Beyond The Status Quo Podcast | Entrepreneurship | Career | Finances | Motivation | Personal Development | Relationships

Cristina Cala is the founder of The Why Women Project, a feminist platform powered by a collective of professional women in media, marketing, and more.   Though she began her career in the corporate world, Cristina has been working with freelancers for many years and learned early on the importance of community and building a network. As she’s branched out on her own, she’s grown to understand the difference between the male gaze and the feminine gaze and how that changes her perspective on her business and her personal story. Cristina has deep insights into the freelancing world from a woman’s perspective. In this episode, we talk about the feminist gaze, what it is, and how we can use it to grow together as a community along with many other great topics related to both business and societal challenges. “That's when the growth happens. It happens privately. It's not what you see on Instagram and Twitter. It's not the performative optical of, ‘Oh, I'm talking about it, I'm posting about it. And now I get my

Your clients are the center of your business. Building strong relationships with them is an important part of growth, so today we’re talking about clients - specifically, how to lead an awesome client meeting. I’ve been coaching my team on how best to do this now that we’re scaling up and bringing in more people, and I want to share my insights with you.  These steps seem simple, but even the smallest changes and adjustments can have a huge impact on the success of your client meeting.  “Now more than ever, as more and more of us are remote, we need to make sure we're letting our clients have all the signals they need for the best communication and the best meeting possible” ~ @avanimiriyala Main Takeaways 1. Have the right people in the room Make sure the right parties are in attendance on both sides. Don’t be afraid to leave people out because there is such a thing as too many people in a meeting. It’s best to have all the major decision-makers and managers there. 2. Set up all the tech that supports your

LinkedIn is probably not at the top of your list when you think “Social Media.” A lot of us are glued to Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and focus our marketing efforts there. But there’s a whole world of potential clients on LinkedIn.In today’s episode, I share some tips and tricks about how to get clients using LinkedIn and how you can optimize your presence on the platform so that potential clients can’t click away.  “When you're [interacting with old colleagues on LinkedIn], you're continuing to keep yourself top of mind for that individual. Then when they think of a moment where they need your help, they will message you and think of you first.” ~ @avanimiriyala Main Takeaways 1. Optimize your profile Make sure that every piece of your profile is as optimized as possible — clear language about what you do, quality imagery, testimonials, the whole nine yards. This has a big impact on whether or not someone will work with you.  2. Put your LinkedIn profile link in your email signature When you're emailin

Imposter Syndrome is the feeling that you are doing something you shouldn't be doing. You may feel that you're not well educated or that you’re not good enough in your industry or your field, and that you're just kind of winging it. However, more often than not, these are not true and you’re actually just as qualified as anyone else to do what you’re doing.  In today’s episode, we talk about why we have these thoughts, what we can do to overcome them, and how to move forward.  “I realized being able to quiet our minds, being able to push the junk out of the way is so beneficial for us to then uncover what it is we know to be true, what it is we actually want.” ~ @avanimiriyala Main Takeaways 1. Meditation Meditation is a container for the things that are clouding our thoughts to dissipate. You can’t just meditate one time, you need to practice and stay with it for it to work effectively.   2. Evidence Building Start making a list or thinking of events or pieces of evidence that prove to yourself that you ar

Today’s guest is Edita Atteck. Edita is a personal breakthrough strategist and helps entrepreneurs around the world claim their inner power by guiding them to effectively work with stress. She focuses on helping her clients prevent burnout, unlock resilience, release limiting subconscious programming, optimize their mindset, and maximize their wellbeing in all areas of life. In this episode, Edita and I get to the root of what you can do to level up in your life, how your subconscious affects your perspective on the world, and where to go from here with that knowledge.  “How do we contribute to the world, as opposed to just looking how much we want to have in the bottom line? It used to be such a strong trend to focus on your profit and don't speak up about things that may matter because that may impact your bottom line. For me, that's not entrepreneurship. We are a human family first, then we are entrepreneurs.” ~ @editaatteck Main Takeaways Inner mastery is simply access to our inner power and inventory,

