Connect Club - Connecting Women in Business - Colorado » educyber

Interior Design/Web Design – Colorado

connectclub — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:20:02 +0000

Our first speaker today was Joan Brown of JB Decorating & The Design Coach in Denver, Colorado. Joan’s talk today was all about the language of color, one of the most dynamic elements in you home décor. Color sets the tone and feel of a room, tying together the furnishings and accessories.

Getting Started:

Create a list of the key elements that are going to remain in your room, ie. furniture and accessories.
Determine your budget – spend your money on the changes that will have the most impact – whether that be paint, slip covers or fresh accessories.
What is the room’s purpose and how do you want it to feel when you are in it.
Determine your own personal color preferences – whether it be warm, cool or the neutrals.
Collect color & fabric swatches and images from magazines, websites or ideas from your vacations that will give you inspiration and allow you to plan ahead.

Create A Palette:

Look at items you have collected and determine which design will work in your space – which elements and colors stand out.
Group your colors for personal appeal.
View the samples in the space where they will be used with all the existing elements and lighting. This will allow you to see the change of color during the day.
Consider the size and scale of items being brought into the space – remember the concept of harmony and balance.

The Color Wheel:

There are 12 colors divided into three categories:

Primary – the three main colors – pure red, yellow and blue

Secondary – the combinations of to primary colors

- - orange (red & yellow)
  - green (blue & yellow
  - violet (blue & red)

Tertiary – the combination of a primary and secondary color

- - red & orange
  - yellow & orange
  - blue & green
  - blue & violet

Color Schemes: combinations and pairings of color that create an aesthetic look and feel for the space

Monochromatic- tints and shades of the same color. Can be subtle & subdued using a soft color or by using a rich tone can create a dramatic and daring look
Complimentary – two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel, can be very pleasing to the eye
Analogous – adjacent colors on the color wheel, using one color more prominently
Triad – 3 colors equally spaced on the color wheel, one dominant, one secondary and one just for accent
Neutrals – grey, beige and white

Color Speak:

Intensity – the brightness or dullness of the color
Value – the lightness or darkness of the color
Add white to create a tint
Add black to create a shade

Choose the Right Finish: This will determine the sheen level and the amount of light that is reflected from the painted surface.

Flat or Matte – non-reflective – ideal for less that perfect surfaces and the preferred for ceilings.
Eggshell – softly polished glow – ideal for easy to clean and perfect for high traffic areas.
Pearl or Satin – low sheen – easy to clean – perfect for trim and walls
Semi-Gloss – medium sheen – very durable – perfect for molding and trim, provides a touch of reflective light
Gloss – high sheen – highly durable, easy to clean preferred use in kitchens and baths

When planning to remodel your next room give Joan Brown of JB Decorating & The Design Coach to guide you through the remodeling maze. She will work with your budget and time to create the space perfect for you!

Joan Brown * JB Decorating & The Design Coach * 303.399.6208 * joancbrownqcom

Today our second speaker was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Wheat Ridge Colorado. Maki talked today about a new technology tool for marketing called QR code. QR code is short for Quick Response code and it was originally developed and widely used in Japan. In order to use QR code, you will need to download and install a QR code reader (many of them are free) on your smartphone. QR code can be a very powerful tool as it can contain a lot of information – such as URL, phone number, geo coordinates and even text. Generating code is very easy using a site like www.kaiwa.com.

Currently, if you have a QR code on your web site, the search engines will see that you have a new image and will index it accordingly. In near future, the search engines will probably be able to read the QR codes and index the content.

Asides from the effects of the SEO, the use of the QR codes can offer many possibilities. Your business may be able to use them to give your customers a quick and convenient way to get the directions to your store, offer special coupons, details on your products and/or events – the possibilities are limitless.

While the telephone survey shows (http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones.aspx) that there are only 35% of all adults who use smartphones, the number continues to increase. It is definitely an option worth exploring to promote your business.

Some of EduCyber client sites that use QR code:

http://www.westchamber.org/

http://www.shepherdhills-school.org/

http://www.wrfire.org/

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber, Inc. * 303.268.2245 * www.educyber.com * makieducybercom (makieducybercom)

