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How to Do Direct Sales Without Being Spammy

How to Do Direct Sales Without Being Spammy

Is it possible to do direct sales without being spammy?

Have you ever wondered how to do direct sales without being spammy? Is that even possible? You may already be in direct sales or network marking or maybe you’re thinking about joining, and you may be wondering if there is a way to do it without being spammy. I’m here to tell you, there is! It seems like everywhere you turn online, there are direct sellers spamming like crazy, on their profiles, in groups, and everywhere they can. Is this the only way to get sales and do business? Absolutely not! There are much better ways! Here are a few tips.

How To Do Direct Sales Without Being Spammy

Business page vs personal profile

First things first. Do business on a business page, not your personal page! Facebook created business pages for a reason…for businesses! It is actually against Facebook’s terms of service to business on your personal page. You could risk getting put in Facebook jail. And yes, that is a real thing. Don’t risk it! It’s not worth it.

People don’t get on Facebook to be sold to! If you are doing business on your personal page, your friends and family are going to get annoyed and unfriend or unfollow you. You don’t want to lose friendships because of your business, do you? I didn’t think so. Using a business page for your business allows people who are actually interested in it to follow you and engage with you over there, and allows you to build relationships and stay friends with everyone else! Which in the long run is better for you business, anyway!

Read How branding your direct sales business can grow your business

Facebook groups

Second… DON’T ADD PEOPLE TO GROUPS WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION! Sorry to yell at you, but this one is a big no-no. People are starting to get very annoyed, to say the least, at getting added to groups that they don’t want to be in. This will not only hurt your relationships with your friends/family, but it will also hurt your business and your group, as well. Many, if not most, of the people you add are not actually interested in being there. If they do not leave the group, then they are just empty group members, not engaging with your group or buying from you. Adding people to groups is just a great way to make people mad and turn them off from your business. Let them request to be added themselves, or send them a message first and see if they are interested in being a part of it!

Relationship building

My first two points touched on this, but one of the most important, if not THE most important, things you can do is to build relationships. Building relationships is really the key to growing your business. People don’t want to do business with a company. They want to do it with a person. And they don’t want to buy from just anybody. They want to buy from someone they know, like, and trust. So build that relationship (AUTHENTICALLY!) and let people get to know, like, and trust you. The real you. Engage them in conversation, get to know them and let them get to know you, serve them, provide value, etc.

Read Are “Like Ladders” Hurting Your Business?

Selling all the time

Don’t just try and sell your product all of the time. 80-90% of your social media posts should be about things other than selling, and only 10-20% should be about your product. This means that you need to be providing value and engaging your followers.

No matter what product or service you are selling, you will get better results when you shift your mindset from “how can I get customers/clients/sales” to “how can I provide value for my followers.” Ask questions, share info and tips and tricks, share behind-the-scenes photos, etc. Think about what other things your followers are interested in other than your product and talk about that. Build the relationships first, and the sales will follow. You will get better results when you shift your mindset to providing value. Click To Tweet It is very possible to do direct sale without being spammy, but it takes a mindset shift and implementing these tips. Tell me…what do you to to make sure you are not being spammy in your business?

Are “Like Ladders” Hurting Your Business?

Are “Like Ladders” Hurting Your Business?

Like Ladders … What are they?

You know those posts where they ask everyone to share their Facebook page or Instagram link and everyone is supposed to “like” or follow everyone else’s links to help them grow their following? We call those “like ladders.” Almost every business group that I am in have certain days where they do this. For some reason, there is this idea out there that the goal to growing your business on social media is to get as many followers as you can. Maybe at one time it was true. But is it true now? Do like ladders really help your page? Let’s talk about it!

Are "like ladders" hurting your business? Find out what they and how they could be hurting you not helping you.

Empty Likes

When you participate in a like ladder, are those people typically interested in your business? No! They are just hoping to get “likes” in return and secretly (or not-so-secretly) hoping to convert you as a customer. They are never actually planning to buy from you or even engage with your page or business. That is what we call “empty likes.” They do nothing for your page or business. They are just…..there. And if those people are not engaging and there is no chance in you converting them to a customer, why keep them or even try to gain those likes in the first place? How is that going to help your business? It is just going to drag your engagement on your page down, which is actually very bad for your page and your business. Empty likes are not going to help your page! They really just drag your engagement down! Click To Tweet

Facebook Algorithm

Speaking of engagement, you may have heard about Facebook’s “algorithm.” It’s sort of like this secret algorithm that nobody really knows exactly what it is, but they are constantly trying to figure out….and it is constantly changing! But one thing we do know, is that Facebook does not care about numbers of “likes” on a page. It cares about engagement. So if you have tons of “likes,” but no one is engaging on your page, then Facebook thinks your page is not important and will not show your posts to many people in your news feed. On the other hand, if you get lots of engagement on your page from your followers, Facebook thinks your page must be awesome and so they show your posts to more people in your news feed. It’s kind of like they “test” out your posts at first. They show it to a few people, not many, and then see what kind of engagement it gets to decide if your post should be shown to more. So engagement is huge for the Facebook algorithm!

Read 3 Simple Ways to Be More Productive

Quality over Quantity

So, which is better? Quality followers or the quantity of followers? Quality followers, people who actually want to like your page and engage with it, is way better than the quantity of likes on a page. I know this can be hard to accept, because we all want to grow the number of followers we have. Buuuut, a small, but engaged following is going to be way better for your page than a large, unengaged following. Numbers really mean nothing. Engagement does. So don’t focus on how many likes you have. Don’t compare your number of likes to someone else’s! Only focus on your engagement. Focus on attracting quality leads to your page. When you see these like ladder posts, DON’T participate, no matter how tempting it is! Remind yourself that it just going to hurt your business! If you are realizing that you made some mistakes in the past, don’t fret! There are always things that you can do to turn your page around and help your page’s engagement.

So, what next?

You can start today by cleaning out your likes on your page. Go through and delete the people who have liked your page from a “like ladder” or something of the sort. If they are someone who is not going to engage on your page, then there is no reason to keep them around. Time to let them go! Bless and release. You can do this in the settings of your page, under “people and other pages.” Then, work on teaching your followers to engage on your page. Post simple questions, such as “this or that,” “A or B” type of questions and engage back with anyone who comments! Ask them a followup question. Show them that it is ok for them to comment on your page and that you will engage them back in conversation! It may take some time, but you can work to grow your page’s engagement over time.

Read Branding Your Direct Sales Business: The Complete Guide

Tell me….

What are you going to do TODAY to help your business grow? Are you going to go through and delete empty likes? Start posting engagement posts and respond to all comments? Train your followers to engage with you? Tell me in the comments below and let’s celebrate your growth together!

3 Simple Ways to Be More Productive

3 Simple Ways to Be More Productive

We all could some tips to be more productive, amiright? You know, you get on your computer planning being super productive and get lots of work done…but then Facebook. An hour later, after you’ve caught up on all 101 groups you are in, you decide you really need to get down to business, but then you realize you left some laundry in the washer you need to take care of. Or your kids are still up and it’s past their bedtime. Or *insert a thousand different reasons here.* Sometimes you get to the end of the day and realize you really haven’t done any work at at all.

