Karen Fischer

Hi, I'm Karen Fischer and I am a small business consultant focused on the Canadian market.

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I am passionate about working and helping small businesses grow, see and understand their ultimate potential. Unlike corporate environments, everyone in a small business has to roll up their sleeves and be a key contributor as there are limited resources, time, and in many cases money. The key is being able to balance all of this and maintain profitability which is sometimes difficult. The experience I gained from over 25 years in management in Corporate Sales and Marketing roles as well as the time in start-ups and being a General Manager of a small business gave me tools and skills that I needed to focus the last half of my career on helping small business owners achieve their goals with my business partner and husband. I have uncovered that the key to success is to spend time understanding each business and to involve the business owner in the entire engagement and to teach and transfer knowledge to the owner and their staff, so they can implement, sustain and continue to grow their business after you are gone. There is no greater high then finding out your client has now become cash flow positive, is now able to get funding from their bank, is now prepared to hire the employees they needed, improved their sales, or received a return on their marketing investment and the help you provided was instrumental to their success. We provide small business consulting and coaching for small businesses primarily in Ontario. Our Specialties Include: ? Feasibility Studies ? Business and Sales & Marketing Assessments ? Business Plans ? Financial and Operational Management Consulting ? Business Coaching ? Sales and Marketing Consulting ? Digital Marketing Consulting and Coaching ? Interim Management : Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance, Product Management

Vice President, Business Development at Aizan Technologies

July 2008 - January 2010

Aizan is a privately owned hosted voice solutions company. Responsible for the overall development, management and implementation channel strategy to move the company forward and increase the footprint in the North American market. In this position, was not responsible for overall sales of the channel. o Recruitment and Signing of 20+ Partners including Sales Agents, Resellers/Distributors, and Managed Service Providers o Developed new partner markets with marketing companies, outsourced call centers, and business continuity companies who have higher revenue potential o Developed Referral Program to increase lead generation for both direct and indirect channels o Currently negotiating 2 OEM deals with other software service providers to implement our applications o Sourced a potential buyer for the company o Improved bottom line results by attracting key direct accounts which were not part of her mandate. o Contributing to on-going growth - Currently have many new key opportunities in the sales process.

General Manager, Alternate Channels at Mailing Innovations, a Pitney Bowes Company

January 2007 - May 2008

$8 million P&L responsibility encompassing sales, service, finance, marketing, and software development. Director of corporate management team and staff of 41 employees. In addition managed their independent sales agent channel team and spearheaded the initial development of the Canadian dealer sales channel programs. o Implemented and executed a balance scorecard to aid in corporate improvements o Reduced receivables from 57% over 90 days to 12% within 4 months through mentoring and team building processes o Implemented quarterly communications meetings and reviews for employees and senior management o Reduced operational expenses by 8% by implementing expense policies to curb unprofitable activities o Created a successful Employee Engagement and Rewards program which dramatically increased company morale and the employee engagement scores by 15% o Sales and marketing accomplishments o Instituted sales operational policies which increased price attainment, improved profit margin, increased service revenue, and limited territorial disputes. o Created territorial and sales compensation plans to improve sales effectiveness o Restructured sales force and product mix to reduce sales cycles and increase service revenues

Director, Partner Development NA at Multiplied Media, now Poynt

December 2005 - January 2007

Was 5th employee that managed partner development and marketing through IPO process. Managed the directory company and technology partnerships and worked with them in building traffic on the platforms to increase revenue. In addition built key relationships with key verticals in B2C market to aid in increasing local search traffic and revenue opportunities for not only the company, but partners as well. Was responsible for development and implementation of marketing communications plan including working with key agencies to have materials available for investors and market.

Self Employed at Independent Consultant

June 2005 - December 2005

INTERFACE TECHNOLOGIES Account Manager Value-Added Reseller in data and telecom sectors, with a focus on cabling and providing services Performed market analysis and developed a plan for what it would take for them to set-up a channel with the General Contractor and Architect industries for data/telecom cabling services. FLEXIBLE THINKER Business Development Small training company with career management product Worked on a business plan which would help the owner to develop a channel for larger training companies and consultants to resell his training and develop a Value-Added Reseller model while still maintaining the intellectual property.

