Ep 62 Serving Solo-preneurs with Maggie Karshner

Maggie Karshner is a self-employment coach based in Seattle, WA serving solo-preneurs throughout the USA. 

She is not going to tell you how it "should" be done (though she will share how she commonly sees people solve similar problems.) She wants to hear about your goals and help you achieve what's important to you. 

Maggie is widely versed in all things relevant to self-employment. And she loves working with independent thinkers who want to create an awesome job for themselves.   

“I'm a weirdo in that I love everything about being an entrepreneur, and I actively try to convert people to self-employment.” -Maggie

CONNECT WITH MAGGIE:

• www.maggiekarshner.com

CONNECT WITH MANDY:

• mandysawyer.com
• insta @mandycreativevision 
• facebook @mandyscreativevision
• Mandy's Vision Gig fb group

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Transcript

Mandy: 

Hey, everybody, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm super excited to introduce to you my guest today, her name is Maggie Karshner. She's a self-employment coach based in Seattle, Washington, serving solopreneurs. Throughout the USA, she launched her business coaching practice in 2014. And prior to that, she had already acquired 10 years of industry experience encompassing managing a small business. She's an entrepreneur herself twice over, in addition to working closely with entrepreneurs throughout her career. So Maggie, tell us a little bit more about yourself. 

Maggie:

Yeah, so I got into this work because I love helping people turn their passions into viable businesses, like my little introduction said, I did do some sort of corporate management consulting. At one point in my career, that was actually the last job I had before I became self-employed. And I found that even midsize companies, it's kind of like steering an ocean liner. And it's like to make a turn, it's going to take like six months to a year, and I was like, I want more immediate change. So I knew I needed to go smaller. So I had actually already been sort of on the side as a hobby coaching some of my friends with their businesses. And I was like, Oh, I want to do more of this. And that was in, I guess, technically 2013. They lost the 2014. Yeah. And then the rest is sort of history here. I'm doing that. 

Mandy: 

Cool. Talk about your products and services, like what are your services? What do you do? 

Maggie:

Yeah. So I'm a business coach, I help people start their self-employed businesses, which takes the shape of group coaching primarily. And so I meet in small groups with folks and I design, whatever we're going to be learning that day based on who's in the group, what's going on for them, and things like that. So yeah, I meet with people, we help launch their businesses. At some point, they graduate, and they're like, I'm happy, I don't want to see you anymore. And I'm like, great, I'm happy too.

Mandy: 

Awesome. So I think you actually already touched on this, but the main reason you started your business, can you go into more? A little bit more detail there? 

Maggie:

Yeah. So I am a nerd about business things. Yes. And I realized that there are plenty of people who get into business because they are really passionate about something, right? They've been trained in something they're skilled in something like a yoga teacher, a massage practitioner therapist, right? Like these industries, you do it because your hearts in it, not because you're really good at business. And so I'm an asset to folks because I'm the nerd that can come in and be like, oh, have you thought about this? And like, what's happening with your sort of sales process? Like how do people become, okay, cool. Like, let's make sure all of these pieces are working. And so I come in and, and nerd out, which makes me insanely happy. And then they end up with businesses that are like, custom-tailored to them, and everything that makes them tick and what they're excited about. So I love it. 

Mandy: 

Awesome. So who is your target client? Like your, your ideal person? 

Maggie:

Yeah, my ideal person is a creative, passionate type of person. They're really into, you know what they do, but they don't know. Either. They don't see how it could become a business or they don't have all the skills at hand as they've never had to market or sell themselves, or they just don't like it, because I also work with a lot of real estate agents. And that's a pretty sales-heavy arena, but most of my real estate agents are the type who don't love the super “salesy” thing. And so I love taking like, a nerd and I go, and I read sales books, and I attend trainings and stuff, and I go, Ah, I see what you're trying to do. We're gonna do this, like real humans, instead of like slimy salespeople.

Mandy: 

I love that. Okay, so what sets you and your business apart from the rest of the other business coaches that are out there? 

Maggie:

Well, it has me in it obviously. 