It’s been a wild 2020 so far. The tragic death of George Floyd only compounds that. I’ve never been one to indulge in politics and I often find myself on the sidelines because I don’t feel like I have a good opinion to contribute. However, today I’m sharing the tips that I’ve been using to think about the state of the world, current events, and how I plan on navigating them moving forward. In this episode, I talk about how I’ve been feeling in 2020 thus far with everything going on, self-discovery in the wake of recent events, and what I’m doing moving forward to hear the world around me more and find clarity.  “You have the answers that you're looking for inside of you. You're always going to find info online, on the news, on social media that supports any and all viewpoints. And at the end of the day, to truly understand how you feel and what is right, you need to tune into yourself.” ~ @avainimiriyala 1. Tune out social media There are so many voices out there on social media, that until you turn them o

Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. Today, I take a critical look at the launch of a “Master Class” I attempted earlier this year, and how and why it didn’t go as expected.  The experience made me pause and think about why it really went wrong and what I could have done better.  In this episode, I want to talk about why there’s no such thing as failure and why you’re going to be OK even if you think you failed. Also, how I missed the mark in connecting with my audience, and the five things that you need to ask yourself before launching any new product. “The other thing that I learned from this whole situation was that I wasn't paying attention to my intuition. I was simply copying a launch strategy that I saw and that I had seen work for other people and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is a cool strategy.’” ~ @avainimiriyala No matter what, you’re going to be OK Even when no one was signing up for my master class, and my mind was racing with self-doubt, I took a minute to realize that everything wa

In today’s world, it’s critical that we take charge of how we feel and that we understand that we are the source of our emotions. This mindset can help you move out of negative spaces and restore your feeling of personal power.  Last year, I was certified as a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner. NLP is essentially the study of the mind and how we consistently use our minds to get the results we want in our lives.  Our brains are already creating our desired realities. Our brains are a reflection of what we feed it and our physical realities, so our lives are then a reflection of our brains. Therefore, our real life is a reflection of the life we’re living in our minds.  Here are three ways you can use NLP strategies to create the life you want, as well as how to execute these strategies in your own life.  “You are in the right place at the right time and things are truly working out in your favor. And I believe that with all of my heart. Things are just happening for you. No matter who you are,

Today’s guest is Dr. Janine Kreft. Janine is a former ballet dancer turned psychologist who has experienced tremendous growth on TikTok through her unique take on creating healthy boundaries.  When Janine left the world of ballet, she found the transition very challenging. It caused her a lot of confusion, frustration, and panic, and ultimately led to depression that she sought therapy for. Seeing how life-changing therapy could be, Janine went on to study clinical psychology and she’s now working for the VA as a telehealth psychologist.  Though she never felt quite at home on Instagram, she immediately took to TikTok. And it’s not just about entertainment. Janine uses her TikTok channel to help people better navigate relationships and boundaries through engaging content. And it’s really taken off.  In today’s episode, Janine talks about how she grew from zero to 303,000 followers on TikTok in the first five months of 2020. We also dive into how you can become the CEO of boundaries. "You can't just mimic or

This episode came from an Instagram Live I did with my friend, Richelle Ouellette. Richelle is my go-to resource on all things money-related. She’s someone who understands what it means to become friends with your bank account so that you can have a life of abundance and build a life of financial independence.  We talk about entrepreneurship, money, and mindset. We also discuss the Start from Scratch Summit — an online summit all about helping you with money and growing your income.  “Just because the world or the society that's around us says that something should be some way does not mean we have to actually let it be that way. You are the cause in your own life; you get to decide if those stories are not for you." ~ @avanimiriyala 1. Mindset is key to leveling up There’s nothing more important than mindset when trying to reach that new segment of your business. If you want to get more out of life or business, you need to step into being the person who has more. You need to act like the person who has mo

