BLOGS

THE PROVOKE WAY OF BUSINESS AND MORE...

West Avenue Cider House

West Avenue Cider House

Shane J
3 Minutes
Aug 20, 2020

I am going to admit something. During the pandemic West Avenue Cider House was one of our favourite places. Pre-pandemic we visited their tasting area several times as they are SUPER close to our home.

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Blueberry Hill Estates

Blueberry Hill Estates

Shane J
6 Minutes
Jul 25, 2020

Our second stop in Norfolk County, Ontario was recommended by the people at Charlotteville Brewing Company. Blueberry Hill Estates was about 15 minutes away on Front Rd., in St William, Ontario. Very easy to find with a large sign on the right side of the road.

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Charlotteville Brewing Company

Charlotteville Brewing Company

Shane J
2 Minutes
Jul 24, 2020

Welcome back to Road Trip With The Provokers and our adventures. This past week was a great trip out to Norfolk County, Ontario. When we arrived at Charlotteville Brewing Company, we immediately fell in love with its charm.

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Rood Apple Cider

Rood Apple Cider

Shane J
3 Minutes
Jul 20, 2020

Here at Provoke, we are a big fan of trying out ciders of all kinds. We discovered Rood Apple Cider by accident as there was only one can in the fridge at the LCBO. It was love at first taste for me, and we decided it would definitely be one of our first road trips.

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Tall Post Craft Cider

Tall Post Craft Cider

Shane J
4 Minutes
Jul 14, 2020

Welcome to the first stop for Road Trip with the Provokers. On Sunday we took you to a quaint place in an Orchard on the outskirts of Hamilton, On. We have to say we really liked this one. When you drive into the orchard, nestled a few hundred yards from the road you will see a cargo-like container setup with a counter with Tall Post Craft Cider painted on it. 

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The Beginning of Road Trip with the Provokers

The Beginning of Road Trip with the Provokers

Shane J
2 Minutes
Jul 13, 2020

Welcome to Road Trip with the Provokers inaugural voyage out into the world. This has been a passion project of Lisa and I’s for about 2 years now. We started it with high hopes, a lot of fun, and ideas for the future. We started with grandiose ideas that may have been a bit too big for us to start with in the beginning with our busy work schedule. We tried to start with a big massive idea and live took over putting Road Trip on the back burner. 

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WLB - The Day Stress Dominates

WLB - The Day Stress Dominates

Shane J
8 Minutes
Sep 13, 2018

In past blogs we have focused on many different scenarios of anxiety in the work place. This is just one of those types of things we must combat in the workplace in 2018. STRESS LIVES IN OUR LIFE, both at home and at work. Stress is its own animal and has its own needs to deal with it. How do you deal with a day where stress is hitting you from all sides? I go into some ways that have worked for me and how we need to just take a moment and regather ourselves.

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Programmers View: Web design and clients

Programmers View: Web design and clients

Shane J
8 Minutes
Aug 16, 2018

A lot is made about companies having their own websites and being extremely mobile friendly in a MOBILE WORLD. I am thinking though that more needs to be made out on plan strong web design. This is being forgotten by designers and clients a like. This week in our blog we will touch on good fundamental web design from a programmer’s eyes. We plan to follow it up with a companion piece on a web designer view on websites so stay tuned!

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Our Coworking Life

Our Coworking Life

Shane J
7 Minutes
Aug 9, 2018

We felt it fitting with today being INTERNATIONAL COWORKING DAY that would be the perfect date and time for a blog about it. We have touched on it a bit in the past but that was all we’ve done. Going into year two of being a part of a coworking community, we felt it was no better time then NOW.

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Why Social Media Matters

Why Social Media Matters

Shane J
4 Minutes
Aug 2, 2018

This week’s blog is more of a MICROBLOG then a full-sized blog. I wanted to zero in on a specific topic and run with it. The key was to focus on social media marketing and how the world has changed. I wanted it to be straight to the point and be less fluff all filler.

