​As those close to me know, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in December 2019 which meant a HUGE lifestyle change. No more bagels or pop tarts for breakfast, fast food on the run for lunch, and pasta for dinner. No more sitting around every evening watching TV (I've given up television besides some Food Network on the weekends - and binging Schitt's Creek!). I stopped watching the news about 2 months in to the pandemic. I've limited my social media use to mostly business and I've 'unfriended' or 'unfollowed' people who cause me grief. I started journaling every evening and I set realistic goals for myself: 
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• I'm going to walk 800 miles in 2021.
• I'm going to read 8 books by the end of the year (I've finished one.)
• I am the project manager and a contributing author in an anthology of successful female business leaders! Things are moving along and I couldn't be more excited! 

I reset my mindset, and reevaluated my work time AND my downtime. It wasn't easy to take a hard look into why my health had declined and I was not only overweight, but I was now "a diabetic"; something that was incredibly scary to me after watching my dad suffer for over 20 years, spend many years on kidney dialysis, have multiple heart surgeries, and a kidney transplant - all before he died in 2005 at just 58 years young. 

To make matters worse, I was unhappy with my job. Even after moving trying to fix it by transferring to an office much closer to home, I still didn't like what I was doing. (P.S. - A shorter commute to work does make you happy - but only if you like what you're doing once you reach your destination!) So I jumped on another job offer, which wasn't the right fit for me, and I was once again - unhappy.
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​It's true - emotional eating is a thing. Stress and unhappiness makes you and your body do crazy things. But when you're working a 10 hour day and eating lunch on the go or going to restaurants with clients - and your dinner consists of 18 appetizers and wine at a networking event... well, you see where my problems were! After I was diagnosed, I attempted to change everything at once. My diet, my lifestyle, my job. It was A LOT to take in, a lot to accept. I knew I didn't want to be unhealthy. I didn't want to feel terrible any longer. I didn't want to be tired, irritable, and uncomfortable in my skin.

    Left: May 2019              Right: October 2020 

vol·un·teer
/ˌvälənˈtir/
noun

1. a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.
2. a person who works for an organization without being paid.

I've been thinking a lot about volunteerism lately. I've been considering all it takes to really dedicate time to an organization and truly make a difference. There are so many avenues to volunteer, and they change as we get older. I started volunteering when my kids were very young and attended a Catholic school. I did weekly lunch duty - walking around the cafeteria and helping to open pudding containers and peeling oranges, wiping down tables between sessions, and so on. I was also on the yearly festival committee and helped plan the school's biggest fundraiser and solicited donations from local businesses to display at the heavily attended, much-talked-about Live Auction. From there I moved to Scouts (both Boy and Girl) and soccer boosters (I could write a book on the years I was involved in high school soccer. The. Drama.) 

Eventually, I began doing volunteer activities for local and national nonprofits: Eruption Athletics, Persad Center, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Toys for Tots, Community Liver Alliance, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few one-offs. I helped to build a dog park in my community, and by far had the most fun while spending time with the crew from Cindy's Memorial Bark Park.

I bring up volunteering for a few reasons. Did you know you can (and should!) list volunteer activities on your resume and in your LinkedIn profile? Volunteerism shows leadership, dedication, and empathy. Here are some tips on adding your philanthropic endeavors to your resume. Secondly, and most importantly, nonprofits are suffering - bad. All their events have been cancelled or moved to a virtual platform. Donors are not donating. Volunteers are not volunteering. People are not interested in virtually connecting - it's getting old; it's not the same... I get it. But it doesn't change the needs of any nonprofit; it is most likely making their overall needs greater.

What do you do when you're tasked with a fundraising goal that doesn't change because of a global pandemic? How about organizations that need MORE money during the pandemic? What about those groups who are running out of resources because of COVID? 
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​Saturday December 5 is International Volunteer Day. The United Nations designated this day back in 1985 as an international observance day to celebrate the power and potential of volunteerism. 

Thinking ahead as to how you might want to be involved on IVD starts now. You can begin by contacting your borough or township and asking about a small neighborhood project. You can survey your friends and family as to what causes are important to them and create a team effort for one specific organization. You can just randomly contact a nonprofit and describe your interests and talents - I'd bet they'd find SOMETHING for you to do and a way for you to be involved!

