.png)
A Slice of Humble Pie with P2
🥧 A podcast where we curiously explore nutrition, fitness, mindset, sports, wellness, & beyond. ☕️Host @parastoobadie
A Slice of Humble Pie with P2
Women in Business: Navigating Wellness, Travel, and Community
Introducing our latest podcast episode, where we dive into the captivating world of women in wellness and business. Join me, P2, as I sit down with our guest Vanessa, a remarkable entrepreneur who has transformed her passion for wellness and spirituality into a thriving online community for female leaders. Alongside her business partner Amanda, Vanessa shares invaluable insights on how to create a life that's both personally fulfilling and professionally successful.
But that's just the beginning! We'll also take you on a journey with this globe-trotting guest with her tips on balancing health and wellness while living the digital nomad lifestyle.
And if you've ever felt daunted by the idea of creating content and building communities online, fear not. We'll share stories of overcoming self-doubt and embracing confidence, all while forging meaningful connections in the process.
So, whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, this episode is packed with inspiration, wisdom, and practical advice to help you thrive in both your personal and professional life. Don't miss out—tune in now for an empowering conversation that celebrates the spirit of women in wellness and entrepreneurship!
Visit Zehn Studio
Website: https://parastoobadie.com/podcast/
Email: asliceofhumblepiewithp2@gmail.com
Instagram: @asliceofhumblepiewithp2
Welcome back to A Slice of Humble Pie. I'm your host, p2. I'm a nutrition and fitness professional, a lover of pie and a curious human on planet Earth.
Speaker 1:Today's guest is a powerful woman in business and, more importantly, she's a girl's girl, a good human who's in your corner, helping you realize your own dreams. That was definitely my experience, but we'll get there in a moment. So the intention of her business is crafting elevated wellness brands for powerful female founders and all encompassing brand strategy and design studio, helping you tap into abundant CEO energy and live a life you're obsessed with. Isn't that just exciting to hear Like? It just makes me so happy. That's exactly the experience I had. So Vanessa co-founded Zen Studio in 2017 with another powerful woman. Her name is Amanda so I met them actually at a yoga studio slash co-working space. I want to take a moment to shout out Yoga Addict, tina, you are a gem. So while we were there, vanessa, amanda and I were sitting for a meditation practice and they had actually just returned from Bali, indonesia, and they were on their way to Montreal, just passing through Ottawa before going off somewhere else again, and so we'll come back to that part.
Speaker 1:More about Vanessa. She has a background in interior design, with education in business, and men in management with a strong understanding of digital marketing, so she combined her passion and her skills to develop an online business. She can run from anywhere in the world while supporting other women to do the same. Her clients have been featured in Vogue, elle, forbes and more and beyond this type of success, vanessa has been really down to earth and genuinely committed to creating solutions, which is like fabulous. Her enthusiasm for you to succeed is so refreshing. In a world of competition, she really just she wins if you win, which is fabulous. So one more story time.
Speaker 1:Three years ago, vanessa had returned to Southeast Asia, so at this point we've already been working together, and she was in Indonesia, I believe, when she sent me a picture and I took this picture. It was a stunning view and I put it as my phone wallpaper and I was like seeing it every day, visualizing that one day I was going to make that move to Amanda. Vanessa are the geniuses behind my incredible website and they helped me cultivate the plans that I'm implementing now and even while they were away in Southeast Asia and I was in Canada, I got so many pep talks personally and professionally, and it was just it's like they were right there. Now I want to take just a moment to sort of set up the conversation we're about to have because we have switched spots. Vanessa and Amanda are currently in Montreal, canada, and I am the one in Southeast Asia, in Saigon, vietnam, and it has been four years in the making. We have come full circle and it is just fascinating.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, I hope that inspires you to pursue whatever lights your soul on fire. So I'm incredibly happy and just pumped and privileged to introduce Vanessa to the podcast. Thank you for having my back, for helping me bring my dreams to life and for being you. Let's tell more people about you and chat about women and navigating wellness, business, travel, life and beyond. Let's get right into it. What inspired you to start your own business?
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, so so many different things. I think I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Ever since I was a little kid. I kind of wanted to work for myself and you know, then growing up I was, I was sort of in these jobs that I didn't feel like I could really do everything that I wanted to do.
Speaker 2:I'm always someone that really wants to go above and beyond pretty much everything that I do. I always think of solutions even to problems that I'm not really asked to solve, necessarily in those smaller jobs, and I felt like at times, you know, I was a little bit limited in what I could do. So that's what I wanted to start my own business. And, of course, you know, starting this in my early 20s, there was a question of, you know, I wanted to travel, I wanted to have freedom to make a lot of money, you know, but mostly I think I just really wanted to find my community. You know, I think I was in a place where I didn't really have that and I saw starting my own business, kind of building my community and really getting to work with people that I truly felt I wanted to work with and I wanted to be like as well, you know and like learn from them and I could. I could help them with their businesses, and that's really where, where it all started.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, that's beautiful, and I mean, I got to experience some of your helping nature, for sure, as our listeners have already heard. Of course, with any choice, though, there is some there's some, like you know bad parts, if we can use that word. So there is some, there's some, like you know, bad parts, if we can use that word. So what do you feel has been the worst part and also the best part, of owning an online business?
