The Bad, The Ugly and the Really Scary

I attended a Gwynne Dyer lecture tonight at Wilfrid Laurier University. I find him to be a fascinating orator. I’m sure he’s also quite a lightning rod – as is anyone that spends a great deal of time conveying his/her opinions, regardless of the foundation and/or research behind them – and thus many of you will either strongly like or dislike Mr. Dyer. Regardless, one must agree that he is thought provoking.

The real point is, I was once again reminded of how little we really know about what’s happening in the world. I believe this is particularly true in North America. The citizenry, and to a perhaps larger extent the media, seem to have this mistaken belief that news from offshore is not terribly relevant to our day to day lives. Dyer noted the full two pages dedicated daily within the Globe and Mail to “international” news. I recall catching a CNN broadcast whilst readying for a day in a hotel room somewhere in the US several years ago, when they announced their “international minute” segment would be up next.

Dyer divided his time amongst three topics: things that don’t worry him much at all, things that worry him a great deal, and things that frankly scare him half to death.

In the not-very-worrisome category were the Middle East conflicts, Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, etc. It’s not that he doesn’t feel for the personal tragedies that are unfolding. He simply feels that these issues will have very little effect on global affairs and the lives of average citizens throughout the world.

He worries about the potential for a USA-China cold war. He paints a picture whereby all of the necessary elements are in place. Just as the end of the 19th century witnessed the end of the dominant British Empire, so to the end of the 20th century witnesses the decline of America as the sole super power. China’s GDP is growing by some 10% annually. India’s in the 8-9% range. Dyer sees a world of three economic and military super powers within 50 years. He also believes the US is actively developing economic and military ties with countries all around China, in an effort to lock it in. He doubts China will initiate a back and forth cold war spiral, but also suggests they are certainly being provoked.

And what truly frightens Mr. Dyer. Climate change. Period. And I believe he’s right. If we don’t get this one right, nothing else really matters does it. And it’s not about electric cars, or SMART cars, or strain on air conditioners. The issue is food supply. If the average annual temperature increases by two degrees C, some studies suggest that India’s food production will drop by 25%. That would leave 250 million people without food. And that's but one example. It’s time to do something.

I realized this evening that I don’t listen to such speakers often enough. And when I do, I often listen to speakers that believe what I believe. It would likely be better to engage with advocates of differing opinions.

Sunday Afternoons

I meant to do a blog entry over the weekend, but never did get to it. Saturday was our Southern Family Day – so no work! – and Sunday was spent on some high priority and high leverage activities.

I’d prefer to not work on Sundays, but for now it simply seems like there’s too much to do in only five or six days a week. From the age of about 12 to about 18 I worked on many farms that surrounded my little home town of Cannington, Ontario. My two primary employers were a fellow named Jim Gordon, who was my father’s best friend, and my eventual father-in-law, John Warvill. Jim was my father’s best man when my parents married, and vice versa. I met John at my grade 8 graduation ceremony, and eventually married “the farmer’s daughter.” We lost Jim to cancer several years ago. Happily John is still very much with us.

The point is, I was working one Sunday afternoon for Jim, picking stones. For those that are not initiated, this involves walking through a field, with a wagon near by, and harvesting any significant boulders that have surfaced (due to plowing, frost, etc.). Jim had a home made wagon, pulled by a team of Belgian horses. He preferred horses to tractors for many odd jobs like this. So did I.

On this particular Sunday, towards the end of the day, I was riding on the wagon, with my legs dangling over the side. My foot got caught under the rear right tire. I was immediately hauled off the wagon, my knee and hip wrenched into very uncomfortable contortions!

I decided then and there that God was serious about this “day of rest” stuff. Unfortunately, for now at least, it seems seven days a week must be the norm.

We spent part of Saturday at a used book sale hosted by a seniors centre in Kitchener. I love used book sales. It’s a treasure hunt. I came away with Sir Winston Churchill’s six volume account of WWII, plus some Hemingway, Keats and others.

I’ve also just returned from a church meeting. I serve as Financial Secretary on our Special Gifts Fund Committee. The Fund exists to serve those members of the congregation that wish to plan a gift to the church as part of their estate planning.

