VP of College Pro Window Cleaning

Meet Jeff Besharah Vice President of College Pro Window Cleaning. Jeff has been with College Pro for 12 years.

Name: Jeff Besharah
Current Position: VP CPWC
Location: Toronto

When did you start working for College Pro and in what role?
Franchisee 1999

What were your prior job experiences?
Before College Pro, I’d done a number if jobs from working at a camping and work wear store to having a paper route to running my own autograph memorabilia business.

What is the most important lesson you have learned with College Pro?
Will and determination to succeed can carry you through virtually everything.

What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
I love being able to work with so many incredible young people and being able to play a role in their development.

What is a typical job day like for you?
There is really very few typical days.  Most days though I spend some time on the day to day of the business, on our current focus, while some time each day is often spent on some the future of the business, things that I believe can help us move towards our vision.

What skills are most necessary to succeed in your position?
I think there are a few things you need to succeed in this role. First I believe you need to be able to effectively manage your time, as there are so many things you could be spending time on. Second I feel you need to be able to problem solve quickly, especially relating to the expansion of the business.  Finally, I think openness is very important.  The more you listen, the more options you tend to have and the quicker you can learn and move through things.

Who or what inspires you?
All the young people in this company that are working hard to begin to truly realize their potential.  It’s really awesome to see the growth in people.

What advice would you give to someone hoping to work for College Pro?
Work hard, stick with it, and listen to your coach.

What is your best story related to College Pro? For example, what is your funniest College Pro memory, greatest achievement on the job?
Funniest story:  I remember as a rookie field advisor dropping by one of my franchisee’s jobs to find them cleaning the sills and tracks of windows with q-tips.  They actually had only cleaned a few windows in almost the first hour, and they thought this is how we were supposed to do it for all windows. Good thing I had dropped by the site or they could have been there days.

Greatest achievement: my team expanding window cleaning from Ontario to 4 other provinces and 4 other states.

In your opinion, why is College Pro a great place to work?
You really decide your destiny with the help and support from a lot of great people.

Incoming search terms:

• college pro window cleaning
• college pro window cleaning review
• college pro window cleaning toronto
• jeff besharah
• college pro window cleaning reviews
• college pro toronto
• jeff college pro
• college pro
• jeff besharah college pro
• college pro window cleaning complaints

Incoming search terms:

• jim mathewson
• college pro painters mississauga ont
• college pro
• college pro franchise manager
• college pro franchisee manager
• powered by wordpress intitle :happy
• powered by wordpress intitle : exercise
• college pro painters mississauga
• powered by wordpress intitle: corporate identity
• powered by wordpress intitle :corporate finance company

LinkedIn is a social networking site design with business professionals in mind.  Here are a few ways in which some of LinkedIn’s many features can help you grow your business:

1] Answers: This is a forum where you can post questions about your business and get fast, accurate responses from users in your network as well as worldwide experts.  You can also showcase your knowledge by answering other’s questions.

2] Groups:  With LinkedIn Groups you can stay up-to-date on what is going on in your industry.  It also allows you to follow the activity of successful, influential members whom you can emulate to help grow your own business.

3] Connection degrees: It’s kind of like 6 degrees of separation.  It lets you know how removed you are from another user. First degree connections are people whom you know and trust directly.  Second are the people whom the people in your network trust; this can be used to your advantage.  If you come across someone you want to be in business with that you may not know but a friend of yours does, it is the perfect opportunity for you to ask your friend for an introduction and broaden you network.

4] Network updates: Keep track of connections and what they are doing.  Are they implementing a new strategy you may also be able to use?  Is there a possibility for partnership if your end goals correlate?

5] Advanced search options: LinkedIn allows you to search through user profiles using very specific options.  Find your ideal employee by filtering through basic characteristics like name or narrow your search down by skill set or subject matter expertise. Also, use it to search for job references and previous business partners.

6] Recommendations: Allows you to praise people in your network who you’ve worked with before or have had as a client.  The benefit to doing this is that most likely someone you recommend will return the favor.  When users outside of your network see your profile and see all the positive things others have said about you, chances are they’ll feel more comfortable about doing business with you.

7] LinkedIn Share button: You can now include a LinkedIn button to your blogs or published articles.  Adding this button will direct people in your network to those pages, thus spreading the word on your work.

8]  Events: Let people know what you have coming up soon! Whether it is a special business promotion or a mixer event.

