As Christians, leaders can be bombarded by messages of humility, meekness, avoiding greed and the perils of prosperity. Michael sits down with mindset coach Stina Maloney. They discuss the fear of success and why leaders and entrepreneurs might fear or even sabotage success.
Show Episode Transcript
Manufacturing Leadership
Entrepreneurship and Money-Limiting Beliefs with Stina Maloney
Welcome to manufacturing leadership, a podcast for young professionals in and out of the oil and gas industry. And now here's your host, Energy WelFab's Michael Clements.
Michael C.: Hello listeners, welcome to manufacturing leadership, an oil and gas podcast, I'm your host Michael Clements. And I'd like to welcome our special guest today busy mama, four kids and still finds time for faith, being an entrepreneur and oh yes mentoring others, welcome miss Stina Maloney, how are you doing today?
Stina Maloney: Hi, thank you so much for having me, I'm doing great.
Michael C.: Well I'm excited to hear about the money mindset, and what you offer as a business coach for online entrepreneurs. But before I would like to give our listeners a quote from your website, you were created in love with a beautiful passion, unique talents and abilities, why not use those God-given gifts to make a difference in the world and be compensated for it, I'm ready to hear about this so let's get started.
Stina Maloney: Alright.
Michael C.: Well a little bit of background on yourself faith, family, what do you got?
Stina Maloney: Well like you mentioned I'm a mom of four, they are age’s toddlers to teens, so this past year we were dealing with everything from potty training to first boyfriends, so that definitely keeps me busy. I've got three girls and then a little boy who's here with me today, and they have been homeschooled until this year, this is their first year in public school, so that has taken one huge responsibility off my plate and given me a little opportunity to expand the business that I'm doing online, and to help and serve others a little bit more.
Michael C.: So where was your hometown, where'd you grow up?
Stina Maloney: I grew up in commerce which is not too far from here in East Texas area, I always say yes I'm an East Texas native with a brief stopover in West Texas for a college education, that's about as far as I've traveled, I mean roamed. Of course I've traveled to different places, but as far as my hometown I'm definitely a Texas native.
Michael C.: So where'd you go to school in West Texas?
Stina Maloney: An Abilene Christian University and that's where I met my husband, so we're college sweethearts, we married in college and by the time we're graduated we had the first little one on the way, so that's been our journey as parents and trying to make ends meet and trying to follow God's will throughout the past 15 years.
Michael C.: Well that's wonderful, and so how did you get started in your career, what was your first job?
Stina Maloney: My first job was taking care of my kids I think actually, of course I had little jobs here and there in high school, in college but as far as how I got to be where I am it was really that my primary calling was to be a mom, to stay home with the kids that was when I was wanted to do. And didn't anticipate but I got this degree, I have a degree in interior design of all things, but that's the thing that's not so easy to do when you want to stay home, you can't really design other people's interiors when you're staying at home, you kind of have to get out in the world and do that. But when I did graduate with that degree and had this little one on the way, I realized that my life was going to be different than I expected it to.
I was going to not have that career and then start a family; it was going to be family from the get-go. So that changed things, changed my direction a little bit, and then as a mom staying home and having kids of course I've got four now, but probably when I had one or two then we were really struggling to make ends meet. We had a lot of debt like a lot of people do, student loan debt and other things, my husband was just getting started into his career, and I was looking for ways to ease the family finances, to get started and get things a little bit more manageable for us, so I was looking for different ways to make money from home.
And I learned so many different things; the Internet has just given us tons of opportunities to do that. I started with I think my first little venture was a blog or it might have been photography, I went back and forth between blogging and photography for a couple of years, I learned a lot in those years. Took some online courses to learn entrepreneurship, to learn business management, marketing, branding all that stuff that I just love and started seeing some success in each of these businesses.
And then I would get overwhelmed with life, and overwhelmed with the responsibilities of it and I would start to kind of almost invent excuses of why this wasn't going to work, and I would shut it down, turn away, go back to regular life for a little while and then realize that money would sure be nice if we had that business going why did I shut that down again and jump back into that again.
Start trying to work on that business again, or a different business, so it seems like no matter what I did I couldn't shut off this entrepreneurial bug that's inside of me, it was just part of my psyche, part of what I was driven to do is I wanted to make money, I wanted to have a business and I couldn't really figure out why I kept shutting it down.
And that was when I learned about a fear of success, I discovered there is such a thing as a fear of success and why would I be afraid of success. Started digging into lots of resources about that and that's really how I ended up where I am right now as a mindset coach, because it's so essential in any entrepreneurial endeavor or really even in any endeavor if you're doing management or leadership, you have to be comfortable with taking that next step, you have to be okay with moving into a bigger version of yourself and achieving success. And there are mental barriers that can lead us to self-sabotage, to get overwhelmed and scared and shut things down even when things are going well.
Michael C.: So what helped you move through those barriers?
Stina Maloney: That's a good question. So I actually started doing some research online about fear of success, and fear of failure just trying to self-diagnose, what is it that's causing me to do these self-sabotaging things. And I came across several resources, a lot of it was really great information about uncovering the root of these fears and what's causing that to the begin with, and however those resources very often would lead into a very new age sort of thinking that conflicted with my Christian faith. Different concepts about what you deserve and I would go I don't know that I deserve that, I'm supposed to be humble or the universe has got your back, the universe is going to support you and you're meant to be rich and I was like I don't know that I am meant to be rich and I had all these questions.
