WEBVTT 00:00:10.479 --> 00:00:13.500 Welcome to her comeback, transforming your life 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:16.359 after 50. I'm your host, Michelle Thompson. If 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:19.239 you've ever whispered to yourself, There has 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:22.260 to be more than this. You are in the right place. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:25.059 This show is for women over 50 who have hit their 00:00:25.059 --> 00:00:27.440 breaking point and are finally ready to stop 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:30.359 going at it alone. You've tried the self -help 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.520 books, the vision boards, the positive thinking, 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.640 but you're still stuck. And here's what I know. 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:40.500 You're not broken. You just need the right support. 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:42.439 And that's exactly what you're going to find 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:45.539 here. Each week, I'll sit down with incredible 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:48.320 women who have transformed their lives. you'll 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:51.320 hear their real stories, the messy middle, the 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:53.420 breakthrough moments, the practical steps that 00:00:53.420 --> 00:00:56.259 they took to create the lives that they love. 00:00:56.659 --> 00:01:00.100 Because your lowest limit, it can be your launching 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:03.820 pad. So if you're done settling and ready for 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.879 your comeback, stay with me. Let's discover how 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:09.739 other women have made it happen and how you can 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:14.969 too. Are you ready? This is her comeback. Good 00:01:14.969 --> 00:01:18.189 day, everyone. Welcome to her comeback. I am 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:22.650 so happy to have Stephanie with us today Stephanie, 00:01:22.650 --> 00:01:25.670 welcome to the show. Hi. Thank you so much for 00:01:25.670 --> 00:01:29.230 having me. I'm excited Yes, me too. Me too. Tell 00:01:29.230 --> 00:01:31.310 the tell our audience a little bit about yourself 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:34.879 Well, my name is Stephanie Alanasi. I'm the owner 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.680 and creator of Maja Head Spa. Maja is actually 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:41.260 my four kids initials, so I'm a mom of four. 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:43.920 Mark, Abraham, Joseph, and Adriana, they are 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:47.049 all young adults. So we're entering the empty 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:49.290 nest phase of life, which has been exciting. 00:01:49.790 --> 00:01:52.150 Married to my husband, Abe, it'll be 29 years 00:01:52.150 --> 00:01:55.129 this month. I was a Navy brat growing up, so 00:01:55.129 --> 00:01:57.090 I've been all over the place. But at the age 00:01:57.090 --> 00:01:59.430 of 11, we settled in Port Charlotte, Florida. 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:02.569 And so basically, since then, this has been my 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:05.769 home since 1986. I'm a massage therapist and 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:07.310 an esthetician as well. That's what I've done 00:02:07.310 --> 00:02:10.360 for the last 12 years. Oh, that's wonderful. 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:13.120 Native Floridian. Awesome. It's weird to say 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:15.139 that because I lived in so many places that were 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.259 so opposite of Florida. But yeah, and all my 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:19.740 kids are native Floridians too, which is cool. 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:22.620 Awesome. I am just delighted to have you on the 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.259 show. I met you at a networking event and heard 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:27.639 your story. And I was just like, Oh, I want to 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:29.939 have her on the podcast. Thank you for joining 00:02:29.939 --> 00:02:34.849 us today. Absolutely. I'll just jump right into 00:02:34.849 --> 00:02:38.169 some of the questions that I have for you. So 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:43.270 you've built a thriving multi -location spa while 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:47.449 navigating many seasons of life. So how have 00:02:47.449 --> 00:02:51.009 you learned to honor where you are even in times 00:02:51.009 --> 00:02:54.129 when things maybe didn't look like success from 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:56.729 the outside? Can you describe a little bit about 00:02:56.729 --> 00:02:59.460 that journey? You know, the event you and I met 00:02:59.460 --> 00:03:02.120 at, I was talking about the power of perspective. 00:03:02.900 --> 00:03:05.599 And perspective throughout my life has been so 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.300 important. I just turned 50 in February. And 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:12.300 so when I started Maja, it was actually the end 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:15.159 of my youngest senior year of high school. And 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:19.830 from shortly before COVID until... his graduation. 