Cowork Owner Cook on Economic Outlook Panel

Please tune in to Economic Outlook this week as the show focuses on the topic of coworking and its impact on economic development. The show airs Friday, January 6 at 8:30 pm and repeats Sunday, Jan. 8 at 12:30 pm on local channels of public broadcasts of WNIT. 

Hosted by Phil D’Amico, the Director of Business Growth at the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County, this stimulating 30-minute program reaches out to the business and educational decision-makers who explore the risks and opportunities at work in today’s markets. Selected panel discussions focus on issues around economic growth, the impact of education on economic development, key industry sectors, the impact of trade on employment, and a host of related issues.

Andrea Cook, co-owner of The Midas Center Cowork Space in downtown Plymouth, Indiana will participate as a panelist for the show to be aired this week. She shares, “Coworking in rural communities can have a positive impact for economic development for communities who support independent professionals. It is an attractive draw for innovative and entrepreneurial types of professionals.” This emerging trend of coworking has many benefits to professionals and the communities that support coworking as a vital economic tool.

Cook has written an ebook titled, “65 Reasons to Cowork” and it can be downloaded for free here >> 

The show will be available online along with the other episodes after the program airs later this week. You may view this here >>

Inspiration Found in 40 Under 40 Program

Today a room overflowing with over 400 professional leaders hailing from Valparaiso, Plymouth, Elkhart, South Bend and beyond joined to honor the Class of 2011 Michiana's Forty Under 40 at South Bend's Gillespie Conference Center. The event, led by the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County recognized forty outstanding local professionals under age forty for their business success and community contributions.

The Midas Center owner, Andrea Cook was one of the honorees. She shares, "It is a pure honor to be recognized with such a group of dynamic thought leaders. Although diverse in backgrounds, professions and interests, there is still one thread that brings us all together. Leadership. I'm looking forward to the opportunities to grow along side of these up and coming game changers."

Cook acknowledges this experience as a milestone in her professional career and claims that the most rewarding part was sitting among the group of peers while listening to the remarks made by Tracy Graham, Managing Principal at Graham Allen Partners. Graham, a Michiana Forty Under 40, Class of 2007, shared sage and insight with these powerful words:

"There will always be naysayers, cynics and obstacles. They are placed in our ways to weed out the weak."

In the company of mayors, chairpersons, business owners, non profit directors and chief executives, former Michana Forty Under 40 honorees, as well as the supportive colleagues, friends and family members of this year's class, Graham continued to acknowledge the need for strong and purposeful leadership in our community and businesses and as he gazed upon the future leaders in the room, he remarked that we are "unified in purpose and passion."

"Truly inspiring," Cook remarks as she holds steadfast to those encouraging words. Immediately following was the 2011 Class Recognition where each professional was announced and congratulated with a special award and hand shakes by Presidents and CEOs Jeff Rea, Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and Phil Penn, Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.

Creative Social Media Tips at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s “Artist Sampler” Workshop

Are you an artist with talents to share?

Do you have limited time and money for effective marketing?

Have you considered the benefits of social media?

Andrea Cook, President of The Midas Center and a professional in the field of marketing, advertising and branding, will present Use Social Media to Get the Word Out at the St. Joe Valley Watercolor Society’s The Artist Sampler event to be held 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., April 29-30, 2011 at the South Bend Museum of Art in South Bend.

The unique format for The Artist Sampler will provide hands-on workshops, art demonstrations, and instructional lectures from a variety of experts to help artists in many different disciplines enhance their skills and careers. Andrea Cook’s presentation on social media, 9 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, will focus on helping artists use tools such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with the people who enjoy and support their art.

For more information and to register for “The Artist Sampler,” please visit www.stjoevalleywatercolor.com.

Social Media Tip: The Practice of Learning

Are you in the practice of learning more about the latest best practices?

Because technology is fervently changing and evolving, we encourage you to make business development part of your business practice.

Take the time to develop your skills and learn more about social media by attending a seminar or workshop in your area. If you are interested in attending a networking event hosted by Women Business Owners of Michiana (WBOM), you can join me next Tuesday. Or you may learn more about the event on their web site by visiting www.wbom.org. This particular event they are offering is a luncheon on the topic of social media. Notre Dame's AgencyND's Director Extraordinaire Don Schindler will be speaking about the latest trends in social media. Although he has much to say on the subject of social media by proof on the number of posts he shares on Twitter and his agency's blogs, social media continues to emerge, evolve and shift the way businesses and organizations communicate who they are and what they do. We're looking forward to learning more from Don and his approach to how he leads Notre Dame's social media endeavors in this new frontier.

Learn more about social media and its latest best practices, attend workshops when available. And don't forget to mingle with live people at live events. There is more to business relationships than just retweeting and emailing!

The Midas Center offers workshops and coaching sessions for individuals and groups in-person or virtually. Coaching sessions can be customized to your specific business goals and can include training, guidance, support, strategy or what ever helps you meet your goals.

Clients achieve an improved understanding of social media tools including how to better communicate and meet goals using facebook, twitter, LinkedIN, blogs, google documents and more!

Presentations now available:
• Social Media 101: The New Frontier of Marketing
• Facebook 101: Save Time and Money and More
• Twitter 101: To Tweep or Not to Tweep and More
• iHEARTplymouth 101: Small businesses get online for free
• Blogging 101: Passionate Social Activists Wanted
• Branding 101: It's not Just for Cows

Clients may also request customized presentations based on their specific needs and goals. To learn more about how The Midas Center can help you improve your social media activities and take your business to the next level, contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your first session by phone at (574) 936- 7058 or by email.

Social Media Tip: Were You Open to Email?

Where are you in your understanding and acceptance of social media? Do you remember when email was the new thing? Perhaps you may recall the Apple commercial with Jeff Goldblum where he opened my eyes to how the email technology was separating members in our society. Even though he claimed in the advertisement that "email is as easy as licking a stamp" and referred to those who email as one big party, and those who did not email were missing out, there are still those in our society who are hesitant to hop on the information highway and travel together online in this internet era.

Social media is a term that encompasses all of the tools that allow us to communicate more effectively and efficiently. It depends who you ask, but I think of social media tools as both hardware and software technologies that all work together, or "sync" to improve the way we live, communicate, learn, improve, behave in society. In 1998, Apple launched the iMac ad (see video below) as a tool to help society as a whole email. Since then, there have been a plethora of tools that help us get invited to the party.

When you first got that invitation to come to "the party," how did you respond? How are you responding to today's world of social media tools?

The Midas Center offers workshops and coaching sessions for individuals or groups to empower you to better understand social media and reach your goals. Whether you are feeling like you're missing the party and just want to learn the social media basics so you can share photos and stay in touch with your friends and family, or you want your business to have a stronger online presence using social media tools, The Midas Center's coaching and workshops can be customized to your specific needs. Contact Andrea Cook today to schedule your session >>