The Adventure Travel Company and I have been promoting this trip since summer and it was down to the final deadline to see if the trip was going to happen as we had to have a minimum of eight people to run it. 9 people, including myself, will be off to see the beautiful land of Peru from Feb 18 — Mar 1, 2012 and I can’t believe that’s only two months from now!

Now that it is confirmed, my heart is pounding, my head is racing! So much to do, to organize, to research before I go!

I’m going to make an effort to blog about my preparations and my trip … starting now.

First up, since Christmas is only a week away, I’ve asked my family to fill my stocking with the following travel ‘stuff’. If you, or someone you know is traveling soon, maybe you should consider some of these as well!

pepto bismal tablets (not liquid)
tylenol or aleve
band aids
sun screen — spf 45–60
gravol
money belt
one of those waterproof things you put around your neck to keep your stuff safe while swimming
a nice hard cover journal (lots of nice ones at Chapters)
blister protector things that are like band aids
travel packages of kleenex
travel packs of wet wipes
collapseable water bottle — at Chapters — When full it is a water bottle, but after you drink it, it collapses and is MUCH easier/lighter to carry.
water purifying tablets

If the tag line of ‘Space to grow an exceptional business’ isn’t enough to intrigue you, let me tell you why I am incredibly excited to be a founding member of this new venture!

platform is a community-focused, shared workspace. It has high end design, a clean and professional look and feel (or will have, when the dust settles from it being a work in progress at the moment!) It is a transitional space for businesses who want to grow and be part of a community, but haven’t yet quite reached the point where their own office is justifiable. It is in the midst of construction at the moment as part of Southgate at the top of the new Larry Utec Interchange.

Although I will not be there every day, I have the freedom to come and go as I please and use the space on an as-needed basis. I get the luxury of a beautiful shared office space with minimal overhead cost AND I still get to own a home-based business, but one that has room to grow! Oh and it has parking! I avoid our downtown core whenever I can because of the time it takes to get through traffic, the annoyance of finding a parking spot and then the expense of paying for that spot (or the ensuing ticket when you can’t find enough change for the meter!). platform is in Bedford, five minutes in the opposite direction of rush hour traffic and it has parking. It is stress relief all ready!

I’ve been in business for over eight years now. I’ve worked from home for all eight of those. It has only been in the last couple of years that it has really started to take it’s toll on me in various ways. One of the biggest being that it is lonely being alone. Hmmmmm … sounds like rocket science eh?

Many home-based small business people struggle with the lonliness factor — me included. In fact I want to jump up and down, do a little dance, have a little party and tell everyone I know that I get to be part of a community again. A community? Really? I feel the warmth lighting up my life already. I can’t wait to go to a shared space and feel like I’m working in an office, but yet not be responsible for the duties of any one of the other people I’m working with. I can’t wait to have water cooler conversations and get to know people on a personal level. Maybe even make some new friends on a non-business level. I can’t wait to be surrounded by other great people working to build exceptional businesses … having impromptu conversations with other hot-deskers, sharing ideas and feeling the energy that comes from being surrounded by people! Not to mention the overwhelming warmth and support that I already feel from Tasha and Rachel as they forge forward to make this a great space to help me (and all of the members) grow their businesses.

As satisfying as it will be to no longer be ‘alone’ in my work place there are all kinds of other reasons that I want to dance through the doors and start working admist the dust and construction right away! I’m excited to get my office out of my living room. I’m excited for my living room to be for living instead of it being the ‘working room’. I am thrilled that I’ll be with people throughout the day (at least the days I choose to work from platform) and then … and THEN I get to come home to a home instead of coming home to work.

