Access The Episode Webpage here.
Today’s Interview Day on the podcast and my special guests join me from beautiful Slovakia.
Ivana Brutenic and Kristína Cichý Kováčiková are LinkedIn brand strategists with SundayFlies & best selling authors of The Magic of Employee Influence. They deliver strategic solutions globally for high-impact employee ambassador programs that build trust, drive sales, and attract top talent. They help leaders turn the individuality of businesses and employees into their greatest business asset.
We Talked About:
Follow Ivana & Kristína:
Connect with Sheila:
PS: Thanks so much for listening. I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/connect-with-sheila-botelho/id1527363160 I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Access The Episode Webpage here.
Today’s Interview Day on the podcast and my special guests join me from beautiful Slovakia.
Ivana Brutenic and Kristína Cichý Kováčiková are LinkedIn brand strategists with SundayFlies & best selling authors of The Magic of Employee Influence. They deliver strategic solutions globally for high-impact employee ambassador programs that build trust, drive sales, and attract top talent. They help leaders turn the individuality of businesses and employees into their greatest business asset.
We Talked About:
Follow Ivana & Kristína:
Connect with Sheila:
PS: Thanks so much for listening. I would love your review! If you enjoy what I share in this episode, rate, Review & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/connect-with-sheila-botelho/id1527363160 I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
Yeah, this is really interesting when we work with individual solopreneurs. Even though they are really accomplished, they are scared to be visible and usually they wouldn't tell you that, yes, they wouldn't tell I'm scared. They would tell I don't need to be visible, this is not necessary, or I don't think this would help my business.
Sheila:So something like this Hi, welcome to the Connect with Sheila Botelho podcast. I'm an entrepreneur, self-care strategist and creator of the Seasons self-care app. I'm committed to helping you reconnect to your purpose, elevate your well-being and build your version of a happy, successful life Today. I am so pleased to be inviting a few guests on the show with me today. They are from Sunday Flies, ivana and Christina, who are LinkedIn brand strategists and bestselling authors of the Magic of Employee Influence. They deliver strategic solutions globally for high-impact employee ambassador programs that build trust, drive sales and attract top talent, turning the individuality of businesses and employees into the greatest business asset. Ivana and Christina, thank you so much for being here. I am so thrilled that you get to be here at the advent of your book Becoming a Best Seller.
Ivana:Hi Sheila, thank you so much for having us. We are really really excited to be here.
Sheila:Oh, I just love seeing your smiling faces, and what's even more exciting is the fact that I know the story of what brought you here and the way that you courageously created a vision for what you wanted to do and you dove in and you didn't overthink. And people who are listening to this podcast are people who have an idea to move to the next level in their life, in their business, even in their wellness and relationships, and so I'd love to provide stories for people to inspire them as to what is possible. And your story is so inspiring to me, and as we get into in this episode, people will see all the little connector points that make it even more interesting. So where I really want to start is why don't you share where you began before coming to this place of being bestselling authors? Who'd like to go first?
Kristína:I can start. I think this is the first story Ivana. Yeah, yeah, this is the first story, ivana.
Ivana:So I started the story, so I'm going to start. So when I was 22 years old, I started a headhunting company and I was studying at the university actually studying in our university library dealing with the first clients. So it was very, very exciting at the time and for 15 years I have been a headhunter, doing executive search, working with clients, finding people who couldn't be found by any other agency or any clients, and it was really like a beautiful, beautiful journey. And then Christina joined. Christina is my sister, so she joined probably around 10 years ago. So the journey got even better when we came together and then we just started to focus more and more on LinkedIn, because the clients were asking how is it possible that you can find people we couldn't find? We couldn't find for months and then they found out okay, probably we could use LinkedIn for business, and they started to ask about LinkedIn. So this is how the LinkedIn consultancy was born. It was the first LinkedIn consultancy in our region, so we were really, really proud of that.
Sheila:I love it. And so when you say you're a region, people listening can hear a beautiful accent. And so, Christina, why don't you share with me your part of the story and start with where are you both based out of?
Kristína:Yeah, so we are in the heart of Europe in Slovakia. It's a beautiful, small, beautiful country and it's a very special place as well for the business, because the real business started just a couple of years ago In this country. It was not allowed before, before the revolution. So that's why we have a very special place and opportunities here in Slovakia. Our parents are both their entrepreneurs, so we had this around us like from our childhood. So it's very, very different for us to live this kind of life.