3 Simple Ways to Be More Productive.

*This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission but I only suggest products that I use and love.*

be more productive

Set a timer

If you’re having trouble getting started and getting down to business, set a timer for 25 minutes (or however long you choose). Work for those 25 minutes, then let yourself take a 5 minute break before setting the timer again and working for another 25 minutes. This technique actually has a name… the Pomodoro Technique. Traditionally, the timer is set for 25 minutes, but you can set it for longer if you think that works better for you. After a few work sessions you can give yourself a longer break.

Having a set (short) time to get work done can help you be more productive, less distracted, and give more attention to the work that needs to be done. Try it and let me now how it goes! Having a set (short) time to get work done can help you be more productive and less distracted. Click To Tweet

Stay organized and have a system

Another tip is to make sure you stay organized! This way, when you sit down to work, you know what needs to be done. Having a system for things like graphics, content creation, etc, will help tremendously as well! One of my favorite sites to use is Trello. I love how it helps me stay organized. I can keep track of to do lists, keep track of my blog post ideas or social media posts, communicate with clients, and more! It is easy to move cards around to different lists and I can easily access it from either my computer or my phone. It’s a great way to keep myself organized!

I have also found that having a list of content ideas and content calendar has helped a whole lot! I come up with lots of content ideas and put them into lists and a calendar for future posts in Trello. So whenever I need to write a blog post or social media post, I can go to that file and find an idea to write about.

Batching and Automation

Batching and automating my posts and graphics is another thing that helps me to be more productive. I often sit down and create content and graphics for my Facebook page and Instagram all at the same time. My goal is to get at least a week’s worth created, then schedule them out. I create and schedule at least one post a day for the next week on each platform, then go back and a second post for each day if I have time. I use Facebook’s business page scheduler for my page and Planoly for Instagram.

I also use Tailwind for Pinterest (you can use it for Instagram, too). Once I get this done for the week, I know I don’t have to worry about creating and posting content on my social media pages for the week and can focus on other things I need to do.

Read Branding Your Direct Sales Business: The Complete Guide

What tips do you have for being more productive? Share them in the comments below!

Branding Your Direct Sales Business: The Complete Guide

Branding Your Direct Sales Business: The Complete Guide

As a direct seller or network marketer, you may have heard about branding your direct sales business and how important that is. You may know that you need to brand yourself and not your company. But how do you do that exactly? Where do you start? What steps do you take to do it? Do you just need a logo? Some colors or fonts? What exactly does branding mean?

Branding is more than just visuals, although they are important. It is also your voice, your personality, your message, etc. Branding is knowing your target market and who your ideal customer is. Did you know that branding your direct sales business can help grow your business? We’ll get to that in a minute!

But before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why. Just so we’re all on the same page here, mmmk?

I also gotta make sure and mention something. You’re doing business on a Facebook business page, right? It is against Facebook’s terms of service to do business on a personal profile. We wouldn’t want you to get put in Facebook jail now, would we? Yes, that’s a real thing. There’s lots I could talk about on this subject, and there is a way to use your personal profile to your advantage, but for now, let’s just stick to doing business on a business page, ok?

branding your direct sales business

Why Branding Your Direct Sales Business Is Important

It helps you stand out

When you have a clear brand for your business, it will help you stand out from all of the other consultants in your company. You will be representing yourself as your own business, not just your company. This means you will be seen as a legit business owner, not just another consultant. When you stand out from the crowd, you will get more followers and more customers. Don’t do what everyone else is doing, and don’t copy someone else! Stand out, be yourself, and be authentic! Customers will appreciate this about you and choose to buy from you.

This means that you want to make sure you are branding yourself, not your company. Create your own brand around your YOU: your personality, your voice, your target market, etc. Your company already has its own brand. They already spend money marketing their brand. You don’t want to be “just another Scentsy* rep”  (*insert your company here). People will choose to do business with you because you are YOU. You don’t want them just going and looking for just any rep; you want them to specifically want to come back and do business with YOU.

Brand yourself, NOT your company! Click To Tweet

It helps you be recognizable and remembered

When you brand your business apart from your company you become recognizable, especially if you are consistent in your branding. Why is this important? If your visual branding is on point your customers will easily recognize you when scrolling through their news feeds. This makes them more likely to stop and read what you have to say. You want them to stop on your page and get to know you so you can begin to build a relationship with them. Relationships are very important in business!

Branding your direct sales business successfully will not only cause your customers to recognize you and your brand, but it will help them to remember you as well. When they remember you they are more likely to buy from you. Repeat buyers are huge for your business, so stand out and be remembered! If you are copying what everyone else in your company is doing, you are not going to be remembered. Create your own graphics with your branding, come up with your own posts, and do things your own way!

Your brand will also follow you if you ever change directions or companies. This is why it is important to brand YOU and not your company. If you ever decide to switch you won’t have to start all over from scratch. You will already have a brand and (hopefully!) a loyal following. How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your customers to think of when they think of you? How do you make them feel? These are all good questions to ask.

Read Do’s and Don’ts of Visual Branding

It helps you grow the know, like, and trust factor

When you are recognizable, memorable, and stand out from others in your company, your customers are more likely to come back to your page and your business. They will get to know you, your personality, and your message. You will be able to build a relationship with them. When they get to know you, they will realize they like you and learn that they can trust you. This is huge for your business because customers buy from people they know, like, and trust.

In order for them to get to like you and trust you, you have to provide value. You can’t just promote your products on your page all of the time and think they will buy from you. Provide valuable content. Engage with them. Ask questions. Share other information that your target audience is interested in that doesn’t have anything to do with your product. Work on building those relationships, knowing that your branding can help with that!

Read 15 Facebook Post Ideas For Better Engagement

What To Do First

So, what exactly is branding? Like I said before, branding is not just visuals, although that’s what most people think of it as. It is more than just a logo, colors, or fonts.

Your brand is how others perceive you and your business; how they feel when they come across your posts or think about your business. You can help define that through your vision, message, values, voice, personality,  target audience, customer service, visuals, etc. These should be unique to you and will help you connect with your customers.

Have a clear message and vision

If you have branded your business successfully, then your business and brand should have a clear message coming across to your customers. They should know exactly what you stand for and what your business is all about. Let’s face it, for most of us our business is not just about selling a product. There is usually another driving force behind it.

Maybe you are all about helping women feel more beautiful and confident. Perhaps your goal is to help people be more organized, help people get healthier, make people’s lives easier, etc. Your brand’s vision and message should come across to your customers through your branding. You should have a specific brand voice, personality, etc, that is unique to you.

Know your target market

When you try and market your business to everyone, you end up looking “watered-down” and appealing to no one. You need to have a specific market for your business and who you are marketing to. And be specific about it! Instead of just saying your target market is “women who need better skincare products,” come up with a specific “person” who you are marketing to.

