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Karen Morath: Managing Director of M Power

Melbourne, Victoria
www.communicationempowers.com

Karen is a speaker, consultant and writer who works on the philosophy that communication empowers. She has been in the communication industry for 24 years and is continuing her search for someone who will believe she started her career when she was eight.

She started her consulting business, M Power, literally at the kitchen table as a soloist and after a stint in the role of employer she has returned to the joys that a soloist lifestyle has to offer.

M Power publishes two free monthly e-newsletters reflecting the themes of Karen's consulting and speaking work - The M Powerer about individual and organisational effectiveness, and Palm trees and margaritas about 'empowered living' or keeping all the balls in the air.

If she had to choose between her masters degree in communication and her handbag collection, she would take the practical option (you can't put things in a certificate)

Karen's memorable quote
Well, besides ‘communication empowers’, “When the world around you changes, maintaining your equilibrium is a threat to your future existence” Richard T. Pascale.

Articles by Karen

  • Solo Psyche

    Are soloists just corporate misfits?

    Since trading in being a full time soloist to become an institutional employee, I have been reflecting on why I decided to fly solo in the first place and wondering whether soloists are just corporate misfits.

  • Solo Psyche

    Work styles: From solo to employed

    I have sold out! For the first time in fifteen years, I have changed work styles and have a proper job. It’s part time, but it means I am no longer just flying solo.

  • Stay Balanced

    Balancing work and motherhood

    Recently I wrote about my decision to resume sending Christmas cards to clients and others I value. I was shocked when the reaction to what I thought was an innocent think piece proved so divisive.

  • Working Smarter

    Time for a business performance review

    December presents the ideal opportunity to learn and grow by doing a yearly business performace review. A time to reflect, rethink, reread and redesign before the start of a new year.

  • Networking

    Should you send Christmas cards to clients?

    This month I plan to correct one of the biggest mistakes I have made since flying solo and send Christmas cards to clients. In the past I didn’t do this, but instead donated the money I would have spent on cards and postage to a charity.

  • Working Smarter

    Business book recommendations

    The very best thing solo business owners can do to make the most of October is to get their hands on a really good book and spend the month actively reading it. So if you’re looking for a great business book recommendation read on.

  • Working Smarter

    How to make the most of September

    Spring is a time of new life, and that’s exactly what we can do with September. Now is the perfect time to reassess your business and do some of the things you have been putting off all year. Now is the time for action!

  • Solo Psyche

    How to make the most of August

    On the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Australia, he delivered a strong message about the importance of gratitude. This really got me thinking about the way I live my life. I’m a soloist. Why?

  • Working Smarter

    How to make the most of July

    July is either the beginning of a new financial year or the middle of a calendar one. But whatever way you look at it, it is a great month to review our business planning and take stock of how our business is tracking.

  • Working Smarter

    How to make the most of June

    June is the ideal time to assess just how much value suppliers have added to our business. There is nothing like looking at the bottom line of these expenses for the year to help us decide if our business is better off.

  • Stay Balanced

    How to make the most of May

    May is a great time to indulge ourselves. I don’t mean we should merely plan a sleep in, a night out or a massage. Nor do I mean we should go silly and upgrade our Windows software or buy a better desk chair.

  • Stay Balanced

    How to make the most of April

    April is a great month. It’s school holidays for some, Easter holidays for others. Joy of joys. Many of us haven’t had a break since January! Now is the perfect time to focus on balancing work and family.

  • Working Smarter

    How to make the most of March

    I know I won’t be able to resist the obvious pun that the year is marching by, so there it is, out of the way early. But really. March. Already? I find March is a great time to do so many things, you need to be a good time manager to fit work in!

  • Solo Psyche

    How to make the most of February

    For many soloists, February is the time when things kick off in earnest. People, including me, have dusted the sand off their feet, got their kids back to school, tradespeople and factory workers have returned after the annual shutdown and we’re into it.

  • Working Smarter

    How to make the most of January

    We are all in planning mode as we begin another year flying solo. These tips will help you to truly embrace the start of a new year.

  • Working Smarter

    Measures of success for your solo business

    Without the reserved car parking space, the corner office or the large team of staff, what can we use as measures of success? How do we - and those around us - know we are successful?

  • Starting Out

    Working at home better than a 'real job'

    It can’t hurt us home business owners to reflect on all of the reasons why working at home works for us. Here we explore some of the best bonuses of not having a real job.

  • Working Smarter

    Flexible working hours: reflections on the four hour day

    Trish Weston's articles on the concept of flexible work hours and the four hour day has brought on the biggest mental shift I've had in ten years of soloism.

  • Marketing

    Get personal for effective business communication

    Has modern technology stifled effective business communication and depersonalised our relationships with our nearest and dearest? Is a text message as meaningful as a hand-written note? I think not.

  • Working Smarter

    Have a business decision making problem?

    Many soloists find it tough to be decisive. Luckily, business decision-making is a skill that can be learnt. Arming yourself with clear goals will help guide decisions and quash procrastination.

  • Starting Out

    Meet two types of home-based business

    There are two types of home-based business owners, the laissez faire homegrown and the ambitious solo professional. It seems no matter which we are, others assume our businesses are a mere folly.

  • Working Smarter

    Discover the business benefits of outsourcing

    One of the most important skills for soloists to develop is an understanding of what to undertake themselves and what to outsource to others.

  • Marketing

    Customer service example: a tip on how NOT to do it

    Soloists who dazzle their customers from the outset are likely to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. In this customer service example I ended up on the receiving end of an IT service provider having 'one of those days.'

  • Marketing

    Is it good business to barter?

    Whether you call it a contra deal, a business exchange or a trade, bartering amongst soloists is common practice. But is it necessarily the best way to support one another?

  • Solo Psyche

    Six rules to help you love your work

    In many ways, 'Six rules to help you love your work' is a terrible title for this article as many soloists - including me – come out in a rash when they see the word ‘rules’.

  • Marketing

    The soloist's guide to public relations

    Having control over how you're seen by your public is one of the joys of soloism. So are you using public relations to get your message out there?

  • Solo Psyche

    Are you really a business entrepreneur?

    Is bigger really better? More and more soloists are challenging the traditional definition of a business entrepreneur and appreciating the benefits of keeping things small and doing it their way.


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