Saturday, February 25, 2012

Does Your Facebook Business Page Have a Theme Song?

Ours does! Sorry if that sounds a little like a taunt from the school-playground, LOL! I'm just really excited about the new landing page on our InStep Consulting Facebook page. Here's a sneak peek:

When you click on the pink horn icon in the upper right hand corner, a funky tune will play as you navigate on our page. How did we do it? By using the FREE publishing platform provided by Wix.com!

Wix.com offers cutting-edge web technology that allows you to customize your Facebook or mobile website regardless of your technical skills or knowledge. It's an online tool that guides you through building your site without having to code. I was literally able to drag and drop different image and text elements to update our Facebook page by starting with one of their many free templates.

My tips for using the Wix platform would be to:
  1. Plan ahead and decide what aspects of your business want to feature (will help with choosing template layout and tabs)
  2. Think about what message and image you want to convey to your audience (will help with choosing template themes)
  3. SAVE YOUR WORK as you go (yes, I did have to rebuild it from scratch once when Internet Explorer had a hiccup and stopped responding)
  4. Have FUN -- you can customize and update your site whenever you want
The Wix support team is friendly and helpful (true story -- I actually called them and got advice on how to optimize the page). Stop by and "like" our Facebook page when you have the chance, and tell us what you think on our Wall!

You'll also see info on my upcoming Communicate for Impact seminar for women entrepreneurs on Tuesday, March 27 -- which is being held in NYC at Wix Lounge!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

How I Broke Through My Fears - Literally

I had the privilege to be a guest last Saturday at the Winter Rejuvenation Workshop hosted by Jasmin Terrany and her fantastic team of experts and healers. It was so rewarding to experience their gifts and take part in their activities to help re-align my mind-body-spirit.

As a coach, I know it's important to take ME-TIME, and this workshop was a great opportunity for me to practice what I preach. I'd like to share a bit about my personal breakthroughs.

The closing exercise was designed to help us find our true power so that we can experience true mind-body-spirit alignment. This was achieved through breaking -- several participants agreeing to strike a wood block with their fists. It's often in these situations that I'm not sure from where my motivation to participate strikes me. All I knew was my hand shot up in the air when El asked for volunteers.

My instruction was to write on one side of the board some of my FEARS [false evidence appearing real], and to write on the opposite side of the board some of my DREAMS [dedication responsibility education attitude motivation]. Then, at the front of the room, I would acknowledge my fears (by bowing to the board) and then BREAK-THROUGH by striking the board with my fist.

I was the first volunteer; so in addition to the fears I had written on the board, I also had performance anxiety chattering in my head ... "What if I don't break the board? Will they laugh at me? Will I de-motivate everyone else?" Not to mention, will I break my hand?!

Somehow, I was able to access my inner power, make connection with the board, face my fears, and BREAK-THROUGH to the other side! And, NOT break my hand, LOL! I've since kept the broken board pieces on my fireplace mantle as a reminder of my experience. What's ironic, though, is my little inner fear-voice inside isn't completely silenced. Occasionally, I've found "her" internally critiquing me because I didn't break-through the board in two equal parts like others had done. Of course, I know that my willingness to take this activity on and face my fears head-on is what counts. And, I'll always have the broken board as my reminder to motivate me when "she" surfaces. And, I'll gently let her know it's ok.

Was there a time that you faced your fears head-on? What happened? What did you learn? How are you stronger as a result of doing so? Share your comments here or tweet me on Twitter.

Friday, February 03, 2012

How Can Brooklyn Drive Down Diabetes?

Did you know that in 2007-2009, that Brooklyn had an adult obesity rate of 25% and a diagnosed diabetes rate of 10.2%? [NYC DOHMH Community Health Survey]

Well, the folks who are part of the Brooklyn Partnership to Drive Down Diabetes (BP3D) do and they are determined to achieve lasting health policy and environmental changes over the next two years. BP3D is a collaboration between CAMBA, the Greater Brooklyn Health Coalition and is guided by a coalition of over 40 public and private stakeholders. They took on a social marketing campaign last year to promote healthy eating on the community level: Our Health is in Our Hands.

I attended a strategic plan meeting yesterday at Brooklyn College, and learned more about BP3D's 5 Strategic Goals to help Brooklynites gain more access to healthy food options and safe places to exercise so we can more effectively manage our weight and prevent/reduce diabetes. The goals are to:
  1. Address linguistic and cultural/ethnic barriers to healthcare
  2. Build partnerships and coordinate among service providers and health promotion programs
  3. Increase knowledge of and access to healthy options
  4. Build capacity of faith-based and community centers to address health needs
  5. Create sustainability of BP3D and partner programs
I was honored to be able to share the findings from our workgroup, after an hour-long brainstorming session to determine our Top 3 Recommended Action Items to Achieve BP3D Goal 3:
  • Change and enforce school food and physical activity policies -- ensure that this includes parent education and awareness; stimulate connections between students and local community gardens; ensure school water fountains work; create age-appropriate nutrition and health awareness curriculum that demonstrates connection between physical activity and academic performance
  • Expand existing city initiatives, e.g., healthy bodegas and play streets -- ensure that this includes social media strategies to increase awareness and strengthen connections; maintain cultural sensitivity
  • Establish and expand workplace wellness programs -- ensure that this includes healthy eating options in worksite cafeterias; create company health fairs and employee health competitions; facilitate public/private partnerships to link business owners with nutrition and health awareness resources
As a Brooklyn resident and entrepreneur, I'm excited to be part of this endeavor, and look forward to sharing more about our efforts going forward. Share your thoughts and comments here on the blog, or tweet me using the #BP3D hashtag.