FLAVORS OF FALL

Our blog post this week is from Sandra Pallotta of Nutritional Hip.  Sandra is a new member to WBOC and we welcome her to our organization.  You can reach Sandra at 315-682-5538 or email at nutritionallyhip@yahoo.com

www.nutritionallyhip.com

When we think of fall, our mind turns to leaves changing color, cooler days, hardier foods and heavier, darker colored clothing to keep us warm.  There is a reason for this.  Just like nature knows exactly what to do to balance itself so do our bodies. The body is amazing and has an inept way of knowing exactly what it needs.  The problem lies with the fact that somehow we have lost the ability to listen to what our bodies are telling us.   Most of us have very active, fast paced lives.  We work all day and then go home to our second job which is taking care of our families and home life.   Time is limited so we turn to a quick fix for dinner which is usually some type of fast food that may come from a restaurant, frozen box, or delivery man.  Poor food choices eventually pay a toll on our well being due to their chemical additives and lack of nutrients which can cause added stress, sleep disturbances, hormone unbalance, lack of energy and increased cravings, all cries of help from a body fighting to create balance.

You only have one body and it is your vessel for life.  Treating it kindly or poorly will have a direct result on what it will return.  Recreating balance to your life is essential to good health.  Some ways to redirect your path are:

Eating for the season – Fall brings a harvest of root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, beets and onions, and when added to our diet help to ground us and bring balance this time of year.  Other seasonal foods to include are squash, kale, nuts and of course apples from all of wonderful local orchards in our area.   When cooking, make more stews, sautés, and soups that add warmth and comfort.  Steer clear of raw foods and colder dishes during the fall season.

Prioritize – With a little planning you can make health your number one priority.  Plan a week’s worth of healthy dinners for your family.  There are many fall recipes that you can include that take less than 30 minutes to prepare.  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_fall_recipes  This is less time than it would take you to drive to your favorite fast food restaurant and back.  Making a list of all ingredients you need for the week and grocery shopping once will cut down on wasted time.   Also, in the summer season we tend to push projects off until the fall which can leave us feeling overwhelmed when trying to tackle them.  Learning to delegate responsibilities to other family members enables you to break tasks down into smaller chunks making them more manageable.  Learn to say no to things that are not a priority and you do not have time for.  Taking on unnecessary commitments can create stress and drain your energy.

Slowing down – Take time to slow your pace down.  When you are feeling stressed take a few moments to take a few deep breaths.  Deep breathing techniques supply oxygen to the brain, and sooth your nervous system leaving you feeling more relaxed and rejuvenated.   The crisp fall air is perfect for getting outside and taking a long walk.  This will also help you to clear your mind and enjoying the fall foliage bonds you with nature and has a grounding affect.

Relaxation time – In order to create balance the body must be nurtured.  Set aside time this fall that is totally devoted to something that brings enjoyment.  Whether it’s a forgotten hobby that you once loved, raking a pile of leaves and then jumping in them with your kids, apple picking, fall hikes through our beautiful CNY parks, hay rides with a loved one or catching up with friends, whatever it is that soothes your soul, make it a priority.  Schedule it into your appointment book the way you would all of your other commitments that way you have no excuses for not following through.

Member Spotlight : Allison Haslam – Primerica Financial Services

Name:  Allison Haslam

Regional Leader for Primerica Financial Services

Products and Services:

Allison will comprise a complete Financial Needs Analysis, which is a complimentary service she offers her clients. She has products that will help you & your family to develop a comprehensive plan for you family, including retirement planning, debt management, and life insurance protection, long-term care insurance, and legal services.

Number of Employess: Just Self

Location: New York State, Syracuse Area

Phone Number: 315-440-6940

Email: ali.haslam@gmail.com

Linkedin Profile

Twitter Handle : Allison_Haslam
What prompted you to start your own business?

I started my own business part-time because I wanted to earn extra income.  I turned my business into a full time career because I fell in love with the business world.  I knew that being a business owner would allow me to help an unlimited number of families and also allow me to fulfill the dreams I have for my family.

How much research did you do before starting your business?

I actually didn’t do much research – I was a client of Primerica before I started as an independent representative of the company.  I knew what they did was good for families, and it made sense for me to start working there.  My husband Eric, did most of the background research on the company when we became clients.  To me, there was no risk, because when I first started, I maintained my full time job as a teacher.