9] Company follow: Why reinvent the wheel?  Following a company will allow you to learn how industry leaders got to be at the top.  Take notes!

10] Polls: An excellent tool for market research.  The responses can be categorized by age, profession, gender, etc so you can analyze the data gathered and strategize how to approach your target market.

Incoming search terms:

• useful linkedin
• Characteristics of Linkedin
• how to let people know about your business painter
• what features can you incorporate for a company on linkedin
• linkedin features 2010
• linkedin basic vs business features
• linkedin business in toronto
• LinkedIn Features
• linkedin features business
• professional usefull linkedin

36 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed

From video, to tech and mobile here is a list of 36 new resources you NEED to know.

2010 Twitter Statistics Revealed

Stats! Stats! Stats!  - 44% of all Twitter users joined during January to mid-August 2010, and more…

Succeeding in the 21st century – Networking

Questions and answers on the best way to network to get work.

Incoming search terms:

• College pro painting boston
• college pro painting toronto
• generic viagra leave a reply -inurl:generic viagra -intitle:generic viagra

When contemplating your approach to the hiring process, it is essential to emphasize the attributes and qualities that accompany successful individuals in the business world.  Nearly all managers would agree that ideal employees display exceptional work ethic, strong organizational and communication skills, and a consistent tendency to exceed goals.  Qualities such as these can often be superficially determined by a brief look at a resume, however a piece of paper (or .doc file) does not provide a detailed perspective of a candidate’s complete skill set.

Yes!  A Statement of Purpose, a brief description of Education, and a list of previous Work Experiences and References do enable us to determine whether an applicant is qualified for a position on a basic level.  However, this does not provide us any information about the intangible attributes of a candidate.  When interviewing an applicant, remind yourself of what it is you are really looking for in your employees and how you will identify it.  Far too frequently, employers fail to notice and utilize the nonverbal communication offered by their candidates.

“The concentration and dedication – the intangibles are the deciding factors between who won and who lost.” – Tom Seaver

Unflinching eye contact and a firm handshake versus anxious facial expressions and nail-biting nervousness?  An attentive and professional posture versus over-confidence and arrogance?  Nonverbal cues such as these can offer valuable insight into an applicant’s personal accountability and interpersonal skills.  Effective communication skills are not reflected on a CV, however they often translate to more effective customer service and more cohesively efficient work as a team.

Basically, we hire employees to increase the likelihood/level of success for our business.  Depending on the situation, this could be accomplished by hiring individuals that share our business ideology or complement us by offering a different perspective and set of skills.  When preparing your strategy for the hiring process, it is necessary to identify what is beneficial for your business and how it will be obtained.  Keep in mind that a holistic and comprehensive approach to the hiring process often guarantees the best results.

Here are the top nine tips for hiring the right candidate:

1. Know what you need

2. Recruit continuously, even if there is no position open. You never know who may quit unexpectedly.

3. Interview MANY candidates. Don’t settle

4. Ask probing questions

5. Check references

6. Clarify expectations

7. Offer an attractive compensation package. If you want to keep the candidate around for a long time, make sure they are well taken care of.

8. Develop your employees to their full potential once hired.

9. Conduct exit interviews.

Incoming search terms:

• college pro painters toronto
• college pro painting toronto
• application college pro painters toronto
• college painters in toronto
• college painters toronto
• college pro painters in toronto
• college pro toronto

Entrepreneurship to me is freedom

Entrepreneurship to me is freedom. Freedom is challenging and can be challenged by others who are not of the same beliefs. Some people work hard for freedom and will fight to gain it, and will inspire others to follow them on their quest for success. The Entrepreneur is a special type of person who is not afraid to blaze their own trail and go against conformity.

Kris Gabriele
Senior General Manager

Incoming search terms:

• entrepreneurship what is

The World’s Facebook Relationships Visualized [PIC]

According to a Facebook social graph, the world is lit up with Facebook relationships.  See for yourself how Facebook makes the world a much smaller place…

3 Lessons I Learned From Launching a Product

Sean Coleman discusses the trials and tribulations of starting a product based company. From first design to product launch to talking to your customers for feedback…

You’re Not an Entrepreneur

A prominent online blogger discusses what/who really IS an entrepreneur. It may not be who you think …

How Twitter Users Changed in 2010 [CHARTS]

Facts. Stats. Facts. Stats. This post discusses the shift in Twitter users from completing their bio’s to gaining more followers …

What Business School forgets to teach us – Financing

I just graduated business school at the Monfort College of Business in Northern Colorado and to graduate I had to write a thesis paper on why Entrepreneurship fails in the market. The top three reasons I found for failure in Entrepreneurs was:

1. Lack of a business coach

2. Lack of financial knowledge

3. Not knowing your target market (or pushing the wrong product).

I also learned that typical Entrepreneurs (the 30-50 year old entrepreneur) fail at a rate of 60-80%. This means that 6-8 individuals in 10 will try to start a business and fail. This is astronomical, and the question should be posed why start a business?

