Be bold and embrace every aspect of yourself. Turn your multi passions from something daunting into a source of empowerment in your creative entrepreneurship journey!
In this episode of The Pollen Podcast, I bring on Monica Grohne, founder and CEO of Marea - and a Libra Sun, Cancer Moon, and Scorpio Rising - to talk about being multi-passionate, and how to utilize it as a creative entrepreneur. We also dive deep into adding a personal touch to your branding and showing up as genuine as possible on social media. Listen as we share how to empower others by empowering yourself through your brand!
Listen to this episode to learn how to use your multiple passions to the fullest!
Create your own creative entrepreneurship story of clarity, professional confidence, and profit. Join Diana’s 90-day group course Camp Clarity and learn everything you wish you already knew, like how to land dream clients, harness the power of social media, and make the money you deserve. Learn more here.
🔥Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:
Discover how to hone your multiple passions into a singular project you enjoy.
Understand the importance of personal branding, especially when selling a product.
Learn to leverage multiple social media platforms for support, building your brand, and reaching out to communities.
📘Resources
Achieve the life, career, and clients you’ve always wanted (and fully deserve!). Sign up for Diana’s Camp Clarity Course now!
Access other courses from the Diana Davis Creative
Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms by Jaime Schmidt
🎧Episode Highlights
[10:13] Introducing Monica
Monica always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur, but it wasn’t until she started working in-house at an e-commerce brand that she became truly passionate about it.
Finding a community on Twitter and creating a product for women, while diving deep into e-commerce, showed Monica that she could be passionate about multiple things at once.
Monica: “When I came to you, I [was] like, ‘I always feel like I'm cheating on one [business] and I don't know how to balance both.’ And I've learned it's just about seasons, and there are seasons for both. I can be both and.” - Click Here to Tweet This
Younger Monica was adventurous and creative. She was interested in magazines, media, and fashion, and would come up with her own product catalogs.
[23:33] Learning to Pitch Brand Deals
Monica’s first foray into marketing was marketing herself as an athlete. She didn’t know how to pitch herself at first.
With her experience and connections in the industry, Monica landed a digital content manager position, which, although low-paying, allowed her to grow as an entrepreneur.
Fascinated by the brand-side of things, Monica decided she wanted to create a brand with her own product.
[34:45] Monica and Marea
Marea is a menstrual wellness company that offers a drinkable multivitamin that provides all of the essential micronutrients that are necessary for hormone balance.
At 26, Monica realized she didn’t know much about her menstrual cycle and that she had premenstrual dysphoric disorder. She realized how important this kind of information is and wondered why no one else knew or talked about it.
Monica considered becoming a health coach, but her passion for product and marketing led her to create Marea.
[41:01] Producing a Product
It was important to Monica that her product was a scientifically-backed supplement, so she sought out expert advice.
Monica: “Guess what, yes, someone might steal your idea, but if you don't go out and look for people to support you, and to put it out there, and to see what people think, you'll probably never start.” - Click Here to Tweet This
Market validity is important. Your product needs to be needed by people.
Find the right partners and manufacturers to help things take off. Find the right facility to create the finished product.
Having a physical product is different from businesses like coaching. Cash flow plays a big part.
[52:00] Being the Branding of Marea
Monica saw the biggest growth on TikTok. She attributes this to its virality and how content doesn’t need to be as polished as it would be on Instagram.
Understand the importance of personal branding. Marea doesn’t necessarily require Monica to show her face, but people resonated with her story and the idea behind the brand.
[53:01] Monica: “What makes us different, and why people trust us as a brand, is because I had the same problem that they have. And the reason the solution exists isn't because some man thought it up and knew it could make money; it’s because it solved my problem. And so I'm doing a disservice by trying to hide behind my brand and not showcase that.” - Click Here to Tweet This
At first, Monica was afraid of coming off as too salesy but ultimately shifted her mindset to helping women out by sharing what she learned about how nutrition plays a huge role in our lives.
Our time and energy are limited so Monica prices her goods at a value where her energy and time are at an equal exchange.
[58:53] Diversifying Your Social Media Platforms
Share with openness and vulnerability. It doesn’t have to be the right answer; just hope it can help someone else.
Twitter is 180 characters of stream of consciousness. If something’s interesting or you think others will find it interesting, just tweet it.
Monica finds that redirecting people to explanations on YouTube instead of answering the same questions again and again is more intuitive.
Gauge what type of person you are and choose your platform from there. If you’re into written word, try Twitter or LinkedIn.
About Monica
Monica Grohne lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where her marketing experience began as an outdoor athlete. Prior to launching Marea, she was a marketing director in the DTC e-commerce space and has worked with tens of e-commerce brands to help them grow authentic, engaged communities of customers. She launched Marea in 2020 and is so excited to help free women from PMS and period symptoms with the support of nutrition.
Enjoyed this Podcast on Being Multi-passionate?
Turn your multi passions from something daunting into empowerment in your creative entrepreneurship journey!
Pollen is a podcast for Creative Entrepreneurs — just like you! If you enjoyed this episode of Pollen Podcast, subscribe and help us spread the word by sharing it!
Leave a review and share it! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐If you enjoyed tuning in to this podcast, we'd appreciate it if you wrote us a review. You can also share it to help other creative entrepreneurs.
Have any questions or want to leave a suggestion? Come say hi on the 'gram @dianadaviscreative! You can also subscribe to my newsletter for travel updates, learn about special projects, and get tips and tricks for the creative entrepreneur life!
Connect with me on Linkedin: Diana Davis Creative.
Thanks for listening! Stay tuned to my website for more episode updates and other exciting programs and resources.
Transcript
There's also just a vibe. And I'm like a true believer that our vibrations are what attract people. And there's always been something about you where I’m like, “I just love her.” And that is like the biggest compliment. I think you can agree like when people are just like “I was just attracted to your energy.” I'm like, “Yes, that means I'm putting something good out there.” So I love that.
Diana Davis: Welcome to Pollen: The Podcast for Creative Entrepreneurs. I'm your host, Diana Davis, multi-passionate creative, business coach, Gemini, manifesting generator, macha drinker, and travel junkie. I'm also the founder of Diana Davis Creative, where I went from a six-figure photography business to coaching creative entrepreneurs like you. If you want to have a career and a life you love, you're in the right place. On this show, I'll be coaching on all things creative entrepreneurship, and you'll hear stories from fellow creative entrepreneurs that will show you it is possible to do life the way you want to. They'll share the nitty-gritty of their journeys, like the real shit, and how they are doing it differently. I'm stoked to have you along on this journey. Let's go.
Hello, Pollen listeners, you are in for another treat. Another guest episode today with my friend, client, and I'm her client. It's all the things, Monica Grohne. I will tell you about her in a second. But I wanted to let you know what's going on in the Diana Davis creative world. The day that you are listening to this, we actually have two days left until Camp Clarity round six kicks off for the 90-day course that it is.
If you don't know what Camp Clarity is, go to my website, dianadaviscreative.com/campclarity and check it out. It's a 90-day group course for creative entrepreneurs who are ready to show up confidently on social, land their dream clients, actually have a profitable business, make that money, be knowledgeable about the money. That also means taxes and contracts and all the things and also ditch the hustle. Stop burning out.