Channel Development Manager at Siemens

October 2000 - May 2005

Initially worked remotely for the US organization as Sales Manager for 4 distributor reps, where I began to be asked for help by Canadian arm to aid them in re-building the Enterprise Networks Division in Canada. Was transferred and became 1st employee to aid senior management in the development plan. Following approval was given the following areas of responsibility to execute: Channel Program Development, Management and Partner Recruitment, Contract Development and Negotiation, Sales Training Development and Delivery, and Partner Sales Readiness. In last 6-8 months, also acted as overlay sales rep for telecom products through other Siemens Canada Divisions, aiding them in recognition of opportunities and closing sales which were put through the channel.

Channel Development Manager at Entrust

May 1999 - October 2000

Responsible for all Channel Development responsibilities for North America including: Program Development, Contract Negotiation, Adherence, and Program Implementation

Product Manager at Corel Corporation

1998 - 1999

o Responsible for writing Business Plan for new Java-based Thin-Client product. This was a product category for Corel and was directed at the Corporate IT market, as opposed to the Retail market. This was a new industry with two early dominant players. Was also responsible for final plan, which included recommendation to sell the product off to one of our partners who had more experience in thin-client business. o Responsible for recommendation plan to actually sell the product to another company, once it was determined that the product was not suitable in Corel's portfolio based on current financial status.

Channel Development and Product Marketing positions at Mitel

1994 - 1998

Managed all product marketing responsibilities for SX2000 product line for the first 2 years, including responsibility of managing the Aventra Call Centre Product Line. Managed product/direct marketing responsibilities for Mitel and other OEM board manufacturers. The boards were marketed and sold to telecommunications boards to developers who built telecommunication's solutions through a catalog. Channel Development Manager Developed and managed two-tier distribution channel for Mitel's IP PBX product (MediaPath), along with management of relationships with key OEM partners. This is included contract negotiation, implementation, logistics management, and account management.

Software Specialist / Marketing Manager Positions at Cognos Incorporated

1986 - 1994

Product Manager Canadian Software Vendor Held several Product Marketing roles for several product lines, which also included management of OEM relationships with other hardware and software vendors. Worked prior in the United States in their Cincinnati, Ohio sales office for 18 months. During last 2 years was Product Manager, Services which included development and implementation of a Global Product Enhancement Program for which I received a Corporate Leadership Award.

Member of Membership Committee at Ajax Pickering Board of Trade

October 2011

? An Ambassador for New Members ? Part of the Team that Presents: Networking Primer 101 ? Developed 2012 Professional Business Workshop Series ? Member of the 2013 Trade Show Committee

Partner at RK Fischer & Associates

January 2010

We are a small business management consulting, coaching and advisory firm located in the Toronto GTA, focused on helping solve your business problems, deliver value, create growth, along with delivering solutions that help you move your business forward. At RK Fischer & Associates, as small business advisors, we are focused only on small business, so we understand what business challenges exist in the small business market and work with the business owner and staff to implement the right solutions for your business along with ensuring you have continued long term success. Our main goal and differentiator as a small business consultant and advisor is to teach you how to grow your own business through business coaching and business consulting so you can become self-sufficient and know how to move your own business forward. Our Areas of Focus ? Helping start-up businesses set-up their business properly and understand what they will require to be successful. ? Helping existing small businesses determine what they need to do to grow their business and take it to the next level, as well as helping get required financing. ? Helping existing small businesses who are having profitability issues get their business back on track by understanding what changes they can make in their business to turn it around. ? Helping business owners who are looking down the road to sell their business get their business ready to sell so they can receive top dollar for their business.

University of Tennessee-Knoxville

1980 – 1983

BA

Member of Membership Committee, Ajax Pickering Board of Trade Mentor for Summer Company, BACD Developed Professional Development Business Series Workshops for Ajax Pickering Board of Trade 2013, 2014