PIC Newsletter - July/August 2016
 
Hope you enjoy the latest edition of The Buzz!
A message from chair Sharon Aschaiek

This summer, a combination of a slower workflow, endless sunny summer days and the wonderful company of lovely friends and family members conspired to make me relax and almost forget I run a business. Some of the lofty business development goals I had set for myself at the start of the season, such as doing more marketing, prospecting and networking, got some attention. Others drifted away on the waves at Bluffer's Park or evaporated in the steamy heat at Wonderland. So in the balance between work and play this summer, play won the day. I hope you all likewise have been enjoying your summer to the fullest.
 
One thing that didn't completely lose steam this summer was PIC. While we hit pause on our professional development events, we held social networking events in July and August. To everyone who joined us on the patio at the Duke of York and indoors at The Merchant, thanks for connecting with us and sharing your good cheer. In case you missed them, the photos from those events can be found here.
 
As well, our new executive team started hatching plans for the 2016-17 season. Our first seminar of the season, happening on Sept. 7, will focus on a topic every communicator should know about: email marketing. You won't want to miss this session on the do's and don'ts of this powerful communication tool, led by digital marketing expert Javed S. Khan.
 
Also coming up is our annual PIC membership survey, which we conduct to get a better sense of your career activities and challenges and your professional development needs. This survey is critical to helping us ensure our programming is relevant and that we can be a valuable organization and resource for local independent communicators. Look for the survey in your inbox in the next couple of weeks, and please take the time to share your insights and opinions.
 
Enjoy these remaining sunny summer days, and I look forward to connecting with you at PIC's upcoming PD and social events and celebrating the indie life with you!

Continued success, 
Sharon

In This Issue
A message from Sharon
How does FREE strike you?
Sept. 7: The Power of the Inbox
Summer socials a hit
IABC Silver Leaf Awards get a new look
Welcome new member
IABC/Toronto's website is new
Donate your eyeglasses
Meet Eric Bergman
Add your LI profile to the list
Join our LinkedIn group
Quick Links
Newsletter archives
Join Our Mailing List!
We want your talents!
PIC Executive
Good news -- PIC events are now free!

Your PIC executive has taken steps to reduce costs for the 2016-17 season. As a result, our professional development events will be provided free of charge. This is a fabulous opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills while making new friends and connecting with other independent communications professionals.
 
We look forward to seeing you at all our sessions this season!

Sept. 7: The Power of the Inbox

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (with networking at 6:30 p.m.)  
Metro Hall, Room 310, 55 John St., Toronto (map)  
 

Have you considered offering email marketing services to your clients? Ever thought about developing your own contact list and using it to grow your indie business?

Join us on Sept. 7 as we kick off PIC's new season with a great opportunity to learn about The Power of the Inbox. You won't want to miss this FREE jam-packed, interactive session with Javed S. Khan, a digital marketing expert and champion of small- and medium-sized businesses.
 
At this session, you'll discover the purpose of email marketing and what it can do for your clients' organizations as well as your own business. Learn how to boost open rates, promote engagement and save time when planning and creating great content.
 
Javed is president of marketing firm EMpression, and has more than 20 years' experience in marketing/communications and branding. He will provide valuable insider techniques of email marketing, such as how to build your contact list and create effective designs.

Get a taste for what we'll learn in this conversation between Javed and PIC's past chair Donna Papacosta
 
Please register on Eventbrite by Aug. 31, 2016.

PIC's summer socials were a hit both on and off the patio

PIC members and friends are seen here enjoying the first of two summer socials, which took place on the patio at the Duke of York in July. We also met indoors at The Merchant Tavern in August. Lively conversation and renewed connections are just two of the benefits of these socials. See you next time! Photo courtesy of PIC social media director Bill Smith. See more photos on our Flickr page
Deana had a hand in the IABC Silver Leaf Awards logo refresh

Here's the new distinctly Canadian Silver Leaf logo. 
Congrats to PIC member Deana De Ciccio and her colleagues at ImageStudio Creative Communications, including Brandon Brind, Creative Director. The team provided pro bono work to refresh the IABC Silver Leaf Awards logo at the request of Jeannifer Wah, ABC, MC. The project grew into designing the call for entries sent to members in late July, along with a winner's recognition package.
 
Silver Leaf entries have dropped off in recent years and part of the goal was to bring the awards program back onto people's radar.  

The old Silver Leaf logo doesn't fit the new IABC branding. 
"Our creative challenge was to reimagine something fresh that had some continuation of the old Silver Leaf logo but also fit into the new IABC branding," says Brandon. "We also wanted it to look distinctly Canadian."  
 
The Silver Leaf Award entries are due Sept. 30, 2016 (early bird deadline Sept. 2) for work done since January 2014.

 
Welcome new member 

Elena Mazur
Communications Professional
[email protected]
416.417.3030
Twitter: @elenamazur  
LinkedIn 
Instagram 

A boutique communications firm providing strategic communications and marketing support to small- and medium-sized businesses. We empower businesses by helping them share their stories in a powerful and unique way through designing corporate communications and publications to organizing professional events.  
  
Have you checked out IABC/Toronto's renewed website?

Click on toronto.iabc.com to see its new look, intended to be more visually appealing and easy to navigate. The chapter tightened content on the site and reduced the number of pages, while still providing all the content needed for us to enjoy our membership. PIC's content is neatly contained on one page, including links to our member directory, history and resources. 
  
Bring your old eyeglasses to PIC meetings

Got any old eyeglasses? PIC member Irene Bakaric is collecting them for Medical Ministry International Canada for use in vision projects for the poor in various countries, including Irene's next mission in Peru. Her first was this year in Bolivia, where she worked as translator. The charity takes used eyeglasses with any type of prescription, including readers, plus non-prescription sunglasses. Watch for a collection box at our PIC events! 
 