Printing/Internet & Web Design

connectclub — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:50:06 +0000

Our first speaker today was Cindi Thordarson of EcoGraphics Printing in Lakewood, Colorado. The first item Cindi covered today was the fact that although much of her industry is losing business to computer technology, she received two pieces of mail this week that she found entertaining – one was from Google and the other was from another internet marketing company – two companies that one would think would email the information. So she wanted to remind us that although most of our business can be done through email and websites – never discount the value of a brochure or thank you card in your clients hands. After mentioning this Cindi took her time to discuss the different types of paper they frequently use in her shop. Paper is measured in pounds per 500 sheets or one ream of paper. The different types of grades are Bond, Book, Text, Cover etc. Each group of the grade of paper is assigned a standard size that all its weights are referred to. The basics of this standard are as follows: Bond has a standard size of 17 x 22″ and this is the size that is measured for 500 sheets. If 500 sheets of this size weigh 20lbs., then the paper is classified as a 20lb. bond. Heavier and lighter stocks will obviously be thicker or thinner than the 20lb. Now for the confusion… the weight of 500 sheets of the standard sheet size (also known as the basis size) is commonly known as the paper’s basis weight and is always noted as a weight in lbs. The basis size for each weight is different such as for a text weight sheet the basis size is 25” x 38” and a cover weight sheet is 24” x 36”. Cindi passed around a sample of sheets that are commonly used in her office. The first sheet was the common copy paper or 20# bond, which Cindi explained, is not that common any more – most companies want a little more substance to their office forms now so many of these items are now printed on a 60# sheet. Cindi passed around a sheet of 60# Cougar a very common sheet used at EcoGraphics Printing. The next sheet that Cindi passed around was 70# Cougar text, this sheet has become popular because of its FSC certification and the cost. Many companies now use this sheet for their letterhead, because of its weight, bright white color and feel. You can also get envelopes that match that are much cheaper than the higher end envelopes that can run upwards of 65.00 for 500 without any printing. The next sheet that Cindi passed around was a 80# text weight sheet – this sheet is commonly used for manuals and programs as the sheet is very opaque and cannot be seen through. They also offer a100# text but that is not commonly used. Cindi then moved into the cover weight stocks starting with a 65# cover that can be used for forms or take out menus that are going to be handled a lot – it will withstand some abuse. The next sheet is one that Cindi likes a 67# cover weight sheet in a very bright yellow – they use these sheets for door hangers and some business cards although fairly thin the colors make them easy to find and well Cindi says the names are fun-like Fireball Fuchsia, Pulsar Pink and Re-entry Red. Cindi’s next sheet used to be the most common business card stock until about 4 years ago – 80# cover – this is a nice thick sheet and is still used for business cards but has been replaced by the 110# cover. This sheet is very thick and has a good feel, Cindi says that 80% of the business cards they print are now done on this weight of paper. The last sheet that Cindi showed us was a 130# Cougar cover which has been requested by one client for their business cards. This sheet is very thick and bright white and Cindi states hard to get, they have a 2 day wait on delivery – so plan that into your schedule when ordering business cards. If your are needing printed materials for your business, keep Cindi Thordarson at EcoGraphics Printing in mind – she can direct you to the right product to promote your business.

Cindi Thordarson * EcoGraphics Printing * 303.238.7791 * www.ecographicsprinting.com * cindiecographicsprintingcom (cindiecographicsprintingcom)

Our second speaker today was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Today Maki used her time to speak to us about our internet safety. What you do online can effect your life.

Surfing on the Internet

- Remain as anonymous as possible. Keep private information private. (Full name, home address, phone number, Social Security Number, passwords, names of family members, credit card numbers) – Never ask for this type of information online. (look for SSL padlock on the website, know who you are dealing with)

- Think carefully before you create an email address or screen name. Web experts recommend that you use a combination of letters and numbers in both — and that you don’t identify whether you’re male or female. (don’t do birthdays and pet’s names)

Emails

- Although email is relatively private, hackers can still access it — or add you to their spam lists. Spam, like advertisements or harassing or offensive notes, is annoying. But spam blockers can keep your mailbox from getting clogged.

- If you don’t recognize the sender of a document or file that needs to be downloaded, delete it without opening it to avoid getting a virus on your machine. Virus protection software is a must for every computer. You can also buy software that helps rid your computer of unwanted spyware programs that report what your computer is doing. Some service providers make software available to protect you from these and other online annoyances, such as blockers for those in-your-face pop-up ads. If you do invest in protective software, you’ll need to keep it updated to be sure it continues to do its job as new technologies evolve.

- Do not reply to spam emails no matter what. Just delete them – if you click on the link to take your email of their list – this is just a way for them to verify your email address.

Facebook

- Check your privacy settings periodically

- Use hard passwords. Use a minimum 8 characters with numbers and special characters as well as both upper and lower case letters.

- Information you post about you – don’t pour your life out, if you are going on vacation keep it quiet until you get back!

- Don’t “friend” people if you don’t know them

Thank you!