To follow up on the original question: How do young people gain financing to startup a business? Well, that is a hard question to answer. There is not a lot of opportunity for young people to find money in today’s market, and if they happen to get it from an angel, a parent, or some ‘magic’ they often don’t know how to manage it or make it work for the business. I believe that our schooling is the reason why. We read a book and are expected to be able to go out in the world and run a business or start a business. But the truth is that this is not enough. It’s like trying to win a Super Bowl after going over ton’s and ton’s of X’s and O’s with your coach. No matter how well you know it on paper you will never be able to execute it efficiently and properly until you do it. This is why it is important for youth to get hands on experience at a young age, and to learn how to manage the money in order to have access to it.

“I ran a business and learned how to finance myself for the rest of my life.”

This leads in to the extra challenge and responsibility I took on while I was a sophomore in College. I ran a College Pro Painter’s franchise in Northern Colorado while I was attending school full time and working full time at Texas Roadhouse. I had no money as a Freshman or Sophomore, I was working two jobs just to pay for school and the mortgage on my home. I always wanted to run a business, but could not see any feasible way to get the “real” experience I would need to convince someone that I could turn their money into real profit. This is pivotal in order to get ahead in the competitive market I would be entering in a couple years. Thanks to a bit of luck and good faith College Pro fell into my lap and I got to fulfill my dream as a 20 year old College student living paycheck to paycheck trying to survive. I ran a business and learned how to finance myself for the rest of my life.

Now I can say it was not easy, in fact it was the most challenging thing that I have ever done, and I have always challenged myself. I went through the lowest of lows and the highest of highs, sometimes in the same week! I also learned that if you put your mind to it you can accomplish a lot more than you think. I learned how to lead people, manage finances, deal with customers, sell myself, manage my priorities, schedule my time, build a network, balance personal/work/school/family time appropriately. Most importantly I took control of my future, paid for school, invested in my home, invested in myself, and am on the path to retire by the time I am 35. I do not know how I will do this, I just know that through the hard work ethic and personal potentials I realized through College Pro I will be much closer to this goal than had a stayed on the bench and kept running X’s and O’s!

This post was contributed by a former College Pro Painters franchisee based out of Denver.

Incoming search terms:

• college pro painters scam
• college pro window cleaning scam
• college pro painters toronto scam
• college pro scam toronto
• college pro toronto scam
• finance colleges in toronto

Incoming search terms:

• college pro lawsuit
• college pro painters lawsuit
• college pro window cleaning lawsuit
• college pro window cleaners
• college pro environmentally friendly
• law sue college pro painters
• lawsuit college pro painters
• smell college in toronto
• sue college pro
• sue college pro painters

1. Entrepreneur Gift Guide

Not sure what to get that special entrepreneur in your life? Check out this gift guide from Inc.com for some great ideas!

2. Twitter Crushes Facebook for Marketing

Social Media Marketing is everywhere these days. Trying to figure out a strategy for your business can be tricky, but Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that Twitter is a better resource than Facebook. In fact, they say Twitter crushes Facebook!

3. Best Movies for Entrepreneurs

The Wall Street Journal picks the best scenes from films to inspire entrepreneurial startups; from Jerry Maguire to Dead Poet’s Society.

4. Google Searches Now Consider Good Customer Service

After a merchant in NYC decided any publicity is good publicity in terms of Google rankings, he purposely treated customers poorly so they’d talk about him on the Internet, and raise his Google stock. Well, that doesn’t work anymore according to the New York Times.

5. College Pro does “Cribs”

Our best link of the week is a new series of videos where College Pro Panters are showing off their “Cribs”

Incoming search terms:

• best movies
• generic viagra leave a reply -inurl:generic viagra -intitle:generic viagra
• movies about customer service
• viagra online from canada