And this afternoon I met with a gentleman that runs a contracting business out of Windsor. We’ve been trying to connect for a while. He was in the area. Last minute. I had to adjust my schedule, but the meeting was worth while. While I’m currently focusing on Waterloo Region, I will eventually be opening centers in London and Windsor, and elsewhere. This fellow’s company will tender on the construction aspect, plus he’s well connected throughout London and Windsor.

For now, time to rest, do some reading, and prepare for tomorrow.

Videos, Photos and More

I’m taking the night off tonight, along with most of tomorrow. Saturday is “Family Day” in the Southern household. We try to block off a full day each month for family activities, all together. Looking forward to it.

In the meantime, have a look at indoor golf utopia, and hear some comments from other Parmasters team members:

www.parmastersgolf.com

Videos of the completed Memphis site part way down this page http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Home-1.html

Photos of the Memphis site http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Photos_from_the_site-156.html

Memphis construction videos http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Construction_Videos-331.html

Parmasters Halifax http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Halifax_Dartmouth-254.html

Halifax floor plan http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Our_floor_plan-305.html

Parmasters Guangzhou http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Guangzhou-232.html

Marketing http://www.parmastersfranchise.com/center_marketing_systems.html

Hear from other team members http://www.parmastersfranchise.com/testimonials.html

Learn more about the HQ team and their goals http://www.parmastersgolf.com/fw/main/Our_Team-7.html

Make it a great weekend!

Abundance

We live in a world of abundance, a world of charity, a world of caring and helping. These themes came to my attention repeatedly today.

It started with a mid-morning Business and Education Partnership meeting held at the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo. The BEP operates a speakers’ bureau. The speakers are volunteers who go into local schools and speak to classes about jobs, careers and related topics. The meeting this morning was meant as a training refresher for some of us that have been involved since the beginning. The room was full. Great turn out. Volunteerism. Abundance.

We also read in our newspapers today that Canadians donated a record $7.9 billion to charities in 2005, representing a 14 percent increase over 2004. Charity. Abundance.

One of the gentlemen that I met with yesterday placed a call to a friend on my behalf. He then urged me to call this friend and seek his assistance with my ongoing efforts to capitalize Parmasters Waterloo Region. We all do favours. I placed the call and left a message with the friend. He’s never met me, and knew I was calling to ask a favour, and yet called back later the same day, today. Helping. Abundance.

And of course, I try to return these favours. A friend has developed a seemingly innovative and promising investment model for certain types of investment vehicles. I introduced him to two friends, including the gentleman noted in the paragraph above. I also made several other introductions/connections today.

The day ended – or more accurately – the last meeting of the day was Wilfrid Laurier University’s annual Economic Outlook, hosted at CIGI in Waterloo this evening. The turnout was very large and the speakers were quite informative.

The day will officially end after some reading later tonight.

Favours Returned Repeatedly

Today was another day spent predominantly in my “mobile office.” The meetings started shortly after 9:00am and continued throughout the day. Seven or eight in total.

My BlackBerry is a fantastic productivity tool, allowing me to keep up with the email flow even when I’m out on the road. Of course, I do not type/read when driving. But I must admit to a bit of reading at stop lights.

I had lunch with a gentleman that is loosely connected to The Utility Company. They offer an interesting service – basically IT solutions provided in a utility model as opposed to the current buy, break, fix model. We lunched to discuss how we might help each other. I can make some introductions for The Utility Company, and they can help me expand my network and thus help finance Parmasters Waterloo Region. Win-win.

What is truly interesting is that The Utility Company is a franchisor. They are selling franchises throughout Canada, and possibly elsewhere. There aren’t many technology or IT businesses that choose franchising as a growth model. It definitely seems to make sense in their case.

I also finally secured the services of a bookkeeper. This should help me remain organized and reduce my work volume.

I also met today with a good friend whose company offers special financing to dentists and doctors that want to build and occupy a commercial building (i.e. owner-occupied). This fellow can also help me grow my network. And I will help him grow his network amongst dentists and doctors. My wife is a dental hygienist.

We live in a world of abundance. There’s more than enough for all of us. The list of people helping me – in one way or another – with Parmasters Waterloo Region is very, very long. And thus, I continually look for opportunities to return the favour.