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber, Inc. * (303) 268-2245 * www.educyber.com * makieducybercom (makieducybercom)

Hair Salon/Internet Marketing – Colorado

connectclub — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:26:08 +0000

Today our first speaker was Edna Miklos, owner of The Hair Place in Golden, Colorado. Edna has owned The Hair place for 25+ years now and has 5 stylists that are able to take care of any of your hair care needs along with a full line of hair care products to bring out your hair’s full potential. At The Hair Place, the stylists go through continuing education throughout the year to stay abreast of the current styles and trends. Today Edna wanted to talk to us about our styling tools – blow dryers, curling irons, brushes and the basic uses of them to protect your hair. When it comes to our blow dryers, blow dryers come in a variety of several watts and power, they have a high and low air flow, although the air has one heat setting. If you have heavy thick hair you will need to purchase a dryer that has both of these settings. Remember that before blow drying your hair always towel dry prior but blot don’t rub your hair, then apply the product you most commonly use, ie. volumizer, mousse, straighten balm or thermal protectant. If you straightening your hair the brush you use is very important, using a paddle (flat) brush from the root and pull down straight along the side of your head – with the dryer nozzle right in line with the brush. When trying to create volume and curl use a round brush – preferably with a metal base, the metal base adds heat. You want to start close to the head and pull out and away from the head, the hair will tangle when wet and release as it dries. When drying out your hair make sure to section off your hair – sides, back and top. Drying section by section gives you better control and also allows you to get the brush close to the scalp for better lift. When directing the end of the dryer on the brush and hair, drying with a downward motion. This will help smooth out the cuticle layer of the hair for more shine. Once your hair is dry you can move to curling or straightening. Curling irons come in a variety of different sizes, from ½ to 3 inches, a professional iron can be as large as 4”. They will usually come with a high and low setting, although a professional quality will have settings from 1 to 10. Edna likes these the best because you can adjust the heat for each hair type. When curling your own hair at home remember to turn your iron down to low before using on your hair – this will prevent damaging the cuticle. Also when curling or straightening your hair protect your hair with a thermal protectant, texturizing cream or spray designed to get the best curl without burning the hair such as Redkin Spray Starch or Hot Sets. Once again when curling or straightening, section off your hair – remember that the size of your iron should match the size of each section (ie. ½ iron should be ½ sections). Wrap the hair starting at the scalp around the iron and don’t close the iron all the way, hold it for 5 sec. If you are using the right products you won’t hold the iron there for long. Curl each of these sections in a different direction so you won’t get a uniform look then separate the curls using a shine product like Redkin’s Vinyl Glam ot Tri’s Bright Lites. When using a straight iron start at the scalp and direct the hair straight down, this will smooth the hair for a bone straight look. Some straight irons have a wave attachment that will put a wave or crimp into the hair. This look can take a lot of time to get right and takes a lot of time. The final thing that Edna wanted to mention was your brushes – whether you use a round, flat, boar bristle or plastic – the type of brush depends on the look you are trying to achieve – flat for straight and round for volume. At The Hair Place they can help you with any type of styling or straightening and help you keep that style! Remember your hair is your most important accessory!

Edna Miklos * The Hair Place * 303-233-4764

Our second speaker today was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Lakewood, Colorado. Maki’s talk today was on the 5 Things to Measure in an Internet Marketing Plan.

Most people measure things like “Likes” or “Followers”. That’s not bad but Internet Marketing is more than a popularity contest.

1. Number of Interactions on Facebook – shows they’re engaged. This can be through wall postings and likes to various comments and postings. Such as a Sushi restaurant that posts a monthly special on their Facebook wall and customers come and comment on the special.

2. Number of click-thru’s – from Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn back to your site. This way you can track were the people are coming from.

3. Increase in number of people who attend an event or call after/during a campaign.

4. Number of hits on a landing page on your site from a campaign. Seminars that are linked from Facebook or Twitter to track where the customers are coming from.

5. Increase in customers as a direct result of a campaign. Finding out where they heard about your campaign or seminar.

This isn’t a popularity contest, it’s business. It’s important to measure things that impact your bottom line.

Our next seminar is on Tuesday, March 15 from 7:30 to 9am titled “How to Build an Internet Marketing Plan” In this 90 minute seminar Brian will walk you through the steps required to put your plan together. From setting your goals to implementing them on Facebook, you’ll walk away with a document you can use for your business. Register online at www.educyber.com

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber * 303-268-2245 * href="mdelaeteducybercom">mdelaeteducybercom * www.educyber.com

Website design & hosting/Wellness – Colorado

connectclub — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:08:27 +0000

Our first speaker today was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Today Maki wanted to introduce us to the Managed Network Service her company offers.

You’re busy. You can’t have downtime either because of computer problems or because a tech needs to be on your computer to perform maintenance. For this, EduCyber has the Solution. They have a managed service offering that optimizes your uptime without requiring a tech to be on site for most issues. At the same time, it includes some on site time, so you don’t fret about calling them when needed.

EduCyber’s remote management system includes:

* 24 / 7 real time monitoring

* Monthly reporting

* More uptime – less interruptions

* Set number of hours of onsite support each month

* Automate and monitor onsite backups

* Remote, automated installation of most software packages (Microsoft Office and upgrades, antivirus, etc.)