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Work Life Balancing Act

Work Life Balancing Act

Shane J
8 Minutes
Jul 26, 2018

With all the stuff GOING ON in the world, and in life in general, we thought we would add in a feature every month to focus on balancing the work life adventures we all are a part of. Work is how we pay our bills and TAKE CARE of our families. Life, on the other hand, I would consider to be everything else outside the work realm.

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Life sometimes makes itself known

Life sometimes makes itself known

Shane J
6 Minutes
Jul 19, 2018

Been a while since I been able to do one of these blogs. At PROVOKE we had to deal with a tragedy in our community. I am not going into any specifics but, it made doing our job a little MORE DIFFICULT. It made us REALIZE that no matter how important work and money is there is always things that are more important.

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Why Businesses Should Still Use Facebook

Why Businesses Should Still Use Facebook

Shane J
8 Minutes
May 16, 2018

This is a topic we have been thinking about for a while, here at Provoke. Neither Lisa or I am huge fans of Facebook itself. We did conclude that almost everyone in the universe has an account. If you don’t I apologize for assuming you do, but there is also a big difference between having one and using one. That’s where we are going to start today's blog, why businesses should still use Facebook.

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Over Promise and Under Deliver

Over Promise and Under Deliver

Shane J
9 Minutes
May 10, 2018

One of the BIGGEST PITFALLS in providing a service is promising something to a client that you CANNOT DELIVER. Whether it be due to size or time constraints I would have to say it is a faux pas. In this week’s blog we will discuss situations where we should watch what we promise to our clients.

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Women in Graphic Design

Women in Graphic Design

Lisa C
13 Minutes
May 3, 2018

A sit-down one on one interview with our FEARLESS LEADER Miss Lisa. We focus on her experiences both NEGATIVE and POSITIVE in the world of graphic design. This is NOT a sordid exposé of the graphic design industry, I am sorry to tell you. Are there parts that are difficult to swallow with all the current movements of late. Yes, I would say so, but this is more a look at how the industry has changed and moves forward. Most of all its about one woman’s journey through the industry.

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A Beginners Guide to SEO

A Beginners Guide to SEO

Shane J
8 Minutes
Apr 25, 2018

When building a website one of the most important items that should be taken into consideration is your visibility on the world wide web. I cannot stress enough the importance of this factor. You can go spend all the money you want on the most high-tech website and a stunning logo if no one sees it what was the point behind those purchases?

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Owning a Company with your significant other part 4

Owning a Company with your significant other part 4

Shane J
8 Minute
Apr 18, 2018

What happens if you and your partner now decide it’s time to take some time off or downtime and go on vacation together? Is that vacation still REALLY A VACATION? This is the subject of todays blog. We define and explore what a company vacation looks like for us and how we deal with work related items.

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Striking Back Against Anxiety Part 1

Striking Back Against Anxiety Part 1

Shane J
8 Minutes
Apr 11, 2018

Welcome back to the provoke side of the universe. In previous editions, we have discussed my story with anxiety as well as using mindfulness and coping in the office. Today I figured we would turn that topic up on its head. Today we tackle steps to start fighting back against anxiety.

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Mindfulness and Ways, We Cope

Mindfulness and Ways, We Cope

Shane J
9 Minutes
Mar 28, 2018

In a recent blog, I discussed my battle with anxiety and issues I encountered working in an office environment. For this week, I plan to delve into the ways we can help fight anxiety in our every day lives. Will this work every time? Heck NO. Though I choose to fight back always, even if I am losing the fight, I WILL WIN THE WAR. Knowing you’re not alone in this helps, but you must always keep battling.

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Owning a Company with your Significant Other Part 3

Owning a Company with your Significant Other Part 3

Shane J
8 Minutes
Mar 21, 2018

Welcome back to our reoccurring segment on OWNING A COMPANY WITH YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER. In this new installment we are going to look at purchases for the business and in your personal lives. What happens if the one partner makes a purchase without consulting you?

