Alphablogs

Welcome to Canada 9-5 – still the best place to find out about Canadian blogs that talk about work and business. For our May 2008 edition, we go right across the board again, from finance to ethical manufacturing and healing, and we even throw in a bit of IT, although that’s not our main focus here. Tech blogs are easy to find; what we here at Alphablogs are doing is to dig up business owners, professionals and non-profits who are smart enough to realize that blogging isn’t just for techies – it’s a great way to connect with your clients.

Finance
The Four Pillars blog is one I found through my blogging friend Nancy. It has great down-to-earth financial advice, and even has a category called 9-5! (And I just found out that it made it into the Globe & Mail’s best Canadian financial blogs. Good on you, Mike!) A good analysis of where to concentrate one’s financial effort is here, in Labour vs. Investment Income.

Some PF bloggers spend tons of time analyzing stocks and devising sophisticated strategies that incorporate geopolitical issues and long term forecasts of economics trends. Then you read that their portfolio is worth $24,000. Any benefit from their work is going to be minimal, simply because they have so little to work with. If they were to go out and earn minimum wage from their time, they’d be far further ahead than trying to “juice” the returns on a small investment.

Ethical Manufacturing
You got to think of our children is the title of the latest post on Mountain Equipment Co-Op’s blog. I think this is a fabulous example of using blogs to stay in touch with customer community. To those of you outside of Canada, MEC is Canada’s leading retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment, providing quality products and services for self-propelled activities like hiking, climbing and skiing. MEC has more than 2.5 million members; they are part owners, with a real voice in how MEC is run. MEC is a force for positive social and environmental change. They are committed to sustainability, from reducing the ecological footprint of their business to providing support to Canadian conservation and outdoor recreation groups. True to its mission, MEC’s blog focuses on ethical sourcing of its material.

“You got to think of our children” is how Mr. Anbukani, the proprietor of our organic wovens factory in India, rationalized his dedication to his community and environment. Mr. Abukani is one of three brothers who own and operate a handful of factories in Southern India. Together, they manufacture apparel for MEC, premium European brands and the French military.

What sets the Anbukani clan apart from other factories I’ve visited is its commitment to the community and environment.

Books
Monique Trottier’s So Misguided is mostly about books – but about all kinds of other things, too: product reviews, “tap dancing, technology, and the other amusements of Monique Trottier.” That’s one of the things I like about blogging. You want to be somewhat focused but then – well, we’re human and we’re interested in all kinds of things, no?

I like this little post because it’s short and sweet – and yet it needs little more than a quick question – “what are you reading right now?” - to interest Monique’s readership.

Healing
Reiki In The News is a post by Astrid Lee, North Vancouver Reiki Master, who says

Reiki is a modality of energy healing that is nearly effortless and mindful. Reiki helps the recipient relax and balance, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. My blog says it all, but now also the Vancouver press is getting tuned in: Mind Body Soul, Georgia Straight has featured my work. Hurray!

IT
In a highly competitive market, Jimson Lee, a Vancouver-based CRM Analyst blog reviews another BC based CRM on-demand software company, here at Simple Sales Tracking - Simplicity at its Core: Sales!

Management
Lastly, we have something by Phil For Humanity who I think is Canadian. He talks about different types of managers.

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That’s it for the May 2008 edition! Please submit your Canadian business blog here for the next edition on June 28. If you have or know of any interesting Canadian blogs that talk about work or business, send them in – you can use this form.