Entrepreneurs “Zen Out” at Jersey City Tech Meetup

The most recent Jersey City Tech Meetup event, Zen Out v2, focused on health and wellness.

One of the key takeaways from the evening was that founders and other entrepreneurs who manage employees, in addition to the top and bottom lines, should be extremely mindful of their own physical and mental well-being.

Staying healthy as well as exuding energy and positivity are very important; so is getting a good night’s rest. Your business is a direct reflection of you, many of the panelists agreed. You should also surround yourself with a good team. Teammates should have your back and stick with you through good times and bad.

If business leaders fail to take care of themselves, they will probably be unable to adequately contribute to their organizations’ growth and success, as they won’t be able to handle critical decision-making and problem solving, let alone oversee and motivate fellow team members to do their best.

These insights came from the event’s “Health & Wellness” panel discussion, which was moderated by Ben Yurcisin, lead organizer of Jersey City Tech Meetup. The panel included four diverse New Jersey-based founders from the health and wellness industry:

• Francine Steadman – Founder and CEO of BuddhaBooth (New York), an organization known for creating quiet spaces in noisy places. Francine, a lifestyle guru, wellness advocate and hardworking mother of three children, experienced her personal aha moment after suffering from sensory overload and sleep deprivation due to an exhausting travel schedule out in the field, not to mention a busy home life.  So, she created Buddhabooths, which are made of wood and are intentionally low-tech, thus helping you escape from the stress of the real world.
• Salam Diri – Cofounder of Sanna Ohana Yoga & Wellness (Hoboken), which features CBD Yoga. Salam’s company is laser-focused on its mission to educate people about the numerous health benefits of the cannabis plant, with the goal of helping to remove its stigma. Their organization often combines the use of CBD and yoga with special events, including off-site retreats on beautiful beaches and relaxing farms.
• Monica Adams – Founder and CEO of Montclair Zen Studio, a venue combining private blessing parties and inner soul circles, to name a few of its offerings. Adams is a consciousness coach who works with ambitious go-getters to align their heads with their hearts. Additionally, as a trained neuro-linguistic programming practitioner and community builder, Monica has guided over 1,000 people in meditation.
• Anand Sukhadia – Founder and director of om.life, a Jersey City-based modern recovery spa where ancient knowledge and innovative technology intersect. Its wellness solutions run the gamut from unique offerings like flotation therapy and whole-body cryotherapy to the more traditional, such as massage.

Additional important points from the evening’s discussion included the following:

• As a business owner, you should strive to keep your social media content up to date and informative.
  • If you’re in the health/wellness sector, you should take care to educate your customers — this will help you grow your community and stay connected with it.
  • According to Adams, our minds are the best technology we have!
  • Instead of opioids, we should strive to drug ourselves with dopamine.
  • Setting a purpose for everything you do will have a radically positive effect on your life.
  • Make sure you hire both a good lawyer and a good accountant for your business.
  • Trademark your brand in order to protect it.
  • Really get to know your target market, as you can’t connect with everyone.
  • Surround yourself with a supportive community that will both uplift and inspire you.
  • Get out there and network. … Your tribe will find and be attracted to you and your authenticity.
  • Some people recommend creating a comprehensive business plan. However, Steadman advocates putting your business out there in lieu of an extensive plan.
  • Social media sites spend a lot of time and money to keep us addicted to them.
  • It’s recommended that we stay away from social media during the early morning and late evening.
  • When you do use social media sites, below are some recommended apps to keep in mind for both health/wellness and better business practices:
    • If This, Then That (aka “IFTTT”) — a free way to get all of your apps and devices working in tandem and talking to each other. In essence, it’s designed to make your home more relaxing.
    • Sleep Cycle — an intelligent alarm clock that tracks your sleep and wakes you up in a gentle manner during your light sleep phase, helping you feel more relaxed and well rested.
    • WhenToPost — recommends the best times during the day for social media posting, so you can generate the most engagement.
    • Canva — a no-cost design app that enhances your advertisements, photos and video content creation.
    • Mailchimp — a marketing and automation platform for best practices in connecting with your customers and community.

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