10 reasons why I no longer Shop at Normal Retail Stores A few weeks ago, I was at BUTTON when the owner Liz asked me if I could help her make over the company website. My immediate response: “Yes, what do I have to do?” Her goal was to do a photo shoot of customers in action. She wanted to show the customer experience at BUTTON. Being able to help gave me a great deal of pleasure. Button has become a very special place for me and has shaped my shopping attitude. The staff at Button has always made my shopping experience unique, and I wanted to give back to them. You see, I quit my long-time job in early 2017, and, as a result, I had to make a few budget adjustments, shopping including. In the beginning it was easy. I was Continue Reading
Great People
BE ACTIV – MY 2019 UPDATE AND YOUR HELP !
Listen to your heart.Trust the timing of your life. You make it or you break it.If you need to make a decision re: 3. – go back to 1. This process pretty much describes my start-up experience with be active the best. If you like to know more about www.beactivpdx and how it all started, please read these two blog posts. To be honest, I debated almost all year 2018 on what to do with my first ever self-owned business be activ. Despite what I know is right and what I share in my book, I was hoping that a solution would come from somewhere. But as we all know that hardly ever happens and there only certain things that you can sit out. When it comes to crucial business decisions, it is definitely the wrong action to just sit Continue Reading
BE ACTIV – FAQ
What is BE ACTIV? BE ACTIV is a new, innovative fitness concept to get the world moving. The product to execute this concept is brand new, customized, high-end fitness trailer. THE STORY Born and raised in England and Germany the founder, James Montague and myself both grew up being members of sport clubs (soccer / track and field). It has shaped us tremendously. Besides the fact that we worked out and stayed fit, what was even more important was that we developed an unbeatable skill set that has always helped us to successfully conquer the challenges & mile stones in our lives. It has been down to these experiences, that we feel comfortable and energized navigating in the complex world we live in today. Since we moved to the US Continue Reading
How BE ACTIV came to life….or simply: DON’T OVERTHINK IT.
I didn’t know what to expect when a client asked me to meet him for happy hour to share an idea with me. It was a typical rainy evening, and he had already arrived when I entered the cozy restaurant in NW Portland. He was a bit nervous and hesitant to share, so he launched into small talk. I finally told him I couldn’t help him if he wouldn’t share his idea with me. His idea was to create a mobile fitness concept. He had done tons of research and analysis about what keeps people from moving and what barriers prevent them from working out. His analysis revealed the problem, and he had created a business idea based on it. A fitness van or trailer would arrive at participants’ homes where they could work out with friends or neighbors. Once Continue Reading
All for soccer. Soccer for all!
Happy Thursday! Couple weeks ago I introduced you to my friend and one of my role models when it comes to entrepreneurship, leadership, community involvement and volunteer work Kaig, the founder of PCFC, Portland Community Football Club. As the players are getting ready for the 5th Season, Kaig and team are in crunch time mode too, trying to get the funds the club needs to make sure we can keep the standards of last season, elevate our game on all levels and keep doing what PCFC is all about: All for soccer. Soccer for all. Portland Community Football Club (PCFC) offers an inclusive and equal opportunity for youth between 5-16 years old to participate in a club environment with quality coaching and at an affordable cost. Continue Reading
Do you know somebody, who can…..?
It brings me a lot of joy to build new connections, to find solutions and to help people out with all kinds of things. I always try to be in the position to answer the question above with a “YES” or at least try to direct people to another person who might be able to bring them a little bit closer to what they are looking for. That’s also one of the reasons why we established the #greatpeople column on my blog. Besides the fact that I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many great people I believe in the power of passionate people, a huge network of all kinds of amazing human beings and talents as well as personal recommendations. Of course you can google it, there are great Facebook groups for almost everything you could Continue Reading
Hi, I am Andrea!
“Why don’t you meet me at my hotel?” I think a lot of people have experienced that question trying to arrange a meeting with Andrea Michaels. I think I have met Andrea in more places all over the world than in Los Angeles, where she and her agency, Extraordinary Events, are based. It must have been around `09 when I first met Andrea in person. My boss back then described her as a pretty lady, super important U.S. client, and just a great person I needed to meet. Continue Reading
LET’S DO WHAT WE LOVE AND DO A LOT OF IT.
Hanging out in Hermosa beach these days made me think that this week’s #greatpeople post should be about two absolute kick-ass ladies I got to spent an unforgettable night with at a local spot in this little beach town. Just in case you ever happen to be in Hermosa Beach check out ABIGAILE. They serve inspiring local-grown food, have great in- and outdoor seating and are just an amazing mixture between a brewery, casual restaurant, sports bar and just a nice local gathering place. That's where we got to enjoy a great dinner back then. Besides that it was also the pre-opening night of another great local spot called HOOK & PLOW when the three of us happened to be in town and since Katie knew the owners we could kindly volunteer as Continue Reading
PCFC – strength has no gender
Still being moved by all the inspiration, actions and great women I got to meet yesterday there couldn’t be a better fit for today’s #greatpeople post than COACH KAIG I think. It was during FIFA world championships in Summer 2014 while watching the Germans playing at PROST when we got Kurt’s attention: A few Germans wearing Nike head to toe made us standing out when we were having Hefeweizen on a nice Portland summer day sitting on PROST’s patio cheering the Germans. Kurt himself (please note there is KURT and there is KAIG) was with his three sons and they were all geared up in Nike as well #somanygermanswearingnike so he decided to walk over to us and started singing German Football songs. After the first game was over we Continue Reading
“You can’t do that YET”, “walk like a queen” or just OLGA.
I had just moved to PDX and I wanted to stay in shape as well as get a little fitter. #whoelsedoesnotwantthat. The easiest to do so seemed to be the gym chain located super close to my office in Hillsboro. Done deal. I walked in on a Friday afternoon, made one of this typical introduction appointments #whatareyourfitnessgoals all I expected was a little guided tour through the studio and some cheesy sales talk. It turns out that this sales talk is well staged and before I know I have also signed up for 10 personal trainer sessions. #prettygooddeal of course. Top motivated I am back there on Saturday morning where this handsome sales guy introduces me to Olga from Russia who got chosen for me as they thought we would make a good team Continue Reading