Island Pet Movers – Helping Our Four-Legged Friends Travel Safely
With new pet travel regulations being implemented with no broad standard across airlines, Kari Mendoza—owner of Island Pet Movers—not only recognizes the need for education within the military and local communities of Hawaii where her business operates, but also has set a goal for 2020 to increase the public’s knowledge and perception of pet travel. This vision includes a promoting greater understanding of how pet travel works and why it is important for pets to travel safely and at reasonable cost as well as diminishing negative perceptions. Mendoza says, “I would say many of our clients are scared to fly their pets, thinking their beloved pets will die in the cargo of an airplane. This is a huge misconception of how pets are flown. Pet transportation is very safe. Unfortunately, with social media and ‘fake news,’ people spread fear, which has led airlines to change their policies.” (more…)
Spotlight on Powerhouse’s Shelley Skinner
This past month, we celebrated Shelley Skinner’s one-year anniversary with Powerhouse! We are incredibly fortunate to have this talented graphic designer on our Powerhouse team. You should see what this powerful design maven can do when she puts her talents to serving our amazing clients like Cape Henry Associates, for whom Shelley designs social media ads, desktop backgrounds, marketing slicks, and press releases. Shelley holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in design and visual communications from Belmont University and brings well over a decade of experience in visual design and communication.
Shelley describes what she loves about Powerhouse: “I love that Powerhouse is a female-owned business that works with clients who are making a positive impact in this world…but that also empowers everyone to work in a way that flexibly fits into their lifestyle, while they get to work with people they love, on projects they love.”
Earlier this year, Shelley and her partner, Sean, purchased a new home in Virginia, where they enjoy hosting their friends for barbecues and sports on the weekends. They have a seven-year-old Labrador mix named Liam, who loves finally having a backyard to run around in and play fetch, which is apparently his favorite thing in the entire world (other than cheese).
When Shelley’s not working, she enjoys traveling, visiting museums, learning new things, cooking delicious food, spending time with friends, and playing with her dog. She really loves her location and says that living near Washington, D.C. is great. “There is so much to explore (much of it free!), great restaurants to try, and lots of nearby outdoor activities: from kayaking/SUP on the Potomac River, to hiking in the Shenandoah, to biking along the many trails, such as south along the Mount Vernon Trail or west along the old Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) railroad trail.” Listening to Shelley’s ideas makes us think she would be a pretty awesome travel guide in addition to her already being such a gifted designer!
We asked Shelley to reveal one fun fact about herself that possibly no one else knows (even her Powerhouse compatriots). She tells us, “I do not watch scary movies under any circumstances. I almost always listen to podcasts while I cook, but when I’m cooking, I’m particularly drawn toward listening to podcasts that are a bit on the spookier side. Maybe the act of being at home and cooking makes me feel safe and comforted, making me feel less anxious about listening to something spooky.” Shelley’s favorites include LORE with Aaron Mahnke, Serial (season one) from This American Life, Dirty John from the L.A. Times, and The Clearing from Pineapple Street Media/Gimlet.
This month at Powerhouse we are focused on the topic of self-care, so we asked Shelley what self-care means for her and how she makes it happen. She says, “In my professional life, self-care means getting all of the information that I need for a project up front so that neither myself nor the client are scrambling to gather/provide extra info closer to the due date. She continues, “I also say ‘no’ to projects when I know that I won’t have the time or energy to give it what it would need. When I schedule my work hours around the ‘life’ activities that I already have planned, have been looking forward to, and need in my life, it helps me maintain a feeling of ‘balance.’”
For Shelley, balance is essential. “I’m a big fan of the word ‘balance’—I guess you could say it’s the closest thing I have to a mantra. For me, it’s very important to have a balance of work and fun, whether that means a balance of work and fun at work (i.e., working on less exciting admin tasks and having fun designing something beautiful and impactful) or a balance of work and non-work activities.”
