Saturday 25th May

The Pulse

Social entrepreneur Melina Schamroth is in the business of making a difference. Founder of m.a.d.woman (making a difference), creator of the unique Single Volunteers dating program, motivational speaker and author, Melina runs public and corporate team building programs and events to connect people with each other and with their communities. m.a.d.woman projects have aided thousands of people – hungry and homeless, survivors of Black Saturday bushfires, earthquakes and floods, disabled and disadvantaged youth, long-term unemployed and more. Melina’s books – How to be m.a.d. (making a difference) and m.a.d. (making a difference) in a green way – provide people with clever, practical and creative ways they can contribute to their communities, help others and reduce their environmental impact. m.a.d.woman is the winner of the Vic 2011 Telstra Business Awards Social Responsibility category. Melina was co-named 2009 RMIT Communicator of the Year with acclaimed human rights activist The Hon. Michael Kirby. She was also a Finalist in the 2009 Premier’s Community Volunteering Leadership Awards, the 2010 and 2008 BrainLink Women of Achievement Awards and the 2010 Yarra Sustainable Business Awards. Prior to starting m.a.d.woman, Melina spent 18 years working in journalism, communication, marketing and PR roles for a variety of global companies and leading organisations in Australia and New Zealand. These include top 100 companies, Government, not for profit groups, private companies and emerging businesses. For more information visit www.madwoman.com.au

Author's Articles

30
Nov

Simple things you can do to improve customer service

Businesses, Sales & Marketing, Your Clients

Recently, I had quite an ‘interesting’ experience with customer service. I was on a call – including being put on hold – for more than 25 minutes trying to get one simple piece of information from my bank. In the time I was put on hold, I swear I could have written an entire blog post on customer service (or in this case, the total lack of it). While it seems I keyed in the ‘correct’ selection, thei

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25
Sep

What makes customers loyal?

Businesses, Featured, Sales & Marketing

With global access to suppliers, direct-to-purchaser specials and myriad options, loyalty to brands and businesses is no longer a given. So what makes relationships sticky? While price points can be a factor, many people say the will pay more for quality, great service and sometimes even ‘brand personality’. Personally, I have quite a number of service providers that I have stuck with for years (several mor

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18
Sep

How to keep employees motivated to perform (it’s more than pay raises...

Businesses, Featured, Your Team

When it comes to keeping employees motivated, research will tell you that it’s more than just financial rewards that encourage staff to stick with you. Time and time again, I’ve heard people say that they want to feel valued by their bosses. It’s a hot topic, and when I spoke to people about this recently, many said that no matter how much they were being paid, if they felt they weren’t being trea

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13
Aug

Taking an optimistic approach in times of uncertainty

Businesses

Media outlets are constantly reminding us that there is great economic uncertainty around the globe. It is also rare to have a news bulletin these days that doesn't mention a closure of a business, manufacturing plant or struggling retail figures. Multiple job losses are commonplace and putting pressure on individuals, families and businesses everywhere. All of this negative talk and lack of consumer confidence

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08
Aug

Are superstitions the key to success?

Businesses, Featured

Many people have routines when it comes to business. When I was in the world of short term contracting and going for numerous interviews each year, I used to play an upbeat song very loudly before leaving the house, to get myself in a positive and energetic frame of mind. In the business of professional sport, many people have stringent routines and habits they adhere to, in the belief that when they are on a w

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23
Jul

Is copyright of Pinterest to your business?

Businesses, Featured, The Web

All of a sudden, people everywhere are talking about Pinterest. It’s apparently now rating third behind Facebook and Twitter as a social sharing site. I’m no expert, but my understanding is that it’s a virtual ‘inspiration board’ where you can compile images and share your likes with the world. So as a business owner, it seemed like a no-brainer to get on board and start using this to help promote my

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