Mandy: 

Of course.

Maggie:

No, I think I take a very pragmatic approach to all things entrepreneurship like I know, there's a lot of folks out there who are kind of hardline about stuff, it's like that story of, like, you got to get up at 5 am and go for a run and then meditate and then get your emails checked before 8 am. And then like, and I'm a night owl that makes my head explode. I'm just gonna play now. That makes my head explode.  So I'm part of the camp of folks who are like, no, we're not doing that. But also that like, there's no one right way to run a business, right? I don't think I mean, there's definitely 1,000,000,005 wrong ways. But it needs to be for the scale that I work at, right? I work with self-employed people. You're the only person in your business. It needs to be tailored to you. It needs to suit you. So like, let's not say, you know, every business needs to do XYZ, let's say okay, how can we achieve this goal in a way that suits you best, right? 

Mandy: 

Yeah, you're gonna have to file taxes, for example, but how can we do record keeping in a way that works with your sort of natural rhythms rather than this is the best way of doing things. 

Mandy: 

Yes. Okay, I like that. Which by the way, I need help with that. I'm just saying. So, then just kind of describe for us or outline a typical day for you. What does that look like for you? 

Maggie:

Oh, yeah, yeah. And I walk my talk. So you can hold me to that, I will hold on to that, too, and call myself out. Yeah. So My day starts no earlier than 10 am because that's what I decided is a nice time to start trying to think in the day. 

Mandy: 

Amen to that.

Maggie:

And then it wraps up like my last session is no later than 4:30. So like, I'm done with my workday at like, 5:30. If I stay on my computer, which has been happening a lot during the pandemic, you know, that's up to me. But I also only see clients Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. So like, this is Wednesday, this is the day that I am, we're recording this on a Wednesday. This is the day that I work on my business instead of in my business. So I'm doing stuff that's like more promotional and getting the word out, and like writing blog articles, and that sort of stuff on my Wednesdays. 

Mandy: 

Cool. Do you have any batching things that you do? Like I know a lot of people who write or who like podcasts like this is my third interview today. So I try to keep all my interviews on like the first two Wednesdays of each month to kind of batch them all together. So I can already have everything already set up. And I can roll easier.

Maggie:

Yeah. That's really smart. Considering I end up on. 

Mandy: 

I wish I could say that I came up with that on my own, but I did not learn that from other people.

Maggie:

I know, I know. I think the big thing that I, particularly this year that I've been exploring, I hired a virtual assistant. 

Mandy: 

Me too. 

Maggie:

Oh my God! It’s wonderful. And so it's been less than batching. And more of like, I get to be over here being my creative self. And then like all the mundane stuff my VA does. 

Mandy: 

Yes. Yeah, which I do some VA work myself, actually, for other people. But yeah, but I've also had, like, I have somebody that edits the podcast, podcast episodes because it's too much. It's too time-consuming to keep up with that and everything else. 

Maggie:

So yeah, like delegating is so important. I think that's more effective, then, like, batching? Yeah, like, do you think at the same time when it makes sense And there's the stuff that you don't even have to do. 

Mandy: 

Right, exactly. That's a good segue into the next question. Because like, what do you do for self-care? I think part of that as a business person, knowing when to delegate knowing when to get certain things off your plate so that you can do the things that are in your zone of genius or whatever, I think that's a part of self-care. But what else do you do for that? 

Maggie:

Yeah, oh, yeah, thinking of that, I have a ritual around like when working starts and ends like this computer is set up here. And this is the work spot in my apartment. I used to have an office, but yeah, pandemic. 

Mandy: 

Yeah.

Maggie:

And so this gets shut down when work is done. And it gets put away in a corner. And like, I don't really interact with it, which is, I think, very helpful for self-care. And then I make sure to have fun stuff to do when I'm not working. Because one of the problems when you're self-employed and you love what you do, is that it's like you have this toy you get to play with but if this is the only toy you ever play with, you get kind of brain dead. And so you know, it's not, I can't finish that task, or I want to do more stuff in my business. It's, I've done enough on my business today. We're going to shut the laptop, we're gonna go do something else, which lately has been a whole lot of selling. 