Shelley offers this advice for other freelancers: “When you start feeling things moving out of balance, try to think of something that would start moving things back to a balanced state. Maybe that means taking a day off to do something that brings you joy or setting aside a larger chunk of hours on a weekend to get caught up on a work project.” She also says, “Make sure that you’re working on projects that you love. Maybe it’s not every project, but strive to keep getting more and more projects that are bringing joy and fulfillment into your life. There are always dry spots and tough times, and when you hit those, carve out time to do something you love, even if it’s pro-bono or a personal project that may never see the light of day.”
Shelley tells us that she loved being profiled for Powerhouse’s month focused on self-care as it’s something that is important to her both in her professional and personal life. She even discloses these self-care practices that work for her: “Face masks. Yes, I look silly, and I know dermatologists say they don’t accomplish much, but they make me feel SO relaxed. There’s not much you can do while wearing a sheet mask, other than lay back and relax for a few minutes. Try talking or running around the house to do something and that mask is going to slide right off!” She reveals that she loves “drinking a nice Pinot Noir and chowing down on some cheese—I love the ‘Unexpected Cheddar’ from Trader Joe’s—or listening to an audiobook (Circe by Madeline Miller was a recent favorite) while I run around the house dusting and vacuuming (yes, those are self-care activities…because I actually enjoy cleaning and LOVE having a clean house!). I started following Melissa Maker’s blog and YouTube channel Clean My Space years ago, and she does a phenomenal job about getting you excited to clean, in part because you learn the right way and most efficient way to clean!”
Now you know why it’s so easy for us to love Shelley and you can benefit from her awesome tips and recommendations! Thank you, Shelley, for your creative and positive approach to life and work. The Powerhouse team is amazing because of individuals like you. Keep on shining and rocking the balance game—and we hope to have many more wonderful years working with you on the Powerhouse team!
Client Spotlight – The Children’s Hunger Project
By: Julie H. Kirchner, Technical/Grants Writer, Powerhouse Planning
Have you ever had to think about whether or not you would have food to eat for the weekend? Ten years ago, three forward-thinking gentlemen—Bob Barnes, JY Clerc, and Sam Jordan—perceptively formed a nonprofit organization to help fight childhood hunger and malnutrition in Brevard County, Florida. Since then, The Children’s Hunger Project has served thousands of elementary school children who are at risk of hunger and malnutrition by providing meals to last them through the weekend until they return to school on Monday morning.
According to The Children’s Hunger Project website, the number of children in Brevard County in the free and reduced-price meal program exceeds 50%. Some elementary schools have 80% or more of their kids on the free and reduced-price meal program, with many at risk of childhood hunger and malnutrition. As a determinant of hunger risk and poverty in a geographic area, the availability of the free and reduced-price meal program in public schools has been recognized as a key indicator. For children at risk of childhood hunger and malnutrition, the risk doesn’t stop with the end of the school week. These kids are also hungry on the weekends.
Keith Gee, who has served as executive director of The Children’s Hunger Project since 2016, explains, “The kids we serve are elementary school children who are eligible for the National Free Lunch Program. Here in Brevard that means that they get breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday when they attend school. The problem is that lunch on Friday is oftentimes their last nutritious meal until they return to school on Monday morning. That is 68 hours without proper nutrition! We deliver a package of kid-friendly food to the schools and the teachers can put the package in the kids’ backpacks before they go home on Friday. This ensures that these kids return to school on Mondays ready to learn and be successful.”
On their website, The Children’s Hunger Project describes how everything is designed with the child in mind: “Each week on Friday, The Children’s Hunger Project, Inc. helps as many elementary school children as possible have food to carry home for the weekend in their backpack. This kid-friendly food is lightweight and easy for kids to handle—no cooking is required. Even if the power is out the kids can still pull the top off the can and eat Beanie Weenies. On Monday, the kids return to school but with a better and healthier foundation for learning. Our goal is to ensure elementary school children, at least on weekends, will have basic nutrition.” The Children’s Hunger Project measures success in positive results in children, including improved attendance, better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, and improved health.