For now, time for some reading ...

How To Hit The Ball Straight

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” –Albert Einstein

Spend some time around the first tee of any golf course and you’ll see a continual stream of “insane” people. Every golfer I know, every golfer I’ve ever seen, myself included, repeats basically the same swing, over and over, shot after shot, game after game, year after year, “expecting different results.” He/she may take some lessons, tweak a few things, focus on a few different things, and even go out and buy some new clubs. But at the end of the day, very little has changed.

Want to learn how to hit a little white ball straight down any fairway? Consistently? Easily? Confidently?

Then I suggest you surf the web to here and/or here. Enjoy!

We’ll be open next summer. Come see us. And after your lessons, we’ll look forward to seeing you in the fairway …

Tackling Those Dreaded Tasks

This past weekend was very productive, in many ways. My wife and I dined out at a quaint little restaurant in the south end of Kitchener on Friday evening. I worked most of Saturday and Sunday but did take time out for family meals, my son’s hockey game and practice, etc.

The focus for the weekend was a lot of tasks that I had put off for a couple of weeks. There are just some tasks that seem really daunting, or complicated, or painful. These tasks were like that. Admittedly, I had procrastinated on a couple of them. Others only recently became a higher priority.

So not only did I simply get a large volume of work accomplished, but I also cleared my plate of some tasks that I was really dreading. This feels good.

I started the week, as I do most Mondays, with a great workout. Exercising leaves me energized to tackle the rest of the day.

The morning was spent working in my office, and the afternoon was full of meetings. This evening I’ve been catching up on some email and also working on some paperwork related to a volunteer position I fulfill within my church.

I’m intentionally transitioning the way I allocate my time. Right now I really have two primary tasks: capitalize the business by attracting and signing investors, and find a building/site for the business. While capitalization still takes a lot of time, I am reducing the time per week I spend on that activity, and increasing the time per week spent on finding a site.

I believe that once I find a site, the capitalization effort will proceed more quickly.

Early meetings tomorrow, and they continue for most of the day. Thus, early to bed tonight …

Busy Weekend Ahead

It’s been another hectic week for Parmasters Waterloo Region. While the capitalization efforts continue, and in fact accelerate, I find my time is increasingly occupied with finding a building/site, and other sundry activities. We’ll conduct more site tours towards the end of this month. We’re now considering some very interesting and diverse properties.

We’re also now members of both Communitech and the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce. Networking is critical to all aspects of the business.

For various reasons, several tasks have slipped from this past Thurs and Fri, into this weekend. Two more days left in the week and an awful lot to do. Time to get on with the tasks hand …

PDAs as Efficiency Tools

I mentioned in an earlier post that I keep lists of ideas related to Parmasters Waterloo Region. These ideas may come from personal experiences, books I’m reading, conversations, etc. The point is, the ideas are captured and ready for future scrutiny, refinement and perhaps implementation.

I believe strongly in the use of some form of personal digital assistant (PDA) as an efficiency and effectiveness tool. The founding President of Communitech (a local technology and advocacy organization), Vince Schiralli, first turned me on to PDAs around 2000. At that time I purchased a Palm m100. Today I use my BlackBerry.

Almost all PDAs include the following capabilities:
- calendar
- task list
- contact list
- memo/note pad

Calendar – This is mostly obvious. I always have my calendar with me. But the key is, note all of your commitments in your calendar. Don’t just use it for work. The mundane tasks of life – working out, a shower, banking, eating – all take time, and thus should be blocked off in your calendar. My son’s hockey games and practices are blocked off in my calendar. This helps you manager your own expectations regarding how much time you actually have available.

Task List – There are two key points here. First, capture every task and/or commitment. Credibility is critical in business, and nothing zaps your credibility faster than not following through on a commitment. I’ve been in countless meetings where an individual has been assigned several tasks/commitments within the first few minutes of the lengthy meeting, and he/she has not recorded any of them. Will he/she meet those commitments? Generally not. Open your PDA, and note the task, immediately. That tells your colleagues that you’re committed to making the commitment.

Also, tasks should be categorized. We all play many roles in life. I am husband, father, son, friend, entrepreneur, consultant/director, home owner, volunteer, etc. Each task/commitment is associated with one of the roles in your life. Categorization helps you understand the nature of your commitments, where you’re stretching yourself thin, where you’re spending time and where you need to focus.