Kristína:And I remember when I was just sitting in my car with my mama and I told her like I am not sure what I'm going to do, but I know that I will have my own business.
Kristína:It was because of the fight at the current company I was working at, because of the holidays I couldn't take, and I totally understand it, it's completely fine. But the way how they dealed with it, it was so, so intense for me that I said, okay, whatever, I will learn so much as possible and I will do my own business. And at some point it was very interesting for me to watch at my big sister. You know, since the high school she was always my inspiration, I always talked about her and today is the same. And I was talking how proud I am about her and I never thought, never, ever, I would never say when I was around 20s that I would work with her, because I wanted our friendship and our relationship to be strong and I was so afraid that it will break. But this never happened and I think we are closer than ever when we are working together, because now we are 400 kilometers apart because I moved to my husband, and in totally different parts of Slovakia, but still we are on our phone all day long.
Sheila:I love it so much. And so here's where all the synchronicities began, okay, between me and you both, and so Ivana and I met in the origin membership that Kate Northrop created back in 2017. And so that's where I got to really learn how to harness the power of LinkedIn myself. So, thank you, thank you, thank you. You're welcome. The connection was really quick and easy because when I was 19, I moved or 18, I guess I moved to Europe and I was teaching English as a second language in the Czech Republic, which is right next door, and I had a deep love for Eastern Europe through that time, even though I saw Western Europe, which is beautiful, there was something about that spirit of pioneering, of ambition and of people really being ready to create autonomy in their life now that they had freedom, and so to see and hear your story of what you've been able to create it is a really special time, so that's very deep.
Sheila:And then, of course, anyone who's been following my story through the podcast or through people who work with me know that in 2013, I lost my sister to cancer and we had started to do some work together. We had some plans for some things that we wanted to do in business, and she lived six hours away from me as well, and so, seeing the fact that the two of you, from this beautiful place that I love so much, actually came together to do something and it's working so well like so well, in fact that you're renowned in your field, you have a very large audience of people who are learning from you internationally, and now you're bestselling authors it's kind of like a connector point from the other realm. I can hear my sister cheering from you from somewhere. So it's so beautiful, oh, my goodness. And so how do you make this work then? In terms of the distance factor? Obviously, we know we can do so much virtually, but do you come together often for retreats, just the two of you, for planning? How do you work that?
Kristína:This is our goal actually to go for a retreat together, just two of us, but we have four little kids, so yeah, but like we, for example, we see each other once a month maybe, like, really like face to face, without any form between us, that's amazing and you can actually dig into, probably, the things at hand, because you're dealing with each other virtually the rest of the time, so beautiful.
Sheila:So, ivana, tell me now about some of the ways that you have, together, served your clients, and maybe some of the little stories that come to mind in terms of where they were before and now, where they are using LinkedIn as their strategy.
Ivana:I like to think about all the clients and what happened. There are so many stories because we have worked with over 10,000 people, so really there are a lot of beautiful stories, and even your story, you know, I like how you went to a workshop and then you just, you know, fly on LinkedIn and I see your consistency, sheila. It's really very special, because not a lot of people are able to create like a podcast or LinkedIn content on a regular basis. It's really hard, but it fades off, you know, at the end.
Ivana:So I would say, probably probably one of my favorite stories is when clients tell us I provide a service or I have a product that cannot be sold through LinkedIn. It's impossible. Yes, we love that when somebody says this is impossible. We had a client, an IT company, and they said, okay, you need to have connections, and you know this is the only way how to do business, of course, but when you have more connections, you know, through LinkedIn, it's also network-based, of course. And then they found a new client for half a million euros, and then you know they were like, wow, okay, so let's do more.
Ivana:So, this is one of the stories A lot of our clients have had really millions of dollars, of euros pounds depending on the country through LinkedIn. So also companies who have, for example, pr agencies. So huge companies are able to generate PR through LinkedIn through their employees. That is more than their PR agency does. So it's very interesting that people say, okay, we've got all covered. We've got covered sales or talent acquisition or PR. But then when they dig in to LinkedIn through their employees or through the personal brand, depending how big is the company they really see the results and you know, I think like my favorite moment is to watch them when they realize there is a bigger game to be played. And there is still a big, like always all the time the game can be bigger. Even though you think you have everything in place, you realize that there are many opportunities that you haven't seen yet and LinkedIn is just a tool that you can use to really scale your business in a way that wouldn't be possible doing through personal network.