Maybe “she is a 55 year old women who can’t find a good skincare product and wants something moisturizing and good for dry, aging skin. She used tanning beds when she was younger and did not take care of her skin…” Keep it going and be specific! Not only will you attract people like your ideal client, but you will be attractive to others as well when you know exactly who you are marketing to!

I have a whole blog post dedicated to this topic. You may find the post helpful if you’re not sure who your target market is. My friend Kelly Paull over at Directly Successful also has a workbook that you can fill out to help you define your target market and your “biche” (as she calls it). Get it here!

Time to Take Action

Write it down

If you haven’t already done so, take some time to sit down and write down your brand’s mission, vision, goals, values, and your ideal customer. These are all going to play a part in your brand message. Make sure you know your “why” and what your business stands for. What do you hope to accomplish with your business? How do you serve your customers/clients? What problems do you solve? What are you passionate about?

You can even think about your personality and how that is incorporated in your brand. Is it fun, light-hearted, humorous? Is it serious and professional? Make sure whatever it is, it is authentic! Authenticity is huge because that is how you will connect with people!

Make sure you take time to think about all of these things and write down anything that comes to mind. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You can always refine it later. You may want to start by writing down some adjectives that you want to describe your business. Just get started on it and see how far you get.

Be sure to download my Brand Workbook as you are working through it! Just enter your name and email to get access to it!

Time For Visuals

Finally, it’s time to work on your visuals! Here you are going to want to come up with three to five consistent colors and two to three fonts to use in your branding. You may want to think about other patterns and brand elements as well. Be sure you think of your target market and your brand message when you are coming up with these. For example, if you realize your brand is going to have a very professional image, you probably don’t want lots of bright, neon colors!

If you’re not sure what colors to choose you may want to google “psychology of color” and do a little research on that or check out this article to help you get started. Design Seeds is a really great website with color palettes that you can look through to help you choose colors that go well together. Creating a Pinterest board and adding pins of images that you feel reflect your brand can also be helpful. You will probably notice a common theme throughout!

If you need help choosing your fonts, I’ve found a couple of websites that might help. Here is an article that talks about font pairing that might be helpful. This is another one that is about choosing the right font for your brand. You can also google (or search on Pinterest) things like font pairings or choosing the right font for your brand.

Another thing to think about is a logo if you don’t yet have a one. You may want to find a professional (or at least someone with a good eye for design) to help you with one if you don’t have the skills to create it yourself. Investing in a logo is a great thing for your business. If you don’t have the money to invest right now, you can always find and use a nice typeface you like and just use that. Make sure to check that the license allows commercial use!

Next Steps

Create graphics

Now that you have figured out your brand visuals, you can take it a step further by creating some branded graphics! Make sure you stick to your brand visuals for every graphic you make. All of these visuals are things you are going to use on your FB business page, IG page for your business, blog post images, etc. (And yes, I said FB biz page, NOT personal profile! 😉 )

If you want to create your own and not pay to have someone else do it for you, Canva is a fantastic and easy-to-use site to create graphics! There are others, such as PicMonkey, and lots of phone apps you can use as well, but Canva is my go-to site for most all of my graphics. You can use the free version or you can upgrade to the paid version to save your brand colors and fonts (my recommendation).

If you have never used Canva or other graphics software check out this blog post by my friend Erin from Alexander Design Company. She gets a little more in depth in Canva and even links to some helpful tutorials that you can check out to learn how to use it. It is a great skill to have in your business, and the more you use it, the better you will be! Of course, you can always hire someone to create your graphics for you, but it is good to at least know how to do it.

Read Dos and Don’ts of Visual Branding

Social Media

You will want to make sure your graphics have a consistent look, style, and feel to them so that when people see them they start to immediately recognize them as yours. Keep in mind all of the things we have talked about up to now (your brand message, voice, personality, ideal customer, colors, fonts, etc.) when you are creating your graphics. Here is where you get to pull it all together!

Now that you have your brand created you will use it across all of your social media platforms. When you post photos or graphics on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever social media platforms you use, make sure they reflect your visual branding. Your content should have your target audience and ideal customer in mind, your voice and personality should shine through your posts, and your message should be the same across all platforms.

When you do all of these things you will have successfully branded your direct sales business. Now will stand out from all of the other consultants in your company.

You did it!

Congrats! You did it! I am excited to see how it turns out! Leave me a comment and tell me about your new brand! I’d love to hear and even check it out!

Make sure to “like” and follow me on Facebook for more tips and so I can get to know you! 🙂

Dos and Don’ts of Visual Branding

Dos and Don’ts of Visual Branding

What is Branding?

What is branding? Is it a logo? A business name? A color scheme or certain fonts? Well, a brand will encompass all of those things, but that is not all that branding is! Branding is more than just the visual branding. Branding is your voice, your personality, your vision. How you make people feel. It is how people recognize you and how they perceive you. Branding is more than just the visuals. Branding is your voice, your personality, your vision. Click To Tweet

So, let’s talk about the visual part of branding. Here is a list of some do’s and don’ts to think about when you are creating your visual brand.

visual branding

Do’s and Don’ts of Visual Branding

Do… have a cohesive color palette. You want to choose 3-5 colors that look good together and stick to those colors when creating graphics, designing your website, etc. If you don’t yet have an idea of what your brand colors will be, check out Design-Seeds. It is an awesome place to look through their color palettes that already have colors put together for you. Find something that speaks to you and your brand. You can also search psychology of color and see what different colors mean and how they are perceived. This article is a good starting place.

Don’t… choose too many colors or patterns. You don’t want your brand looking chaotic or unrecognizable because there are too many colors or patterns. You want it to stand out and be recognizable to your customers. 3-5 colors is sufficient, one or two main ones and the rest accent.

Do… choose your brand fonts. Next, you will want to look at different fonts and choose two or three that look good together. You don’t want them to be too similar or to busy. If you choose a script, or something bold, then choose something easy to read for your main text font. Here is a good article about how to pair fonts.

Don’t… have too many. Like I said, you will want to make sure they are visually appealing together and not too busy. You want them to be readable and recognizable, so 2-3 fonts max is perfect.

Do… create your own graphics. Don’t be just another consultant in your company if you are in direct sales. Stand out and brand yourself by creating your own graphics instead of sharing company graphics. Anyone can create them. There are websites that make it so easy, no matter how creative you are! I LOVE using Canva to create all of my graphics. I use it on my computer, because I find that easiest, but there is an app as well. Another good website is PicMonkey, and there are lots of good apps such as WordSwag, Spark Post, and Rhonna Designs.

Don’t… just use pictures you find on google. PLEEEEASE don’t do this! Don’t just hop onto google and download a picture from there! Did you know that it is illegal? It could cost you lots of money and your business! Don’t let that happen to you! Many, if not most of those pictures are copyrighted and you don’t want to get caught violating copyright laws. There are lots of good sites for stock photos that you can use for commercial use (check the license first). Pixabay, Pexels, and Unsplash, are some good ones that I use, and you can use pictures from  Canva as well.

