Headstart 2011: It's a Changing World

What are the dominant trends in our society today? How will these shape our industry? How do I best prepare myself for theses changes?

One of Canada’s foremost futurists, Jim Bottomley has been a management consultant for over twenty years, and is also a successful entrepreneur. Unlike other futurists who specialize in one trend category, Jim provides insight into trend convergence, examining how technical, social, economic and demographic trends are combining to affect future client needs.

Jim has helped industries and government find direction, cope with the stress of change and develop strategies for future success. Working within many sectors, and for many companies and government organizations, Jim can suggest innovative strategies that cross boundaries.

Download Jim’s Headstart 2011 presentation here:

What opportunities for business growth exist in Social Networking? Can I put them to work in my business? How can I update the “look and feel” of my business?

Stephen speaks to groups of all sorts including real estate conferences and Entrepreneur Organization chapters (EO) around the world. Recently, Stephen was asked to re-write parts of the BC Real Estate Association manual that all REALTORS need to read to pass the real estate course and has spoken for many of the real estate associations across Western Canada. He has spoken at many different events including Inman News Connect 2007 in San Francisco where he was on a panel of 4 with a representative from Google, Yahoo and the Yellow Pages and 2009 in New York on a panel discussing blogging.

Stephen Jagger is an entrepreneur that has been starting businesses since high school. He is currently involved in three businesses. Ubertor.com is a real estate software company that provides websites and online marketing tools to thousands of real estate agents across North America. Reachd.com is a training company that focuses on marketing professionals and businesses that are interested in learning more about search engine optimization, blogging, online video, Google Adwords and social media. The third is OutsourcingThingsDone.com which provides high level outsourced personnel to business owners and managers across North America.

Watch Stephen’s FYI Real Estate Channel Interview:

Every day, we’re bombarded with information about communication and marketing and, let’s face it, it can get overwhelming. We’re often told we can’t operate in today’s world without social media and that social networks like Twitter and Facebook can change our business, but many of us aren’t sure exactly why or how.

There’s never been a better time to step back and take a good look at your business and the ways you market and communicate. Effective communication is not rocket science but every day individuals and companies make mistakes with the potential to impact their reputations and their bottom line. And, all too often, these mistakes happen because people are operating without a plan.

Join Rebecca Johnston and Tracy Bains for a session filled with tips to help you avoid the pitfalls of poor communication planning, and ideas to ensure you’ll communicate effectively with the people important to your business.

Fervent about words and passionate about planning, Rebecca is Principal at Puzzlewood Communication and works with clients – large and small – to develop and execute communication strategies. Tracy is a writer and marketing strategist who is a Manager, Communications at the University of British Columbia, and sits on the Executive Team for Coop Culture, a volunteer-run platform for enriching Canada’s dialogue on cultural diversity through storytelling and community engagement.

If there’s one thing Rebecca and Tracy guarantee from their session it’s that they won’t tell anyone they have to sign up for Twitter.