Coronavirus Preparedness Virtual Panel – The best tips you need to know now!

In light of COVID-19 the MOB hosted a Coronavirus Preparedness Virtual Panel to offer some insight, support and ultimately solidarity during this wild, crazy and somewhat challenging time. 

The panel consisted of Mary Petto, Law of Attraction coach and expert at teaching others how to manifest abundance in all areas of their lives; Geeta Brana, Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor in Holmdel who specializes in comprehensive wealth management for women in transition and found of WHEEL – Women Helping Educate and Enhance Life; Amna Husain, a Board Certified Pediatrician & Lactation Consultant who offers concierge medical services in-home as well as in her office; and Hera Zee, owner of a Digital Marketing Agency that specializes in marketing strategies, sales funnels, social media, and how to convert leads into buying customers.

The panel was moderated by MOB founder, Sarah Williams and provided an INCREDIBLE wealth of knowledge on what are truly the most pressing issues for us as mothers and business owners right now. They each provided such value in their respective areas of expertise so if you aren’t connected with these amazing ladies on social media, please go do that right now and go watch the replay of the event in the MOMS OF BUSINESS Facebook group. 

Let’s start with Mary because the truth is if our minds ain’t right nothing else will fall into place.  Mary spoke about how the Law of Attraction is the natural law of the universe and how we attract what we think about and focus on most.  So our thoughts are very powerful tools to manifest our health, success and abundance. And during a time like this we REALLY need to keep our “ish” together as mothers, partners, and business owners because our emotions are very much connected to our success.  “More is more” when it comes to abundance and manifestation.  

The more you think about or focus on something, the more it expands. For example if you are living in an emotional stressed place, you’re holding on to certain beliefs about your reality that you either need to let go of or reframe. In order to that you may need to, as Mary says, “fake it ‘til you make it” for a while but ultimately the idea is to rewire your default emotions to oppose your fears and retrain yourself to vibe high. When you model the behaviors you want to master and prove it to yourself that you can be successful you start to internalize new positive beliefs about yourself.  Look for good news in the world, digest positive info to put yourself in a better state, shift when you feel anxious and start your day practicing affirmations. She gave some examples….

“I am healthy.”

“My business is successful.”

“My kids are thriving.” 

“All is well.”

“I am resilient.”

“I am not affected by anything around me.”

Or make your own. Use whatever language and concepts resonate with you personally. I challenge all of you to take some time to visualize your life and what you want to manifest in it over the next few months or years, mediate on it, journal about it, and then stand in front of the mirror and declare that sh*t to the world each and every day.  The healthier you act, mind, body and soul, the healthier you will be because stress will also physically break down your immune system and right now, ain’t nobody got time for that. I promise, it works and Mary will certainly agree. 

Speaking of our physical well-being, Amna shared some basic yet ULTRA important tips about how to maintain our health during this pandemic and always.  She recently has become the resident medical professional for News 12 New Jersey and has been reporting very frequently about COVID-19.  Some symptoms to be aware of are fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, and flu-like symptoms.

If you feel any of these symptoms CALL YOUR DOCTOR! DO NOT SHOW UP AT THE EMERGENCY ROOM! They may end up directing you there, however the hospitals are flooded and the idea is to alleviate the overcrowding.  Amna also advises not to go to an urgent care facility either because they may not have the proper protocol materials available to even test you. Call your doctor first. 

There are certain demographics that are more at risk such as those with respiratory issues, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised.  Other risk factors increase based on recent travel history, exposure, if you are a health care worker or overall factors in day to day life.  Children don’t seem to be affected but can be carriers and asymptomatic so better off to keep them away from older grandparents for a while.

BE RESPONSIBLE.

Create a plan of action for your family. Amna urges all of us to treat this pandemic as if a “tornado hit”.  Find helpers in your neighborhood, make connections with friends and family locally who can help in the event of an emergency.  Practice “Social Distancing” or physical distancing rather (because right now social connection = EVERYTHING).

Stay home. Get fresh air when you can. Stay at least 6 feet away from anyone you encounter other than those living in your household and take advantage of this time to reflect, grow, create, relax, and doing the things you love. As Amna so kindly states, “Humanity is not cancelled.” Be smart and enjoy slowing down for a little while.  We all need to pitch in and do our part for the greater good. Oh and don’t hoard masks and gloves, our healthcare workers are running low and they require them much more than we do. Now if you have been exposed or do in fact test positive, you may need to isolate or quarantine yourself and anyone else who you’ve been in contact with. Speak to your physician about that if necessary.

One last, simple but important point she mentions is HAND WASHING. We have all heard more times than we can count lately about how important hand washing is and although we laugh about it, it truly is not a joke. Use soap, get a good lather, scrub for at least 20 seconds, especially under your nails and use sanitizer if available, but nothing replaces soap and water. Basically wash your freaking hands and wash them well. Better yet, just go follow Amna on Instagram instagram.com/dr.amnahusain and watch her 3 minute video about all things hand washing. She tells it all.