Mandy: 

Yeah, talk about that. Did somebody teach you or are you learning from YouTube? What's going on? just teach yourself? 

Maggie:

All of the above. I learned to sew when I was a child. My grandmother was an avid sewer. Yeah, she was a terrible teacher. So she very wisely had other people teach us. But maybe five years ago, I got wild hair. I was like, I'm gonna make my own clothing. I went and got like a cheap sewing machine off of Craigslist, and like, started trying to make stuff. Yeah, had a blast at it. And then it's just snowballed since then. And my grandma actually passed away at that time. And I inherited her machine. 

Mandy: 

Oh, good. 

Maggie:

So like, I have literally her machine and I sew on it. It is so much nicer than the one for Craiglist.

Mandy: 

It's more nostalgic too, more meaningful. That's so awesome. So what kind of things are you sewing? What's your latest project? 

Maggie:

The last project I just participated in was the international bras sewing B, which was last weekend. 

Mandy: 

I did not know that was a thing but learn something new every day. That's cool. 

Maggie:

This is only a second-year so okay. very new. But yeah, 

Mandy: 

When there's a pandemic, people get to come up with other things to do.

Maggie:

A little bit like, I was sort of maybe I could sell a bra and then the pandemic hit, and I was like, What else do I get to do? Do I have a social life anymore? I'll get to learn how to do this. And that's funny. 

Mandy: 

Yeah, cool. Okay, well, that's cool. I've crocheted like a, like a bathing suit, top, which is a bra really, that's about as far as I've ever gotten that I haven't worn it, but I made it. 

Maggie:

So very nice. 

Mandy: 

There's that, 

Maggie:

You know, funnily enough, crocheting was my gateway drug of fiber art. I didn't know how to crochet I got wild hair one day, I taught myself off of YouTube. And then what I got frustrated with when I got really good with crocheting is that I wanted to make myself garments out of crochet, but I didn't know how to ensure it would fit. None of the patterns came in my size, because I'm a plus-sized lady and so I was like, Wait for a second if I don't make the fabric and I just use ready-made fabric and assemble it. That's called sewing. I should try that. 

Mandy: 

That’s called sewing. Oh, that's funny. My mom had taught me a little bit of crochet when I was a kid, but I really wasn't that interested in it then. And then and she also said, My grandma also, I wasn't interested in that either until later years, but then when I was like, I don't know, it's been several years ago that I was like, I'm gonna start crocheting again, or just start crocheting really. And so But yeah, I could remember the very, very basics, but I couldn't remember, you know, how to actually make something so I, yeah, or YouTube did everything. But I like, I think I have like crochet ADHD or something like that because I would get into the middle of a project. And then I would just get bored with it. And like, Yeah, I don't want to do that anymore. The next one is I've all, I've boxes full of scraps of something that was going to try to be a tank top and something that was going to try to be it. I did make some hats. scarves actually sold them too. But like some of there's so many, like, piddly like I mean, just it just looks terrible. They're like what the hell was this supposed to be? I don't even know. Like, but I would just get distracted. And I'm not a really good follower of a pattern either. And so if it was a stitch that you know, you had to do a lot of the same stitch throughout for a long period of time. I was like, Okay, I'm bored. I don't want to do this anymore. Let me just, what's the next, who I can make that? So I realized that I needed to do whatever I decided to embark on, it could not be a sweater. It cannot be something that would take a long time. It would have to be something really easy. Simple, like a phone holder or something like that or washcloth. Yeah, so washcloth I did a few of those. 

Maggie:

Yeah. So hats are pretty good for that, too. 

Mandy: 

Yeah. So yeah, that's my crochet story. Not that you asked for it. But

Maggie:

I love it. I love it.

Mandy: 

Okay, so let's talk about, what's the hardest part of being an entrepreneur? And what do you love the most about it? I think he may have touched a little bit on it. But let's see if we can narrow it down a little bit more. 

