First of all, tell us how you started LYFE and what your vision for your company is.

As a child I was always passionate about Wellness, but I took a serious leap into that world in 2008, when I started having severe anxiety. My doctor’s first reaction was to medicate me, and though I understand that many people need medication in order to deal with their mental wellness, that course of action did not resonate with me. I started researching, and discovered an energy healer near my town and she changed my life. I dove headfirst into the world of healing through alternative modalities -  breath work, energy work, nutrition and movement – and eventually came out the other end of it a lot stronger. After my undergrad, which was journalism, I landed a job in social media and here I fell in love with this incredible tool that, when used for positive outcomes, can be life altering. So when my understanding for this tool began to merge with my passion for wellness and helping others I knew it was time to create a company that does both. ​My future vision for LYFE is help clients reach their full potential, while also providing a trusted source for those seeking recommendations for practitioners in the wellness space. A fully integrated experience where I utilize my expertise, curiosity, and my own journey to wellness to deliver personalized experiences that showcase the heart and vision of my clients. It's two fold in the sense that I want to help wellness practitioners reach more clients, and for the clients to be able to get the holistic help they need.  As LYFE continues to grow, we’ll be creating additional marketing exposure for clients on the Wellness Collective, a searchable hub of vetted members in the wellness sector. This will allow wellness seekers to discover vetted members of, and practitioners in, the LYFE community, and will introduce brands with co-collaborators in respective industries. It’s one more way for clients to help raise their brand’s profile while providing a needed service to those who are looking to connect with wellness practitioners.

What has been the biggest lesson you have learned from starting your own business?
Nothing will ever be perfect, and you need to trust your own intuition and guidance. If you let the opinion of everyone else guide you, the business ultimately wont be yours, will it? Some people will love what you do, and others will not. And that’s ok! What I find has become more and more important to me is authenticity and honesty. Looking at what others are doing will only confuse you and make you more insecure, because there is only ONE you. What you offer, no one else can. And I feel in the wellness industry we need more healers, because there is so much work to do. To me, there is no such thing as competition, only collaboration. If everyone would put their ego aside the world would be a better place.
 
When working with wellness brands that want to put more of a focus on marketing their business through social media – what do you see as the biggest challenge for these businesses? How do you help them to overcome this challenge?

I find social media and wellness to be perfect complements to each other. Social media is such a strong visual tool, and the wellness industry is ripe with beautiful things to photograph: vibrantly colored foods, beautiful personal care products, nature, crystals, props and inspiring objects. I love the creativity that the two embody—stepping out of the box to heal others, or to market a client to their full potential. The challenges I've faced with my clients is they don´t quite understand how this can help them attract clients. Building a following and getting engagement takes time, especially when you do it organically, which why I always tell them to be patient and trust me.

My favorite part about working with my clients is seeing results—and watching them see the results. Whether we’re growing your social media following organically and creating a brand that’s top-of-mind to consumers or watching someone have a “Holy Sh!t! This is actually working!” moment when they see improvements in their health, there is nothing so satisfying as experiencing joy right alongside clients when they’re moving in the right direction. Success to me is when they see the shift.
 
 What are your top three tips for a wellness business looking to grow their online presence?

1. Know the visual aesthetic and the voice of your brand, then 50 percent of the work is already done. I always tell my clients to look at their feed as a mood board. What’s the story they want to tell? What is the message they want to give? Social Media is a lot about story telling and captivating an audience, if you're lacking the thread in your feed then growing an online presence will be more difficult.
2. Patience. This might be the hardest thing to practice. Because clients want to see results right away, and I don´t blame them. But in that “world” there are millions of accounts and finding one with a fewer following rate or a brand new account is more challenging. Which is why I always execute a three-month aggressive brand strategy. We make goals for each month, and I make sure every goal is reached. But again, it takes patience.
3. Have fun! It´s not life or death, and social media can be so much fun. You can be as creative as you want in terms of video, pictures, memes, gifs. There is no limit on how you want to present your brand, you just have to get up and do it. Don’t be intimidated by what “everyone else” is doing, because that has already been done. Be authentic and be real, I've experienced faster and better results that way,
   
   