So aside from our physical and mental well-being, our financial health is also something we all need to take control of right now.  Geeta, gave many PRICELESS financial advice and recommendations. Her #1 strategy was to have cash available, “in case we need to buy toilet paper off the street.” I mean the struggle is VERY real right now as a result of the hysteria that has surfaced due to “lockdowns” and quarantine life. But in all seriousness, she suggests having 6-12 months cash reserves in liquid high yield savings accounts. In addition we should be reviewing the following: 

• health insurance coverage
• medication and prescription plans
• paid time off (if applicable)
• the option to telecommute (ask if available)
• investment portfolio
• Additional passive income strategies

Also, GO REFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE! Interest rates are at record LOWS right now. So at the very least, call the bank and look into it.  According to Geeta, smaller regional banks are eager to lend right now and have more cash available to do so then some of the bigger banks like Chase or Bank of America.  Now would also be an opportune time to roll any additional debt you have on credit cards into your new mortgage payment at this lower rate.  For real, call the bank, NOW! Lucky for all of us, Geeta can help us find a local bank that suits our needs.  

Her job focuses on building wealth for women and helping them figure out how to make their dollars work smarter. She is confident the stock market will continue to plummet and tons of stocks will be on sale at discounted prices (think Gucci on sale!) These types of assets have the ability to build long-term wealth and create a nest egg that will provide passive income, ya know that money that you make while you sleep.  Two more affordable ways she mentioned to consider in order to generate passive income are:

1. Dividend-yielding stocks 
2. Real Estate Trusts. These trusts cost less than $1,000 as an initial investment and pay monthly dividends.  They also have not been on sale in over 12 years but we are living in unprecedented times right now. Definitely worth considering. 

As a single mother, Geeta also stressed the importance of being in sync with your parenting partner and/or any other caregivers so you can support each other. She mentioned several ways to be more productive during the day such as creating zones in the house and setting boundaries for everyone to follow, having a daily schedule because we all, especially children, thrive in routine, be strategic with our time and be focused on the activities we are participating in and people around you rather than multi-tasking because we have the extra time right now to do so, and LEVERAGING technology wisely (when appropriate and applicable) to help free us up to get work accomplished.

Honestly all of her suggestions and advice were extremely valuable but one  statement she made that I felt was so poignant and worth highlighting was, “Be prepared to become your child’s best friend and teacher because you’ll be bonding with them.” Isn’t this exactly what we all want as mothers? I mean, mic drop ladies.  And totally call Geeta like yesterday.

Last but certainly not least, my girl Hera. Our resident social media marketing guru.  Her top 3 tips were short, sweet, and to the point. 

1. Get quiet/still and ask yourself, “where am I in my business and where do I want to go?”
2. Look at your existing clients and ask yourself, “are they ideal clients? How can I serve them BETTER? What frustrations are they experiencing? What solutions can I provide? Can I expand my services? How? Maybe there is a new need to be met. Ask for feedback on social media as to what solutions you can provide. 
3. Build your e-mail list. And use EMOJIS in the subject line. 

In order to create and grow this e-mail list, we must have our ideal buying client in mind and think more about how we can SERVE them. We should be asking ourselves, “what are the next steps for my clients?” Maybe, it is time for us to expand our skill set, create an e-book, develop an online course.  It is OK to pivot right now. 

Hera also mentioned some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tactics to help with visibility across social platforms. Google & YouTube go hand in hand these days just like Facebook. & Instagram do and videos are WHERE ITS AT!  Think about what people are asking you. Most, if not all of us are giving advice ALL.THE.TIME. So create a video response to these questions.  You can upload the video to YouTube, then embed the video into your website or blog, (and if you don’t have you should and call Hera), and next you can use this cool ass website called Temi.com to transcribe the video and then the transcript also can be used as the text for your blog.

Sarah added that if you go LIVE on your Facebook Business page, Facebook will transcribe and enter subtitles for you. Either way, BOOM, two birds, one stone and once again working smarter not harder.  The keywords from your transcript will show up in SEO and then you can make some cool graphics in an application called Canva and then pin it the 3 different ways to Pinterest, all which should link back to your blog. This may sound  overwhelming but she breaks it down again in simple terms. 

1. Make a video
2. Transcribe it.
3. Edit.
4. Post
5. Post
6. Post
7. Make $

If videos scare you, practice in Facebook or Instagram lives and stories. Know your client and think about how you can help take their pain away. Don’t overthink it. Speak from the heart.  As Hera shared, “Perfection leads to paralysis, just get your content out there!” 

Hera LOVES social and she she knows her ish. Bottom line.  She can teach us all a whole lot about how to use and leverage social media to help build your brand, your network, and ultimately your business.  By the way, Hera is giving out 1,000 FREE 30 minute marketing plan calls. Yes, I said 1,000. So, also call Hera, NOW! It is FREE. And don’t forget to start building your email list and to use EMOJIS in the subject line of your next e-mail campaign.

I know I just threw A LOT of info at you but I told you there was a lot shared. Go watch the replay, take notes for yourself and be sure to follow all of these amazing women and all they have to offer!

Stay safe and savvy,

Lauren