Maggie:

Yeah, totally. So I'm a weirdo in this camp since I help other people be entrepreneurs. Like they're, I love like 99.9% of everything about being an entrepreneur. And like, the stuff that I mean, one of the best parts for me is that anytime one of my clients has a question, I get to go, like, research it like I get to go learn about new things. I'm curious about something. I can call it business development. You know what, I'm only good at trading on it. And I'm happy as a clam. So like, I love nearly everything, and thinking about what's most challenging is difficult, because I love the challenge in it. But I think the most unexpected challenge was the ebb and flow of business. Which I like I knew about when I was getting started like I had all.l I had this graph and excel that was like how much money I was making, and it was like to get to digital. Right? 

Mandy: 

Right. 

Maggie:

But it was always trending upwards. And I was like, okay,  so there's this Evan flow, it dips a couple of times, but like, it's fine. I was really used to it. And you know, a few years into my business, I think it must have been the 2018 election hit. And then like, four months after that my business had disappeared. 

Mandy: 

Oh, my God. 

Maggie:

Not completely but it felt like it. And my revenue was so low. Like I wasn't, I was worried about being able to pay rent for my office, not my personal read my office rent, right? Like that's without paying myself. And so that was like, terrifying. And a whole new level of like, hold on. I was ready for instability. But this is a whole new thing. Yeah. But I got through it, because this is what you do when you're not prepared. Right? You fall down, you stand back up again. 

Mandy: 

Yeah. Does your pivot in any way? I mean, like, Did you like, try new things? 

Maggie:

I think in that instance, it was very much like in myself, and I think a fair amount of the folks around me were a little bit stunned at the results. You know, I was sort of in a stupor and I wasn't doing anything and so it was more of like this. Wake up call, hey, Maggie, you have to do things in your business. And so it was like,

Mandy: 

There’s some connection going on. 

Maggie:

Yeah, I can't just be in a state of stupor for four months. Like, yeah, got it out. So I like, jumped on a couple of marketing projects, like, did some of the tried and true stuff that I have always done to sort of drum up business. Yeah, and just everything came back. 

Mandy: 

Good. 

Maggie:

So one of the things I talked about in a couple of blog articles is this notion of like, marketing inertia that like, I liken it to if you're a duck on a river, right? You can be paddling, but the river is gonna also push you and so I stopped paddling for a while. And so I slowed way down, but I still had the momentum, because there's this part of being in business that just has a movement to it. And so it was just a matter of starting to kick again. 

Mandy: 

Yeah. Okay. So what big obstacle have you overcome in your life? And how you done that? 

Besides being self-employed? 

Maggie:

Yeah, I'm like, well, there's plenty. There's the obvious one, self-employed, there's the crisis I was talking about. I can’t remember what I put on your form? 

Mandy: 

Something about needle phobia of needles? 

Maggie:

Oh, yes. Yeah. So I have a phobia of needles. Like it's apparently serious. Like it's, yeah, people, like everybody's afraid of needles, like not literally everybody. But most people are outlying needles. And I'm like, I don't want to be in a room with a needle, I will hide under a chair. If there is something coming. Like I avoid it. Like, wow, I mean, avoiding is my first line of defense. And then there's just panic and shut down. So it's like, it's a phobia. Like, yeah, it'll be a phobia. 

Mandy: 

So what happens if you go to the doctor? You have to have lab work or something like that? What's happened?

Maggie:

I've never had lab worked. 

Mandy: 

What? No way.

Maggie:

They tried to draw my blood when I was a child, and they pulled me out from under the chair. Pin me down and they didn't get enough blood to do lab work. 

Mandy: 

Oh, my gosh, yeah. Well, okay, I hope that you're a really good health advocate for yourself all the time so that you don't have to...

Maggie:

I am. Like, here's the thing, I'm vaccinated, like, I got an injection, Oh my God, the last few months because I don't want to have frickin COVID. Right. And like, it's a challenge. And it's a challenge that's overcome a bubble. And this is actually something I tend to bring up a lot in my coaching because it's gotten me really intimately aware of how fear functions. 