Camp Clarity starts in two days, you can apply by going into that link and clicking apply. You can also just DM me and say “Hey, Camp Clarity. I'm interested.” @dianadaviscreative on Instagram. I'm always a DM away. It's just me over there. You're not talking to a bot or a VA, it's really me I promise. So I would love to have you there. If you're sitting on the fence, now is your time, this is your sign.
All right now on to this amazing episode where Monica and I go into her crazy ass story. She has such a crazy story, such a winding road. I'm so excited for you to listen to it and be expanded by it. And if you especially if you're a wannabe product business, even someday, this is such an expansive episode for you. We also talk about being multi-passionate, creative entrepreneurs quitting the job having winding paths. That is always the case in creative entrepreneurship.
Monica lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where her marketing experience began as an outdoor athlete, which you're going to hear a lot about. She was a pro-competitive skier y'all. Prior to launching Marea, she was a marketing director in the DTC e-commerce space and has worked with 10s of e-commerce brands to help them grow authentic engaged communities of customers. She launched Marea in 2020 and is so excited to help free women from the PMA and period symptoms with the support of nutrition. She's incredible. Let us know what you think of this episode. As always, rate review, share, and get this into more people's ears. Let's go.
Hello, Pollen listeners, we have a huge treat for you today. We have our guest Monica Grohne and she is such a good friend of mine and client of mine and state's neighbor, all the things. Let me tell you a little bit about our story and then I'm gonna let her introduce herself and the way that she would like to. But basically well maybe just say hi Monica, how you doing?
Monica Grohne: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so pumped to be chatting.
Diana: I’m pumped too and I want to hear why invited you into this little intro is because like, I don't want it to be a one-way situation because our story has two sides. I'm pretty sure that we found each other because you were obviously looking for a photographer for your company Marea Wellness, which we're going to hear all about. And I can't remember exactly. We've talked about it many times, but were you searching for a NYC photographer? How did you find me again?
Monica: I think it was, if I remember correctly, maybe like a Bozeman connection because I have a couple of friends here in Jackson that used to live in Bozeman. IIt was maybe like Leslie or Sophie who lived here that used to live in Bozeman and they'd like tagged you and I saw you and I was like, “Oh, my God, I love her work. She's worked with native deodorant. Like, I have to work with her.”
Diana: Yeah, amazing. And so just prove to all of you that your Instagram is absolutely a landing pad for people. It's not always like they just discover you through a hashtag sometimes, but not always, that they discover you through a hashtag and it's like, “Oh, yep, gonna hire that person.” It's like, “Oh, I heard about her through this person. And when I go to her Instagram, that's what sells me.” Right. So really important.
Monica: There is also just a vibe. And I'm like, a true believer that our vibrations are what attract people. And there's always been something about you, where I’m like, “I just love her.”
Diana: And that is like the biggest compliment, I think you can agree. Like when people are just like “I was just attracted to your energy.” I'm like, yes, that means I'm putting something good out there, so I love that. We've had this dynamic, where I did, and I'm not blowing smoke. This was one of my favorite shoots ever. It was during the pandemic, I think we started working together or decided to start working together before we knew there was a panini. It was like, its production and all of that. Yeah, go ahead.
Monica: Yeah, February 2020. And it was pre US panini, then we didn't like end up doing the shoot until much later because I had issues with the pandemic and my product
Diana: Of course, yeah, production and everything slowing down and just like didn't know where things were going to be. And I wasn't doing shoots really, because I was in the lifestyle like out in-person vibe. For the most part, I hadn't really dug into product as much because I loved being out and about. And this worked out perfectly, because I did this literally in my one-bedroom apartment in New York City, just with a bunch of backdrops and lights in my living room, which my partner was like, “Dear Lord, why are you taking over the whole place?” It was a good ride off.
But yeah, so we did virtually a photoshoot together, which I still love those photos. I know you still use those photos and can't believe it was two years ago, over two years ago. And then we continued our relationship. And you eventually actually joined Camp Clarity, which I think is so cool, because we talked about this, and we're gonna get into your story, of course. But I just think there are so many lessons in our relationship. And you know that every time I’m in a Zoom room with you, I have to say all these things. Because I think it's so important for people to hear that no trust is important.
Same with you, you have a consultant business as well as a product-based business and people are following you because of you. And if they love your vibe, they might buy both things.
Monica: And I think that that's like part of the reason that I've felt so attracted to you and what you preach. And what you teach is that when I came to you for Camp Clarity, I was like, “I'm just so confused how to be this multi-passionate person. I have this business and this business is my core and my heart and what I'm really trying to make successful, but I also have all this knowledge and people coming to me and asking for support.” And I actually need to kind of give that support in exchange for money to keep me afloat right now. So how do I do both well and show up as two people in one place? I was so confused.
Diana: Yeah, and I just—we'll talk about this and your story but you can be a multi-passionate entrepreneur if you take nothing else away from this episode and I love it.You came into Camp Clarity, I saw your application come through and I was like “Holy shit.” I was honored and like she—wow she trusts me and she's wanting to be in this circle that meant the world to me like I hope you know that and having you in that container and now you've guest coached for Camp Clarity and you're an email guru and I just purchased your course for inbox gold.
It's this beautiful like feeding back into the ecosystem, which I think is really cool in this like female entrepreneur empire we're building. We just get to like, keep investing in each other and have so many different people in our back pockets. Now we’re friends, I've stayed in your house like, we're going to travel together, who knows, but this is you. Why don't you tell us from your perspective, I’ll zip my lips, who you are, who you want to be presented as?
Monica: Oh, man. I'm Monica, I am a really passionate entrepreneur. I didn't know what my thing was going to be. But I always knew I would be an entrepreneur and I was just waiting for the right moment. I think that I really got super excited and passionate when I started working in-house at another e-commerce brand, another product based company. I could feel emotionally so much energy and so much excitement to learn, coming up for me that I was like, “This is going to be it, I'm going to sell a product. I'm really passionate about it. It's really challenging.” And I really liked it. I'd previously been in production and in media in the outdoor industry. I was making actions for films, I was producing.
I was helping market films for the North Face and for O'Neal and REI and pitching to these big brands and that was fun. But I really liked the in-house work with a brand and the like marketing a product and solving problems for people with a physical good so I knew that was it. And then I started dealing with my own period shit. And like just realized that the solution that came to me, it came to me for a frickin reason and it was nutritional supplementation. And I had to share it with other people and because I knew I was passionate about the product side of things. I was like, I can bring this to market. I don't know anything about supplements, but I can do this and figure it out.
Diana: Yeah, so good. I feel like this is a whole other subject, we could go on for five hours. But I feel like so many people, including myself, develop their career or product or their thing that they're selling because of their own need, which I think is so powerful. We are our own ideal clients the majority of the time.
