267: Balancing a 9-5 and building your content marketing business | Maria Benitez

Ever wondered how others juggle a full-time job while building a business? 

In this episode, I chat with the amazing Maria Benitez about how she navigated her journey from agency life to creating a thriving social media and virtual assistance business.

Maria shares her personal experiences, struggles, and wins - offering valuable insights into growing an engaged audience, creating content that connects, and finding balance between career and business. If you're in the process of building your own business alongside your 9-5, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical tips to help you make it happen!

If you LOVED this part of your trip (the episode), make sure you share this on your Instagram stories and tag us @contentqueenmariah and @gooddays_va 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠GET ACCESS TO OUR FREE AUDIO GUIDE - CONTENT STRATEGY IN YOUR EARS⁠

KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS 👇

✨ How to balance a 9-5 job while building a content marketing business

✨  The importance of creating top-of-funnel content to attract the right audience

✨ Why consistency and creativity are key to growing your social media presence

✨ How Maria overcame self-doubt and found her niche in social media marketing

✨ The power of trusting the process and allowing your business to evolve naturally

SHOW RESOURCES 👇

If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @contentqueenmariah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Other than that, enjoy - chat next week 💕

ABOUT THE GUEST

Maria, the founder of Good Days Virtual Assistance 🌞, is a dedicated professional in the marketing industry. With over eight years of experience working behind the scenes of brands as a project manager and content creator, she has developed a deep understanding of the industry. However, she always knew she wanted to build something of her own—a business that helps women feel supported, seen, and a little lighter every day.

That's how Good Days was born—a business built on warmth, optimism, and support for female entrepreneurs. Now, Maria helps female entrepreneurs with social media management, virtual assistance, and digital tools that make running a business easier (and cuter).

Whether someone is trying to grow their business, balance a 9-5 with a side hustle, or just needs someone to remind them that they’re doing amazing—Maria is here to make their days lighter, brighter, and filled with good vibes.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

 This is episode 267, and I'm talking to the gorgeous Maria all about balancing a 9 to 5 and how she managed to really connect with her audience through her content. Welcome to the Content Queen Podcast. I'm your host, Mariah, entrepreneur.  Storyteller, digital nomad, creative content bootcamp, and founder of Content Queen.

I'm here to teach you how to share your unique story, create content, and market your business with strategy through the channels that work for you.  Each week, I'll deliver a story to help you connect to a powerful strategy around marketing, business, and content creation. I'll also be joined by amazing souls and entrepreneurs who are here to share their own journey.

Along with actual steps to help you take your business to a whole new level. Do amazing storytelling, powerful line to marketing and content strategy. Let's do it. Hello. I  have to give you a bit of a life update right now. Just quickly,  Mitch and I bought a bus. I think I've been talking about this and.

Talking about  our plans. I've talked about it in previous episodes, but on Friday we found the bus and we just said, let's just do it. So  follow us on TikTok. We're at atravelers. co on TikTok. We're still currently like in Vietnam on our TikTok, so, you know, just enjoy that, but we will be doing bus content.

We're also share us sewing our patches. So our little travel patches, which just reminded me,  but we're, oh my God, it's like one of those dreams where you're just like, oh my God, it's actually happened. And I could probably do a whole episode on just like  trusting the process. And I think it would really align to marketing.

So I'm sure I'll fit that in at some stage, but  we  are just so excited and we can't wait to share. It's going to be like a little content queen bus going around doing a little workshops around Australia. It's.  So perfect. Like we're just very excited. So anyway, I just want to share that and other exciting news in content queen, which is related to the guests that we've got on.

So  content queen as an agency has a little boutique agency of me, Mitch,  Shiela, and Nicole, who have helped me from very long in my business. Like.  A long time.  And at the start of end of last year, I was like, I just need more support with like being able to serve my clients better and continue to create amazing content and just get a little bit more support with the admin side of things.

So I decided that it was time to get some new people in the team and.  When Mitch and I went for this little walk and I was talking to him and we're just trying to work out like who would be amazing. And I was just like,  Maria would be so good at this. So for context, Maria and I met in 2023.  I was actually traveling Europe and I did my monthly workshop.

I would run ads to it and she connected on the call. She was becoming a VA and social media manager. She was a nine to fiver  and we just instantly connected. It was so great to have her on the call. She then went on to purchase content bootcamp, join the live round  and.  It was so awesome watching her journey of like really stepping into  being the social media manager and content marketer that she is and finding her groove and growing audience.

And  I love her the way she does her videos and everything. So I was like, I just wanted to come and help me. With some client videos and things like that.  And yeah, so  I contacted her in the new year and she's like, Oh my God, dream come true. Let's chat. And then also I hired a, another VA, Laika, who helps me.

And she's also in the Philippines. I didn't get to catch her when I was there. I. Was sick on the last few days that we're in Cebu. And yet she's been helping me a lot with admin and backend things. But  when we're chatting with Maria, I was like, Oh my God, you have to come on the podcast and talk about you balancing your nine to five, but also this awesome growth you've had, uh, in your business and in your social media.

Um, and yeah, I just wanted to come on and chat and I'm so excited to have her as part of the team. So Maria will be listening back because it's her first episode. Welcome to the team, Maria. You have been absolutely amazing.  And I've just absolutely loved stepping into.  The founder of content queen in a different light, because I have had a team.

They were amazing and it was awesome, but it was just not quite the agency that I wanted to build. And now I feel like I'm really on this path to where I want to be in business. And it takes time. I think that's just a reminder to anyone listening, like this stuff takes time and you got to make mistakes and I made mistakes and it wasn't mistakes in terms of like  who I'd hired or anything, because again, I had really amazing people.