Mandy: 

Yeah. 

Maggie:

And that, like, there's a lot of layers and flavors to it, 

Mandy: 

and how paralyzing it can be. 

Maggie:

Yeah, seriously. And there are strategies to overcome that. And there is a way through it. And it doesn't make like for me, it doesn't make the phobia go away. Like the phobia is still very much there. I will someday get lab work done. But like, I hope so. There needs to be a real good reason first. So yeah, but it takes there's an effort to it, there's learning to it. Like for me, there's a procedure to it, because that helps bring me a sense of safety. I think it translates really well to like a lot of things in life. Like there are so many things in life to be afraid of. 

Mandy: 

Sure. 

Maggie:

You can't let that stop you. Or else you're just gonna hide your house all day. That’s not living. 

Mandy: 

No, Okay, so then I have to know what got you through getting stuck with the needle for the vaccine? Like, what did you do? So you just set yourself up for that. What did you do?

Maggie:

Well, first off, I psyched myself down for the entire pandemic. So that worked well. I don't recommend it. Yeah, so I really have kind of mostly credit my best friend for this because she did all the heavy lifting. I told her like what I needed. I was like, Okay, here's the situation, I need to have some level of trust with the person who's going to do this injection, I need to have control and expectation in that situation. I need to know what to expect. So we need to do a dry run, we need to practice Yeah, here's what practicing looks like in my situation. And she like, called around to all of the vaccination locations and was like, okay, who will let us do this, like, we could bring our own person. Can we have a preview run? Like, what do you guys need, and she found this one Rite Aid. That was like, actually in downtown, and like, they were like, super chill, and she's like, these people get it. And so they let me come in, like a week before and I met with the pharmacist, and he was like, confused, right? Why are you coming in beforehand? Yeah, he's like, why is this a big deal? And I'm like, nervous, and my best friend was like, let me translate cuz she was there with me. Like, this is what we need. And I was like, Oh, you're saying all of the words. That's great. Yeah. We did some rehearsals. It was great. I knew it took that. And then we set a date that like, I mean, the pharmacist didn't write it down, but like me and my best friend did work. They were coming in at this time. I'm gonna take some what's the stuff, caravan. So they fetched me with a caravan. My best friend is going to drive me so that I'm not driving a motor vehicle and I get a Starbucks frappuccino afterward. 

Mandy: 

Oh yay, a surprise after. 

Maggie:

Bribery is a not a bad thing if it makes it work. And it was, frankly bad experience. It was remarkable to really have this clear example of what medication can do because I was so terrified in the rehearsals that we did. And then the day ends with the out-of van effect. It was like, I don't want this to happen, but I'm not mortally terrified of it. Right. You guys are trying to like escape out of every like so much better. Yeah. And I mean, I think it actually took like 15 minutes on the way out of like, it was not a big deal. But it's a big deal for me. And so it’s the time I'm it needed to take. 

Mandy: 

Well, that's awesome. Now, do you think if you ever have to do it again? Would you do the whole out of van route? do the whole preview stuff and 

Maggie:

Ya, that pharmacist is now my pharmacist, 

Mandy: 

Okay.

Maggie:

You know, I don't get my prescriptions there, actually. But yeah, I know it. Like if we have to have more boosters, or like the next flu shot, if I want to go in for that or like, yeah, I have a list of stuff where I'm like, I would like to get this vaccine and that vaccine and the other vaccine and all this stuff that I didn't get, and he would be the one who's going to give it to me. 

Mandy: 

Yeah, okay, well, good to know. 

Maggie:

You better not quit. I told him that or else you are not allowed to move pharmacy.

Mandy: 

Man, and I've had that happen with doctors or even like a hairdresser. Like, I had a girl for 15 years doing my hair. She knew my hair. She knew my head. She knew what needed to happen. She moved to Colorado didn't even ask me, you know, rude. And so for the last, I don't know, eight, nine years, like I've just been hopping around from hairdresser to hairdresser trying to find the right one trying to find one that will, I like the way that they color it and cut it. You know, usually, it's like one or the other. So anyway, I'm still on the search for that. Maybe I can find one like you found your pharmacist but yeah, 

Maggie:

Well, and I joked because I had a doctor who was working for me. And then she retired. 