Monica: Yeah, for sure. And that is me, whether it is consulting Monica, who supports a lot of other e-commerce founders. Because I remember when I switched from media to e-commerce, I got hired as a marketing director. And I got hired as a marketing director with little to no experience. I had started one Shopify store before my own store to teach myself e-commerce because I knew I wanted to go in that direction. And being that supposed to be expert in an e-commerce brand, I was their first hire and marketing and I was supposed to be able to tell them what they needed to do. And I just remember being like, “Oh, gosh, I just wish I could have someone to support me and be like, ‘Yeah, that's the right direction, like, keep going’.”
And I did find that community on Twitter. I’m really grateful for that. But now being able to be that person, to other founders, to early-stage founders, all of that has been amazing. And also having the product where I'm solving something for women who experienced what I experienced. So on two levels, I'm like, “Wow, I can be passionate about two things at once.” And I'm solving my own problem in each bucket.
Diana: And you're not cheating on your other business. Which is exactly what I said to you when I came to you. I'm like, “I always feel like I'm cheating on one. And I don't know how to balance both.” And I've learned it's just about seasons, and there are seasons for both. and like I can be both and yeah, and one gets to support the other. Okay, so let's really dig into this. First of all, per usual listeners, you get to guess what Monica does astrology is she's going to try not to say it until the end.
And then something I want to dig into that I haven't asked a guest yet is who was Monica like as a little girl? Who is Monica before all this like adulting bullshit before all these– “You have to figure out what you love and what you're going to do with your life.” What did she—was she sassy? What did you like to do? What did that Monica look like?
Monica: My inner child? Such a good question. She was a tomboy, she was adventurous, and she wanted to impress her older brother all of the time. But she was also really creative. I remember creating—I always wanted to be in magazines and media and fashion. And I thought that that was like a Delias catalog. Basically, I don't know if everyone remembers Delias, but I was obsessed. And I used to take notebooks and turn them into catalogs. I'd draw the product, I'd write the product description, I'd put a price on it, did the whole thing. Really, really creative and always dreaming up whatever it was I was going to create, but also like trying to keep up with the boys all the time.
Diana: Yeah, so good. Do you feel like—in a short little tidbit answer, do you feel like she's still present? Like, obviously, you're a product-based business like, what? But do you feel like you have allowed that kind of stuff to come through in your adult life as well?
Monica: For sure. Yeah, I'll still like wake up in the middle of the night and build a website landing page in my notebook like.
Diana: Okay, Monica, where did we start? Obviously, we talked about who you were as a kid, which is so important. And I think it's just like, as creatives we need to fucking draw in the notebook still. We need like those creative outlets and to remember who we were. But where did this—what's your story? How did we get here? Can we just like start at point A, and kind of slowly wind our way to how you got here?
Monica: I shared that I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur and literally, this stems from my dad was a business owner. He was an entrepreneur, he took over his family business. And when he took it over when things were failing, and that was always so inspiring to me, and something that I was like, “Okay, I have to prove that I can do that too.” Which there might be some like childhood trauma in that proving, but—
Diana: What was your dad's business?
Monica: He owned a drilling and blasting company, which is very, not what I was into. But I just saw that he could take something and make it really successful. And it was a small family-owned business. I'm from Maine, I was in Maine, and he expanded it to be a national business. So it went very—he's very successful. It blows my mind. And all the time. I'm like telling me how to do this. And he's like, “I can't.” That was really where my drive to be an entrepreneur came from.
And I was stuck in this system and I first felt stuck in a system in high school when I was going to history classes when I was in math classes. When I was having to take all these classes I was like “This is not what I want to do. I just want to be taking business classes. I want to learn how to run a business.” And so I decided when I was a freshman in high school, I don't even know if you know this, but to complete high school as fast as possible and go to college.
Diana: I didn't know this. I'm learning. I get to learn so much on these. I love it.
Monica: I made a plan. I went to my guidance counselor and I was like, how many credits do I need in each subject? Tell me everything. Turns out like you only need three math credits, three science credits, three history credits. The only thing you need, four of which you go to four years of high school is English. And I was like, “Great. Can I take a freshman English class and have it count for high school and college?” And they were like, “I guess.”
So I did that at my local college like community college just took intro freshman college, my last year of high school that counted towards high school and college and was able to graduate high school in three years. So went to college to go to business school, when I should have been going to my fourth year of high school.
Diana: Wow, wild and this was like so crazy. This was on your mind where so many high schoolers have no fucking clue what they want to do. I was like partying and waitressing and like chasing boys, you know, I was an artist always but I wasn't worried. Anyway, that's impressive, really cool.
Monica: I was doing that too, for sure. But yes, to be a freshman in high school and to decide then because I put it in front of my parents. I was like, “This is an ultimatum.” I was like, “You're either sending me to boarding school for the rest of high school, or I'm going to finish in three years and go to college.” I was just ready to leave. Like I was like, ready? What was next? I'd gone to a private school from kindergarten to eighth grade and felt advanced compared to the public high school that I went to. And I was like, “I need what's next. I'm not entertained like I'm not learning.” And so I was just —I think that maybe shows like the entrepreneur and me of like, make a plan. Figure it out. Let's move forward.
Diana: Yeah, not only were you drawing catalogs, you were like really going for it. Wwe get to high school a year early. Where was this? Or not High School, I'm sorry, college, a year early. Where was this? What was your plan? How did it go? Did it go as planned? What was that like?
Monica: I really had to go to business school either by Bentley or Babson because they had amazing entrepreneurial firms. But I did not get accepted to either because they thought I wasn't ready for college a year early. Which was like a real stab because I was like, “Wait, you should see the grit in me for doing this, but instead you denied me access.” So that was fine. I went to state school at the University of Maine and started the business program.
I started in marketing, quickly realized that marketing isn't something you learn out of textbooks, and I think all of us have learned that now who are like on Instagram and social media and today's world of marketing. But I was just like, “Wow, again, I'm not feeling I don't feel like I'm learning that much.” And so in my sophomore year, I switched to finance because I was like “If I want to own a business, the thing that I'm going to learn in a textbook is finance and that side of things.” I ended up I have a degree in finance, which seems so weird to me. I love it.
Diana: You’re a finance bro.
Monica: I'm not sure like, but actually no, not at all.And meanwhile, during college, I was ski racing. I ski raced in high school, I ski raced in college. And in my senior year of college again, I was just like, pretty bored, stacked my classes in two days of the week, and then spent the rest of the time at the ski resort, coaching, skiing, and falling passionately in love with coaching, ski racing. I decided with a friend who I was coaching with that we were going to move out West and be ski bums for a year after college.
Diana: I love this and where did you move first?
Monica: In my head the only place I'd been at last was Vail with my family. And so I was like, yeah, we'll go to Colorado like great, that's all I know. But a fellow coach of ours that we were working with was like “You have to go to Jackson, Wyoming. It's the wild west. You guys are gonna fit in great.” We were kind of like partiers, really aggressive. Like he knew we were great skiers. And he's like, “You gotta go to Jackson.” And I was like, I've never heard of this place. I had no idea
Diana: Way before it was cool and expensive.
Monica: I mean, I think it was like growing in popularity, but I just didn't know that the Tetons existed. It was at this point that we were like, “Sure. Sounds great. Like we'll go to this random place on the map after the end of college that summer.” We waitressed all summer to save up to move. Got in my car and drove across the country without a place to live without a job not even knowing where the hell I was going.