It was just mistakes in like how I wanted. How I decided to lead or how I decided to run my business, but I had to make those. Mistakes to be where I am now. Like there weren't even mistakes. They were just growth, like they were just growing pains and things like that. So anyway, enough about content queen.

Let's chat to Maria. So Maria is the founder of Good Days Virtual Assistants, and she's a dedicated professional in the marketing industry. She has over eight years of experience working behind the scenes of brands, as well as being a project manager, a content creator, and she's really developed an understanding of this industry.

She is like, so.  Involved in this space. She is such an expert  and she always knew she wanted to build something on her own. You know, she was working in her corporate job and she wanted to do her own thing. And she talks about how she got there and it's really awesome to hear. So.  She started a business that was here to support women, make them feel supported, seen, and a little lighter in every day.

So that's where Good Days was born, a business that's built on warmth, optimism, and support for female entrepreneurs. So Maria now helps female entrepreneurs and social, with social media management, virtual assistants, and digital tools that keep them running their business easier and cuter. She has an amazing brand aesthetic.

So whether you're someone trying to grow your business, balance a nine to five with a side hustle, or just need something to remind them that they're doing amazing, or someone should I say, Maria is here to make their day lighter, brighter, and filled with good vibes. So let's chat with Maria. You're going to absolutely love her energy.

She's just amazing. Maria, take two of podcast  recording. We would have explained the backstory in your intro, but welcome to the podcast. I'm very excited to have you on. Nick, can you just share again, a little bit more about who you are?  Thank you so much again.  But yeah, this is exciting. And of course, so I am Maria for those who don't know me.

My name is Maria. I'm from Colombia. And in the first part I was telling everyone that hopefully I'll became your favorite Colombian girl. Yes.  I am a project manager and I'm also a social media manager and kind of like a marketing girl just like in general.  And I've been in this industry for about seven to eight years.

And it was, it's been fun. It's been challenging, but it's been really fun. These whole things started because I started communication in Cali, Colombia, where I'm from.  And at the time I didn't even know that I was going to get into social media management.  But it wasn't my first year in college that Facebook came up and then  like a few months after that, Instagram came out as well.

And that was so new and so fun and everyone wanted to be on social media. And I was just so interested about how,  um, like other businesses will create their own Facebook pages and people will be so interested about seeing their products and services on Facebook. That was just. It was very mind blowing to me and I remember that I used to think, Oh my God, I wish I could do a career out of this because I think this is so fun and so interesting.

And I never thought that it was going to actually happen.  Then when I left Columbia for the first time that I was like around 21 years old.  That was when I started to see some curses about social media management and some people that was already making a living out of it. And when I came back to Cali, I was trying really hard to become a social media manager, but it was really hard.

And it didn't make any sense to me that people was asking me for a lot of experience because it was such a new career. So I was like, what experience are you looking for here?  So I, what I did first was just kind of like. Tell people that I was a content creator or a social media manager. And then people will be like, Oh, I actually have this friend who has these business, if you want to help them.

And that's how I got my first client, I will say, but it was really bad. I, I told everyone in the first one, in the first take, the first start of this, that  I could even share the content that I used to create for that, because we, I feel like we forget about that. Or when we see someone on social media that we really admire,  we think that that's just how They've been forever from the start and I was really bad.

I would think  But it's just practice it was practice and in I I had a lot of people saying no to me I Also how a lot of, a lot of people,  um, that will be  just telling me really great comments and being like, Oh, you're so creative. You're amazing. You are very talented, but not really giving me the opportunity.

And that's hard. I feel like a lot of us go through that, especially people in Colombia. And that's actually one of the main reasons why I decided to move out again from my country in 2020. So that was also very fun  because I left Colombia in January, 2020. And then three months after that, I was already in Canada,  COVID happened,  but that was kind of like the, the actual first year that I had the opportunity to become a social media manager.

And the good thing about that, it was that I was starting advertising. So I feel like people was,  it was just like the title was a little bit more interesting to people than when I said that I was starting communication. Hmm. Yeah, that's just like a little background about it. I love it. So, um, it's so interesting to hear about the journey and, and it's so true because people would look at your page now and then like, yes, we definitely have to do like a comparison.

Oh girl, I'll be proud to show you that. It's so true, like, everyone starts somewhere, and it's, um, it's really hard as well because, like, marketing, although the principles and the framework stay the same, the way people consume changes and everything like that, so, even back when you were really interested in the social media stuff, and I know you mentioned, like, in the first take at university, there wasn't I don't think there's much on offer in terms of learning it.

I, I mentioned I did like one module on social media and it was just so different to  how it is now. And I imagine like how people learn marketing would be so different. But again, the principles, the strategy, the framework is kind of  underlying is the same. But, um,  good on you for not giving up though, because I think that you've sort of manifested that, right?

You're thinking, oh, there could be a job in this and here you are. But, um, one of the things that you mentioned is you went to Canada and you. got a job in social media manager and now you've moved back to Colombia.  You're balancing a nine to five and you've got your business. Can you share a little bit more about that journey, starting your business good days and also yeah, having a nine to five.

Girl, of course,  so actually in Canada, so I'll this time I'll tell you a little bit more about my whole life in Canada.  I  went through all kinds of jobs, I'll say in Canada, and the first one that I got was as a cashier at this like super bougie, kind of like super Italian supermarket. And they had a supermarket at the, like a grocery store at the first level, and then a restaurant in the second level.

And I really needed a job, of course, uh, any other immigrant,  and that was the first job that I got. So I was like, of course, let's do the, actually not the first one, but like the first that I was actually able to come every single day.  And they gave me the job, and I remember that I used to think I need to become friends with the marketing girl.