* LiveConnect – remote access for us to get to your systems as long as you’re connected to the Internet to troubleshoot problems

* Automated scripting to keep your computers virus-free and running optimally

* License management – make sure you’re running licensed programs on your system(s)

* Ticketing system – our simple ticketing system lets you submit tickets right from your desktop AND your computer can create a ticket on its own if something critical happens

* Green initiative: we spend less time driving, we can run tasks outside of business hours and then shut your computer off.

Call Maki DeLaet of EduCyber for a quote on your system and needs!

Thank you!

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber * 303.268.2245 * mdelaeteducybercom (mdelaeteducybercom) * www.educyber.com

Laura Kilty of Shaklee was our second speaker today and her talk today started out with Laura stating – Let’s do some Health Building!

We know that our environment, food supply and diet has changed more in the last 50 years than in most of human history. Our food supply:

* Has ever-increasing amounts of chemicals (pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, additives and preservatives)

* Has ever-decreasing amounts of nutrients (due to soil depletion, processing and storage). Add to that the genetically modified foods that we have no idea what the long term effects are.

We have to realize that modern food may fill our stomachs and please our palettes, but it does not feed and fortify our cells…and that is where our true health begins.

We know that our bodies need to be fueled to run smoothly and to build health. Now if you don’t want to take supplements, that’s fine as long as you…

* Eat adequate high quality protein daily

* Drink 10-12 cups of purified water every day

* Eat a minimum of 9 servings of fresh fruit and veggies every day

* Eat certified organic food only

* Do not eat any processed, refined, pre-packaged, instant foods

* Do not eat sugar, white flour or fast foods

* Do not consume caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or medications

* Exercise every day

* You do not breath any toxic chemicals

* You have a healthy family history

* You are perfectly healthy

* You live a relaxed, stress-free, positive, happy life

If you live a life like this…I want to be you!! You are providing your body with the necessities of good health.

If on the other hand, you’re like most Americans….we need to supplement our diet wisely because we are definitely not getting all the nutrients from our diet.

We know how to properly maintain our cars, homes and pets yet we balk at taking care of our most important asset…our health.

So what’s the answer?

* Eat foods as close to their natural state as possible. Choose organic if you can

* Drink pure water

* Exercise regularly

* Limit exposure to toxins

* Provide the body all the necessary building blocks for good health

Let’s talk about those building blocks…….

Shaklee’s Vitalizer is an easy place to start. This is a small blister packet of 6 supplements that provide 80 nutrients. The supplements in this pack are delivered with the SMART technology, so the right nutrient goes to the right place at the right time.

Shaklee’s Vitalizer contains:

* 23 essential vitamins and minerals

* More calcium than the leading brand – 500 mg

* B+C Complex maintains nutrient levels for 12 hrs

* Ultra pure fish oil

* All 8 forms of natural vitamin E

* 26 antioxidants to protect against free radical damage

* Probiotics – patented delivery system that guarantees lives delivery – good for the gut & immune system

Shaklee’s Vivix to fight against cellular aging.

* Protects and repairs DNA

* Positively impacts genetic regulators – turns on the gene for longevity

* Promotes energy in the cells

* Slows AGE protein formation. AGE can cause cellular damage that leads to early cell damage and cell death.

Add proteins for long lasting energy. Protein is an essential building block for health. Critical for muscle building and retention, tissue repair, immunity and virtually every other function in the body. We have several to choose from. They are soy based and there is a difference as to how it’s processed. Shaklee only uses non GMO soy beans and they are processed under low heat. Plus Shaklee’s soy products are water washed….most other products use high heat and a chemical wash. This compromises the integrity of the product.

Nutriferon for ultimate immune support. Every day our body is under attack from stress, poor nutrition, pollution and fatigue, which can constantly challenge your immune system.

Shaklee calls these four products “Your RX for a Healthier Life“. Shaklee members receive a 10% discount when these 4 products are send via autoship. You also get coupon for a product of your choice for $10 with your next autoship. You can get these 4 products for around $7 a day. And yes that does cost you but how much are you spending on things that aren’t good for you each day? Starbucks? Junk food? Cigarettes? It’s about priorities. You can get the Vitalizer for around $2.50 per day

If you want to start smaller, that’s ok. Just start somewhere. Shaklee’s Vita-Lea Gold is an excellent choice for those close to or over 50. This would run you about 87 cents per day.

Laura’s goal is that if you aren’t already using Shaklee supplements, you’ll start. You truly can have a positive impact on your health with very little effort. Laura would love to sit down with you or someone you know and find out what your concerns are and start to build a healthy living plan.

