Here we GROW again!

Balance InStyle is growing and we are looking for some amazing talent to join our growing team.  Balance InStyle has been the leading Concierge company in Ottawa since 2007. 

This business was created by an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs. We know what it takes to start a business and grow a business. We further understand that life happens and mundane tasks have a way of stunting our growth and taking up precious hours that we can’t get back.  We’ve designed a service to make life easier and give you back the one thing our clients all lack … TIME

Qualified applicants will possess excellent people skills as well as the ability to work independently within a fast-paced environment. 

Please Note: If you do not enjoy serving people at the highest level and are not able to commit at least 20-40 hours a week then please do not apply. Also, before you shoot off that resume, please review the following to make sure this is you:

You must understand confidentiality. We are a sounding board for our clients. Like in Las Vegas what happens with our clients, stays in the vault. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Understanding clients needs, building long termed valued relationships and valuing client confidentially is the standard at Balance InStyle. Our core belief is that time should be on our clients side allowing them to do what they do best. We take care of their to-do's so they can focus on their LOVE to's

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION: KEY SELECTION CRITERIA - VIRTUAL PERSONAL ASSISTANT 

Ideal Experience

• Excellence Time management Skills - There is a ton of work to do and it needs to be done on-time;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; articulate and well spoken; our reputation rest on your ability to communicate effectively;
• Dynamic, high energy and ability to self motivate while working remotely;
• Self-confidence and professionally poised;
• Proactive; able to predict possible issues and execute immediate solutions;
• Ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment;
• Detail oriented, ability to multi-task, prioritize and execute multiple concurrent activities; 
• Flexible and capable of working at least 20+ a week;
• Life long learner - you might not have all the answers but we can help and mentor you along the way; 
• Respect for others' intellectual property (no plagiarism or software piracy)
• Maintains a professional demeanour;
• Flexible and adaptable to change;
• A “do whatever it takes mentality”;
• Strong computer and internet skills

Critical Competencies for Success

• Sign Confidentially Agreement - What happens @Balance InStyle STAYS there!
• Clean Police record;
• Action Orientation;
• Highest level of discretion and trustworthiness - This is KEY!;
• Excellent communication skills (both written and oral);
• Creative;
• Client Focused;
• Highly collaborative;
• Problem solver;
• Attentive to detail;
• Priority Setting;
• Self Starter, requires little direction can innovate and think on their feet.

Personal Characteristics

• This is a no ego role. Our #1 mandate is to serve our clients. Must be passionate about serving others.
• Has superior communication skills and who can present their ideas in a clear, concise manner; 
• Unquestioned integrity and values that the organization can trust without reservation;
• Consensus builder with strong persuasion skills;
• A highly motivated team player who contributes to an atmosphere in which people work together, enthusiastically and effectively, to produce results;
• A good listener with a strong sense of self;
• Self-confident with a service orientation;
• Must be flexible with the ability to change, adapt and grow – patience and diplomacy skills are critical to success;
• Exhibits passion for the mission of the company – To serve our clients at the highest level no matter how menial the task is.

Tools and Tech

•  Google Suite: Gmail, Calendar, Chrome, Drive, Plus, Hangouts, Voice;
•   Microsoft Suite: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook;
•  Online productivity tools: LastPass, Time Tracking, Freshbooks; 
• Personal computer;
•  High-speed Internet connection;
•  Personal telephone
If this sounds like you or someone you know we would LOVE to hear from you.

Please send your resume with a cover letter outlining why you think you would make a GREAT VPA. If successful, must be available for 1 week mandatory training at InStyle HQ. info@balanceinstyle.com

CANDIDATE SPECIFICATION: KEY SELECTION CRITERIA - PERSONAL CONCIERGE

• Excellence Time management Skills - There is a ton of work to do and it needs to be done on-time;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; articulate and well spoken; our reputation rest on your ability to communicate effectively;
• Always serve at the highest level. That is our primary goal. No matter how big or small the request may be;

• Earn trust. This is imperative. Our clients must be able to trust us with their lives, their security;
• Honour confidentially. What happens on our watch, stays in the vault;
• Communicate and manage expectations. This is the key to any successful relationship;
• Embrace change – the world we live in is fast and furious.