With such a powerful mission and purpose spurring the organization on, we can imagine that it feels good to go to work every day for The Children’s Hunger Project (TCHP). We asked Executive Director Keith Gee what he enjoys most about his work with TCHP. He says, “I love helping people. I have been involved with nonprofit management and fundraising for over 30 years (my entire career). I love the fact that I know each and every day my efforts are going to help people in need. I love the fact that TCHP is solely focused on Brevard County. I love the people I work with. All of the volunteers and staff are so passionate about our mission. It is truly inspiring being around them and watching them work. I also love the amount of support we receive from Brevard County residents. We have wonderful volunteers, consistent donors, and supporters who make our organization so successful.”
It’s easy to feel hugely drawn to their mission of feeding local hungry children, and that’s exactly how Powerhouse’s President Jessica Bertsch and Executive Assistant Jennifer Kirkpatrick felt about The Children’s Hunger Project after attending one of their events. Following the event, Jessica and Jennifer met with TCHP’s leadership team, identified their greatest and most immediate needs, and moved forward, as they would with any other contract, except this contract was pro bono, meaning it had an amount due of “$0.00” and Jess paid her freelance team members from Powerhouse’s “Share the Goodness” fund. (We have mentioned before that Jessica is kind of a non-traditional CEO, but if you have the opportunity to get to know her and Jennifer, their combined creativity and passion for giving back are positively inspiring.)
Keith reflects on his experience of working with Powerhouse, “Jessica and her team have been absolutely wonderful to work with. Not only did they take the time to truly understand what we needed to get done, but they worked very quickly to get some of our items done right away. The brand standards that they developed for us were useful immediately. Their assistance with some of our campaigns really helped us track our progress.”
The services and deliverables that Powerhouse provided for The Children’s Hunger Project included
• Brand Standards Sheet
• Giving Tuesday Campaign Plan and Graphics
• Child Champion/Ambassador Toolkit
It was an incredibly positive experience for both organizations to work together and accomplish something meaningful and impactful, and it’s a dreamy scenario all around. Keith and his team at The Children’s Hunger Project are passionate to go to work every day with the ability to focus on the things they love to do and all the good that they can do in their community for children. Jessica and Jennifer go to work for Powerhouse every day feeling passionate about being in the position to provide vital support to many incredibly deserving nonprofit organizations, like TCHP, who may otherwise not have the time and resources required to manage every aspect in-house.
It can be nearly impossible for many nonprofit leaders to find the time and budget to onboard new staff in each of many key skillsets that help businesses thrive—such as strategic planning and marketing, social media campaign design and management, grant writing, internal and external communications, website design, and graphic design. That’s where Powerhouse comes in and becomes your support team solution, giving you the time and energy to focus on your strengths and achieve your most desired goals for your organization.
This month, Powerhouse is focusing on the topic of self-care for freelancers and business owners/CEOs. While we learned about all the hard work that the team at The Children’s Hunger Project is doing to help children in the community, we also asked Keith to share his advice as an executive director/CEO on the importance of self-care and how he practices this in his personal and professional life. (First, he laughed.) Then, he acknowledged, “Honestly, I struggle with this. Work/life balance is difficult, but also one of the things I love about my job. My work is my professional life and my social life. I attend events on the weekends and in the evening that support our cause. It is wonderful to meet new people who also support our organization.” As for his personal life, “Personal fitness is a big priority for me. Although I do have a ‘sweet tooth,’ I work out and try to stay active.” And professionally, he says, “I push myself hard. I do not mind working nights and weekends because I love my job. As the saying goes, ‘Get a career following your passion and you will never work a day in your life.’”
Keith shares with us that TCHP is going to continue to grow in 2020, and he is very proud of their accomplishments this past year as well as their focus on sustainability and careful planning going forward. “My proudest moment with TCHP is that we received a large estate gift from a gentleman who passed away. As a board of directors, we have carefully planned to make this money work for us as we continue to grow and feed more kids in the future.” They have big plans for 2020, and Keith says, “Our goal is to add three to five more schools and serve more children in the county. Currently, we are serving over 2,100 kids every week at 46 elementary schools. There are over 1,000 kids still on our waiting list. We need to do more.”