It is kind of like a stay at home mom who talks about the need to get out for play dates so the kids learn to socialize and the adults have adult conversations. That is what it is like to work with yourself all day. I need to get out of just my head and talk to other people. Having adult conversations. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to take care of my ‘baby’ (which is my business), it just means that I want to be part of a community with more space, more influence, more ideas, creativity and connections.

platform is very focused on helping create relationships between their founding members so that we feel like a community and can whole heartedly refer each others business to qualified leads when the opportunity arises. We are getting exceptional business training, going through the learning process together and ensuring that between us, we have a safe learning and communicating environment. We are strongly encouraged to support one another and all bring different skill sets, opinions and strengths to the table. One plus one no longer equals two … one plus one gets you access to all of the other person’s circle of influence, connections and expertise. For someone who is looking to grow their business, how could you say no to that?

I’ve been in strong change and growth mode for the past year with my business. I’ve been learning to focus, say no, delegate tasks that are not my specialty and go forward doing what I love. As my business has grown, I’ve added staff on and off, had interns, work placement students and assistants. Now I have an office full of people in different fields who I can talk to. It is like the coolest office in the world for connecting and learning about people, hearing stories and finding the skills that you need from other people.

I’m planning to grow an exceptional business. I look forward to building relationships with businesses who support me. I believe strongly in surrounding myself with successful people so that I too will have success.

Now, all I have to do is pass the time until the doors officially open in January!

www.platformspace.com

In March 2011 Shari Tucker captured the journey of five Canadian teens travelling to Poland on a 12-day journey to grant wishes to terminally ill children with The Coalition for Kids International. Immersed in the culture and history of Germany and Poland, these teenagers gained a new respect for life, a new outlook on their own situations and learned to care, share and transform.

“The teens I travelled to Poland with came back different people,” says Tucker. “When you travel half way around the world to visit a dying child whose only wish is to have a laptop, camera or video games, you can’t help but come back changed. The Canadian teenagers realize pretty quickly how lucky they are when something that is considered a birthday present here is a dying wish in Poland.”

Shari Tucker is widely known as the photographer behind Young & Fearless: Inspirations of Cancer Survivors, which included three art exhibits in Nova Scotia and the publication of her first book. Her work has also been included in several national exhibitions with Photosensitive, including 10 pieces in Cancer Connections, one in TIEd Together and one in The Energy Project. All voluntary projects working to ‘harness the power of the camera to achieve social justice’.

Coalition for Kids International, based in Halifax, is a not-for-profit organization that provides life-changing experiences for youth. The Coalition’s initiatives have made an immediate impact on the lives of many and it commits its resources to empower North American teens and youth to personally fulfill the fantasies and dreams of terminally-ill children facing circumstances beyond imagination, in their homes and in hospitals throughout Poland, on 12 day “Journeys for a Lifetime”.

Young & Fearless: Journeys for a Lifetime
Art Show
OCTOBER 15 – 27

Opening Reception
Saturday, October 15, 6-10pm
Location: The Adventure Travel Company, 5552 Kaye Street, Halifax
7:00pm Artist Talk (Shari Tucker)
7:30pm Peru: Through the Lens
8:00pm Travel Talk: Poland & Germany

For more information:
902.431.8182 | info {at} sharitucker(.)com

We’ve done a few of them for our 2011 clients to test them out and have been impressed, so we’ll be including them with all packages for 2012.

We’ve haven’t done our own presentation albums yet, but hopefully we’ll have those complete in the next few months to show off!

Limited appointments available. Only offered until the end of October. Book your appointment quick!

Here’s the deal:

$200 flat rate — must be paid in advance by email money transfer or make arrangements for cash.

30 — 45 minute outdoor photo session (Rainbow Haven Beach, Point Pleasant Park, Historic Properties)

Maximum 5 people per sitting ($25 per person for extras)
Children must be old enough to be sitting unassisted (approximately 6–8 months)

You will get high resolution photos of ALL SUCCESSFUL IMAGES from your photo shoot. I will provide the images for download and you can then print them at the lab of your choosing, or share them with friends and family.
(Photos burned to DVD instead of available for download — additional $25 per DVD)

RESTRICTIONS and RULES:
Maximum 5 people
Newborn babies are NOT included as they take more time and usually are better at home or in a studio setting.
Full payment MUST be made in advance
All sessions will be outdoors
Photos for this special are for personal use only. Shari retains copyright of the images and they CANNOT be submitted for publication in any form without written permission from the photographer.
Feel free to use them on facebook and your blogs — credit to Shari Tucker would be appreciated.
Should you need to cancel your appointment at any time up until the day prior, $150 will be refunded. No shows forfeit their payment.