Which funny story, she's one of my best friends right now, Doreen, if you're here listening to these, I love you and I miss you a lot.  So, so yeah, I remember that I asked my manager,  um, I already had, I already had like probably five to six months in as a cashier and I asked her if I could work with Doreen.

Um, just like support and help with marketing, because I used to think I need to get in marketing somehow so I can start putting that on my CV. Because  if you put that there, you're already working on that in, in like in that, in the country that you are, that's it gets a little easier for you to get new jobs.

So she said, yes, I was doing it for free, but it was a fun experience. We will shoot content. She's a great photographer as well. She's very talented.  And that actually did help me a lot. Not only to gain that experience, but like to learn more about marketing and social media and like actually understanding other cultures because, you know, I'm from Colombia.

So I kind of had like a way of marketing in my Latina way, if that makes sense.  And then after that, I got the, the first job, like my office job, which is the one that I still have.  Um, at this small advertising company, but  when I was starting advertising in Canada, I decided to go towards like a little different,  um, path in advertising.

Cause you know, you can be creative, you can be a copywriter, you can be account manager. So I was like, okay, I really want to try that out. Like that organizational part and, and being a project manager.  Even though I knew that I loved, like, graphic design, and I even mentioned that before, that graphic design was something that I always wanted to pursue, but I've always been, because I'm still very scared of pursuing that, because, you know, just like my imposter syndrome now, like, okay, you're creative, but I don't know, you know what I mean, I know, it's like, yeah, yeah, so  I was like, okay, I'm gonna become a project manager, because still was something that I really, really loved.

And I got this job as an account coordinator and I started working in these advertising campaigns. It was really fun. And then two years in these job,  I was promised  a better title  and just like a different position in all of this. And I wasn't given that when I was promised that I was going to get it.

So I got mad, I got upset and I was like, okay, this is the moment that I'm going to start my business because.  I know I deserve it. I know I'm capable of this. So I'm going to give me the damn position myself,  and that's when I started good days and also because I really, really, I was, I was really missing that creative part in my life because even though I try to be creative as a project manager, so it will be like when I would create the project.

Google Sheets and, you know, like the WordBot schedules, I'll try to make them pretty and like use the brand colors that I was doing the project for and all that type of thing. I really miss creating content.  So  I was like, okay, I'm going to start putting this  services, a social media manager, but I was a little scared and I feel like it was because it was really hard for me to become a social media manager in Columbia.

So in the back of my mind, I feel like I was thinking, maybe this is not for me. Like if I'm going to try to do this and this is not, I'm not going to get clients.  For social media services, maybe this is it and funny enough, those were all the clients that I got at the beginning and I was thinking that I was not going to get those, but those were my first clients at the, at the very beginning.

So good days was very challenging  in the sense because I was also mentioned is not necessarily like it's hard to start something, but it's just this, this thing of that you start something.  And then you think that, okay, this is all I need to know, but no, in reality, when you start that thing and you get it done, then you're going to have like 20 more questions about it.

But it's just, it's just fun to get to know people like you, for example, which  I got to know you in the very, very early stages of  me starting good days.  Like very, very early stages.  So that was really helpful because even though I'm someone who's been in the industry for a while, and I'll thought I feel like it's really hard for you to understand or to come up with your own.

marketing strategy  and I also think it's because  you're just so in love and you have so I don't know how to explain it, but you have all these  Huge ideas of what you want to do with your company and with your business That is really hard for you to ground it  And to be like, what is it that I need to do first?

And I remember that the first thing that I was really struggling with was to decide who my  buyer persona was going to be like, who my ideal client should be, or what is the type of content that I should be posting first?  But yeah, that was really fun and  at the start, I had like a lot of things that I wanted to do, but as you said, I was working my 9 to 5.

So  I was like, okay, I need to figure this out and I like thinking about time also like in blockages. Is that the word? Blockages, right? In blocks, yeah.  Yeah, in blocks and I was like, okay, I need to work my nine to five because you know, that's what he's that they're paying for that. So I would either wake up a little bit earlier  or I would work after five.

To get things done,  it was either or sometimes it was both of them, but I remember that at the beginning I would, my Wednesdays used to be like the days for my business. So right after five, when I finished work, I'll take my iPad or my computer or whatever, and I will just go to a coffee shop and kind of like, you know, just like jam and try to be creative and try to.

Even like dream, not necessarily thinking about, yeah, I need to be super strategic and this is what, just like, okay, who do I want to be? Who, who is my ideal client?  If I am to do this, what are my brand colors? Just like dream a little, make it fun.  And. The first thing that I did was my website. Cause it was the,  the one thing that I felt comfortable doing, not even because I'm an expert in that, but it was just like what it was fun to me to think about that I needed to do.

So that was the first thing that I did my website.  And I feel like sometimes when we have so many things to do, that's the best thing we can do. If you have this long list of things that you need to do.  You are going to waste more time thinking, Oh my God, I have  all these parties and I need to get them done and all the energy that you're going to spend  getting yourself to actually starting the thing.

If you just start the thing that you feel motivated to start first.  It's going to be way easier. And also because when you finish that one thing, you're going to feel so much better about yourself because you're going to feel accomplished. So that's going to give you that extra push, that extra motivation to get the things done.

Those are the things in the list that you don't feel very motivated about.  So that was my strategy in terms of like productivity and, and get myself to do stuff. I was just making the things that I felt like I really wanted to do. Um, I resonate so much with that. Um, I remember when I first started my business feeling the same thing.