So of course I prayed because I'm Christian, I prayed about it and I read the Bible, and I started looking for answers and I found that so much of what was being taught was true scripturally as well, and I found the connection point. There are some things there that we as Christians we are supposed to be humble, but we're not supposed to be hiding, there's a difference there. And found really the point that would allow me to grow into as I say to let your light shine, it would let you to grow into that point that's letting you do the good work that God has placed in your life to do, and be free from the limitations and the barriers of those fears about success, fear of failure, fear of being seen, fear of visibility all those things that come up for myself and for my clients over and over again.
Michael C.: So once you made that connection of Scripture to what you were wanting to do as an entrepreneur, did that have added motivation for you?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, that gave me the ability to go and say yes okay this is a good thing, this is a valuable thing for me to do. I'm actually not in this I knew I wasn't pursuing money, but I had this drive to be business, and I was like what is that? And what it really comes down to is a creative endeavor, we're driven to create and we're driven to serve others and you know what it takes money to do that. It takes money to have the equipment, it takes money to set up a website or to build your products if you're in product sales and whatever it is, it takes money to create things and to serve other people.
And there's also the ethics of an even exchange of value, that if you want someone to receive something of value from you, you have to require an exchange of value from them in return. So I started to see that there is benefit in that exchange of money, and that it's not all about me getting money, it's about providing something of value to others and then letting the money circulate as though it's just an energy around us that it's just part of our communication, it's how we communicate value.
And just like we're not going to limit our words with each other, we're not going to stop talking to each other because we know that will shut us down, we're also not going to limit the trade and I'm not going to say no you can't pay me for that, because I knew it would limit the exchange of value.
Michael C.: So how long did you go as an entrepreneur, like once you started, how long was it before you really made that connection or was that something you had from day one?
Stina Maloney: Made what connection?
Michael C.: Made the connection of your faith with being an entrepreneur and wanting to really push yourself forward, and knowing that you were going to do good with the tools you were given.
Stina Maloney: I'm not sure how long that took, it was a journey. Because like I said at first my motivation was hey our family needs money, and I was motivated by money, and then I think that was probably what caused me to fear going any further, because I felt like there was a limit to how much money is acceptable. And we have these needs and our family needs this much amount of money, but then as soon as those needs are met and this is what I see in my clients all the time, I only need this much and then as soon as those needs are met we think anything beyond that is sinful or somehow wrong or greedy or something, there's something innately negative to continuing to expand a business which is not at all true.
Because if you look at your business is just a creative endeavor that's serving people, and solving problems, and fulfilling needs then obviously you don't want to limit that. Why would you say I only want to serve people as much as I need money in exchange for, so it was a long time before I got to that point where I realized I don't need to limit this, it was several years. And that's why I help people right now with starting their businesses, so you can start out from the get-go going I'm just going to go with this at full throttle and see how far can I go.
Michael C.: So it sounds like if you have a good idea say you're an entrepreneur and you're wanting to start a business or start another business, you're making those connections it sounds like right now that okay if I'm going to do that, not only does my motivation need to be, I need to make money, that needs to be a motivation from the get-go.
But at the same time it sounds like that there are some barriers that entrepreneurs are going to put on themselves, especially from a Christian perspective, am I doing right, am I going to do right in the future if I am successful. Was this a question that you faced?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely. There's a question that we have that and this really comes from our culture and our society that all the media that we see, think about every movie you've ever seen the rich guy is the bad guy right, and we immediately think if I start making too much money I'm going to be the bad guy, I'm going to somehow change. And what we find is that's really not true at all, people who are good people when they become wealthy they do good with their money, people who are greedy and selfish and stingy from the beginning when they make a lot of money they're just as greedy and selfish and stingy and uncaring.
But money doesn't change who you are, and that's something I work with my clients a lot to help them realize that that future self is still you, it's just you with new experiences. You're not going to change who you are, your values are not going to change and we work on expressing gratitude to that part of yourself that says hey, I don't want to become a bad guy, because that part of your brain is there to keep you safe, it's there to help you stay who you are.
So you want to say thank you for keeping me safe, and thank you for identifying what my true values are and what my true self is. I acknowledge that and I'm going to move forward, and I'm going to continue with this without violating those values.
Michael C.: So in Scripture it says there's nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ, money or success is not going to magically become one of those things. So it sounds like if you're an entrepreneur and you have a good idea and you want to help others, it sounds like God's going to be for you, now does that mean that you're just automatically going to be successful, no it doesn't mean that, but it does mean that hey if you have something there's no reason you shouldn't try it, that's what I'm hearing right now.
Stina Maloney: Exactly, that's right. Whenever you are given that you're given a gift what your talents are and your abilities, you're given a calling and that's the thing, the problem that you feel compelled to solve, the thing that you see and the thing you keep wanting to do, the thing you can't stop doing that's your calling. And when you lean into that and you use those talents and you complete your calling, you're going to continue to do good work. And the Bible says when you let your light shine that others will see your good works, and glorify your father in heaven.
Michael C.: So whenever you pray and whenever you discuss your business with God, what are some of the things you look for is it wisdom, is it guidance, discernment what do you ask for as far as what you're requiring in your business?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, I ask for truth, I want to know the truth and that was one of the things that started me on this path was God show me the truth about money. I loved what you said about nothing can separate us from the love of God, because that was something that was very impactful to me was I realized that money cannot take from you your salvation like nothing is that powerful. It's not powerful enough to lead you away from what God is already giving you freely, so it just doesn't have that power.
And Paul says whether I'm rich or poor I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, so we can do that no matter what it is. If your business fails you're going to be okay, so you don't have to fear failure, if your business takes off and make a million dollars in a year, you're going to be okay because you can do either one and you're not going to change, and your relationship with God is not going to change as long as you stay connected to him.