Sheila:I totally agree. So, Christina, why don't you tell me now what is the relevance? Like, where did Sunday flies come from? And I understand it may be a translation thing too. Right, there's a meaning in your language that is even more meaningful. But when you were saying earlier, Ivana, you're really flying on LinkedIn, I'm like, ooh, okay, I get it. So tell me more. Where did that name come from?
Kristína:Yeah, this is the name like a combination of so many aspects, but like the beginning is at the day Sunday, because we were both born on Sunday and Sunday girls or kids are the lucky ones. They say, I don't know. Like we are quite lucky, yeah, so that's why this is one thing that we share, because, like everything else, it's totally different. We are totally different. Our personalities, our hobbies, like everything is totally different, but this is what we have in common. And the Sunday flies supposed to be the place for our clients to feel safe, to fly and to enjoy even Sundays, because they want to go on Monday to the work and be happy and show every possible thing they can on LinkedIn, every project they are proud of, like stories about our other colleagues and everything. So like it's supposed to be very, very cheerful name for the company and safe place for our clients.
Sheila:It really is and I love that you shared that. What now is saying it like it's Sunday flies in English. What would it be in your language if you were to say it? Is there a translation?
Ivana:Well, there is. There are like multiple translations that you can have, but what we really like that our logo is a dragonfly. That is like a new version of a dragonfly, and together we were watching Gilmore Girls as kids, so much until our eyes were sore, right. So this is like remembering our childhood and growing up together, and probably in Slovak language it would be Nedjelne Muszki.
Sheila:Okay, yeah, I love the language, so anytime I can hear you say anything, it's like I knew you wanted to hear. Yeah, thank you. Oh, it's so beautiful and you mentioned something, christina, that that is really powerful and it goes like so what you are providing for people is speaking to the soul of what they really want to accomplish internally, like we have all of our dreams about money we want to make and experiences we want to have and also we don't really think about because we feel like we shouldn't be thinking about. It is the way we feel as we're getting ready for work or when we're not working. And if you're a business owner, you're always working up here, no matter where you are.
Sheila:And people who are maybe in an employee situation same thing they can maybe turn it off a little easier. But if Sunday comes and not a lot of people feel really great on a Sunday because, even if they love their work, they feel like, oh, my goodness, I have this mountain to climb on Monday. And so there was this term Sunday scaries that people had like, oh, to start the week. So I love that you've switched that around and given people hope in the title of your business so beautiful.
Sheila:So, iban, I wanted you to mention something about some of the things that maybe cause people to be hesitant to get into having any kind of social profile to be able to promote their business. Sometimes it's easier to hide behind like a PR company or something, but when you're talking about using a social brand like LinkedIn, it is more of a personal thing, even though a company can have either LinkedIn profile, but it means you need to show up and, for many people, being the brand, the face of their brand. So talk to me about some of the ways that you help people step into that with more confidence, because you were mentioning recently to me something about the fear of visibility that seems to be really, really prevalent, even with successful business owners.
Ivana:Yeah, this is really interesting. When we work with individual solopreneurs, let's say they have, even though they are really accomplished they are really they are scared to be visible and usually they wouldn't tell you that. Yes, they wouldn't tell I'm scared. They would tell I don't need to be visible, this is not necessary, or I don't think this would help my business. So something like this yes, and when we work with corporations, it's very similar and sometimes there is, for example, a marketing manager or HR manager. They tell their employees to post on LinkedIn and those people will not tell them, I am afraid.
Ivana:Yes, so we always know that we have to work with this. Even, of course, we feel vulnerable to be online and to talk about some things that we want to talk about. And, of course, you are judged on LinkedIn or anywhere else, and I think it's important to know that you would be judged anyway. Yes, so you will be judged as a parent, as a wife, as husband, it doesn't matter. So, yes, you get to used to be judged on LinkedIn and I would say this is more like a kind place when it comes to social media, I would say, maybe the kindest place where you can be visible and it's important to work with it.
Ivana:So not to find explanations why you shouldn't do it, because if you don't try, you need to try for at least three months to really see if there is a possibility to get opportunities from LinkedIn. And we have seen clients from practically any business, from banking to software to drawings to, I don't know, marijuana parties. You know they are like anything you sell. It could be sold through LinkedIn, b2b, even B2C, if you have the right strategy and if you solve the problem of being scared of being visible, of course. Yes, this is the step number one. You need to do it.