Diana: I love this. I love this
Monica: And we landed in Jackson and got jobs. We waitressed, coach skiing, and I've been here ever since. 10 years later, I'm still here, but I started competing in ski racing again and became a professional skier which just blows my mind. But I had sponsorships from Marmot and Smith and Rossignol skis. And that I think it was my first foray into marketing. It was marketing myself as an athlete, it was learning to be like, “What is my worth in terms of how much gear you're gonna give me? Are you going to pay for my comp entries?” How do I pitch myself and did that for like four or five years.
Diana: Wow, I love this. It literally gives me chills like seriously, what leads us here and the building blocks of what created who we are today, it's wild. Like I guarantee you 90% of the people that follow you have no fucking clue about this story. Okay, so what's next? We're professional skier, we're pitching. We're doing the things basically like the first influencer, if you will. Pitching brand deals and these things like what were the challenges in that?
Monica: So many things. I didn't know my worth, I didn't really know how to curate an audience. I was just a kid running wild. I think that when I look back on it now, while I was learning a lot of skills, I don't know that I was taking it as seriously as I could have. I was feeling really challenged in the way that I have always felt like I've had to keep my career in the back of my mind. What am I doing long term? I was trying to keep these side gigs and like trying to keep my resume current. Meanwhile, I was waiting tables four nights a week so that I could keep pursuing this passion.
And I think that the waiting tables probably taught me the most about sales and interacting with people. And I'm so grateful for that period. Honestly, my husband and I call this chunk of time, our early retirement. We've already had a retirement in our life because we were experiencing so much traveling, skiing, being wild and crazy. And I wouldn't change it for the world because I will never have that youth back. I quickly got sick of living off of a waitress’s salary and chugging beer at ski comps. And I realized that I needed the next phase. I was ready for something next .
And I had gotten a lot of industry contacts and a mentor in the industry who worked in PR. He had just started working at Active Interest Media, which is the media house who is in Boulder actually in Boulder, Colorado, and they own title Ski Magazine, Skiing Magazine, Backpacker, like a bunch of outdoor magazines and they were looking for an interim digital content manager. And he reached out to me and he's like, “Hey, I know you've got your skiing thing, but maybe you want to do this. It's just part time.” And I was like, “Heck, yeah.”
So I jumped into that with two feet and it was shit pay. But I learned so much. I got a ton more contacts. And that led me to my next job at Teton gravity research, being an integrated producer where I was working on these like massive multimillion dollar films and pitching to brands and pitching specific media content for their brands that was within our films, and jumped into that role and just felt like I was thriving. I quickly moved up the ladder at that business and was producing premieres in LA. I had literally produced a premiere in LA with the Hemsworth brothers.
Diana: That's wild. For those who don't know, can you tell them who those people are?
Monica: Yeah, the Hemsworth brothers are like Hollywood actors, they're Australian. Just Google them. You'll recognize that everyone.
Diana: Yeah, that's incredible. And I think, you know, first of all, your catalog drawing paid off. And I think it's so wild how the stepping stones happen. It's like, okay, the first situation backpackers and all of that maybe wasn't the most glamorous or the end all be all. But like you said, you gathered — you're like gathering your acorns, right? You have new contacts, and you're gathering experience. And it's truly a stepping stone whether we see it at the time as a stepping stone or not.
So you go from finance degree to pro skier waitress living in Jackson Hole to marketer, producer, were you like, “Holy shit, how did I get on this train?” Were you like, “How do I get off this train?” Were you, “Where's this train going?” What were you—were you just kind of along for the ride?
Monica: I think I was frustrated. Honestly, I was like, I am a multi tool in the toolbox. I don't have a specialty. I keep getting hired because people know, I'm scrappy and I'll figure it out. But I didn't feel like I had a marketable skill. I was someone who could organize things really well, get a lot of shit done, and motivate teams to get a lot done, which are great leader tools. Something that I didn't recognize at the time is that I was just a visionary with this weird integrator, like personality as well. But I could be like, “Okay, we need a system for this. Let's make a system.” And then I'm gonna go and make you all do it.
I was frustrated of being like, “What is my thing? What is this going to amount to where the heck is this going?” But that was just when I started, like, I knew I was frustrated. And that was when I started to keep a journal of things that led me up today, things that, like really drained me today. I love that. What am I actually liking? Like, what do I like? Who am I?
Diana: Yeah. Did you have support in this? Or were you just kind of winging it?
Monica: No, I mean, I've always been even in high school, like reading my dad's business books. And a big consumer of that type of material, but never formalized support.
Diana:Yeah. Got it. So I love that you had the initiative to be like, “Okay, what's lighting me up? What's not?” And maybe you got out of a book? I don't know. But kind of that self coaching too. We have to realize we're not. I think as entrepreneurs too, this is just our personality type where we're not the people who are just like, “Well, this is what life looks like and I guess this is it.” It's like, no we're problem solvers. And we know there's more, and there's so much possibility out there.
We're always going to be seeking it. And honestly, I think it's pretty fucking badass to be partners with us to be friends with us, strap yourself to a rocket ship to fucking go. So you weren't just complacent, like, “Oh, I found a job. It works. I'm good at it, even though I’m the multi tool.” What was the next drive? Where do we go from here?
Monica: Yeah, it was at that point where I started to really realize that what I liked was working in house, I was spending a lot of times traveling to REI headquarters, the North Face and working with their teams to make sure what we were producing was what they wanted. And I was realizing that the brand side of things was like where I was super into it. And I was like, “Okay, if I want to have my own brand, it'll probably be a product. And so I started to get curious about what product could this be?”
And I was seeing companies like, I don't know if you're familiar with the company, Primally Pure, the deodorant company.
Diana: I feel like I've heard of them.
Monica: Yeah, they make like natural skincare. And I was like, alright, this girl is just making this in our kitchen. I use just blended oil on my skin and started making a face oil, like what? Who am I?
Diana: I love the first lemonade stand.
Diana: And I was like, “Great, I'm gonna sell this at the farmers market. I'm gonna build a Shopify store and just see what the hell happens.” I was like, I'm taking $5,000, which to me at the time was like, “Oh, my God that’s so much money.” And going to invest it in this weird business. So I did that and I basically, I broke even on the business in the end game. But it was the biggest learning because I had to build my own.
It was free education. I had to build my own Shopify store, I had to go and stand at a farmers market booth and like, try to sell this, which my husband to this day will be like, “You are not selling it. You are terrified and sitting back in the back of the booth.” But yeah, that was like my next thing. I was like, “I'm going to learn how to do this.” And in that process, I swear, like, all these things happen for a reason, an e-commerce brand, who was doing like half a million in revenue a year at the time, local in Jackson came to me and was like, “We need a marketing person. We heard that—Shopify, we heard that you're in a marketing role, but maybe in a different format. Are you interested?”
I hadn't applied to anything. They came to me. And I was like, “Hell, yes.” I was ready for the next thing. I get bored of things very quickly, especially if they're like, not on my own terms. And so I took the job.