• Be passionate, creative and open minded. There is always a solution to every problem;

• Communicate and manage expectations. This is the key to any successful relationship;
• Lead by example. People are always watching. Give them something worth watching and worth copying;
• Check ego at the door. This is a no ego company;
• We walk, talk and live our brand. Period.
• Must be well put together and presentable. We SELL style and drama we DON'T employ it! When we meet, we need to see how you would meet with our clients and vendors. So yes, we will be checking you out: your clothes, your hair, your makeup, your accessories….all of it. Do your clothes fit properly? No tight clothes, cleavage, etc please. 
• You must have a great sense of humour and be approachable and social.
• Clean police record;

• Must be bondable;
• Must be mobile;
• Must be able to work 20-40 hours per week.

Sound like you? Here are some tips on how to stand out from the rest:Tell us a little about yourself in the email body (but not your life story).  We want to get to a feel for your personality. To apply, please email info@balanceinstyle and write 2015 Employment in the subject of your email; include your resume as an attachment, and your cover letter within the body. Your cover letter should explain why you are the perfect candidate for the position. Be sure to include previous experience and why you are passionate about this industry.

Learn more about Balance InStyle be sure to check out our website. New site to be launched end of April 2015. Don't forget to become a fan of Balance InStyle on Facebook Page. We notice the little things and the enthusiasm.

Please do not call us to check the status of applications. If we feel you are a fit we will be in touch.

Is it TIME for a Virtual Assistant?

We’ve all heard the advice that if you want to grow your business you need to focus on the things you do well and delegate the rest to others. When it comes to putting that advice into practice, many of us find excuses. 

We always hear people complaining that they just don’t have the time to do things.

“ I don’t have time to get in shape or go to the gym” or “GAWD, I need to get this report done but I still have to call Bell TV to hook me up with the UFC fight tonight!”

We could all probably make better use of our time to work on the important things in our lives if only we had the "time". 

Ask yourself the following 3 questions:

• Am I procrastinating on this task? If I’m procrastinating, I usually don’t have the resources, knowledge, or skill proficiency to do it well. - Outsource to someone who does.
• Do I dread this task? If I view the task with dread rather than excitement, this signals that I don’t actually want to do it. This means that I won’t bring the level of passion and ownership that I would if I were exciting to me. Outsource it!
• Am I AMAZING at this task? If the answer is “no,” chances are good that you can find an expert to help you out. 

If you think you could use more time in your day doing things you care about instead of dealing with menial tasks, you should look into hiring a virtual assistant. 

Balance InStyle has been in business 8 years.  We've recently expanded our service offerings to include a virtual line. You can learn more about this new line called Balance by Balance InStyle here. (More free time can really change your life.)

Our newest offering is virtual, so between the hours of 9-5 you have local assistants at your disposal who you can delegate time consuming tasks to, like what Tim Ferriss recommends in his book “The 4-Hour Work Week". 

Our new website launching April 2015 but for now imagine …

Appointments, Reservations, and Logistics Coordination

Imagine what would happen if you never had to make calls around for dinner reservations, hair appointments, car services, doctors’ appointments, price-shopping, Fedex re-delivery, meeting calendar coordinations, travel plans or chasing down your own accounts receivables?

Our approach (and recommendation) is this – every time you have a task that doesn’t need your personal attention, outsource it to your VPA. 

If what you ask is outside the scope of what we do ( we haven't seen that in 8 years ), we can connect you with someone who can help through our preferred partner network. Our success comes from running a Concierge company for the past 8 years. So we've seen it all.

Putting Together Furniture, Dropping Off Dry Cleaning, Groceries, Home Renovations and Other In-Person Tasks

What about those other time consuming errands that can’t be done virtually? We got you covered with our on the ground Concierge Services.  Name the task, and consider it done! 

So if you have trouble getting to your important work because you are always busy dealing with the urgent, why not give us a call and let us help?  613-440-4446

How to be efficient and productive with your day.

To stay competitive in today's digital world you need to be able to be efficient and productive with the 24 hours that you are granted each day.  