Contact List – This too is rather obvious. I have contact information for everyone in my network, always in hand. That’s powerful.

Memo/Note Pad – I suspect most people really under-utilize this capability. I am a strong believer in lists. I keep all lists in my BlackBerry, in various memos. This is an amazing efficiency tool.
Examples:
- Goals – I keep my evolving list of goals, and related thoughts and tactics, with me at all times. Thus, I can review them, or work on them, whenever I have a few minutes of down time (like in a checkout line).
- Shopping – Most Canadian home owners have a small but continual list of items that they (believe they) require from Canadian Tire, or Rona, or Home Depot. But most don’t keep the list. Mine is always with me. When I find myself driving past said store, with a few minutes before my next appointment, I can use that time to check some items off of my list.
- Ideas – Already mentioned. I can capture these and work on them anywhere, anytime.
- Books – I capture key points from books and have them handy for review. I also keep lists of books that I want to read, books that I’ve loaned out, etc.
- Gift Ideas – People drop hints all the time. Don’t spend time scratching your head come Christmas, or a birthday. Capture ideas as they appear, and have them handy when the time comes.

I’ve only scratched the surface of this topic. PDAs are fantastic efficiency tools.

As I refer to my BlackBerry, it’s clear that I have meetings most of the day, and it’s now time to prepare.

Make Ready for the Mavens

Yet another fantastic day in the development of Parmasters Waterloo Region! While I hate to sound repetitive, momentum is really starting to build. My network of contacts is growing quickly, and in some very promising directions. New possibilities for the location or site continue to come to the fore. We’re making progress on many fronts.

As you might imagine, I keep a notebook on my nightstand, and nearby at all times. Well, throughout the day my “notebook” is actually my BlackBerry. Ideas come at me constantly. Some of these ideas will play a role within some/all of our Parmasters Centers. Others will not stand the test of closer scrutiny. Either way, these two simple tools help me quickly capture ideas.

One such “idea” came from one of the books I finished over the weekend, Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. I’m sure many of you have read it. If not, do so.

Gladwell writes about the Law of the Few, including Mavens, Connectors, and Salesmen. (There’s much more to the book than this groundbreaking concept.)

Mavens are product/category experts. They crave new information about products in specific categories, whether it be dish soap, automobiles, golf equipment or retirement homes. You name it, and there exist Mavens that study it.

Connectors are relationship and networking experts. They build personal relationships with an above average number of people. They’re well connected. And their relationships are strong.

Salesmen spend time convincing others to pursue a given course of action, or to buy, or not buy, a given product, etc. They are influencers.

People turn to Mavens for product information. They’re experts.

Connectors help spread the word.

Salesmen overtly spread product information. If they believe a product delivers value, they’ll go out of their way to urge you to try it.

Gladwell gives the example of the launch of Lexus in the United States. Shortly after the launch they identified two minor problems – requiring a recall – with their LS400 line. This was a potential disaster. They launched in the market, positioning themselves as the new quality leader.

Lexus quickly realized that this recall was actually an opportunity in disguise. They had only sold a few thousand cars. And who had purchased these new models from this new brand? Mavens! A perfect audience.

Lexus set about to conduct the most perfect product recall ever attempted. All vehicles were washed as part of the recall. Gladwell lists many ways in which Lexus did everything it could to impress the Mavens.

Some might argue that Lexus went overboard with the service that they provided, but they never looked at the exercise as a cost of doing business. They saw it as a marketing initiative, an investment in their brand. As a result of this foresight, the “recall” was a massive success!

Prior to opening Parmasters Waterloo Region, we will sell a target of 750 memberships. We call this “pre-selling.” Who will buy these memberships? Mavens!

Remembrance and Thankfulness

Today, Remembrance Day, above all other days, is a time to remember, and be thankful. So many young men and women made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy the very freedoms that we generally take for granted today. And whether you agree or disagree with the current missions of the Canadian military abroad, you cannot deny the fact that our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, are putting themselves in harms way, and doing so for our greater good. I pray that they return home safely.