Michael C.: That's was a wonderful observation you just made about, even if you fail there's nothing that's going to separate you from the love of Christ. So is there really anything that can be taken away from you? Yes, you can lose money, yes you may can lose I don't want to say credibility, but you know maybe your ego maybe hit a little bit. But at the end of the day the Lord is going to humble us at times, and you know I tell my team every day it's learning experiences, we don't have failures we just learn, but we do need to learn quick.
So I think that's a wonderful mindset, and I think it's also wonderful that you've been able to spot ways to lean on Christ to help you as you've started your business. And tell us a little bit, I'm sure there's times that you only can turn to God as a single entrepreneur, and when you're the only person in the business it presents a lot of challenges, right?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, definitely keeping my own mindset in intact is a big one. I always tell my clients that the mindset stuff works but it's like taking a shower, you got to keep doing it. It works and you get yourself in that confidence, and you get free from those fears, and you're ready and you take a step and then you come to the next level and you have to do it again, you have to do it again.
Michael C.: How much did you lean on family starting out whenever you went into business for yourself?
Stina Maloney: Oh my goodness, that is something that I think anybody who started a business knows it takes a lot of hustle and hard work in the beginning, and I always try to tell my clients there's a period of hustle, but if you stay in that too long you're going to burn out and you really just can't sustain that. But in that time when you're pouring all your energy and all your efforts into getting something off the ground, if there's some stuff that's going to slide some housework doesn't get done, and there's meetings and things, kids events that I might miss because of that, but my family has been able to support me in that.
My husband has been fantastic, he was perfectly fine with picking up slack around the house, like I said as long as it's for a season and all he knows all right once you get that thing launched then we're going to get back to our routines. And my kids have been really good and understanding that there's mommy's here, mommy works at home, but I have work time and family time.
And we've just had to be real clear and establish those boundaries, but they understand that this is my time when I'm working, and also that I understand I have to put a cap on that. I think that's one of the hardest things for people who work at home to do, you don't leave the office, you don't check out right you don't go oh I'm going to be home by 6:00 p.m. because you're already home. So you have to say I have to step away from this, and I have to get my head out of the business and go back into the regular life.
Michael C.: That can't be easy at times.
Stina Maloney: It's really not. I mean any kind of job there's projects you're working and you're like I'm not done with that, I need to continue that but life happens and life needs you, and that's what that balance is important, it's really important.
I would say balance doesn't look like what we think it does, it's not this perfect symmetrical stable thing it's more like a seesaw where you have the rise and fall. You have to give all your energy to one thing but only for a time and you can flip back and give your energy to the other thing, so that things remain in balance.
Michael C.: That's a great analogy. And I got to give you a compliment here, your son is in here with us right now and very well behaved, so I think you're doing something right with your four children.
Stina Maloney: Thank you.
Michael C.: Yes, so let's talk a little bit about money mindset, what is this?
Stina Maloney: Well your money mindset would be the beliefs that you have around money, and then we've already talked about that a lot the fear of being successful, the fear of failure, and that notion that maybe rich people are wrong or rich people are bad in some way. There's actually lots and lots of stories that we tell ourselves around money and success, and just work what your work should be like, what your work life looks like and we're not even really aware of it, because it's all in this subconscious part of our brain that it comes from when we were little kids and we see things happen and we take it as truth or we make up stories about why did that happen.
If mom and dad are arguing about money and we say money causes arguments, and we take that, we plant it away in our brain as truth and it becomes that money is a negative thing. Or if like I said we see TV shows where the rich guy is the bad guy, and we go well rich people are greedy and we lock that away in truth. And it impacts our lives and it impacts the choices that we make, because subconscious brain acts as kind of a filter to filter what we see and to filter all that information around us through those beliefs to allow us to see what we want to see in life.
Michael C.: So a lot of our perception of money it sounds like is something that we've developed since childhood, something we've seen, something we've heard, something that it's just become kind of part of us indirectly. Are there I guess there are ways to get around this?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely yes, so that's what I do in the course that I think we're going to talk about a little bit. But we dig into the root of those beliefs, what are they first of all so I have this long list of different beliefs that you can go through and kind of rate and see which one's resonate with you the most, some of them you may go wow I don't think that all and other ones you think oh man is that not true, because I always just thought that was true.
It resonates with you so much that you are okay I just believed that was absolutely the way the world is, trying to think of a couple of examples like to make more money you have to work really hard, and so when you believe something like that you don't do what comes easily to you or you don't value what comes easily to you, which I think is kind of contradictory to what God wants us to do. Like we all have these gifts, we're supposed to use our gifts that our gifts should come easily to us, why would we force ourselves to do something hard because we value that more. It's really about well we can talk about that a long time about valuing what comes easily to you, or devaluing what comes easily to you and valuing what comes easily to others.
There's a reason why we do that, and it's because we need each other, we need each other, we need to exchange value with each other like I said that's that communication of value. So that's just one of the mindset beliefs, but you actually how we get rid of them we dig into and identify them first of all, and then we look at the stories and the experiences you had as a child.
And it may not be anything huge and dramatic, it might not have been that your family was arguing about things, it might have just been one small thing where somebody said oh that money is burning a hole in your pocket, or little phrases that you picked up and just looking into that and questioning your beliefs, and as we question that we go is that true, and what is the truth and even if that is true how does that need to impact my path going forward.
Michael C.: And so as you were starting on your money mindset and learning more about this, and uncovering some of these revelation or thoughts you were having, as you're discovering this and discovering your own journey, how did it start shaping your mindset and okay this is how I want to set my business up, this is the direction I want to go, when did all that start to come together for you?