Here's a short list of some of my favorite nonprofit organizations, in no particular order. I've shared a link direct to their contact information. I urge you to reach out and ask, "How can I help?", or make a donation... every dollar counts, especially now.

Community Liver Alliance
National Kidney Foundation
​American Diabetes Association
​Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Cindy's Memorial Bark Park
Eruption Athletics
​Toys for Tots
​The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
​March of Dimes
Light Of Life Rescue Mission
The Little Fox - Toby's Foundation
South Hills Pet Rescue - My grand dog Maggie found her way from SHPR to our family!

It's everyone's favorite time of year. The decorations are up. Christmas music is playing. Santa is watching. The air feels festive. Family gatherings. Parties galore.

Hold up. It's 2020 and the recipe is a little different.

Take a stressful year. Add the stress of work, an intense election, bad news left and right. And sprinkle a little holiday anxiety on top. Yep, that's more like it. This year has been a year of survival in every aspect and the end of the year is no different. What is different is the majority of us are working from home. Not only are we working from home. We are teaching at home. We are cooking at home. We are doing literally everything at home. Kinda makes it hard to get in the festive mood when we've been stuck at home for nearly 10 months. However, it is possible to make it to the new year without completely falling apart (and maybe even enjoy yourself!). Here are some tips to survive the holiday season while working at home (along with a few socially distanced holiday events still happening in the Pittsburgh area).

1. Communicate

Let your family know when you need time to focus on work, but also let your work know when you need family time. Share your schedule, goals and intentions with your clients, supervisors, as well as friends and family.

2. Take breaks

Like I said before, this year has been tough. And holidays can be tough. Realize that yes, there is a lot to get done, but none of it will be finished if you're not fully present. If you feel yourself getting burned out, take a break. Go for a walk. Do some yoga.

3. Claim your space

If the kids are home from school - you might be lacking the space you had while they were away. It's important to have an area where you can focus on work. Claim a room with good internet connection and privacy.

4. Change your notifications

The dings, chimes and bells are enough to drive you crazy. Do Not Disturb exists for a reason. If you are stepping out of the office or away from wherever your workstation is, shut off your notifications. Working from home doesn’t mean a 24-hour workday.

The stress of the holidays can be overwhelming, but you will get through it. And when you need a little escape, Pittsburgh has a lot to offer.

• Phipps Winter Flower Show is called Home for the Holidays. Clever, right?
• Looking for one-of-a-kind gifts? Head Downtown to the Peoples Gas Holiday Market.
• Or maybe Christmas lights are your thing. ElfBurgh Christmas is something new this year! Santa's Castle is a COVID safe event!

Whatever the end of this crazy year brings, remember to breathe. Count your blessings. And wear your mask please.

~ Melissa Pravlik, Social & Web Strategist

Get out of your PJs!
Encourage everyone to dress up! You can ask people to put on their best holiday garments or choose a theme and see how creative things get. How about a prize for best attire?

Keep everyone's interest.
MyQuiz.org is a live multiplayer trivia quiz site that can host up to 25 people for free and it works from any device. They're offering holiday specials, too! There are a lot of online board game options as well: Monopoly, Words With Friends, and lots of card games, to name a few. 

Give more prizes!
You can come up with a ton of ideas and reasons to reward all of your attendees, in addition to the ones already mentioned. How about: Best backdrop, prettiest table scape, best decorations, first to get on the call, last to leave the call. Use your imagination!

If you put in the effort, the possibilities are never ending. And, if you would like some help, just ask! The team at K2C is ready and waiting with the creativity and connections you need to make your virtual party a success... just don't forget to invite us!
​​
~Kel xo

​I think we can all agree 2020 has been a little…shall we say different? This is the year we were told to stay home. We were told to avoid loved ones, coworkers, and friends. We learned to rely on devices for meetings, get togethers with friends, and even dates. Movie nights moved to the couch. The dining room table hasn’t seen this much action in a long time. We even embraced the outdoors. Video games, crafts and baking became popular. And on top of all that, we got a whole lot of housework done. 
 
When the world as we knew it was taken from us, connecting with people became even more important. This isn’t something that applies to only your friends and family. It is also important for your business. If you are working from home for the unforeseeable future, you need to remember to keep the social in your social media plan.
 