00:03:20.370 --> 00:03:21.909 There had been a lot of things put in front of 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:24.250 us that kind of threw us off course a little 00:03:24.250 --> 00:03:26.669 bit. Obviously COVID was crazy for everybody, 00:03:27.169 --> 00:03:29.469 but my mother -in -law was also sick with cancer 00:03:29.469 --> 00:03:33.289 and she was amazing and so brilliantly strong 00:03:33.289 --> 00:03:37.610 and I was one of a few people that was making 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:39.650 the trip to Moffitt all of the time with her 00:03:39.650 --> 00:03:42.469 and she had this remarkable group of friends 00:03:42.469 --> 00:03:45.520 and Don't know there was something about that 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.439 experience with her. She was my hero and Watching 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:53.180 what she did and how gracefully she handled it 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:56.180 It changed something inside of me and when she 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:58.319 passed away and the youngest was like I said 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:00.300 getting ready to graduate we'd also been traveling 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:02.199 quite a bit with my daughter who's the third 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:04.759 of the four she was getting recruited for soccer 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.659 in college and I don't know all these things 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:09.819 just were going on and I was in a moment in life 00:04:09.819 --> 00:04:13.150 where I felt like I've watched all these strong 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:15.150 people. I've seen these people do these amazing 00:04:15.150 --> 00:04:18.550 things I think it's time for me to figure something 00:04:18.550 --> 00:04:21.290 out and again You've watched these remarkable 00:04:21.290 --> 00:04:23.709 stories of people going up and down and up and 00:04:23.709 --> 00:04:26.430 down and they all had such resilience and strength 00:04:26.430 --> 00:04:29.029 and I realized that I don't know from about the 00:04:29.029 --> 00:04:32.500 age of 21 something within me was holding me 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:36.000 back I think my life became everybody else's 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.720 married at 21 was supporting my husband's business 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.620 he's always been an entrepreneur and then started 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.839 having our children and When you're the one that's 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:45.699 cheering everybody on and you're the one helping 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:48.779 everybody and helping them go through hard challenges 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:52.139 in life you can't help but learn from those things, 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:55.490 right and so All of these different stories, 00:04:55.689 --> 00:04:57.829 all of these people were so near and dear to 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:00.069 me and they were going through major things. 00:05:00.209 --> 00:05:04.970 So I think after experiencing those things on 00:05:04.970 --> 00:05:07.910 the sidelines, it just made me realize like, 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:12.209 I can do anything and don't let 50, 49, whatever 00:05:12.209 --> 00:05:16.560 it is, be a reason to stop. and don't be afraid 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.199 to try things. When you're watching a young girl 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:21.660 like my daughter trying to get out in the world 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:24.120 through her recruiting process for college soccer 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.939 and then you're simultaneously helping her grandmother 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:31.740 navigate a very scary part of life and then you're 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.279 kind of in between the two just like oh my gosh 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:36.519 I haven't really done anything of significance 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:39.199 and here these two are doing all these remarkable 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:41.939 things What am I going to leave behind? What's 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:44.300 my legacy going to be? How have I made an impact 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:46.180 on the world? Those things just kept floating 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:50.379 around. So you ask like navigating the ups and 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:53.040 downs of all of this. I think what I had experienced 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.800 going into this gave me so much perspective that 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:58.939 the worst thing you can do is not take a risk. 00:05:59.220 --> 00:06:01.079 The worst thing you can do is let fear get in 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:05.199 the way and stop you. Was there something specific? 00:06:05.610 --> 00:06:08.110 That you learned about yourself during these 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:10.889 times was there anything that like oh I found 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:14.389 this out about me Yeah, I've learned that I let 00:06:14.389 --> 00:06:18.250 fear hold me back from a lot and I learned that 00:06:18.250 --> 00:06:21.430 I let my fear of letting others down Hold me 00:06:21.430 --> 00:06:24.689 back. I always felt like making everybody happy 00:06:24.689 --> 00:06:28.629 was always the most important thing and I think 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:31.149 a lot of women do that. I think a lot of us that 00:06:31.149 --> 00:06:34.279 reach this age in life I don't know that we were 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:37.399 necessarily programmed for it But there is a 00:06:37.399 --> 00:06:40.639 certain piece of us as moms in particular You 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.360 love so deeply and you love so much and you want 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:45.720 the people in your life to be so well taken care 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:50.579 of You end up self -sacrificing at times and 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:53.879 for the most wonderful reasons It's never you're 00:06:53.879 --> 00:06:56.540 not really aware. That's what's happening, right? 