Sheila:I love that. And so, Kristina, why don't you tell me, like, what's it like when you were first meeting with a client, Like what are those first building blocks of what you have them go through with you so that they feel more comfortable to actually start moving into their strategy?
Kristína:We want them to trust us, to trust our process, because it's like 10 years of experience distilled in the strategy we will give them, you know. So this is the process we have, like step by step, so they absolutely know what is going on and what will be the next step for them. We show them what can be possible on LinkedIn. So some case studies, some stories we heard or we experienced with our clients. So this is very, very good for them to see what is real on LinkedIn, not some stories that are too big for the busy professional. You know, I'm talking about content creators. They are creating for every single day, for every day in the year, and these kind of people who are working with us are not able to do this. They feel very overwhelmed with social media not very friendly, you know. So we want them to trust us, to trust the LinkedIn and the magic that happens on LinkedIn. And then we will show them the exact steps for at least one or two months. So it's like a short term period and, of course, like the big picture. For the one year we will give them the goal.
Kristína:This is very important to have a goal and if you can measure something on LinkedIn, use it. So, for example, number of contacts, posts, likes, comments and so on. This is everything. It's very, very good information if you are on the right way, but what matters, like what really matters, is the impact for your business. So it doesn't matter if you have like hundreds of likes if you don't have a client from it, and you can have a client from just like one post with two, three likes, so it's completely fine. We saw everything on LinkedIn with our clients, so everything is possible. But we need to share with them the experience and, like the process, like it's health, it's very important for them to know the whole system.
Sheila:Are there. I'd love for both of you to share start starting with Ivana what are your pet peeves that you see people doing or not doing with LinkedIn?
Ivana:Okay, okay. So I will say one more thing that we are using gamification and it has exact steps, exact ingredients, for example.
Ivana:For example, community. So we have individual goals and we have group goals in companies and then really, I wouldn't say forces, but motivates people to help the whole team. For example, yes, so they can say, okay, I'm maybe not so ready to be visible, but all my colleagues are posting, so I can't. You know, let them do that by themselves. Let's help them together and let's do it together as a team. Yes, so this is one of the things that we use. Or, for example, a gratification that needs to be on the short term and the long term. Yes, so, for example, if they see results very soon, we want them to see the first results in 30 days I mean business results and we want our clients to see the first results in terms of engagement in a week or two weeks, so they can really see. And the dopamine, you know, when you see that people like what you have created, this is really what helps them to overcome the fear of visibility. And so what people?
Ivana:Usually the biggest problem with LinkedIn for people is that they underestimate it. Yes, they say, okay, this is some kind of weird network, people in suits. I don't like this. It's too difficult. Maybe I'm not professional enough, especially when it comes to coaches, consultants, healers, you know these kinds of service providers. They say, okay, I don't want to be like too professional, buttoned up, you know, and you need that for LinkedIn. And the thing is that you don't. You just need to be yourself, because it's really exhausting to be somebody else and try to fit to something you think people would like to see. That's really hard and then it's hard. So if you want it to be easy, just be yourself. So this is like number one. Number two is they have to start. We work with clients who have been thinking about starting LinkedIn, probably for months, sometimes years, and when they start they're like, oh, that's not that difficult, you know, you just need to. Oh, I can vouch for that.
Sheila:I'm like, oh, that was easy, why was I waiting?
Ivana:Yes, you just get used to it. And number three is that what people do is that they think they have to create the content. They have to somehow be creative to create the content. But you only need to document what you already do in your day, at your work, with your clients. So you just need to get used to take pictures of events where you are. So when you are with your client, you take a picture, you write down what they said, you send it to them and ask for a praise quote, for example, from them. You know you can tell them. Okay, you said this during our meeting. Could you just post it on LinkedIn, please? You connect with other companies, with your clients, with your suppliers. You can tag them.
Ivana:So the power really is in the network. This is on the individual basis and if you have employees, then really the power is in motivating them to really build the brand. So not only build their personal brand, because this is a common mistake that companies tell their employees okay, go and create, but what will happen? They will build their personal brands, but they forget to build the company brand and you want to really have the strategy in who is building what and for which audience.
Ivana:The architecture of LinkedIn is really a thing that you need when you have a company, so it's not only about the strategy, but about the architecture of company pages and people and personal profiles and how you are using all of that, because otherwise those people are just randomly posting. Yes, and even if you're a solopreneur, you don't want to post randomly. You just want to know who you are talking to. This is the most important thing. Who is your target audience and you need to have exact steps they can take after watching your video or your piece of content or reading something. So you need to give a clear call to action.
