Moving from one province to another isn't easy and moving is way too much work when you work full time, have a family and still have to find time to pack. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to move.
Personally, I like to organize events - I've been told I have a real talent for logistics. I also really like research and finding out about stuff, what to do, where to go, I'm a walking tourist information booth sometimes. Even with these two strong traits I am finding it hard.
Relocation Specialists need to advertise their services better and be more visible where people look. If you are a pro at moving and can help people moving to the area find the services they need - you'd be busy. As long as you advertised right.
The Online directories, like Canpages' Online Directory, have been really helpful for me to find businesses and services in the Greater Vancouver area from my home in Calgary. Any relocation specialist could utilize the information on the online directory to find the businesses and services their clients need. I know exactly what I need and a relocation specialist could match those needs with businesses and services by interviewing business owners and researching the best matches.
As someone who is relocating to a different province to a large urban area (the lower mainland) it would be easier if I had one contact who collected all the information and set up all the different things one needs. Just a thought - maybe an idea you can run with
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Finding a House the High Tech Way! Websites that make House Hunting and Relocation Easier!
Being 12 hours away from our relocation destination makes it difficult to find a home. The Internet makes it easier to narrow our viewing choices and with some fine tuning I've found a great way to narrow the house hunting options without leaving my home in Calgary.
The first choice was possibly the most difficult - Which part of the Lower Mainland is best for our Family? We needed to take commuting, schools, demographics, and the kids activities into account.
Commuting: I've heard horror stories about the commuting times in the Lower Mainland. My husband will be working in Downtown Vancouver and if my transfer goes through I will need to be central and have easy access to everywhere. The website I've found best to check on commuting traffic at any given time from anywhere is Canpages Online Directory. The traffic section of their site enabled me to map out and text different routes to my blackberry. Then whenever I wanted to I would refresh the saved routes on my phone to view the latest traffic cam photo's of each saved route. I think I'll miss my easy Calgary commute!
Schools: Finding information on the schools was easy enough. I searched each areas school board website to find out about different programs and education options. They listed the different schools and their catchment areas. Now finding a school that meets my children's needs took some phone calls. With this information we were able to eliminate some areas.
Demographics: Like most people we want to live in an area that works best for our family dynamic. For us that's an area that has kids from 5-15 years of age and adults 35-45. We want to live where other family's live and not where most of the population is either retired or in college. Stats Can's website had lots of demographic information on all the areas we were looking at.
To figure out where the kids activities were and how much driving it would take I used the Canpages online directory website. I was able to search for dance schools, gymnastics clubs, and all the other activities. The Canpages map would show all the locations with red push pins. I am very visual and unfamiliar with the areas so it was very helpful to see on the map where everything was in comparison to the areas we choose to look at. I was then able to use the listings provided by Canpages.ca to get information on the options and click through to the various businesses websites for more information. Thereby narrowing down the businesses I wanted the kids to register with. This helped us eliminate more areas and narrow our focus even more.
Most everyone buying a house in Canada knows about www.mls.ca now called Realtors.ca. This site lists every house that is listed for sale with a registered Real Estate Agency. Using their interactive Bing map we were able to see what homes were for sale in the areas we were interested in. Once we found a house that looked like a possible to view we'd check it out on Microsoft's Live Map Search, now called Bing.com. This site provided us with a photographic 360 degree bird's eye view of the property and the area. The bird's eye view is photographs taken by a plane flying in 4 different directions. We could check out how the house sat on the lot, was there access to the backyard, is there a detached shop, what did the neighbourhood look like, if their was privacy, a yard, parks nearby and how close houses were to each other. If Vancouver the City proper had been an option we could have used Canpages street view mapping feature to get a real ground level feel of each neighbourhood. The Canpages street view is a 360 degree virtual tour at street level of Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler. Really cool. By seeing the property from above and in relation to others we were able to narrow our viewing choices down even further.
The internet has sure changed the way people can find a place to live. My mother has been a Realtor since 1991 and the method of finding a home has changed dramatically since then. We get a kick out of her old pager and old cell phone. The internet has made it logistically possible for people to view all the choices available to them. No longer is whatever an option for most people.
The first choice was possibly the most difficult - Which part of the Lower Mainland is best for our Family? We needed to take commuting, schools, demographics, and the kids activities into account.