Laura Kilty * Shaklee * 303.420.3359 * KiltyCoaolcom * www.laurakilty.myshaklee.com

Communications/Promotional Products/Printing – Colorado

connectclub — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:55:31 +0000

Today we had three speakers because of our guest speaker last week our first speaker was Helen Masterson of Masterson & Friends Communications. Helen spoke to us today about the upcoming holiday season and that we are not only a family but a team. She handed out marketing worksheets with each of our businesses on it with spaces open for our products or services. These worksheets are to help us help each of our businesses during not only the holiday season but throughout the year. So Helen wants us to take these sheets and plan ahead – if you know someone who needs a massage, how about a gift certificate from Karen Lee at Lillie Lee Massage Center or do you need a wreath, swag for your door or a centerpiece for your holiday table – contact Ginger Kaiser from Willows Floral, maybe a gift basket to ship out of state give Leailia Bartleson of Mrs. B’s Baskets can give you a hand with that (in fact with Leailia’s Concierge Service – she can get your Christmas shopping done for you!). If you find yourself needing Holiday or Christmas cards, we in this group, have three different options for you with Linda Shaffer of GL Specialties offers a wide variety holiday cards through an outside manufacturer, Cindi Thordarson of Ecographics Printing has two options for you with The Children’s Hospital Holiday Card Project and as well she can design and produce your cards with your own personal style, and thirdly but not last Helen Masterson with Masterson & Friends has two options as well with the Colorado scenic cards and personally designed cards. If you just want to avoid the holiday season and get away remember that Juli Parrott at Table Mountain Travel can help you with those plans. If you are looking for a new look for yourself or a loved one Edna Miklos at The Hair Place can take care of all of your hair needs. Once the holiday season is over and looking into the new year – you might want to have Lori Bush-Engel at Modern Woodmen of America look over your financial and insurance needs. Maybe you need to update your website or learn how to use social networking to market you business then you should give Maki Delaet of Educyber a call to get that started. The point that Helen was sharing with us is that we are a network of business and we need to help each other create and build those businesses by referring new clients to one another and using those services that we need. If you are needing marketing materials to promote your business in the coming season give Helen a call.

Helen Masterson * Masterson & Friends Communications * 303.423.3946 * batmastersonearthlinknet (batmastersonearthlinknet)

Our second speaker was Linda Shaffer of GL Specialties in Arvada, Colorado, our promotional products representative. Linda started GL Specialties 12 years ago and never looked back, she really enjoys helping her clients find that perfect product to promote their business. About 90% of Linda’s products come from China and she has been watching the situation in that country closely. There is unrest in the country with the laborers wanting to receive a living wage, so this is narrowing the price between products made here in the USA and China. Linda will always work with you and give you the option of promotional products made in both countries so you can make an informed decision. One of the companies in the United States that Linda likes working with is Evans Manufacturing in California. This is an upcoming promotional products company – that combines competitive pricing with customer service and an expanding market line. One of the things about working with this company is that the shipping costs are reduced and delivery time is drastically shortened. Linda then brought out samples that are currently produced by this company displaying the wide range of colors and items – the samples included two different types of first aid kits, sewing kits, measuring spoons that nest into each other making storage easier a small cutting board and a colander. They also have around 30 different colors and many colors that you can’t get from China. The promotional products industry has always made use of the reusable cloth bags and that trend has only increased with the current movement to reduce our waste. Linda told a funny story about bags ordered by one of her clients for a trade show in China, the bags were delivered to Colorado from China, repacked and shipped back to China. The shipment was held in customs in China while they questioned the composition and inks used in production. Linda had all the documentation faxed over and solved the problem for her client. Linda Shaffer from GL Specialties will take care of your needs and find the product that will do you business the most good!

Linda Shaffer * GL Specialties * 303.456.9035 * glspecadglspecialtiescom (glspecadglspecialtiescom) * www.glspecialties.com

Our last speaker today was Cindi Thordarson of Ecographics Printing in Lakewood, Colorado. Cindi started her speech by holding up a poster and asked us when we thought it was printed. The poster was a man standing on top of the earth with the interior filled with garbage and refuse, the poster was produced in 1989, the real beginning of the “green” movement. Cindi spoke about her business partner, who was just starting out in the printing industry, and his struggle at the time to find recycled papers – in 1989 there were only about 2 companies that offered a recycled sheet and these sheets were about 10% more expensive than a regular sheet, as well in 1989 you could not get any gloss sheets with any recycled content at all. Today every sheet we use in the printing industry has some recycled content with most of that be post consumer, we also have access to 100% post consumer wasted recycled paper, but once again the cost on these paper is approximately 15%-25% higher than the regular sheets. Cindi spoke to the fact that at Ecographics Printing they recycle and reuse as much of their scrap paper and get to pay for that privilege. Then she went on to explain that her early years in printing were in California the “green” capitol of the states. Working in California, Cindi used acrylic inks that do work but that was found to have issues with degrading in the landfill, so it has since been replaced with soy based ink that degrade more effectively. In California, Cindi also heard about 2 printing companies that were shut down and fined heavily by the EPA for throwing to much ink by-product into their trash bins. This is another aspect of the printing industry that Cindi works with every day, when running a job one puts ink in a tray on the press and at the end of the job the ink that remains must be dealt with, at Ecographics they work to minimize the ink that goes into the actual trash. By putting the ink back into can and reusing it at a later date, also they have a metal drum that will eventually be burned according to government standards as it has been there since Cindi joined the Ecographics team and is still not full, when they have it removed and taken to the facility it will probably cost upwards of $1200.00 – it is the price of taking care of our planet and trying to reduce the impact of the printing industry. The changes that have happened in the printing industry over the last 20 years to reduce the impact on our environment are remarkable – beginning with the soy based inks, the new papers and the water miscible cleaners. We are trying and we are not perfect but we continue to strive everyday to keep our impact to a minimum. So for eco-friendly printing with a company that works to give you the product that you want with customer service – give Cindi at Ecographics a call!