Thankfulness, gratitude, can also be a very powerful exercise. I find it helps with focus, mission, determination and energy. You simply sit down, with pen and paper, or a more electronic means, and list all of the things for which you are thankful. After a while you simply continue to add to an ongoing list.

Today, I note, that I am very thankful for:
- My family and friends, and their ongoing and unwavering support.
- My youngest son scored perfect on a spelling test this week.
- He also received an A on a math test and a B+ on a science project that occupied most of last weekend.
- My eldest son had an assist in his hockey game last night.
- He played great, they recorded their first victory, and it was against a former coach of his. Fun!
- I had a fantastic workout and run this morning. I’ve discovered a new, brutally difficult chest routine. Enjoying the burn.
- The Secret has been passed on. We purchased a copy and passed in on to friends, urging them to do the same. So The Secret will travel from friend to friend, and who knows what may come of it.
- Another friend wants to borrow our copy of The Secret. Great!
- I had a great time with SlipStream friends on Thursday evening.
- I have a Spectradigital board meeting today. Spectradigital has fantastic technology and will have a very positive impact on millions of lives!
- Also meeting an investor today, and collecting another cheque!
- A local hockey team stopped by this morning to pick up empty bottles to raise money for their team. Win-win!
- I’ve added several new contacts to my network this week, and all are very influential and well connected.
- I’m very thankful that Parmasters has come into our lives. We’re having a lot of fun, and will generate a lot of benefits of all kinds for members, customers, employees, investors and our family.
- We live in a world of abundance. There is more than enough of everything for all. For that I am very thankful.
- I also realize there is much work to be done to ensure some that do not currently enjoy the abundance of this world start enjoying it soon. I’m thankful that there are ways that I can and do help.

Remember! And be thankful everyday!

A 25% Handicap Reduction, Guaranteed!

At Parmasters we teach a simplified, single axis golf swing known as Straight-Line Golf. This method of swinging a golf club does not look radically different than the traditional golf swing. But the results of using Straight-Line Golf are definitely very radical!

Scott Hazledine, Parmasters Chief Golf Professional and Co-Founder, developed Straight-Line Golf. Other pros were also involved. It’s Scott’s life’s work.

Scott and his protégés (there are many) have been teaching Straight-Line Golf for years and offering an ironclad guarantee. If they didn’t reduce your handicap by at least 40% - yes you read that correctly, forty percent – then you would receive your money back. No one has ever asked for their money back.

At Parmasters, we’ve reduced the guaranteed reduction to 25%, not 40%. The main reason this was done is simply credibility. It’s very difficult for someone to fathom a 40% reduction in their handicap. It almost sounds unbelievable or too good to be true. The reduced 25% seems more plausible.

The following testimonial snippets come from the Parmasters Golf Training Centers website.

“I attended one of Scott's three day schools in February, 2000. I went to the school with a 13 handicap that had been steadily worsening over the years, and by August had reduced it to 9 by practicing what Scott taught at the school and in his videos. I'm hitting balls as far or farther, and for sure straighter than I did five years ago, even at the age of 57. ... I'm still playing in the 9 to 10 range (8.7 slope index currently), but certainly feel I am capable of achieving a 5-6 or lower level with some concerted short game practice effort.“

“How has his swing improved my game? I have limited time to practice and play now. Before Scott, I shot in the low 90's and occasionally the high 80's. ... Now playing less, and practicing much less, just tuning up the swing once every two weeks, I can shoot consistently in the low 80's.”

“I am a recent convertee to the Straight Line Golf™ system and love your method. ... After two weeks of training and 2 rounds of golf, I dropped my score from a 92 down to an 81 (should have been a 78 since I blew 3 three-footers for par). ... I was rather skeptical of what would be taught and the promise that my handicap would improve 40%. ... Scott's Straight Line Golf™ system has improved my golf game dramatically. I have improved my distance, accuracy and short game considerably in just 5 months of self-training.”

You can read many more testimonials here.

Progress On Many Fronts

Another busy day in the life of Parmasters Waterloo Region.

Three things of note:
- capitalization of the company is going very well
- site selection is taking more and more time, but it’s an awful lot of fun, very interesting, and going very well
- I’m taking my message to Bay Street (the one in Toronto)

Today was a fantastic day for the capitalization efforts. My network expanded substantially. I communicated the vision very effectively (based on the responses I received). And several potential investors are now closer to signing on, much closer than they were when my feet first hit the floor this morning!

