Mascha Weston – Spiritual Business Maven

Mascha Weston, The Spiritual Maven on the Thriving Solopreneur Podcast with Janine Bolon

To Learn More about Mascha Weston, [click here] to view her Media Kit.

Janine Bolon: Welcome to the thriving solopreneur show and as you know with the show we broadcast every Friday. And one of the things I absolutely love about being a podcast interviewer is I get to meet some of the most amazing entrepreneurs that are running around this planet Earth. And today we have a guest that is joining us from Spain. Her name is Mascha Weston, she is a serial entrepreneur like myself. She’s a certified spiritual coach, unlike myself. She’s a mindfulness coach, a happiness coach, and intuitive business coach, and a lifelong learner. I think honestly if you’re going to be in business. You better be in a lifelong learner mode. And I love it when my guest actually point that out that they are always learning. Spiritual entrepreneurs, higher Mascha to reach 7 figures, not only in impact but also in income. Because most of hit usually an income ceiling and they’re feeling overwhelmed and they don’t enjoy selling at all. They kind of lost that zest.

Well, what Masha does is she creates for them a premium offering like their own nonprofit and introduces them to the right people so that they can grow not only their team but their business. The bottom line is that Masha build 7 figure businesses that have a positive impact on the world. Without overworking and overwhelming the owners. And this is a guarantee, Mascha thank you so much for joining us.

Mascha Weston: Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Janine: I am glad that we were able to coordinate the International Date Line and we were able to work that out. Tell us a little bit about your story because one of the things I loved about learning more from you was just the crazy kind of adventurous life that you had before you started business and then the multiple businesses you built. If you could kind of give us just a little quick sketch about how you got to be where you are and I know that’s really challenging because you had a lot happen in those periods of time. But do your best and we will listen.

Mascha: Okay, I’ll try to be as short as possible. It all started in 2003 when I run away from Germany to Spain to get away from off-island partner. And well, moving country seemed far enough away. Moving to a foreign country, different language has its own challenges on its own already. So I’ve learned quickly the area I moved to, you can’t have a consistent job. You constantly changing.So I just decided I’m going to start my own business. That way, at least I’ve got something consistent, or at least, I thought. And I’ve started and run several different businesses since, some successful, some less successful. Most of them, unfortunately, I got bored with after a while because as you said I’m a lifelong learner. I love learning new things and sometimes it just… then yeah, there is a new challenge, let’s try something else.

In about 12 years ago, I met my husband, my now, husband. And we started building company together. That was his big dream. He wanted a building company, and it’s still running successful. I’m still pulling the strings in the background, but he’s doing the foreground service, his baby as I call it. While at the same time, juggling my own business, his business. Then our son was born so that was motherhood coming on to it as well. And my business that I was running was looking after holiday homes and looking after holiday homes here is nine months of work, Monday to Sunday. Early mornings till late at night and then 3 month of being exhausted. And I just had enough. I wanted more time with my son, so I was looking at alternatives starting to reduce my business a little bit and thought, well online, sounds good I can work from home. I will have time for my son and offline business and online business. Can’t be that different. Can’t be that hard. Oh my God, I’d have been wrong. So wrong. So many things to learn and then you get into the little bit at the beginning. It’s easy and then all these tactics, just how many tactics out there. So many experts, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, you should do place bob, you should… thousands of things. I overwhelmed myself totally trying all these tactics learning everything, and lost the passion for this business. So I decided I sell it, go back to the drawing board and see where I’ve gone wrong. And what I can do? What kind I can learn from it? That’s why now I’m helping spiritual entrepreneurs, not fall into the same trap as I did in getting too overwhelmed.

Janine: Well. And that is the challenge, isn’t it? Is that sometimes the creative process is what we get addicted to. That learning the new skill sets and you get the software learned and then you start your systems, right? Because if you’re going to get to that 7 figure mark, it’s required. You have to have systems in place for your business. And so once you build those systems, then it’s just kind of like turn the crank. You know what’s going to make you money. You know how you can do it. Just turn the crank and keep increasing your outreach and then you’ll make the money. Well, that can be pretty boring because people like you and I, we enjoy the creative process.