Who is your target client/customer base?

My client base is middle-class families.  Most families are not ever really taught how money works – it is my job to help them understand the financial concepts they need to know in order to be financially successful in their lives.  I do this by helping them save money and get out of debt, and also make sure their family is protected against anything that could happen to them financially.

What are you the most proud of?

I am proud of having taken the “risk” of quitting my teaching job, which was seemingly stable to go into business for myself.  It has allowed me to control my schedule and also to grow on a professional level very quickly.  I am also proud that I work with a company that has high integrity and does what is right for it’s representatives and the clients we serve.

How have you been “Affirmed”?

I am constantly affirmed by my colleagues through recognition and being asked to speak publicly for events that we hold.  I am also in charge of a training program at my office, which makes me realize how important a leadership role is for me.  In 2009, I was recognized through the WBOC as a 40 Under 40 recipient, which was one particular event that made me realize that I was meant to be in business.

Member Spotlight: Theresa Cangemi

Business Name:   Medicare Made Simple

Owner: Theresa Cangemi

Products and services: Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Supplements, Prescription Drug plans;

(ALSO:  life insurance, long term care, dental, group health insurance)

Number of employees:   just self

Location:   New York State; Upstate NY

Hours: 9-5pm

Phone:  315-676-4933

E-mail:   tcangemi@twcny.rr.com

Website:  www.MyMedicareMadeSimple.com

Twitter Handle:  http://twitter.com/MedicareSimple

What prompted you to start your own business?

I have always wanted to do my own thing and own my own business.  I just needed the product or service.  I found Medicare Made Simple and the enjoyment of educating a growing population of retirees about the Medicare system and their choices.

How much research did you do before starting your business?

It took me a year of reading the appointment contracts and discussing the contract language with my attorney before I decided to become appointed with UnitedHealthcare.

What were the most helpful sources, including websites?

I can’t say any source was the most helpful.  My sources and learning curve have really been a “learn as you go” experience.   The Help Desk through UnitedHealthcare has been a BIG help and network, network, networking.

When were you the most discouraged?

This year when CMS (The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) announced that the Open Enrollment Period (January 1st – March 31st) was going away.  It is now a disenrollment period.  This has been very discouraging because just when I am in contract negotiations and about to increase my Medicare Advantage plan offerings, to offer a more holistic approach, with other carrier’s MA plans, a whole 3 months worth of earning potential gets shut down.

What company or individual do you admire?

I admire any start-up company who can take an idea, go into business, stick to it, make it work and make the company  profitable, and grow it to add employees and earn big revenues.

What will make your business stand out from competitors?

The service and educational experience that I provide, including the long term client relationship.

Who is your target client/customer base?

Those eligible for Medicare, age 65 and older.  Also, someone who has had a long term illness or disability and at their 25 month of their disability they can apply for Medicare.

What surprised you the most in your business venture?

The lack of earning potential due to the strict Medicare regulations and enrollment periods.  As of January 2011, the new Obama care plan has made some Medicare changes, such as, the three month Open Enrollment period will be going away and it has now become a disenrollment period instead.

In order to stay self employed, I have had to make some changes to my business. I have entered back into selling group health insurance and voluntary benefits (to businesses); also now offer life insurance, long term care, and dental.

What are you the most proud of? (Professionally speaking)

That I can say that I am self employed and have my own business.  My business is mine.  It is my personality, my creativity, my decisions, my hard work, and my clients I have earned.

How have you been “Affirmed”? (a specific event or something that showed you, that you made the right decision is starting your business.)

When after meeting with a client whom I have helped they comment, “thank God I met you”.

Reminder:  the Annual Enrollment Period, for Medicare, starts November 15th – December 31st.

Welcome to the 2010-2011 Program Year!

September is the start of our 2010-2011 WBOC year. I love the starting process. There is that sense of opportunity, ideas abound and minds are open to the possibilities.

Over the summer your WBOC Board of Directors has been working on our 2010-2011 strategic plan and look forward to sharing that with you. Our role is to listen and respond to the want and needs of the membership. We’ve been listening and heard that the majority of our members join for networking, education, and making deals.