Mandy: 

Oh, yeah. 

Maggie:

I mean, I'm glad she got to retire. But I was also like, I know. Wait, my resource. 

Mandy: 

Right. Yeah, that's happened to me too before. I finally found one that would listen to me. You know, listen to me. Yeah, actually listen to you. Yeah, kind of a big deal. So then I went to her for a long time. And then she moved to, I think New Hampshire. And then the lady that stepped in for her was really good. I liked her. She was fine. And then she friggin retired. So yeah, yeah, I get you. Yeah, so maybe I can, I mean, I found another person that I'm okay with, as far as doctors are concerned. But anyway, okay. Who are, what motivates and inspires you? 

Maggie:

Oh, gosh, like all of my clients. inspire me stuff that they're into. Like, I think anybody who has a passion is pretty freakin interesting. Like I love when people nerd out about something. Yeah. So that just lights me up. If you're talking more about like, big names that inspire me and stuff like that. I love the work of Rene Brown. 

Mandy: 

Yeah, me too. 

Maggie:

Oh, yeah. And Kara Loewentheil. I probably butchered her last name. She does this podcast that has bad wordnet. So I don't know if I'm allowed to say it. 

Mandy:

No, you're totally allowed to say this. This podcast is called “Dream Big and Kick Ass”. You're totally allowed to say, 

Maggie:

Okay, well, it's the “Unfuck your Brain Podcast”. Okay. It's brilliant. She's a very smart lady. And yeah, so those are some people that I love to follow and get inspired by. 

Mandy:

Yeah. Awesome. So what makes you laugh your ass off? 

Maggie:

Oh, like most of the time. I'm a pretty easy to laugh person. So it doesn't take a lot. Yeah, I do. I do love some good comedy. I mean, I love to have fun with everything that I do. It's hard to remember because it's been a long pandemic, but like, I've been in a choir for the past few years. And those ladies are hysterical. And we just have a blast together, which we haven't really been able to do together for a year. But right. 

Mandy:

Can you guys zoom? 

Maggie:

We do. We zoom. We have zoom came along. We started having some gatherings in the park. No singing yet, because singing is a highly contagious activity.

Mandy:

No, yeah. Well, I'm hoping you guys can get back to that soon. Any favorite books or podcasts other than what's what you've already mentioned? I know you mentioned one. 

Maggie:

Yeah. So one that I think is so worth mentioning is a book. It's called “Braiding Sweetgrass. Yeah. It's an amazing book. I don't actually know like where it gets which shelf, it gets put on in the bookstore. But it's, to me, it's actually something that I bring into my work as a business coach, the subject material, it's by Robin Wall Kimmerer. And she, I believe, is trained in botany, science, something like that. He's also she's of native descent to a native person. So she also brings that sort of perspective. And in that book, she sort of marries them. And I love the like looking at ecology and biology from this sort of different perspective. It's something that I've translated into the work that I do as a business coach because I think businesses are an organism. It's a way, it's a thing that has come out of us as humans out of us like organisms in a way that we organize ourselves. And so we can do that in a lot of different ways. I see ways of thinking about that sort of parallel what she writes about in that book. 

Mandy:

Cool, interesting. What is your go-to beverage? 

Maggie:

My go-to beverage on an average day is usually Dr. Pepper but right now sweet tea is my damn Yeah. And like I'm not drinking it today because I can't handle the sugar and the caffeine. So when I was on my sewing staycation I like just drink pitchers of sweet tea, which you can't get in the Pacific Northwest. So I had to like, say like, that's a southern thing, man. So I grew up in Texas. 

Mandy:

Okay, well, then I'm from Oklahoma. So we are kindred spirits. 

Maggie:

Okay, yeah. 

Mandy:

Okay. So now Yeah, you're not really from up there? 

Maggie:

I am now. 

Mandy:

Are you? 