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Twitter for Intermediate Users Provoke Style

Twitter for Intermediate Users Provoke Style

Shane J
8 Minute
Mar 14, 2018

The last few weeks have been blogs of the PERSONAL VARIETY. I have a few technical blogs I want to start tying up. About a month ago, I did a blog on Twitter basics. I figured from the start I would make this a 3-blog series. Original plan was a basic, intermediate and advanced twitter guide through my eyes.

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It’s Not Always About the Money

It’s Not Always About the Money

Shane J
10 Minutes
Mar 7, 2018

This week we are going to be focusing on the values of volunteering and adding some time to help others. Lisa and I both volunteer our time to work for a fantastic organization called Food 4 Kids. They make sure that Kids have healthy food at home and over the weekends.

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An Office Environment Through The Eyes of Anxiety

An Office Environment Through The Eyes of Anxiety

Shane J
15 Minutes
Feb 28, 2018

The focal point of this blog today will be with DEALING WITH ANXIETY IN THE WORKPLACE. I have suffered from mental health issues since I was very young. It runs in my family and, people like my cousin Matt, have shared their stories on the struggles they have had with anxiety and depression.

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Owning a Company with your significant other part 2

Owning a Company with your significant other part 2

Shane J
13 Minutes
Feb 21, 2018

A few weeks ago, I delved into our experiences regarding owning a company with your significant other. We were posed with a lot of questions in the beginning. I felt it was important to pass those questions to the reader in the first part of our blog. Now we will start answering those questions one at a time.

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Being Mobile Friendly

Being Mobile Friendly

Shane J
11 Minutes
Feb 14, 2018

Welcome back to another technical edition of the PROVOKE Adventures in blog format! As last week was about twitter, we decided there is no better time than now to talk about your website and being mobile friendly. We live in a great boon of technology and If you don’t stay with the times your website will be left behind.

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Twitter Basics by Provoke

Twitter Basics by Provoke

Shane J
7 Minutes
Feb 7, 2018

For this week, we decided to go a bit more technical in our blogs. We want to cover a plethora of topics that are in the realm of what we do! As we have A HEALTHY PRESENCE on Twitter, this week’s topic will be on using twitter basics with your small business.

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Owning a Company with your significant other part 1

Owning a Company with your significant other part 1

Shane J
11 Minutes
Jan 31, 2018

In this blog we will focus mainly on the DIFFICULTIES that some individuals encounter running a company with a person they see all hours of the day and at night. No solutions, or suggestions, just the straight-up blind details. We will detail the ways we overcome it in part 2 of this blog in a few weeks. I want you to think about what I say first.

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Podcasts we love

Podcasts we love

Shane J
11 Minutes
Jan 24, 2018

When we decided to start blogging we thought about the people we could help with our mistakes and learning curve over the last year. However, we didn’t want it to be all work with no playtime. Instead, we felt we should throw in fun subjects that are near and dear to us. On that note, the following blog will be on podcasting.

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The Office Environment in 2018

The Office Environment in 2018

Shane J
12 Minutes
Jan 17, 2018

In the 1980’s, when I was a wee lad, I remember getting up every morning to see my dad go off to work. He would return around dinner time, and we would sit down, as a family, to eat dinner. Things have changed for a lot of people since those days. Does this picture still exist? Maybe it does, but I am betting it’s in the minority, as people have more options on how their work day.. Some people travel, by subway or train, to offices; others work from home, some in libraries, and others, like we do, out of co-working offices. So many options to choose from in the days of the internet.

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Provoked Ourselves

Provoked Ourselves

Shane J
8 Minutes
Jan 9, 2018

We wanted to do a blog, but we didn’t want to blog for the sake of blogging. We felt it should serve a purpose and have a VOICE that mattered. So, here at Provoke we wanted to talk about our experiences and put a fresh spin on everything. This is our first blog and we felt we should tell a bit of our story and why we started out.

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