Commuting: I've heard horror stories about the commuting times in the Lower Mainland. My husband will be working in Downtown Vancouver and if my transfer goes through I will need to be central and have easy access to everywhere. The website I've found best to check on commuting traffic at any given time from anywhere is Canpages Online Directory. The traffic section of their site enabled me to map out and text different routes to my blackberry. Then whenever I wanted to I would refresh the saved routes on my phone to view the latest traffic cam photo's of each saved route. I think I'll miss my easy Calgary commute!
Schools: Finding information on the schools was easy enough. I searched each areas school board website to find out about different programs and education options. They listed the different schools and their catchment areas. Now finding a school that meets my children's needs took some phone calls. With this information we were able to eliminate some areas.
Demographics: Like most people we want to live in an area that works best for our family dynamic. For us that's an area that has kids from 5-15 years of age and adults 35-45. We want to live where other family's live and not where most of the population is either retired or in college. Stats Can's website had lots of demographic information on all the areas we were looking at.
To figure out where the kids activities were and how much driving it would take I used the Canpages online directory website. I was able to search for dance schools, gymnastics clubs, and all the other activities. The Canpages map would show all the locations with red push pins. I am very visual and unfamiliar with the areas so it was very helpful to see on the map where everything was in comparison to the areas we choose to look at. I was then able to use the listings provided by Canpages.ca to get information on the options and click through to the various businesses websites for more information. Thereby narrowing down the businesses I wanted the kids to register with. This helped us eliminate more areas and narrow our focus even more.
Most everyone buying a house in Canada knows about www.mls.ca now called Realtors.ca. This site lists every house that is listed for sale with a registered Real Estate Agency. Using their interactive Bing map we were able to see what homes were for sale in the areas we were interested in. Once we found a house that looked like a possible to view we'd check it out on Microsoft's Live Map Search, now called Bing.com. This site provided us with a photographic 360 degree bird's eye view of the property and the area. The bird's eye view is photographs taken by a plane flying in 4 different directions. We could check out how the house sat on the lot, was there access to the backyard, is there a detached shop, what did the neighbourhood look like, if their was privacy, a yard, parks nearby and how close houses were to each other. If Vancouver the City proper had been an option we could have used Canpages street view mapping feature to get a real ground level feel of each neighbourhood. The Canpages street view is a 360 degree virtual tour at street level of Vancouver, Squamish, and Whistler. Really cool. By seeing the property from above and in relation to others we were able to narrow our viewing choices down even further.
The internet has sure changed the way people can find a place to live. My mother has been a Realtor since 1991 and the method of finding a home has changed dramatically since then. We get a kick out of her old pager and old cell phone. The internet has made it logistically possible for people to view all the choices available to them. No longer is whatever an option for most people.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Canpages Wins Again!
The ADP awarded Canadian Phone Directory company Canpages the best print directory for a second year running!
They were also awarded first place for excellence in online directories, and first place for excellence for online design – home page.
What does this mean for you or your small business? If you live outside Canada, nothing as it is a Canadian Directory company. If you are a user of Canadian phone directories you have the chance to use the best directory available both in print and online. As a Canadian advertiser you can be assured that you're partnering with the cream of the crop. Canpage's innovations in both online and print are being discovered everyday by Canadians looking for services and products.
A phone book doesn't have to be just a phone book and competition in the directory industry is providing a better product with more value for both the advertiser and the user.
Canpages continues to raise the bar online with their innovative approach to online directories. The talented online marketing team is growing user ship at a record breaking rate and the developers add new features on a regular basis.
I love the "green" initiative they rolled out this year. There are some features I'd like to see and I think the smaller markets would benefit from more "green roots" marketing. What are print phone books missing that would make them better in your opinion?
(By the way since over 70% of local searches* are done in print extinction of phone books is not an option)
*based on 3rd party market research - or in other words not a number I pulled out of the air.
They were also awarded first place for excellence in online directories, and first place for excellence for online design – home page.
What does this mean for you or your small business? If you live outside Canada, nothing as it is a Canadian Directory company. If you are a user of Canadian phone directories you have the chance to use the best directory available both in print and online. As a Canadian advertiser you can be assured that you're partnering with the cream of the crop. Canpage's innovations in both online and print are being discovered everyday by Canadians looking for services and products.
A phone book doesn't have to be just a phone book and competition in the directory industry is providing a better product with more value for both the advertiser and the user.