Speaker 2:Okay, well, that's. That's a pretty loaded question. I think the best about owning an online business is obviously the freedom to travel. I think also for me. I work with a very specific niche and it's hard to find. It's not really the type of niche that you will find necessarily where you're living.
Speaker 2:I am lucky in a way that I do live in a large city, so there's obviously a lot of wellness here as well, but I just I really wanted to to work specifically with women in wellness, with more spiritual women as well, and I didn't find, uh, you don't really have that community necessarily in Canada. You know, um, especially on the spiritual side. Maybe you'll have a little bit more wellness, but not so much spirituality, and that's really something that um that I found fascinating and it was the. It was the type of people that I wanted to work with. Um, like I said, I'm I'm also very interested in it as well, and I think that you know when, when you do work online, it kind of opens you up to the, to the whole world, you know. So you, you get to work with people that you otherwise probably wouldn't have met in your own circle, and also, obviously, just having the freedom to travel. I think that's just above everything else, you know it's it's the best, it's the best thing to to be able to travel, especially in this.
Speaker 2:You know, like here in Canada we live in a very like in in in the West, we live in a very uncertain climate right now and I see a lot of the people around me that have office jobs or, you know, like the typical nine to five, they're kind of struggling. You know, especially post pandemic, a lot of people were faced with a lot of uncertainty. There was a lot of layoffs. You know many people lost their jobs and I think that even that that solidified my choice even further, because for the first time I could really see that what I do for myself and my own business, you know I can continue doing. I'm not, um, I don't have to depend on someone else giving me a job or I don't have to depend on someone else telling me what to do. You know I could, um, you know I could always go out there and find other clients and I mean you know a lot of people think, okay, well, what if you know this doesn't work in a few years? You know we've seen a lot of that as well in the with all the automation that's been happening lately in the world.
Speaker 2:You know, but I feel like you know, when you, when you build your own business and especially with an online business, you can always pivot. So even if it's not this, you know it could be something else, and I think you built, you built a set of skills that you otherwise wouldn't have if you worked for someone and they kind of just told you what to do. I think you know, when you have and I'm sure you have experienced this as well you know, you, you learn so many different things when you, when you're working on your business, when you're building your own thing, that just it's. It's uncomparable in terms of like life lessons to to anything else, and so I definitely think that those are some of the best parts about owning, owning an online business, and the worst part which I'm not really sure if it's a bad thing, but something that I have noticed is with myself and also my clients.
Speaker 2:You know it's it's you always have to work on yourself.
Speaker 2:You know it's a it's a constant building of yourself up, and sometimes that can be Harder because you kind of have to be your own cheerleader and you have to constantly push yourself and push your mindset as well.
Speaker 2:You know you need to really expand and see the possibilities in everything that you're doing and a lot of the times when you are building everything from scratch which you know we are it takes time to see results, you know, to see the fruits of your labor. And I think you know like you constantly have to show up and believe in yourself and believe in what you're doing and keep going with that, you know, yeah, so I think I think that's the hardest part, but I, you know, like at the same time, I think it builds. It builds character and again, it just kind of gives you a strength in yourself. You know, you, you, you do kind of get this ability to be okay with kind of everything that's happening. You know you learn to accept a lot more things and you learn to be a little bit more calm in the face of adversity. You don't react as fast as I think you would if you had, if you didn't need to build those skills consistently well said.
Speaker 1:I agree with all of that 100 I. I feel like it's been a crash course on every type of development when you're self-employed and and I love that you ended up using the famous word pivot, because when we actually met was we were all pivoting. We met somewhat at the beginning of the pandemic, One of the times where we could hang out, and we were at the yoga attic where we're doing the meditation, and that's how I approached you and Amanda in the first place and I was already pivoting. I already had a hybrid model first place and I was already pivoting. I already had a hybrid model and that was one of those experiences where it did like it was hard for everybody, it was absolutely challenging, but I was so, so grateful that I had an online portion and then, with your guys' help, it just became better and it was developed and, just, you know, matched what it is, what it is that I'm growing now.
Speaker 1:But absolutely I think he gave us the opportunity to control what is within our control, because so many things were out of our control during the pandemic and then we really just continue to see that, of course, like you said, in an office job or if you're working like for you know a job that could let you go and like what are you going to do after? Like sped up? I feel like the lessons you learn are just on warp speed because you have to you. If you don't learn them, you're not moving forward or growing and it's a crash course on a whole bunch of things. You're not moving forward or growing and it's a crash course on a whole bunch of things.
Speaker 1:You mentioned that travel is one of the most beautiful or the best parts of being, you know, a digital nomad and being location independent, and I know that you and Amanda describe yourselves as two nomadic adventurists who live for creative expression, travel and serving our remarkable clients. So you've already spoken about it a little bit, but can you recall a time when you couldn't express your creativity or travel? How did that impact you?
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely. Well, you know, even before starting this whole journey you know me being originally from Romania I moved to Canada and then I was here for a very long time, in my opinion, you know, I was here for 10 years. I hadn't, I hadn't really gone anywhere else. I was obviously, you know, like I was still in school and you know, a teenager, and then, you know, I went to college and things like that. So, like you can, there's not really much time to travel, really, but I really, really really wanted to travel. That was my, my dream, you know, and I think, obviously, when we grow up, I think you know the majority of us want to travel, but I really wanted to be one of those people that actually did it. Uh, so, you know, after I moved from so I'm originally from Montreal, but you know I moved to Ottawa for uh, for college and to continue my studies in in, in business. But you know, I moved to Ottawa for for college and to continue my studies in business.