As for site selection, I thought it would be a process of viewing a few buildings, picking the best one, perhaps seeing a few new sites become available over the course of our efforts and viewing some of those, and then making a decision. It’s a little different than that. We’re now ‘working’ close to ten potential sites. We’re involved in meeting with developers, meeting with landlords that may shuffle some tenants around their portfolio, investigating who’s about to put a shovel in the ground on a particular lot, and considering alternative structures (more details to follow). It’s fascinating and going very well, but also time consuming.

And lastly, I’m off to Bay Street on Thursday, spreading the Parmasters message. I wonder how far one could hit a golf ball, a driver, straight down Bay Street. Best to do so when it’s relatively empty, I suppose. Fewer obstructions. But, I digress. I’m meeting with an investor candidate, and a connector. And perhaps he’s reading thing blog. I’ve had many meetings on Bay Street, but didn’t anticipate the capitalization of Parmasters Waterloo Region taking me to arguably the financial capital of Canada. I look forward to the discussions …

With that, and since I’m still lacking RnR, I’m off to read for a few minutes before bed. Lots to do tomorrow …

Lifestyle Choices Now for Lifestyle Choices in the Future

It’s been a busy few days. I generally try to take half a day off, for myself, each weekend. That didn’t happen this past weekend. I worked Friday evening, most of Saturday and most of Sunday. I had planned to relax a little this evening, but that hasn’t really happened either. I did have a break on Saturday afternoon, watching my oldest play hockey. And Saturday evening we tuned into the Toronto Maple Leafs game.

It’s not that I mind lengthy periods with little RnR. I absolutely love what I’m doing, and can easily work non-stop on the business.

However, what I do mind is the potential for a drop in effectiveness. I’ve blogged before about “sharpening the saw,” as Covey likes to refer to it. I know it’s important to take time to keep that saw sharp. But, I’m also fully aware that creating a business takes a monumental effort. Most people that do so work basically all of the time for the first period. I’m no different.

I had an interesting conversation on this topic with a trusted advisor and new friend. He noted a disconnect between the lifestyle choices of my target audience (for this blog and for the golf training center), and my current lifestyle. Most of the people interested in Parmasters (as an investor, as an employee, as a customer, as a member) have an affinity for golf and also value leisure time very highly. They value time to relax. They value time on a golf course. And yet, here I am blogging about my workaholic lifestyle. He’s definitely correct. There’s a huge disconnect.

And in fact, Parmasters emphasizes “more life” as a goal for the entire franchise system and for all involved. “More life” means something different to each individual, but all agree that it’s a good thing, and synonymous with doing what you want more often than not.

So, at this stage in my life, yes I work almost all of the time. I do so, to build a future for my family, and to deliver an amazing return to my investors, all by delivering exceptional service to our future members.

I absolutely value “more life.” I value leisure time. Golf time. Family time. I look forward to a time when this business is generating wealth for my family and for my investors, and contributing to “more life” for our members also. I look forward to a time when I work very little on weekends and during evenings. I look forward to a time when my staff are taking on more and more responsibility, growing, learning and building their own futures within this business.

But for now, at this point, we are incurring short-term pain for long-term gain.

“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.” -unknown

Why Parmasters Golf Training Centers?

We’ve just returned from a nice family meal. We dined out. Something we rarely do these days, for many reasons.

In the past, at the restaurant where we ate tonight, I’ve seen a young gentleman serving tables. He’s not really a waiter, in that he doesn’t take food orders. But he does deliver plates to tables. Perhaps the term “busboy” applies. I’m not sure. The point is, he’s amazing with the restaurant guests. He puts people at ease within seconds of meeting them. He never simply delivers the meals and walks away. He engages people. And almost everyone reacts very positively and enthusiastically to his approach and demeanor. I’d like to talk to him, and consider hiring him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there this evening …

I blogged the other night about Dr. Hewick’s Entrepreneurship course at WLU re-igniting my drive to build companies, and promised to address the follow-on question shortly. The follow-on question is, of course, why Parmasters Golf Training Centers?