If there is one thing that Keith and the TCHP team wish people knew about The Children’s Hunger Project, it would be that anyone can help make a difference. “One of our biggest fundraisers is our Health First Fight Child Hunger 5K,” Keith says. “This is a joint fundraiser for TCHP and the Sharing Center of Central Brevard. The event is Saturday, January 11 at Viera High School. The race begins at 8:00 a.m. This is a very family/dog-friendly run. People come out and run, many walk, but it is all about raising money to feed local kids. We will have a live band there and a FREE pancake breakfast for everyone after the race.”
If you don’t have a child in elementary school, it can be hard to feel personally connected to this need. But for savvy business owners, retirees, local colleges, and large employers in the community, this issue matters deeply. Being hungry at school is part of a larger economic picture. When you have young kids who can’t focus on learning because they are hungry and uncomfortable, or not getting enough nutrition to keep them healthy, the wider community is impacted, both now and in the future. Children who grow up participating in and being successfully involved in their school education become the future economic support of their community. They are the future employers and employees, nurses and doctors caring for an aging population, and future educators. And, yes, as the building block for every step of education that follows, early childhood education matters. Bringing these children out of hunger is the key to giving them a strong start in life and in education—and that is the basic building block of a healthy community.
You can read more about The Children’s Hunger Project here:
www.facebook.com/thechildrenshungerproject
thechildrenshungerproject.org
20 Self-Care Tips for Freelancers and Business Owners
When you become a freelancer or business owner, you may find it surprisingly challenging to play your own boss. Make 2020 the year you learn how to maximize your productivity, play to your strengths, and be your own inner coach with these 20 self-care tips.
1. Do the obvious.
There are usually no magic bullets or magic beans in life, though our ongoing search for newer and better “life hacks” is commendable. If you’re struggling on some level, either personally or professionally, first do the most elemental things that keep you at your optimum. Eat for energy and nutrition, get to the gym to get the endorphins flowing, and accommodate for extra stress by adding in a massage if you need it. These are basic prerequisites in the school of life and success.
2. Stop comparing.
Don’t compare yourself to others and don’t try to keep up with what others are doing. Look within yourself to recognize your strengths and values and use these as guides for your days. This is how you will find the motivation and focus to thrive (or at least survive when the going gets tough).
3. Stay organized.
To cut down on stress, embrace organization tips that save you minutes over time and keep up with the items that most impact your productivity. If it’s important or helpful to you to sit down at a clean desk, with an at-a-glance task list prioritized and ready for you each time you start work, then set yourself up for success. Take a moment at the end of each workday to note your current status on key deliverables or use a project tracker and plot out any upcoming deadlines on your calendar. Keep a running list of tasks, using tools like Gmail’s “Tasks,” to manage your time practically (not obsessively).
4. Keep a routine and work when you’re at your best.
Repetition can help you gain speed on routine tasks, just like having a regular work routine can help you be more productive. Set a regular working schedule that allows you to work when you’re “at your best,” and you’ll find that you can work much faster and more efficiently, saving you some additional time for the fun things in life. Overall, you’ll spend less time and energy completing the tasks than you would if you’re tired or distracted.
5. Touch things once, or at least fewer times.
For example, when you bring in a stack of mail, don’t just set the whole stack down to deal with later. Decide right then which items you’ll keep and which you’ll recycle or shred, and then take those items to the right locations (or at least closer to the right locations). If you need more time to address something, set it front and center on your desk so you’ll see it the next time you sit down. The point being, never leave yourself an uncategorized pile for later. Put each to-do in its own place.
6. Give yourself the time.
Start earlier on projects, and you will feel less stressed overall. When you receive a new project assignment, try to guesstimate the amount of time that will be required to finish it. Work backward from the official due date and give yourself extra days in case emergencies and other priorities arise. Turning in work early can also feel like an automatic mood booster. Start working ahead by making a quick list of deliverables, in a bullet list you can visually refer to, and then assign each of those deliverables a specific date that you will work on it.
7. Take breaks.
You are not a machine. Take an eye break from the computer. Take a coffee break. Take a vacation (even if it’s a staycation).
