AlphaKOR Celebrating 20 Years!

It is a very exciting day at AlphaKOR:  20 years ago on February 25th 1995, AlphaKOR started servicing its' clients.

Hats off to the Partners:  Ali Jaber, Mazen Jaber and Shawn O'Rourke who do so much behind the scenes and together we have built a very dynamic Team.  It's fun and exciting to go out and be the face and voice of AlphaKOR.

The Partners:

Thanks to the AlphaKORians for all their dedication and commitment.  This Team works endlessly all hours of the night, weekends and holidays to ensure our clients' technologies are working.   We cannot thank you enough.

To all our family, friends, associates and our clientele who have made AlphaKOR what we are today.   It is an honour to service so many and to be your Technology Partner.

The decorations started earlier this week:

Some fun facts about AlphaKOR you may not know:

1.  AlphaKOR name actually goes back to 1993 when Ali called his BBS AlphaKOR.

2.  Ali and Mazen started the company as AlphaKOR Computers on February 25, 1995. 

3.  First location was 1949 Ottawa Street in a 600 square foot retail store from February 1995 to July 1996.

4.  Shawn O'Rourke joins as Partner and Technical Manager in February 1996.

5.  Yours truly joins as a Corporate Account Rep in March 1996 after six weeks of retiring from the industry.

6.  Second location was 5957 Wyandotte Street East in a 2300 square foot office.   July 1996 to October 2008. 

7.  January 1997 company named AlphaKOR Computers Inc.  Ali is Director of Design, Mazen is Controller, Shawn is Director of Technical and yours truly becomes a Partner and President.

8.  Ali Jaber on the cover of Biz X Magazine as the Region's Top Technician as part of "Who are the most Talented Top Ten", July/August Summer 2003 Edition.

9.   Name changes to AlphaKOR Group Inc in 2005 and "The AlphaKOR Kid" is introduced as part of the tenth anniversary marketing strategy.
 
10.  Third location at 1670 Mercer Street in a 5500 square foot facility.  October 2008 to Present.

11.  Charter member and one of the 6 co-founders of WEtech Alliance Network, April 2008.

12.  Co-founder of the WindsorEssex Circle.

13.  Mazen Jaber adds Director of Operations to his role as Controller, February 2012.

14.  Hat-trick of Chamber Business Excellence Awards:  2009 Service Company of the Year, 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year and 2014 Mid-size Company of the Year.  Thank you to the Chamber and to the Business Community for this amazing support.

15.  October 2014 acquired CCD.  Thanks to the CCD family of employees (Tim, Roman, Rob, Ramsey) and thanks to the CCD clientele for embracing AlphaKOR. 

One of the most overwhelming moments for yours truly.  Thrilled and honoured as we are awarded the Mid-Size Company award:

My personal favourite moment to cherish it with my Parents, Partners, family and friends as Entrepreneur of the Year:

The Future
New fourth location currently being renovated at 7800 Twin Oaks, 12000 square foot campus on 2 acres.   Target move-in date is May 2015.

AlphaKOR will continue to strive for excellence and deliver exceptional service when you need it most.  We look forward to a very bright future and we are very grateful for everyone who has been part of our journey.

Happy 20th AlphaKORians! 

Having the Right Mindset to Achieve Excellence & Success in Business

This week we welcome Guest Blogger Theresa Reaume, co-owner of Successful Image Client Relations Management.

If you love what you do be passionate about what you do.  If you love what you do, you will prosper and you are never going to love everything about what you do every minute of every day.  You need to understand becoming proficient in all aspects of your business will add value and open up new opportunities.  Be open to opportunities when they arise.  Spend time planning and more time doing.  Being passionate will ignite the desire to continue working hard to reach your goals.

Do not be afraid to fail.  Failure is a part of business and a part of life.  Not everything you try is going to be a winner.  Do not be afraid to try.  To get what you want, you have to go for it.  Do not let your fear hold you back.  Remember one hundred percent of what you do not try, will not work.