00:06:56.759 --> 00:07:00.680 It's just what you do. And so I don't know if 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:04.120 it was always the healthiest thing to be doing. 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:09.379 And I do believe part of me realized that if 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:11.379 I don't figure out something that I can throw 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:15.639 my energy into that is going to help others and 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:20.310 maybe stop smothering my family as much. I don't 00:07:20.310 --> 00:07:21.930 really think that's what I was doing, but there 00:07:21.930 --> 00:07:23.870 might be their perspective a little bit at times. 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:27.290 But I went into massage and aesthetics because 00:07:27.290 --> 00:07:30.029 I loved making people feel good. It didn't feel 00:07:30.029 --> 00:07:32.449 like work to me. Obviously, every job has its 00:07:32.449 --> 00:07:35.509 up and downs, but I genuinely loved. I will never 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:37.649 forget I had a travel nurse that came in once 00:07:37.649 --> 00:07:40.750 and she walked in like this and I was new to 00:07:40.750 --> 00:07:42.449 massage and I was like, oh my gosh, what happened 00:07:42.449 --> 00:07:44.410 to you? OK, she's like, oh, well, I had a contract 00:07:44.410 --> 00:07:46.569 and I've had to sleep on a hotel bed for the 00:07:46.569 --> 00:07:48.970 last four months and. I just can't get it to 00:07:48.970 --> 00:07:51.550 go away. And then worked on her for a little 00:07:51.550 --> 00:07:53.269 bit. It wasn't anything outrageous. And then 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:55.870 just to see everything level out. And she turned 00:07:55.870 --> 00:07:57.569 around and looked at me with tears in her eyes. 00:07:58.110 --> 00:08:00.250 And those little types of moments where you can 00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:04.529 give people. So I knew for me that helping people 00:08:04.529 --> 00:08:07.069 had to be a part of what I was doing with my 00:08:07.069 --> 00:08:09.889 life. Never cut out for the medical field. That 00:08:09.889 --> 00:08:11.689 would just, that would have been hard for me. 00:08:11.730 --> 00:08:13.389 I don't know why because all the gross things 00:08:13.389 --> 00:08:16.759 you deal with as a parent. It certainly wasn't 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:18.600 the gory part of it that would have bothered 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.600 me. I don't know what it was exactly, but this 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.819 I knew I would really love doing so. You talk 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:29.259 about letting fear hold you back and I can absolutely 00:08:29.259 --> 00:08:32.019 identify with that. There's so many times in 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:35.759 my life where fear held me back. For you, as 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.059 you had the courage to do the things that you've 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:41.419 done and the courage to walk through the fear, 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:43.899 where did the courage come from? What do you 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:50.529 think? Um, I think like I said watching others 00:08:50.529 --> 00:08:55.470 Take on just watching their bravery and seeing 00:08:55.470 --> 00:08:59.850 that there was no reason not to be and There 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:03.009 was just something within me like a switch went 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:05.250 off I was also working with a friend who'd opened 00:09:05.250 --> 00:09:08.570 a boutique and she is a pediatrician and I was 00:09:08.570 --> 00:09:10.769 working with her for about three years and during 00:09:10.769 --> 00:09:14.590 that time I was so amazed. Like she was a mom 00:09:14.590 --> 00:09:16.370 of three when she went through medical school 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:18.330 and I was like, oh my gosh, how does somebody 00:09:18.330 --> 00:09:20.850 do something like, you know? And then she was 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.029 my children's pediatrician. And as a pediatrician, 00:09:24.129 --> 00:09:27.570 oh man, was she just, she still is amazing. But 00:09:27.570 --> 00:09:30.389 she decided to segue into this other industry 00:09:30.389 --> 00:09:32.590 and create something that had been a passion 00:09:32.590 --> 00:09:34.830 of hers. And she's five years older than me, 00:09:34.830 --> 00:09:37.970 I think. And watching her do that was inspirational. 00:09:38.570 --> 00:09:42.629 Although for me, being in that atmosphere wasn't 00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:45.429 what made me tick. I love clothes, but being 00:09:45.429 --> 00:09:49.330 at the front of it, I just, I knew it was time. 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.549 I was, I've always been very creative in a lot 00:09:51.549 --> 00:09:54.590 of different ways and it's hard to be creative 00:09:54.590 --> 00:09:58.350 just massaging people. I developed scalp psoriasis 00:09:58.350 --> 00:10:01.210 and it was pretty severe and it was making me 00:10:01.210 --> 00:10:03.450 absolutely crazy, which led to me discovering 00:10:03.450 --> 00:10:06.110 a head spa for relief. I was looking for alternatives 00:10:06.110 --> 00:10:09.789 to medications. And so when I went, To the head 00:10:09.789 --> 00:10:12.169 spawn had my first experience with it. I left 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:14.470 thinking that was really cool but I think there 00:10:14.470 --> 00:10:16.129 might be a couple other things I could do with 00:10:16.129 --> 00:10:19.570 it that would make it a little different and 00:10:19.570 --> 00:10:22.549 Realizing that there was a space and a place 00:10:22.549 --> 00:10:24.610 that maybe I'd been waiting for my whole life 00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.029 where I could maybe put my little stamp on it 00:10:27.029 --> 00:10:32.330 and as that time of Trying to get the courage 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:36.200 