Maggie:

I don't belong in either place at this point. But fine. Yeah. 

Mandy:

What are the big differences from your perspective of the two different regions of the United States? 

Maggie:

Okay, so between Seattle and San Antonio, because I grew up in San Antonio, it has, I believe it's a majority population Hispanic. Yeah. So one thing I've really missed is like the ever-presentness of like, Hispanic culture, right? And, like I moved up here, there's this chain of taco shops called taco time. Yeah, I was horrified. 

Mandy:

You're horrified because they did not know how to do the taco. 

Maggie:

The food they gave me was very tasty. Yeah. But like as the epitome of this, the side that they include with the taco, they call them mexi fries, and they are tater tot. The side that they put with your taco, right? So you get your main and your side and your drink. The side they call them. mexi fries, but they are tater tots. I don't understand.

Mandy:

Does it go with tacos? No, dude, tater tots with tacos. 

Maggie:

I know. And like the food. It was in a tortilla. It had some kind of white cream boss. Like, it wasn't a Kurama though. It was like it was tasty. It just yeah. Never seen a Mexican. 

Mandy:

Right? Yeah. Oh, wow. Oh man, which of course a lot of the Mexican food here is Tex Mex. But still, there are some authentic Mexican places you can go to in Oklahoma City, but I don't know if I can handle it. Handle moving that far north because of not having Mexican not that I can really eat it right now. Anyway, that's the whole other you don't even want to hear all that part. But I'm on a very strict diet right now. But um, well, we do have some good Mexican food, but you do kind of have to hunt for you can't just like yeah, stop at anything with a taco in the name and think you're gonna get sad, sad situation, I would think. Yeah. Maybe a little sad sometime. Do you have any favorite shows that you'd like to binge watch? 

Maggie:

Oh my gosh, so many, especially during a pandemic. So I sort of classify TV in two categories. It's like good TV. And then there's like, crap TV. And so the good TV I tend not to binge like I watch it episode by episode with like, my full focus. And that's stuff like, I just finished “Loki” on Disney Plus, I loved “Bridgerton” on Netflix. I love “Star Trek Discovery” and eagerly awaiting a new season, which I don't want to put out, but not now. I think that one's on Paramount plus. So like, that's my good TV. And then there's like the stuff that I play in the background while I'm sewing projects and stuff, right? Yeah. And that stuff is like, Hmm, I finished all of Stargate during the pandemic, and now I'm in the Stargate Atlantis. We love Stargate. Yeah, we did all my beloved. I also am into I'm sort of switching between that and medium right now, which is like, Yeah, I think that's an older show. But basically anything that's super episodic, and so like, like there's a problem and a solution that happens within one episode. Right? Yeah. And it follows the same pattern and it's very predictable. So that, like, if I'm in my work, and I don't see what happened, I can kind of guess what happened. You could still figure it out. 

Mandy:

Yeah, yeah. Still, it's not a big deal. Yeah. What is your vision for your life for the next five years? 

Maggie:

Oh, the vision for my life for the next five years? to not be in a pandemic. That'd be great. 

Mandy:

Yes, amen. Sister.

Maggie:

My business is in this place where it's doing pretty good. So I am exploring new I mean, I'm always interested in like, what's going on with social media, that's always a moving target. I love having fun figuring that stuff out. And, you know, whatever my clients bring to me, but also, some of the areas of business I've been getting into lately are investing. So how to make money make money, which is a fun, fun trick of capitalism. And, okay, yeah. Oh, and like philanthropy? Like, when I have enough? What do I do with the extra? Probably gonna give it away? Why do I give it away to? How does that work? 

Mandy:

So yeah, that's sort of where you're gonna still explore that? Or do you have something, an idea of what you're gonna do with that? 

Maggie:

No, that's like, actively exploring. Like, if you come back to me in five years, I will be like, Okay, I have understood how these things work. I will, Okay, tell you all about investment and philanthropy and what they mean and how to do them better. 

Mandy:

What do you think you're gonna do with the philanthropy? Like, do you have ideas or what? 