Sheila:Yeah, yeah, and that is something people are starting to really catch on to. In the online spaces. They're promoting their businesses, whether they're individuals or businesses on a larger scale. However, it can be really easy to miss, and people can go years without really doing that and wondering, well, why am I not getting traction? So it's great that you have like a that's a very simple process to follow. Really, when you actually do it, it isn't as much work as you would think. Like you say, you're able to do it while you're in the midst of actually building your business.
Sheila:I heard someone say recently I don't know who it was, I'd love to share who they are, but they said something like a lot of people who are business owners get this idea in their head that now they need to, all of a sudden, to have a social presence. They now need to act like influencers and be putting all of this time and effort into production, production, production, when they really that's not their main focus. They do need to have a presence there, but they need to have the time freed up to serve their clients, and it sounds like LinkedIn really serves well in this regard and it can be actually dovetailed nicely into maybe another social media platform, which is what I do. I typically have a few that I'm involved in at any time repurposing content. Linkedin has been a really great place to repurpose content, so thank you for sharing that. Now, ivana, any pet peeves that come to mind for you, that things you see people either doing or not doing with their LinkedIn.
Kristína:What I see is a lot is to copying someone else to copying, for example, the style of writing or the some technical issues, like the systems. That doesn't work for some kind of business. This is a thing like you always have to look at your business in your country, because this is like totally different. We are, as you said, we are working with clients in Slovakia, czech Republic and other countries in Europe and like different continents, and it's totally different in every single country. And, for example, what is very important in Europe is language. This is very important and it's very different for each country. For example, in Spain, if you are writing posts in English, it doesn't work as well as would be in the native language. So this is very, very important to know what is specific for the country you are serving, or like you have your clients, and not just looking in the, you know, like some books with just trends, like actual trends. This is why we created a book which is timeless, because we really want it to people not just have tactics, you know, just like okay, go there and click there, but to have the strategy, the whole strategy and the whole step by step process and, as you said, it's very easy. So this is for me, like, even I said like these are the number ones. You said oh yes, this is my favorite. Okay, I'm going to give the LinkedIn the chance and I will post once a month.
Kristína:This is not like. This is not a good strategy, you know, because you will. You want, if you really want to post on LinkedIn, you have to be visible and posting just once a month that like doesn't make you visible and this is the problem. So people, after trying this strategy, they are frustrated. I'm not saying like you have to post every single day, like, especially in our country, it's not necessary. There are people that are posting, of course, but like it's not necessary.
Kristína:And once a person said, when we said you don't have to post in Slovakia every single day, oh my God. He said like, oh my God, I would be free if I don't have to post every single day. And that's how we feel. This is the, this is the perfect feeling. This is the perfect explanation for the feeling we have. We have so much freedom in our business and in the system we provide to our clients. We don't want them to feel, you know, like just like overwhelmed with LinkedIn. We want them to feel like they can fly with it. Oh my God, I just like you know.
Ivana:I have one. I have one more job. I have a thing people are using robots and this really doesn't help. So if you have a robot, yes, you can have a support group. That means that you have your friends and they see, oh, she posted something. They support you. Yes, this is like a normal support and you support each other.
Ivana:But if you are using robots, linkedin doesn't like that, so your profile could get canceled. We have seen that multiple times. People say, yes, I was, I was just clicking too fast and we're like no, tell us what you did. So the problem with robots is that LinkedIn doesn't doesn't like it. It can get your profile canceled and then you have a problem. You cannot build a community through robots. Yes, through just some robotic comments of great posts. Yes, it doesn't make sense, and we work with really busy professionals. So if you look at people who have thousands of likes, those are people who do it all day Like. Then they spend 10 hours on LinkedIn answering all the comments and doing it manually. And it's not necessary, even in the US. We have clients in the US, in Canada, where the market is really much more saturated than in Europe in general, and you still don't have to post every day. It's not necessary, but you need to be consistent.
Sheila:Yeah, and I've heard, and personally my practice is weekdays in the morning I'll hop on for five, 10 minutes, see if anything came in, answer messages, forward a few things, comment on some things, some people that I'm interested in elevating their message, learning a bit, and then I'm out of there. And I think having that really scheduled is so critical for all of the different elements of our business, so that then you do have the freedom to be serving your clients but also you're freeing up that mental space to be able to allow the next ideas to come. Like that's one thing being an entrepreneur is so important to have is space, space to think, space to allow ideas to come, and connections with other people. And when you have space, that's where interesting networking can happen and ideas and someone phoning you or texting you and then being able to have time to meet with them. So I believe looking at LinkedIn or any other social media platform as something to help us free up our time, not take all of our time, is super important.