Sure, I am all for digital engagement measuring. Set me in front of some analytics and I can get lost. However, that’s not what it’s all about. If we rewind a little, we can remember a time when social media was fun. It wasn’t a bunch of political statements. It wasn’t a bunch of people arguing about who knows what. Basically, it wasn’t filled with so much anger and hate. Think back to why you joined Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… hell, even MySpace. You wanted to engage. You wanted to know what happened behind the scenes. 
 
In the beginning “behind the scenes” probably focused more on friends, family and, I’ll admit it, checking in on what some people from your past might be up to. But now, especially now, we are curious about businesses. We want to know who they are. We want to know what they stand for. We love to see pictures, videos, and posts from the companies we love. 
 
Your business is important. Your customers are concerned. Will you be there? Are you doing the right things? Are you okay? Sharing intimate details can be good for your business because it makes you real, and it shows a little bit of the face behind the operations. 

It's like beautiful music - collaborating with old teammates and great friends. I've added not one, but two, past coworkers to the K2C team! I brought in Colleen Mycoff when I wanted to win a job for a new logo and marketing materials for a company out of Houston, Texas. I knew if anyone could help me - it was Colleen...and she did! 
Then, a short time later a small local nonprofit organization contacted me about redesigning their outdated website and adding content. It was in WordPress, which I am not skilled, so I knew exactly who to call - Melissa Pravlik! 
​Although we had all stayed in touch for many years, it was so sweet how we just picked back up and didn't miss a beat. We held different positions in different departments at the Pittsburgh Business Times... just a few years ago. I say it that way because it seems like a lifetime ago, and yet it seems like yesterday. Oh, the stories we could tell! Maybe that'll be a future blog post? ;)
​
​Bringing them into the mix, K2C gained two new clients - and we have been able to expand our services. We understand the value of having the trifecta of skills when serving clients - Content, Marketing, Branding.  




It all works together!
​The content on your website and social pages is your story.
​Your marketing plan needs to have a clear, consistent message.
Your logo and brand tell the visual story about your organization.


The three parts - Content, Marketing, and Branding need to work in harmony. We have that harmony. Folks have asked "Do you have a specific industry concentration?" The answer is a simple "No." We know the TYPES of companies and clients we want to work with. We want the small business owner with great ideas and lots of experience and knowledge, but little time. We want the new business owner who needs guidance and a plan. We love our nonprofit clients because we love to "do good" and support groups that care about the same issues we care about. Maybe someday we will focus on an industry, but it's doubtful. Right now, we are focusing on working with good people - and so far, we've achieved that!

I've been told to be careful, don't try to be everything to everyone. We know what we're each good at - and we know to "stay in our lanes." I've been told not to grow too quickly. We are taking our time. We are getting back in the swing of working together and creating that old harmony. We have had laughs and we've made mistakes. We will learn and grow with every new client and every new project. We will have fun! But, most importantly, we will help our clients reach their goals with sensible, reasonable solutions. 

Reach out to any of us and let's talk about how K2C can help you "Make Your Message Matter." 
​
Rockin' with the band... again,
Kelli

I recently read an article about “Imposter Syndrome” on LinkedIn. And WOW, it really resonated with me. It struck a chord… then, it didn’t.

Read on, I’ll explain.

But first, what is Imposter Syndrome, you ask?
Imposter Syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. 'Imposters' suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.

So back to my weird statement above. I read the article, listened to the podcast, and really felt something. I have been suffering from this for YEARS. I think – wait, I know – it is because I don’t have a college degree. I spent twelve years of elementary and high school in the gifted program, showed a ton of promise, but truly never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. (Sometimes, I still don’t!)

I went to community college for two years, took some business courses, dropped out of accounting because I was certain I was going to have a medical episode over it, LOVED the English / creative writing classes, and took biology and pharmaceutical math, which strangely I also loved. So, yeah, I was unsure to say the least. Then, I “took a semester off”, got married, started a family, and the rest is history. I regret none of it. I know the skills and experience I have gained over the last two decades outweighs any piece of paper I would have earned in 1994. Look at how much the world has changed since then: technology, the internet, social media – everything my generation has learned has been through experience or had been self-taught. If a company wouldn’t interview me without a degree, I moved on. Yeah, it stung a little but I always landed on my feet and I feel everything happens for a reason. Every position I have had, the people I have met, and the career experience I have gained were all placed in front of me for a reason.