s NAPO Conference delivered again! It’s Spring and if you’re a Professional Organizer you know that is a sure sign that it’s time for the NAPO Conference. There was lots of talk this year about the venue. Ohio??? “Who wants to go to Ohio?” I kept hearing. I DO! Columbus was beautiful and full of fabulous even swanky restaurants within walking distance.

This year’s conference was bitter sweet for me, okay, much more sweet than bitter, but bitter non-the-less. It was sad because my business partner Christa Wagner could not make it this year. Oh how I wish she could have been there. But it was exciting because this year I was going to be on the oh so famous Ask the Organizer Panel. This was a true treat as I was on the panel with five amazing women! New organizers and veterans alike asked some fantastic questions with many coming up about social media. Yes, social media was definitely a hot topic this year.

The Expo Hall had a mini face lift this year with the addition of the Market Place. This was exciting as A Red Bench was able to participate in this new venue.

There is so much to talk about I will be posting several blogs over the next few days with my conference highlights. Including highlights from the Ask the Organizer Panel, the Expo Hall, Opening Keynote with Tim Sanders, and more on trends I observed at conference including Social Media. So keep checking there’s more to come soon!

Angela

Congrats to Angela

Angela — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:28:50 +0000

A huge round of applause to yours truly, Angela Ploetz, who had the distinct honor of being on the Ask the Organizer Panel at the 22nd Annual NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) Conference! I was one of six panelists on one of the conference’s most popular sessions. Look that’s me on the big screen pictured above right! It was truly a joy and a tremendous honor.

This year’s conference was truly amazing! I met the most amazing people and learned so much. I met many people who have taken some of our Red Bench Teleclasses. It was such an inspiration to hear so many good words about what Christa and I are doing. We are thrilled that people like the classes and find them beneficial.

I will be bringing you information in the coming months about products and tools I learned about. We’ll also be bringing some fantastic guest speakers that I met with at conference. We are still working with different speakers to finalize a few dates so keep an eye on our calendar for the latest details.

Three cheers for organizers!

Effecient Office Supplies

Christa — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:29:23 +0000

Recently I was hired by a local production company to use and critique a common office tool; a printer. It was the HP Office Jet 8500 Wireless Printer and I have to say that love this printer. I will be sad to let it go.

While my official testimonial will not air until late February, I didn’t want to wait to tell you about this awesome product. It’s can all-in-one printer with printing, faxing, copying and scanning capabilities. It saves space and time being able to print from anywhere in your home or office. Here’s who could benefit from the printer:

Any small business owner who is short on space.
Any small business owner who wants to be efficient with their time avoiding trips to the copy store or spending extra money on a fax service.
Any small business owner with multiple users. You can print from anywhere in the office without a server.
Families with multiple users. Think about when your kids want to print and you are in the middle of something.
Families with limited space.

We are always looking for ways to make life simpler for our clients. I highly recommend this office tool. Check it out on HP’s website.

Save With Post-It Rebate

Angela — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:30:23 +0000

As Organizers we use lots of Post-it Notes and labels with clients so I wanted to share this sweet little deal I came across.

Click here to get a $10 rebate offer from 3M / Post-it ® if you purchase $20 in 3M Permanent Labels and/or Post-it ® Removable Label products. It does not appear that the rebate is valid on the popular Post-it ® Notes, but on the labels which include the new Post-it® Removable Labels that you may have seen in recent advertisements. Click here to see a list of available products.

This is a great time to stock up on some of your favorite products or try out some new ones. You may also be able to get additional savings by purchasing your items at Office Max with your NAPO discount card. If you are a NAPO member look up Office Max under the Industry Exchange section of the NAPO web-site for details.

Enjoy your savings!

Kicking Off Continuing Education in 2010

Christa — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:20:02 +0000

As a Certified Professional Organizer®, you are required to earn 45 organizing-related continuing education hours over a 3-year period. As we are approaching the first re-certification for the inaugural exam, we are getting an overwhelming request for continuing education courses. Therefore, we are tweaking our programming to include Continuing Education in 2010.

These calls are designed to not only help you run your business and make you a better professional organizer, but also to help you teach and transfer the skills to your clients. Here is our current schedule:

Helping Your Clients Manage The Paper Crisis
Reduce Time Spent On Email

Keep in mind in order to receive Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) you must attend “live” interactive events and A certificate of attendance will be provided to attendees as well as an audio recording of the live call. Depending on your scope of work, the calls may apply towards your continuing education.