Amherst Insider: A campaign for 'response-ability' in business life

By NOAH HOFFENBERG

Published on October 09, 2009

Mission statements, marketing plans and meditation. For Shalini Bahl, 41, of Shutesbury, the three need not be mutually exclusive.

Bahl, who holds a doctorate in marketing from the Isenberg School of Management, is the owner of iAM Business Consulting, a company that aims to help businesses with missions, marketing and sales through mindfulness, authenticity and innovation. She works with her husband, George R. Milne, an associate professor at Isenberg.

"I like the balance between the mind and the heart," said Bahl.

Mindfulness, for Bahl, is the foundation of life and business. It is, she said, "really being aware of what's happening inside of us and how we're impacting the world around us."

She was raised in Delhi, India, and in Kuwait, in a nonpracticing Hindu family. But, feeling a void in her life, she found her way to studying shamanic practices in Costa Rica, as well as vipassana and other meditation practices, through the organization of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar (not the sitar-playing musician).

She now meditates every day, and brings that presence of being into her job and the workplaces of others.

In seminars and workshops, Bahl helps clients focus on their breath and practice nonjudgmental observation of their thoughts and the situations around them, with the goal of being responsive, rather than reactive. This kind of practice can aid salespeople, for instance, in overcoming objections from clients as well as overcoming their own internal objections to embracing new products and tactics. She trains people to breath deeply, even while at the computer.

"Every time you're given the same stimulus, you automatically react. If you can stop and take three breaths in that situation, and then choose your response, then it's response-ability," said Bahl.

Although she's just getting her business started here in the states, she's conducted workshops with Bader al Mulla, a Middle Eastern conglomerate with offices in Kuwait.

Bahl came to the U.S. in 2001, after a divorce overseas. Before that, she trained with Price Waterhouse for her chartered accountancy, an Indian equivalent to a CPA. She's owned and operated other businesses, such as exporting her own brand of basmati rice from India and designing and marketing high-end fashion garments.

In her latest endeavor, she seeks to assist individuals, small businesses and nonprofits.

"I work a lot with people to clearly articulate what their inner purpose is, and translating that into a good mission statement. ... What is it that you can really bring to this world? What are you passionate about? That's the authentic piece of it," said Bahl. "I do believe everyone has unique gifts, experiences, passions."

She said the goal is to then " to take all of that and convert that into a good business model, using innovation and marketing."

After identifying what's special about a business and its product, Bahl believes that social media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. - are ideal vehicles to transmit the company's message, more so than a Web site.

"My God, these are such valuable tools, because they don't cost anything, and it's a really authentic way to get your brand out. You can really tell your own story directly to your customers," said Bahl. "I was reading somewhere that Web sites are so five years ago. It's like having your billboard in a cornfield. You could be there, but if no one comes, what's the point?"

Aside from helping with missions and marketing plans, iAM Business Consulting gives workshops for organizations in need of refocusing.

For example, she cited a workshop in which she helped a fragmented company begin to see the benefits of working as a team by layering personal mission statements upon the mission of the business. All of this is done, she said, to help people navigate the outer business landscape, but also the inner emotional one. "It's our beliefs that create our reality," said Bahl.

Bahl - a board member for MotherWoman Inc., the local nonprofit that supports and empowers mothers - also moderates the iAM Woman in Business group. About 30 members have met once a month for the past four months in Hadley at the Ivory Creek Bed and Breakfast Inn.

She said the idea to form the group came to her in one of her daily meditation sessions.

Whether helping clients or women in her support group, Bahl said her focus is how to market your business to be effective, while being true to yourself.

"It needs to be organic, it needs to be heartfelt, and at the same time, smart," said Bahl.

To read more on iAM, visit http://iam-bc.com or http://iamwomaninbusiness.blogspot.com.

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Chamber hosts Rosenberg, Story

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce will have state Sen. Stan Rosenberg and state Rep. Ellen Story, both D-Amherst, as guest speakers at its annual legislative breakfast today.

The event will be held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hadley from 7:15 to 9 a.m.

Admission is $12 for Chamber members and $15 for nonmembers.

Other speakers are Town Manager Larry Shaffer, Hadley Town Administrator David Nixon and Amherst Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe.

For more information or to reserve space at the breakfast, call 253-0700 or email info@amherstarea.com.

Know of someone doing something notable in town? Email Noah Hoffenberg at nhoffenberg@gazettenet.com and let him know, for possible inclusion in an Amherst Insider column. The column appears weekly.