You’ve heard “it takes a village,” when it comes to raising a child, but the idea holds water in the business world too. We’ve built our community of affiliations on the basis of lending other organizations a helping hand and accepting their help when we need it, too.

Our whole is bigger than the sum of our parts. But these are some of our parts:

Those we’ve helped:

Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition - OIWC
The OIWC equips women in the Outdoor Industries for success. As entrepreneurs at a women-led organization - we fully LOVE this mission. And, we are striving to help make it happen. We are active on committees and sit on the OIWC Board. We also lead our monthly local chapter meetings. Take a look at the OIWC organization – and join us! http://www.oiwc.org. If you are in Portland or the Bay Area, we invite you to join us at a chapter meeting. Please send us an email to join our mailing list for communication regarding events and monthly meetings.

Those who’ve helped us:

andHow: Is a boutique marketing consulting agency founded by Tami Anderson and Elizabeth Howland, the two most talented marketing minds in any industry. With a combined 35 years of experience across a variety of marketing disciplines and market segments, they are truly brilliant. If you need to build a brand, refocus your brand, or gain insight into the women's market, they can help. Please visit their site - www.andhowmarketing.com

TIV: Is the new breed of ad agency. The term 'ad agency' can be daunting. The creative coming out of some agencies is brilliant, but the average company can't afford it. TIV is here to turn that concept upside down! Founding partners Brandt Hoekenga, Christy Hoekenga and Britta Foster have worked in the creative fields of Graphic Design and Marketing for a combined 25+ years…long enough to realize that there’s a better way to do things. In 2009 the concept of TIV was born. CreatTIV, innovaTIV and collaboraTIV. The new breed of ad agency, an agency based entirely on the network of resources developed through the years. Take away the overhead cost of a big fancy building in the city. Take away the creative limitations of a hired staff. The possibilities are endless…and easily scaleable to accommodate any budget. www.create-tiv.com

Ashley McCullough: We don't quite know what to say about Ashley; and that is partially because she helped us write everything on this site, and now we are stuck trying to write something great about her to explain how fantastic she is, but we are having a hard time writing it. If you'd like Ashley to help you put your thoughts on paper or online, like she has helped so many clients, please visit her website at: www.ashleymccullough.com

Garry Watanabe is a friend of plum who helps guide our thinking in areas of Leadership, Coaching, Talent Management and the Psychology of Performance. Garry has been a lawyer in Canada, a professional swimming coach in Southern California, has a masters’ degree in Sports Psychology and currently works as a senior member of Performance Coaching Inc., a specialized training organization that works with top performers in business and sport to help them excel in environments where both pressure and the need for excellence are equally present. Garry has worked with executives in a wide range of organizations including 3M, RBC, TD Bank, Landolakes, Kelloggs, Bayer, Nexen, and the RCMP. In addition, Garry is a regular instructor with the Queens University Business School, Executive Development Centre in their Leadership, Sales Management and Operations Leadership programs. In the sports world Garry has most recently worked with the Canadian Olympic Archery team and the Canadian Olympic Women’s Hockey team to help prepare them for the challenges and pressures of performing in the Olympic spotlight.

Garry will be a guest advisor and blogger with plum providing insights into how to get the best out of others and how to get the best out of yourself in whatever performance environment you find yourself. If you have a specific challenge around which you would like to hear some thoughts from Garry’s somewhat unusual perspective --- please send it in.

plum: Fresh talent. Juicy careers. info@thinkplum.net
Lori: 503-643-1558 Betsy: 415-839-5491 Lynn: 303-936-5699 Sean: 541-490-7116