Read Target Market and Direct Sales: Why You Need One!

Do… be active on social media. You’re going to need a place to post those graphics you made, right? Be active on social media! Posting frequently on your Facebook business page or Instagram can be positive for your business so customers and potential customers can get to know your brand. You want your target market to get to know, like, and trust you, so using those social media outlets for this is a great idea (as is blogging! 😉 ). Just be sure you create a business page on Facebook and keep your business posts on your personal profile to an absolute minimum.

Don’t… be too salesy… While using social media for your business is a must, you don’t want to be salesy or spammy. You will want to follow the “80/20 rule” (or 90/10). For every eight or nine non-salesy/product posts, you may post one or two sales post. People do not get on Facebook to be sold to. The want to connect, build relationships, be entertained, etc.

You will also want to be sure to post different things on different platforms. This means you don’t want to push your Instagram photos to your Facebook business page automatically. If you do this, people will realize it and choose to only follow you on one platform instead of both so that they don’t see your posts twice. You may repurpose your graphics on the other platform at a later time (I suggest at least a week), just don’t post them on both at the same time!

Do… stick to your visual brand. Once you have your visual brand created, stick with it! Use your colors, fonts, images, patterns, etc in everything! If you do this week, people will start to recognize graphics as being yours, before they even see your logo or name!

Don’t… change your branding frequently. There is a time and place for rebranding, and rebranding can be done well, but you definitely don’t want to do it often! Stick with your visual brand as long as possible until it become necessary to rebrand for some reason. If you are frequently changing things up, people will not know what your brand is or recognize it when they see it.

Do… be consistent. This goes along with my last point. Be consistent. Use your visual brand everywhere and on everything. Stand out from the crowd and own your brand!

Don’t… copy someone else’s brand. Create your own brand, don’t try to copy someone else’s! You want to make it yours. Yes, you will see other’s color palettes, fonts, graphics that you admire, and there is no harm in using them as inspiration, but change it up and make it your own. Don’t copy someone else. Be authentically you and you will shine!

Do you have any other tips for visual branding? Please leave me your tips, questions, or input in the comments! I love to hear from my readers.

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Month: January 2014

Post Card Printables

I altered a few vintage postcards that I picked up at Graphics Fairy by adding my own art images,  some new text, and picking elements from a few different vintage cards to recreate my own versions here. I just love the look of vintage and it was great fun to mix and match different vintage images! Printable Postcards Have a creative day! Deena

CAS New Home

I made a CAS card for the CASology challenge this week… the key word was CONTRAST…which inspired me to use contrasting colors (coral and turquoise) to make my image pop. I used only four layered digital elements to create my card starting with airbrushed graffiti in coral. The next layer is watercolor paint spatters in turquoise.  Then I placed my Country Heart Chair image and finished with the sentiment.  Super simple and I love the painted background, as it makes me think of painting the walls of a new home! I created all the digital background elements I used here with Corel Painter Essentials 4.  An old version but fabulous nevertheless.  I love digital painting! I can get as creative as I like and use different medias (acrylics, watercolors) and brushes all without the mess! Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day! Deena

Case Study Cherries

This week’s Case Study caught my eye! This is my take on it. Instead of a painted backdrop, I made a sponged grunge frame in green and added my cherries image. I painted the CHERRIES using Corel Painter.  I created the sentiment (computer generated), printed it  on canvas textured card stock and finished with a little red button . Have a creative day and thanks for stopping by! Deena

A Couple of Post Christmas Cards

Just before Christmas I cased a card from my friend Peggy’s SCS gallery; I loved all the layers!  She had suggested that we case a card from each other’s gallery when we got together last, which was a lot of fun!  So here is what I did… I used ACN’s Christmas Wreath for my image. and Peggy made this card casing a card from my SCS gallery…. I love the papers she chose! She also used an ACN Image called BELLS and HOLLY. Thanks for stopping by; I hope you are keeping well as I know there are alot of colds and flus around this time of year!  Try to stay healthy and have fun crafting!  Deena

Happy NEW YEAR to all of you and your families! May 2014 bring you health and happiness! OUR JANUARY CHALLENGE is here!  CHALLENGE # 15: DIE CUTS/PUNCHES Challenge  OUR DECEMBER (CHRISTMAS CAS)challenge WINNER is… NanaConnie!!  with this beautiful card: Congratulations!!  NanaConnie, please choose 2 images from the A Creative Need shop and e-mail your choices to! I would like to introduce our newest ACN Design Team Members… A warm welcome to Deb and Larissa! They are joining Lisa, Maria, Kren, Gail and myself  here at A Creative Need. Have a look at the creations we have to share with you this month…   LISA is using STUFFED BEAR WITH BOW KREN is using GET WELL LITTLE BEAR  DEBORAH LARISSA GAIL DEENA Now let’s see what you will do! Have fun and be sure to  link your creations back here when you are done! GUIDELINES FOR ENTRY: I would love to see what you do with any of my ACN images, and I’m making it easy to do so by giving you a FREE IMAGE every month! Join in the challenge ANYTIME THIS MONTH and …

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AUQAAustralian Universities Quality Agency
References in periodicals archive ?
An entry is defined as "a discrete system or activity that has been identified through the audit process of AUQA (or by another validating body) as adding commendable value for the institution/agency and its stakeholders, and that may be beneficially transferable to other organizational settings.
The database attracted more than 150,000 hits between its inception circa 2003 and the merger of AUQA into the (Australian) Tertiary Education and Standards Agency (TEQSA) in 2011.
The materials in box 1 are from Australian Universities Quality Agency, AUQA Good Practice Database, www.
This paper reports the extent to which academic staffing, specifically ageing of academics, is portrayed in the audit reports conducted by AUQA for the period 2006-2009 inclusive.
Table 1 shows the percentage of full-time and fractional full-time academics aged 50 and over in those universities from the selected AUQA audit reports in 1997, 2002 and 2007 compared to the national average for the same age cohort (DEEWR, 1997, 2002, 2007).
This study reports the extent to which academic staffing, specifically ageing of academics, is portrayed in AUQA audit reports for 2006-2009.
The fact that there has been no attempt by INQAAHE or AUQA to censor Blackmur is evident in that he already had one paper accepted for the Conference, and that that paper was critical of a particular project of INQAAHE's.
He has also disparaged my refereed article on AUQA, which was published in the University of Queensland Law Journal, as merely another in a 'series of attacks on quality agencies'.
Secondly, it can exert significant pressure on universities through highly public processes of engagement with those universities which AUQA decides do not meet its expectations.
Discharging at least parts of this mandate arguably poses some significant challenges for AUQA.
Interestingly AUQA did not make a submission to the Senate inquiry and perhaps it is also odd that of the 364 submissions received by the Committee only a 'small number' dealt with the subject of quality (p.
AUQA was established in March 2000 essentially to conduct audits of Australian universities on a five-yearly cycle and to report on the relative standards and international standing of Australian higher education institutions.