Diana: Do you think before, without giving it away? Do you think being bored of things very quickly has to do with your astrology? Does that resonate?
Monica: I actually don't know.
Diana:You don't know. Okay, we'll figure it out. But I'm just like, that's like a little ping. Maybe it's your human design. We don't know. But continue.
Monica: So I took the job. And it was me and the two founders. And within two and a half years, I took that business to multiple millions in revenue.
Diana: Badass.
Monica: And learned so much, ingrained myself in the e-commerce community just started tweeting about it. And this community formed around me of all these people, the pandemic happened, and everyone went online. And so I now had access to people in New York and LA, who are in this industry, and somehow, like planted myself in the middle of it.
Diana: How do you think that happened? Like, obviously, all of this perfect storm, but if you had to, like put a bull's eye on it, what was that? Like? How did you because Twitter is something I want to talk about as well. Not a lot of people even listening to this podcast, utilize Twitter, especially the way in which you do. So you started, like putting your feelers out in a lot of different ways. Maybe sort of an accident, kind of like how I accidentally became a business coach, because I was sharing about my entrepreneurship journey so much and like teaching about it, right? So like, what's your reflection on that? Looking back now?
Monica: I was seeking support, like the owners of this business. This was their first business, they didn't know e-comm. So I couldn't go to them and be like, “What should we do in this instance? What should we do here?” And so I was seeking support. And I'd found this one agency who had built a little community of basically marketers, or in-house people who weren't at a place where they could hire an agency. And so it was this like, paid community where their agency people would support.
And everyone in that business was on Twitter and everyone was talking about Twitter. And so I was like, “Cool, I'm gonna go over to Twitter.” And I just started commenting on things and being curious and being like, we tried this this week, and this was our results, and people came flooding. And it was like that build and public mentality. And I was like, “I love it here.” And so I kept doing it. And like, I have more followers on Twitter than Instagram.
Diana: Yeah, so wild. And it just depends, like where we are on our journey with those things, right? Like, if you start tomorrow, you're gonna have zero followers on Twitter. But you start to cultivate community wherever you're at. And that's what I want listeners to realize, too, is it doesn't have to be Instagram. Like, I fucking love Instagram. And I think it's such an important place. Like you said, people are finding me or you by landing on our page. And Instagram can also just be used as a portfolio, like a binging tool, but like these other platforms can be so important too.
Okay, so let's fast forward for a second to Marea, let's talk about that. What is it for the listeners? When did this all happen? Like tell us about the health stuff? How does this story come together?
Monica: Marea is a menstrual wellness company. If that's freeing women from their period problems with nutritional support, so we make a drinkable multivitamin that provides all of the essential micronutrients that are necessary for hormone balance.
Diana: It's really good. And this is not sponsored. It's really good.
Monica: So during all of this, I was trying to balance my relationship, which my husband and I have been in a relationship for nine years. And at the time, we were just dating, and we bought a house together, we were renovating our house, I was trying to figure out what the hell I wanted to do with my life while I was experiencing all these career things. And I was also experiencing these cyclical, crazy mood swings. At the time, when I first discovered this, I was still working in production. And I was working on a film about a bipolar athlete, and this bipolar athlete what he was experiencing connected with me so much that I had goosebumps ran over my body every time I watched the film, which I had to watch it once a week, as we were making it.
I literally like ran, I've seen a therapist at the time, I ran to my therapist, and I was like, “I'm bipolar. I figured it out. Like I'd have figured it out.” Out of the blue, I have these crazy mood swings. And she calmed me down, and was like, have you tracked your menstrual cycle? And I was like, “Hey, lady, like I'm telling you something is messed up with my brain. And you're talking about my ovaries like, I don't know.” And it just went to prove that, I didn't know anything about the menstrual cycle, I was 26 years old, and somehow I had no education.
So further down the road, I started to explore and I have what's called PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which is an extreme form of PMS. It's just one that really affects your moods. And thank god my nurse practitioner has had other people experience this because it's not common for doctors to fully understand it. But she suggested nutrition and being an athlete, being someone who has a very healthy lifestyle, I didn't want to take prescription drugs, I was offered antidepressants, I was offered birth control, all of the things.
And so I went to our local grocery store and purchased like $150 worth of supplements. And within a few months, my life was so freakin different. My husband's life was so freakin different. I was normal for the first time and what felt like forever. I didn't have these manic episodes, I was just balanced. And I remember like it was literally within a month period. I was like, “Oh my god, one. Why does no one know this too? Like, why aren't more people talking about this? And I was like, yeah, do I become a health coach? Do I become like, what is this?”
But like I said, I was nom product is my thing. And taking all these supplements is awful. I had a pill case and 12 bottles and was a geriatric old person with all my pills. And I was like, I'm going to make this better. And I'm going to educate people. And I'm going to bring people together, I'm going to help them understand what's going on in their bodies. And so I started to build Marea.
Diana: Where's the name come from?
Monica: Marea. I was struggling with a name. I actually there's like a way back YouTube video of me trying to figure out what to name this business. And my husband was like, “What about Marea? “He speaks Spanish. And he was like, “it means tide in Spanish.” And of course, our cycles are aligned with the moon phases and the tide and I just loved it. I wanted it to be feminine, but obscure and a name. And Marea just it was perfect.
Diana: How often do you get mistakes and called Marea?
Monica: That happens all the time. I get emails. Hi, Marea. And I'm like, my name is Monica.
Diana: It is though, like Marea sounds like this other woman like she is, Marea is a woman. She is her own brand. It's like Marea's a person. But yeah, brand. It's so good. And you've done it so beautifully. And as a former graphic designer and photographer oh my God, why it was partially so fun to fucking shoot your product is because it's beautiful. So what like, holy shit, there's so much that goes into production. And without, okay, getting excited. You were still at this job for until you quit and went full time.
Monica: Yeah, so I had the idea for Marea. Before I started this job, I had it on my production job. And at the same time, I was running this skincare business. And so I was having this internal struggle, like I do all the time. Like which thing do I do? How do I do at all? And just decided I was like the skincare thing has served its purpose and it's been amazing, but it's time for it to go. I want to explore Marea. But I was still, it really started to come to life. Basically, when I started the e-commerce job, and I told the founders that I had my own idea and that someday I wanted to own my own e-commerce business. And they were really supportive. And we'd have brainstorming sessions for my soon to be brand.
Diana: That's amazing. That's really supportive.
Monica: Yeah, it was really cool. I mean, they're true entrepreneurs, too. And they are excited about a new idea.
Diana: Yeah, that's amazing. Okay. So I don't even know a lot of the stuff of your story, I want to really dig into especially to be an expander, for you to be an expander for possible wannabe products, business owners. Where did you even start, because you have packaging, you have the formulation, you have the design, then you got the Shopify shit down, like we get where that came from, and the marketing and all of that, but actually producing a product, like where do you even start? Did you have help with that? What did that look like?
Monica: I feel like I was really lucky to be starting this other job at the same time, because I was able to ask them questions. And so with an ingestible product and a nutritional product, I really wanted to make sure that we were creating something that was scientifically backed. My first step was finding an expert who could really speak to why this worked. It was a lot of Googling and reaching out to people and telling them my idea, which felt so scary, because I was like, someone's gonna steal it. I shouldn't tell anyone. And guess what, yes, someone might steal your idea. But if you don't go out and look for people to support you, and to put it out there and to see what people think you'll probably never start.
