370 MINISODE Cindy Schulson: Value Yourself

Women Innovating Networking Growing Scaling – that’s WINGS … I’m Melinda Wittstock, my mission is to help women soar to success in business and in life – without tradeoff or apology, stepping into the light to have a transformational impact on the world. So on this mentoring Minisode of Wings of Inspired Business … we talk about how to honor yourself… the true you … with heart and purpose … in your marketing. We talk about finding clarity in your purpose, daring to embody the authentic “you” in all your messaging and why it’s impossible to create value for others … if you don’t value yourself.

Here with us today to provide her insights and inspiration is …

Cindy Schulson

Cindy helps coaches and consultants be heard in by marketing with heart vs. hype.

She’s creating a paradigm shift in how marketing can be done with integrity and heart as the Founder of Marketing from Within. She brings a decade of marketing experience working for such companies as Coca-Cola and Visa, combined with a decade of online marketing, to help her clients stand out with a message in alignment with their purpose – and also with integrity and heart.

And now to the inspiring Cindy Schulson.

She’s the creator of the Marketing with Heart Journey designed to simplify marketing, while honoring a founder’s vision, value and voice. She says one of her greatest gifts is helping her clients’ sort through their “brain dump” of ideas so they can find the golden nuggets that make them shine in their own unique way.

Melinda Wittstock:       Cindy, welcome to Wings.

Cindy Schulson:            Thank you. Great to be here.

Melinda Wittstock:       I am excited to talk to you and I always start these mentoring Minisodes with what is inspiring you right now?

Cindy Schulson:            My biggest inspiration is all around inspiring other coaches and consultants to really honor themselves in their marketing in their business. It’s what I call marketing with heart versus hype.

Melinda Wittstock:       So what does that actually mean in practice?

Cindy Schulson:            So when I talk about honoring yourself, I mean honoring your value, your voice and your vision. Above all, my favorite thing to focus on is the voice because I want people to create messages that connect with their ideal clients but also speak their truth. It’s also marketing that honors your prospective clients. There’s a lot of hype that we see, especially online, and I really want to inspire people to be able to market in a way that is true to them and feels good for the people that they’re here to reach.

Melinda Wittstock:       Oh my goodness, I mean given your background, marketing at like Coca-Cola and Visa, what do you take that was good from that and what do you correct from that in the way that you approach your marketing?

Cindy Schulson:            Well, I mean I have to say there is so much that I learned. I was so grateful for the opportunities to work for those companies and consulting firms, so I take all of what I learned about messaging, for instance. Like I used to create message platforms for my companies and clients, and now I help coaches do that. So there’s so much of the skills that I learned that I can apply and you know how it is, Melinda. Like there are things that we learn that we don’t even know we’ve learned that we carry forward with us. My whole motto in business is always about building on your success, so I just take the good and leave behind the stuff that made me want to throw up.

Melinda Wittstock:       That’s hilarious. So everybody has challenges in business. What are some of yours?

Cindy Schulson:            I think sometimes, I’ll be honest with you, all the hype, even though I teach people how to stand out online without the hype, sometimes I just want to chuck my phone out the window because of the same messages that keep coming up over and over again that are just all about that instant success and “This is the missing piece.” There’s just so much nonsense that has people investing in things that maybe are not the right fit for them or that are just that whole chasing the shiny object thing. I just want people to take a step back and really do what’s right for their business and for them. It’s all about being aligned.

Melinda Wittstock:       It’s so, so true. So what are three pieces of advice you would tell your younger self or a woman in business or entrepreneur or someone, say, who’s starting out or is like taking the leap into entrepreneurship after a long executive career?

Cindy Schulson:            Okay, so the very first thing is to really create clear focus, clear strategic focus, to be super clear on the solution you’re here to provide and who you’re here to help and why people should work with you. Too many people skip over that step and they end up spinning your wheels. Trust me, I did that as well. So that’s the first thing.

The second thing is, yes, we have to know your ideal client but I really believe that if you want to build a profitable business that you love, you also have to know yourself and you have to put you, your mind and your heart and your truth, in your marketing.

Then the third one is what I mentioned just a minute ago, which is build on your success. So we sometimes think we have to have everything just perfect and we don’t. Get clear on your message. Start sharing your message. Learn some of the marketing strategies that are the right fit for you and then give yourself the space to allow yourself to refine them and evolve things as you grow.

Melinda Wittstock:       Such great advice. So, Cindy, how can people find you and work with you?

Cindy Schulson:            Well, my website is MarketingFromWithin.com, and if they want to speak with me directly, they can just go to TalkWithCindy.com.

Melinda Wittstock:       Wonderful, thank you so much for putting on your wings and flying with us today.

Cindy Schulson:            Thank you.