We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tonya Kassler a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tonya, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
This is an interesting question because, I do not have a straight forward answer for this as to where it even came from exactly. My journey started at a young age, selling lemonade in my make shift stand of course with my moms lemonade. I sold 11 lemonades at 10cents each and I thought, “WOW, this is great”. I was probably 8 at that time with my little side hustle. Fast forward a little time later at my moms yard sale, I remember creating a colorful “Circle of Life” colorful marker art piece, which consisted of repeating circular lines. This was on display as an example and if someone was to be interested in purchasing an on the spot piece I would be there to make it! I did have a potential customer who maybe was questioning what he was looking at, but needless to say, I didn’t make a sale that day. My mom was always supportive of my art and unusual ideas. As time went on, I would dabble in so many tasteful random endeavors such as, movies, modeling, and artworks, anything that would require myself to be on the forefront of putting myself out in the world.
I tend to follow “my gut” as one would say and if it felt right, I would go for it, if it didn’t, I did not. I believe I developed this overtime starting at a young age, and I have always thought, “what do I have to lose”?
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Soulspressions is a crystal store in Syracuse, New York! With hard work and dedication Soulspressions went from an online crystal shop, to outdoor pop ups, to a kiosk at Destiny USA mall, and then to a store front inside of Destiny USA! It has been a little over 3 years since Soulspressions made a debut in the world and It was during the beginnings of COVID, I didn’t know the impact Soulspressions would have in my life or my partners at the time. I was working as an MRI technologist while building my brand at home day in and day out. We are fully engaged in helping more and more people on the metaphysical level. On Earth there are all types of energy, and if you really think about it, we are all on a floating rock in space. Soulspressions as a brand is here to help anyone in their metaphysical journey and help others fulfill their dreams in life! Everyone on this planet has a purpose, and we want to help you discover it. Soulspressions is a one stop crystal shop for all of your crystal needs! We supply many different crystals from all over the world in rough/raw forms, points/towers, spheres, and carvings as well as specialty carvings.
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?
Risk, ambition, and a good work ethic are the three skills I feel have made the most impact in my journey. Risk is in any growing business. You have to spend money to make money, right? That’s what I did to start. I remember making the biggest one time credit card purchase to invest in my business and I had a freak out moment. The thought of will I make my money back to pay this off?! This went through my mind about a dozen times. The risk of leaving my career was another bold move. I didn’t have the most support in this venture due to leaving an actual career I went to school for, let alone leaving it for a chance at a crystal business. I did not go to school to be a business woman by any means but, I always knew how to hustle! I also went with my “gut” feeling on this. It felt right. My partner Ryan, now business partner, later took a risk and left school to go all in at the store which really helped the growth of business. I’m glad he did. We are both working hard at it now!
Ambition is needed to carry out the goals you set. If I made a goal, whether big or small I would find a way to accomplish it.
Lastly, a good work ethic. This business didn’t happen over night. It took days and nights to keep it going. 90 plus hours of career job to crystal business hustle. Get home, work, sleep, work, dream, WORK. We started with a little board online to a crystal room in our home, to outdoor pops ups, to a kiosk in the mall, to a store front in the mall. If we threw in the towel at the beginning, we wouldn’t be where we are today. That is for darn sure! Hard work and dedication with a good work ethic to keep it going. We are now creating jobs for others!
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When my partner and I are feeling overwhelmed, We try our best to always remember to take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, one moment at a time! It is easy to feel like if something goes wrong, or a goal wasn’t met that maybe the business isn’t working. It is much easier to give up then to push forward. Life will always throw hurdles at you but its how you leap the hurdles that proves to the world that you have what it takes to succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.etsy.com/shop/soulspressions
- Instagram: Soulspressions
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Soulspressions
- Other: TikTok: Souslpressions