Like, oh my god, there's so many things that need to be done. Like, where do we even begin? And I love that you just had those sort of like, times to just dream and think and. Visualize because  a lot of times as business owners, we don't give ourselves that time because we think it's wasted time, like, Oh, it's such a waste of time.

Like I just need to do things and we don't often, yeah, give ourselves that space. I think I'm reading a book at the moment about like mind management, not time management and how to like manage your creativity. And he talks about this, like being like research and like before he would write his book, he would like have everything laid out and he would actually moved to Meijin to do all of his.

Because he found Columbia as the place where he felt most creative, and he was from the States, and he  would go there for, like, I don't know, a long period of time, but he said he would, like, lay everything out on the floor, and, like, do all of his research, and then go to bed, and then the first thing he'd do when he'd wake up was, like, write, and it was sort of, like, his, like, time blocking.

I thought it was really interesting in it. It reminded me of what you said with like that sort of blocking of time or, you know, even having that space for creative thinking and just dreaming and feeling. And I feel like that's a such exciting part about building a business is like that part of it and being so excited to wake up and like work on it straight away or really look forward to your coffee date on a Wednesday after work.

So I absolutely love this. So right now you're like sort of juggling that nine to five thing and I know there's so many people doing it. So many people can relate to that. What sort of, you've sort of given  some things at the moment to share, like, you know, juggling, um, prioritizing what motivates you, um, having dedicated time for your business, what are some other things that you're sort of experiencing at the moment that you've found have helped you manage having a job and a business?

I feel like one of the things that I've learned in the past couple of years, it's that we need to stop putting so much pressure on us. Because that's the reason why I always end up burnout or,  you know, like not have unhappy or something like that is because  whatever happened before it was because I was setting up too many expectations on myself.

So as business business owners, when we just started, because we're so excited for like, okay, we have all these lists of things that we want to do. So first of all,  chill the fuck down. Like you can have them all, you can make them all happen, but they don't need to happen. Today, they don't need to happen this week, they don't need to happen this month, they don't even need to happen this year.

And I always say people like, I burn out all the time because I feel like I'm, I'm overachiever. And I want more. And if I get something done, I want more and I want more. And it's just, it's a little addictive. I'll say. And even last year,  very close to December, I had all this thing coming up. So I had the trip coming up and it's a whole thing.

Cause I was already planning to stay for a while here. So, you know, you have to pack your bags. And then I was also planning to launch my podcast and I was also planning to launch my digital planner. And on top of that, I had my work. So I have my nine to five. And on top of that, all the clients that I need to manage there and all the projects that I need to manage there.

And then all the clients that I have in my business.  And I couldn't do probably most of all of the things that I needed to do. I was barely surviving. I didn't launch the podcast. I didn't even finish my digital planner. So I was like, you know what? I guess we're not going to have a digital planner in 2025.

We still have the other years because this is not possible. So first, the first thing that I'll always mention to people is  not because you don't trust yourself, but because you have to be realistic and you're only human,  you don't need to put that much pressure on yourself. Just pick one thing that you want to do every month and then, you know, get one thing one step at a time, one day at a time.

That's one. And then the second is. Try to enjoy it. So be playful. I feel like I can  be, I am connected to my, like my little Maria a lot, probably more than what I should. I don't know, but I do like being very playful and that's why also my brand is so playful and so like cheerful and very pink. But it's because that's the way that I feel comfortable.

So I feel like a lot of people often try to either be very corporate and serious.  Or they try to be very playful.  So if you feel that you have to try to be one of the other, then that's not who you are. And it's going to get harder for you to build your brand and to build,  you know, your business system to find clients because people can sense that.

They can, they can feel it through you. So if you are too corporate and you want to be playful, then try to find a balance between that, but just be the person who you are. Cause that's how we're going to think, Oh my God, that person is amazing.  So first of all, you have to kind of like make peace. And then you can have a conversation with, with that and just accept the person you are.

So yeah, it will be not sitting up too many, too many expectations on yourself, just accepting the person who you are, because we're going to love you anyways. And then I feel like the third one is  planning your time in a way that works for you.  Because we can be talking here about  time blocks, for example.

for some people that doesn't work. And I remember so well, there is this person. Oh my God. I don't remember his name, but I'll look it up because I, I watch his videos all the time. So you can add it in the show notes if you want, but one of his episode, he, he had this guest and this person, he was saying that  you need to make the best out of your time.

So even if you have 10 minutes, So let's say it's lunchtime and you know, me being Maria, I'm super excited because I'm starting my new business and I have all these things that I want to do and okay. I have 10 to 15 minutes to do something, but you start thinking  10 to 15 minutes. What am I going to do with 10 to 15 minutes?

If you have the energy, if you have like the brain capacity in the moment, do whatever you feel like doing in those 10 to 15 minutes, because at the end of the day. When you actually have the time or the full hour to do something, you had already  did something in that 10 to 15 minutes. So for example, that could have been you've read a script or you planned a week of content.

You already did that. So for when you are ready to actually do the thing,  you are going to be able to just like step in the thing right away.  You don't, you're not going to have to be worried about anything else. So those are like the three things. Which is like the third is also  we overthink things way too much.

So just like, if you have the 10 minutes, just take them and that's it. Just enjoy it.  Yeah. I actually resonate with that so much this morning. I was like, I want to spend a little bit more time looking at my bootcamp and like revisiting it. And I only really had like 10 to 15 minutes, but I was able to just like set the framework so that when I go back and.

I've got something. And I think we always get like, Oh, I don't have enough time. And I actually journaled about this today. Like I'm always saying, like, I've got so much to do. I don't have enough time, but like, it's all this sort of mindset blocker. And if I just do the thing and stop focusing on what I need to do and actually just do it, my life would be so much easier, but it's so true.