Canpages continues to raise the bar online with their innovative approach to online directories. The talented online marketing team is growing user ship at a record breaking rate and the developers add new features on a regular basis.
I love the "green" initiative they rolled out this year. There are some features I'd like to see and I think the smaller markets would benefit from more "green roots" marketing. What are print phone books missing that would make them better in your opinion?
(By the way since over 70% of local searches* are done in print extinction of phone books is not an option)
*based on 3rd party market research - or in other words not a number I pulled out of the air.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Stress and Short Term Memory
I can't seem to get it together today. The sad part is that today is not the only day I've had like this lately - its the stress.
The stress of moving to a new province. The stress of finding a place to stay. The stress of not enough money. The stress of hitting quotas at work and the stress of my son's educational needs. It's a little much.
Today I woke up after a good sleep and couldn't get moving. When I finally got going I forgot my books, then the kids lunches, then I forgot to drop the lunches off at the school as I flew by it. Every time I turned around was more wasted time, more frustration, and more exhaustion.
I love my job and when I was able to focus on it without distraction I was doing really well. Then I compared my results to others and that was mistake 1. Comparing for competition drives some sales people. For me it showed that my AVO was way too low, while others was higher. I was working harder then others and making less. Mistake 2 was letting it get to me and Mistake 3 was getting involved in the office gossip and swamp.
Moving was my husband's idea, he had it with the Calgary weather and with his business slowing down he decided it was time to head home. Change is always stressful, especially when you are moving 12 hours away and have 9 years to pack up. The deadline is looming and I am no where near packed up. Moving is also expensive and with my husband shutting down his income generation early it means I'm now responsible for all the household expenses..... and my 10 year old just had a huge growth spurt!
My son is an amazing child and his school is concerned about his future education. The calls to inform me of what he needs and how gifted he is are wonderful but also stressful. (see link for more on why)
Can I overcome it? Of course I can I always bounce back. I have to take a good look at myself and how I am presenting the product. I need to start eating healthier and getting some activity in my life. It all comes down to me not the training I was expecting to receive. I need to go out and find the knowledge to gain the skill set, I need to practice, and I need to move forward.
The only thing standing in my way is the stress. The foggy mind and the low energy. Can I change the course I'm on? I can do it, its always been just a matter of how! I am big on making plans, as my readers of business plans already know. With an afternoon of taking a minute and making lists, plans, and measuring results I will be able to turn this around.
Maybe this Venti triple low fat vanilla latte from Starbucks is the ticket!
The stress of moving to a new province. The stress of finding a place to stay. The stress of not enough money. The stress of hitting quotas at work and the stress of my son's educational needs. It's a little much.
Today I woke up after a good sleep and couldn't get moving. When I finally got going I forgot my books, then the kids lunches, then I forgot to drop the lunches off at the school as I flew by it. Every time I turned around was more wasted time, more frustration, and more exhaustion.
I love my job and when I was able to focus on it without distraction I was doing really well. Then I compared my results to others and that was mistake 1. Comparing for competition drives some sales people. For me it showed that my AVO was way too low, while others was higher. I was working harder then others and making less. Mistake 2 was letting it get to me and Mistake 3 was getting involved in the office gossip and swamp.
Moving was my husband's idea, he had it with the Calgary weather and with his business slowing down he decided it was time to head home. Change is always stressful, especially when you are moving 12 hours away and have 9 years to pack up. The deadline is looming and I am no where near packed up. Moving is also expensive and with my husband shutting down his income generation early it means I'm now responsible for all the household expenses..... and my 10 year old just had a huge growth spurt!
My son is an amazing child and his school is concerned about his future education. The calls to inform me of what he needs and how gifted he is are wonderful but also stressful. (see link for more on why)
Can I overcome it? Of course I can I always bounce back. I have to take a good look at myself and how I am presenting the product. I need to start eating healthier and getting some activity in my life. It all comes down to me not the training I was expecting to receive. I need to go out and find the knowledge to gain the skill set, I need to practice, and I need to move forward.
The only thing standing in my way is the stress. The foggy mind and the low energy. Can I change the course I'm on? I can do it, its always been just a matter of how! I am big on making plans, as my readers of business plans already know. With an afternoon of taking a minute and making lists, plans, and measuring results I will be able to turn this around.