up to do it was happening there just were all 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:38.399 these little tiny things that kept occurring 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:42.860 and it was finally ignoring the fear and listening 00:10:42.860 --> 00:10:46.159 to my gut and there was just a series of little 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:49.200 things and every time I did something I have 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:53.350 this mug that says let faith over fear That quote 00:10:53.350 --> 00:10:56.090 every single day I would drink out of it In fact, 00:10:56.149 --> 00:10:58.850 it was one of two things that was my inspiration 00:10:58.850 --> 00:11:01.870 for the color of the first suite that I did But 00:11:01.870 --> 00:11:04.590 I really started listening to the universe paying 00:11:04.590 --> 00:11:06.490 attention to the signs that were out there I 00:11:06.490 --> 00:11:09.049 think for a long time I had turned all that off 00:11:09.049 --> 00:11:11.870 and just made everybody else the priority So 00:11:11.870 --> 00:11:16.389 I shifted now the priority is Maja and the people 00:11:16.389 --> 00:11:20.750 that come in and wanting them to feel that when 00:11:20.750 --> 00:11:23.470 they walk into the space, they're being nurtured, 00:11:23.750 --> 00:11:26.129 they're being loved. And I think that was part 00:11:26.129 --> 00:11:29.669 of it too. As I said before, COVID did so many 00:11:29.669 --> 00:11:32.169 weird things. And a lot of what happened with 00:11:32.169 --> 00:11:34.950 it was the inability to hug our loved ones far 00:11:34.950 --> 00:11:37.269 away. And so much of what we were doing became 00:11:37.269 --> 00:11:41.009 Zooms. And we were we sadly were on a funeral 00:11:41.009 --> 00:11:43.190 for a Zoom because they were out of the country 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:45.169 when they lost a loved one. Things like that 00:11:45.169 --> 00:11:48.169 disconnect. And I also have had clients in the 00:11:48.169 --> 00:11:50.950 past when I was a massage therapist who had suffered 00:11:50.950 --> 00:11:53.370 from strokes and things like that and touch. 00:11:53.610 --> 00:11:55.549 It wasn't so much what you were doing and where 00:11:55.549 --> 00:11:58.129 you were. It was just that human touch. It's 00:11:58.129 --> 00:12:01.659 so necessary. And we're in an aging community 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:04.860 there's a lot of widows there's there are of 00:12:04.860 --> 00:12:07.860 both sexes there's just something about going 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:10.620 somewhere and feeling like somebody cares and 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:13.679 i knew that we could create something where you 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.179 need to have a balance of caring but not too 00:12:16.179 --> 00:12:18.980 much it somewhere where people feel comfortable 00:12:18.980 --> 00:12:21.539 trying a new thing because Headspot isn't very 00:12:21.539 --> 00:12:24.460 well known. I just kept figuring it out as I 00:12:24.460 --> 00:12:27.399 was going along and there was just again all 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:29.820 these little signs as it was building even once 00:12:29.820 --> 00:12:33.399 the doors finally opened it happened much quicker 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:36.039 than I expected. The growth was not something 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.840 I predicted by any means and I just kept like 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:41.220 okay well I made enough this week I can go buy 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:44.139 another sink and I can write a check for a deposit 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:48.009 on another room and yeah. It was just letting 00:12:48.009 --> 00:12:52.009 the universe be heard. That's awesome. Listen, 00:12:52.129 --> 00:12:55.309 like you said, just paying attention to the signs 00:12:55.309 --> 00:12:58.470 and then being open to follow them and those 00:12:58.470 --> 00:13:01.789 things that cross your path. I love that. I also 00:13:01.789 --> 00:13:03.509 love when you were talking about trust in your 00:13:03.509 --> 00:13:07.509 gut. Has there ever been a time where others 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:11.169 maybe thought otherwise and or even logic said, 00:13:11.590 --> 00:13:14.720 Oh, sure. I'm like that. There's a lot of people 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.659 just back when I first went to massage school, 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:19.740 why would you want to touch people all day? It 00:13:19.740 --> 00:13:23.039 definitely takes a certain type of person to 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.580 be in the health and wellness industry, whatever 00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:28.320 vein that is. And in particular, doing something 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:30.759 new that's not as well known. There were all 00:13:30.759 --> 00:13:33.299 kinds of questions out there. And I was thankful 00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:37.080 for that because when people were questioning... 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.159 whether or not something should be done, I feel 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:41.320 like it forced me to think a little bit harder 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:44.980 and really come to grips or not come to grips, 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:48.840 but see how much it meant to me. It really solidified 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:52.600 the fact that I believed in the need. I really 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.460 believed that there was a space in wellness, 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.559 that this could be something that would really 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:00.759 be popular and well received and honestly just 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:02.740 needed. I think a lot of people just needed it. 00:14:03.579 --> 00:14:06.000 That's great. One of the things that I heard 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.879 you speak