Speaker 2:But after I moved there, I felt like Ottawa was a little bit even more constrained in terms of what, like, what you can do. There's not really, you know, it's it's, it's a city, but it's a small city, you know, it's a city with a small town feel, and I just really wanted more. I wanted to explore more and, as you know, also in Canada, it's very hard to travel anywhere else. You know, we're kind of remote, other than the US and maybe some, or maybe the South. You know, you don't really have much opportunity to travel Even within Canada itself. It's very expensive to travel within Canada. It takes a very long time as well, just to even, you know, get to BC from here. It takes, it, takes a long time and it's super expensive. It's, in my opinion, it's better to just travel to Europe, you know.
Speaker 2:At that point, so I definitely felt stuck in a way, you know, because I just feel like there's nowhere to go. You know, you're kind of like you're, you're in your little bubble and then you can, you know, drive 10 hours that way, 10 hours that way, and you're still you're probably still within the same province, you know. So it's like what is happening here, um, so that that was really hard. That impacted me because I, like I said, I felt very limited in what I could do and uh, that's why I I just couldn't wait to leave, you know, and and also also coming from from Europe, you know, it's a lot more.
Speaker 2:There's so many more countries that you can visit and there are just like a short plane ride away, you know, and I mean like a short plane ride away, you know, like you're talking under two hours, not like again, you know, even if you fly to the other end of Canada, that still takes seven hours, which is insane to me. That still takes seven hours, which is insane to me. So that really felt limiting and I wanted to get away from that and that's why I also decided to. You know, when I'm going to leave, I'm not going to come back for a little while. You know, I didn't want to just go vacation, but yeah, and then in terms of creativity, you know and I'm sure we're going to talk a little bit more about this later but you know, I work with women specifically because, having worked with men before that, I felt like that kind of stunted a little bit of our creativity, especially in what we do.
Speaker 2:You know we do web design and branding, and I just feel like women are much more feeling, you know, like they're much more feeling creatures and really, you know, working with men, I just felt like creativity was important, as in like you need to have it done, kind of thing, but it wasn't important in the sense that it mattered much to them. You know it's just another thing on the checklist and like let's get it done and then move on. You know it doesn't really matter. So you know that's when we made the pivot to like only working with women and I feel like we really did fulfill that in doing that pivot.
Speaker 1:I love that you said feeling creatures. That's so funny. Yeah, no, that's yeah. That makes knowing you now. That just makes a lot of sense. You're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. It just fits you. It's perfect.
Speaker 1:So yeah no, no, no, You're so good at it and it's just very much aligned, and you can tell that you poured your creativity and your passion and your expertise into something that just makes sense, that fits you and what you're putting out into the world fits you and what you're putting out into the world. So, speaking of the world, obviously we're talking about we're going to shift in a moment to talk about who you work with, but let's have a personal conversation first. So, when you're traveling, how have you been able to take care of your health, your wellness, your fitness, right? So especially you were talking about whether it's in Canada or in Europe or Southeast Asia. What have you found that you've been able to keep consistent and what have been some challenges?
Speaker 2:You know that's a really good question. I think what I think the way I travel kind of influences what I'm able to do. You know, I like to travel places for at least a couple of months at a time. I really do like to stay somewhere. I think you need at least a month to visit a place, but I prefer to stay around three months at the very least in a place so that I could really experience the culture. And obviously, when I do stay for three months, you know there's there's a lot more flexibility in in the in terms of what routines you can set up for yourself, and I think that's really important. You know, that's helped me kind of stay sane. You know, because traveling all the time I found it to be a little too exhausting and I just couldn't really you know, I couldn't really focus on my business as well as my health and I feel like slowing down. I like slow travel. You know, I feel like slowing down kind of allows you to put those routines in place. But to answer your question, what we usually do whenever we get to a place, we either pick a place that has some sort of a gym or fitness space or, if it doesn't, we will immediately like get a gym membership as well, so to supplement that. And then also, when you're traveling, because you're in a new place, you want to meet people, so we do end up taking a lot of classes as well, especially wellness, spirituality and things like that. So we do a lot of that as well when we travel.
Speaker 2:But for myself personally, I've also just implemented a few habits. Like, in the morning, I always like to journal. I do that almost everywhere and it's really easy to do. I always like to journal. I really I do that almost everywhere and it's really easy to do, especially when you're traveling. You don't really need much to do that. But yeah, just journaling I think is very important. And, like I said, the gym membership and having that in place and just you know, being aware that like I think you have to have some routines that you go through every single day and be able to adapt with those. You know not maybe not not even doesn't have to be every single day, but you know like there has to be something in place that you do. And then you know you have to let yourself be adaptable as you travel so you can, you can implement them from place to place.