Maybe this Venti triple low fat vanilla latte from Starbucks is the ticket!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Hats Off to Single Working Moms + Dads
My husband is out of town for a couple of weeks and I get to be a single parent. My husband usually takes our daughter to school and picks her up. I usually pick her up from his shop on the way home. I get our son off on the bus in the morning and am home by 5:00 when he gets home. When I have evening appointments I don't sweat child care because he's home.
He makes dinner and keeps the house tidy - I do laundry and clean on the weekends.
Without him around everything falls on my shoulders - I gotta say I have a lot of respect for single parents, especially the ones who have no help from a former partner.
Kudos to single parents you deserve a hand!
He makes dinner and keeps the house tidy - I do laundry and clean on the weekends.
Without him around everything falls on my shoulders - I gotta say I have a lot of respect for single parents, especially the ones who have no help from a former partner.
Kudos to single parents you deserve a hand!
Why Do We Need Different Shaped Coat Hangers?
I am packing to move to Vancouver and while packing the empty white plastic clothes hangers I noticed we have 4 different shapes. The first frustrated thought to pop into my mind is why do they make more than one shaped white plastic coat hanger?
Thing is my prospects on occasion ask me "why do we need more than one phone book?". I guess for the same reasons we need more than one shaped white plastic coat hanger.
Preference of Who makes it? Not really, I don't care who made the coat hanger I just grab a bundle off the Wal Mart shelf to add to my collection. Users of phone books don't care who made the book, just that it has the information they want when they want it.
Preference of Product? No, I didn't know the coat hangers were different 'til now. Although I have a list of features and benefits that differ from the competition, let's face it a phone book is a phone book.
So why more than one coat hanger company or more then one phone book? Because competition is good for all industries and all consumers. In a monopoly the company reaps all the benefits and calls all the shots. In an open competitive economy the consumer reaps the benefits and calls the shots. Even when it comes to white plastic coat hangers and phone books.
Thing is my prospects on occasion ask me "why do we need more than one phone book?". I guess for the same reasons we need more than one shaped white plastic coat hanger.
Preference of Who makes it? Not really, I don't care who made the coat hanger I just grab a bundle off the Wal Mart shelf to add to my collection. Users of phone books don't care who made the book, just that it has the information they want when they want it.
Preference of Product? No, I didn't know the coat hangers were different 'til now. Although I have a list of features and benefits that differ from the competition, let's face it a phone book is a phone book.
So why more than one coat hanger company or more then one phone book? Because competition is good for all industries and all consumers. In a monopoly the company reaps all the benefits and calls all the shots. In an open competitive economy the consumer reaps the benefits and calls the shots. Even when it comes to white plastic coat hangers and phone books.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Stress is Getting to Me!!! Unproductive and Unmotivated
I'm moving to another province and the stress of the move is leaving me exhausted and unproductive at work. I am so distracted and unmotivated I'm not getting the results I need at work. I'm sitting here drinking coffee listening to the birds trying to get enough energy to get on with my day.
I usually have days where I just want to do something else but then I have a good night sleep and can get on the phones and book appointments the next day without a problem. I just can't seem to get enough sleep.
I need to make a lifestyle change, a major one at that. I started by having a goal of no more fast food for lunch. I've been able to keep that goal pretty easily - I have no money in my bank account. It may be a little harder after payday. Small goals, small changes, step by step - not my usual way of doing things but this way will probably work. Form one habit then another and another until my lifestyle is healthier providing me with more energy and resulting in more motivation.
I've booked a hotel for 2 months in Richmond and will take some time off to find a house, my husband is doing all the packing so I can focus on work and bring up my sales numbers in the final 2 weeks. I need these numbers if I have any chance of getting a position in Vancouver, there's the motivation now all I need is the energy.
I usually have days where I just want to do something else but then I have a good night sleep and can get on the phones and book appointments the next day without a problem. I just can't seem to get enough sleep.
I need to make a lifestyle change, a major one at that. I started by having a goal of no more fast food for lunch. I've been able to keep that goal pretty easily - I have no money in my bank account. It may be a little harder after payday. Small goals, small changes, step by step - not my usual way of doing things but this way will probably work. Form one habit then another and another until my lifestyle is healthier providing me with more energy and resulting in more motivation.
I've booked a hotel for 2 months in Richmond and will take some time off to find a house, my husband is doing all the packing so I can focus on work and bring up my sales numbers in the final 2 weeks. I need these numbers if I have any chance of getting a position in Vancouver, there's the motivation now all I need is the energy.
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