The truth is we all have the same amount of time in a day: 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. In fact, you have exactly the same amount of time that was given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein. How you choose to spend your time is what will set you apart from everyone else. There are 24 hours in a day, let's say you sleep the average 8 hours, it leaves you with 16 productive hours to accomplish things that need to be done at home and at work. The question is how productive are you in those 16 hours? How many hours are being robbed by distractions, interruptions and mundane tasks that someone else could take off your plate? 

Our team at Balance InStyle get asked all the time "How can I clone myself?" We sigh because I hear those words all too often and our response is always the same:"You don't want to clone yourself as much as you want to surround yourself with people who perform specific tasks better than you do.

"It will take too much time to download to someone else to do" or "I'm the only one who can do it because..."or "I don't have time" and the list of excuses goes on and on. Henry ford put it best: “If you think you can or you can’t, you are probably right.” Are you putting your goals and dreams on hold because of the excuse "I don’t have time?"  Remember: I don't have time, is the grown-up version of the dog ate my homework.

Do you feel?

• Overwhelmed by your daily business activities;
• That things are falling through the cracks despite your best efforts;
• Your energy is being eaten up by time consuming tasks you loathe that doesn't forward your business;
• You have nothing left over to give outside of the office, be it to family, friends or outside interests;
• You lack a quality of life.

If any of the above sounds like you, and you are interested in getting some help but aren't ready to commit to hiring a full time employee perhaps consider hiring a Virtual Personal Assistant. 

There are many benefits of hiring a VPA ( Virtual Personal Assistant) but here are just a few key ones. 

VPA vs Full-Time Employee

• You don't have to cover time off for: Vacation, sick leave, maternity leave, leave of absence or personal days;
• You don't have to make regular contributions to: EI and CPP and other company benefits;
• No overhead: Office Space, Furniture and Equipment;
• Best of all ... you don't pay for lunch or coffee breaks. You only pay for time spent working on your projects or account.

Hiring an assistant may seem arduous at first, but the payoff is well worth it. We have never had a client express regret over hiring an assistant; only about not doing it sooner! 

Everyone, no matter who they are, can use help from time to time and there is an easy, cost-effective way to get it. So as you can see, there are a lot of pros to hiring a virtual personal assistant. Ultimately, you are the only one who can decide if this kind of service is worth it. If you would like some further information on this kind of service we would love to hear from you.

Here are a few ways to get in touch;

Website - Balance InStyle ( new site ready in April 2015)

Email - info@balanceinstyle.com

Facebook - Balance InStyle 

Twitter - @balanceinstyle

Introducing Balance InStyle's New Service!

Big news from the team here at Balance InStyle – we’re happy to introduce our newest virtual line called BALANCE. 

BALANCE is a productivity accelerator geared towards busy professionals and entrepreneurs. This services allows busy people to delegate strategic tasks to their very own VPA ( Virtual Personal Assistant). All the convenience of a personal assistant minus the full time salary.

We believe GOOD help should be accessible, affordable and NOT hard to find!

Since founding Balance InStyle in 2006,  Concierge Services have become increasingly more popular due to a common problem, lack of time. Time is our most important asset and we at Balance InStyle want to help you save it!  

Our VPA's can now schedule meetings, manage your calendar, book travel, respond to emails and complete other business tasks, as well as pay bills, order custom gifts, deal with customer service issues, make those dreaded A/R calls and even schedule that long overdue dentist's appointment. 

Your needs are unique and we take the time to get to know you so we can be proactive on your behalf. We are not a call centre. You actually deal with a live, local person who can make things happen while you are doing what you do best.

This service is exclusively virtual, so we do not run errands or perform in-person physical tasks. However, not to worry as we can still provide those services as you require at a rate of $65/hour. 

Now you can run your business without wearing so many hats as Balance InStyle combines the skills and talents of many into a single, powerful team. You gain access to our entire skill set, but only need to remember one name, your own dedicated VPA.

I bet you're saying, this all sounds great, but give me an example of how this works? 

Imagine never having to say ever again " I'm available Tuesday or Thursday of next week between 1-4"and having a slew of emails going back and forth to land on a time that works for all parties. We can manage your calendar for you. Simply CC "your VPA" when you need to schedule an appointment or have us reach out to the third party. We'll work out the details and add the event to your integrated Google calendar. 

Bills? Paid. Inbox? Cleared. Travel? Booked. See how simple life can be?

