Donna Messer

Business Profile

DONNA MESSER IS A BUSINESS COACH, PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER AND AUTHOR

If you need a little help making connections or you want to raise awareness for you or your company – Donna Messer might be exactly what you need. As a journalist, Donna can help you write those articles to show that you are an expert. As a business coach, Donna can mentor you and introduce you to individuals and companies that need to know more about where the fit is between you and your company and them. She can help you focus and keep you on track when it comes to business growth. In business start up mode – Donna can help you maximize your time and your investment. As a professional speaker – Donna is often addressing the clients you are trying to reach – she can introduce you to those clients once you become part of her network. Statistics show that when you network you get work. Donna Messer can teach you how to expand your network and monitor and measure the results. Donna takes on new clients for a minimum of 90 days.

“Speaker”, “journalist”, “author”, “coach”, “trainer”, “advisor”, “facilitator”, “mentor” and “leader” are all words that describe Donna Messer to a tee. Look closer, however, and you’ll see that a common theme runs through them all – a love of people. For more than two decades, Donna has been a renowned expert on and promoter of the often overlooked, true currency of business – personal relationships – how to forge, nurture and leverage them to enable those who properly cultivate these relationships to put them to mutual benefit.

As President of ConnectUs Canada, Donna’s contact network extends well into the tens of thousands – a network that she routinely and freely shares with her clients, associates and acquaintances via the extensive speaking engagements and workshops she holds around the world.

A dynamic, highly sought-after speaker, Donna has spoken throughout North America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and Iceland on a host of topics dealing with the art of networking and the ties that bind. She has spoken before Federal, Provincial, Municipal and State governments, even serving as an advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on issues relating to women in business.

Among Donna Messer’s several hundred clients are top tier financial institutions, boards of trade, major accounting and law firms, and leading universities and colleges across Canada.

A noted author and journalist, Donna’s more than 4,000 articles have graced the pages of newspapers and magazines including Enterprise Magazine, Small Business Canada Magazine, Career Options Magazine, Canadian Opportunities Magazine, Life and Fashion Magazine, Pets and Animals, Women with Vision Magazine, Company of Women Magazine, and Timeless Woman.

Donna has interviewed various “movers and shakers” including Senator Pamela Wallin, former Liberal Cabinet Minister, Sheila Copps, Annette Verschuren, President of Home Depot as well as an exclusive interview with the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson.

Among her five books as a published author is Effective Networking Strategies, a Canadian bestseller written in 1993 well before “networking” became the de rigueur buzzword of the outplacement and executive search industries, selling over 50,000 copies over the past 15 years.

Donna has directed and advised on numerous boards and committees and has won various awards including Woman of the Year - Women in Pursuit of Excellence WFIM, International Leader’s Award – Women and Diversity, and the Award for Outstanding Achievement – CACEE. She was also Ernst and Young’s nominee for Entrepreneur of the Year.

Here’s what one client had to say - "Donna Messer is without a doubt Canada's leading expert in networking. She has spent years helping individuals and businesses learn how to grow their business by networking. One year after I heard Donna speak I had tripled my income, found three large corporate sponsors for my book, landed a national publisher and established myself in half the time it would have taken me with my normal approach." Hollee Kew – Barefoot in the Grass

Based in Oakville, Donna can help businesses locally or out of town.

Community Profile

Donna Messer has addressed thousands of people on three continents. She works with young people, through Rotary Club Camp Enterprise, Skills Canada and Junior Achievement. She is a foster mom for Dog Guides of Canada. She is on contract with MITACS and provides workshops to colleges and university students everywhere.

She is on the board for United Way Oakville. A former Chair for Women in Food Industry Management. She is a mentor with the Mentoring Partnership through Sheridan College with current protegees from Brazil, the Philipines and Nigeria. She has been nominated 5 times for the Athena Award and three times for Entrepreneur of the Year in Oakville. Actively involved in Kerr Village, Donna writes for SNAP Oakville profiling local business men and women.

Personal Profile

Donna is a mother and grandmother. Her son Richard is the Executive Director for Kerr Village BIA. Her daughter Lauren is actively involved in the veterinary community. Her grandchildren are Keegan and Maddison. Keegan is in Air Cadets and Maddi is in Peru on a mission to build an orphanage.

Donna is a mentor, a coach, an advisor and a friend. She takes time to listen and to brainstorm with anyone who wants to consider alternative ways to earn a living. An entrepreneur, Donna knows that success is only achieved through hardwork, strategic alliances and the ability to find the right team. A Day with Donna and Dining with Donna are two initiatives that have not only raised funds for her favourite charity, they have launched many new careers and entrepreneurs. For information on these inititiatives visit the website or call the office.