Sheila:And speaking of time, I think it's interesting because in speaking with Ivana about the way she is and both of you are moms, right, and you're very involved and present in your children's lives, but the boundaries that you have are so powerful, so I'd love for you to share, I guess, the first thing before I get there writing your book, and how that came together, because both of you were writing it and it happened in a short amount of time. So, like, how long was it from idea to publishing and how long did it actually take for you to write the content? Because this is so inspiring for anyone who wants to write a book. Yeah, so this?
Ivana:is actually the book. I have it here and I'm like, oh it's your baby.
Ivana:Yes, yes, I remember telling Christina, probably in December we should actually write that book. We have been talking about it for a longer time but like casually, yes, and I told her like we should do that, as she was like, okay, let's do it now. So I was very surprised and I was like, okay, okay, let's do it. And probably it was in December. And then we just found a publisher in February. We started February last year, we started to write it and it has been finished probably in May, so I would say like five months.
Ivana:We have had an excellent book coach. This is very important if you are writing a book to have someone to support you, because we had the accountability of the two of us and the book coach waiting for the chapter to come in. And what has been really, really interesting is how you can bend time if you really are in a hurry, and some of the chapters were written very fast. So, of course, everything was outlined. We knew exactly what we wanted to write.
Ivana:We have been doing the same process for over 10 years, so like if you wake up in us in the middle of the night, we can talk about it for hours. So we knew what we are writing about. Yes, it wasn't something new for us, but there has been a chapter that was written in hours. Usually it takes weeks to get a chapter right and really the first draft was written in hours. And this is so cool when you know exactly what you want to say, you know exactly to whom you are saying that and you have the support of our coach, you can get it done really fast. And then we were surprised how the process after writing the book so like the whole editing thing took a long time.
Sheila:Right, because it just launched. Was it last week? Yeah, just last week. And, of course, because of all the work you've been doing over the last decade and promoting the book that it was coming as well in the last year, because you had great guidance, it became a bestseller in its first week. And remember okay, tell me the categories, because you were number three in another category.
Ivana:Remind me, yes there were various categories. The top three was a marketing internet marketing, I guess and a marketing for small business Actually, even though this book isn't only for small businesses, it's also for bigger businesses and in one of the categories, number one place was Alex Hermose's book, and we were number three and it was so cool just to see the books next to each other. So it felt really, really great that we got that support and actually we launched the book during the year, so our audience was prepared Dubai and then, when it was available for them to buy that on Amazon, they did so. It was a process that we were taught by our team that does launches on Amazon how to do it well and, yeah, we were very happy and we were also featured on LinkedIn Book Club. They have an official book club and they featured our book and this is really a huge thing for us too.
Sheila:Absolutely. Oh, my goodness, I just congratulations again for taking the lead, for getting the support. That's the way to go, not trying to just figure it out as you go, because that's why it can take years to write a book, right? So I love it. And now, christina, why don't you share with me, as kind of our parting thoughts on the way that you do keep the boundaries of work and business? So it's something you love so much and I can see by your faces, like and being with Ivana. We were in Miami recently, just like was it two weeks ago? I don't even know. Time is bending, yes, and we were talking business when we were chilling and it was just such a natural thing. So I can only imagine the time together and even alone with yourselves what it's like, because I can identify just the ideas popping all over the place. So how do you establish those boundaries there for your family, for your own personal time, like, alone? Even imagine what does that look like for you and what self-care is lighting you up right now.
Kristína:Okay, so this is a very good question. I love this question and I have very simple solution for people who are working on social media. And is this thing? This is the easiest thing you can do, and for me it's so. You know, it's so simple, but it works. It's, it works so good. I don't have any smart tools, nothing. I have just my smartphone with the you know thing, Only that.
Sheila:So this is for people listening, not watching. It's a case that's closing over top of the phone. So the distraction you can also turn your phone over, but it's it's like having it closed. It's actually that extra step that you don't want to have to do, so that's pretty powerful.
