Health Insurance vs. Wellness for Your Employees

Q: Can I really afford health insurance for my employees?

A: There are several ways to take care of your employees at whatever level you can commit to. The first thing to do is to look at yourself and your needs and see if they are being met. Have you given yourself insurance? Do you feel taken care of and safe? When you feel secure and have taken the steps to assure your own needs are met, you will be able to take care of those you employ with confidence and without resentment over the high costs of benefits.

But are the costs really that high? And are you willing to take baby steps in order to build an insurance plan with your employees that is within your budget while also making strides to give them the security you are experiencing for yourself?

I have found that traditional insurance costs me (a healthy 29-year-old nonsmoker with no past health issues) about $188 per month with a $2500 deductible and a $25 co-pay. When I went to India in December I had to get some shots for various diseases and boosters that cost me around $500, and my insurance went up by $20 per month. I was frustrated by my lack of coverage and realized that traditional insurance had no value to me personally. Other than catastrophe insurance, I found no reason to pay so much per month and pay for all of my day-to-day healthcare costs out of pocket as well. When I asked my employees what type of plan we could come up with together that didn't put us each in this disempowered position of feeding into a bottomless medical system, they had the same sentiments.

So together we created a system that met all of our needs and that I could afford with my small budget. Together we decided that an allowance each month for our own choice of health benefits would be liberating. At the time we could afford to give each full time employee $200 per month in "Tribal Health Credits" which could be used for alternative health measures like acupuncture, nutritional counseling, gym membership, herbs, vitamins, massage and, if they wanted, traditional Blue Cross type coverage.

Several of us opted to buy the $50 per month catastrophic health insurance with the $5,000 deductible and spend the rest at the Chinese herbalist in town. What was amazing was that the next month, if we needed something else we were allowed to do it. I wanted a weekly massage, as was dealing with so much more muscular tension, and was able to afford one massage per week at the Ojai School of Massage. Some of us put all of the money toward health coverage with a traditional plan and some have opted to put it into a savings fund that earns interest and can be pulled out as needed.

Soon, when we are profitable and have more of a budget, this allowance will go up and we will have more money to invest in our health. Having the allowance gives all of us our freedom; I feel good about it because it fits in my budget today and my employees feel that I am doing what I can to look after their well-being.

Once again I had to look into my heart; I knew that I could not afford the high cost associated with giving everyone full coverage right away, but I could afford something, so I was very comfortable with this alternative. My employees were thankful to have choices and an allowance to offset the price of full coverage if that's what they wanted. We all win with this model and it has helped us to feel independent from a system that may not work best for us as individuals.

So my answer to you is to follow the guidelines of what you can confidently give right now while also being as generous as you can. And remember, your employees are your family and your support in so many ways; making sure they feel secure in your dedication to them is the key to your company's survival.

The Name of Your Business Should Embody Your Soul's Essence

Q: What considerations should I have in naming my business?

A: The name you choose for your business embodies who you are and what you are offering to the customer you are choosing. It is an essence, the final version of all of your thought processes and the symbol of what you are offering to the world - just as your business is the manifestation of your soul's evolution. Anything you are coping with or healing from in your inner life will manifest outwardly in all of your business undertakings. Finding what business to create should come from a deep motivation within yourself, otherwise you will find a series of obstacles - even in choosing the right name.

Your name should encompass all of the energy that is within you, as well as have a cadence and a "branding" value for you to take it "big." For instance, car names like Land Rover, Prius and Infiniti all speak to what the unique car aspires to create as an experience for their driver, and your name will do the same if you arrive at it through self discovery and listening to the language of your heart.

As a stream of consciousness exercise, write down every name that comes to you - they are gifts from your subconscious and your spirit. Relax, take a breath and understand that the name that will surface is a name that has existed for you from the beginning; you are simply on the search for it. I have an entire journal of sometimes beautiful, often goofy and unremarkable names that I look back on from time to time to see the way my mind worked in the creative potential of the moment.

So now you have a series of names, perhaps as few as one or as many as five. Now comes the process of listening to your heart, even if it makes no sense to your mind. Sit quietly with the names of your future livelihood. Which one speaks to you? Which rolls from your tongue? Which feels right? Know that you and only you will know which has that spark of life waiting to be lit by your breath. Ah, now you have it.

Once you have found your name, look it up on the web. If the domain is taken (you can check this on verio.com or register.com) then find out who owns it, and if they are willing to sell it. If it is for sale for a reasonable price, then buy it and don't look back! If it is not for sale, then come up with another name and keep this process flowing until one is open and becomes easily your own. Know that all of this is meant to be, and if you have a commitment to a business you want to create, then you will be able to move mountains in your favor.

Next, you should check the name on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website at uspto.gov where you can see who is using the name, if at all, in the United States. This is where I received my very first setback as a young entrepreneur and found that the trademark I had chosen was considered too generic and vague. I threw a fit, but later realized that when I added my first name to my "generic" business name I was able to trademark it all over the U.S. with no problems. I also ended up with a name that resonated so much more with my mission than my original.

Above all, I want you to personally ask yourself this question: "Why are you creating this business that you are naming?"