That’s why I know I’m a serial entrepreneur is because I would get bored. And then what I would do is I always made a business so I could sell it. I’d sell it and then start another one. Then sell it and start another one. That’s how I kept myself going. But for you, you found this beautiful niche on this mindfulness and how to create that life that keeps you happy. What are some tips that you can give our solopreneurs out there that are currently in the midst of creating their business? What are some of the tips you can give us so that they don’t burn out too soon? Because we really want them to build the business of their dreams.

Mascha: I think the most important tip is be yourself and know yourself. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses and then build your business accordingly. And don’t look at those big names. Don’t look at even you Janine or look at Tony Robbins and try to do the same. Both of them, anybody, Oprah Winfrey, they’ve all started small. They haven’t been everywhere. They haven’t been on all social media platforms. They haven’t had that many followers yet. So don’t compare yourself to them. Start your own and create your own path and I’m sure Janine will as well agree. You haven’t been on all platforms and been doing everything from straight from the beginning, have you?

Janine: No, I actually started with LinkedIn and then I moved to Facebook. But I started with LinkedIn. Yeah, because that was for my basis was so I loved how you had that in one of the articles that I was able to read of Maschas’ was how she talks about what you do depending upon the social media platform. Do you mind sharing that a little bit because you have that so cut and dried. It’s beautifully stated. The way you have that listed. Do you mind sharing?

Mascha: Yeah, so it’s going after what you’re good at. If you love writing then create your website. You don’t need a website to earn money. So if you’re not good at writing, forget about a website. You don’t need it at the beginning. If you’re great at writing, perfect. If you’re great at talking, start a podcast. Or if you love talking and you love being on camera, start a YouTube channel or go-lives on Facebook. So use the platform that you love the most anyway. I’ve started off with Pinterest. I love Pinterest because I’ve been on it all the time before even having a business, so Pinterest for me was quite good. I like creating graphics as well and then learn everything you can learn about this platform. Learn how to leverage it and forget about everything else.

If you are focusing on Facebook or LinkedIn and somebody says, “no, you’ve got to be on Twitter.” Ignore it, leave it for later. Learn it whenever you need to learn it. But focus on the one platform. I know, most people are saying, well, you need to go to the platform where all your people are hanging out. Let me tell you one thing there hanging out everywhere. I found lightworkers in thousands on LinkedIn and I love LinkedIn. I’m using LinkedIn most of the time as well myself. So they are everywhere whether they are on Instagram and Facebook, and Twitter, and then it doesn’t really matter. So wherever you are, they will be as well.

Janine: And I agree with you on that. Please realize when it comes to people that specialize in marketing. They’re used to working with the Fortune 500 or the Fortune 100 companies that have huge marketing budgets and they are trying to break up their marketing dollars into specific niches as they’re expanding their customer base. Well, as a small solopreneur that has a newsletter that starting at 2 meaning, yourself and your web designer or maybe your mom if you have three.

We all start at zero when it comes to our email list and one of the things about building that is the advice that you’re going to get about marketing and platforms. That’s why Mascha was just such a breath of fresh air. I loved how she broke up the different social media platforms and then said, “okay if you’re this kind of person go here, if you’re this, that kind of person go here because it’s natural for you. It’s easy. Don’t try to do difficult yet. Do easy first.” So, what are some easy things that people can do? Because one of the challenges of a business owner is all the hats we wear. We talked about that. We feel like some days were the Mad Hatter. We’re constantly putting on different hats. So what are your recommendations for how to start easy?

Mascha: Sign here. Take those business hats off. So the same, as I said, with the social media, don’t be on all of them. Pick the one that you are best at and the same counts for business. If you’re not great at accounting, find somebody who is. If you’re not great at marketing and you need help there. Find somebody to help you and anything that you can learn and do it easy. The easy and the most simple you keep it, the quicker you will be earning money as well. The only thing is, people will have to know that you’ve got something to offer. Believe, however, you do it.