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DEA Sued for Unconstitutional Phone Surveillance

DEA Sued for Unconstitutional Phone Surveillance

The Electronic Frontier Foundation this week filed a complaint against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for secretly collecting data on all telephone calls to as many as 116 countries, possibly going back to the 1990s.

The suit was filed on behalf of Human Rights Watch.

Many of the calls were made to countries certified under Section 706[1] of the U.S. Foreign Relations Authorization Act as being heavily involved in the drug trade. The president has to renew this certification annually.

„I’m sure there’s a case that could be made that monitoring Americans‘ international telephone calls might reduce drug trafficking,“ said EFF staff attorney Mark Rumold.

However, mass collection breaches the protections of the First and Fourth Amendments, he told the E-Commerce Times.

The Gist of the Complaint

The lawsuit, Human Rights Watch v. Drug Enforcement Administration, et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The named defendants, in addition to the DEA, are the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and their heads, the United States of America, and up to 100 John Does.

The mass surveillance program initiated by the defendants allegedly collected phone numbers involved in calls; the date, time and duration of the calls; and the method by which calls were billed.

The DEA obtained call records by subpoenaing U.S. telecommunications service providers under Title 21 of the U.S. Criminal Code without any particularized suspicion of wrongdoing. The program was not subject to any judicial oversight or authorization, the complaint alleges.

That law pretty much gives the Attorney General a blank check in investigations concerning controlled substances, listed chemicals, tableting machines or encapsulating machines.

The bulk call metadata is stored in one or more databases, searchable by DEA staff, as well as by officers and employees of the DHS and the FBI, and by John Does 1-100, according to the EFF.

Use of the databases is not restricted to investigations of illegal drug trafficking or production, the suit maintains. For example, the DHS searched them while investigating possible violations of export and trade laws.

Why not keep tabs on such communications in the hope of discovering information that might help law enforcement connect the dots some day?

„Using such reasoning is extremely tenuous,“ argued attorney Yasha Heidari of Heidari Power Law Group.

„If we follow this line of logic, there’s absolutely nothing to stop the DEA, or any other government agency, from monitoring and collecting the data of every single individual,“ he told the E-Commerce Times.

The mass surveillance program came to light in January when Robert Patterson, a DEA assistant special agent in charge, filed a declaration in the U.S. district court for the District of Columbia in response to a December 1 order by that court.

Patterson declared that the program was suspended in 2013 and no longer was being queried for investigatory purposes, and that information no longer was being collected in bulk.

„These new revelations are a reminder of how little we still know about the government’s surveillance activities — including dragnet programs that operated for decades in secret,“ ACLU staff attorney Patrick Toomey told the E-Commerce Times.

Where the Lawsuit’s Power Lies

The EFF’s constitutional argument is the most powerful, Heidari said.

„I suspect the government will argue it did not specifically target Americans and so its actions do not require constitutional scrutiny,“ he suggested. „The Constitution only protects U.S. citizens.“

The lawsuit aims to ensure the DEA’s bulk collection program is terminated and cannot be restarted, said EFF’s Rumold.

Human Rights Watch also is „seeking the destruction of all HRW’s call records from the government’s files,“ he added, „wherever they may be stored.“

Read more here –

Blog English, Industry Updates & News


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NIST Seeks Feedback on Electronic Authentication Guideline Revisions

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is requesting feedback for a proposed update to the 2012 Electronic Authentication Guidelines, which are designed to help organizations employ solutions that verify the identity of a user when they access an information system.

The NIST guidelines seek to ensure that the identity established during the authentication process can be pseudonymous, where the actual identity of the user is not required yet the right to access the system can be established with a high level of confidence, and such authentication methods must go beyond the traditional username and password combination.

“Given innovations in the marketplace and the increase of online federal services, including, we think it is appropriate to consider an update of NIST’s Electronic Authentication Guideline,” said Paul Grassi of NIST.

“In addition, as the Identity Ecosystem envisioned by the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) continues to evolve, NIST guidelines should reflect and support it.”

NIST is seeking recommendations from authentication experts from the private sector, government, and higher educational about which sections of the guidelines need to be revised.

Click here for the guidelines and the full article.

Blog anglais, La cyber-sécurité, Mises à jour et nouvelles de l'industrie


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Mobclix Returns As Axonix

AxonixMobclix, the mobile ad exchange that was acquired and subsequently sold by the troubled mobile marketing agency Velti, re-emerged Tuesday as Axonix.

GSO Capital Partners, a division of Blackstone, bought Velti’s US, British and Indian mobile marketing divisions (including Mobclix) in November last year.

Axonix will officially launch next month in a partnership with Telefonica, which is sharing joint ownership of the new company with GSO. Simon Birkenhead, Telefonica’s former director of global advertising sales, is Axonix’s CEO and Simon Bailey, former VP of global demand at Mobclix, is its CCO.

Bailey is the only Mobclix employee that has joined Axonix so far. Given that other Mobclix engineers have been hired by other companies, Birkenhead said he is looking for “local talent” in London. At its height, Mobclix had tens of thousands of publishers on its network, noted Birkenhead, who is busy courting publishers and advertisers for the new company.

Axonix’s differentiating point will be its access to Telefonica’s demographic data, according to Birkenhead.

“Telefonica has verified demographic information which is rare within the ad industry,” he said. “Because when you sign a contract [with Telefonica], we know your date of birth, your gender and where you live, so we will have demographic data that is very valuable to advertisers.”

Efforts to integrate and anonymize the telecom’s global customer data into Axonix will start in Germany and Brazil this summer. The company’s road map includes adding a private exchange capability for publishers and advertisers, as well as the ability to target users on real-time location data.

In terms of inventory, Axonix offers purely mobile app inventory and it is in the process of allowing publishers to add mobile Web inventory as well, Bailey said.

Axonix has more than 100 demand-side partners, which are primarily demand-side platforms (DSPs) or ad networks. Brand advertisers are unlikely to connect directly into the Axonix platform and instead access the inventory through a DSP, Bailey added.

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Thinking Pinoy’s Latest Exposé: Jover Laurio and Raissa Robles Are One And The Same Person

D7489E05-51EA-403F-8713-2EBAB554D2AEMANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Leave it to R.J. Nieto, a.k.a. Thinking Pinoy (TP), to utilize his amazing research and investigative skills to finally expose the naked truth that Pinoy Ako Blog’s Jover Laurio and ‘investigative’ journalist Raissa Robles are one and the same person.

TP has come up with this shocking conclusion which he will formally reveal on the next Karambola broadcast.

While refusing to give details of his upcoming exposé, TP told The Adobo Chronicles that one of the strongest evidence to back up his allegation is that Laurio and Robles have never been seen in public together.

Quite convincing proof, we might say!