PIC Personalities
Meet Eric Bergman, BPA, ABC, APR, MC, FCPRS
By Sue Horner
 
Eric Bergman  is a media training and presentation skills consultant and executive presentation coach. Reach him at 416-410-3273, [email protected] and his website, Present With Ease. Connect with Eric on Twitter at @ericbergman and on LinkedIn.
 
What's your background?
I got into PR because I wanted to write, and earned a diploma in advertising and public relations from Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton in 1982. I conducted my first media relations campaign in 1981 as president of the college's students' association, and wrote my first speech for a senior executive one year later as a public affairs officer with the Government of Alberta.

I received the ABC designation in 1991, the APR in 1993, was named a master communicator in 2002, and joined the college of Fellows of CPRS in 2014.I earned a bachelor of professional arts in communications studies from Athabasca University in 2009 (I always promised the kids I'd finish before them!).
 
When did you launch your independent business?
It will be 31 years in September -- 1985.
 
How did it come about?
I started with the Government of Alberta. Three years, three months and three days later, I realized that this could be a great career for many people, but it wasn't for me, so I hung my shingle as an independent communicator. In a market like Edmonton, you had to do everything from writing video scripts to managing special events to survive.
 
I worked and traveled for a year and a half, then packed my worldly possessions into my Dodge Colt and moved to Toronto, primarily as a freelance writer to corporate communication clients. My career has evolved from there.
 
How would you describe what you do now?
I have a four-word elevator speech: "I teach communications skills."
 
There are two sides to my business. One is providing presentation skills training and executive coaching through a program known as Present With Ease. The other is media spokesperson training through At Ease With The Media. If needed, I can also provide strategic content development services on the presentation skills side, and issues management and crisis consulting on the media side.
 
What do you enjoy most about being an indie?
The flexibility. I have the most flexible lifestyle of any human I know. For instance, I'm on a five-week motorcycle trip, and you and I are having this conversation while I'm in Banff, Alberta.
 
That's not to say I don't work hard. I typically work 50 to 60 hours a week, but you can often find me at the gym or taking a long walk at 2 p.m. a couple of afternoons a week.
 
I love the rewarding work. It's nice to be able to provide advice that helps an organization effectively manage a delicate issue, or create a presentation road show that generates measurable business results.
 
But the most important aspect of being an indie is having been there for my kids. Our son is now 29 and our daughter is 26. I have coached baseball and ringette, watched as our daughter captained her high school rugby team, and have attended two games at Rogers Centre when our son pitched during provincial high school baseball championships.
 
What don't you like about being an indie?
I dislike the need to constantly market my services. In my mind, I have the best mousetrap on the planet and the world should be beating a path to my door.
 
But if you're self-employed and think you can get by with a blog and social media, good luck. To be successful as an indie, you need some form of customer relationship management process, and the discipline to keep putting that process to work.
 
I work the telephone. I make telephone calls three to six hours per week. It might take 25 tries to get someone, but once I do, my goal is to bring value to them in ways that gain their permission to begin the conversation. Invest in contact management software to help. I use Contacts Journal CRM (CJournal) on my iPad and MacBook Air.
 
What advice would you give someone new to independent life?
Pay yourself second, and pay Revenue Canada first. Learn how to invest money; compound interest is a beautiful thing and every percentage point increases the value of your portfolio over time. Oh, and it is a portfolio, not a nest egg -- well-balanced and invested in something other than GICs.
 
How long have you been a PIC member?
Probably since it started, about 1998.
 
What value do you get from your membership?
Not as much as I should. A lot of the events have been on Wednesday nights, and for 19 years my partner Julie and I taught karate that night so I couldn't attend. We retired from teaching karate this past June so I'll try to get out to more events now.
 
Then what value do you see in PIC?
It's great when independent, entrepreneurial people get together to talk and learn. It's similar to having mentors. I had a number of mentors when I started, and they were invaluable in getting me where I am today.

We count more than 160 members in PIC, offering a range of talent from coaching and media relations to video production and writing. Do you know everyone? Our PIC Personalities feature introduces new members and randomly profiles existing members. Let Sue Horner know if you'd like to be profiled and she'll be in touch to set it up. You can find previous PIC Personalities in The Buzz archives.

Link your LinkedIn profile to the PIC member list

Remember to let us know the link your LinkedIn profile so we can include it on the PIC Member List on the IABC/Toronto website. We keep a running list and update it with IABC/Toronto every quarter.

Not on the list yet? What are you waiting for? As a member of PIC, you can promote yourself at no charge in the directory. Send Andrea Bassett your name, company name, location, email address, telephone number, website URL and a brief description of your business (up to 40 words).

Find extra value in PIC's LinkedIn group

You'll find useful information about building and managing a small communications business when you visit PIC's LinkedIn group: IABC Toronto Professional Independent Communicators (login required). Recent posts have included links to advice on what to do if you feel like an imposter, how to build work into your day and more, along with notices about upcoming PIC events. You are welcome to post articles or ask questions that will help other members grow and manage their businesses.
 

 
PIC is a special interest group of IABC/Toronto. PIC's mission is to support independent IABC/Toronto communicators through professional development, networking and marketing. 
The Buzz is PIC's e-newsletter, intended to inform independent communicators about our activities, share professional development tips from past meetings and keep us aware of what's going on. Connect with us on the web at pictoronto.com and LinkedIn.

As the largest chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, IABC/Toronto provides access to products, services, activities and networking opportunities in Toronto and around the world. IABC helps people and organizations achieve excellence in corporate communication, public relations, employee communication, marketing communication, public affairs and other forms of communication. For more information, visit the
IABC website.

Sue Horner                                                           
Editor and Director, Communications - PIC