Work hard
A good work ethic is mandatory if you want to succeed in business.  Along the way there will be setback and that is all part of it.  You cannot let them overtake you.  Find solutions and stay strong.  Things will get better, they always do.  Focus on this day and the goals that need to be achieved today.  Make a list and consult it often.  Those small victories will be rewarding along the way and add up to huge dividends in the long run.  Be committed to trusting your hard work will pay off.  

Be Committed
Commitment helps to sustain you through the difficult time and catapults you forward in the good times.  Commitment gives you the courage to consistently take action resulting in greater success.

Think Big
Be grateful for your accomplishments and to succeed at high levels you must commit your focus to even higher achievement.   Learn to delegate tasks to others more skilled in particular areas so you can focus where you need to.

Be Consistent
Continue to take the steps necessary to reach your business goals.  It is through consistent and diligent work along with patience and flexibility we succeed.

Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People
The relationships you build are an essential part of your success in business.  You need to find the right team members and nurture them appropriately, keep morale high and infuse them with your vision so you are all moving in the same direction.

Be Empathetic
Empathy allows you to understand what your product or service is worth and how it can help people find solutions.  In order to have empathy, you must be a good listener, an active listener.  You must treat others the way you would like to be treated in order to be a true success.

Be Grateful
Always appreciate what you have.  Appreciate how far you have come and the people who have helped you to get there.   This will result in more patience and less stress, giving you more energy to focus where you need to and you will have much greater quality of life.  A good work/life balance is the true definition of success.

Theresa Reaume, Guest Blogger
Co-owner of Successful Image Client Relations Management
theresa@successful-image.com 

Are you Motivated?

Successful people are full of energy, focused and accomplishing great things on a consistent basis.

What motivates them?

Motivated people walk briskly with a purpose and with the sense of confidence.  They have a drive to solve a problem, to create a new standard or to simply take care of the task at hand and move to the next one.

The reward for accomplishing and being creative is enough to motivate people like us.   Being the leader to keep the pendulum swinging forward is motivating.  Seeing the results of happy clients and a dedicated team and Partners working together is motivating.

Knowing you make a difference such as helping companies grow their business with your solutions, watching entrepreneurs take their ideas to build companies with your mentoring efforts, connecting people to create opportunities are some other indicators to keep being motivated.

Why are others not motivated?

It is easy to procrastinate and focus on what cannot be done and the negativity.   Growing up on a farm has embedded the routine of getting up early, focus on the day and try to turn it off a bit in the evening.  Balance the leisure time to enjoy life is part of the reward. 

Some have a fear of success shifting the focus to one of not being motivated to accomplish their goals.  People like us have the fear of failure.   This helps us keep focus on being successful.   Being positive.  Being energetic.   When we fail, we learn and we move forward to more successes!

The result of being motivated?

Creates your own destiny.  Sure we get frustrated.   We vent.  We complain.   All part of the cycle.   Focusing your energy onto the positive side and choosing the"high road" will take you to your destiny as set out by you.

Did you know you have the Power to motivate yourself?

5 Instinctive Habits of Remarkable Leaders

Which instinctive habits do you have?

1.  Communicate Effectively

This is the #1 instinctive habit seen in remarkable leaders.   Clear communication results in everyone understanding the leader.   Each person on the team knows their expectations at all times.

2.  Make the Decision

Decisions are made.   Process the information at hand, weigh the results both positive and negative and then make the decision.  The important point to note here is to make the decision.   Sometimes the decision is to defer or to not make the decision.   

3.  Praise and saying Thank-you

Saying thank you to those around you who have helped and who are contributing to the overall goals.  It is important to actually tell people you appreciate them.  Try it and see what great results you get!

4.  Always Challenging

Set the bar high and keeping raising the bar.   Do not accept the status quo.  Keep challenging by asking more questions such as "Can it be done better?" and "What else can we do to improve?"  Question the processes and things that are being performed and ask how can it be improved to achieve excellence.

5.  Seeking Help

Everyone should seek help from time to time to keep growing.  Remarkable leaders look to further educate themselves by reading, attending seminars, asking experts, viewing podcasts and so forth. 

This week's topic was inspired by: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-instinctive-habits-remarkable-leaders-jeff-haden

Do you have any instinctive habits to add?