Stina Maloney: I think it was kind of a slow process, it wasn't really a that's when it suddenly everything happened. I just realized that I wanted to see growth in my business and I wasn't, and I was looking at what am I doing, where's this self-sabotage coming from. And as I began to work through that and deal with my own issues, I was also simultaneously praying for a message and something to set me a part of the market, I knew I wanted to be a business coach and I was good at it, but there's a million-in-one business coaches out there. So you kind of have to have your thing, okay what's my thing going to be, what's my message, what is the thing that I'm meant to share.
Which also goes into my faith is that I believe we have a calling, how can I use this creative business aspect and this entrepreneurial mindset gifts that I've been given, and also contribute to the kingdom. Now I don't think that every business has to contribute to the kingdom, I think there are some things that you do for money and some things that you do for God, but if you can find a connection point all the more wonderful. So I was looking for is there a connection point and that was when I realized oh all this stuff I've been learning, this is the problem that I can help other people solve, this is the thing that I am uniquely equipped.
I talked with my clients that what are you uniquely equipped to solve, what's the problem that you can do, I don’t know light bulb that's it, that's what my thing is that I am uniquely equipped to solve this because I have this unique story, that I have gone through a lot of this money mindset stuff, but I've also been very connected to my faith and digging into the scriptures through the whole thing. And I looked in the marketplace and I never could find a connection where people were taking the Word of God and the psychology aspects and connecting that, that's what I need to do.
Michael C.: Yes. One thing I see a lot of is you get on Instagram, you get on social media and you see a lot of leaders out there and what appear to be I mean they look like good leaders, they're successful, I guess they have money, they're building businesses, and they’re doing things.
But one thing I see associated with success a lot of times it's just really bad language, it’s one thing I don't know I just associated with success sometimes. And I kind of had that battle myself internally was that like you have to talk a certain way; you have to be a certain way to get ahead. Are those thoughts something that you've thought about; is that something that you've seen yourself from other leaders on social media?
Stina Maloney: Oh absolutely, like I said just about any of the mindset things and the business coaches I was following were not lining up with my beliefs, whether it was using bad language. There are a couple of very popular coaches that talk about money that they swear in every post, I don't know where did that come from and that was really where I wanted to offer a counterpoint to that.
I was I don't think that has to be, just like I say we dig into our beliefs and we question, that's what I said is I just questioned it, does that have to be that way?
Michael C.: I'm glad there's someone like yourself for entrepreneurs to be able to look up to, because when you're on social media you're seeing that especially as a young entrepreneur you may be thinking well I got to be that way, is that who I have to be? No, you don't have to be that way, but you see more of that than you do the other.
Stina Maloney: Exactly, I think part of that comes from the desire to be bold and outrageous and strong, and we know we can be bold and outrageous and strong and brave and do these things without going into that, that's really not that courageous, to swear like that's normal, there's nothing outrageous about that anymore. What's really countercultural I think is to take risks and to be brave, and not have fear of failure because you have a peace about it.
Michael C.: Yes, I find it a lot rarer to see entrepreneurs and leaders saying that Jesus was the reason for their success and that no praise God not me, I think it's important for us to understand we just have to be good stewards of what we're given from God. And something you touched on earlier I wanted a backtrack a little bit on as you were discussing for entrepreneurs like what comes easy, and sometimes you know you may feel guilty about what comes easy for you so you do something different.
For maybe the entrepreneur out there that is thinking okay maybe photography comes easy for them, maybe Web Design comes easy for them, maybe something on the computer or it could be building fences or lawn and garden it could be a lot of different things that maybe come easy for you that you see there's a market for, how would you encourage entrepreneurs to pursue that?
Stina Maloney: Oh absolutely, just first of all recognize it and identify that that is your value, that's what you're meant to do, that's so exciting. If you know what comes easily to you congratulations, you've touched on the path you're supposed to take; you've already identified that part. A couple of weeks ago I was in a volunteer situation, and the volunteer coordinator said okay ladies those of you who are crafty I want you to come and help over here, and those of you who do not have the crafty gene you can help with the cleanup in this area, and a friend of mine nearby she went oh my goodness I can't do anything crafty, she was just kind of sounded down on herself about that, she's like give me a spreadsheet and some calculator or something like that and I'm good to go, but crafty things are not my point, that's not my gift.
And I was just kind of like staring at her blankly, I'm so confused because spreadsheets give me anxiety, and I was like I have this creative gene I can't shut off is that the crafty stuff I think and I was over here doing this like the opposite. Well I mean I can do creative things and it's not really that important, I mean I'm not super crafty, already we were both downplaying our gifts in that moment and I thought wow what a picture of what we do to ourselves. We just say well this thing that comes easily to me that's just not worthwhile, whatever it's easy, it's not a big deal but it is a big deal.
It is a big deal because that's what you're meant to do, the Bible talks about hands and eyes and the different parts of the body that they each do their roles, if the eye said well I mean I can see but I can't grasp anything, so I don't really need to be an eye. And they kind of put themselves down like that, what would we do if we had four hands and no eyes, that wouldn't work out right. You know we are designed and gifted to fill a role and whatever that is that's fantastic, that's a super valuable thing. When you devalue that because you think oh it comes easily to me, a friend of mine says you're acting like a spoiled teenager, you've got all these gifts and you're saying they're not worth anything.
Michael C.: Well in your mindset it has to be all relative too, it can't just be well yes maybe you're not good at basketball compared to Michael Jordan, but compared to me you're probably pretty good. But you can really put yourself in a bad place when it's all relative if you're comparing yourself to others, or comparing yourself to something that maybe not even attainable. I mean it's kind of like if you said, well I'm not going to play basketball unless I'm as good as Michael Jordan, well you're probably you don't play.