As we start to emerge from quarantine, it can be difficult to figure out what to do. Where do we go from here?  The silver lining in this pandemic is that there is immense opportunity for freelancers and agencies. We will be in demand, sought after, and ready to get to work as soon as everything comes back online.  If you were wondering how you were going to complete your goals for 2020, this will be a good episode for you because I have some bold predictions about what the post-quarantine world will look like, and why it looks great for freelancers. In this episode, we’ll talk about what I’ve enjoyed about my quarantine time, what questions a lot of freelancers will have about this new world we're experiencing, and why I’m excited for this new way of doing business.  "This is another opportunity for us to position ourselves as high level impactful and specialized agencies and experts who are going to come in and save people's work lives. That's a huge, massive value that we can bring to our clients in this

It's day 45 of quarantine and my mind has finally transitioned to "Play” and “Fun." It’s important to continue to have fun and create play even though you might not have as much freedom as you'd like.  In today’s episode, I talk about why I’m struggling with quarantine, what I’ve discovered about myself in lockdown, how I’m working to regain some control in my life even though much of what’s going on is out of my control.  Even though we're all on lockdown, here are 10 ways I'm creating more play in my life, and how you can too.  “I challenge you to ask yourself a powerful question. How can I create freedom even though I'm stuck at home? How can I create that?" ~ @avanimiriyala 1. Making TikTok videos Admittedly, this might not be for everyone, but I have a background as a semi-pro dancer. I used to do Indian classical dance and perform all over the Chicago area. This is a blast for me and anyone can get caught up exploring the TikTok rabbit hole. 2. Reading for fun I've been revisiting the Outlander series

2020 did not start off how any of us would have expected. I had goals for my business this year, and I'm sure you did too. But, for right now, a lot of those goals have to take a back seat. I realized that this "slow down" can be reframed as a time of opportunity, where I can still take steps to grow the business, and I'd like to share those with you this week! In this episode, we’ll talk about how to adapt goals to fit the current environment, growing your audience through collaboration, and updating your systems to make business even easier when it picks back up. "Take the opportunity to make the most of this time so that you can look back and be so thankful that you did what you did during this slow time. It will allow you to skyrocket and move forward in a way like never before." ~ @avanimiriyala 1. Get more rest This is the perfect time for you to recharge and unplug. That could mean reading, hanging out, or just doing nothing for a little bit to unwind. It could also mean picking up new hobbies or cre

Losing a client is never easy, especially during the tough times we're in right now. As freelancers, we depend on our clients to keep us afloat and when we lose one of them, it's easy to take that loss personally. It's important to take a step back if we start to feel that way and instead step into a neutral headspace on the subject.  In today’s episode, we’ll explore four ways you can reframe losing a client so that you see the opportunity in the challenge rather than letting it get you down or add more stress to what’s already likely a stressful time for you and your business.  "We reframed it. We saw it as an opportunity. We instilled that confidence with affirmations and we decided that we were going to move forward. We decided to make this the next step to the best moment, and the best time of our lives." ~ @avanimiriyala 1. Reframe the situation Try to find the good in the situation. It could open up more time for you to focus on other projects and clients. Or it could be a chance to pursue more ideal

This pandemic has affected all of us differently;  some of us more than others. People have been laid off, gotten sick, or lost loved ones, and my heart goes out to them. It's important that we support each other during these trying times. I encourage you to call and connect with the people you love. We all need it so much. Over the three weeks I've been in quarantine, I’ve picked up a few tips that might help you through this crazy time and help you move forward bit-by-bit, so you can look at things in a better light. "Pick up the phone and FaceTime someone that you love. I think you should do it right now. If someone's struggling or if they're not struggling outwardly, call them. They probably are struggling on the inside and we're all experiencing new things right now that we've never experienced before."  In this episode Avani talks about: The importance that reframing and gratitude can have on your mental health.  How setting goals can help you feel accomplished while at home. How to allow yourself to

