Meet Maria Soto

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Soto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

There have been times in my life where I doubted myself. The first time, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of being a failure. It was right after I graduated from college. I studied Arts, Entertainment & Media Management, a field that is quite small in Guatemala, my home country. I knew it was a risk to study something I felt passionate about instead of something that was “useful” in real life. I had this overwhelming feeling because I did not have a “clear path” about my professional career. I had started a project (that now has morphed into my current business), but back then, I had been working on an idea and hadn’t met my current co-founders. I had taken a job in at soap manufacturing company, developing new products. That job had nothing to do with my tech project nor my degree. I was figuring out my life one day at a time and at the same time burdening myself with self-doubt.

I’m an entrepreneur and I constantly have to remind myself that I am prepared and equipped to do whatever job I’ve been tasked with fulfilling. Being uncomfortable because a new position or new phase of life is pushing me to new heights, doesn’t make me an imposter. An imposter is someone who is pretending. I am not pretending. I know how to do the job. When I’m experiencing imposter syndrome, I remind myself that I’m just outside of my comfort zone.

I cope with discomfort by:
1. Getting the resources I need: When getting into a new position, role or job, find mentors, read books, sign up to online courses or training.
2. Identifying opportunities: Doing a list of all my strengths and identifying opportunities to become better.
3. Asking for help: Taking a break when I need to, and asking other people to help me with tasks or projects that need specific expertise.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I consider myself a “Jack of many trades”, but a master of none. I have started different projects and worked in different industries during the last 8 years. I love learning new things and I try to always have an open mind to new opportunities and ideas that may come my way. I have been asked many times what I studied in college or what’s my degree, (something quite dated to be honest). I don’t believe a degree defines who you are or what you’re capable to do with your life. Living is a very dynamic, ever-changing thing. A person is capable to change and choose what to do at any point in their lives. Dynamic is a word that might describe me professionally, so let me tell you a little bit about that.

I love technology and have always been “tech savvy”. I think the best technologies are the ones that make people’s lives easier. Back when I was in college, I started a tech project in the education sector. I had met a friend who was starting a tech company related to what I was working on, so couple of years later we joined ventures and started SchoolAid, a platform that automates daily processes between schools and parents. The areas that we automate are: campus check-in’s and check-out’s, dismissal processes, school bus operations, carline automatization, and communication with parents. I believe SchoolAid has the opportunity to scale and expand worldwide, and I feel grateful to be a part of the creation of what it is today.

Ever since I graduated from college, I have had many jobs that had nothing to do with neither my degree, nor SchoolAid, but as any entrepreneur knows, you don’t become an overnight success all of a sudden. One of the jobs I had was in a soap factory. I had been hired to develop a new brand of soap as part of a vertical integration strategy of the company. Besides the daily use of personal care products, I had little to no experience in the field, let alone chemistry compositions and formulas. I started to read and learn about soaps and ingredients, I made research and taught myself everything I needed to know to get the job done… and I did. Sadly, my employer did not have a work ethic that I shared, so I left the company and got another job. Nevertheless, the experience sparked a curiosity. My boyfriend, Christian, who was also working in manufacturing at the time, had the idea to create a personal care product for men. We pivoted some ideas and thought that maybe one day in the future we might create a personal care brand.

In 2020 during the pandemic, uncertainty and fear were a constant in our daily life. To be honest, I wasn’t doing very well mentally and was dealing with anxiety. Christian and I would talk on the phone about our day and about making a conscious decision to shift the negative energy into taking care of our body and mental health in the midst of chaos. We then thought about the idea we’ve had a couple of years before, of developing a personal care brand. That is how we started Grá, our skincare brand. Grá (love in gaelic) is a brand which purpose is to spread the notion of self-love and positivity through skincare products. We believe skincare is something essential when it comes to self-care, and that we can transform our lives through positive self-talk and affirmations.

Grá is still a small business, but besides having clean formulas and conscious products that do not harm us or the planet (and are also extremely good and everyone should try them!), we have a strong and clear message that we want to continue to expand: the importance of loving ourselves.

Grá is a reminder for everyone, and I talk for myself when I say that it is important to love who we are. It is important to treat ourselves with love and compassion. Sometimes we talk to ourselves the hardest and meanest way. Let’s change that. As I have told and remind myself many times in my life, I am not a failure. I’m capable of learning and doing anything I put my mind to. I am enough.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience and having a support network (family and friends that love us). The ability to change and adapt. Be humble, seek advice from people you admire and respect. Find resources to learn from, ask for help, and identify opportunities. Talk to yourself with love and compassion.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One
Book by Margaret Lobenstine.

This book changed the way I saw myself. I thought that having many passions made me “flaky” “not stable” “a failure”. This book was recommended by a dear professor and mentor, Albert Loan. I will be forever grateful to him.

Contact Info:

• Website: graproducts.com / schoolaid.app
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-fernanda-soto-a2801072/