As for his next project?  TP is working hard to prove that Juana Change is nothing but a disguised version of Senator Franklin Drilon.  Now this we got to see!

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You’re Bugging Me!

Think of someone who bugs you. Think about what this person does that irritates you.  Then think about how what you don’t like in that person is probably something you don’t like in yourself. Isn’t that a weird twist? But really, try it. It’s the craziest thing.

I tried it on my run today. I thought about how Charlie has been bugging me all week and how irritated I’ve been. I kept telling him that’s he’s harassing me and to leave me alone and to stop nagging me all day.  Then, today I decided to think about what motivates him to act the way he does and why does it bug me so much, and then I figured it out.

He asks me questions incessantly because he wants to know what to expect and he wants control over his young life.  He doesn’t have all the answers and he wants structure and wants to look ahead and wants his needs met and his needs are different than my needs at any given moment. He needs me to fit into his world and not the other way around. We have been clashing and he’s been BUGGING me.

Instead of being bugged today, I decided to listen more patiently and to provide more clear answers. I finally realized that he needs to know what to expect and he’s very uncomfortable not knowing what’s coming next and I get to hear about it every minute. Well, at least it feels like every minute.

Today I practiced giving him more concrete answers. I gave him structure. I gave him boundaries. I gave him expectations. And he was content. Miraculously, he stopped bugging me. Well, at least until the next need popped up, but I didn’t overreact (as much) the next time and the next time.

I realized that I am a lot like him. I like to know what to expect and I like to plan and to fill my day. Huh. What I don’t like him doing, is the same thing that I do. Strange. That was an interesting experiment. I wonder if I can get credit for that assignment.

Okay, your turn. Who bugs you and why? Do you have the same traits somewhere hidden? Hmm…. such a curiosity!!

Good luck and I wish you peace with all who are bugging you!!

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Do I have to use film for wildlife photos?

Using Film for Wildlife Photos
Elephants never forget, and thanks to these photos, you won't either.
Elephants never forget, and thanks to these photos, you won't either.
David De Lossy/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Film has long been the medium of choice for wildlife photographers. But just because it's the way things have always been done, does that still mean it's the right way?

When you buy any camera, you'll want to think about what kinds of lenses you want. Sophisticated zoom features and interchangeable lenses are two factors that can differentiate digital pictures and those taken on film. With a good digital camera, though, the only person who may be able to detect such a difference in quality would be a professional. At minimum, a photographer using a camera with film may need a 35 mm camera with a normal zoom lens (28 - 105 mm) and a telephoto lens (70 - 300 mm) [sources: Alaska Outdoor Journal; Fairlie; Hill].

Photographers should also stock up on films of various speeds to ensure a great picture no matter the shooting conditions. Film speed measures a film's sensitivity to light. "Fast" film speeds, for example, are highly sensitive and don't require much exposure to produce an image. A "slow" film speed, on the other hand, would need a longer exposure time to produce the same image. Low-speed films, such as 100 or 200 speed, are best used in bright light and when the subject is stationary, such as a crocodile sunning itself on a rock. When you're shooting more active animals, or when you're shooting at night, you can then reach for a high-speed film like 400 or 800. These films are better for action shots, because the shutter closes more quickly after you take the picture, framing the subject at the exact moment you want to capture; digital users can alter shutter speed with the push of a few buttons.

If you're using high-quality film, then each picture can get fairly expensive. You can't shoot and shoot the way you can with a digital camera, unless you're willing to make a hefty investment in film and developing. Of course, it's possible that such a constraint may end up creating better pictures, as you'll take your time with each one, making sure it's perfect before you click.

One huge disadvantage of film is that you won't know if all your fancy equipment did its work until you get home and develop the film. That's one reason why people are turning to digital.

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Welcome to my blog! Here you will find my documented thoughts and experiences- in the mental, physical and spiritual realm- with the hopes of guiding you toward holistic wellness and living mindfully.
Be well.
How I Got Through Four Years of my Ph.D. Program

How I Got Through Four Years of my Ph.D. Program

I made it! I just completed FOUR years of my Ph.D. program... I just have one year of internship in Colorado before I'm Dr. Aerial, Clinical Psychologist. Looking back on the last few years, filled with the cliche sweat and tears, I can't believe I made it. I've lost count of the number of breakdowns I've had through this process, but every single one was so worth fighting through.

One of the biggest questions I've received through comments, DM's and emails is the following:

"How do you balance school with social media and everything/everyone else in your life?"

GREAT question. By no means was I perfectly balanced the last four years, however, looking back I do have a bit of insight of how I was able to get through all of it in one piece. And trust me, it was tough.

Here are a couple of things that I had to do to get through grad school:

  1. Knowing my limits and boundaries. Growing up, "assertiveness" was not a strength of mine. Standing up for myself, saying no to things I didn't want to do and asking for what I needed did not come easy for me. Throughout the last few years, I was forced to learn these skills as I was challenged in many areas, both personally and professionally. I learned that the only way to get what I want and need is to simply be confident enough to stand up for it. I wouldn't say I've fully mastered these skills, but I've learned about the importance of them and I continue to apply them to my life daily. It's about balancing pros and cons and not feeling guilty for needing more or less of something.
  2. Staying motivated. I think a difficult quality for any student is motivation. The way I stayed motivated developed from my passion of loving what I do. Being able to sit with others and give them even a small inch of hope is worth it to me. I've never second-guessed what I want for my career as a psychologist and I knew that each struggle was really an opportunity for me to learn and grow. Anytime I felt like I started losing any type of motivation, I reminded myself of what I was most grateful for in my life and how proud my child and teenage self would be of who I am today.
  3. Accepting a different path. This was easily one of the most challenging things for me to do the past few years. There were so many times that I wanted something so badly and I put forward my best self only to be rejected in some way. It hurt like hell each time and I would go down this path of negative thinking, wondering if I simply wasn't good enough for the things I wanted. However, every single thing that came after each rejection was a blessing in disguise. I became grateful for the rejections as they were both humbling and surprisingly wonderful. I healed fast with rejections because I knew that situations are what you make of it and if you go into them with a positive mind, chances are the experience will be lovely.
  4. Being aware of when I was my own worst critic. Okay, I know that we are ALL our own worst critics, but this is one that is especially hard for students. There were many times that I submitted an assignment, did a presentation or provided my work to people and immediately criticized myself for how I did it before receiving feedback. I think it was my way of protecting myself and expecting that I did poorly if someone were to tell me that I, in fact, did do poorly. After a while I had to pause and look at the evidence. Evidence has shown that most of the time people think that I do what I do well. It's hard to believe this in the moment, but knowing that even if mistakes were made, they can serve as a learning opportunity and they don't have to be labeled as a "failure." I also had to let go of the idea of perfectionism and knowing that doing and being my best was good enough.
  5. Knowing my value. This really helped with knowing my limits and boundaries, but knowing my value was huge for me in the social media marketing world. While only having one day off per week and weekends available, creating content for brands filled up a lot of what I considered my "free time." With the loads of debt one takes up for going to grad school and the very little amount of money you make during it in the mental health field, this was my way of feeling more comfortable financially. There were many times when a brand would ask me for my rates and then say "you are charging too much for your following and in comparison to what others with your following are charging." I respond with the following: "I don't base my value off of my numbers or how others value themselves. I base my value off of the quality of the content I make and most importantly the use of my very limited time that is available to me." Usually I don't hear back from brands after that and it isn't a loss for me because I only want to work with brands who agree that we should value ourselves and our work.
  6. Prioritizing relationships. With the limited time that I did have, I couldn't possibly spend time with all of the friends that typically messaged me with "let's get together soon." As much as I would agree, I reserved my free time for the relationships that I valued the most. This doesn't mean I didn't value my other relationships that I may have lost touch with in the last few years, but just that it was important for me to prioritize. I had to hope that those I didn't make enough time to see, understood, and if they didn't understand, it's not really a loss for me. I realized who "my type" of people were and stuck around them. I'm happy to say that I'm proud of the people in my life that I call my "best friends."