So I think it's relative and I think it's interesting that you hit on that, because I would encourage others to do things they enjoy, one of the things I found that I enjoy I like doing marketing, I like doing digital marketing, it's something I wish I could do more of, luckily enough I have our producer Gabby that helps with those types of things here in the office and with our business. But that's the kind of stuff I like doing on the weekend, and if I ran away from that, if I didn't do it and I said well, because there was a time I felt well this comes easy for me, maybe I'm really not helping my business out, maybe I need us to do something different.
But whenever you're having fun and you enjoy it, well luckily enough I overcame those things and now I've been able to work with somebody else and see her now grow and get better at what she's doing, and had I not done that they were taking the jump a few years ago and said hey I'm going to pursue trying to learn how to do marketing materials, and photography and these things, I may not even be able to do this podcast today.
Stina Maloney: Right, exactly.
Michael C.: So I think it's something that builds up and whenever you start chasing what does come easy for you and what is your passion, I believe things really in a way kind of just start to happen around you more or less. You don't even know what's occurring or why it's occurring, but you know that's where also our faith comes in to play very importantly.
And I always like to think with my mindset that faith plays a big part in it, any success that I may come across or any value I may gain it's all the Lord's. And hopefully as I grow and as others grow, we remember that all goodness comes from God and it's really the only thing that's important is salvation, so as long as we have salvation no one can take that away from us, we're going to be just fine.
Stina Maloney: Absolutely.
Michael C.: Yes, so talking a little bit, let's get into your money mindset course; you're going to tell us a little bit about the course?
Stina Maloney: Yes, so the course is designed for entrepreneurs who are generally looking to start a business online or have a business online. So it digs into like we talked about the root of your money beliefs, what are your beliefs about money and is that affecting your business somehow. And then we look at the stories that you've experienced and the influences of your family when you were growing up, and different influences, different beliefs that you may have about money and how is that impacting you.
Then we start digging into what is the truth, what is the scriptural truth about money and how does that really play into our business, how are we going to latch on to what God says about money instead of just this fear that we have, or these limiting beliefs that we have. And then the next phase of that is to dig up those beliefs and replace them with the truth, and we use some hands-on psychology, techniques that will help you to actually reshape that and it's kind of using a calming technique and some self-analysis and just self-affirmations and things like that. To help you begin to believe the new truths, your conscious brain can start to believe things, but your subconscious has to be reprogrammed.
So after we get through all that then I talk about the ways that we do allow God to bless us in our life, what does it take to have a successful business, so what does it take to allow those moments of serendipity that we come where things just seem to line up and just how did that happen, where did that come from. And so there are actually some practical steps we can take to allow that, I wouldn't say that we control that, I don't think that we don't do this and expect God to do this and try and manipulate him in that way because obviously we can't do that. But there are ways that we can put ourselves in the right place and see that, and one of them is gratitude, offering gratitude, completely changes everything.
Because when we when we do that we say it's not all on me, when I acknowledge God's hand in my business I am giving him that control in the way and I'm saying you know what it wasn't all about what I did. Then from there I move into looking at what does come easily to you, and how are you uniquely gifted to solve problems, and what problems are special, what problems really hit your heart or make you angry or what whatever that is and how can you begin to build that into your business.
So along with the money mindset courses I've seen just talk about the beliefs part or maybe even the they use the term manifesting you know about creating these opportunities for wealth to come into your life. But I feel like they just kind of leave you there, and I wanted to give it that one little step extra that's sort of the precursor to all the other business courses I've ever taken is figuring out who you are, and who you're meant to be in a business aspect.
Michael C.: And how does that process start for an individual trying to find out who they are or what they're supposed to be doing?
Stina Maloney: Well it's kind of what I talked about asking yourself those questions what makes you mad, what makes you sad, what breaks your heart and what are the problems that you can see and you can I just wish there was something someone could do about that. One of the problems that I would see was I see a lot of women that want to stay home and be with their kids, but they can't afford it, that was a problem that just really like nagged at me. I was like I know there's a way for women to make money online, I've seen the businesses that just take off and you can do it from home and you can be present with your kids, you can fulfill that calling that you have about being a wife and mother and this entrepreneurial endeavor.
This is a fantastic time in the world, there's never been a time where we could do this quite so easily, and it just really broke my heart to see mom saying well I have to put him in daycare even though I don't want to. If you want to go work in the workplace go for it I have no problem with that, but then what I hated seeing what people were saying I don't want to do this, and they felt disempowered to change that situation, so that was an issue that was heavy on my heart. For other people there are different things, we all have things that really break our heart or infuriate us or just really make us happy.
Like if you're into photographing families it might really make you happy to see that family in that situation, and see the love between them, maybe that's that lights you up inside. So digging into those things that are just a little spark of passion for you, and then I look at your personality type and your interests and your experiences and your education, like I said earlier what can you not stop doing, what can you not stop learning about, what are those things that you're constantly looking into doing and just acknowledging that about yourself and acknowledging that that is who you're created to be, and that is your calling, your talents and then finding the intersection of how you can solve those two things, how you can use those two things together.
Michael C.: So how hard is it, some of those questions you are asking what makes you mad, what makes you sad, how hard is it for entrepreneurs to open up to you once you start this coaching with them?
Stina Maloney: It's really not hard at all, I find that most of us are really; when people come to me they're looking for answers, so they're looking for someone to help them with those tough questions. The course that I have is self-led, so a lot of that's just questions they answer for themselves, but I do have sort of a group component of it there's a Facebook group and there's live interaction in there, so if they get stumped or if they do want to share a little more vulnerability or get feedback, I'm available in that way.
And then of course I have my clients that I work one-on-one with, and like I said when they come to me they're ready to talk, they're going I need to share this with somebody, I need somebody to listen to me what's going on in my head and help me find the answers here, so they're ready to talk.