Janine: Yeah, make sure you have something to offer. I think that’s a brilliant way of saying that because some people forget that part right?

Mascha: Right. And the same with the new site is don’t complicate it. I mean, I’m on some newsletters that I’ve signed up there are so colorful. They look like a magazine and then on other newsletters that just say our latest podcast is out. Listen to it here and you can click a button and that every single week since years just this, it works as well. So don’t overcomplicate it. Most people do get lost if you complicate things. Not only your clients or your potential clients get lost, but you get lost as well. So keep it, stoop it, simple.

Janine: I agree with that. And one of the things that was also fun was you were mentioning about how you can do this. You can get other people to help you. Like, get your accountant, get an attorney, whatever it is that your particular business needs. But you can do this even though you’re not making that much money. So talk to us a little bit about some ideas on how you “hire out” the stuff that you really shouldn’t be doing because it’s not your strong suit. How do you go about doing that? Even though you may not be making a lot of cash at the moment.

Mascha: That is actually my favorite part of business. You do that by networking. You just find those people that love the graphics, love whatever you are bad at and you think you have to have right at the beginning already. You have to build a relationship with them and you see what they are bad at that you’re good at and then you can just barter. You can say, right, if you would do me the graphics I do x, y & z for you. Whatever it is. It doesn’t even have to necessarily be business. When I’ve had a few weeks back, a little, well I’ve gotten stuck in getting an idea. I had the idea but I couldn’t get it proper onto paper site. I wanted to create something where I have a win for everybody and I couldn’t get my head around how to create it.

So I was at a mastermind. I mentioned it. And one of the participants, she was saying, “I can’t talk today a lot because I’ve got a jar infection, but let’s meet up one day.” And we brainstorm together. So do not be just like the one taking. I offered her and in return, I sent you some Reiki for your job. So it will help you there and it worked perfectly. It wasn’t something… Reiki isn’t the service that I do actually sell, but it’s something that I can offer. Anything you can offer that you either sell or don’t sell but you’re really, really good at, somebody else is not as good at. So you can always then barter.

Janine: Barter, yeah, and that was one of the things that when we were talking. I really was excited about bringing up was know your strengths, know your weaknesses is something that you hear a lot about but what I sometimes don’t hear and you brought up was what are your hobbies? What are the things that you enjoy doing when you’re not working? And if business is the only thing in your life. That is a sure-fire way to be an overwhelm and burnout because you’re not living a harmonious life. You know we gave up balance a long time ago. I don’t talk about living a balanced life because a balance requires energy and work and is very precarious. It takes a very little to throw you out of balance. But harmony is a term I like to use with business owners because then it’s like you’re living a harmonious life. You’re doing business when you need to do business. You’re there for your children when you need to be there for your children And then there are those times where you need to go away and just hide and be with, as I say, “okay, it’s time for Mom to be with me, myself and I,” you know, it’s like, I put my self in seclusion.

One of the things that was delightful that you talked about was make sure that you really bring out the hobbies. And I love that when you send us your media kit. You had several pictures of you doing other things and they had nothing to do with your business. And the one that you’re sitting there holding a multicolored umbrella and you’re smiling at the camera. I was like, “then that’s perfect.” Those are the kinds of things that I think some of us forget about. So talk to us about the different ways that you can go about knowing when to put on a business hat and when not to. Because that was one of the things that drove both you and I, into beings our self-employed, was we wanted time with our family. And our corporate jobs or your holiday home position was pulling you away from your family and we didn’t want that. We don’t want to be that kind of mom. So talk about how you were able to give up control over some of the things that you were doing.

Mascha: I just put myself into the shoes of when I was working because I was starting to get envious a little bit of those people that have a 9 to 5 dog at one point in my entrepreneurship. I must say that because they just- they go to work, they spent their 8 hours at work, they come home and forget about work and do whatever they want. Okay, Dave is still the partner of the household and things like that, but other than that, they just forget about work until the next day.

