Ever wondered what sort of diet is best for you? Or if you, too, should, hop on the trend bus of intermittent fasting? Our next Rule Breaker, Alpa Makan, is here to answer these questions and many more.
Alpa is a health and happiness coach. She helps women re-discover their energy and conquer stress with tools to feed their minds and bodies better daily.
Before living in sunny California, she had enjoyed a beautiful life in the Caribbean for many years. She had also worked with India’s National Carrier ‘Air India’ for ten years, giving her the wings to fly and experience the benefits of food of different cultures with their modern and traditional living and eating habits in most continents.
Catch us more Alpa’s on her journey and take on intermittent fasting routine in this exclusive interview.
1. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
In terms of business marketing in today’s world, social media has been the biggest way for me to market my business, whether it is Facebook, Instagram or email list.
Another major marketing I get is through word of mouth. When people are happy with the results, they share our business’ information with people they know.
2. What kind of culture exists in your organization, and how did you establish it?
I work with contractors and have a small team, nevertheless , we follow five principles in terms of our culture. They are equality, communication, recognition, accountability, and most importantly, teamwork because I feel there has to be a very positive and inclusive culture in terms of equality.
I like to keep the communication open and easy so that all of us working together have honest feedback about anything that I need to work on. I also like to celebrate wins to recognize everyone’s efforts. And at the end of the day, when you are invested in your company wholeheartedly, I believe everyone becomes more comfortable with the work we put in.
3. How do you define success?
Success for me will always be about making a difference in other people’s lives. I know it sounds cliche but that has been my very clear vision and value since I started this business. At the end of a work day I know that I’ve grown, learned a new thing, or helped someone in some way. For me, that’s a success.
4. Do you think there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
There is no magic formula to being a successful entrepreneur. The important thing to know is never leave sight of your goal. There are days when you’ll be so frustrated that you’ll just want to give up. But don’t forget why you started your business and keep working towards it.
Make sure you are not only doing it for monetary gain or social name or fame but to help people in some way. When you are emotionally invested in your business, success is bound to follow.
5. What entrepreneurial tricks have you learned that keep you productive and motivated in your day-to-day busy schedule?
To stay motivated, I make sure that I am keeping myself aware of the world around me. Be it in terms of reading, interacting, or networking, I try to keep myself aware of people in my field and happenings around the world. Once you know your voice matters and has a purpose, motivation follows. In terms of productivity I make sure that if I am devoting 70% of my time to work, the rest of the time would be for my health, both mental and physical, and my relations. I watch what I eat and make time for my husband, children, and friends, being mindful of what makes me happy professionally and personally.
6. Intermittent fasting has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. But seeing that all our bodies are different, is intermittent fasting suitable for everyone? Is there any diet that is universally suitable?
I won’t say that intermittent fasting suits everyone because we all have different metabolic and genetic systems, lifestyles, work routines, and climates we live in.
I am an advocate for a fresh diet instead of boxed and canned foods. As long as you eat a healthy and fresh diet consisting of carbohydrates, protein and all the macro/micronutrients, it is the universal diet because it will suit everyone.
7. It is often said that a pregnant woman should eat for two. Is this true? If not, then how would you suggest a pregnant woman eat?
This is the biggest misconception that people have in terms of pregnancy and nutrition. Pregnant women do need to eat more to gain the energy they will need during and after the pregnancy but they don’t need to eat for two. They just need to adjust their diet to ensure they are taking all the nutrients in a variety of ranges without eating excess.
In the last decade, around 38 million women were found overweight or obese because of this misconception.