Speaker 1:Yeah, those are great suggestions you can implement them from place to place. Yeah, those are great suggestions. One quote came to mind as you were speaking. You know, when they say wherever you go there, you are.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I think in my early twenties, like you and I align and all the reasons, everything you explained like same. From the time I was a kid I always wanted to travel, and before it used to be this like escapism, until I realized that wherever I go there, I am, and so if I have a habit or routine or something grounding in one space, it's probably going to be the same if I'm somewhere else, because I'm still the same person and so now I'm at peace with that. So, same, no-transcript. Actually do a grocery run and prep food, which is something that's really important to me, and, uh, it was starting to wear me down because on month four of travel now I hadn't I've been, I hadn't really been slow traveling and I can understand the fatigue you're talking about because I just want to cook a meal and so some of those things you take for granted. Absolutely, it's just the little habits that we bring with us.
Speaker 2:I think it's really cool that you brought up wherever you go, there you are, because that's actually the book that I was reading on my plane right the first time I left. So it's really interesting that you have a very similar experience. Like it's cool that you also have a personal relation to that quote as well. Yeah, I totally agree with you.
Speaker 2:I think at first, you know, like when I started traveling, I really wanted to, like you said, escape, you know, and kind of I wanted a life of freedom and all that. But then, place after place, I kind of like came up with the same, the same issues, you know, and, like we said before, you know, when you, when you are working for yourself, you you encounter these, these issues that you kind of constantly have to go through and solve, and the belief in yourself that comes with that. And I feel like, you know, after a while, after traveling for a while, I understood, I truly deeply understood, even beyond just reading the book, that like, oh my God, you know, I do have to be with myself and it's like I have. It's not really about the place, but rather like who you are within yourself, you know. So I totally agree with everything you said.
Speaker 1:That's so powerful. And something else too. When I asked you about what the worst part is a couple of minutes ago, that was part of like I feel like sometimes people romanticize digital nomad and right, like every single thing that we do, everything there's an opportunity cost, absolutely everything Right. So like the choices you're making were they're not always going to be like rainbows and sunshine, like sometimes it just sucks. But the one thing I was thinking of is actually the previous podcast episode with with jazz, when we were talking about like the intention behind yoga is like it's not to have bliss all the time, because that's just not life, like there's ups and downs being a human, and same with this experience is that that freedom piece you were talking about like I think I get it.
Speaker 1:You're a Leo, I'm a Sag. You were like freedom, but then at some point it's like the a Leo on massage. You're like freedom, but then at some point it's like the novelty wears off, because if you have too much freedom without any form of structure or constraints, then that also is just like ironically, too much of a good thing and then it just kind of backfires. So I am learned that freedom is, for me, is more if there is choice. So I have to have something that's grounding, or else me especially I'll just be like up in the clouds and then nothing will get done, I won't be well, my health will suck, I won't be grounded, I won't have a routine, I haven't done anything. My clients are like what the hell? So yeah, I think that the freedom comes like there has to be constraints or some form of I don't want to say limitation, I'm trying to find the word but they kind of go hand in hand, because absolute freedom is also chaos?
Speaker 2:yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:I think there has to be discipline yeah, discipline, especially if you're a nomad or self-employed, because there is that's the other part, right, like yay, I have, I can run my own business. But then also you're missing someone telling you that hey, take this off your plate. Maybe that's not a priority right now. Like sometimes there is benefit to having a manager kind of assign you tasks, because you're just overthinking everything.
Speaker 2:True, and you know, just to, to add to that, that's actually what I, what I love about working with my clients. Right, I feel like, um, a lot of the women that I help. You know just like yourself. You know they you work, they work in their businesses and they're alone and where I can come in is to fill that void. You know sometimes you just need a sounding board. You know you need someone else to tell you like, okay, maybe you know this, like you said, you know maybe you are overthinking this, maybe you should focus on something else.
Speaker 1:Or you know, like we can put this on the back burner and do something else for now, and then you know we can come back to it and because it is very hard, you know when, when you are the only one working in your business to make all of the decisions, it's it's definitely very hard, so it's good to have a community in place that can help you with those as well.
Speaker 1:After when, uh so after you built my website, I was working with you on the aftercare and then at one point I would just introduce, like, if anyone was asking me like who you guys are, I just kind of refer to you as my creative directors. So that was the. That was the title I had given, because it's like you're not my web. This doesn't make any sense anymore because our relationship has evolved to the pep talks you would give me and like kind of give me a priority list and help manage my different projects I was working on. So, yeah, I started to just refer to you as my creative director Because that was just way more fitting than just, oh, they build websites like no, no, no, no, no. There was so much going on.
Speaker 2:So, thank you, I love that title and you know it's it's happened the same with with many of our clients, which goes way beyond just the initial web design and branding. You know it's happened the same with many of our clients, which goes way beyond just the initial web design and branding. You know A lot of them still, you know like still reach out after. Sometimes they reach out with these things that I'm like, oh my God, why, like why me? You know, why did you come with this? And they always start with like, hey, I just wanted to hear what do you think about this? You know, like I didn't know who else to ask what do you think about this? And I'm like, okay, let's get on a call, let's discuss it.
Speaker 2:You know, and I am someone that really loves discussing ideas and I love seeing the potential in new ideas. So to me this is just like super fun. And you know, just going back to the whole pivoting seed, like there's just there's just so much that you can do. Once you know how to foster a community and how to build that community that really will carry you forever.
Speaker 1:Well and your clients trust you because of I mentioned this in your intro that you put in the work to actually see the people, and I think that's why it was funny when you went back to the. The women are feeling creatures, because I remember I was crying on our call being like, I feel seen. Because it's like all of these things I was trying to describe without me having the vocabulary to describe what I'm trying to say is like from the mood board to like the colors and the elements, like it's like you, you you're actually putting in the work. So after that, it's just it feels like you've created that connection with everyone.
