Starting a New Year Afresh

A new year brings the opportunity to start afresh. It is exciting to have a new slate to draw our life upon. We use this opportunity to make new resolutions to lose weight or to get into shape; to work less and laugh more, worry less and pray more, or to just savor what life has to offer. I am excited to see what this year, the beginning of a new decade, has to offer me.

One thing I have in my "to do" bag for this year is to create a fresh look for my consulting business. Sometimes we need to give our business image a face lift.  We reviewed our consulting logo recently. It needed some updating, some tweaking to make it fit the image of who we are as educational consultants.  It took time and money to do, but more importantly, it took some soul searching to find the right "fit" for us for our logo. We will be doing the same thing for our consulting website soon.  It will be with a company that is developing website templates for educational consultants.  We will invite you into the process, and let you see into what it is like to create a fresh, new image of your company.

You may have also notice a new facelift on the mycca.net counselor portal. Mycca.net has been working hard on streamlining the navigation part of the system. Learn the details of the changes on the mycca.net update page in this blog at Latest mycca.net news

As you consider creating an image for your company, or refreshing your old image, consider the following 5 factors:
1.  Image:  Look at your logo.  Is it visually appealing?  Is it easy to identify?  Are the colors pleasing? Is it memorable? 
2.  Versatility:  A brand is more than just the logo-  you can have design elements to use in printed collateral too.  Is your logo/design theme easy to put on the web, on business cards, on letterhead or in a email?
3.  Uniqueness:  Does it stand out? Does it show you are unique?
4.  Identity: What does it say about your business? Will people understand it when they glance at it?
5.  Integration:  How does it integrate with your overall business strategies, your long term business plans.

Take the plunge this year- to set personal goals and business goals.  A review of your business image is one of the most important goals you can have this year.

Cyndy McDonald

Are we having FUN yet?

Last week one of our students stated, "I wish I could come here every day." I responded, "You would like to come in and work college applications every day?"  (I was a bit incredulous.)  He responded, "Yes, I think it is fun.".  This is NOT a feeling anyone else I know would share.  Working on college applications is not usually described as "fun".. This is a stressful experience for seniors, parents and consultants. Yet, as "Max" (not his real name, to protect the innocent, or naive, depending on your point of view) saw it as an exciting time.  He is enjoying the self exploration process that is an integral part of the application process.  Students are writing essays that flaunt the way they have been taught to write the past four years, delving into the first person of  who they are and what makes them unique.  They are learning more about their parents; what jobs parents have had, where they went to school and what the family income is.  It is an eye opening experience for students and for parents.  And yes, for us, it is "fun".  We are enjoying the journey, the process, along with the student and the parents.

Our hope is that mycca.net can assist you in this process.  Helping you spend more time with the students and parents, and less on the paperwork, is our goal.  See the Latest mycca.net updates for new HELP documents just uploaded, and College Updates for information on Ohio changes in the works.