about in your talk was being able to 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:12.820 keep things light and having fun. As we all know, 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:14.899 people that have a business or even just with 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:18.000 any job in general, things can get intense. Oh, 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:22.000 absolutely. So what's your trick to keeping joy, 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:26.519 humor, playfulness? How do you keep that? There's 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:29.179 definitely times that's hard. I will be completely 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:31.600 honest, especially when you're navigating something 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.059 new. There is so much unfamiliarity. There's 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:37.639 nothing to really look at to compare it to to 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:41.320 get ideas or but I will say that you have your 00:14:41.320 --> 00:14:43.919 core people in your life when you're having a 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:45.899 bad day as long as they can love you enough that 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.019 you can cry on their shoulder. I know I've said 00:14:49.019 --> 00:14:51.799 things at times that were ludicrous. Oh my god. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:53.620 Am I doing what am I doing? Maybe I shouldn't 00:14:53.620 --> 00:14:56.649 be doing this and What's been great is when it's 00:14:56.649 --> 00:14:58.950 people you trust that are close to you, they 00:14:58.950 --> 00:15:01.009 let you do that. You can get it off your chest 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:03.470 and then maybe you revisit it later in the day. 00:15:03.470 --> 00:15:05.350 And they're like, didn't you just say? And I 00:15:05.350 --> 00:15:07.649 was like, yeah, I didn't. It was sometimes there's 00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:11.889 just moments where it's really hard. And so I 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:13.750 thankfully am surrounded by people that have 00:15:13.750 --> 00:15:16.750 great senses of humor. I've always been a practical 00:15:16.750 --> 00:15:19.450 joker. Our whole house is full of pranksters 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:22.879 and practical jokers. I also have this magnificent 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:26.320 group of girls that make up the Maja team, and 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.759 we try to have as much fun as we can. It's a 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:30.600 unique environment because you go into these 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:33.509 suites, you're on your own. doing the content. 00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:36.149 Like recently we did some fun content for Halloween 00:15:36.149 --> 00:15:39.289 and we were in sheets and just being playful 00:15:39.289 --> 00:15:41.669 and having a good time. I try to get them out 00:15:41.669 --> 00:15:44.950 of the space at times when I can have them here 00:15:44.950 --> 00:15:47.190 at the house and have an evening where we might 00:15:47.190 --> 00:15:49.009 do some training, but it's also lighthearted. 00:15:49.070 --> 00:15:51.450 My husband will cook for them and just make it 00:15:51.450 --> 00:15:53.409 a good time. So it's not always just work, work, 00:15:53.450 --> 00:15:56.250 work and being serious. I love to be able to 00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:59.110 try to work some humor into our marketing a little 00:15:59.110 --> 00:16:01.750 bit if I can. So that's something that we're 00:16:01.750 --> 00:16:03.730 actually currently working on for the marketing 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:05.889 that will be rolling out for Thanksgiving and 00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:08.929 Christmas. I think just being as lighthearted 00:16:08.929 --> 00:16:12.649 as you can be, laughing at yourself, oh my god, 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.049 like some of the stupid things I have done the 00:16:16.049 --> 00:16:19.009 past year, it's insane. Like just being in a 00:16:19.009 --> 00:16:21.009 hurry, dropping things, breaking things, running 00:16:21.009 --> 00:16:24.049 into things. If there was a camera on me in this 00:16:24.049 --> 00:16:26.690 past year, like the bloopers reel would be unlike 00:16:26.690 --> 00:16:31.860 anything you've ever seen. Yeah, I love that 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:34.120 you mentioned that about being able to laugh 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.419 at yourself because yeah That's something that 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:39.759 I am learning and I try to do but I think it's 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:43.620 women Many time we were at that fork in the road 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.019 Okay, are we gonna laugh at ourselves and go 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.720 light with it or are we gonna go into this shaming? 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:50.620 Oh my god. I can't believe you did that, you 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:54.419 know, yeah There's been a combo of both where 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:56.879 I'm laughing and crying at the same time and 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.820 just, oh my gosh, what do I do now? But then 00:16:59.820 --> 00:17:02.080 at the end of the day, you have to take, again, 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:05.119 perspective and say, okay, you know, I'm not 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:08.299 curing cancer. I'm doing something that hopefully 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:11.480 people will love once they experience it. The 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.619 beauty of doing this business is it's really 00:17:13.619 --> 00:17:16.039 hard to mess it up. You're not gonna make everybody 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.079 happy all the time. We were in the restaurant 