8. Make perfection less of a priority.
As a human being, you are probably your own worst critic. Be sensible with your own expectations for your work. For smaller projects, try allotting yourself a reasonable amount of time to tackle such a task and then setting a timer if you have to. Do your best job during that reasonable timeframe and then assess whether you’ve accomplished the original goal before spending any additional time. Rather than being perfect, focus on other practicing other qualities that are important in business relationships, such as being personable, transparent, and authentic.
9. Focus on doing just one.
Don’t try to do all the things. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the touted best practices for self-care. Try doing just one thing for yourself here and there. To make it easier to adopt a new healthy habit, you can tie the new practice to another daily habit or routine you already have. For example, listen to a three-minute mindfulness meditation after reading the last bedtime story to your little one. What’s good for you can be good for them, too. When you feel you don’t have time for yourself, search to find ways to weave just one important self-care strategy into your daily routine.
10. Know what’s important.
Recognize what is important to you and what your biggest priorities actually are. Walk the dog, get some rest, and be present with your family. If you’re able to get one other task done, then pay a bill. You don’t have to accomplish everything that you write down on your to-do list. As Stephen Covey says, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Doing so will make it easier to have a day that feels productive, fulfilling, and worthwhile.
11. Break things down.
Does a project seem overwhelming and huge, and is it causing you stress just thinking about it? Divide the task into smaller parts. Identify what’s hard and why. Is there anything you can delegate, postpone, or ask for help with? If you need some inspiration, check out how Danielle Jackson broke down the huge goal of raising funds for a mission trip to Uganda and how she recruited other people to help her throughout the process.
12. Crowdsource.
One thing we’ve learned from successful leaders is that all the effort and ideas definitely don’t have to come from yourself. Powerhouse Planning President Jessica Bertsch regularly invites suggestions and ideas for projects from her team. Rely on others to support you on the journey, and decisions and tasks will feel much easier—and more fun.
13. Make incremental changes.
Apply simple fixes and changes to make your life “just a little easier” every day. Always realizing you need to run upstairs and grab socks at the last minute as you go to put on shoes? Stop folding and putting socks away in a drawer upstairs and instead keep a pretty basket near where you store your shoes.
14. Stop doing things you don’t love.
Leave behind the things that weigh you down. Friendships that are wrought with unhealthy obligation. Volunteer roles that aren’t a best match for your strengths and that drain your energy. It’s okay to walk away. In the end, you don’t receive a badge of honor for maintaining close friendships with everyone who comes into your life. And you don’t receive a gold star for taking on every freelance project that is offered to you, especially if it’s not something you enjoy or are well suited for. Use this time wisely and direct your course by selecting your stops along the path.
15. Daydream.
Indulge in dreaming about what you want to learn or achieve. For fun, you can write these dreams down and come back to them later to see if they still excite you. It’s healthy to explore new avenues and new motivations, as long as you are grounded in what you can reasonably accomplish right now.
16. Don’t let the hard things linger.
Tackle the hardest things first, at the beginning of your day. Crossing them off your list will give you a tremendous sense of relief, and then you won’t be worrying about a looming to-do, which can leach away your creative energy throughout the workday.
17. Set a time limit on regret and guilt.
At some time or other, we all second-guess ourselves or dwell on past decisions and results. If you find yourself having a hard time and dwelling on a past situation, or even a difficult conversation, set a time limit for how long you will allow yourself to ruminate. When that time is over, be resolute in your choice to close the door and move on. If you need to, seek therapy to help you overcome things that you just can’t seem to let go of on your own.
18. Know your value.
If you are repeatedly working more hours than you are getting paid for, you’re looking at serious burnout over time. Track your time, take inventory of your feelings about the work you are doing, and be personally accountable for asking for what you need. In the end, if you consistently ask for less than you need and deserve, you can get stuck in a cycle that is hard to break and that can have a negative impact on your self-confidence.
19. Stop staring at projects you never finished.
If you have piles of would-be projects (these may be unread books, unfinished writings) lying around your office on a desk or bookshelf, they may be subconsciously weighing you down. The act of making a decision takes energy, and sometimes we avoid it. However, repeatedly looking at projects we haven’t finished but meant to can drag our energy down even more. Purge books and project supplies that are no longer relevant to your goals today. Moving on can feel like a breath of fresh air—and you’ll have renewed energy and space for endeavors that are of current interest.