That's all I have for now. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any other questions related to this topic and I will do my best to respond. Happy studies for you students out there! xo

My REAL Struggle With Acne (Before and After Photos Included)

My REAL Struggle With Acne (Before and After Photos Included)

Summer Dragonfruit Bowl

Summer Dragonfruit Bowl


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Successful People living with disabilities

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If people around you don’t believe in your dream, if they don’t give you the support you deserve, or they often tell you « You won’t be able to make it », but you still believe in yourself, you still want to make it happen, here is a VERY INSPIRING VIDEO for YOU !

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Seeing the Real Sookie

Sookie is sweet, cute, healthy, a wonderful size, and previously spayed so I’m expecting her to be adopted before we have time to see her true personality shine through. I think I’ve captured a little of it as she plays on the bed.

Click here to see Sookie playing a little with Tic Tac.

What I’m really trying to say is that Sookie is going take a long time to get used to her new home and completely relax. Actually, according to her previous family she may not ever be COMPLETELY relaxed – the patio furniture was rearranged once and Sookie wouldn’t go out the back door; she had to sniff each piece of furniture before she was good with it again.

We are seeing little glimpses of playfulness. Tonight I even got her to play a little game of catch and chase with a pink bunny stuffie that I got for her at the dollar store. It was so fun to see the little prance in her step as we ran from the dining room to the living room. Up until this point I’ve only seen this when she’s in our bed first thing in the morning.

Beautiful Sookie

Sookie is the extreme case of timidity in feeling happy and relaxed in a new situation, but I think it is something that every adopter (and foster) needs to consider when bringing a new animal into his or her home. It can take more than a week or two for everyone to get comfortable. There may be “accidents” even if they’re house trained – after all, they’ve spent some time in the shelter where there isn’t as much of a choice to “go outside” AND the schedule you set for him or her is probably quite different from the schedule in their previous home. Even the sounds of your neighborhood will be strange to your new family member.

It seems like we’ve had quite a few quick returns at the Wake County Animal Center lately. I think we’re all expecting an instant bond, appreciation, and settled family routine. It will come, but it’s not going to be instant. It’s just another aspect, like the lifelong commitment, that needs to be taken under consideration when deciding to add a dog or cat to your family.

If you have thought it through, check out the gallery at the WCAC or stop by any day of the week between noon and 6:00 PM.

Check out Tic Tac messin’ with Sookie.

2 thoughts on “Seeing the Real Sookie

  1. Goose heard Sookie’s tags clink and rattle on the video and she started barking and went tearing around the house, looking for Sookie! You say a lot in this piece. My second dog ever, a border collie mix who was taken from a hoarding/abusive home, took a solid 6 months to relax. And at his most relaxed, he was still a bit neurotic. Some wounds leave scars. He was a great, loyal, eager to please dog and pal for me though, and well worth the patience he required in those early months. xoxo SJ

  2. I think one reason there have been so many returns is that 72 hour refund period that we tell everyone about. On one hand, we’re hoping that if they just take the leap, they’ll fall in love and won’t bring them back. On the other hand, they have a safety net and are sometimes less inclines to work past those three days. Three days is not nearly enough time to know a dog and get it settled in a new home. Policy is policy, for better or worse.

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Welcome to the Interactive Agenda for SecurityWeek’s 2018 ICS Cyber Security Conference! (View the full conference website here)  (You can Register for ICS Cyber Security Conference Here
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Wednesday, October 24 • 2:15pm - 3:00pm
Solutions Theater: Skybox Security - See and Understand: Where are Critical Systems Most Vulnerable?

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule and see who's attending!

Critical infrastructure — from energy production to manufacturing to public utilities — is becoming a more prevalent attack vector for nation–state threat actors as well as the common cybercriminal. These attackers are frequently exploiting the interconnectedness of IT and operational technology (OT) networks, finding their foothold in the disconnect between their security management.

Wednesday October 24, 2018 2:15pm - 3:00pm
Solutions Theater (Trippe I & II)


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Anderson Williams

Real estate agent at Texas Premier Realty

Mobile : 512-633-3990
Meet Anderson Williams
Anderson Williams is a real estate agent servicing the city of and surrounding areas. For more information, please call the Texas Premier Realty office at 512-633-3990, or visit , .

Recent Articles

Don’t let the mortgage process SCARE you! We’re here to help you every

Don’t let the mortgage process SCARE you! We’re here to help you every step of the way!
By Jeremy Murphy

A Closer Look At Inspections

As long as you have an accurate idea of what to expect from the home you’re buying or selling, there’s no need to panic over inspections.
By Linda Woodward with Keller Williams Key Partners

Post About Your Housiversary

The hashtag #housiversary is trending on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, as homeowners find new ways to mark their homeownership milestones.
By Samantha Cuevas with Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties

Mistakes to Avoid When Buying or Selling a Home

If this the first time you're considering buying a home, or selling your first purchase, there are a lot of possible challenges you can end up facing. Having the right agent can ensure you're
By Alicia Farr Clinger with BHHS/C. Dan Joyner Company, REALTORS

Better Properties Kitsap 2017 Recap

Better Properties Kitsap had a great year in 2017. Get a look into how we helped the community and a peek into whats to come in 2018.
By Better Properties Kitsap, Inc with Better Properties Kitsap, Inc

Texas Premier Realty


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Insights from Dr. Kalibata on Being a Woman Leader

As women, we are born with the full potential to be great.  We should do the right things and not the easy things for progress.

To mark the 2018 International Women’s Day, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, the AGRA President, offered some insights into what it means to be a woman leader in Africa. Based on her experience and journey to the apex of African agriculture leadership, she knows that getting ahead as a woman depends largely on personal commitment to excellence and consistently doing the right things.

She also recognizes that where one is born contributes significantly to a woman’s growth.  No amount of personal commitment, ability or skill will enable a woman to rise in her career if the social norms, and even the laws of the land, prohibit it.  ‘It helped being in Rwanda – a country that believes in women and gives them opportunities’.