I am a firm believer of ‘ What you put into things is what you get out of them.’ In order to make the deals you have to build strong connections and build trust. Being involved will help make your WBOC membership work for you. We did a survey among members in the spring and learned that:

• WBOC members employ about 500 people.
• Almost ¾ of our membership have provided goods/services for other members, some of those sales reaching over $10,000
• You can find just about any service/product from our members

So, next time you need something – go to http://WBOConnection.org/directory and think about doing business with another woman in business.

We have an exciting year planned and encourage all of you to take advantage of the benefits of your membership. Here’s what you will see this year:

• A new meeting format that allows for more time for education, accommodates the hectic schedules of business women with families, and costs only $10 for members.
• A stronger relationship with the WISE Center where our members can take advantage of the numerous educational programs and events available at the WISE Center.
• Connections Meetings will be held twice a month with a set schedule where members can sign up to attend via the website.
• On the Towns will be held quarterly by members.
• Members can post their own events on the website for all members to see.
• The introduction of WBOC Bucks — the more involved you are, the more ‘bucks’ you earn to be used towards monthly meetings, advertising on the WBOC website and program agenda, and more.

As we begin our year, I look forward to the opportunity to learn more about being a better leader and entrepreneur, I look forward to making stronger connections with members of WBOC, and I look forward to working with each of you to make WBOC the premier organization for women in business.

Posted by :

WBOC Board President, Nicole Samolis

Five Easy Ways to Relieve Stress

Written by : Nicole Marks

Exercise Physiologist : Dynamic Fitness for Women

www.dynamicfitnessforwomen.com

Let’s face it women entrepreneurs take care of everyone’s needs and wants and put themselves last. Women take care and responsibility of the kids, the house, their business, their clients/customers and then there is themselves, which come last. This causes a lot of stress to build up and this stress can become internal or external. Stress has become one of the biggest causes of health issues today.

Stress is a normal part of everyone’s life, however too much stress can be very harmful to one’s health. Stress causes a physiological response called “the flight or fight response”, this is our bodies natural defense mechanism to stress and fear. This mechanism starts when the body comes under stress and a message is then sent to the brain to the hypothalamus, which then activates the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. Once the autonomic nervous system is activated this involuntarily activates functions such as: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased respiration, and increased rate of metabolism. The activation of the endocrine system causes the pituitary to become stimulated, which then releases chemicals such as:Cortisol, which increases blood sugar, Aldosterone, which increases blood pressure, and Epinephrine and Norepinephrine.

Stress causes both physical and internal health ailments. The physical ailments include: chronic muscle tension, back issues, increased risk of injury, and weight gain. Stress can cause a number of internal health ailments including; high blood pressure, lowered immune system, which causes the body to be less effective at fighting colds, viruses, and even diseases,headaches, migraines, and even life threatening diseases such as; heart disease, heart attacks, kidney failure, and cancer.

Understanding and accepting these facts is one thing, knowing what to do to combat stress is another. Here are five easy steps to combating stress:

Eat a well balanced diet: Society has come into an age of very unhealthy eating. There are many factors that play a role in the unhealthy nutrition we see today. In most homes today both parents are working. There are not a lot of stay at home moms that are cooking well balanced meals.  There are factors such as; lack of time, energy, and money, which all become reasons why there is a real lack of nutritious meals and healthy overall eating. However; a well balanced healthy diet can be very simple, easy and inexpensive to prepare. Each meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) should all consist of a complex carbohydrate, a protein, and a vegetable. Then add two pieces of fruit and maybe some nuts and yogurt for twosnacks between meals and you will be on your way to thinking better, feeling better, and lowering your stress.

Add some form of physical activity: In order to stick to any kind of physical program the key is you must find something you truly enjoy or else you will not stick to it. Whether itis an exercise/fitness program, jogging, walking, hiking, tennis, etc… One must find a physical activity that one enjoys, because consistency is the key. Society as a whole has become extremely inactive. There are a lot of reasons for this such as; advancements in technology, an increase in jobs, which include sitting behind a desk and in front of a computer 8+ hours a day, lack of time, energy, and money. The reality is an increase in physical activity increases ones energy, increases brain and mental functioning, and decreases stress. So get up and get moving.

Get enough sleep: Most people do not get enough sleep. This can be very harmful to ones health. It is recommended that an adult needs at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, most studies show an average of 63% of American adults do not get the recommended amount of sleep. Lack of sleep cause an increase in cortisol, which in turn causes an increase in weight gain and an increase in stress. The solution: start to wind down earlier, consume less caffeine,  eat a well balanced diet, implement more physical activities, and when its time to sleep, SLEEP!

