New Powerhouse Team Member
Julia Clark is the daughter of an Army veteran, the wife of a fireman, the mother of three, and a self-employed freelancer since 2008. She’s located on Florida’s sunny space coast, where it’s quite literally summer year-round. Freelancing has allowed her the work-life balance and flexibility she so enjoys, and she’s excited to join Powerhouse Planning’s freelance team.
Julia prides herself on being a versatile member of any client’s team and has years of experience as a social media manager, blogger, influencer, content curator, marketer, graphic designer, and virtual assistant. She has knack for networking and developing creative marketing strategies, and she truly feels she’s a valuable asset on any team, regardless of their niche.
New Powerhouse Team Member
Ariana Detrez is a freelance graphic designer with a background in art education. She received her bachelor’s in art education from the University of Central Florida. She taught high school art 2-D and digital photography for a year until she realized she wanted to get back to her creative roots. She has always been drawn to the arts, and graphic design allows her to tap into her creativity while helping businesses. Ariana is constantly branching out in her design work, testing out trends, and exploring her skills. When Ariana is not expressing her artistic perspective through design, she is exploring other creative fields such as photography, drawing, and paper-crafting.
Ariana is new to military life and being a military spouse; however, she is enjoying the refreshing change. It has been quite an adjustment, but a positive one nonetheless. Learning about the Air Force and the military, along with participating in the community, has really helped her grow and connect with others.
Guardsman Uses Minimalist Style to Accessorize Military Uniforms
By: Bianca Strzalkowski
Amy Slinker understands the sacrifices attached to military service, but her entrepreneurial spirit didn’t think fashion sense had to be one of them.
The longtime serving citizen-soldier launched an entrepreneurial venture in 2014 to give her fellow service members accessories with military regulations in mind. WILCO LIFE’s namesake combines the military jargon of “will comply” with inspiration from the unique military lifestyle. Now Slinker is setting her sights on growing her brand to include a larger national customer base.
Her military connection
Slinker, originally from the Midwest, moved to Alaska in 2005 when her husband Dustin received orders there with the Army. Today, Slinker is attached to the Alaska National Guard, but has traveled much of the world in her two-decades-long career.
“I spent most of my Guard career in public affairs and have had the opportunity to travel to South Korea, Romania, Mongolia, and Australia for missions with the Guard. I also responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster,” she shared.
Like many military spouses, Slinker faced the daunting task of finding employment when the couple first relocated to Alaska. She started temp work that eventually led her to a present-day job with Pfeffer Development, a multidisciplinary commercial real estate development firm.
“My career before moving to Alaska was in photojournalism. When we PCSed to Alaska, I struggled to find a job. I understand firsthand how difficult it can be as a military spouse to maintain a career while following a military service member’s career,” she said. “I realized I needed to look for other opportunities outside of photojournalism. I started temping at Anchorage business offices to network and broaden my search for job opportunities where I could apply my marketing and public relations skills. That’s how I started at Pfeffer Development—I was a temp for the receptionist and eventually was hired as the Director of Marketing.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Happiness at work translates to productive employees. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Wrong. Satisfaction in the workplace doesn’t always happen organically; instead, it is the job of business owners and managers to find the right tools to motivate the team. And what that looks like varies company to company.
In fact, over 250,000 people stated happiness leads to many outcomes, like improved working relationships and higher output. One way to inject these results into your workforce is through strategic planning of your company’s culture, and the Powerhouse team can help with that. Among our services is company development—including team building and talent management. We work hand in hand with the decision makers on how to create professional development plans to set up your employees for success before they are even hired. Learn more here: Powerhouse Planning.
How to Use Team-Building Activities to Engage Your Team
By: Angela Caban, MHRM
A recent report reveals business owners are losing trillions of dollars due to lost productivity among team members.
Eighty-five percent of employees are not engaged or are actively disengaged at work, according to the Gallup study. Some team members may say they are just punching a time clock and have no need for work engagement, but research shows that employees who are engaged are more productive.
Team building may be the answer to this current issue facing companies. These types of activities are a great way to develop workplace camaraderie so that employees have a better understanding of each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and interests. It is also a surefire method to improve projects that involve teamwork, resulting in coworkers operating better together. The outcome of team building can be extremely vital to a company’s success and to employee retention.
Some benefits of team-building activities are
- Increased workplace engagement,
- Improved creativity, and
- Enhanced communication skills.
However, many leaders seem to have the wrong idea about what constitutes a fun activity. The common result ends up being that employees feel like they have to get through yet another task, rather than enjoying their time and making proper use of a valuable opportunity. Avoiding this pitfall is as simple as picking ideas that are fun and engaging to the team, while also offering good opportunities to show off some skills.
Radical Generosity & Volunteering Across Local Communities
By: Rebecca Alwine
Be the good and do goodness in the world.
Companies, large and small, are finding value in giving back through team philanthropy. And it isn’t restricted to any one type of industry. From service professionals to virtual teams, businesses are using their niche as a means to encourage teamwork, improve communities, and just do their part overall.
Jessica Bertsch, founder and president of Powerhouse Planning, feels she was called to give back to others through her business and her team. Prior to launching her small business, her career spanned higher education and government contracting. It was there that she learned to appreciate the immense possibilities attached to a dollar.
“I’ve worked at multi-million dollar companies and was always in awe of how much money came in to leadership, but how very little was done companywide to make a difference in our world. I committed that if I ever had my own company I would build it on maintaining a healthy work/life balance and on being the good in our world,” she said.
And she has kept that promise. Powerhouse is committed to doing its part through “Sharing the Goodness,” devoting 10% of earnings each month to those in need. From supporting nonprofit organizations to providing student scholarships, Bertsch invests a portion of her profits in improving future possibilities for others. As her business grows, her philanthropy expands.