So I thought, well, I can do that. I’m blocking my selves time now. That’s work time. That’s me time. That’s whatever shopping time. And that’s family time and I keep them sacred and as soon as my work time is over. That work had and all the other hats that come with the job are coming off. I’m not thinking about it until the next morning. What helped me there a lot was planning out my day in the evening before I finish. So before I finish my day, I plan out what do I have to do tomorrow? So I’m not doing weekly plans, I’m not doing monthly plans. Yes, I do a little bit but the mind plans that I follow are the daily ones. Then I can forget about them. I don’t go to bed and think, “Oh, tomorrow, I still need to do this and I need to do that and I need…” It’s gone. It’s out of my head and I can relax.

Janine: I think that’s the big one. It’s getting it out of your head so that you can relax. I really definitely take that to heart. So, this is where you and I are a little different because we’re different types of women, were different types of business owners, right? I have to have a weekly plan. I have four children and they go to four different schools so I have to plan by a week. And that’s one of the beautiful things that I loved about what Mascha was talking to us about which was you have to design it according to your lifestyle, according to how you live, and that was a perfect example. Because of the way we plan, how we run our businesses would totally not work for me, Maschas’ system. However, it works for Mascha. So follow Mascha, if you’re that type of person like you don’t want to think in terms of weeks then just have in the evening. Learn her system for how she downloads all that stuff from the day onto paper or however you do it so that you can just really enjoy the evening with your family. That’s fabulous. Well, Mascha, how can somebody get a hold of you? If they want to learn more about what you do?

Mascha: They can find me on LinkedIn. Just type in my show, Weston. There is luckily only one of me or they can go to soulimpactescalator.com to have a little look about what I do. And if they just put Mascha at soulimpactescalater.com, they can email me anytime.

Janine: Wonderful, we’ll also have her contact information in the show notes here and we’re also putting up her media kit so that you can see how other people, the testimonials that others have given about the work that she does. Mascha, anything else you care to share before we sign off today?

Mascha: Yeah, because you mentioned before creatives and we were saying about the dump of the, planning the day. I do as well, a weekly brain dump.

Janine: Well, tell us about that. I’m not familiar with the weekly brain dump. So yeah, tell me about that.

Mascha: All of your ideas that you have. Anything for your business, all your creative ideas, just dump them onto paper or onto your laptop wherever you prefer. Talk them out, however, but just get them out of your head, and then you can always go back to them. When you got the time for something creative you can go back to your list and say, “Hey, I’m going to do this one now.” And if you do that weekly that’s as well something that will stop you from thinking about it all the time while you’re doing something else.

Janine: That is so helpful to the artist, the creatives, the musicians, anybody who has that kind of creativity. My graphic designers talk about how they’ll be in the shower and they’ll freak out because the idea will show up and they’re desperately trying to find a phone or something. And I remember one of the coaches said to them. Well, why don’t you just get a whiteboard in your bathroom so that you can put it on a whiteboard? That way, you don’t have to scramble around the bathroom on wet linoleum and I just thought that was wonderful. So, the weekly brain dump where you sit there and anything, any idea is you just put it down. Do you have a special time or place that you do that for yourself?

Mascha: Often I do it Friday last thing before I start the weekend so I got my head clear, but now sometimes it just happens because I’ve got so many ideas in my head. They need to come out or kind of focus. So it’s a bit flexible. I like to be flexible on one hand and yeah, alright, even the most stupid idea down where I think myself no, silly. I still write it down because, in the future, I might have an idea on how to improve on it and make it better.

Janine: That is a wonderful idea. Thank you for giving us that last little tip before we sign off. Thank you so much for taking time and joining us on the lovely afternoon that you’re having in Spain, right? It was lovely having you with us.

Mascha: Thank you.

Janine: And this is Janine Bolon, with the thriving solopreneur and our guest this week was Masha Weston. We encourage you to go to LinkedIn and type in her name, Mascha, M-A-S-C-H-A, Weston, W-E-S-T-O-N. Look her up on LinkedIn and get to know her a little better. She is somebody that can help you if you’re barricaded into below a 7 figure salary with your business. We want you to be successful. We want you to take that idea of yours and thrive. Thank you for joining us this week. We’ll see you next Friday.

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