Maggie:

Yeah, so it's the type of thing that like, in five years, if you come and find me, I'll be like, Okay, wait, I understand how your values align with what you donate to, and like how much that should be and like, what enough is so that the rest can go to things that matter? And like what that means. So that's not profit right now. Okay. Not knowing what five years is actually going to hold?

Mandy:

Sure. Awesome. Well, that sounds cool. Is there anything else that you would like to talk about that we haven't touched on? 

Maggie:

Well, we touched a little on my group coaching, I'd love to give a little plug. I've got a start date, they come up once or twice a month. And so I've got one coming up on August 20. 

Mandy:

Okay, what's one thing that you would like to leave with our listeners today, a particularly valuable lesson or a quote that keeps you going or anything like that? 

Maggie:

Yeah, the thing I want everybody to sort of impart is that there's no reason to wait, like, you can start making progress towards your goals and your dreams, like right now, right? 

Mandy:

Yeah, 

Maggie:

You can't, maybe you have to get creative about it. Because like, you don't want to like leave your day job tomorrow. But like, that doesn't mean that you can't have a plan in place where you're like, Alright, you know, I'm saving up a nest egg. So I can navigate this transition, I can work in the background, like, Let's all be like create our lives, so that they're actually meaningful and fulfilling for us. 

Mandy:

Amen. 

Maggie:

Because I think that's the most important thing. And it's actually, in my stance, it's vital to society. So, you know, if we are each sort of unique creatures that are somewhat different from everybody else, like we each have a unique contribution we can make. And so in order for society to work, we all have to be making a contribution, right? And we have to be making that contribution that only we can make. So that's part of why I do the work that I do, because I want to see people do the thing they're meant to do, and not be held back by whatever sort of silly stories society puts upon us that we've learned along the way. Like no, like, let's go do this thing and like have a better society. 

Mandy:

Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree with that, man,  because I really want people to just step into their greatness step into their purpose, and not be held back by fears or by what you said, the societal norms or whatever, because kind of miserable like you're if you're not really stepping into what what your greatness is not stepping into what is fulfilling to you, then you're not able to contribute the awesomeness that you are to everybody else, either. So yeah, that's kind of we're in alignment there for trying to encourage people that's kind of the part of reason why I have this podcast to begin with, is to encourage other people, and let people hear other people's stories about how they've overcome how they've watched through things, how they have, you know, they're still working towards their goals and achieving goals and achieving that fulfillment and happiness in their lives. Doesn't mean that that life is going to be hunky dory all the time. It just, it's not going to be, but you can definitely make it better by the decisions that you make in your life. And by overcoming and just facing fears. I mean, like, yeah, you're gonna be scared. I was scared last year, whenever I made the decision to leave teaching. That was a scary move after 15 years of doing something that you knew, even though I was pretty much miserable at a lot of it. I was still familiar with it, you know? Yeah, not an easy transition to make. But I knew at that point, I was just like, I have to change I have to do something different to see what I can do. And I told my my boss was like, maybe I'll fall flat on my face. I don't know. But I gotta try. 

Maggie:

Try, You won’t regret it. Try. 

Mandy:

Oh, exactly. So I was like, I don't want to regret not doing it not taking the step. And I was about to turn 50. So I was like, damn it. I gotta do something. It's just not working. Yeah. You know, I'm halfway through my life. I gotta do something. So. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, awesome. So okay. All right. Well, how can people get in touch with you? How can they contact you or get in touch with you? 

Maggie:

Yeah, so there's tons of information on my website, which is www. Maggie karsner.com. My last name is spelled www.maggiekarshner.com. And that has tons of info about me; a contact form if you want to send me an email, links to all my social media, my online courses as well as how to register for the group. 

Mandy:

Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. And that will be in the show notes. So awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Okay, Maggie, thank you so so very much for spending time with me today. I really appreciate your time. I really appreciate all that you're doing. And thank you again for for being on my show. Awesome. 

Maggie:

Thanks for having me. This is wonderful. 

Mandy:

You're welcome. Glad you had a good time.