Driven by a blend of entrepreneurism and the desire to inspire, Samantha Kozuch is the creator of The Maniscripting Journal, a multi-million dollar viral brand designed to equip users with an innovative manifestation tool for scripting their dreams and bringing them to reality. With her irreproachable business savvy, Samantha has taken the personal development industry by storm, earning an empire that has resulted in global recognition, with over 100,000 dedicated followers across various social media networks. Her dedicated and thriving community of like-minded individuals has allowed her to unleash her cultivated expertise and help others as passionate as herself to embrace personal transformation worldwide.
In addition to leading the charge behind The Maniscripting Journal, Samantha serves as a self-development and mindset coach. She brings her extensive knowledge to the world through dynamic virtual workshops and speaking engagements, where she provides actionable practices to align thoughts, intentions, and actions for manifesting success. Samantha also hosts the Money, Mindset, and Manicures podcast, striving to empower women to seek positive change and inspire growth and personal breakthroughs.
Company: Maniscripting.com
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Samantha Kozuch: To start, I’ve been an entrepreneur for over a decade! My path to entrepreneurism was rather unique in that it all started when I was pursuing med school. I had planned to become a doctor, but in my senior year of college, through self development work and really getting to know myself, I realized I wasn’t interested in medicine. My parents, who are immigrants and had sacrificed so much for me, were unhappy with the decision – after all, I had begun taking college classes in high school to move towards that goal, and they had already paid for college. My parents ended up cutting me off, and I had to venture out into the world and make my own money.
I knew nothing about being an entrepreneur, but by observing others and seeing how they were becoming successful, I felt ready to throw myself into the game. I began learning all about video, lighting and photography and started my own video marketing company, as well as modeling and acting. I created the company long before UGC creators existed, and the business was instantly successful. I also began helping companies with social media, started creating fitness videos, and conducting business coaching. When COVID hit, my various businesses were not affected because my services were all done online and I already had established clients. Despite the success, however, I felt the emotional weight of the pandemic and started sharing with others the methods I was using to get into the right mental state, such as through meditation and journaling. I received a lot of great feedback and knew that these journaling tips and methods I was sharing needed to be more than just a downloadable PDF that would get lost in someone’s email inbox..
From there, I intuitively knew this method had to be something tangible, a journal that was beautiful and luxurious that people would be excited about and want to use. I had never worked in a physical product business and had to ask myself: Do I want to continue doing all these things? Or do I want to focus on one thing, this new passion, that could make an even bigger difference in the world? I went all in with the Maniscripting Journal, and here we are, four years later!
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffett, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Samantha Kozuch: I think I would first set the stage for Warren in terms of how each of us is grappling with making sense of a chaotic world and how easy it is to become distracted, especially in throwing us off course in achieving our personal goals. I would emphasize to Warren how the Maniscripting Journal isn’t a journal built just to motivate and inspire – both very important things that we aspire to bring to our users – but rather a tangible tool that sets people on a real path towards success. The tangibility of the product, the ability to hold it in your hands and revisit it at your leisure, is incredibly impactful.
I would also remind him of the importance of inner wellness, and how the Maniscripting Journal is designed to increase it. This is incredibly important because it’s inner wellness that steadies us and allows us to make big things happen – personally and professionally – which ultimately enhances productivity. And as we know, especially in the business world, productivity is essential. It gives people that sense of accomplishment that they can hold close throughout the day!
Quiet quitting, The Great Resignation, is an ongoing trend causing many businesses to struggle to keep talent engaged and motivated. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued, and misunderstood in the workplace. In your experience, what keeps employees happy? And how are you adapting to the current shift we see?
Samantha Kozuch: Luckily, we haven’t experienced quiet quitting at our company, which we are so grateful for since so many other organizations have been affected, even with the best of intentions. I think that the reason we’ve escaped the issue is due to our focus on collaboration and setting aside titles, roles, etc. in a unified spirit to further awareness – and promote growth – of the Maniscripting Journal. When fear of leadership and level is eradicated, when everyone is shown through words AND actions that they are an important part of the process, people will feel appreciated and know that they are instrumental to achieving the overarching goal. It’s essential that leaders regularly communicate with their employees about their value, because even the smallest effort can go a long way.
Online business keeps on surging higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for the year to come and how are you capitalizing on the tidal wave?
Samantha Kozuch: While online business is definitely surging, it is important to note that the cost of business is increasing! A lot of business owners need help dealing with the change. Something that we’ve found effective is tapping into existing assets, and in our case, it’s leveraging our journaling community. A great example of this is our July mid-year reset challenge, encouraging everyone to buy a fresh journal and join the challenge to reset their year. With this, we anticipate another outstanding year for the Maniscripting Journal!
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Samantha Kozuch: I think the real challenge exists in moving outside of how we communicate with consumers. In many ways, today’s businesses have lost sight of what’s important, that in order to be truly successful and in a consistent way it’s crucial to really think about the person they are looking to reach vs. the general demographic. It’s so important to remember that whatever goods and services are being provided, a company needs to hold onto the mindset that each person has an individual need, that no consumer is like the other, and that we have to recognize their uniqueness in how they come to know and find value in what a company provides.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Samantha Kozuch: As a leader and to be successful, you have to put your ego aside, be willing to wear multiple hats and ask for help when you need it. For the first two years of the Maniscripting Journal, I was deep in the trenches: ordering inventory, packing, shipping, designing, etc. Along with that came the roles of hiring and firing, which could be an emotional rollercoaster. The importance of establishing a mindset truly dedicated to growth with the ability to handle those tough staff decisions and be open to the possibility of failure is so underestimated, but important to embrace in order to be successful. When I started out as an entrepreneur, learning these tough lessons was a very fast-paced self development course!
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Samantha Kozuch: The business superpower I would choose would actually be given to my team! Managing people can be quite draining, and it’s not something that comes naturally to me or that I enjoy. My personality is such that when I provide direction, I don’t want to have to explain myself or repeat myself as it’s just not productive, and in our fast-paced business, we have to be able to retain, move nimbly and pivot when needed. With this, I’d love it if my team could read my mind. I’m a visionary and a manifester by nature, so I’d love to be able to focus on the bigger vision, while my team taps into their superpower to know what it is I want, understand it and do their part to make it happen.
What does “success” in 2024 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision
Samantha Kozuch: For me, success for 2024 will take shape in continued growth, because as an entrepreneur I’m constantly looking for opportunities to leap higher and higher. Hitting that $1 million mark was such a major moment in time for us, as it was something that I hungered for as an entrepreneur and as a person who naturally has a desire to build. I know that we are on a serious trajectory, and with that, I anticipate we will close out the year with much to celebrate!
From a personal standpoint, success in 2024 is centered around my growth as an innovator. I’ve forged my own path with my eye always on innovation, which has moved mountains in my trek towards advancement. With this comes the need to keep careful watch of how innovation is shifting and how I can pivot my professional efforts to align. In such a creative field, I often strive to be the source of the shift, to reshape innovation on all fronts. There is no doubt in my mind that our team will be the drivers of innovation, kicking off 2025 with even more substantial achievements under our belt.