I started my business because my son was born with a very serious birth defect, and I had to create a business where I could have him with me and also where I could create an environment where I could leave for periods of time to be with him through surgeries and recoveries. I had a bigger mission to fulfill, and this is the most important question for you to ask yourself at this early stage: Do you have an inner motivation or deep inner need to create this business that will move you to overcome any obstacle?

If so, I welcome you into the heart of business - a place where the economies of the Spirit uphold the true economy of what makes the world go round - the fulfillment of our dreams through healing one another.

Your Job Titles or Your Lives

Q: My surf wax business is starting to grow, and I need to "staff up." I've always believed that words do matter, and I'd like to avoid the pitfalls of corporate jargon. At the same time, I know it's important for the money people to take me seriously. How essential is it that I have a "Chief Executive Officer" or "Chief Financial Officer"? I'd like our titles to better reflect our company's ethos. Is there any good reason I can't call them "The Big Kahuna" and "Chief Beancounter" instead?

A: Back in the hi-tech boom days I met a man from Sun Microsystems whose title was simply, "Evangelist," and I never forgot him. He was truly an evangelist, spreading the gospel of his company - which would be one of the few that survived the turmoil of the tech crash. His enthusiasm was contagious, and his title reflected this perfectly.

As I watch business evolve, shift, change and morph into what is the "New Business," all of the patterns of a dinosaur age seem to be disappearing. The job titles you create for your company will be as unique as you are, and should reflect your personality wholeheartedly.

For me, I decided on Founder at first, but was dissatisfied, and so I moved on to become The Mistress of Ceremonies. When I hired my accountant who would manage the business monies and operations, he wanted the title CFO so I fully embraced the tradition and "stability" of that title for him - it also helps when he's talking to the banks. Unfortunately, the bank president would not have given the Mistress of Ceremonies a large credit line without the support of a good oldfashioned CFO.

When I hired one of my sales people, I worked with him to find a title that would allow him to feel confident, because he was such a visionary. We started with Visionary Sales before ending up with Strategic Gypsy Alliances. All of my sales staff likes to call themselves Sales Gypsies, while the warehouse crew simply call themselves Shipping and Receiving Gypsies.

The founder of one of my favorite other tea companies opted to call himself a Tea-EO instead of CEO, and has no problems being taken seriously in the business world, while my friend who founded a large handicrafts business calls herself, "Co-founder, Traveler and Dreamer."

This business is about you and the group of people who wish to help you and take part in your vision; the dialogue should be flowing both ways at all times.

I have not met with anything but praise and giggles at my chosen title as the Mistress of Ceremonies and have found that people remember me so much more because of my creative title (except the few unruly messages on my voicemail about some "Mistress of the Night"!).

Remember, your business should be your liberator and your choices should come from your own expression of who you are, whether it be traditional or not. The written and spoken word is the power of all of your thoughts and actions made manifest. If you want your title to be CEO or Big Kahuna, that is totally up to you. Your personal statement of the message you are sharing with the world and your customers.

Non-Disclosure Agreements as a Ritual of Love

Q: I've been told that I need to ask everyone who sees my business plan to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Is this really necessary? Some of the people I'm approaching as potential investors are close friends, and I feel really awkward asking them to sign a legal document.

A: Those close to you should be happy that you are taking their potential investment seriously enough beforehand to have it protected before any checks are signed. Nondisclosure agreements are a ritual of respect for both you and them, and if nothing else, show that you are taking measures to keep your idea cradled close by all who learn of its existence.

A non-disclosure is a simple form that ideally should inhibit anyone who reads your plan from going out and doing the same thing as detailed by your ideas. Chances are they will not, and people are very inherently good, yet if you give yourself the respect to protect your own ideas others will give you that respect as well. The non-disclosure can be a slippery and elusive little contract in a court of law but has real value, from what I have experienced, as a ritual of protection for you and your well researched, well thought out plan.

When I first began my company, I felt nervous about asking people to sign one, and I still have people in my immediate circle that never signed an NDA. My parents and little brothers never did, and neither did some of my very best friends who also never invested. I talked about my ideas freely and openly with many people without asking them to sign a document, but when it came to potential investors, distributors, employees and manufacturers of my products, I had them sign before I said much at all. It liberated us more than it made us feel bound, and it also set a tone of professionalism when I was just beginning the process of business.

I have been told a thousand times by my mentors, "It's just business, don't take it personally." But not taking my business personally has been very hard, considering that what I do is not just a business to me, but what I believe to be a very big part of my soul's mission on earth.

So knowing how personal my business is to me, I wanted to protect it like a mama lion, and that meant biting back my apologies and simply asking most who viewed my plan and my prototypes to sign an NDA.

I want to remind you to never, never be paranoid, but please do learn the beauties of self-preservation early on; it could save your heart some pain later in the game.

I suggest talking to an attorney, or researching NDA templates at your local library, bookstore or online. I began with a generic template in the beginning, and as my business got more sophisticated I hired an attorney to write a very customized one for my particular industry and model.

NDA laws vary from state to state as well, so make sure you look at this when deciding which one to use. NDAs can be a ritual of love and respect for yourself, your vision and your potential partners, investors and employees so remember; you should never feel awkward about giving yourself a circle of safety which you can bring others into, should they choose to join you.

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