Niagara Business Development Group

Ronen Levy

"I have been working with Maria for several months already. I am helping her with her websites design and implementation and she is helping me with my company’s social media. We help each other a lot with business development as well. Maria is a social media expert, especially with Twitter and Facebook. She can help you as well as coach you on how to have a great social media presence for your company. Also regarding business development she is really a genius, coming up with new ideas how to develop and grow your business all the time. On top of that, Maria has a great personality, it is great working with her and she loves to help. I’d highly recommend working with Maria as a social media and/or business coach."

http://theflorencestudio.com

We had always been inclined to avoid Facebook. The terms “social media” and the concept of “virtual friends” did not appeal to us and when people we saw daily would look astounded at our reluctance and question how they would know what we were up unless we joined the digital age we just laughed and wondered …if they saw us every day how much more did they need to know?!

Since then, and after much encouragement and insistence from Maria Rekrut, we finally relented as we had come to see that living abroad had many challenges that would be solved by this approach. The time difference from Italy to Canada for our family and to international clients and other artists and the fact that so much of what we most wanted to share was visual as we are artists made the decision a logical choice. Soon I found myself wondering how we had ever managed without it.

Suddenly our family seemed as though they were right next door as we were able to see photos and videos of Frank’s 95 year old father and our son with his friends and fiancé, send our latest works of art out into the world, see the work of other contemporary artists struggling and overcoming some of the same challenges as we experience, celebrate our professional successes and those of our new “friends”, offer solutions to people we had never met in person but who were also finding themselves navigating a move to a new country, etc.

Where I had once considered the term “friend” as it is used on Facebook to seem misplaced I have now come to know these people in a way that was entirely unexpected. As artists, we are inclined to spend much of our time alone in our studios and for us all to be able to speak professionally but in a relaxed informal manner on a regular basis has provided insight, stimulation, creativity and a sharing of process and business that I had never imagined.

I am able to still speak now with artists I have known in person but who are now travelling or relocated. Others that I first met online I now often have the opportunity years later to meet in person when our paths cross in Florence or at International exhibitions.

We are aware of the international market and opportunities as well in a way that would otherwise have been impossible. Our work has found homes in galleries, museums, exhibitions and private collections around the world and our students come from so many different countries we have now lost count.

Thank you Maria for insisting and persevering and for ignoring my kicking and screaming reluctance to embrace this medium which has provided friendships, as well as an opportunity to showcase our development as artists and to connect to the professional arts community as well as to new collectors and students!

Thanks Maria for bringing us into the 21st Century way of doing business with your mentoring and coaching.  I appreciate your patience and time spent with us.  I highly recommend Maria Rekrut as your next  Business Mentor and Coach.

The Florence Studio
Thanks Maria for bringing us into the 21st Century way of doing business with your mentoring and coaching.  I appreciate your patience and time spent with us.  I highly recommend Maria Rekrut as your next  Business Mentor and Coach.​

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Business Testimonials