Cindi Thordarson * Ecographics Printing * 303.238.7791 * href="cindiecographicsprintingcom">cindiecographicsprintingcom* www.ecographicsprinting.com

Web Design & Hosting/Anti-Aging – Colorado

connectclub — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 16:53:25 +0000

The first of our speakers today was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Maki talked today about the time saving tools in Microsoft Outlook. The main thing to keep in mind about Microsoft Outlook 2007 is that it can be synced with your PDA, Blackberry, iPhone and the Droid. Maki had her computer and walked us through many of the main screens – showing us first in the general area where to find the help menu and how to change the views on your screen. She took us through many of the functions of Microsoft Outlook such as how to customize your screen for your needs – such as what you need to see first thing like your calendar for the day. Maki demonstrated how to set up the task option in Outlook and how simply you can use the task options to organize your tasks and how you can easily prioritize, show the status of the task and how to change the percentage of completion. Helping you keep track of your progress on any job you have in production. Outlook also allows you to color code you events and projects to help you keep track of who in your office is doing which project or meeting. Then Maki moved on to the calendar options – first showing us how to change the view so you can customize for how many days you want to see at once. She then showed how us how to setup appointments and the variety of options that we can use. In the Outlook calendar functions you can set up one time appointment or recurring appointments which once set up will show up on the same day for the amount of time you select. Another time saving function of Outlook is when an email comes in with an event you need or want to attend you can simply drag the event to your calendar and it will put in on the correct day and time. The calendar will also remind you that the event is coming up – with this option you can set it up to remind you up to a day in advance. The last item Maki discussed with us was that with an office network you can view every one’s schedule at a glance, making scheduling very easy as you can identify who is available and who is not. If you need help setting up your website, how to use social media for your business or just have computer issues in your office give Maki at Educyber a call.

Maki DeLaet * Educyber * 303.268-2245 * (mdelateducybercom) (mdelateducybercom) (mdelateducybercom) (mdelateducybercom) href="mdelateducybercom">@educyber.com (mdelateducybercom) mdelaet (mdelaeteducybercom)

“Your Technology Partner”

Our second speaker was Angela Wihelmi from NuSkin Galvanic Spa. Angela spoke about how the NuSkin corporation has come along way since being introduce to the American market in 2008 – moving from the medical industry to the beauty industry. It used to be that in the past, your face revealed how old you were, now with the NuSkin Galvanic Spa, it reflects how young you feel. Most of us didn’t really manage our skin care in during the teen years and that lack of attention can start to catch up with you in your 30′s. Not only how we took care of our skin when we were young but also the effects of mechanical, biological, and environmental aging, in our 30′s to 50′s we can notice the loss in skin elasticity, an increase in uneven skin tone and texture, enlarged pores, and the development of fine lines and wrinkles. Suddenly, your reflection appears years older than it needs to. Angela spoke to the Galvanic current found by Luigi Galvani in the late 1700′s and how with the use of the ageLoc treatments and the Galvanic Spa is the reality of today to reduce the look of fine wrinkles and skin elasticity. NuSkin Tru-Targeted Treatments are the latest in cutting edge, technologically with new advanced formulas designed to address the your specific needs of aging skin. The ability for you to target specific areas and deeply drive the ageLOC solutions into the dermis with the clinically proven technology to provide precise solutions to the way your skin can change over time—making you look beautiful and youthful looking at any age. This has been an fun and exciting adventure for Angela – she has had clients from as far away as France, this was a woman who was visiting Grand Junction, CO from France and found Angela on the Internet through our Connect Club website and wanted to order a spa from her. A local woman who had suffered from cystic acne most of her adult life – is now acne free after using the Galvanic Spa for a month and now swears by the treatments! If you want to look younger and improve your skin give Angela a call!