We've taken all the precautions to keep your data safe. So sharing any sensitive information such as credit cards, account numbers, log in etc ... are now all automated and encrypted for your protection. Our team of VPA's have jumped through the proverbial hoops, signed confidentiality agreements and have been security cleared. What happens at Balance InStyle, stays at Balance InStyle!

Our Virtual Plans start at $159/mth. 

Also, our new website is in development as is our new app ( yup! there's an app for that too now )but we didn't want to wait until the Spring to share the good news that affordable help is here to stay, so consider this our early Easter gift to you!

If you are ready to supercharge your productivity and get more done than you ever imagined possible, we've love to hear from you!

Many ways to get in touch. By phone 613-440-4446, by email info@balanceinstyle.com or come be social on Facebook.

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Delegate Delegate Delegate!

You can't do everything yourself. And the bigger your business grows, the truer this becomes. That's why it's so essential to master the art of delegation. Delegating the day-to-day work of your business frees you up to think big, cultivate relationships with clients, nail down new sources of revenue, and do the things that only you can do. 

Set your ego aside. A big mental roadblock to delegation is that "If you want something done right, then do it yourself." You're not the only person in the world who can do it right. You may be the only person who can do it right at this very moment, but if you take a few minutes to download your needs to someone competent, they'll probably be able to do it right, too. Who knows - they might even do it faster or better than you (gasp!) 

We all know that we need to be good at delegating in order to have any traction in our careers. We need to be able to learn how to do something and then teach someone else how to do it, so that we can move on and learn how to do something new. This is as true for creative people as it is for management types.

Yet even though we know this, most of us have trouble actually doing it. Many people think they’re the exception to the rule — that delegating is important, but in their very unique, particular case, it’s impossible.

Newsflash: It’s never impossible to delegate — it’s all in the mind of the delegator. Here are seven ways to get started on the road to all-star delegation:

Get over your perfectionist streak. The key to delegating is recognizing that your ability to do things perfectly isn’t as highly valued as you think it is. In fact, perfectionism isn’t valuable in 80 percent of the work we do. If you think you’re the exception to this rule — which all perfectionists do — consider that perfectionism is so unhealthy that it’s a risk factor for depression. This should make delegating come easier. Delegating can be scary, especially if you are a perfectionist. Here are some tools to help you in the art of delegation.

Use Google Docs.  It’s a great tool to record and share information about your procedures, because you don’t need to worry if your team members have the latest version. It updates real-time.

These days, we at Balance InStyle use project management software called Basecamp (you might also use Asana, Wrike or any other software you find helpful) Basecamp makes it easy for people in different roles with different responsibilities to communicate and work together. It’s a place to where my team share files, have discussions, collaborate on documents, assign tasks, and check due dates.

Decide what’s most important. In order to figure out what to delegate, you need to figure out what’s most important to your career. This means you need to know what your specialty is, what you’re known for, and what your unique value is to the company. Anything that falls outside this isn’t that important to you. Once you understand this, delegating most things will be easier. 

Trying putting together a mind map  (in a Mindmup ) all of the things that are important for your career and where you can start to leverage help, maybe in the form of a VPA. (Virtual Personal Assistant)

Here are the Top Tasks You Can Delegate To Your VPA today:

Calendar – Setup a shared calendar and let your VPA manage, schedule, and arrange your calendar. Allow your VPA to handle the back-and-forth of setting up appointments. Most use Google calendar which is great because when your VPA confirms a meeting it will sync directly to your mobile device.

Email – It is a time waster. Allow your VPA to filter out the small stuff, and prioritize inquiries so that you only see the ones that need your attention. You can also setup a personal email account for them on your business domain so it appears that they are in-house.

Track Projects – Managing projects, deadlines, and deliverables can be tough when you are busy. Setup a common project platform so that you can share project status updates. We use Basecamp to manage projects, and it too syncs directly to my iPhone so another time saver, I can track on the go!

Invoicing – Invoicing is an important task that many small businesses put off, yet it it crucial to operations. Let your VPA send, track, and receive your business invoices. This is particularly useful for small businesses or entrepreneurs. Let them manage your AR and call clients on your behalf as well, that way you don't feel like you are hounding the clients.