How do you balance the rigors of being an entrepreneur in New York City with your own self-care?
I need to get out of the city from time to time, and I make that a priority. Connecting with nature and shutting my phone of is the best thing for my over all wellbeing. I meditate and move every single day, even the days I don´t feel like it. Just by moving my body for 10 minutes followed by breath work, I immediately feel better, especially days where I am under a lot of stress. I also practice to actually listening to my body and being in whatever emotion comes up instead of trying to ignore it. There is a reason for this emotion, if I keep rejecting it, it will only come back more intense. So on the days where I have negative emotions I stop what I am doing and I sit. I feel. I listen. Whatever comes up during those moment of silence gets to come up. This release method has been so clearing and cleansing for me I don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner. Which is why I am focusing a lot on anxiety and depression in the holistic part of LYFE. I curate every single program based on my own experiences, and what worked for me. It took me 10 years to figure out by body, mind and spirit – and it was hard work. But I know I went through it for a reason, because now I can help others. And to me, that is also self-care. Because you also help yourself through helping others. 

I swear a lot. I have to remind myself when I am teaching yoga to use words like "seat" instead of "ass" and "challenges" instead of "bullshit." I eat meat, I love wine (anything with bubbles), I worry too much, and I can't get enough of the Kardashian's. This does not necessarily paint the most perfect image of me, so... why am I telling you this? 

Because it makes me a real person. 

Now don't get me wrong - I am also hyper-organized, motivated, intelligent and well-spoken. I have excellent customer service skills, I can manage myself in front of a crowd, perform under pressure, and teach a heck (hell) of a yoga class.  But if that was all I told you about me, would you relate? 

Here's the thing - there is SO much NOISE out there today. By noise I mean marketing and advertising. We are constantly being sold to, marketed to, fed content and click-baited. That being said, pause for a moment and think about what you actually choose to click on and engage with. 

If I had to guess, it is highly likely you choose to dive deeper into topics you feel passionate about, news that affects you or your community, articles that help you improve a skill or teach you something that you can apply to your work or daily life, and probably also a few vice clicks as well - sports, celebrity gossip columns, etc. I can only assume you do not like to be tricked into clicking on something, only to find out you have been led somewhere entirely different. 

My point? You click on things you CONNECT with. If I am a representation of my brand, and I want to connect with you, then I have to share a bit of my story with you. I have to be transparent or you probably won't trust me. This does not mean that I have to tell you my deepest, darkest secrets. It does not mean I have to tell you what I have for breakfast everyday. I can still maintain a level of privacy, professionalism, and clarity with my content while sharing a piece of what makes me and my business unique. 

When your brand can set itself apart from others by being authentic and honest yet still very clear with your messaging and mission - THIS is what will separate you from the noise. From there, the people who are a good fit for your business and your services will connect with you and likely stay loyal because they trust you. Need help figuring out how you can do this with your brand? Let me know, I am happy to help!

#TransparencyIsTrending 

Additionally, when your business is represented across multiple platforms (your website, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) it shows your consumers that you are active (that is... as long as you are engaging with your audience on these platforms!). In other words - you are open and ready for their business! Consumers can also use social media to "check-in" at your physical location, further validating that you do in fact exist. 

2. Word of Mouth 
One of the best ways to market your business is through word of mouth. Since everyone lives on social media these days, it is the perfect place for people to talk about you. Social media platforms can be used for reviews, ratings, to share photos and tell stories - the possibilities for others to promote your business across social media are endless.  

3. Influence
People are easily influenced by their friends. If my friends are all posting delicious looking food pics from a local bakery - you better believe I'm going to try it out! When it seems like everyone in my feed is posting vacation photos from Palm Springs - I'm booking the next flight to the desert so I can get that instagram worthy photo in front of the cactus, too. 

4. Customer Information
Social media platforms provide a plethora of information about our consumers that we can use to make strategic and educated marketing decisions. By keeping track of our browsing habits, search history and personal information (that we all so willingly share), social media platforms know a great deal about each of us. Far beyond basic demographics - both Facebook and Twitter provide incredibly detailed and interesting information about who is visiting our business profiles. This information can be used to our marketing advantage: We can send specific messaging to targeted groups, find new potential customers that share similar interests and profiles to our existing consumers, and beyond just our social media pages, now we can even link our business website to Facebook and get details on who is browsing our site. 

​5. Everybody's Doing It
Truth - Mindwell Marketing is all about being an individual, in fact, we preach being your own badass business self. But that doesn't mean be a loner... we need our community of consumers to keep our business afloat! So get online and engage with your consumers there, and then get excited to greet them in person when they come to your business!