20. Give gratitude a foothold.
Cheerfulness begets cheerfulness, and gratitude begets more gratitude. The more you intentionally practice taking note of positive changes and things that are going well, the more easily you’ll make these observations going forward. Soon, you won’t have to think about noticing the positives; it will just come naturally to do it. Start a gratitude journal, if you like. And definitely take opportunities to reflect and write down everyday accomplishments and big achievements that you’re proud of. Remember to say “thank you” and “job well done”—to yourself.
Spotlight on Powerhouse’s Heatherlynn Akins
Here at Powerhouse Planning, we love to highlight the superheroes on our team—the amazing individuals who tell the stories, in words and images, of the people and businesses we’re so honored to support. And in this edition, we’re extra excited to shine a light on the team member who tells the stories of our storytellers (and so much more)!
Heatherlynn, aka H. (don’t you dare call her Heather), has been with Powerhouse for three years. She’s a technical writer and Powerhouse’s newsletter coordinator whose work with clients has included Cape Henry Associates, MILLIE/Agent Intel, and Operation: Job Ready Veterans, just to name a few. She’s also a contributor extraordinaire to Powerhouse’s own content, including our team member spotlight pieces.
And right now, at this very moment, Heatherlynn is asking herself why she came up with the questions that inform this story—probably because she was hoping that spotlight would stay far far away from her. She’s much more content to be the one cheering for others (e.g., her work colleagues, children’s sports teams, and such) and happy to do so from somewhere less, let’s just say, front and center. And while we love that about her, sometimes you have to let your self shine (or at least let someone else shout out to the universe how remarkable you are).
With over 25 years under her belt as an Air Force military spouse (her husband Ben is a retired full-bird colonel), Heatherlynn is a staunch supporter of military families. She is credited with creating and implementing several programs designed to support military families that were adapted for use by the greater Air Force. If you’ve spent more than two minutes connected to the military community in any way whatsoever, you know what a phenomenal accomplishment that is. It’s difficult enough to build a program, let alone get buy-in from the military to implement and scale it!
Heatherlynn and Ben are proud parents to two teenagers of their own and four honorary children—exchange students from Spain, Italy, Japan, and Germany. The couple can proudly boast of having visited all 50 states and several countries as well. Their current traveling goal? A complete list of our nation’s national parks and quirkier landmarks. Not sure what constitutes a quirky landmark, but we’re envisioning the world’s largest ball of yarn and such. We demand photos.
In her free time—when she’s not working, or advocating for military families, or being a wife and mom, or jet-setting to glamourous locations like those states you always forget when you’re challenged to name all 50 U.S. states—Heatherlynn loves to read, binge-watch TV, and putter around the kitchen experimenting with how to make food that still tastes delicious for folks with food allergies. She’s also inclined to experiment with new recipes when company’s coming to eat, which is either the craziest or bravest thing we’ve ever heard of. Rumor has it she’s got the pizza delivery number on speed dial for emergencies.
Heatherlynn, like all of us who work for Powerhouse, loves getting to work for a company that feels like family and that is committed to giving back to the community (10% of Powerhouse’s revenue goes to charitable causes). Her only regret working with Powerhouse? She wishes she knew about it when she was an active-duty spouse!
As for us, we think Heatherlynn is a rock star. And we’re so glad she’s part of our family!
New Powerhouse Team Member
Rossmery is a web and graphic designer based out of wherever the military takes her—and where there is an internet connection. As a military spouse for almost five years, she has experienced firsthand the challenges that come with being a military family. After a few years of finding it difficult to develop a professional career in cultures where being a military spouse was seen as unfavorable, she took a leap of faith and began freelancing instead. In that first year of business, Rossmery found support, passion, and love for her new career. Today, Rossmery is incredibly grateful for this path of life and is more than determined to continue growing and serving clients. Now she is thrilled to be a part of the Powerhouse team and is excited for the opportunities ahead!
Outside of the office, you can find Rossmery working on a puzzle, hanging out with her hubby and lab (Lily), or reading a good personal development book.