Self-talk: This is an extremely important element to include in any and everyone’s life. Stress can creep up on us and we have to deal with some amounts of stress each day. The first thing that should be done when stress does initially arise is self talk. Stop and ask yourself; is there something I can do about this stress right this second? If not, is it worth causing harm to your health, do to something that you cannot change right at that moment? One must understand what triggers their stress and learn how to breathe and talk your way through it. Clear your mind, breathe and then talk yourself through the situation with the least amount of stress possible. Learning how to avoid activating “the flight or fight response” will help preventhealth ailments and will help decrease stress.

Take a break: Women in the workforce is still a relatively new idea. For many years women were stay at home moms and took care of the household responsibilities, which in itself is demanding. In society today women are assuming the same work roles as men, competing for positions that were unheard of at one time and on top of it all still juggling children and the household responsibilities. Women have made leaps and bounds when it comes to employment, education and business. However, in taking on all of these demanding responsibilities women are also taking on a lot more stress and ultimately forgetting to take care of them. Finding time for you is something that one must implement into ones daily schedule. There are a lot of excuses why one cannot, whether it is time, energy, or money. These are just simply excuses, and the solution comes when one finally loses the excuses. Women are dynamic beings capable of much more than one could even imagine. In order to stay healthy for ones children, for ones business, for ones clients/customers, one must put time and energy back into oneself. Even if taking a break means taking five minutes to get some fresh air and forget about everything else just for those five minutes.

A lot of the health issues we are dealing with in today’s society can be prevented. We can reduce the disease rate, obesity rate, stress rate, by simply taking care of and putting energy into oneself. It’s like looking at ones car; we service it, wash it, and put oil into it to maintain it. Well our bodies and minds are our 1^st and last vehicles in this life we must make sure we take care of it by maintaining its health. That starts with making time for oneself and learning how to best cope with and deal with stress. This will ensure a better and longer business life and overall a longer and better quality of life.

Find Your Strongest Life

I came across Natalie MacNeil’s blog “She Take On The World” the other day. One of her posts discussed the book “Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently” by Marcus Buckingham

I am picking up this book today (amazon.com) as I am intrigued with the notion of his which is to stop “juggling” work and family. Buckingham rejects the idea of juggling since that involves keeping everything in the air at once. And we all know, at some point, something has got to give.

Buckingham says, “You have one life. One mind. One heart. One cup, if you will. Your challenge is not to separate one cup from another, erect boundaries between each, and then somehow balance them all. Your challenge is to move your life, tilt your life, intentionally imbalance your life toward those few specific moments that will fill your one cup.”

link to the full blog post

Buckingham also developed a “Strong Life Test” a series of 23 questions to help women assess their leading and supporting rolls. Take the test today and see which of the nine roles you are: Advisor, Caretaker, Creator, Equalizer, Influencer, Motivator, Pioneer, Teacher, and Weaver.

Welcome 2010 !!

I always enjoy the start of a new year. It is a time to reflect on the previous year and take what I learned (and didn’t learn), what I accomplished (and didn’t accomplish) and resolve what I’ll make of the new year.

As we enter into 2010 I would like to invite all WBOC members to look at the possibility of your WBOC membership.

You have a board of 11 dedicated, professional women who volunteer their time to make this organization the premier organization for women in business. We work hard at providing programming that will help you be better business women. We work hard at providing opportunities for you to connect with peers who understand the challenges you face in running a business and balancing that with your personal life.  We work hard at communicating the information to you via our website, email, and post.

Are you taking advantage of what we’re offering?

Membership is more than a listing in a directory. Membership is involvement. Involvement leads to connections with new people. Connections lead to relationships. Relationships lead to business.

Are you involved?

I’ve been in business 13 years and my entire business is built on relationships. I don’t spend money on expensive ad campaigns. I spend money on memberships and get involved.

I challenge all WBOC members to resolve to attend a monthly program, attend a WBOC on the Town, invite 4 WBOC members to meet for lunch to learn more about each other’s business, volunteer on a committee. Will you take the challenge? And as you reflect on 2010 you may discover the true value of your WBOC membership. Happy New!

- Nicole Samolis, WBOC Board President