Michael C.: And did you have any coaching yourself?
Stina Maloney: For a long time I did not, but I do have a coach now, I went through a lot of different courses and things where I had guidance and support but it was more of an education type thing, it wasn't a unique one-on-one type situation. But as I started getting further into it, I was that you know what it's time for me, it's time for me to have my own coach, so she says she helps me when I start getting a little derailed.
There's a lot of lot of different areas that you can find coaching in too, so I particularly helped with mindset and the foundations of your marketing, your brand strategy basically, but some people help with marketing specifically or your advertising or Facebook campaigns or whatever, there's a lot of different areas that you can get help with.
Michael C.: And for the entrepreneurs that do come to you, as they're explaining their goals to you and they're telling you what they want to do, how often do you have to either tell them they should reach for more or they should reach for less, how often are they always spot on, what do you usually see?
Stina Maloney: It's usually you can reach for more, we hold ourselves back so much. Whenever I ask people about their dreams it's almost 100% going to be something that's not selfish, I dream of taking care of my family or I dream of giving to this organization or helping people in need or going to be a missionary in this way or other, and I find that we're so afraid of being selfish, and then when I say what do you really dream about doing, what would you do if you had all this money everything they tell me is unselfish.
Go for it you know, stop being afraid of becoming a selfish person because you've just told me your desires are completely unselfish, and the things you're going to do in the world are going to be so great. So yes almost a hundred percent what I have to tell them is to go bigger, you just really take off with it.
Michael C.: That's encouraging. And what kind of entrepreneurs benefit from your course, who really should take an interest in what you're doing?
Stina Maloney: You know that's a great question, because right now I'm working primarily with like I said women who are looking to start businesses online, from their homes because that's what I know, that's where my background is.
But a lot of the same information I've talked with my husband about, I kind of coach him in a way or act as a coach in our conversations, and he's a financial advisor, he works in an office, he'd not entrepreneurial at all, but it's been helpful for him to go and question those limiting beliefs. So I really think if you have any sort of big dream and fear regarding that, like I said whether it's fear of failing or fear of succeeding either way, then these kind of teachings can help.
Michael C.: That's terrific. And what kind of results have you seen, have your students, the individuals you've coached, have you all seen positive results come from your coaching?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, some of it is just the women opening up and doing bigger things on their own, raising rates oh my goodness who knew I could double my prices and start making twice as much money with no effort, or adding on different elements to her business whether that's different services she provides, or different offerings like that. And then some of it is that things that we can only attribute to God, just those moments where unexpected money comes in, because they became open to receiving that.
A lady just messaged me this morning that she had some dental work that she was supposed to pay for, it was going to be really expensive, she was worried about this but the whole time she was saying it's going to be okay, the money will come, the money will flow, we have enough money for whatever we need. And when she went to check out the dentist said you know what you've had so much trouble with this, we've had to work on this so many times, we're just going to take care of it, it's covered, it’s just stuff like that.
I can't promise these results, I don't know where this comes from, but things just happen. So whether it's growing your business or just seeing that coincidence or however you want to call it that, the things that just occur the unexpected blessings they are definitely results.
Michael C.: So what's been more rewarding for you in your business, is it then the value that you've been able to I guess put on your service and the income you've been able to make to support your family, and to contribute to the household, or is it the value that you see in others being successful, which one have you seen as, I think I'm going to know the answer is but which one is yes just tell us about it.
Stina Maloney: Yes, so the money was exciting, when I submitted to this position that God gave me the business took off like I've never seen before, I started getting so many people coming to me and saying yes I want to hire you, I want to do that, I want to learn that.
And that was really validating and exciting, but absolutely the biggest thing is to see that it is making a difference in other people's lives, that it is valuable. When we say well what comes easily to me is really not that important, but when you start seeing that it makes a difference that's the greatest value ever. You know just to see that wow I actually made a difference in the world; I made a difference in these people's lives that's super exciting.
Michael C.: How hard is it for you to stay obedient on a daily basis, seeing good results, seeing your business grow, do you still have challenges with staying obedient and staying the course?
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, yes it is hard. I think the enemy tries to attack us anytime we try to take area; we try to reclaim ground from him. And this area of money mindset and entrepreneurship has been predominantly controlled by the forces of the world, and so it's something that I still even this past week I was thinking am I really making it, am I really doing any good, was this really something and I take those thoughts captive because no matter how big you get you're going to have those doubts come up again and you have to keep clearing it away, you have to keep shutting it off and focusing on the truth.
So it is hard, it is not really hard because I know the answer, I know the steps to take, I know what I have to do. It's kind of like exercising, if you slip in your workout a little bit it's going to be harder to get back in there and work out again, but you know what you need to do and you know what the efforts, you know that the efforts will produce the right results.
Michael C.: And as we move closer to God and we move closer to our calling and what our passion is, you better believe you're going to face challenges and the devil doesn't want you to be successful, he doesn't want you to be happy, he's going to put all these obstacles in your way that you may think are going to make you happy or may contribute to your success, but at the end of the day it's staying obedient and staying your course as an entrepreneur.
And there are definitely days that are harder than others, but I guess you have to just stay encouraged that hey you have the Lord on your side, don't be misled by the misperception that maybe the devil is put in front of you or the evil. Like you were talking about earlier, just the whole money mindset thing and the scarcity, I think one of the things that you've you mentioned is the scarcity mindset, so you know these different things limiting beliefs, this different thought process a lot of those things would you say that's the devil that's trying to get into our minds, or get into what's going on around us and we have to try to move through that, is that?