Diana: Yeah, then they really do steal your idea. It's like Big Magic. If anyone I'm actually seeing Liz Gilbert tomorrow night. Yeah, Big Magic. It's like if the universe is gonna, like, ping that idea. And if you're not up for the task, like it's gonna go to someone else. It's not that someone stole it, it's like someone else is gonna think of it.
Monica: So that was my first kind of mission was to figure out, one if there was scientific validity to what I wanted to create, or if it was just my personal experience. And then at the same time, I was like, Cool. Science is one thing, this might not exist in science yet. And so let's also just see if other people experience a response to these nutrients. I went in Facebook groups that were PMS support groups, and literally was like, “Hey, the supplements worked like crazy. For me, I'm thinking about creating a product, can I buy you supplements? And can you give me feedback on if they alleviate your symptoms?”
That was like, you have to get market validity, you have to know that what you want to create is something other people want and need too. And that takes a lot of balls, kind of, you know, you're putting something out there. And then you're telling a whole bunch more people about what you're doing. And so it was scary, but 80% of the people that I bought supplements for experienced improvements in their symptoms. And that was when I was like, “It's go time.” I have data. I have a medical adviser to support me. Now I have to figure out how to actually make this thing.
Diana:What did that look like? I'm like on the edge of my seat.
Monica: Manufacturing is a whole other — oh my gosh, like so crazy. And I had no idea. I didn't know what questions to ask. I was so scared because the supplement industry is a dirty one and I wanted to find the right partner. And so I started to reach out to people in my network, I knew a couple people who had bigger skincare brands, and a lot of times skincare and supplements like the manufacturers intermingle. So I was like, “Do you know anyone who can help me find a manufacturer?”
And I honestly just started calling so many people, and it's really hard when you're starting a lot of manufacturers are gonna be like, you're way too small. You're way too early. You won't ever meet our MOQs, our minimum order quantities. And so you're just like, what? So it's at the end of the day, like just a numbers game like yeah, it takes 1000 noes to find the right partner.
Diana:Yeah, totally. So you found the right partner. Did you know you wanted it to be like, drinkable?That it was gonna need to taste good? Like where did all these ideas come from?
Monica: I didn't know it was gonna be drinkable. I wanted it— I was like, let's get all these nutrients and two pills because I was taking 12. And they're like, “Yeah, do you know the size of those pills would be?” And I was like, “Oh, good point.” So I was like, “Okay, well, it has to be more convenient because this is my biggest hang up.” And so they were like, “Well, have you thought about doing it like a hydration-ish style like powder?” And I was like, “That's great idea.”
The facility, they have chemists on staff and the chemists actually helped us kind of go from concept to finished good and we made it drinkable, which I think is a great differentiator for us. And they worked on flavoring for us. And once you really find that partner, like, things will start to take off. It's even like, if you want to create a physical good, that's not an ingestible, something like that, you'll probably work with a facility in China or Taiwan. But you might have to go visit and you might have to, like, email them in the middle of the night, a ton, and go back and forth. But once you find the right facility that's making something similar to your idea, they'll be able to help you create a finished product.
Diana: Yeah, they've been there before they're gonna be your time collapser, or basically, yeah, yeah. Okay, so we find drinkable vitamin, we have the formulation, we're working with the manufacturer. And I guess it's just then packaging and finding your graphic designer. And I know you've talked about even I love seeing the behind the scenes, your stories, like getting a fucking palette delivered to your patio and being like, “Great, we have to sell these now.” Minimum orders, like you said, and there's so much that goes into it, even package design.
I worked in the food industry for a long time and I was designing packages, and you change an ingredient or you have a typo, you know, you had to print 1000 labels, or 1000 boxes, as a minimum order for that you have to start over and there's waste. And there's a lot that goes into this. This isn't like a coaching business where all your overhead is just zoom and like an email platform.
Monica: that's the most challenging thing of product and anyone interested in going into it, you have to really think about cash flow, we have our MOQs, our, like our orders are $80,000 orders. And so the capital to start the business was a huge part of it. And a lot of people go the route of fundraising and getting investors. That wasn't something I was interested in. And so I had to find a way that wasn't getting investors to raise money. And we've been bootstrapped, which means I'm doing consulting, because I still have to pay my mortgage. And I'm not paying myself for my business. So cash flow is like a really challenging part of product based business is there is a lot of overhead. You're sitting on inventory until you sell it.
Diana: Totally. So where's Marea now? This elusive woman that is a brand that means the tide? Where is she now? And how is it doing? And what's the biggest growth edge that has happened in Marea Wellness? And where's she going next?
Monica: Yeah, we have hundreds of customers, thousands of customers, hundreds of subscribers, and we see consistent month over month growth. Because we decided to bootstrap, it’s been a slow and steady growth. We ran out of inventory at one point last year, which was one of the bumps in the road, but it was fine. And right now we're just trying to help as many women as possible every day, it seems like a new review rolls in of someone telling us that we've changed their lives.
And to me that is the whole reason this business exists is because I found something that changed my life. And I knew it could change others. So we're just trying to support as many women as we can, educate women about why nutrition is so important for our bodies outside of just when we're trying to get pregnant, because we need nutrition all the time. And we’re just like pedal to the metal trying to scale.
Diana: So first of all, some of the amazing reviews have been from really big celebrities that it seemed like you might not have even known they had their hands on Marea, right? Like, what's that like? What's the social media? Because you've killed it on social media. And you're also consulting on this stuff, right? The email sequences, the social media, the product base stuff, the cash flow, you not only run this, but again, reiterating that you consult on this stuff. So what has been the biggest maybe surprise with social media and also like, where you found is really lucrative, like are reals really lucrative. I know you've moved over to TikTok, you're on Twitter, you're on YouTube, like what has worked?
Monica: TiKTok has been our biggest growth lever. I think there's just so much opportunity for virality as well as the content not needing to be as polished works better for me in terms of having to create content. It's just we all know this. It's time consuming. And so TikTok, you can talk to the camera and just tell your story and like I've done that and gotten 100,000 views I've shared general menstrual cycle education and gotten a million views. And so we've used Tik Tok a lot. And I think that I mean, we've gotten really good views on Reels too. I'm just finding that Instagram still likes a little bit more of a polished product.
But I think it's just that kind of reach. When you start to get those viral moments, you don't realize who's seeing it. And like you are alluding to, like Katie Sturino, who is the founder of Megababe something but yeah, and she has a huge Instagram following. And she just like, randomly featured us in her stories. And I was like, what? And I mean, it was like a story about a bunch of menstrual brands, but I was like, how the hell does she even know we exist? Yeah. So it's like, not forgetting that when you have this reach on these platforms. It's reaching all of the accounts, not just the small ones.
