Have you ever heard of a paper clarinet? In this video Linsey Pollak is playing on one. In fact, he is the creator of the paper clarinet. If you want to see how it’s made, click here. Who knew you could make beautiful music from a piece of A4 paper, an alto saxophone mouthpiece, ligature and reed, and a roll of sellotape?? Oh, you need some scissors too. But seriously!! https://youtu.be/KL5FJVL84tA And that’s the whole point of this class Music Adventurer we are launching through Lisa’s Clarinet Shop. It’s for those of you who always wished you had played a…
Author: Lisa Canning
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I am committed to my businesses. I am so committed to my new clarinet shop I have chosen to live away from my family for 4+ months renting a room in an Airbnb on my own. Santa Fe has been a roller coaster ride. Being away from home and living alone for several months, staring at nothing but endless work, which I do love, but all the same offers no end in sight, has been an eye opening experience. Somehow this same behavior in the comfort of my own home felt significantly easier. But then again, I have always been…
Taking care of the customer is suppose to be every companies #1 concern- if they want repeat business. So why is it that many companies feel that customer service is a waste of money and choose to ignore the pain their customers are feeling? We can’t blame everything on COVID-19. Every long line we wait in isn’t happening because every single one of those businesses is struggling. With 329.50 million people in the US, as of the 2020 census, and unemployment having fallen to 10.2% in July, that leaves a pretty large portion of the country who is financially not…
Most everyone I talk to these days, is busy churning stuff out. I find myself exhausted flipping through Facebook posts as so many are racing somewhere into the future. I hope they know where they are going. I hope where the work never ends is their fuel and not an escape. It’s hard to tell sometimes, isn’t it? COVID-19, politics and isolation has made everyone a bit touchy and hard to read- especially those we don’t know very well. But when we don’t embrace all of the feelings this seemingly endless period of isolation and tireless work has bestowed generously…
I am happy to be alive this July 4th. While the world crumbles around us, from physical and economic illness, I am happy to claim my freedom on my terms. Action. Seizing the moments. Making a plan and sticking to it. Using common sense to make the best decisions you can make. These things fuel what I believe individual freedom and the right to choose is about. It’s up to each one of us to choose what freedom means. And hopefully we can find enough empathy in our hearts and openness of mind, to find a way to understand each…
To achieve independence requires risk taking. Nothing represents the creativity required to risk for our personal and professional freedom more than the founding of America by our founding fathers. We all have much to learn from those who have risked before us and who will risk again for their independence. Will that next risk taker be you? In honor of reaching for independence, back in 2007 during the Fourth of July holiday, I wrote a story called Do Not Enter. Writing this story motivated me to write more stories about people who have a dream and are struggling and risking…
Opportunity or Doom? Are you numb or awake? Is it business as usual or are you exploring the unknown? Wherever you are- whatever your state of mind- one thing is clear to me. Opportunity is everywhere. It’s hard to choose to see it sometimes when the old tapes start on autoplay. I get it and yet the most fun you will ever have is venturing into a new place with all the wisdom and curiosity you have. I have been so incredibly productive during this time period, despite being so over never leaving the house, that I can hardly believe…
OK so the PPP loans ran out before anyone I know could get their money. This is terrifying. Right? And I am sick of sitting on my coach all day working. I need to move around more. I have survived and thrived through several decades of incredible ups and downs. I have been a business owner for 38 years. My first business was ‘transformed’ through 9-11 painfully but survived. Hey that was 20 years ago. This one is worse. I have employed hundreds and know what it means to ‘have their life and their familes’ on your line. The weight…
…Or call it 2020’s COVID-19. Call it whatever you like. Bottom line we just got tossed into unchartered territory and I am not sure any of us really know exactly what we are doing. Social distancing- ok- in exactly what situations? Toilet paper. check. Stocked up. But seriously- what about our economy? What will happen to our economy if we stop buying from small business? Trust me. Amazon will be fine. I recently was gifted a book called The Small Business Millionaire by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford. It’s a story about how The Sushine Inn, a restaurant in sleepy…
Sana Sells LLC Receives Nomination for Edison Award Social Innovation Nomination for 2020 Dateline: [Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 2019] Startup Sana Sells LLC founded by Lisa Canning, Co-Founder Sana Umer, and Heather McNeice, receives Edison Award nomination for social innovation. Sana Sells has developed a low-cost outsourced sales and marketing company to help venture-backed startups founders scale using global educated and underutilized workers, primarily mothers. Their solution provides an innovative solution for startups- their investors- and job seekers globally. ‘We are proud of the work we are doing, the jobs we are creating and excited about what our future holds…