Angela Wilhelmi * NuSkin Galvanic Spa * 303.875.7440 * angelacreationsbyangelacom (angelacreationsbyangelacom)

Web Design/Massage Therapy – Colorado

connectclub — Mon, 03 May 2010 20:41:39 +0000

Our first speaker today was Mary Waleski from Educyber, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Mary was standing for Maki DeLaet who had an unexpected obligation today. Mary started of her talk with the very important question-”Have you surveyed your customers about what their needs are?” If not Mary from Educyber shared a way to find out what your customer needs. She suggested that having a poll questionnaire on your website about services you offer and those services offered by your competitors and she suggested offering an incentive program for those that complete the poll. Once you get a few of these polls answered you can direct your services specifically for your clients needs. Polling has become a very effective way for companies to keep in touch with their client base as so many of us use computers everyday in our job. Educyber is the place to go with any computer questions – for dealing with the simple Window 7 question to the vast world of online media, from facebook to linkedin or any other social media marketing – Maki will help you navigate he online world. A question was brought up by a member – “How should you respond to a person who requested to be your friend that you don’t know – by clicking ignore or I don’t know this person?” If this person is a client you just don’t recognize, you may hurt their feelings by hitting “I don’t know this person”, so Mary suggested hitting “ignore” or “hide” that way they are not notified and you have not offended a client. Mary wanted to touch on blogs, for those of us who are interested in getting information online. She recommends Google Reader to look at and search out blogs in your area of interest. You can also sign up for all the blogs you want to read right in one place rather than having to sign up for each one that you come across. The last item Mary wanted to mention is Educyber is having another seminar called “Be Findable! The Small Business Guide to Location Social Media”. What you can learn in this seminar is the concrete steps you can take to enhance your local presence on the Internet. Educyber is holding this seminar on Thursday, May 27, 2010 from 11:30-1:00 and the cost is $19.95. If you need a website to attract the attention of your clients or to add a poll to your existing site, Educyber and Maki DeLaet are your technology partner!

Maki DeLaet * Educyber * 303.268.2245 * www.educyber .com

Today’s second speaker was Dottie J. Johnson – our massage therapist, located in Massage Haven in Lakewood, Colorado. Dottie spoke about how aging affects your body and bone joints. She started us off with three questions: 1) Can you bend over to tie your shoes without sitting down? 2) Can you put your pants without sitting down? 3) Can you stand on one foot with your eyes closed? If all three of these items are difficult for you need to strengthen your balance reflex, which comes through stretching and some simple basic yoga moves. Pick an exercise and just do it – it really doesn’t matter how same you start as long as it gets your heart going. If you start small, it will motivate you to do more and more over time. Dottie also spoke to us about our skeleton and what it does for us, providing structure and support allowing us free and easy movement. Our bones do get thinner as we lose calcium as we age. We need to eat more fruits and vegetables – reducing our meat intake. Calcium is in more than just milk and it is best to get your calcium from different sources. Dottie gave us a list of other sources of calcium and those highest in calcium were sea vegetables, such as Hijiki, Kombu, Agar-Agar and Nori – all which are available in whole food stores. Other places to look for calcium are dried wheat grass or barley grass which have high values – also nuts, such as almonds and hazelnuts. The items on the that surprised me were, black and pinto beans, sardines (which have almost as much as the grasses), Chinese cabbage and brown rice (pretty low on the list). Definitely some items to keep in mind when looking for alternative ways to get your daily calcium! So when looking for a Massage Therapist who cares for your whole body – trust Dottie!

Dottie J. Johnson, CMT * Massage Haven* 303.229.7220

Website Design/Travel Agent – Colorado

connectclub — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:29:28 +0000

Our first speaker today was Maki DeLaet of EduCyber, our website designer. Today Maki debuted our new website, she had a computer and screen set up so we could all see the new features. The website is comprehensive and allows all of us to visit without updating our flash players. Maki also was able to buy our old domain name, which we were all happy about. We all enjoyed seeing our website set up and running – this is the first time we have had a current up to date site for our members to check the speaking schedule and to send potential members to for information on our current members. Maki also talked a little about how google will find us and once we start updating the site and visiting -we will work our way up this search list. It may be one to two months before google responds to the new site. Although working on the blog with the keywords and tags google is already sending people to our site. So keep Maki DeLaet from EduCyber in mind when deciding to build a website, she listened to what we as group wanted and needed from our website and worked with us to design the website we needed.