And I think when you're trying to juggle a nine to five and a business,  You know, you get so excited, and I mentioned in the recording we did, um, last week that, uh, when I finished my 9 to 5, I was like, like, actually quit my 9 to 5 and started working my business. I was like, oh my god, I'm going to have all this time to do this and this and this, and it doesn't mean you have to fill up your plate with things.

Because I think if you can just keep managing it and have some time for yourself, because that's when those sort of creative That creative energy flows and you can get so much more time out of it and enjoy it at the same time because a lot of business owners burn out because they just think they can, now that they're working full time in their business, they can do all this stuff and make all this happen.

And more money doesn't necessarily mean more happiness anyway. Um, but even you could still create more money and be happy if you do it in an alignment to yourself. I think this happens a lot. But, um, so I wanted to talk about your anyone that. looks you up on Instagram, would see that your content is amazing.

And  really, I think, um, one of the shifts that I saw in your business from like when I first met you on the workshop that you joined until now is you sort of, something switched in you and I noticed your account grow.  Very, like, you know, quite quickly and you seem to, like, your content seem to get a lot of engagement.

I wanted you to share a little bit more about that transition from when you first started, because you mentioned, like, Oh, I didn't know what to post. I wasn't sure what to do. And then all of a sudden, like, people would look at your page, like, what are you talking about, Maria? Like, And you seem to know what to post.

What happened in that transition between like being really like, Oh, not sure. And now like really nailing it.  Girl, I'll say that first of all, that was a lot thanks to you because of that workshop that I, that I joined and because your bootcamp is really helpful. So if anyone is listening and it's been thinking about it, yes, you should do it.

This is your sign. It was really, really helpful, but I will say that no, but no, but for real, I remembered that.  So that's another thing. I feel like we as business owners where we want to promote ourselves, yes, we do know what we want to talk about, but we are shy or it's that or either we think nobody's going to care  or this doesn't have anything to do with what I'm selling and not really.

Especially when it's like a, a brand that it's about you, like a, um, personal brand. Yeah.  Especially when it's that you can do it about whatever it is that you like, cause it's about you. The brand is about you. So I remember that I knew what I wanted to talk about. I knew that I wanted to talk about like a lot of organization tips and like time management things because I truly am.

Really interested about it. So it comes easy to me to talk about it and not even because I consider an expert just yet, but because I watch videos about it so much, so I can just like share the things that I heard, you know what I mean? Or I can just share what I already do for, for my nine to five in my business.

And especially my nine to five, because as an account manager, sometimes. You have to be managing so many clients at the same time. And sometimes they have like  different projects. So it becomes really crazy. So you have to be very organized. And then on top of that, you don't only manage like the project in general, but you have so many people.

You have all these stakeholders to keep track on and like keep updated in that thing, right?  So, I remember that, okay, I had that clear, like, it felt kind of like in a cloud. Like, I have all these things that I want to talk about, but I don't know which one should I pick first.  And,  I remember that when I came to your workshop, you told me something about,  like, just,  it was something along the lines of, like, just do whatever feels And I think it's natural for  you to do right now, especially because when you're starting, when you are just starting an account, it's a lot of like trial,  like you have to post and you have to see what's working, not necessarily without a strategy, because yes, you can, you can, you can have that plan and that strategy,  but you just have to start shooting.

And then you start seeing, okay, people really like this. So this is what I'm going to do next.  And  I started doing a lot of posts about like me and my iPad.  And that gave me a lot of followers, to be honest, a lot. And then I really liked that. I became for a lot of people, I became the girl with the pink iPad.

So I liked that people was remembering me. Because of that, because it was a pink iPad. So it, my iPad kind of like became part of my branding as well. Yes, exactly. And then you also mentioned, because I was like randomly posting photos of my dog. So you said all that you should, you said all that to me, you said like Maria,  you can, like, she can be a content bucket for you.

Why not? As long as you make it, you know, just like  relatable or  make it about something about virtual assistant and your services, it is going to work. And I was like, yeah, why not?  So being honest and transparent, girl, I was just having fun. I was posting without even thinking. Of like getting clients or getting anything at all.

I was just trying to be me I was just trying to be to show people what I would do In my nine to five how I would feel so the first video that went viral was actually a video that I posted about like You know, when you are a marketing girl  that it's super fun, everything is being everything is cute and you know the camera and creating content and then you have to be the marketing girl who has to make their report and that was so relatable to a lot of people.

And that gave me way too many followers. So I was like, okay, maybe I just have to be me. And that's what I started. I started to do it being honest and just having fun. That was the whole thing. And I feel like probably people is going to be like, Oh, well, that's not helpful at all.  Don't say that, you know, cause no, no.

Cause I think like some people will be like, okay, but I don't even know how to have fun. So I'll say,  just try to post as Mariah said to me, just try to post things that  are natural for you to make.  Like for a while, that was another thing that I stopped doing. I was like, I don't want to see  the people that I really admire anymore because you get to the point where you really, you really want to create content like them and not like you.

So I silenced them and I was, I was just like getting in my thing, whatever I feel like posting that was, and I didn't have any type of rules. At the beginning, I was like, I'm just going to post when I feel like it. However, I did have very clear that I wanted to be consistent. So at least three times, but I'm just going to do whatever it feels natural for me to do at that time.

And of course, things that will be within my services. And I quite literally breathe account management and social media management, because that's what I have to do all day.  And also my space. That's also a very, very important part of me.  Because you have to learn to listen to yourself and to learn how you feel the most comfortable to be creative.

