Meeting Minutes:
Friday, September 23, 2005
Volume 12; Issue 31

  

Table of Contents

Committee Reports

Membership Report
 (Click here to go to the Membership page)

Lisa Wolfe has a new member in mind.  His name is John Degrass and he installs garage cabinets.  Before talking to him about joining MABE, Lisa wanted to make sure there would be no conflicts.   If you have any concerns, please contact a board member.

Social Report
 (Click here to go to the Social Event page)

Lisa Wolfe has graciously agreed to chair the social committee. 

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

Main Speaker

Treasurer Report

We are doing fine financially.  Over half of the quarterly dues have been received.  If you have not already mailed in your check, you are encouraged to do so.

After reviewing MABE's tax situation as it relates to charitable donations, Mark suggested a change.  The following email explained the process...

This email is regarding the decision today to have members donate funds to either the American Red Cross or the American Humane Society for the hurricane relief work, rather than MABE provide the donation directly.  The American Humane Society donation will specifically be to the Animal Emergency Services Fund.  Please  be assured that MABE will provide total credits of up to $1,000 on the next dues billing for member donations.  We will match $20 per member donation, although donations can be more than $20.  If members donate more than $20 each, and the total donations do not exceed $1,000, they will receive a full credit for the amount of their donation.  If donations exceed $1,000, the credit will be prorated among those that donate over $20.  Members donating $20 will receive a full credit for the $20 donation. 

The checks, payable to either charity, should be mailed to Mark Dreher, or given to  him at the meeting next Friday, September 30.   Mark will like to send the checks next week, after the meeting.

Leads Report

54-06, 37-47, 37-30, 37-32, 18-52, 24-26, 10-26, 10-06, 15-41, 21-31, 06-26, 38-32, 22-46, 40-19, 40-48.

This week's leads focus...

Notable Mentions

None.

Business Spotlight 

Reg Batt of Portraits by Reg was today's Business Spotlight.  The holiday season is upon us and that means they will soon get busy with family portraits.  You should call now to get your family sitting booked.

Reg touched on three important items for any entrepreneur: Beliefs, Expectations and Discipline. 

Beliefs - It is important to believe in ourselves and what we do.  Reg told a story about a straight A high school student to explain this.  This student took a college entrance exam and scored a 98%.  He thought this was his IQ and his grades reflected that belief.  He started getting failing grades.  When he found out that his test score was among the highest, his grades shot back up and stayed there.

Expectations - We have expectations for our business and ourselves.  We may still be trying to live up to the expectations of our parents.  We are even exposed to expectations from our spouses, family, friends and clients.  We also have expectations of our employees.  Reg told a story of the opening of a new high school to better explain how expectations work.  They told the 3 new teachers that they were the top candidates.  They told them that they pulled in the top students from the area.  At the end of the semester the teachers commented on how easy it was to teach these kids and keep scores up.  But they expected these great results because they were the top teachers and top students.  They were surprised to find out that they were not the top 3 teachers and that the kids were chosen at random.

Discipline - Discipline plays a big part in our lives.  Discipline is doing what we need to do, when we need to do it, even when we don't want to do it.  Reg is disciplined and responsible because his company needs him to be.

Main Speaker 

Amy Ahrensdorf
 Love At First Bite, Culinary Consulting

Amy is all about reinventing herself.  She takes pride in her ability to think outside the box and step into new territory.  And she challenges others to do the same.  She shares her challenges in hopes that she will be a source of inspiration to others. 

When Amy joined MABE her title was personal chef.  She enjoyed her work but she needed more training.  She enrolled in a culinary school and graduated with honors.  One day a customer came home and found Amy singing into a spoon in their kitchen.  That was when she realized she had become too isolated.  Her personal needs were not being met.  She had to re-evaluate herself and what made up her identity.  She determined that it was cooking and entertaining. 

In March of 2002 Amy went to work for Viking Sunwest.  They found her in a magazine and asked her to do an evening catering job.  She wasn't thrilled about the idea at first.  Catering is not a glamorous sounding job.  It entails long hours, weekends, etc.  But it was a beautiful kitchen and a great opportunity.  She decided to accept the offer but on her terms.  She didn't want to simply provide food.  She wanted to provide an experience.  Two years later she became resident chef of the entire facility.  Her title has changed from personal chef to consultant.

Amy grew up in Pennsylvania.  She attended boarding school and got her degree in recreation management.  She never applied for an existing job opening.  She just went in and told them "you need me!"  This is exactly how she got her summer job as a youth activity director aboard a cruise line.  It was a scary move for Amy but she had decided not to live life with excuses anymore.  Up until this time she was filled with self doubt that dated back to her premature birth and "15 minutes of blue".  But she made a commitment to herself to forget about what she thought were her weaknesses and instead rely on what she knows to be her strengths...her energy and personality. 

Amy took action.  And this gave her the courage to keep trying again and again.  Even today she holds this attitude.  She constantly asks herself how she can stand out from her competitors.  She makes a commitment, she develops a plan of attack and then she takes action.  In return for her efforts she gets better pay as well as more respect and opportunities for advancement.

Many of us don't like change.  We have a safe existence.  But living with less fear means living with less gratification.  Life is uncertain but we can embrace the idea of reinventing ourselves and emerge happier.  Amy encourages everyone to move around their business.

So why are you not moving forward?

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