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:20.420 business for 20 years So you really deal a lot 00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:23.420 with that in that line of work and just being 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:26.259 realistic and understanding that's just par for 00:17:26.259 --> 00:17:29.839 course when it comes to business and I Think 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:32.220 sometimes it's hard because Maja is my heart 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:34.339 and soul. It's named after my family for crying 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.980 out loud, you know, and if somebody has some 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:40.420 harsh things to say it can be like a punch to 00:17:40.420 --> 00:17:44.130 the gut, but I have to do I Okay, when my kids 00:17:44.130 --> 00:17:46.170 were growing up and playing sports, I managed 00:17:46.170 --> 00:17:48.089 a lot of their teams and we always had a rule 00:17:48.089 --> 00:17:50.509 that there was a 24 hour rule. You couldn't approach 00:17:50.509 --> 00:17:53.150 the coach to complain. I try to do that with 00:17:53.150 --> 00:17:56.109 myself. I will beat myself up really hard and 00:17:56.109 --> 00:17:58.109 I will think something through and I try not 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:00.980 to react. in the moment. i try to give myself 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:04.819 24 hours to digest it and really see how i feel 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:07.160 from the start of whatever incident occurred 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.700 to the end of those 24 hours. and it's pretty 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.859 remarkable how your feelings can change. but 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:16.380 also having that group of people in your corner 00:18:16.380 --> 00:18:19.220 to bounce things off of. you have one like my 00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:21.839 husband who is not going to have that emotional 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:24.960 attachment like most men don't most men definitely 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.140 look at things from a different way and then 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:29.480 I have a couple girlfriends like one in particular 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:31.519 who has just the greatest sense of humor and 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:33.900 she'll make me laugh at myself and help me look 00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:36.319 at it a different way and then another one who 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.440 is like a combo of the two and kind of like right 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.180 in the middle you know what I mean and so again 00:18:42.180 --> 00:18:46.430 having that group of people and sometimes it's 00:18:46.430 --> 00:18:48.630 a stranger there are times that i've worked on 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:50.750 a client and when they're done i'm like hey listen 00:18:50.750 --> 00:18:53.750 i'll bounce an idea off of them just because 00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:55.990 whatever type of energy i felt from them while 00:18:55.990 --> 00:18:58.910 we were in the space there's something i'm thinking 00:18:58.910 --> 00:19:00.930 about trying do you think that would be well 00:19:00.930 --> 00:19:04.750 received and amazing sometimes what strangers 00:19:04.750 --> 00:19:08.250 have to say and getting their feedback how valuable 00:19:08.250 --> 00:19:11.519 that can be as well yeah That's great. I love 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:14.279 that feedback from different people bringing 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:16.619 in just exactly what you said, that power of 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:18.779 perspective, because people just being open minded 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:21.380 too. I think a lot of times what happens in business, 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:23.279 I did learn this in the beginning. I had such 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.720 like tunnel vision. I knew this, right? Well, 00:19:25.720 --> 00:19:27.720 now I've gotten all the way out to here. I've 00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:30.940 realized that trying to stay. I've not really 00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:33.039 ever been that much of a perfectionist, but I 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.140 started to become a little bit of one with this 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:38.019 and it doesn't work. You really need to just 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:42.259 accept. the unexpected. You just never know. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.920 We've had rooms flood. Like there have just been 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:46.940 crazy things that happen in this line of work 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:49.420 and that's just what it is. One day it will be 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:53.019 a great book. Yes, absolutely. And I think it's 00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:56.099 when things go sideways, it's just that, that 00:19:56.099 --> 00:19:59.099 you learn from it, right? And how much we learn 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:02.920 in the moments. Like, okay, this was not on my 00:20:02.920 --> 00:20:05.779 plan and this is really not what I wanted, but 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:09.220 can take these things away from it that I yeah 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:13.259 and about also also recognizing too that you're 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:17.839 not perfect and being okay with Accepting that 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:20.619 and making apologies if necessary too. I've certainly 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:22.500 made mistakes along the way and there are times 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:26.359 I've said things in a way I wish I hadn't and 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:30.180 whether, not typically with staff, but more the 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:31.680 other people that are around. You just have to 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:33.799 be able to say, I'm so sorry. I was exhausted. 