Research – Searching the web may seem like a simple and quick task. However, it can be a major time sink when your quick search turns into a multi-hour surfing session. Let you VPA do simple research for you.

Expense Reports – Another paperwork project to delegate to your VPA is expense tracking. It seems to be a generally hated task by all business people. Let your VPA organize your expenses and receipts. It is easy to share receipt images and documents via Dropbox or an expense app or even Basecamp.

Travel – People don’t like to give up control of travel. But, how long do you waste looking at flights to get just the right one? Let your VPA book your travel and use a system such as TripIt or Trip Case to sync your itinerary to your mobile device and calendars.

Proofreading – It doesn’t matter how many times you proofread that presentation; you are still going to overlook the typo. Let your VPA be a second set of eyes on all types of documents. Maybe you've run out of time of creative juices; let your VPA explore other options to your creative writing block.

If you want more time for yourself, maybe it’s time you explore the art of delegation and hire a VPA of your own. 

Remember: reluctance to give up control of tasks is probably a sign that you need some assistance. In many cases, a VPA can perform your administrative tasks faster, better, and more effectively than you can.

Delegate, delegate, delegate.

Miracle in the making

Our superpower as a Concierge is making the IMPOSSIBLE possible, afterall the word itself says I'm Possible right? 

At Balance InStyle we've seen it and heard it all, ( we will share a little below before we get into our miracle in the making ). 
Yesterday we received our biggest most meaningful challenge yet and we've accepted it, but need your help to make it happen.

We are the company that gets the emergency calls when someone wants to propose to their girlfriend in another country and get married on the SAME trip. ( we made it happen, she said yes and she had 2 dresses to choose from and we caught it all on video for them to share with family and friends ) or the panic call to export a dog to Australia in 5 days, the owners had to leave the country and the dog was left behind tied up in all the red tape. Literally. If you know anything about doing this, it was like a covert CIA mission. ( success Jersey was reunited with his family ).

We've arranged trips on less than 2 days notice to Iceland. Complete with a helicopter tour, ice scuba diving, northern lights, snowmobiling to name a few. Formula 1 trips to Monaco complete with driver access and rooftop views. 6 week long trips across Australia by camper mapping all the sites and check in's and tours along the way. ( LOTS of wineries, our kind of trip! )

We've been that call when pipes have burst and a clean up needs to happen ASAP or tenants have trashed the house and entire renos need to happen.

We've married people, ( YUP we are licensed officiants too ) tracked down the hard to find items, broken up with people and have just been available at a moments notice to run errands to be a sanity saver to so many of our clients. From Glamour to Janitor we like to say.

Our job is so beautiful because EVERY DAY is another adventure. 

As I type out this blog, our team is running around the city trying to source 3 stools by 4pm today, is meeting a door company to replace 2 doors for another client, purchasing sheets and blow up mattresses for another for the long family weekend ahead. Groceries, LCBO runs and dropping off organized and itemized tax reports and it's ONLY Tuesday!

This brings me to our BIGGEST challenge yet ... We LOVE making the impossible possible and love being the one that people call when they need to make miracles happen. Let's face it. This is WHY we do what we do!

Yesterday, a long time client of our reached out to us and asked us for help. ( grab a tissue cause this is the heart-breaking part ). Her sister Niki 29 was diagnosed in April of 2012 with Rhabdomayosarcoma - undifferentiated. (means basically it is too aggressive to stage)

She has gone through two rounds of intense chemotherapy and two rounds of intense radiation to her face/neck. This past September she had to have surgery to remove the cancer cells that had reappeared in her neck/jaw. 

They all thought that would be the end of it however, there was a new tumour that showed up in her lower sacrum region and in addition the cancer had spread to her spine.  At this point the doctors have diagnosed it terminal and prognosis was given at 2-3 months.  That was thanksgiving long weekend.

Niki went through a difficult period in the past 3 months due to the cancer spreading to her knees (radiation was successful in assisting with symptom relief) and also due to finding the right balance of medications.

She is currently in a better state mentally and able to walk around (for short periods) and able to complete short activities. She attributes a lot of strong will power to the works of spiritual healers and authors. Joel Osteen's book was given to her by a friend and its become her go to book for strength and positivity. 

