Month: May 2016

Put Your Business on the Map With Google Street View/Trusted Map

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By: Daniel Rodriguez with Net Visual Tours

Have you ever been in a new place and wanted to find a place to eat or shop? One that has great reviews, warm ambiance and a friendly staff? What if I told you that your business can stand out online on THE largest web traffic source available, all the while giving you’re a great deal of control and responsiveness? Google Street View / Trusted Tours can be found on Google Search Results, Google Maps, and Google+ and are optimized to work with all internet devices both mobile and static. Google Tours help entice potential customers by appearing high in the search engine rankings and allowing them to virtually walk through your business from the convenience of their smart device or home computer. Potential customers can experience the ambiance and décor of your business before they even step out their front door. It will even give them directions to your front door! Businesses who view a listing with a Virtual Tour are two times as likely to be interested in booking a reservation there and among prospects in particular between 18-34 years old are 130% more likely to book based on viewing a tour.

About Net Visual Tours:

Net Visual Tours is proud to be a Google Trusted Photographer. This means that my photography will provide you with the high-quality Fusion Tours highlighting your business. AND can take your business one step farther by providing a Google Street View / Trusted Tour. We have the staff, the experience and technological expertise to help you look your best in today’s market. We offer a variety of Google Virtual Tour packages with unsurpassed quality and client satisfaction. Your Google business listing is your company’s most visible asset. Are you ready to put YOUR business ON THE MAP? Improve or Create your presence with Google Street View, Google Maps and Google Search, you’ll be glad that you did!

Street Tour

Austin Creative Reuse Center

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Austin Creative Reuse is a nonprofit organization that collects, sells, and distributes donated reusable materials. Reuse centers are more efficient than recycling, because it requires no industrial processing. Reuse also gives us a tangible and inventive way to engage in a sustainable lifestyle.   For the past thirty years, more than 25 creative reuse centers have been thriving in the US. Many of these organizations report diverting 60,000 lbs from landfill each year while also being economically viable organizations. Through tinkering and creative exploration, reuse inspires the engineers, designers, architects, and artists of tomorrow.

They give  materials a second life and here is how:

  • By collecting, distributing, and selling reusable materials donated from industry and individuals. This makes creative materials affordable and accessible to the community.
  • Educating the community about how to reduce, reuse, and create in responsible and fun ways. Staff and volunteers make instructional kits, have a library of design and art ideas, and share these online and in the Creative Reuse Center.
  • Uniting the community by hosting a range of events, activities, and classes that bring people together to build awareness around conscious consumption, sustainability, and art.
  • Promoting awareness of like-minded organizations to reduce overlap and increase awareness of city resources.

Make a donation and keep creativity affordable in Austin! Find out other ways to get involved HERE.

Austin Creative Reuse Center      Reuse

When is it Time to Stop Being Nice and Say No More Favors!

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By: Maribel Garcia Valls, MPH, ACC- Coach, Writer, & Author  Bee Happi

Can I ask you for a favor? Can you please stop doing favors for “chronic favor askers?” Most of us have met somebody like this where one favor leads to a tidal wave of other favors. And each request has a compelling story to go with it like: some crisis happened and they need you to pick up their kids. Or their car broke down and they need a ride to work all week. Or they are strapped for cash and need money now!

If you get caught up in a “favor frenzy” like this or worse, put a stop to it immediately. This sounds harsh and it may hurt some feelings. The bottom line is to know when to “say no” when somebody is taking advantage of you and overusing their “favor card”!

Dr. Stephan KarpmanThe Karpman Drama Triangle developed this social model called “The Drama Triangle.” The model talks about “personal responsibility” and “power of conflicts” as it relates to the destructive and shifting roles people play. There are three roles to this model: the victim, persecutor, and the rescuer.

  1. The victim always feels like the victim. They are powerless and feel sorry for themselves. They think, “I am blameless.”
  1. The persecutor is dominating others in the problem state and blames everybody else. They think, “I’m right, your wrong.”
  1. The rescuer is always feeling sorry for others. They try to help others even when help is not needed or wanted because they fear that they won’t be needed. They think, “I was just trying to help.”

