• Liz Gaige from Market Navigators will address marketing inquiries
• Mhairi Petrovic from Out-smarts will be on-hand to speak about social networking
• Ryan Thompson from Twin Fish Creative will provide answers about branding
• while I’ll be discussing web design and development.

These panels are casual and informal. Simply register, show up and join the conversation. Organized as round-tables, we like to keep these small, so that you have the chance to ask your questions and hear what others have to say. These are ideal for budding entrepreneurs, individuals wanting to launch themselves in a new venture or existing companies who may be stuck and not sure where to go next.

We are currently holding a 2-for-1 promo, so bring a friend or colleague along. Hope to see you there.

I ran in to a very bizarre WordPress error this morning following a brand new installation on one of Blacksun’s server. Certain area of the web admin turned up blank pages. I did a quick search on Google and thought that this error may be due to a wrong php.ini setting.

Looking at Blacksun’s website, I found the contact number to their technical support really fast, called, and was greeted by a human voice in less than 2 minutes. I explained the situation, she looked at the error files and confirmed my initial thought. Instead of putting me on hold and leaving me to talk to her manager, she simply took my contact details and told me to call back. Have you ever had technical support call you back? I wasn’t going to hold my breath.

No more than 20 minutes later, a voicemail was delivered to my phone. The error was fixed and my site is now working perfectly. That’s the best customer service I’ve encountered in a long time.

LocalDelicious.com is a new blog which aims to get the scoop on local food in and around the Lower Mainland. As more and more people try to eat locally produced goods, this blog aims to provide tips and advice on where to find the best markets, products, events and books.

The Amuse Bouche Food Blog is Edible BC’s daily blog which looks at restaurants, wineries and various BC products. Whether you are a local, visitor, event planner or someone looking for info about BC’s culinary offerings, Edible BC’s blog is another great read.

More info about local food, recipes ideas and gardening can also be found by visiting the Edible Vancouver blog while the Earth To Table blog is a collaboration between chefs and farmers that promotes logical, sustainable, righteous, and above all, delicious food.

Not enough time to follow blogs… No worries, twitter is another great a way to get the lowdown on what’s going on in the food industry. You can follow three of these bloggers on twitter @LocalDelicious, @Edible Vancouver and @Earth_to_Table.

I usually get one or two unsolicited emails from companies in India advertising their services, so I thought I might see signs of this. I usually don’t pay attention to these emails other than take a look at the company’s portfolio and archive them. This trip being my first time in India, I wasn’t sure what to expect; big business parks, men in suits, laptops everywhere…? I saw numerous signs for computer classes, but no business parks or men in suits which would be dumb anyway, considering the weather. Most of the office buildings I saw were old and falling apart like the majority of Indian houses, temples and monuments, but perhaps I simply wasn’t in the right neighbourhoods or even the right cities.

During my short stay in Chennai, I read a piece in the Chennai Chronicle about how a group of twitter followers now get together on a regular basis to exchange ideas. I’ve also read and spoken to people who deal with Indian companies on a regular basis, so they must be around and India is most definitely booming and taking advantage of new technology.

I also came across a funny “businessman kit” in our Chennai hotel. I’m usually used to sewing kits and shower caps, but a businessman kit, that was new to me. On closer inspection,  I discovered that it contained a couple of paper clips, three rubber bands, a safety pin and a few pins…. Not sure what kind of businessman would need this.

Learn about what it takes to build a thriving brand through building an outstanding customer experience.
Inspired by John DiJulius, the king of world class customer experience.

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RISE is an audio podcast series that will lead you through what it takes to move forward towards reaching your goals. Through expert advice, tips, tools, insights and experiences, our focus is to help you continually make small shifts to build momentum and increase your brand equity. The easy-to-use media of audio podcasts offers a simple way to learn, be inspired and empowered, and continuously connect with ideas and proven strategies that will help you raise the bar.