Niki was part of the first graduating class at Waterloo Pharmacy School in 2011. She completed her licensing right before her diagnosis but has managed to work in between her treatments as a pharmacist. She was working in a pharmacy that specializes in natural remedies before her surgery in September. Even though the past three years have been a roller-coaster ride, Niki has used it as a catalyst to become a person she is proud of.

Her dying wish is to connect with Joel Osteen to help prepare her for her last journey. 

This young woman's life was extended she believes because of the strength that she found in Joel and his work and we've accepted the challenge of helping grant this final wish.

We need help to make this happen though.  I've reached out to Joel and his wife Victoria on Twitter but appreciate they have a million tweets a day. We've reached out to the ministry as well. Maybe we can get this treading. Shared? Re-tweeted? #lastwishforniki so they can't help but notice this wonderfully courageous young woman wish? If you have a Facebook account, you can share the link and #lastwishforniki same on twitter and LinkedIn. Somehow I believe that the power of social media will work if we all give a little bit of ourselves.

There are no fancy trips being asked. No extravagances  Just a desire to connect and thank a man who has helped her find the strength to fight another day.

What do you say? #lastwishforniki????

Heartfelt gratitude in advance for sharing and helping us bring a peace and love to another fellow woman. #girlpower

xo

Beta Tester for Virtual Services Wanted

Balance InStyle, Ottawa’s leading Concierge Company is about to launch a new virtual service in the Spring of 2015 called Balance.

This new line was created by an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs. We know what it takes to start a business and grow a business. We further understand that life happens and mundane tasks have a way of stunting our growth and taking up precious hours that we can’t get back.

So, we’ve designed a new service to make life easier and give you back the one thing we all lack … TIME.

As we get ready to launch this new service we are interested in beta testing the platform, the services as well as the infrastructure to ensure that we are delivering the same consistent flawless service that we are known for.

Here’s how it will work. Once we identify 3 individuals that fit our demographic, we will reach out immediately to learn more about what your needs are, and assign you your own VPA. (Virtual Personal Assistant)

You will have access to your VPA for up to 10 tasks. Each task is worth 15 minutes. You can dictate how many tasks you’d like us to use for a specific request. 

Our VPA’s can help with everything and anything that does not require a physical presence & can be executed using a computer. This service is exclusively virtual, so we do not pick up, drop off, run errands or perform in-person physical tasks. However, our Concierge Company Balance InStyle can provide those services as you require at a rate of $65/hour.

Why Would Someone Hire a Virtual Personal Assistant?

Price is 50% less than an employee

No need to cover holidays, sick days and leave of absences

Outsource small tasks to focus on big stuff

Scale your workforce at anytime

Complete your projects faster

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  Ideal Beta Testers

• Is an entrepreneur or busy professional who doesn’t currently have a personal assistant, but could use one because they feel overwhelmed with their current workload. They haven’t hired someone because they can’t afford a full-time salary.
• They know they could really “move the needle” if they were able to focus on the things that they themselves are really good at doing instead of all the things that they find themselves doing because it needs to get done.
• Catch themselves constantly saying – I wish there was more hours in the day.
• Wish that they could click their heels 3 times and make their never-ending to-do list just go away.

What we ask for in return

Feedback is essential to running a business. It tells you what’s working and what’s not. It provides you with fresh ideas on ways to improve your business.  We ask that you review our services within a 24 hours of using up your tasks. 

Include the "Why"

The best reviews not only include whether or not you found the service useful but also to explain why.

Be Specific

Your review should focus on specific features of the service and your experience using it. What you loved, and what you would have like to see differently.

Written reviews must be at least twenty words, and are limited to five thousand words. The ideal length is seventy-five thru five-hundred words per review.

Price Point

We will identify with you the membership tiers available and ask you rate them in terms of overall value.

Be Sincere

We welcome your honest opinion about our services, positive or negative. We believe all opinions and helpful information can help our team succeed in serving our clients at the highest level.

If you are interested in being one of three beta testers for our new Balance line, please email us at info@balanceinstyle.com and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you think you would be an ideal candidate to test our services. We will be selecting our 3 users on Feb 2nd, 2015. Good Luck! If you want to learn more about the program and what we are all about check us out on Social Media.