Stina Maloney: I think so; I think we're definitely tempted to play small which sounds really strange because we know that we're supposed to be humble. This is a conversation I had with the ladies in my group a few weeks ago about how we have to submit to this greater calling, and it's a really strange thing but when we know we're meant for more, we know that we have to step out and serve others, when you've got this bug to start a business or whatever it is, you have to you take a risk, you have to put yourself in a place of uncertainty.
And on the one hand you look at it you go oh well I'm going to be out here I'm looking to build a platform for people to pay attention to me, and I'm going to be making money and all this stuff and it sounds really exciting, but on the other hand it's scary and you have to submit to that calling and say I am willing to step out of the boat, I am willing to go out of this safe place and do this scary thing.
And a lot of people don't really look at it that way when you're talking about launching a business or trying something new, and it seems like a selfish endeavor that's kind of a lofty kind of I'm trying to put myself out there and exalts myself, but when you know you're called to do that, it's actually a submission. It's still kind of hard for me to wrap my brain around it but I know it is, it's an important mindset shift to realize that you are leaning into that and submitting to that calling.
Michael C.: How long have you seen this mindset does it take for an individual or an entrepreneur to really accept that mindset, is this something that can happen overnight, does it happen over a period of time, what have you seen?
Stina Maloney: I think it's both, I have conversation with one lady and she said after that one hour call that we had things started changing in her business, she was like I got it. And I realized where I was holding myself back and I'm not going to do that anymore, and I mean over the past couple of months she's seen this amazing growth and I said oh was that the mindset course, she said no it's just that one calling, well great.
But on the other hand definitely there's a growth, you're going to have to continue to grow and you have to continue to clear those beliefs, clear those blocks as you get bigger and more visible and take the steps into more scary situations, so you're never done with it.
Michael C.: On your website I really like this, and it says you want to help women use their God-given talents to earn more, give more and live more abundantly. Do you have a story that associates, that really motivated you to really want to pursue that was there anything that you can go back to and say okay yes this was a story for me that you would share with others?
Stina Maloney: I'm not so sure that there's a story to go along with that, I wish there were because I love to share stories. But it's just been it I guess an ongoing thing that I've seen as I've been working in my own businesses, and helping others and there's I've just seen this holding themselves back that it troubled me to see that.
I know we're not meant to do that. I know we're not meant to be small and insignificant and we were meant to be the light of the world, we're supposed to be seen, we're supposed to be doing good things and I don't know.
Michael C.: Well is it just women that you coach or do you also coach men?
Stina Maloney: Right now I just coach women, not for any exclusivity reasons it's just I think that we have a really a stronger point of holding ourselves back more than men do. Men, especially Christian men we have or we see in them that strong sense of providing, I need to provide, I need to go and do and there's more of a drive there, more of an acceptance of it's okay to make money, and women are meant to submit and serve right, that's what we're taught, that's what we believe is that we're supposed to submit and serve. And we don't usually see that you know what you can submit and serve and make a difference in the world, and make money also.
Michael C.: Well Stina it sounds like you have a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit about you, and it sounds like you're really going to only continue helping others get better at what they want to do and what drives their passion.
So with also being an entrepreneur, at some point a lot of entrepreneurs are going to have to hire somebody or are going to have others that are looking up to them just like you do, those that you coach I'm sure they look up to you in a lot of ways. So how much of what you do involves discussing leadership with others?
Stina Maloney: That is a great question, it's actually something I've been developing is a leadership program. Well I guess you can call it that, it's a six-month program where I'll be working one-on-one with entrepreneurs who are ready to move beyond that ground-level stage of figuring out what your passions are, and your branding story, and moving into growing a team and being able to outsource some things and really grow your business and scale up so you can make even more money and more impact in the world.
And so one of the things I talk about and that is figuring out in your business what's unique that only you can do, and what are the things that you can delegate out. And then also as I said before we talk about personality types, that's something I really find interesting it's figuring out what people are good at, how their brain works and what is their unique talents and abilities and as far as their personality type goes. Well if you're going to run a successful business there's going to be some gaps, if I'm great at creative stuff and I am terrified of spreadsheets I'm probably going to need some spreadsheets in my business every now and then, I definitely have some gaps that I need to fill.
Same thing in reverse if you're an accountant, you may need some creative people and they're on your marketing team with helping with your graphics or your web design. So there's definitely going to be some areas that you need to fill, and I look at finding out not helping you build a team that's not a whole bunch of people that are just like you, because that's really tempting to do, we love people who are like us. We love it when they get it and they say yes they think our ideas are great, that's just what we enjoy about connecting with each other. But we're not looking to build a circle of friends, we're looking to build a team that can grow and make your business the best it can be, so that's part of it then.
Then we'll also talk about really figuring out the core about your business, the core of what are your core beliefs and your core values, and how does your business going to communicate that, so that you can be the top of the business, but you can delegate out some of the questions, some of the responsibilities and it still maintains true to what you originally founded.
The same thing would be like you mentioned if you're going to be leading others as far as teaching or sharing you've got to know what it is that you are leading them toward, and what do you stand for, and what will you not stand for and how does that come together to build that brand really it's your personal brand, but it's also your business brand and how people are going to remember you.
Michael C.: Yes, that's really encouraging and hearing that hey find others that compliment you, don't delegate out what you enjoy doing and then start doing the spreadsheets, find someone to do the spreadsheets. And what kind of encouragement do you offer leaders as they're looking for others to join maybe their business?
Stina Maloney: Oh definitely like we talked about finding the others that are the complement of you, and valuing that. But then also remembering that your business is what it is because of your unique value, so don't over value that as well if that makes sense.
So we're going to realize that everybody's gifted in their abilities, and they're all going to come together to build a cohesive team, and everybody's offering great value. So you need to really listen to the advice of others, but maintain that leadership position.