Kristína:It's like a real boundary, you know, like a physical boundary. So this is perfect for me time, because I have I have two year old, so it's like every day I'm with some someone, but I have also, like, of course, I have me time too. It's dancing, dancing it's very special to me, and I am doing Hawaiian dancing here in the my city. It's so cool really, and I have the best group there, the ladies, like every age. So you have the real wisdom of every single part of the life you are searching for, and this is, this is very special to me. And, of course, I love to walk, I love to travel, I love to eat.
Kristína:Now, in my, in my life, it's very, very important to be with people, be around people. So when I told my husband, like I don't want to be alone at like a women's day or mother's day, I don't want to sleep no, not at all. I want to wake up at 6 am and we have to go something, do something, be around people this is, this is very, very important for me and what I love to be with my family, of course. And so what else? So what else? Like food, food is very important to be, to, to feel good, you know, to have a lot of chocolate and fruits and vegetables, very colorful things. So for me it's very, very important to have colorful things around and food is yeah, it's very good.
Sheila:It's so great. I love that you put chocolate first permission for chocolate, good quality chocolate in a midst, a colorful diet of healthy hedge and lean protein, and the fact that you you actually express what you want for special occasions. The people in your life know this is how you would like to spend the day, instead of just hoping and wishing and waiting that someone will read your mind Like that's such a beautiful, beautiful way to really get supported and also for people to know how to support you. I love it. Ivana. What about you? I'm sure there's some similarities. What are your favorite things?
Ivana:Yes, actually there are. When we asked our mom, tell us the things that are similar about us, she only came up with a list of hundred things that are different. But actually when I'm listening, it's like dance for me too. I love to dance. I did ballroom dancing for 12 years and I still love to dance by myself, and I also did Argentinian tango with my husband. This is the best relationship thing you can do together because even though if you are angry and you go to Argentinian tango angry, you cannot come back angry, because it's impossible to dance if you are angry, especially with the tango. And I also love great food to feel really nourished.
Ivana:And when it comes to boundaries we have when we meet together, for example with our parents, we try not to talk business all the time, so sometimes we say, okay, let's stop 40s weekend and let's just focus on just personal conversations. Sometimes we are excited about the project we love to share, but we also have to keep the boundaries when it comes to the personal life and personal stories that we want to share. And I love that we can manage both. And there is yeah, I don't believe in a work-life balance that tries to balance everything. It's just life. Sometimes it's more work, Sometimes it's more life, Sometimes it's complicated, Sometimes it's easy and the thing of really telling what you need so, for example, I need to talk about business right now, or I need not to talk about business during this weekend. It's really really important to know what you want and then people can give it to you.
Sheila:Oh, it is such a powerful message and I'm loving that I'm seeing so many more women doing that, because maybe it wasn't modeled well for us, you know, even cross-culturally until recent years, and so now to be able to see you living that and for your kids to be able to witness that and the beautiful fun things that your kids are up to as well, that's a whole other beautiful conversation. Yes, I am so grateful you could be here today. I feel like this is just like the beginning of a conversation that maybe you should come back and share more Like what's happening, and what I would love to do is I'm going to link your book and the show notes for people to go get it and if there are any other events or things coming up, maybe tell me what else is coming down the pike in terms of, you know, online or in-person events that you may be putting together Right now. Maybe you don't have details for it. Let me know and I'm happy to share.
Ivana:Great. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. We are working on LinkedIn retreats for this year, for example. So this is something we are very, very passionate about, because you can get so much done in two days. Hi, you can get done your content for six months, for example. So we love that, and we will have some online courses, too this year, so definitely going to share more with you and you can link it there.
Sheila:Fantastic. I'll be sharing your website and, yes, you really want to be checking out the retreats these ladies put on, because the last one was in a castle. So, say no more, just sign up and you'll have a great time. What an inspiring place really, and an inspiring, like you say, just the newness of entrepreneurship and of enterprise in the area that you live would have really neat vibe to be involved in that area. So thank you so much for being here.
Sheila:I am so excited that we get to continue the conversation offline as well, and everyone who's listening, go check out this book, go get it on Amazon. It's linked in the show notes and so remember it is the magic of employee influence and if you got something valuable from this episode, tag me on social media. Tag the ladies, go to LinkedIn, follow them and make sure that you share this with someone who may be kind of floundering a little bit with their visibility and wanting to get out there a little more strategically, without the overwhelm. This is a wonderful way to do it. Thank you so much for listening and I look forward to seeing you on another episode. Have a beautiful rest of your day, big blessings.