Eventually each of these roles becomes the victim. It is a viscous cycle that you don’t want to get caught up in. Remember that you can’t be everything to everyone. Sometimes you have to take care of you and others have to take responsibility for their own choices. Now, most people want to be kind and helpful to others. In fact, one of the things that makes many people happy is practicing random acts of kindness and giving back. Still, it is important to create boundaries and stick to them. Sometimes we just have to say “No More Favors”!

Here are some things to consider the next time you do a favor for anybody:

  1. Is this a reoccurring request for help? If you continue to help this person, you might be enabling them from making better choices, since you are always there to bail them out.
  1. Does this person really need help? Sometimes people want to make their lives easier by burdening somebody else. If you always say yes, then “their problems” are now “your problems”.
  1. Is the person grateful for your acts of kindness? Does this person say thank you or try to give back in any way?  When we give, we really shouldn’t expect anything in return. However, if you give and give and receive nothing, then the other person might be taking advantage of you.

Final thoughts:

In Deepak Chopra’s Book The Way of the Wizard: 20 Lessons for Living a Magical Life, there is great quote that says:

“When you see suffering, go, and relieve it, but make sure you don’t come away with the suffering sticking to you”

Namaste!

Stop being nice and say no

Meet Larissa Davila: Providing Businesses with Quality Control and Process Standardization

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Larissa Davila, graduated from Texas A&M International University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a major in Management. She has a certification as an ISO Internal Auditor from PENTA in Vancouver, Canada and she is 100% fluent in Spanish and English. Davila has more than 15 years of experience working with large corporations like FedEx, Sony and IBM. She has worked with international markets including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America; some European countries, Africa and Asia.

Her areas of expertise are marketing, sales, auditing, customer service, administration and logistics. Davila’s passion is to help her local community and she has worked pro-bono with several non-profit organizations for many years. She has volunteered her expertise in organizations such as V-Day, Jovenes Unidos, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for America and Latino Policy Coalition. In 2014, she co-founded Voces Latinas and in 2015 she helped to establish the Latino Arts, Culture and Education organization. She also serves in the board of Amhiga Hispana, an organization that aims to empower Spanish-speaking women in the United States.

Every year, Larissa also helps V-Day to host the One Billion Rising in Austin, Texas while supporting many other local non-profit organizations. Larissa firmly believes with a little strategy and a lot of passion, small and mid-size business can reach higher levels of profit and with this theory in mind, in January of 2015 she decided to start BCO Consulting Group. BCO Consulting Group offers Bilingual Community Outreach, Business Development, Quality Control Methods, Process Standardization, Marketing Strategy, Corporate Identity, Online Presence and Website Development. In March of 2016, BCO Consulting Group was a nominated finalist in the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Facebook Rising Star award.

The operation of BCO Consulting Group began long before the company established as a business. The owners of BCO Consulting Group, Gerardo and Larissa Davila have donated their time, knowledge and skills pro-bono for several years in the Austin community and in 2015 they decided to establish BCO Consulting Group to extend their services in a more professional way to the community of Central Texas. Their services include Bilingual Community Outreach, Business Development, Quality Control Methods, Process Standardization, Marketing Strategy, Corporate Identity & Branding, Online Presence, and Website Creation and Development.

Larissa Davila

 

Is Your Attention Focused in the Right Place?

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By Kali Jennifer Patrick with A Journey into Health

Some of you know that there was a Sunday not too long ago that I was suddenly in so much pain I couldn’t walk or move much. By Thursday things were a bit better but still frustrating. In the evening, weary physically, emotionally, and mentally from not having moved much all day, I forced myself to log into Skype for my Yoga Sutras class. We started talking about one of the definitions ofyoga, which is “sustained attention in a chosen direction”. In other words, one of the definitions of yoga is the same as a definition of meditation.