So to me, for example, the place where I am,  it has to be sacred in the sense that I need to look at this place and be like, Oh, I feel so inspired. And not necessarily because it has to be. You know like so  bougie or fancy or whatever with all these expensive things not that at all It's just like  it has to be clean It has to be organized if things are organized like the things that I see In my physical space are organized.

I feel like my mind is organized. I feel like I can't do this, right? But when things are not in my physical space are not organized. I feel like my mind is a mess  So that was another thing just like making sure that that was there and sharing about that also helped a lot So you see these aren't things that are necessarily related to being a virtual assistant  But yes, really because I feel like clients are like, oh she's so organized Look at her space.

She's so organized. I really want her as my virtual assistant.  So don't overthink things too much because at the end of the day somehow  they're gonna work. People,  like that little thing that you thought that that was not gonna work. That's what is going to work. And then  after that happened and I actually got to see what are the posts that my community really liked, those were the things that I continue doing.

And I'm still learning. I'm still like trying to get the hang of like how to fricking write good hooks, for example, which comes really hard to me, but you know, like, it's just like you need to continue doing it until,  until it's easier  until you just do it so easy and so naturally. And even when that happens, something new is going to come up and you're going to have to learn all over again,  but you will be okay.

That is the journey. So basically like what you did is you created, you had the space to create a lot of top. Funnel content and  anyone listening, basically Top of Funnel is just not about you, like it's about you, but it's not about selling you. It's about like the journey. It's about the audience. It's about connection with the audience.

And you sort of had that middle funnel, which was more like educational or something. stuff as well that you would post. We didn't have that sort of, hee hee, speaking of the dog in the content buckets.  Oh my god. I'm sure, I'm sure, it's fine. And basically you didn't have this sort of pressure, you didn't put this pressure on yourself to like find clients on social media.

And the conversation I've had with, um,  clients and Mitch, cause we talk a lot about marketing, is like two things. The first one is that message that is the most important thing over selling something and like connection with your audience and a lot of clients that don't have that stress of like, Oh, I've got to like, you know, sell this and I've got to do this and I will do that.

They find social media to be a lot more easier to get traction because. they're really focusing on that top and middle and the bottom funnel sort of comes as a byproduct, that sort of conversion, but also it comes from other streams like they're sort of, they've got word of mouth or they've got business coming in other ways so they don't feel that pressure of having to show up on social media to sell.

And then the other one was this sort of concept of intrusive thoughts slash what you would might see as cringe. So like we spoke about this like Oh, I have this intrusive thought, or I have this thought, but maybe people will think it's cringe, or I've done this thing and I want to share it, but maybe people will be like, oh my god, that's so cringe, like, but you share it anyway, and usually it's what someone else is thinking, or what someone else finds quite inspiring, and I think it's something that we should explore a lot more, because that is that top of funnel stuff, it's like, oh, like, is this an intrusive thought that I have around my industry, around my What I do around whatever and also is this maybe a bit cringe like, oh, like, but also at the same time, like you, you want to have that trust in yourself to be like, oh, this feels like something that people would resonate with.

But I think those two things, something that I think is very important when you're creating content and learning and instead of, and another point on that is there's some Australian influences that have done quite well in business.  People have been analyzing them a lot. Basically what they've said is they spent a lot of time building trust before they sold to their audience.

Of course they, um, were influencers. They, it's sort of a different lens. And we're not influencers at the same time, but you sort of do have to spend that time building that trust like you did. To see that benefit of when, or later down the track, or being able to grow audience, or whatever it looks like.

So if everyone can sort of come in with that lens of like, Oh, how can I do more Top of Funnel content? I feel like that is going to be You know, that sort of, um, ticket to then being able to sell more in the future. So, I guess, what is your advice to these business owners that are struggling to get engagement, but like, they're not really seeing that, Oh, okay, I understand.

I need to just be creating a lot more of that sort of top of funnel content.  Yeah, I think the first thing, you just said it,  and  it happens to me all the time, daily, probably. It's the cringe part. You're like, Oh, and when you have to edit it yourself, you're like, Oh my God, did I actually said that? But so my rule, my personal rule, every time that I feel cringe about myself,  that's my push to be, yes, I'm going to post this.

Yes. Because you never know people is actually going to love it. Or if they don't, who cares? Honestly, who cares if they don't? And you're sad because you only had, I don't know, 200 views. That's still a lot of people seeing it. It's still, I think we forget that like that's 200 people in a room. It's 200 people.

Yeah. Hello. We, I think we forget that. Yes, even if it's just 50, that's a lot of people. Yeah. But let's say that you're like, Oh my God, I'm so sad. Only 200 people saw this. Just, just archive it,  you know, if that's the problem, like literally nothing's going to happen. So that's like my, my personal rule.

Every time that I feel cringe about myself, like, yes, now I'm, yes, I'm going to post this. It's the ones where you want to throw your phone after you post it.  Exactly. Yes. Even though if you just like post it and then you run away, do it.  And then the second thing, as I said before,  stop putting too much pressure on you because you know that saying that says, uh,  don't compare your meter middle to someone else's.

Um, no, how's it, hold on, like, don't compare your chapter one to someone's 51.  Well, that's,  that's the Australian way, I guess.  But yeah, it is the same thing. That's exactly what I wanted to do, what I wanted to say. It's like, you can't compare where you're starting from because you're seeing someone else who is already so far in their own journey.

So that's why I said before, I stopped following people that I really admire.  Because all I was doing was comparing myself to them and they already started. So just don't put any pressure on you and maybe just write down one to three things that you really like, would like to share about you and your, what you do.

And then just focus on that at least for a while and do it in a way that comes easy  and natural to you. So I, I know that a lot of. Business owners,  they really struggle, struggle creating top of funnel content because they don't wanna show themselves. That's the first thing that you always hear then don't like.