Maki DeLaet * EduCyber * www.educyber.com * 303.268.2245

Today, Juli Parrott, from Table Mountain Travel spoke about a destination trip – France. France has a bad name in America, but just as you can go to Paris and run into some obnoxious French people, you can go to New York City and run into some obnoxious Americans. Juli has traveled to France a number of times and loves visiting there. France is basically the size of Texas and roughly shaped like an octagon, and broken up in to 7 regions – South Coastal-the Bordeaux area where wineries are plentiful, Southern Central-where the Lascaux Caves are located, although when touring the caves realize they are not the “real” caves – but a recreation to protect the originals, the Mediterranean region-Marseilles and Montpelier are two of the main cities to visit here, the Alps Region-you will find a lot of German influence here, along with the Alps that separate France from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany and the North Central-along the English Channel, Paris in this region and along the coast it is cooler than most other regions. Ways to experience France are through their train system, the TGV – high speed rail system that travels at speeds up to 200 miles per hour, any location in France is just a couple hours away from Paris, and allows you to see the countryside. The TGV also connects France with many of it’s neighboring countrys allowing you to buy one train pass and get on and off when and where you wish allowing you to visit a wide variety of small towns and major cities depending on the length of your visit. Another option that truely allows you to experience the country is river cruises – there are two ways to go with the river cruises – one is the Hotel Barge-50-100 people on a barge, much like an ocean cruise all your meals and tours are included in the 2000.00 price tag. The other option is Rent A Barge-you drive it yourself, there are rooms for sleeping and tiolets, with a small kitchen. But you get to make your own itinerary and stay as long as you like if you find a town you really want to spend more time in. This option with 4 adults and 2 children will run about 1800.00 – but you have to buy your own food. I get it from good authority that the bakeries in the small towns sreve amazing croissants!! So if you are planning a trip to France or anywhere in the world – contact Juli Parrott at Table Mountain Travel for all your travel needs.

Juli Parrott * Table Mountian Travel * 303.277.1580 * julitablemountaintravelcom (julitablemountaintravelcom)

Web Design/Homemade Gourmet-Colorado

connectclub — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:05:32 +0000

The first speaker today was Maki Delaet, of Educyber, a local web designing company. She spoke today about The Recipe for a Good Website, a good website should be visual in nature. You should also brand your website – make everything the same, if you see it you recognize it. You should also have a goal in mind when meeting with your web designer. Is your site going to be used for buying or just a place to display your wares? The other thing you need to consider is what you want your customers to do when they visit your website. Do you want them to order, email, phone or drive to your location? If any one of these is your need then you need to make that information easily accessible to your web visitors. Another item to consider with people visiting your website is it easy to use – you do not want to frustrate your clients. Make it easy for them to navigate pages and to find the information you want them to view, use the two click rule – they should be able to find what they need in two clicks. If you want them to go somewhere else make it look like a button – people like to push buttons. Always make sure to keep you website fresh – keep your information current and up to date – change your schedules and make sure you update pricing. You need to set yourself apart form your competitors – showing your personality and introduce yourself to new clients on your website. You also need to find a way to keep people coming back to your website. A couple ways to do that is to attach a blog to your website as a way to demonstrate your experience and knowledge in your particular field and can help your clients interact with you. You can also attach a monthly newsletter to your website to invite your clients to learn more about you. Keep in mind that once you have your website up and running you need to review the statistics to evaluate how people use your website and what you can tweek to make it more user friendly. Another consideration is how are people going to find your site – they won’t visit just because you have it, you will need to drive people to you whether it’s through Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Market, Pay per Click or just plain old fashion word of mouth. Maki at Educyber can help you out with all of these items and work up a website that meets all of your needs.

Maki DeLaet * Educyber * www.educyber.com * 303-268-2245

The second speaker today was Terry Gore of Homemade Gourmet. She set prior to our meeting a couple of new bread dips that Homemade Gourmet has created for the fall season. They were Garlic & Parmesan Bread Dip and Italian Red Pepper Bread Dippin’ Mix. At the beginning of her talk she asked what we all thought – we all loved the Italian Red Pepper Mix and a couple of mentions for the Garlic & Parmesan was a tad to salty. Terry took her time to discuss the new fall food products, which include the Gusty Garlic Pesto Cheese Ball, Jalapeno Ole Soup mix (which is not hot), and the Skillet Chicken and Biscuit mix or Skillet Beef with corn bread mix. Homemade Gourmet is also offering a Tea Party Trio which includes three different teas and the names are Cinnamon Spice Makes Everything Nice, Zentastic Blackberry Jasmine Green Tea & Mojito Mint Tea. You can purchase these either separately or in the trio-each packet makes 3 gallons of tea and can be served hot or cold. Homemade Gourmet also have brought back the Spiced Cider Mix – which you can add to either apple cider or cranberry juice and serve hot, perfect for those cold winter evenings. Some of the other fall/winter collection are the Skillet Tex Mex Dinner, which used to be just the Spanish Rice – was created into a full entre, the Country Style Gravy Mix – which has only 30 calories and no fat per serving, and the Velvety Creations Sauce mix – a versatile sauce base that can be used with everything from pasta to fish. Homemade Gourmet also has two new deserts that we are looking forward to taste test for Terry some time in the future – Bodacious Butterscotch Pie Mx and Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Cake Mix – both sound yummy!

Terry Gore * Homemade Gourmet * www.homemadegourmet.com/TERRYLGORE * 303.278.7985