As my attention focused on the class, I started to notice that the pain subsided. I have long studied (the physical practice of) yoga as “embodiment”, given that I (and so many of us) live constantly in the mind. I always thought that tuning into the body was a good thing, but as the class progressed, I started to question that. If I put my attention on my pain, sure I was feeling the pain in my body (embodiment), but was that helping to alleviate it or exacerbate it? And if the focus of my attention–in this case the pain in my body–wasn’t something I consciously choseto focus on, was I really doing yoga (or meditating)? I soon realized that my body was like any other sense (hearing, seeing, etc.) that was demanding my attention, and that I wasn’t activelychoosing to put my attention there; it was being directed there almost against my will. When I put my attention elsewhere–i.e. on the class–the pain began to dissolve.

I encountered this quite a bit when I was giving my workshop on sleep and insomnia, most recently when I spoke to the North Austin Chapter 2700 AARP group on April 21 about “natural tips for refreshing sleep”. It is very common that when we can’t sleep, we rather unconsciously focus our attention on the very fact that we can’t sleep, as well as the stories and thoughts that are keeping us awake, and things go downhill from there. Like with my pain, we must choose to direct our attention to an alternative something that will help–like on a particular breathing pattern.

I think the lesson here is that sometimes we believe we are directing the mind in a way that is helpful, but it’s really still being pulled to what’s screaming the loudest, thereby sabotaging our own efforts to get what we want (freedom from pain, sleep, etc.) Something like embodiment (i.e. feeling body sensations) isn’t bad or good in and of itself, but it could be making our situation better or worse, depending on what that situation is. If the mind is racing–for example when trying to fall asleep, bringing conscious attention to the body may be a good idea. But if the body is already screaming in pain, sending the mind somewhere else for a little while may be the better answer.

Focused Attention

About A Journey into Health:

In 1998 Kali added power yoga into her fitness routine to increase her flexibility, and started exploring meditation to offset the stress of her high-tech corporate job. It wasn’t until many years later–after several significant challenges and deep internal work–that she started to see more clearly what it meant to be healthy.

In 2012 Kali took the full leap into mind-body wellness, forming A Journey Into Health. She became a 200-hour certified yoga instructor, found energy healing and holistic nutrition: she’s also an Usui Reiki Master and an Eating Psychology Coach. Kali also achieved the “experienced” yoga teaching designation along with her 500-hour certification in Yoga Therapy. She teaches group classes, offers private yoga, coaching, and Reiki sessions, as well as gives workshops in and around the Austin area.

Soul-y Austin in search of three new commercial areas

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Soul-y Austin is in the process of selecting three new commercial areas to participate in the Soul-y Austin initiative starting summer 2016. The goal of Soul-y Austin is to provide businesses with a flexible set of tools to assist with the formation of merchants associations and organized commercial districts. As part of the initiative, each district receives an activation award along with a District Plan that outlines the association’s goals and strategies for implementation. The Plan includes strategies related to beautification efforts as well as policy tools and regulations. These strategies include sidewalk and bicycle lane improvements, alleyway activation, and sound ordinances.

If you are a business or property owner and are located within a commercial area or corridor and would like to see if your area is eligible to participate, please contact Nicole Klepadlo, Redevelopment Project Manager at Nicole.Klepadlo@austintexas.gov or 512-974-7739.

Manor Rd Souly District

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manor Road District Update

Soul-y Austin efforts in the Manor Road District are continually gaining popularity and new businesses are joining the initiative. With the hopes of contributing to the development of Manor Road into a pedestrian and bike friendly corridor, Manor Road businesses are preparing for the formation of their merchants association. Participating businesses have already identified district priorities which include: increased foot traffic, safe bike lanes, safety, and lighting around the district. The Manor Road businesses will participate in the district workshop scheduled for May 2016. The Soul-y Austin team is supporting Manor Road businesses along this journey by providing guidance, trainings, and any additional resources needed to successfully organize a merchants association.

Case Manager positions and Administrative Assistant Needed

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Catholic Charities of Central Texas is hiring multiple case managers and an administrative assistant.