Speaker 1:Like I can speak I'm sure I'm speaking on behalf of all your clients, but like for myself anyway, because it was years I was working with you that it's like I trusted you because you put in the work to understand my background. So where I want to be able to get your input on something because I don't have to explain everything all over again, like you've seen the evolution and the transformation, and then you have all of the, the information. So when you're like kind of adding your two cents on an idea, it just comes from a place genuineness where it's actually aligned with the person and their business. It's not just like a business decision, it's like no, no, no, you're looking at it from a few different angles.
Speaker 2:Totally, and it's, it's. I really love that too, you know, because, um, I always have clients go. Well, what has worked for your other clients and I'm like, well, these, this has worked for my other clients, but this may not work for you, because this is not who you are, you know, and you need to find, you need to find ways that work for who you are, you know, and me, knowing you, I know that you're not going to. You know, I have many clients that I've been trying to to nudge them in the direction of, like, making videos, you know, because I'm really a firm believer that that video is the next, the next big thing in marketing. Well, it's, it's already here. It's not the next big thing anymore, it's here, and you know I can see it that it's very hard for them, especially, you know, as older millennials and older, you know, like we didn't really grow up with this, with cameras in our face all the time, and we also grew up with this idea of you have to, you have to be really careful what you put out there and what you put on the internet, you know.
Speaker 2:So we grew up with kind of like a fear of being seen online and being perceived online. So I think it is a lot harder for us to constantly put ourselves out there. But you know I have to. I have to be very careful, you know, and I have to be like. You know you can do this and you can do it in your own way. You know you don't have to be someone that you know is on reels every single day. You don't have to do trends or you don't have to do what everybody else is doing. You just have to do it in your own way, and there is a way for you to do it too. We just have to find that sweet spot, and I think I really like that just finding the unique solution for someone so that they can feel comfortable moving forward in their business. You know, especially in in this new, very new way of any very new marketing landscape yeah, and that's just goes to meeting someone where they're at.
Speaker 1:That's just very parallel to like nutrition and fitness. Right, it's like. If it's the, it's like the. The themes are the same. When it comes to business. There are certain things there's marketing, sure, but there's a human being attached to it and they also have some likes, dislikes, some comfort, some strength. So I appreciate that you're looking at not just what's the trend, but who's the human that's executing this, because that really does. That's when I had my aha moment one day, when I realized that it's so parallel to nutrition and fitness, because I always thought, like also haven't been in business, right. Remember when I was like, oh yeah, right, okay, I had to see it in that parallel because I would make different choices, because it always just seemed like I'm doing something wrong, like what's this magic solution to building my business? It's like there isn't a magic solution for nutrition or fitness. All of it just requires, like, repetition, strategy and doing what works for you.
Speaker 2:And I and I think to, to add to that, I think for you what, what was happening and it's not just for you, for for many women in wellness and again, I think it is a very I think it is a woman specific issue in terms of this because, you know, we look online and we look at what other people are doing, thinking like, okay, we have to do the same thing, and then we get bombarded with all of this information, everything that everyone else is doing, and then you kind of get into a space where it's like you have analysis, paralysis. You know, like you're just like you don't know what to do. You know, and it's just, it's too much. And now you have all of these things that you think you should be doing and you want to be doing, but then it's like you don't even know where to, where to start. You know, like you, you don't know what to pick up and start anywhere.
Speaker 2:You know, like I was like here's, the here's, everything in place, and then, and then you were very late. You know, every time we were talking, you were like oh, I was so busy I couldn't do this. I like I couldn't. I really wanted to, but I couldn't, and I was like it key was consistency. You know, like you said, that that really is the key to us. As long as you show up every day and you and you know that you're moving the needle a little bit, that should give you enough confidence and it will give you enough momentum eventually to, like, take you to where, where you need to be, you know, but just it's just that consistency and just showing up every single day that that really makes a difference. But there's just that consistency and just showing up every single day.
Speaker 1:That really makes a difference, absolutely Honestly, it all comes down to just show up, show up on repeat in all of it, show up, keep putting yourself out there. And yeah, the question I was about to ask you actually kind of answered some of it already, but I was just wondering where you've noticed that there's an analysis, paralysis as a common theme. Is there anything else that women in wellness that is your niche that they struggle with?
Speaker 2:Definitely, definitely. I think the other thing is feeling of inadequacy. You know, imposter syndrome, you know, as women again, you know, our culture kind of makes us feel very small and they don't really want us to get out of our lane. You know, and I think a lot of the people that I work with they have that in some form or another. Obviously, for some it manifests a little bit more. But, yeah, just that whole idea of like, oh, am I doing the right thing? Am I, should I be talking about this? Like, what authority do I have to talk about this? And you know, when I look, when I take a look at men, it's like one thing that men have is, you know, the audacity. That's what we always joke about, you know. But it's true, you know, I feel like men do not have that sort of of like, they don't question themselves as much as we do, you know, um, and you know they could be like way less qualified, way less experienced than than a woman, a woman's counterpart, but they still have that belief that they, they have whatever it takes, you know, and they're really the with the cherry on top, you know, and I just I wish that women didn't have those limiting beliefs, you know. But I think, as we continue to build like this, this new generation of women, you know we're slowly getting there. We're slowly getting there because, you know, even just looking at my own mother, you know, like when she's someone that has been in the workforce ever since the beginning, you know, which allowed me to really look at the world with um, and look at the world and see the opportunities for myself as well, you know, and I just think that this generation of women is raising girls to be even more confident and I think that slowly we are getting there and we are kind of breaking down those barriers.