Today’s guest is Selene Vakharia. Selene is an online business and marketing coach for entrepreneurs. She works with her clients to help them attract their dream customers so they can take their businesses and passions full time. Selene is intently focused on helping businesses attract their dream clients through authentic marketing. Her definition of authentic marketing is being aware of who you are and what works well for you. Essentially, seeing prospective clients from the angle of how much value you can add to their business versus only the number that comes with making a sale. By starting to build her brand before she had anything to sell, she was able to focus on people and the needs that weren’t being met. This allowed her to have a solid understanding of how to approaching selling and marketing when she was finally ready to sell something. The conversation in this episode focuses on marketing your business, which is a cornerstone of creating a growing and thriving business. With so much that is hap

On today’s show, Kristin Molenaar, founder of Yes Boss VA, talks about how to use virtual assistants to help with the smaller business tasks while you work on the higher-level items that drive your business forward. Kristin didn’t start as an entrepreneur, even though she always felt entrepreneurial. Her early career was in the beauty industry, but feeling stifled in her corporate job, she walked away to start her own business in 2014. She tried consulting in the beauty industry, since that’s where her experience was, but she quickly realized she didn’t really like the industry. The first year out of her 9-5 was a struggle, but was determined to make it work. Rather than force something, she started taking freelance jobs. She picked up clients here and there and eventually grew to a point where her husband could quit his job and she could focus full-time on building the business. Eventually, she built her business into what it is today, Yes Boss VA, a service where Kristin helps solo entrepreneurs accelerat

My guest today is Dee Gautham. Dee is the owner of Dee Gautham Fitness and is a NASM certified personal trainer. She’s also the founder of the Boss Body Method of coaching to help busy, professional women get into their best shape ever – both physically and mentally. Dee spent her early career working in Silicon Valley in the software industry. She eventually quit her 9-5 job to be a freelance coach and now she runs her own company with a team of coaches. As a freelancer, Dee went through times of working from home and setting her own schedule, so she’s pulling from her personal experience as well as the experience of her clients. She went through times when she was working with large groups of people, and then the pendulum would swing in the opposite direction. She got to a point where she felt very lonely and her mental health started to deteriorate as a result. But Dee was able to find ways to combat the feelings of isolation and loneliness. Given the state of the world right now and how it’s impacting wo

Morning routines are one of my favorite things and I believe they’ve been foundational to everything in my life, including relationships, my personal life, my health and wellness, and my business. In today’s episode, I share tools and tips for how to construct the perfect morning routine for you. These are tools that I’ve found to help me and I believe will be useful for you, too. I call this my 4-part toolkit for crafting a morning routine. “I started doing my morning routines even before I started my business. This was something that helped me feel grounded, helped me feel more like me every single day, and I’m really grateful that I found this.” In this episode Avani talks about: Limiting your phone use before you start your day. How gratitude can help cast positive energy into your mornings. Things that you want to learn in the morning vs. those you don’t. 1. Clearing Clear all of that “gunk” out of your brain. This can include negative self-talk, thought patterns, bad dreams, etc. It all builds

There’s a lot of noise out there on the internet about how we can attract clients to our freelance business. Most of the advice out there is focused on posting a certain type of content on social media or creating complex automated email campaigns. The problem is that most of the time these strategies don’t work, especially if we don’t have the right audience or a large enough audience. In this episode, we’ll talk about some actionable tips that you can follow in order to grow your own client base, and lay out the exact client attraction strategy that I use in my own business to keep my client pipeline full. “The number one question you should be asking your potential client is, “How can I support you?” This question makes them feel like you truly care about them beyond your own bottom line.” In this episode Avani talks about: Making sure you have the right audience for your business. Recognizing your clients as actual people with wants, dreams, and needs. The importance of reaching out and maintaining