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:35.720 I was up all night, whatever. There's just all 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:37.380 these goofy little things that come along with 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:41.119 it and just being real. I think that's a big 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.589 one. Definitely. So I wanted to take a moment 00:20:44.589 --> 00:20:46.769 because we jumped in and talked about your business, 00:20:46.970 --> 00:20:49.470 The Head Spot, but just for our listeners who 00:20:49.470 --> 00:20:53.450 may not know at all what a head spot is. So because 00:20:53.450 --> 00:20:55.730 I know it was new to me when I first heard it. 00:20:55.930 --> 00:20:58.130 Could you maybe just explain that a little bit 00:20:58.130 --> 00:21:00.349 about what? Sure. You know, it's funny. Last 00:21:00.349 --> 00:21:02.309 night I was talking to my husband about it because 00:21:02.309 --> 00:21:06.299 I had a client call and it was a son he sounded 00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:08.619 like he was in his 20s and he was definitely 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:10.480 a southern dude and a tough guy you could just 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.440 hear it in his voice and he was asking what it 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:14.599 was he thought he was calling a place that just 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:17.559 did massage and so i was trying to explain it 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:19.500 and it was funny because it was really a situation 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:21.740 where you're just giving it he probably has never 00:21:21.740 --> 00:21:23.519 even had a massage in his life you know what 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.299 i mean so i got off the phone with him and i 00:21:26.299 --> 00:21:28.000 asked my husband i said i really need to work 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.779 on my elevator speech on the best way to describe 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:35.990 this and it's so hard to describe because everybody 00:21:35.990 --> 00:21:38.529 feels it in a different way, but I'll give you 00:21:38.529 --> 00:21:41.049 the best that I've come up with so far. So this 00:21:41.049 --> 00:21:43.529 is something that they've been doing in Asia 00:21:43.529 --> 00:21:46.710 for centuries. Obviously not with these sinks 00:21:46.710 --> 00:21:49.289 that we have now, but in their own way, scalp 00:21:49.289 --> 00:21:51.670 health and hair health has been very important 00:21:51.670 --> 00:21:55.609 in those cultures. So a lot of us experience 00:21:55.609 --> 00:21:59.349 buildup on our head. We go for facials. In fact, 00:21:59.529 --> 00:22:02.710 facials used to be a medical service that you 00:22:02.710 --> 00:22:04.890 would have done back in the day. It wasn't looked 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:06.910 at as self care. It was looked at as something 00:22:06.910 --> 00:22:10.789 we needed to do, keeping our skin clean and exfoliated 00:22:10.789 --> 00:22:12.569 and moisturized and all those things. But anyways, 00:22:13.210 --> 00:22:15.150 so head spots, what happens? You come into the 00:22:15.150 --> 00:22:18.430 room, you lay down on a massage table. Your head 00:22:18.430 --> 00:22:22.750 is laying on a headrest inside a sink. The sink 00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:27.700 has a rainbow shaped sprinkler. That's we call 00:22:27.700 --> 00:22:30.539 it the waterfall or the halo, but it's like an 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:32.940 inverted our yard sprinklers that go like this 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:36.500 and sprinkle out this one sprinkles down. So 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:38.420 once you're laying on the table, we start off 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:40.779 by doing some massage. We use sweet almond oil. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:43.380 And if you're allergic, we use jojoba oil. If 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:45.920 you have a nut allergy, but we do a great massage 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:48.420 of the decollete up the neck and the face into 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:51.180 the head gets you really nice and relaxed. Then 00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:54.299 we use warm oil to oil the scalp and start breaking 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:56.960 up anything that is there on the. scalp. We do 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:00.140 a double cleanse. A facial is included with it, 00:23:00.140 --> 00:23:02.099 but it's not a traditional facial in the way 00:23:02.099 --> 00:23:04.000 that you would think of it. It's more to be able 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.619 to massage the face. If you think of the upper 00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:08.720 part of the body, we're all like this all the 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:12.660 time from driving and on our, you know. So it's 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:15.799 an hour to an hour and a half of everything being 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:18.480 focused on here. And then there's also an arm 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.259 and hand massage, neck and shoulder massage, 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:23.990 but The oil gets infused into the water, so when 00:23:23.990 --> 00:23:27.930 we move the halo back and forth, that hot water 00:23:27.930 --> 00:23:30.329 infused with the oil really helps it penetrate 00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:33.130 into the scalp, which just has long -lasting 00:23:33.130 --> 00:23:36.890 benefits that are so great for us. We finish 00:23:36.890 --> 00:23:38.910 it with more head massage. We have all these 00:23:38.910 --> 00:23:41.450 little tools. So there's just a lot of really 00:23:41.450 --> 00:23:43.930 great stuff going on. What's interesting is everybody 00:23:43.930 --> 00:23:46.089 experiences it in the same way I said that before. 