There are many reasons.

1) I love golf and want to work with/around activities that I love.

2) I believe we have a worthy mission. While I realize we’re not exactly saving lives at Parmasters, I also realize that a typical game of golf involves an awful lot of frustration. Many people love the game, but feel that “the game doesn’t love them back.” Many people leave the game. Many people go home from a round of golf very grumpy, and it affects the rest of their day. I feel we can help people play better, have more fun, less frustration, and thus, in a small way, improve their lives. Better golf. More fun. Guaranteed.

3) I believe a round of golf offers many lessons that apply to life in general. I believe golf is good for many people, and helps them grow.

4) Parmasters is a very ethical franchisor. They truly are doing things differently. I’d like to offer a link here to a web page that highlights the ethics of the Parmasters system. Unfortunately, it’s an internal page, meant for franchisee candidates only. I’ll include short excerpt instead. This is a list of the topics addressed on the ethics page:
- Transfer fees
- Renewal fees
- Subsequent training fees
- Annual conference fees
- Start-up budgets
- Restrictions on sources of products and services
- Enforcement of product pricing abuse
- Operations manual standards
- Remodeling at renewal
- Assignment by franchisee
- Renewal
- Dispute resolution
- Golf Training Center ad fund
- Local franchisee ad council
- Local advertising
- Internet sales

5) The individuals on the team at Parmasters HQ are driven, passionate, tenacious, experienced, incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, brilliant, genuine and absolutely committed. They’re also all guided by a strong moral and ethical compass. I believe very strongly that people do business with people, not with companies. I have always shied away from business opportunities where I didn’t fully trust the other parties. I could never bring third-party investors into such a situation.

6) I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, the Parmasters model, the business, will flourish. An entrepreneur must believe, or pack it in.

7) The Parmasters business opportunity, the “deal” if you will, is sound and appealing. There are two aspects to any franchise. You must consider the business. Will it succeed, as noted in the previous point above. But you must also consider the deal. Are the franchise fees, system rental fees, and any other fees all reasonable. Does the business deal make sense. It does.

8) And lastly, I truly believe that the value system that exists within Parmasters, and within its founding principals, aligns well with my value system. We value ethics. We value doing the right thing. We value “more life”, which is an important phrase within the Parmasters world. We value people, friendship, family and community. This is critically important for me.

So, in a (rather large) nutshell, that’s the answer to “why Parmasters?”

But don’t simply take my word for it. This page on the Parmasters Franchise site includes testimonials from many of the people from HQ, and other franchisees. I haven’t yet had time to make my contribution.

It’s Friday evening. Time to do a little reading, and just relax with my family. It’s also about remaining centred, grounded and connected to the ones that you love.

New Competitor Opens in Waterloo

Another full day will soon draw to a close. It started with a nice workout, although my wrist seemed more aggravated again. And I did head out for a run this morning. I had meetings at both Kitchener and Cambridge City Hall’s, and squeezed in a haircut, a lunch and many phone calls in between. I stayed in Cambridge for a meeting late in the day, and so spent an hour working out of my “mobile office” (aka truck).

After that final meeting in Cambridge I was off to Waterloo to attend, as a VIP, the grand opening of a new competitor in the indoor golf market. I won’t provide their name here, as I assume they have Google Alerts or some other similar mechanism set up.

I provided my name to them, but they didn’t seem to recognize me. I’m not sure why. There are only three large competitors for them to keep an eye on: Bogart Golf, Golftec and Parmasters. And my name is strewn throughout the Parmasters site, noting clearly that I am the franchisor for southern Ontario. I was surprised when my name was not recognized.

They’re located on Northfield Drive East, in Waterloo, close to The Keg, for those that wish to visit them.

I’m not going to go into any big competitive breakdown here and now. Suffice it to say, I truly do wish them well.

On a completely different topic, here are two of my favourite quotes.

“To a large degree, the world around you is a mirror of that which is within you. You see what you look for. People treat you as you expect to be treated. The things you experience come from the actions you take. With your thoughts and actions you can make it what you want it to be.” -Ralph Marston

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.”
-The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam - Edward Fitzgerald - 11th century

Time for some reading, and a little sleep …