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WOOT! It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend in Canada.
I’d like to mark this special weekend by thanking you for being a part of MiCasa. Your ideas and guidance help us to continue reinventing the way that strata communities currently operate.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and your friends.
Sincerely,
Mat Peake
Co-founder of MiCasa
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #14: Make a friend.
Those of you who follow the MiCasa Twitter feed, will know that I’m a big fan of independent journalism. When it comes to independent journalism in British Columbia, it doesn’t get much better than The Tyee. So when The Tyee ran a Jesse Donaldson article that took a tongue-in-cheek swipe at the famously aloof nature of West Coasters, I was caught howling with laughter, shouting “it’s true, it’s so true” at my screen. Read more…
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #13: A higher purpose.
If you love shoes, you might be familiar with online shoe retailer zappos.com. I’m a Zappos fanboy, but not because of their selection of fancy, must have, running shoes, I’m a fan of their culture. Zappos’ CEO Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay) believes that people are happiest when they are part of something bigger than themselves – a higher purpose. Tony has made this ideology the cornerstone of Zappos’ culture, and for this reason Zappos is consistently rated one of the best companies in the United States to work for.
From a business point of view, Tony is a visionary, but the idea that people are happier having a higher purpose is not a new one. In fact this same idea can be applied to your condo, apartment or townhouse to create your own amazing culture and help Re-invent Your Strata. Read more…
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #12: Why Residents Don’t Care.
We’re all guilty of whining from time to time. I whine about Canada’s position on the environment (what’s with Bill C-38 anyway?), I moan about the rain, I rant about reality TV, and don’t get me started on media ownership. Anyway, my point is we all whine, and for the most part I’m okay with it. Read more…
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #10: Don’t Rely on Your AGM
Anyone who lives in a townhouse, condo or apartment is familiar with the term Annual General Meeting (AGM). It’s universally accepted that AGMs are the best way to keep residents informed, seek opinion on important issues, approve budgets and elect councils.
Unfortunately, the antiquated Annual General Meeting is flawed by definition. Even for the smallest strata, a single yearly meeting cannot adequately summarize a year’s worth of council decisions, provide operational transparency, or come close to providing enough information for residents to make good decisions on important strata issues. Read more…
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #9: Intent is Everything
Last week, I had an enjoyable chat with Charles. Charles is the president of his strata, located in Burnaby, British Columbia.
I admire Charles for the respect he showed his fellow strata council members, his appreciation for residents and how he acknowledged the good work done by their property management company. Charles is a perfect case-study on how showing the best intent for the people involved in your building will Re-invent Your Strata. Read more…
Currently working on: Building a Better Community
At the moment we are discussing how we can better communicate with members of the MiCasa Facebook Community. Our aim is to create a non-intimidating conversational environment, for people who live in strata buildings to share their experience and knowledge with other strata residents. We are also keen to share the experience that we’ve gathered while creating MiCasa. We’ve worked with many residential buildings, each with their own quirks and peculiarities, and lived in many too. Facebook is a great medium for these conversations.
Tell us how you think we can do a better job in this area. Your suggestions mean the world to us, so we’re listening… Read more…
Encouraging residents to lend a hand in your building will Re-invent Your Strata. Relatively simple acts like helping the elderly lady on the third floor carry her groceries or feeding your neighbour’s cat while they’re away, have an immeasurable knock-on effect within a residential building. Read more…
Re-invent Your Strata, Tip #8: Lend a Hand
Picture this: On a recent rainy evening, I was walking down the street on route to meet friends for a bite to eat, when I came across a woman changing a flat tire on her car. Instantly recognizing this as a test of character and manly mechanical prowess, I swung into action. Read more…
Currently Working On: Norm’s Calendar Suggestion
Way back in January, Norm from Victoria asked us if we could build a calendar feature for MiCasa. According to Norm, a calendar would help their building by enabling residents to check the availability of their two guest suites.
Thanks Norm, great idea. A calendar feature is a popular suggestion, so we’re on it. Read more…
Mathew Peake: I appreciate your comment Katheryn. One of our big motivators is to...
Katheryn: Very true......keeping owners ignorant is strategic and rampant. When...
Mathew Peake: Thanks so much for your response Francesco. We're excited to shake...
Francesco Andreone: Hey Guys, Your ideas about creating new and easy ways for strata stak...