By speaking of women’s ‘full potential to be great’, Dr. Kalibata reminds us of a profound truth.  If women are prevented from taking their proper place in development, business or education, the world loses half its potential, half its brainpower, half its energy.  The least that women need is to be allowed to be part of the story – striving alongside men for the social and economic development that will make their children’s lives better.

In terms of the pathway to her current role as President of AGRA, Dr. Kalibata noted:

‘I was out there working very hard. I believed in myself. I did not look at myself as ‘a woman’ and did not allow that to limit me. Being here is a product of working hard. I was not reached out to because I was a woman but because I delivered value’.

Since completing her PhD – which involved the sacrifice of living far away from her family, Dr. Kalibata has steadily risen to become a leading authority on African agriculture.  She has worked hard for her achievements: in laboratories, in the field with farmers and in government policy roles at different levels. She has honed her skills and proved herself in the tough competition of the professional world.  Along the way, she has had to make choices and decisions that, typically, a man would not face.

But whatever the challenges, Dr. Kalibata is still striving for success in her work, as well as finding balance with her family life.  So, for her, what does success look like?

‘Success means we can feed our people.  It means we can grow our economies in Africa like most other countries in the world have.  Success means ensuring that every African can earn money.  They can feed their children. I am glad we have a few countries that are focused – and that are now reducing the number of people who are hungry. Success will mean growing the number of these countries.’

On juggling work and family, Dr. Kalibata said that this can only succeed if you find the right support system – at work as well as at home. To this end, Dr. Kalibata deliberately creates teams of people with skills that overlap with hers to ensure that work does not stop if she has to attend to family issues. ‘It also creates a succession plan,’ she added.

Knowing what she knows today, what advice would Dr. Kalibata give to her 20-year-old self and by extension to younger women today who aspire to scale the same heights as her?

‘I would say, do not postpone your life for your career.  Opportunities come later in life as well as long as one has the right motivation and drive.’

As is the case with all visionary leaders and parents, Dr. Kalibata is alert to the kind of world she’d like to leave for her children.

‘I worry about the children of Africa and the kind of future we want for them.  I do not want our children to know hunger and the conflict that has characterized our lives.  We have a duty to leave a peaceful world when we are gone. We have a responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it. We also must ensure that our children have the right values and fully understand that nothing happens by accident. The kind of world we want depends on our actions to create it. Above all, I am committed, with so many others, to creating a base for our children to build from.’

Dr Kalibata signs off with a personal message to all of the women who work alongside her in AGRA.

‘AGRA’s work on agriculture touches people that most other sectors do not think about – the unreached.  I am proud of the women from diverse backgrounds that we have in the institution, all of whom are well qualified.  Mine is a reminder to them that, as women, we have a particular responsibility to create a better future for our children. We should bring our passion and empathy to work every day.’

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Austin Air Healthmate

The Austin Air Healthmate 450 air purifier uses a pre-filter, HEPA air filter, and carbon filter to remove allergens, dust, pollen and odors from the air.  The Austin air purifier has a washable pre-filter. The Austin has a manual knob with 3 fan speeds but does not have a filter replacement indicator which is standard in most air purifiers. The air purifier has casters to make it easier to push room to room.

Approximate Price: $649


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How Can I Insure Proper Ventilation and Avoid Sick Building Syndrome?

Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Air Quality Testing and other Air Quality topics.

What can I do to improve the indoor air quality in my large building?

How Can I Insure Proper Ventilation and Avoid Sick Building Syndrome?

There are many ways to improve the air flow in a large building. If you are the building manager or in a position of responsibility where indoor air quality is a concern, consider the following:

1. Installation of ceiling fans to circulate fresh air and dissipate fumes.

2. A complete inspection of your HVAC or central air system for blockages.

3. A check of all vents to insure that dampers are open.

4. A check to see if your system needs re-balancing in order to restore even air flow to all areas.

5. A look behind cabinets, desks, partitions and other possible obstructions to vents and air shafts.

6. Installation of air cleaners, whether "in-system" or portable.

7. Begin a regular indoor air quality inspection and reporting program where employees, tenants, or other affected people can report any changes in the quality of the air.

All of these areas can contribute to a much better breathing environment. Sometimes the opening of a single blocked or closed vent is enough to drastically improve air quality.

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  • Birmingham

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No matter what month you visit the Gulf Coast there’s no shortage of live music. From mellow beach tunes to classic country and smooth rock n roll, the Gulf Coast has more than its share of great bands and musicians ready to rock out on any day or night of the week. But, if your trip to the coast happens to be in May, there are two annual events you may want to put on your itinerary.

The annual Hangout Music Fest is slated May 18 to 20 and will boast three days of music right on the sugar-white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. More than 60 bands are set to hit multiple stages with headliners like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Matthews Band and Jack White. While general admission tickets are sold out, a few VIP and Super VIP festival passes remain. Festival lodging partners are also offering tickets with accommodations while supplies last. The festival opens at 11 a.m. and ends at 11 p.m., nightly.

If you’re in Gulf Shores Memorial Day weekend (May 26 and 27), don’t miss the annual LuluPalooza Weekend Music Fest. In its eighth year, the family-friendly, two-day event features free concerts by Eric Lindell, Honey Island Swamp Band, Dread Clampitt, Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars and more. Held at Lulu’s at Homeport Marina, there will be plenty of music, activities and great food for the young and young at heart. Music starts at 4 p.m., but you’ll want to arrive early and treat yourself to some of Lulu’s famous LA Caviar or a Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Not in the area on these dates? Don’t fret. If there’s one thing you can count on during your vacation to the Gulf Coast, it’s a steady lineup of live music. Take a peek at the Calendar of Events to plan your itinerary.


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Have your say on social housing | Latest news

Have your say on social housing | Latest news

Latest News

Welcome to our news page, here you will find our most recent press releases.

Have your say on social housing

Have your say on social housing

The Housing and Planning Minister, Alok Sharma, is interested in hearing your issues and concerns regarding social housing and to gain an understanding of how there can be a more effective voice for tenants, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

A series of headline issues have already been identified, which include:

  • Managing complaints and redress routes
  • Social tenants’ voices being heard
  • Ensuring good and consistent quality services from landlords
  • Safety of tenants.

Mr Sharma is holding events and workshops across the country to hear from tenants directly and would also like to hear your views via an online questionnaire.

This is not a consultation exercise or a survey as such, but a means for you to engage and share your views with the Housing and Planning Minister.  The feedback received through this questionnaire will feed into the scope and content of the Social Housing Green Paper.

The 25 questions should take no longer than 15 minutes (depending on the length of your answers).

Please click the following the link for further information and to access the survey.

The closing date to complete the survey is 31 January.

We’d like to place cookies on your computer to improve your experience of our website. If this is ok click ‘ok with me’. If not you can continue to browse our site and this message will remain. Privacy notice.

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