If you don't wanna do that, you don't need to say anything if that's the case.  You don't need to show yourself.  I mean, you don't need to show your face if that's the thing, you know, like if you don't wanna be in front of a camera, but you can show me what you do. You know what I mean? You can show me what is it that you do, you can show me why you got to like that final product and how, 'cause I really wanna see that.

And you, I, I wanna see why you decided to pick that color palette. Was it because your mom liked it? Was it because, I don't know. Hmm. What's behind it? 'cause that's what we wanna see. We like the chisme, you know, the gossip. That's exactly what we want to know. And that's what I try to give to my community all the time.

I try to treat them, especially because they're mostly girls, and I, I really focus on girls.  And I, I really try to treat them as if we are all friends.  The way that I talk on social media is exactly how I talk to my friends.  And for example, when I was telling people before  that you either are very corporate or the opposite of that, I'm the opposite.

I hate corporate. The culture, I hate it. I really, it comes really hard to me because I don't like being like that. I don't like speaking, not even in Spanish that I have more vocabulary or whatever, I don't like it. I just feel so uncomfortable and that doesn't make me less professional. It's just not the way I am.

So  if that's you, that's exactly how people is going to connect with you.  And that's how you have to show your show up for the world.  And then for example, for virtual assistants, if you want to create top of, uh, top of funnel content, I've noticed that people really like to see  how you create your systems.

And like other virtual assistants even or potential clients,  which is what I kind of like try to do. So I show the process or something as simple as these are the apps that I like using  because they want to get, that's the way that you get to know them. Like, why is it that you use this instead of that?

Or why is it, how do you use it? Why do you use your iPad so much for your virtual assistant content? But sort of for virtual assistant clients. That type of thing, or just even if you create content about  why is it that your ideal client  is your ideal client? And I feel like  that ideal client who is going to watch that post is going to be like, Oh my God, yeah, that's me.

So you know what I mean? Like don't overthink things too much. Just, just post a thing and that's it. Yeah.  And I find what happens usually your audience will guide you after that. Like, I'm sure you've gotten all the comments and questions and then you can kind of piggyback. I have a client that we got, we get so many questions.

It's ridiculous that we have to go through, but then like that becomes like content topics, right? And you can kind of piggyback. Off that. And that's where a lot of the content, like that top of funnel stuff, especially because if you aim for that, like, okay, I just want to connect with my audience. That is my goal.

I'm going to just focus on top and middle funnel content.  You will stop focusing on that selling aspect, focus more on sort of that connection, and then you'll start to see that engagement, right? And then that engagement then stems the next lot of content, and it kind of has a ripple effect from there in what I've seen a lot.

Um, and then of course, there's so many. things out there. But it was interesting, um,  one of the things you said, like, don't compare your chapter one to someone's 51 or, you know, kind of not comparing. What I find is, and what you'll find, a lot of people that are quote unquote, like, doing quite well on social media or whatever,  and even if they're, they're quite new, because there are people that get traction quite quickly, you go, yeah, you actually probably find 80%, at least 80 percent of the time, they've had something else before that.

That's helped them with this. So, for example, there's a woman on TikTok, her name's Fadan, in Australia. She's this lawyer. And she grew quite quickly. But she had a blog in 2017 that went viral. So she'd already had, she understood content. She understood things. And even there's a woman, um, she started a new business.

And, yeah, again, she gets engagement, and she's like, Oh, she only just started, she'd had previous businesses. And this is what happens a lot, like, yeah, that looks new, and it looks like they're only just doing it. You might follow their personal page, and they've got  10, followers because they've done something before.

So,  you always have, that's why it's impossible to compare yourself. You've just got to go.  on your own journey. And we're in different industries, we're in different niches, things were, it's funny, I've got a client I've been doing mentoring with, and she started three businesses at the same time to see what would work.

And one that you wouldn't think took off, and one that didn't. And she's sort of looking at that lens, how interesting, and  sort of going, okay, well, I just need to park that one for now. Cause the timing's not right or the industry's not right or whatever. But then I need to follow this one. And that's the same with content.

You just got to kind of follow. Yes. There is leads that come and sort of, you know, focus on that.  And I feel like the only way to be able to follow that is to start. That's the problem. Why your top of content funnel is not working because you're not even starting. So how are you even going to find out what is it that work for you if you don't start?

You need to start and you need to it's gonna look really messy. That's true  Because it's gonna be you're gonna be trying different things and you're gonna feel like this is so random But it's not it was actually going to connect with something that you're gonna post some day and then that's gonna link you to that Other thing and that other idea and you're like, oh, oh, I didn't even know that there will be interested in this and then you're gonna have an idea of content to create that and then All of the sudden, it's so easy for you to create that type of content.

Which is, as I said before, it's kind of like what happened to me. Yes, at the beginning, I didn't, I had no fucking idea what I was doing. I was just having fun and just like posting, yeah, la la la. This is me all day, blah, blah, blah. This is my desk. This is my iPad. This is my digital planner. You know, these, these are my Notion templates.

For example, I was just showing people how I would organize my work in my 9 to 5 and then my clients, how I would onboard them. And then I started getting DMs. Do you sell this  girl? Do I sell what?  What do you mean? And that's the other thing that I feel like when things are so easy for us to create, we think that it is easy for everyone.

And it's not  so  I think I said this before to someone I remember to whom maybe it was just my cousin But I was just saying that that thing that comes too easy to you to do that You don't even accept that that's so easy for you because you know, it's hard for you because it's easy.  That's your superpower That's what's gonna set you apart.