Diana: I just shout out love Katie, she's amazing. I photographed her in New York. And I think that's a big thing, too, is like people who follow Katie Sturino are like fans, and I use her in my coaching examples. Like Katie Sturino had The 12ish Style. She's a plus size, almost like caller-outer person, she'll go to Victoria's Secret and be like, “What the fuck, this doesn't fit. What's your problem?” She'll call Abercrombie and Fitch out all of that kind of stuff. But also do like Kate Middleton and she's dressed in this and then Katie Sturino is dressed in plus sized version of this.
And people are so just invested in her that when she put out Megababe, which is deodorant and boob dust, sweat stuff, like thigh chafing cream, stuff that you really need in New York, just as a normal, human, and women, people jumped on it, because they already loved her. And you've kind of had this almost opposite journey of like building the products first, and then kind of being like, “Oh, hey, by the way, I'm the founder, let's put a face to this company.”
What has that been like for you? And I know, like we mentioned earlier, consulting for you felt like cheating on Marea for a bit. But I see it from a third eye and just being a supplement to your business, like people are following you here. Okay, now we know about Marea, because we're following you here. We trust you. We like you. We know you like what's that been like for you?
Monica: Yeah, I think I've learned a lot about the importance of a personal brand, as a founder of a brand that you can, like, stand behind and not show up. But I also realized really quickly that the thing that people resonated with most was my story and why I created Marea. And so I was like, okay, there are a lot of brands out there that exist that you never see the founders face. But really what makes us different, and why people trust us as a brand is because I had the same problem that they have. And the reason the solution exists isn't because some man thought it up and knew it could make money, right? Because it solved my problem. And so I'm doing a disservice by trying to hide behind my brand, and not showcase that.
So I've really just decided that Marea and Monica are one in the same until they're not. And I really need to be the face of the brand and make sure that people resonate with me and why it was created.
Diana: I mean, I could think of 15 different brands like that. Even I'm so bad with names, but Nasty Gal Sophia Amoruso. And then, you know, the owner of Spanx, like all of these people that we resonate, because we know who they are, like, “Oh, the owner is such a badass, and she has a story.” And Monica created this out of her own stuff. Versus like you said, one of the grossest things, in my opinion, which no shade, but I just am not here to coach these people is when you find a hole in the market, and you're just like, “Yeah, let's fill the hole.” It's like, No, thanks. Like, I want some why—Simon Sinek talking about like, starting with your why, which I think you do such a good job at.
Monica: Yeah. And that's the reason this brand exists, right is it's coming from a place of passion. And truly, it was like, this is like such a big thing for me too. I had to be given permission to show up and sell my product because I was scared. I was like, I just want to help people. I just want to help people. I don't like I'm scared that they're gonna think I'm being salesy to them. And it was like, actually no, how I'm going to help them the most is by sharing with them what I learned and what I learned was that nutrition plays a huge role and this is why you need this product. I created this because you need it. And it's okay for me to sell this piece of the puzzle, because it's what helps me the most.
Diana: Such a huge lesson for those creative entrepreneurs listening like that, just bottle that up and take it with you. Because it is so important to not feel guilty for selling and putting a price on our gifts. And like almost a little bit easier, in my opinion, maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's the same exact situation. But to put a prod like a price on like a physical product is one thing, you're already like, “Oh, it should be accessible to everyone. And I'm trying to help people and yada yada,”
But like this actually cost me money to make. So at least I have to charge like one cent more, whether you're charging, what it's actually worth, and making a profit to fill your cup and all these things. But how do you feel, like what would you say to the people like the consultant Monica, who there is no product, we're paying you putting a price tag on you in a way? What's that like? Like sticky like what's gotten you through that?
Monica: I think especially having Marea as well. And knowing that my time is limited, and that my energy is limited. I have to price my consulting time at a place where it does feel like a good energy exchange. And it is a good price and like placement for my time. Because if I wasn't doing that consulting, I could be giving my time to Marea. And so it's almost like, to me even more valuable. If I'm underpricing myself, I'm like I am cheating on Marea.
And so I just had to be like, cool, what feels good? And I do feel like it's been a little bit easier with consulting on helping people make more money in their businesses, because you can kind of be like, “Oh, your ROI on this is probably going to be this”. So yeah, I'm charging less. Whereas like I do, it is harder when it's like a health thing or something like that. Because it's hard to kind of put a price tag on that, which like, our health is priceless. Go and invest in it before you invest in your business. But I think that in the mindset of a consumer, it's really easy for people to pay for something that's going to improve their business versus something that's going to improve their health. But for me, I'm just like, no shame. This is what my time is worth. Because I've got other shit going on.
Diana:Yeah. And it wasn't always the case. Right?
Monica: No, no. And I love like, Diana taught me this.
Diana: But what we're really wanting to let people know who are like, listening going, “Well, I'm not there.” That's not that easy you say this sounds easy but it's not that easy. It's like, what was it like before that?
Monica: Yeah, there's always that impostor syndrome, right? Of, is my time really worth this? Or are they gonna get what they need out of it? And I think the thing that stuck with me so much that you have taught me is we only have to be one step ahead of someone to help them totally. And that one step can be a huge unlock for people. So value that like I wasn't there. I was like, I don't know, like, yeah, 100 bucks sure. And now I'm like, yeah, 400 bucks. Like, that's it. Sorry.
Diana: It's going up from there, y'all. We're gonna wrap this up. But I want to really quick, just give a shout out to like, some of these big accomplishments that you've hit with consulting, for example of being on a virtual panel with like Gary Vee, right? Like you've done some big stuff. And a lot of it contributes to your Twitter, following and your YouTube and all of that. So do you have any advice? Let's shout out a couple of those things you're proud of, first of all? And then do you have any advice for people who are wanting to diversify their social media platforms and things like that?
Monica: Yeah, the FN. I've spoken at a virtual panel twice that had really big names speaking at it and gotten some really cool opportunities as well to speak to employee groups in-house like actually, in two weeks, I'm speaking about impostor syndrome with Butcher Box.
Diana: Oh my God, so cool.
Monica: And I attribute all of it to being vulnerable on social media, putting myself out there and people don't know that your thoughts exist, that your business exists unless you tell them and it's likely if you are experiencing something, and have a breakthrough with it, that it's going to help someone else.
So a lot of times I just share really openly and vulnerably and it doesn't have to be the right answer. It's just my answer. And I hope that it helps someone else. And that's like Twitter. I just started building in public like very honestly being like, “Hey, I'm going to try this. Do you guys think it's going to work?” And it will be like a new email and a flow. And everyone's like, “What a cool idea. I'm gonna try it too.” And then you have a community who's giving you feedback on how it worked for them. And I'm like, “Great, now I can go and share this with my clients.” So like, just be open to being like, “I'm trying this new thing. I'm gonna see how it goes. And then I'm gonna share the results with you.” People are so curious to have a look behind the curtain and see what's going on.
Diana: Absolutely. Yeah, I love that. So good. The last thing I want to what I'm like I'm channeling the people who are listening and going, “Yeah, but how the hell do you show what I can barely have-I barely have time to show up on Instagram.” How are you showing up on YouTube and Twitter and Tiktok? And like, what does that look like for you in a nutshell?
Monica: Not that organized.
Diana: Me neither.
