We were lucky to catch up with Amy Zander recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amy, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?
It took me a while to accept that self-care isn’t selfish. When I was starting my business and raising a young family, my constant companion was a hustle and drive that was always threatening me with burnout. I also had an inflated ego that told me I could do it all – which just doesn’t make sense. I mean really, who did I think I was?
I no longer think I can do it all, and I don’t even want to anymore. The shift came when I realized that I was not talking to myself kindly. I was so mean to myself and my inner dialogue was absurd. I would never, ever talk to someone else I cared about in that way. If my best friend showed up at my door exhausted and overwhelmed, would I tell her to get back out there and try harder? No, I would invite her in, insist she rests, get her a cup of tea, and tell her she was doing an amazing job.
When I started to talk to myself like someone I truly cared about, self-care became much easier. My guilt for taking the time for myself dissipated. It didn’t happen overnight, and I had to talk myself into it some days, but it started to get easier.
I started by hiring someone to clean my house every two weeks. I set a goal of obtaining 10 clients to justify the expense. I realized that the hourly rate I pay the cleaners is less than the hourly rate I charge my clients, so I am in fact, buying myself time.
Having a clean, organized house is important to me, but I stressed over it way too much. It was hard to find the time and energy, and I was always worried about it. I yelled at my family to pick their stuff up. I was crabby and resentful that I had to clean. Now, I don’t even think about it. I never worry when someone stops by or we have people over for dinner. The house looks nice, maybe not pristine, but good enough. I might even sweep the kitchen floor from time to time.
The next thing I did was figure out how to fit regular massages into my schedule. This was an expense I had a harder time justifying so I talked to a friend of mine who is a massage therapist and asked if she’d be agreeable to a trade situation. I help her with her social media marketing in exchange for regular 90-minute massages. We have been doing this for eight years now. It has helped tremendously with my physical and mental well-being and her business has grown, in part, from my marketing help. It is something we both feel good about.
The third major way I attend to my self-care is through spending time with friends. It took a lot longer for me to realize that I needed this. I spend most of my time by myself in my home office working on my computer. I get lonely and I need to be around people, talking, sharing ideas, and having fun. My husband works outside the home every day, interacting with a lot of people in property management. When he comes home at night he wants to relax without a lot of talking. I was getting frustrated with this and annoyed at him, feeling like he didn’t want to talk to me. Once I realized that I could get my social necessities from other people as well, our relationship improved, and so did my overall mental health.
Paying for my house to be cleaned, massage, and just hanging out with my friends are some of my forms of self-care, but may not look like self-care to others. But these things allow me to be a calmer, happier person which in turn helps everyone around me.
If you look at self-care that way, it becomes easier to make it a part of your life without the guilt. Who needs more guilt anyway?
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the owner of Zeedia Media and the self-proclaimed “Mobstress of Marketing.” Our agency focuses on branding (hence the moniker), engaging social media, killer graphic design, websites, and podcast production.
We approach brand in a non-traditional way using a philosophy based on Brand Archetypes. It is a simple, yet very powerful, way for small businesses to execute brand initiatives with a small budget but still get HUGE results. It is based on emotional connections and dialing into one specific message and feeling. All the big brands like Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, etc, use this form of branding as well.
Marketing is hard and very time-consuming. When you are a small business owner you probably don’t have a huge marketing budget or experience in creating a great brand. You know how to do what you are passionate about which led you to start the business in the first place. Yet, you have to wear a marketing hat as well. Our easy brand process provides you with a way to do both that doesn’t take too much time but gets great results.
I have co-authored a book about this titled, “Brand Archetypes for Your Business” available on Amazon.
One of my passions is giving back to my community and supporting the arts. I do this in several ways. I have mentored artists on how to turn their talent into a business, I sit on the board of the Lansing Art Gallery, and I co-host an award-winning local podcast, Adventures in Business, where we interview business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, etc. who are doing exciting things in the Lansing Michigan area. We have an acute focus on what they are also doing to give back to the community. We are starting Season 3 and I am very proud of this show. It brings me great joy to see all of the people and businesses we have promoted thriving and doing amazing things.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
One of the best things I did for my business was to tap into the resources available to me as a small business. The Small Business Development Center, great mentors, watching what others in my industry are doing, and asking millions of questions.
I also align myself with people who know more or different things than I do to make me a better person and business owner. I work with incredibly talented people who know how to build websites, fix tech issues, and create beautiful graphics, all things that they are better at than me.
I am constantly humbled by what I don’t know and so appreciative of the chance to work with amazing people.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
Our ideal client is a small business that has developed a marketing budget (of any amount) and is looking for guidance on how to spend that budget in the best ways. It is best if the business doesn’t have a marketing team, but has designated at least one person to be a marketing contact for us.
One of the first questions I ask a potential client is, “What is your marketing budget?” So many of them don’t have a budget and have never thought about it. If marketing is an afterthought and they are only investing what is left over after the bills are paid, they will never have a serious marketing effort. This may sound harsh, but it is true. I’ve seen it over and over again. When people start a small business they must factor in a marketing budget, just like they would include rent, salaries, research, etc. It doesn’t matter if you create the most amazing product or service if no one knows about it because you forget to budget for marketing.
We work with businesses who are willing to take risks in their marketing and be bold. We don’t create passive marketing initiatives.
We also want to work with companies and organizations that have a passion for giving back to their communities in some way. This is a core value of Zeedia Media and we work to align with companies who also believe this.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zeediamedia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeediamedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZeediaMedia
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymzander/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeediamedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adventuresinbusinesspodcast/
