By Kelly Kincaid
My aunt is a self-proclaimed non-techie. She lives on a remote farmhouse in rural Maine and communicates with the outside world using a flip phone and a landline. Her desktop and tablet are, by and large, collecting dust. Last week, I tried to change that. We spent an hour on a call, walking ever so slowly through the process of downloading various apps.
Seriously, folks. In 2016, the U.S. has seen record snowstorms, floods, heat domes, droughts and firestorms. Now, hurricane season is upon us. And as Ari Sarsalari of Weather Channel asserts, Hurricane Matthew is no joke. At FreeConferenceCall.com, our thoughts are with all the residents and first responders dealing with this situation throughout the Southeast.
As extreme weather starts to feel like the new normal, it’s critical that we have strategies to stay safe and connected. Maybe it’s time to check in with family members on a weekly conference call. Or perhaps you're ready to consider working remotely. Whether you need to opt out of dangerous road conditions or keep a little one out of the heat, FreeConferenceCall.com will keep you in touch — on your desktop, device, mobile or landline.
What makes a leader? According to FreeConferenceCall.com founder and CEO, David Erickson, the formula can’t be boiled down to textbooks, traits or strategies. In a presentation at the Vistage Executive Summit, Erickson explains the leadership gene.
“What really matters is the grit that comes from doing what we want to do,” he asserts. Skills can and must be honed, of course. A good leader can always become better. But the leadership gene is about pursuing your passion. As Erickson describes, it’s the pursuit that paved the way for FreeConferenceCall.com to grow from $10 URL to the world’s largest retail conferencing brand.
The telecom industry has changed drastically over the last few decades — and particularly in the last 15 years, the way we conference has been disrupted. Calling long-distance toll numbers used to be more costly than toll-free, depending on the time of day or day of the week. Toll-free service was also seen as a professional courtesy because the host of the conference call picked up all the charges.
In case Facebook didn’t alert you yet, September 21 is the United Nations International Day of Peace. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.
On this day, FreeConferenceCall.com would like to wish you a day of clear skies, resolved conflict, soothed feelings and a few less bumps in the rocky road of relationships. Whether you have had a disagreement with a colleague or an ongoing dispute with a friend or family member, let today be a day of ceasefire in your life. Invite them to meet you in a FreeConferenceCall.com conference and lay the fight to rest.
Neff-Erickson Roundtable on Hiring Employees
Want to get hired by a cutting-edge company? Business Rockstars© just got you an in with two major Southern California players, Shaun Neff of Neff Headwear and David Erickson of FreeConferenceCall.com. These founders/CEOs have both rocked their respective industries, and now they’re dishing out just what they look for in a new hire.
Don’t miss Neff describe a free-flowing, Millennial-based corporate culture complete with surfing and Slurpee© machines or Erickson talk about giving employees the space to do their own thing. What do these innovators want in a future employee? Erickson wants somebody who is internally motivated, and Neff is looking for someone who can stay ahead of the trends. Here are a couple of our favorite interview gems:
By Brandon Klein
I’m officially an old-timer. I’ve witnessed dramatic changes in the telecom industry over the last few decades — from hardware to business models, the industry is almost unrecognizable. Millennials, for example, are largely unfamiliar with tangled, stretched-out telephone cords and waiting to call long distance until after 7 p.m. As for the rest of us, we remember feeling cutting-edge with our flip phones, and the per-minute pricing roulette of calling out of network. And how about when we had to place a reservation to make an audio conference call and then pay through the teeth?