Speaker 2:And there's a second thing that women that I find that I work with struggle with is just this this whole idea of work life balance. You know, I again, you know I see that a lot of like domestic, domestic work gets put on women. Still, even though, you know, women do have their own businesses, they do go to work, they still have to like be the primary caregivers for their children, they still have to be like kind of like the head of the household in a sense, you know, in terms of planning and seeing where the family is going. Seeing where the family is going and obviously that is limiting, you know, because it takes like such a mental load to do those things and to constantly show up for your entire family, for your children, for, like your immediate family as well, and it's hard, you know, it's very hard to have that balance and I find that a lot of women, you know, they put their passions and what they really want to do on the back burner, you know, and they constantly give and they pour into others.
Speaker 2:And another thing that I've noticed, you know, like I have a lot of clients that are from Asian countries, asian backgrounds, and that's even, you know, even more so than in the West. I feel like there's even more pressure put on women to not just be there for the families that they've built together with their husbands, but also for the family that they left. You know they have, they have this responsibility to care for their parents, to care for their siblings, and not just Asian countries. Obviously. You know you're Iranian, I'm sure you feel the same pressure.
Speaker 2:I've spoken to my Middle Eastern friends as well. You know they have that pressure. I'm lucky because I don't feel like it's, you know, like in Europe it's not as big like Romania, it's not. They don't really put as much pressure. It's very divided between the children and in the West, here it's even less. But you know, I do see that in the type of the clients, in the type of clients that I have, and it's really hard to see, you know, and I try to be there for them and I try to continuously help them see that their passions matter and that with every step that they take to make themselves happy and work in something that they want, they inadvertently help everyone else in their circles as well, because when we're happy we can pour more into the, into the others, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're filling your own cup. That's a really interesting observation that you had with the common denominators of your clients. I'm very grateful, like my family has been extremely supportive, like we're all just I mean, I'm in Vietnam and they're all just cheering me on, so I'm really, really grateful that I have, like my parents and my siblings and the family that I have, one thing that, as you were describing with the other, with everyone else, so the other women, so we have the women that chose to. You know they have partners and they're building that maybe a conventional family. But one thing that I'm just curious about on your thoughts on this is I don't know I may be making a general statement, but I feel like this might be true in wellness.
Speaker 1:I feel like a lot of coaches became coaches because they weren't sure how to fully help themselves. So there was this like big need that they wanted to help other people, and so it's like I, you're trying to figure out how to fill your own cup, and so if you're in a woman in wellness, even if you're not like in a family unit, I feel like you still have a lot of mental load, more than perhaps other businesses. Like, I'm just wondering if that's something you have observed as well, because, like, your niche is very specific to women in the wellness industry. What about compared to some other industry? Like I wonder if there's a parallel there or a difference. What do you think?
Speaker 2:No, I definitely, I definitely think you're right. I think there is a little bit more pressure, um, especially for women that uh, are also working more on like a on a spiritual side of things, because, first of all, I feel like they constantly have to prove themselves as well. First of all, the world in general they still do value women's work as less worthy than men's, which is, again, we're changing this slowly, but it's still something that is relevant today. And then, on top of that, you add something like spirituality, which is again a very like, a very feeling, um, type of business, and but it takes so much out of someone to be able to offer that energy to their clients and yet a lot of people don't believe it, you know, and a lot of people and I mean, and especially with this, lately there's been a lot of people don't believe it, you know, and a lot of people and I mean, and especially with this, lately there's been a lot of like cult documentaries and a lot of emphasis put on this like people believing that spirituality is kind of like a sham, which I don't agree with. By the way, I think there's bad people and good people in every single walk of life. But, yeah. So I definitely feel like women in wellness do have to prove themselves a lot more. So it does. It does take a certain kind of like. You have to be a strong person to want it, to even want to put yourself out there.
Speaker 2:You know, at the beginning of every project it's really interesting. You know a lot of the, a lot of the women that I help. They always say oh, you know, I don't want to sound too spiritual, I don't want to sound, I don't want to alienate people, you know, and it's like it's really interesting because the methods that you use they are very spiritual, they are very rooted in energy work, you know. But it's like they can't really fully disclose that because they're afraid of not being taken seriously. So it's just like there's so many layers to it. You know there's so many layers to it and I don't feel like in other businesses. Other businesses are a lot more straightforward, you know.
Speaker 2:And then it also comes from the fact that, like you said, you know women in general, they want to help others. You know a lot of women feel this responsibility to kind of like towards the world, you know. And you know with that comes also the fact of like how much can I really charge? You know, and like what, what's a good amount of like? Even you had this problem as well. You know where you were like I can't raise because of because, because, because, because, like, we can find millions of reasons why not, you know.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, it's like but you are, you're continuously learning, you're continuously putting effort into building this for yourself and for your clients, and it's like why should you not be paid what you're worth? You know, why should you not be deserving of that higher price tag? You know, and that's something that I constantly hear with a lot of my clients, you know, they're always like oh, I'm not sure, or like they'll set a price because we've worked on it, and then they reduce it oh, but, but. But it's like sometimes I feel like, again, you know, as women, we want to make ourselves kind of like accessible to everyone, thinking they're like oh, that's gonna, I'm nicer If you.