Monica: And the great thing about Twitter is that there's no creative. It's like 180 characters, and it's stream of consciousness for me, something will come up and I'll be like, “That's interesting. And I'll be like, ‘Wow, I think it's interesting. I bet someone else will think it's interesting.’ Just tweet it.” Like, just tweeted. I love that about Twitter. YouTube really came to be because people were asking me the same question a lot, or I was noticing the same thing over and over in consulting calls. And it's honestly easier to just redirect people to a video or explain it very thoroughly, than have to re-explain it 100 times.
And I get a lot of energy from creating. I didn't know this about myself, I would say until like, last year, I thought I was just like a social media consumer. And I was like, no, I actually really love creating. Let that speak to you. If you're like, “I really liked the written word.” Maybe Twitter's for you more than Instagram. Like, I don't like to show my face. Great. Go try Twitter or LinkedIn where you can do longer form just writing but tap into like, what is feeling aligned for your energy.
Diana: Totally. I've even had friends make it on Medium, which is an article writing platform that anyone can submit to right. Okay, last question, then we're gonna go into lightning round, we didn't really touch on taking leaps to full time entrepreneurship. How the fuck did that happen?
Monica: Such a good question. I feel like the universe just told me it was time. I was at a breaking point, the bosses that were really supportive to begin with, or starting to get not supportive of me trying to build Marea. Marea had launched, I was doing Marea and my full time job and there was a lot of stickiness between us that I just couldn't take. I was like, my passion is with Marea. I've really enjoyed building your business too.
But like, I can't just keep giving to you when you're not even grateful. So that told me it was time. And it was way before I finally ready, I had to put it aside, like I was dying inside. I was really, really lucky that we had just finished a renovation on our house. And we magically created an auxiliary unit that we could rent out and could help cover some of my loss of income.
Diana:Yeah, multiple streams of revenue baby.
Monica: We just got really creative, my husband quit his job at the same time. Not I do not recommend this. But we were both taking a leap of faith. We were like it is time the world is calling to us in a different capacity. And I knew that if I needed to I could freelance and I gave myself six months before I even started consulting. But I just knew that that could happen and had to trust I at the time I was freaking out. I didn't feel ready. I was really scared. But I knew that mentally I was going to die if I kept trying to do it all.
Diana: Yeah, so biggest advice, pick up on that one thing.
Monica: You'll never feel ready to start just go and tap into your intuition. Being in alignment comes from the source and like we have to sit in silence and ask yourself if you're trying to make a decision. How does this feel? Truly I know that that sounds crazy, but it is so true.,
Diana: It's not crazy. It's uncomfortable though. Yeah, the void, especially for an entrepreneur who solves problems, the void is really tough, for sure tough. And again I’ll say all day long I had be fucking laid off to quit my job. It's like I don't know that I would have taken the leap on my own. I took a lot of other leaps but yeah, beautiful. Okay, I love your story. Everyone go check out Marea Wellness go check out Monica. She's a kick to follow on all the things we're going to tell people how you can work you know with you in a second but I want to ask you these questions really quick. You ready? What does creativity mean to you?
Monica: Tapping into your passion
Diana: Tapping into your passion? I love that. Do you have an entrepreneurial crush? Someone you really admire?
Monica: Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx? I'll yeah, literally, it's my goal to be able to take friends on my birthday on my private jet somewhere in the world. She does this every year.
Diana: I love that. Can I come? Can I be invited to that? Okay, what are you reading, listening to? Like, what nugget do you have for the world here, the Pollen listeners to tap into?
Monica: Right now I am reading The Illusion of Money. Kyle Cease I think that's how you say his name. But I have a lot of money issues still and I think that it stems from my childhood, and that's fine. But I've been really trying to overcome that and this book is mind blowing. Like mind blowing. So if you have an interesting relationship with money, even if you think you have a good relationship, I think that there's lots to be learned. And this book has been really really good.
In addition to that, if you want to start a product based business read these two books Super Maker by Jamie Schmidt, who started Schmidt's deodorant, sold in Target and all of the stores it's like one of the first natural deodorants. And Do Cool Shit by Miki Agrawal who started Thinx period underwear and now owns Tushy, the bidet company. Those two books are amazing product-based business, like startup stories.
Diana: Love that. Love those resources. Okay, speaking of money and resources, if money, time and resources didn't matter, what would you create, just to create?
Monica: I have two answers here, because these are both weighing on me. And something I really want to create. One is a women's wellness retreat where you come in and learn how to align your entire life with your menstrual cycle, from movement to food, to your work, all of that. It's like just an amazing retreat learning all about us as females. And then the other they're both retreats. I'm really hot on retreats at the moment.
The other is a retreat for early stage e-commerce, product based business female owners. I think I wish I had something like that when I first started and it would like light me the frick up like to be able to help other people in that capacity, I think in person is just on a whole other level.
Diana: I agree. And now we're getting out of the panini times and you just went on a big retreat. Yeah, like what was your biggest takeaway from being in person like that?
Monica: I think just the ability to be vulnerable and feel energy, there was a hole it's very different. When we are behind a screen there's a lot of other distractions when you're in person, you can feel the person's passion and energy and it like literally just melts over you.
Diana: Yeah, I agree. So good. We're actually as you know, planning our first retreat, amazing, messy action, by the way. I have a waitlist for it and don't even have a venue like cool. I don't know when the date is. I don't know what it's gonna be like, you know, but like just putting it out there. So I can't wait for these retreats that you're gonna put on that are not just a pipe dream, they're absolutely going to happen and I can see so many amazing collaborations coming from that. Just other amazing practitioners and all the things so beautiful. I love this.
Okay, Monica, you're fuckin amazing. I love your story from Maine to ski bum to pro skier to marketer to film producer to product based business to badass consultant to all the things. You're incredible how do we find you? How do we work with you? How do we connect with you?
Monica: Yeah, so me personally I am @monicagrohne everywhere that you scroll as well as Marea is @mareawellness and I just launched my first course which I'm really excited about because I'm as you know, strapped for time, but still want to be able to support and help people so I just launched an email marketing course if you use email marketing in your business this is right for you. Literally just teaches you how to automate cash, how to connect more deeply with your customers. I'm all about serving before selling and an email that is really important. So check it out.
Diana: Yeah, I joined so I'm so excited. It is magic and if you're listening to this soon it's a no brainer. You want to get in ASAP just like consulting prices. Everything raises the more you wait. Yeah, beautiful. So good. Thank you for being here. Please go connect with Monica actually say “Hello, we are real humans.” Also there should be, and probably will be a whole episode on serving before selling because that's so important.
And as you know, Pollen listeners go share this on social, like the biggest favor to anyone and us is to share this and get it in more people's ears. We want to expand people, to realize that it's a winding journey and it doesn't all look perfect and it is so possible for each and every one of us to have the success that we desire. And it's not a fucking blueprint, right like your life and your career, Monica, looks so different from mine from hers, from his, all these people. So get it into ,pre ears, rate review, subscribe, share, tag us, we'd love to hear what you got out of this. Thank you for listening. Monica, thank you for being here.
Monica: Thanks for having me.
Diana: Over and out.
Monica: Bye guys.
