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With less than three weeks to go, time is running out to register for the Canadian Summit, being held at the InterContinental Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, this August 10-11.
Don’t get the word “Canadian” fool you; the summit is open to anyone who wants a mini working vacation, targeted networking, and in-depth education with immediate takeaway value in a relaxed setting. You’ll see a lot of familiar faces, but you’ll also meet new friends and potential affiliates over the two-day summit. Can’t afford more than a day or two away from your business this summer, but you crave new ideas and networking with like-minded operators? This show is definitely for you. The event is being produced by Chauffeur Driven and the Ontario Limousine Owners Association (OLOA), and thanks to sponsors Cowan Insurance Group and Northbridge Insurance.
We kick off the summit with an opening cocktail reception on Sunday night where you can mingle with over 100 other operators from all over North America. The following morning, after a hearty breakfast, we get down to business with three sessions presented by some of our industry’s most respected professionals (we’ll feed you lunch, too). Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect from these interactive workshops.
Presented by Kyara Kahakauwila of LA Limousines and Mike Zappone of All Transportation Network
Explore ways to keep your customers loyal despite the changing landscape, using proven strategies that work within the chauffeured ground transportation industry. Learn how to exceed even their expectations as the competition heats up.
Workshop 2: Employee Motivation & Retention: Creating a Happy and Healthy Environment that Increases Productivity
Presented by Kristen Carroll of Grace Limousine and The LMC Group
This session will examine increasing productivity and rewarding your best employees so that your company runs like a well-oiled machine. The costs of turnover and when it’s actually beneficial to a company will also be discussed.
Workshop 3: Are You As an Owner Demanding Enough of Your Business?
Presented by Andi Gray of Strategy Leaders
Stop settling for just enough or OK when you can be a great company. Learn how to work on the business not in it, and get on track to double profits and triple revenue in the repetitive cycles.
To close the day, join us for our exclusive and private dinner cruise aboard the Captain Matthew Flinders, sponsored by Grech Motors. You’ll enjoy a beautiful evening of great food and entertainment as you sail on Lake Ontario, flanked by the Toronto night skyline.
To register for the summit, visit chauffeurdrivenshow.com/Toronto or call 856.334.1988.
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Washington, D.C. — When Maurice Brewster, CEO of Mosaic Global Transportation in Redwood City, Calif., got the call from IBM Vice President Stan Litow inviting him to the White House just three days later, Brewster immediately cleared his schedule.
Over two dozen of the largest U.S. corporations met at the White House this July on behalf of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to discuss the progress of SupplierPay, a White House initiative that pairs Wall Street with Main Street to spur growth and ensure that the smaller companies are being paid rapidly (15 days through another initiative called QuickPay). Small businesses are especially vulnerable to slow payouts, and the expedited pay means better cash flow so that they can pay employees and use the funds for expansion and other expenses. Each of the corporations was allowed to invite one of the smaller companies that were benefitting from the program, so Brewster was IBM’s guest.
In 2011, IBM was one of the founding members of a program called Supplier Connection, which was designed as a partnership with other major corporations to not only help smaller businesses secure contracts, but to offer mentoring and invaluable business connections. Mosaic became part of the program shortly after its founding and has gone on to become one of Supplier Connection’s best success stories by contracting with eight of the member companies including IBM.
The highlight of the trip, however, was getting to meet President Barack Obama and actually discuss the issues personally with the leader of the free world. “Of all the small businesses in the room, I was the only one who got a chance to speak with him and tell him my experience,” says Brewster of the July 11th meeting. “He asked my thoughts on the Small Business Administration, and I told him that it honestly hadn’t benefited me. I told him how my application had been denied because I didn’t own my building and how they wouldn’t consider my mobile assets. He listened to everything I said and then told me that there were some announcements coming that might help someone like me. With that, he shook my hand.” Once Brewster receives the photo that also accompanied the hand shake, it will occupy a special place in his office, he says.
The meeting has made Brewster somewhat of a rock star to his colleagues who heard about the meeting. Although it hasn’t yet created any direct new business opportunities, he calls the meeting the single most “positively impactful moment of his business career.” The story does have a silver lining, professionally: Brewster says that the SBA re-evaluated his previously denied application and has since approved it, giving him access to additional small business loans if needed in the future.
“Regardless of your political persuasion, whether Republican, Independent, or Democrat, it was an incredible honor to meet the most powerful man in the world,” he says. “I’ve seen him on TV, but to actually experience him being introduced in person, knowing what that’s like … it still gives me chills.”
To see the SBA press release, visit http://1.usa.gov/1o0HaWp.
Visit mosaicglobaltransportation.com for more information.
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Marlton, N.J.—Madeleine Maccar is the newest addition to the Chauffeur Driven team, joining the staff as the magazine’s editor.
Maccar is a 2006 graduate from Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., having earned her B.A., magna cum laude, in English with a concentration in writing. While in college, she was a photographer, staff writer, and section editor for the school’s award-winning newspaper, The Rider News.
She began her career as the social editor for two weekly newspapers in the Princeton Packet family of publications, where she won New Jersey Press Association awards for both writing and layout, before working at the Gannett-owned daily paper, The Courier-Post, as a page designer and copy editor. She then further honed her editing skills in the financial-services industry, proofreading documents for clients such as First Investors, John Hancock Investments and Putnam Investments. Maccar is also a book reviewer and critic at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, through which she will be publishing a collection of essays in early 2015.
Chauffeur Driven is her first foray into the world of the chauffeured ground transportation industry, and Maccar is eager to embrace the new challenges and many rewards of navigating a new industry while returning to the print-media realm. In addition to feature writing and assisting with photography, she will cover industry associations and events.
“I’m excited about the opportunities that Chauffeur Driven has in store for me and the ways that the enthusiasm I’ll bring to my role will benefit the magazine,” Maccar says. “I look forward to learning something new and building on that knowledge with every day that passes.”
Maccar can be reached at madeleine@chauffeurdriven.com.
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