JOB SUMMARY
The Case Manager will provide case management and referral services to individuals and families in need.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Conduct screening and assessment of needs for individuals seeking financial assistance to determine eligibility, make pledges, request payment, and provide referrals.
• Complete all necessary documentation to ensure compliance with funding requirements, license requirements, best practice standards, and agency quality assurance standards.
• Develop and maintain a strong knowledge base of Catholic Charities programming and community resources.
• Assist the Program Manager to identify and implement actions to improve program effectiveness as necessary.
• Prepare and submit all required reports and paper work in a timely and accurate manner.
• Participate in appropriate community collaborations by cultivating positive relationships with relevant funding and monitoring entities, faith based organizations, social service providers, and other community partners.
• Assist clients in implementing short to long-range plans by exploring all available options, identifying the client’s own resources and available community and government resources, making appropriate referrals, and assisting in linking client with available resources – serving as facilitator and advocate when necessary.
• Maintain confidential client files, statistical records and case notes.
• Participate as an active team member of Catholic Charities.
• Maintain a work schedule that maximizes availability to staff and customers.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• Skill in cultural sensitivity and awareness.
• Ability to work within the parameters of a program budget.
• Ability to work independently and with a minimum of supervision.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations, including low-income persons and other disadvantaged persons.
• Ability to conformably work in a faith-based environment.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Ability to operate various word processing software, spreadsheets, and database programs.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and utilize effective time management techniques to meet deadlines.
• Ability to follow instructions furnished in verbal or written format.
• Ability to create and foster an environment consistent with agency culture, mission, vision, and values.
• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with all segments of the community (parishes, priests, religious, laity, Catholic ministries, civic leaders and community agencies.
• Ability to provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers and work effectively with others.
• Ability to proficiently communicate in English and Spanish (proficient in conversation) preferred.
• Ability to travel throughout a 25 county service region as necessary.

Minimum Qualifications:
Education and Trainings:
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited American university or equivalent in a foreign country.
Experience:
• Years of experience may be substituted for the educational requirement at a ratio of two (2) years of full time wage earning experience equals one (1) year of education, with a substitution of eight (8) years’ experience equals a bachelor’s degree.
Language:
• Bilingual English and Spanish (proficient in conversation) preferred.
Licenses/Certifications:
• Valid Texas driver’s license.
• Must be certified in Diocese of Austin EIM within 60 days of employment, and maintain certification throughout the employment period.

https://ccctx.applicantpro.com/jobs/363294.html

JOB SUMMARY
The Administrative Assistant is responsible for assisting staff with supporting the activities and services for the Director of Social Services and the Counseling Program.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Perform administrative support functions for the Director of Social Services and Counseling Program.
• Follow set procedures in carrying out instructions with general supervision.
• Sort and distribute mail, photocopies and files.
• Organize and maintain filing system.
• Compile data, perform data entry, and complete forms or reports.
• Prepare routine correspondence, memos, and reports.
• Greet visitors and answer telephone calls for the program/department.
• Schedule and coordinate meetings and appointments for program/department.
• Complete all necessary documentation to ensure compliance with funding requirements, licensing requirements and agency quality assurance standards.
• Maintain accurate record and submit medical billing.
• Participate as an active team member of Catholic Charities.
• Maintain a work schedule that maximizes availability to staff and customers.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES
• Knowledge of medical billing.
• Skill in cultural sensitivity and awareness.
• Skill in oral and written communication.
• Ability to work independently and with a minimum of supervision.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse populations, including low-income persons and other disadvantaged persons.
• Ability to conformably work in a faith-based environment.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Ability to operate various word processing software, spreadsheets, and database programs.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and utilize effective time management techniques to meet deadlines.
• Ability to follow instructions furnished in verbal or written format.
• Ability to create and foster an environment consistent with agency culture, mission, vision, and values.
• Ability to develop and maintain positive relationships with all segments of the community (parishes, priests, religious, laity, Catholic ministries, civic leaders and community agencies.
• Ability to provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers and work effectively with others.
• Ability to travel throughout a 25 county service region as necessary.

Minimum Qualifications:
Education and Trainings:
• High School Diploma or GED acceptable to Texas Education Agency.
Experience:
• Two (2) years of full time wage earning experience in administrative support is required.
Language:
• Bilingual English-Spanish preferred.
Licenses/Certifications:
• Valid Texas driver’s license.
• Must be certified in Diocese of Austin EIM within 60 days of employment, and maintain certification throughout the employment period.

https://ccctx.applicantpro.com/jobs/385971.html

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