00:23:46.509 --> 00:23:48.769 One of my favorite clients of all time, she was 00:23:48.769 --> 00:23:51.190 one of my guinea pigs. And for whatever reason, 00:23:51.349 --> 00:23:53.109 every time it would hit her right here, she would 00:23:53.109 --> 00:23:56.130 start laughing and couldn't stop. I haven't had 00:23:56.130 --> 00:23:58.769 anybody else like that, but all three times she's 00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:00.650 come in, it does it to her every single time. 00:24:01.029 --> 00:24:04.009 I've had people cry just because when your head 00:24:04.009 --> 00:24:07.470 is tight, And you're hitting parts of the face 00:24:07.470 --> 00:24:11.009 and the jaw and when you're getting that much 00:24:11.009 --> 00:24:14.130 concentrated time getting that tension relieved 00:24:14.130 --> 00:24:18.710 Man, it really does change a lot people generally 00:24:18.710 --> 00:24:21.589 leave feeling lighter. I've heard people say 00:24:21.589 --> 00:24:24.349 it feels like their head is breathing. It's just 00:24:24.349 --> 00:24:26.410 interesting. It's a very, it's like I said, it's 00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:28.789 hard to explain the sensations until you're there, 00:24:28.789 --> 00:24:31.069 but there's just so many wonderful things that 00:24:31.069 --> 00:24:33.710 go on with it. And a lot of people too aren't 00:24:33.710 --> 00:24:35.990 always comfortable going for a full body massage. 00:24:36.210 --> 00:24:38.569 So what's lovely about this is you're laying 00:24:38.569 --> 00:24:40.890 on the table, you're getting a lot of deep relaxation, 00:24:40.890 --> 00:24:43.349 but without having to get undressed and flipping 00:24:43.349 --> 00:24:45.470 back and forth on a table and all those kinds 00:24:45.470 --> 00:24:49.390 of things. So. It's just very special. I love 00:24:49.390 --> 00:24:53.569 it and I cannot wait to do mine I'm booking it 00:24:53.569 --> 00:24:56.089 and I'm just like you were describing it. Oh 00:24:56.089 --> 00:25:00.509 my god. I can't wait to do this And there's so 00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:02.589 many things like every time you do it it's different 00:25:02.589 --> 00:25:05.730 you'll never have the same head spot twice. Oh 00:25:05.730 --> 00:25:09.329 Wow That's so exciting. Yeah. So what is the 00:25:09.329 --> 00:25:12.329 best way for someone to get in touch with you 00:25:12.329 --> 00:25:14.609 for your services or if they just want to just 00:25:14.609 --> 00:25:16.809 to get in touch with you? Yeah. So our website's 00:25:16.809 --> 00:25:19.690 majaheadspot .com. Super easy. You go on there 00:25:19.690 --> 00:25:21.569 and you can read the descriptions about all of 00:25:21.569 --> 00:25:23.970 the different services that we offer. And then 00:25:23.970 --> 00:25:26.450 at the top, it has a link. We have three locations 00:25:26.450 --> 00:25:28.690 right now. We're in Port Charlotte, Sarasota 00:25:28.690 --> 00:25:31.490 and Fort Myers. So at the top, you press any 00:25:31.490 --> 00:25:33.170 one of those and it takes you right to the booking 00:25:33.170 --> 00:25:38.160 app. And then my phone number 941. It's straight 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:40.519 to me and you can text or call and I can book 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:43.619 your appointments for you as well. Oh, wonderful. 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:46.900 Stephanie, it has just been a joy getting to 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:50.259 talk to you. I love your authenticity and I love 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:52.559 the work that you're doing. So thank you for 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:55.420 joining me today. Well, I appreciate it. Thank 00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:58.200 you. I wish you all the best and continued success. 00:25:58.779 --> 00:26:00.859 Fingers crossed, we're coming into season. So 00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:03.880 we'll see how this is our first like full -blown 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:06.039 actual season with the three locations. So we'll 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:08.559 see how it goes. It's exciting. Best of luck. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:11.420 Yes. Thank you. It is very exciting. Thank you. 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:15.140 Thank you so much for spending time with me today. 00:26:15.220 --> 00:26:18.119 I am truly grateful that you chose to listen 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:20.400 in and I hope that this conversation sparked 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:23.279 something meaningful for you. Please take a moment 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.160 to subscribe, leave a review. It helps other 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:28.460 women to find us who need to hear these stories 00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:31.640 too. And if you know someone who is ready for 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.200 their own comeback, share this episode with them. 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:37.220 I'd love to connect with you beyond the podcast. 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:43.059 Visit me at hercomebackpodcast .com. That's HerComebackPodcast 00:26:43.059 --> 00:26:46.299 .com to learn more about how we can work together. 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:49.960 I have a gift for you. Get your free copy today 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:53.480 of five powerful shifts to reclaim your life. 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:56.759 Remember, your comeback story is waiting to be 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.799 written. The question isn't, can I transform 00:26:59.799 --> 00:27:03.940 my life? The question is, are you ready? Let's 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:04.200 go.