Contact us to book your appointment — info (at) sharitucker (dot) com

Before I left at the end of the evening, both the bride and groom took time to thank me. Then the groom took time to thank me again, telling me how happy the bride was! Not only that, but members of the wedding party thanked me for a job well done too. What a delight to feel the love at the end of the night and know that on one of the happiest days of their lives, I helped capture the memories!

I truly appreciated the kind words that Alicia wrote me last night after I sent along a sneak peak of a few photos from the day.

“Thanks sooo much Shari! You are very talented! The best decision we made was to have you photograph our wedding. Our wedding party had so much fun with you and you make smiling for pictures easy! My family also loved how organized you were. You’re the best!”

You guys made my night with your kind words.

So, for those of you who are reading this, I challenge you to thank someone for something today. Anything! Then, repeat tomorrow until it becomes a genuinely good habit to show your appreciation. Just think of all of the people you will affect and the bad days that you might turn around for someone just by saying something nice! Go on — get your thank on!

Over the next two years while Cancer Connections was established as a national traveling exhibit, 10 of my images were displayed in exhibits all across Canada. This included an exhibit right here in Halifax, as well as the closing exhibit in Ottawa in Spring of 2010. The Cancer Connections coffee table book was launched in conjunction with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil month, in April 2011. The book holds 1000 images with personal stories and quotes of strength, courage and determination.

After a very successful working relationship with Photosensitive over the past two years, I didn’t hesitate to help out when I was asked to participate again in the upcoming Energy Project.

“PhotoSensitive, in partnership with the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA), is producing The Energy Project, a major new photographic exhibition. We will be covering every facet of energy – its production, distribution and consumption as well as aspects of our daily lives that are directly affected by energy.

The exhibition of 100 photographs by 100 professional photogaphers will debut in the fall of 2011 at Brookfield Place in Toronto. It will then tour Ontario and also appear in Vancouver and Montreal.”

As my part of The Energy Project I was asked to photograph the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station. Who knew, that right here in Nova Scotia we have one of just three tidal power plants in the world and the only one in the western hemisphere. Did you know that?

So, I headed out to Annapolis Royal to get a tour of the Tidal plant and then photograph it as part of The Energy Project. I got to see inside where the turbine is located and learn lots of interesting tid bits on how it operates. It was also interesting to learn how this huge turbine was lowered through the roof of the building and put in to place inside it’s own tunnel for protection. It only makes sense, but still amazes me, that the don’t produce energy from one area of the dam because there is a fish ladder there. Having an operational turbine would obviously damage the fish population and harm our ecosystem, so that area is off limits.

After my tour, I headed out around the grounds to capture the building, the power, the energy. One of my favorite images is the one displayed here with our Canadian flag proudly blowing in the wind.

I am very proud to be one of 100 photographers selected to participate in The Energy Project. Details on opening dates for exhibits in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be available soon.

Hamachi House Restaurant
Napier Travel Health
Sarah Semark
Atlantic Photo Supply
Photosensitive

Photo to the left is Boris of the Hamachi Restaurant Group.

The Group Halifax
Firefly Digital Media
Tom Crilley
Chris Moore — Premier Mortgage Centre
Holiday Inn Express — Halifax Airport

Photo to the left is Wendy Brookhouse of Blackstar Wealth Partners, a member of The Group Halifax.

Matt Whitman — Insurance
Dr. Sherisse O’Leary — Naturopath
Vacations with Haley and Brian
Sean Williams Marketing
The Kitchen Door Catering
Monica Miller — Stella and Dot Independent Jewelry Stylist

Photo to the left is Patty Howard of The Kitchen Door Catering Co.