Speaker 2:I want to be nice to people. You know, I want to be nice to whoever it is, and it's like it's. It's really not about that, you know, I think. I think it's another layer that gets added onto onto us as business owners, you know, as women business owners. So you know it's, it's a constant, it's a constant struggle. You know to like to go through all of this, and it's's it's a consistent work as well, right, because they, you, you'll make one step and then, you know, something else happens and it kind of like pushes you back and then you have to take a look at every single thing that you've just overcame, that you just overcame, you know, and then like reanalyze, like you know.
Speaker 1:So it's, it's a very unique space, it's unique and so fulfilling at the same time and like, yeah, I love that you just called me out. I 100% also had that problem and it goes back to what you were saying in the very beginning of this call, where it's like comes from your own growth and your own development. So I've worked with, like, so many different variations of professionals Because it really is like, especially what I do, it's like in order to really be able to have that integrity and that confidence to help somebody else like I, have to be able to help myself and to realize what my limitations are, to actually seek out help. That that was a whole step, that was a whole process that took years, and so I think we worked together for three, four years and some of the things that, like I remember when the roles were flipped and I was in Ottawa, canada, and you were in, I think you were, I think you were in Bali when we were having our one of our calls, and it's like some of the stuff you said, right, it's like I hear you, but it wasn't really resonating or it just was not the time for it to blossom because, like, I wish it could have implemented it. You know that I wish should have, could have, but it took that long. I had to go through my own personal professional stages and now it's like four years later, you know. So that that's the one thing. That's again a parallel to fitness nutrition business. All of it just takes so much. There are so many layers and it takes so much longer than you think it does. And it was definitely a test of my patience and, like now, I'm kind of looking back in time with conversations. We've had, conversations I've had with other professionals and coaches and it's like, oh yeah, I remember this conversation for four years ago, three years ago, two years ago, and I'm implementing them now. It's coming into the content I'm writing now Like all of the all of the creative director work you did for me is just sitting here in millions of tabs I'm slowly going through, because I had to rise up, as you were saying, with imposter syndrome, to become the person that could really do something about that, because I think that's why I felt really inauthentic and I feel like maybe that's other people's issue too.
Speaker 1:It's like it feels like you're not worthy or whatever, and you're like well, no, no, no, let me earn it, which is sometimes true. You should earn your stripes a little bit and not come out of the gate when you have no experience. But also not really, because if you've had it and you've put in the work, then at some point you've put it in like you've grown. You're not. You're not a beginner anymore. This is not like day one of your business. But I feel like I did, and perhaps a lot of people still stay there in that headspace thinking, oh my God, like I don't know what I'm doing, it's like you've been doing this for 10 years.
Speaker 2:Yes, you do like you're growing, it's fine yeah, and I think it goes in stages too, you know, I think eventually you're gonna hit another ceiling and then you're gonna have to do the work again, you know, and then it's like another ceiling and it's like every step of the way. You know, it's a process of remembering and re-remembering and relearning, you know. But you know, like what I was trying to tell you when you were so afraid of, like, raising your prices, you know, I was like the bulk of what I was trying to communicate to you was, if you raise your prices, you will have more time and you can learn more and you can offer your clients more, you know. And then it's like you can raise your prices and it's like it's a cycle, you know. But because that's what I mean, you know, sometimes, again, as women, we want to give and give and give and it's like we burn out and then we can't help anyone from that space.
Speaker 2:You know, we can't help anyone and so many times I've seen people not necessarily my clients, but I've seen people in many different spheres, women that have done so many great things, and then eventually they burn out. You know, and it's kind of like all of a sudden and no one saw it coming, because no one really pays attention, you know, and then it's like they can't do it anymore. They have to take like a break, you know, like a year break, and they have to like really sit down and reconnect to themselves and the goal is to create something that's sustainable long term right. So you do have to take it like one step at a time and and really also have the belief that what you are doing is worthy. You know, and it is.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Let's breathe through that for a second. I love I speaking of growth, though, because you've been. You've been at it for Zen Studio. You guys just rebranded, but essentially this business model has been nine years now. It like we were just talking about the layers and the ceilings and the growth. So, now that you have achieved all of this beautiful stuff in the past nine years, what would you maybe say to your, your past self that started the business, and perhaps, like, if you could go back in time and talk to yourself at the intersection of those ceilings you were just mentioning?
Speaker 2:yeah, you know it's it's been nine years, but yeah, some of them were spent like again working with men too, and then until I found until I found this niche, um, so I would say it's been about uh, four or five years. We're working specifically with, just with women in wellness. But if I were to go back to my, to my past self, I think I would tell her that you know, rome wasn't built in a day. You know, don't worry if things don't pan out as fast as you want them to, um, because they won't, you know, but with uh, with consistent work, eventually they, they will so simple.