Michael C.: And as someone who does have a business that associates with faith, you have no issue with letting your clients know and those that hey I'm guided by the Lord in my business. For leaders out there that may have started a business and started it on the idea that the Lord is helping me in my business, and faith is what got me here, faith is what's going to make this business successful.
What do you do when you start hiring people and not everybody walks in understanding that or even want to understand that, how can a Christian leader in a business start to I guess maneuver through that?
Stina Maloney: I would say just establishing your company values or your brand values first of all, so that you do have a policy in place. That this is what we believe, this is what we will stand for, what we won't stand for and it doesn't have to be like you don't have to say you're going to have to be a Christian to be a part of this company, but just if you're going to work here or if you're going to be part of this this is how we run business, this is how we do business.
And I would expect to see that as Christ plays out in your life and in your business that it's going to have an impact on that person, they're going to see that. And I think that's probably one of the best ways to evangelize is to just live out your passion for Christ without overly preaching it to them or whatever, you're just saying this what I do, this is what my life is and this is why it is what it is.
Michael C.: That's so wonderful and in staying to that wonderful I guess answer to that question, I find it difficult at times you know like we were talking earlier about you see these leaders on social media, you see people acting a certain way, but really when you're growing your business and you want to establish that culture in your company, you really do you come to a crossroads and you say is it going to be plausible is this something we can actually do.
And you know I know there's larger companies out there, you see the chick-fil-a's and the hobby lobbies of the world that exactly where their beliefs align, but for smaller businesses it's really not always that easy and finding individuals that can come into your company. I think you said it it's spot on, early on you have to just let people know hey this is the type of company we're running here, and although I'm the boss, the real boss is the Lord and he's running this business, we're just here to make sure it moves forward.
Stina Maloney: Absolutely, like chick-fil-a they don't require that you be a Christian, but you're not going to work on Sunday and you're going to say my pleasure when somebody says thank you, this is just their brand, that's what they do. And when your brand policies reflects who you are as a person, I don't think you have to worry about like forcing other people to comply, you just say this is who we are, what we do and this is how our company does business.
Michael C.: Well there's more than one way than monetarily for a business to expand the kingdom besides just using money, and like you said you can use it from a perspective of someone may find the Lord in your business, and someone maybe sees hey these folks are doing pretty good maybe I should get on board with what they're doing.
And I found that really encouraging and I definitely think our mission at church is to worship, reach and equip, and our pastor says we don't want to go get individuals from other churches; we want to reach the unchurched. And so what a better opportunity than in a business to reach the unchurched, and also but show them what faith can do and how really God can exercise his power.
Stina Maloney: Yes, I really love that. I have chosen to establish my business as a business for Christians, I serve Christians because just because of the unique situation that I'm dealing with, I'm talking about your mindset and your beliefs and since I'm dealing with people's beliefs, obviously their faith is a huge part of that. But with the people that I coach and I work with that's a question we deal with, it's are you going to serve Christians or are you going to be serving other people, and you just happen to be a Christian.
I really think that that's a really more valuable way to go actually, unless your business is uniquely geared toward serving Christians. I don't think for the most people like if they're going to start a coaching business or something, I don't think there's any need to, I don't want to say discriminate, but just to isolate a certain target market based on their faith, I think go and serve all the world if you can.
Michael C.: Well Stina it's been wonderful having you on the show today, and I think you've given our listeners some great content and really some great advice for entrepreneurs, and really anybody out there that just maybe wanted to take a leap of faith, whether it be in business or maybe wanted to look for that promotion or whatever it may be. You have any words in closing for our listeners or anything you'd like to tell them about your course?
Stina Maloney: Sure, well first of all thank you so much for having me here, it's been great talking with you. I would just say for anybody listening to just really acknowledge what's good about you, and give gratitude for God for that, that you're uniquely made and there's a purpose for you, there's a purpose for that.
And it may be in your business, it may be something you're going to make money with or maybe just the way you're going to be serving others, but whatever it is don't downplay it, don't undervalue that, just really use that and expand on whatever that is that's unique about you, and the things that you feel compelled to do, because those desires that you have are given to you for a reason.
Michael C.: Well Stina I'm proud of you for being obedient to the Lord and chasing your calling and not being shy about knowing where all goodness comes from, that's been exemplified on the show today with you, so really encouraged from what I've heard from you today.
Stina Maloney: Well thank you very much.
Michael C.: Yes ma'am. And for our listeners out there that would like to get connected with Stina you can check out her website at www.SStinaMaloney.com her name will also be in our show notes. You can check her out on Facebook under the same name Stina Maloney, and also fire an email if you'd like to learn more about her business SStina@SStinaMaloney.com.
I have went and checked out her website there's some wonderful material on there, wonderful content and I believe whether you're male or female you can definitely learn something from her website, and I hope our listeners learned something today from the great content we had and once again Stina thank you for coming on the show.
Stina Maloney: I thank you for having me.
Michael C.: Yes ma’am and I want to encourage our listeners out there to follow the show, like the show, if you have the Apple app go ahead and subscribe to the show that would just still download for you. And I want to encourage our listeners to comment, be active on our show, if you have a guest you would like for us to have on here or if you have certain questions or things that you're looking for on the show, send us an email to Podcast@EnergyWeldFab.com.
You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram and twitter at @EnergyWeldFab and we just want to thank our listeners, we've had a lot of wonderful support from our listeners on the show, a lot of friends and family and even some folks that I do not know, so it's really been neat to see how our show is growing and how our listeners are participating and enjoying this, so we want to hear more from you. But thank you for listening today, we can't wait to bring you more content in the future, thank you.