So to me  I know that I am creative to create templates in Notion. I'm good at it. I'm good at creating templates in Google sheets as well. And I, I have the thing to make them look pretty and clients love them. And,  and they just like, feel like they want to see it. Cause they look organized and aesthetically pleasing,  but because I'm, I'm, I'm kind of obsessed with it.

Like I'm quite literally just like looking at templates in shed all day, cause I love it. I love it.  Um, and honestly, that's the other thing about what I was just getting to another point that we talked before.  When I said that you really have to  learn how,  how, like what type of systems work for you to be organized to me was making sure that the things that I used to keep me on track are aesthetic.

That's all I need. If it's pretty.  It will, it will help my attention.  That's it. I love that. And I didn't know that before. I kind of like had to try so many things until I got to that point of being like, Oh, I just need to make it pretty and then I'll be on it. You know?  So yeah, that, that's what I was saying that  you just, whatever you start posting is going to lead you to what is going to set you apart and what is going to be your type of content that people is going to be like, Oh.

I'm sure this is from this person who sells this  and then you don't even have to sell because if you just show it, if you're just like, Oh yeah, I'm using it. People are going to want it. Cause that's how our brains work. That's how I purchase  probably  99 percent of the shit that I have like in my desk, even, you know what I mean?

It's because I see all the person using it, probably not even  naming it or saying that they're using it, but I'm like, Oh, I need that.  So you don't need to sell. I never sell, actually sell my notion templates because I use them. So you probably have a lot of things that you sell for your business or your services.

You don't need to sell them because you already use them. You already love them.  And that's all that matters. People can see through that and they're going to be like, okay, I also need that.  Yeah.  And even with like any kind of coaching or mentoring, like you showing up as your best version of you sort of sells it for people because I want to be like that person.

You know, I think that happens a lot too, but we get so  stuck in the, Oh, I'm launching this. So I have to sell this.  Of course, we're business owners. We have to share what we sell in some degree, but it's like,  if we're really struggling with that engagement piece and really struggling to decide, you know, or what, because I'm seeing a lot of selling content at the moment and I think people are tuning out.

So we need to get people to tune back in and how we can do that is just connect with them. So I love, I love everything you're saying. So.  We should wrap up, but what is next? What is next for you, for good days, and how can people stalk you? And yeah, see your Notion templates, see how they could potentially work with you, or in any capacity just follow you.

Oh, absolutely. Yes. You can find me on Instagram and Tik TOK, uh, good days underscore VA,  and I have my website and everything over there is also, you know, like good days. ca that's all and what's next. Yes. What's next. Oh my God. I have so many plans for my business. As I said before.  I have way too many things that I want to do, but definitely I do see myself like having a small team someday.

And I do want that to happen, like to start at the end of this year. It doesn't have to like start happening, but at least I start thinking of getting the help. What do I want to work with? And that type of thing,  maybe two girls helping me.  And  I have like way too many templates that I really want to sell.

That I use in terms of content, actually,  I want to just like share everything that I know, whatever it is, because I feel like that's going to help someone somewhere. So I want to share them all even  like the onboarding system that I have for my own clients, the templates that I use, the questions that I ask in the discovery calls.

All the things that I didn't know when I started this I just want to give them away I want to give them to everyone  but it is a process because I want to make it like a strategic in a way and then just like  I started my podcast, so I don't know if maybe I'll do some type of course, I have no idea, maybe, probably,  but yeah, I'm just trying to like, take it easy, but I'm putting all my dreams somewhere, but just like take it easy, I don't want to stress, I feel like this year, last year was a lot of burnout and craziness in my life, it was a good year,  but I feel like I, I went, I pushed too hard,  So this year I want to continue growing my business, but I just want to do it on its own time.

I don't want to get crazy about it. Totally fair. I love that. Well, thank you so much. We'll put all the links in the show notes for people to stalk you. But thank you for coming on and yay, we had successful power the whole time. Yay!  Thank you so much for inviting me. Also because I forgot to mention in this take that this was my first podcast episode as a guest.

Woo! I love that. Yay! I'm so honored to be the first. Well, thank you so much, Freya, for sharing all your insights. There's so much to take from it. Can't wait to edit the episode so I can listen again and make notes. So thank you so much. Of course. And if anyone has any questions or  whatever, um, just a DM away.

Thank you. Send me a message. Amazing. Yes. All right. What did you take away? She's just, I love how much she has to share, whether it's in the content space or just in terms of  how to manage your time, manage your energy, manage your productivity. She is just absolutely a bright person and yeah, good times, good days.

I absolutely loved our chat. So if you're a nine to fiver,  amazing inspiration, if you're a business owner.  Yeah, Maria is such an awesome person to just have in your space, go follow her, check her out. She inspired me to buy my iPad. So we now have an iPad because of Maria, because just the way she seemed to make her life easier with it.

And it does definitely make our lives easier. And she just has awesome content to watch. So go and check her out and, and be a content queen or king and remember that developing your strategy and story develops your business. Thank you so much for joining me today. And please don't forget to share this with all your business and entrepreneurial friends.

You can do this by adding it to your insta stories and tagging us at contentqueenmariah or just tell them about it. If you do rate and review, I would love you forever. It takes two seconds to do and it means the world  to us and allows me to share amazing people like Maria more and just continue to create content.

And follow us on insta, tiktok and let me know if there's anything or anyone you want on this show. Please let me know. Always happy. I'm always planning. I've got a strategy for a reason, but I love, part of my strategy is obviously content that you guys want to see. So I will talk to you soon. I can't wait to update you more on the bus, the team, the business, all the things and have an amazing week.

Bye. 

PodcastMariah MacInnesmarketing, marketing advice, how to be authentic online, business ownerComment