Speaker 2:Again such a hard lesson to learn definitely, I think, I think, especially what you know when we're younger, um, and and I was, I think, pretty young when I started this uh, we want everything right away. You know, we want everything and we want it now. And why is it not happening? And it's like, um, when you, I think, when you're building something of substance as well, it really does. It does take the work and it does take time to build, you know, and I think also, especially when you're building something online, it takes even more, so more work, you know, because you don't have the uh, the visibility that you would otherwise have if you were just like, you had a physical place and people were walking by.
Speaker 1:You know I agree, and that gives me a little bit of peace because I mean we've all integrated some automation and ai.
Speaker 1:But I know that everyone panics like, yeah, I was going to take over all the online businesses. It's like, well, well, because the human piece is still important, because you were talking about that community, like the reason that people come to you and you've created such strong clients, and it's because you fostered a community where you still have your humanity first, even though everyone's online and we're all integrating different tools like ai. Maybe, maybe not, we'll find out, we'll find out, but I can't really replace our humanity and I think that's going to be really important to continue, especially if we're talking about wellness, absolutely. Is there any? So you just rebranded Zen Studio, so is there any other projects that you're working on now that excite you that you want to tell us about?
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm actually working on creating more content for women in wellness that are building retreats, and you know, just going back to what you were just saying about AI, you know it's crazy. There's been this crazy AI revolution over the past four years, but I feel like people are feeling more and more disconnected from one another and they are searching for community, like you were saying, and I believe that for my clients especially, you know they really have an opportunity to build the retreats and bring people together and have that in-person community that you otherwise just don't have in the world today. So that's something that's really exciting, because I feel like it could be applied to really any sort of business. Even for yourself, that's something that you could implement. You could definitely create a one-week retreat in Thailand and I'm sure your clients from Canada many of them would jump at the opportunity to come join you there. You know, because you you already have that relationship with them and it's something that would be so transformative, you know, for them as well, Because I mean, what's what's better than you know, going in a beautiful space with someone that you trust and someone that you you believe in, and then also work on yourself and your mindset at the same time.
Speaker 2:I think that's just the best of all worlds, you know, and um. Another project that I'm working on is building my youtube channel. I really want to create content for youtube nowadays and and create more like long-form video content, so I'm just really excited about that in this upcoming year.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. I've been seeing all of your videos and I like, yeah, I love it, I love it, and you were telling me to constantly do that too, and now it's just like very normal for me to just like hop on camera, I don't think about it, so it's just it was, it was before, like what do I talk about? And then I'm like there's so many, so many places to start, and then I hear your voice just start, and then next thing, you know hundreds of videos later, so much. I love that you're working on that with your clients for retreats. I'm sure there's overlaps and it kind of is a beautiful full circle from where we started talking about how travel, you know, started all of this.
Speaker 1:What started all of this for you was travel and creativity, and that's exactly what a retreat is, you know. If it's really well structured, it's just an explosion of someone's creativity and passion in a space that you have to travel to. And that's definitely in my future plans. I have always, always wanted to combine. I started doing workshops early in my career. I was actually doing that with a few friends of like different places in Toronto and like dance studios and here and there, and it was always about a community. That was always my goal, and then to figure out how to foster it has taken me a decade. And here we are, but like it's like the community piece and the travel and then combining all of them has just been like so transformative for me and I really really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, honestly, you're glowing, you're glowing. I'm really, I'm really happy. You don't know how much happiness it brings me to see you over there because, you know, especially because this is something that we've been working on for so many years, and you know, I, I just, I'm so happy to see your stories all the time and I just even the thought of you. You know, I remember last time we saw each other, you know, and thinking of like, oh, you're going off. You know, I remember the day you flew, you flew over, and I was just so happy because, you know, I know how much that means to you.
Speaker 1:And I know how hard you work for it. Thank you Wouldn't be here without you. It was a really big part of I'm going to just cry, we're just going to cry on this podcast. It was, it was a no. I really, really, really appreciate your support and it's been just again a testament to the community built and how you believe in, like you saw me, you believe, and it's just like that domino effect we were talking about, because it's like you helped me fill my cup, which then allows me to have that that cup filled so I can pour it into other people, like my clients and the community I'm fostering and for athletes and just it's just seeing how small our world is, how vast it is and how much of it we can explore, but also how it still connects us that we're all human and we all just want to be heard and seen and have community and I just like love that. Yeah, I'm just gonna.
Speaker 2:I couldn't have said it better myself. No, you're totally right.
Speaker 1:Thank you, vanessa, for your time, for your energy and for sharing everything you've learned, especially for women in wellness. And I am positive because we already manifested this when we first met, it was in Ottawa, you guys had just got back from Bali. Of this, like when we first met, it was in Ottawa, you guys had just got back from Bali, and then that picture a picture that you sent me from Bali the second time was my wallpaper still is actually on my phone, like literally still now and then. So I guarantee the next time I see you is probably going to be, I don't know, somewhere in Thailand yes, definitely, and thank you so much for uh, for having me on on your podcast.
Speaker 2:Honestly, again, just just seeing it come together from the beginning, I'm just it's it's so cool to also be a guest on it and it's, it's such an honor. And, uh, yeah, I just can't wait to to continue watching your travel videos, continue seeing you with all the dogs all over the place. It's really, really cool and it's always like good morning from this fellow Good morning. I love it and we'll catch up. We'll catch up soon and definitely in Thailand or Vietnam. See you soon in Thailand.
