"There's been a shift in our culture on supporting work/life balance post pandemic and the more we can step into that fully, the easier we will be able to relate to our clients."
Marisa Lonic is a keynote speaker, life & business coach, 3x author, top-rated podcast host and the founder of Mama Work It. After spending nearly 15 years in corporate leadership positions, Marisa shifted gears to become a full-time Time Momager & Biz Momager.
Through her books, courses, and coaching programs, she helps busy moms juggling mom life, work life, wife life, fill in the blank life. Her time management and goal achievement strategies have helped the most overwhelmed mamas turn their dreams into reality, even when they thought they had no time to make any of it happen.
When she’s not supporting working parents with the daily juggle, you can find her cooking and baking delicious meals her kids may or may not eat, running (ok fine – walking/running) in her neighborhood, and hanging out with the five amazing guys she calls family (her husband and four kiddos).
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Table of Contents
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.
Marisa Lonic: Thanks so much for having me. My name is Marisa Lonic and I’m a keynote speaker, life & business coach, 3x author, top-rated podcast host and the founder of Mama Work It. After spending nearly 15 years in corporate leadership positions, I shifted gears to step into my business, where I support working parents juggling parent life, work life, spouse life, fill in the blank life.
My time management and goal achievement strategies have helped the most overwhelmed parents feel motivated and empowered to take action in turning their dreams into reality, even when they thought they had no time to make any of it happen. I offer books, coaching programs, on-demand courses, lunch and learn & keynote presentations to support this highly deserving market and am humbled to say my outreach has helped individuals in 97 countries to date.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Marisa Lonic: 2020 and 2021 did throw a lot of curve balls and also made us stop and reflect for a minute. Many of us were hustling ALL. THE. TIME. pre-pandemic and, as stressful and challenging of a season 2020 and 2021 was, those years also gave us a new perspective and some much needed mental space to just be–be present in the moment, be mindful of our priorities, be open to new ways of doing things.
What I learned was that busy does not always equal productive (even more so) and that if your priorities aren’t aligned with what you truly want, work/business/life is all going to feel VERY hard, no matter how much you think you love it.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Marisa Lonic: Absolutely. I’d say businesses should focus on the holistic person and ensure there is flow, not just hustle happening all the time. For example, when it comes to managing your time, I don’t focus only on checking the boxes on the to-do list, although, of course, that is the desired outcome. I focus on feeling good throughout the process because when we feel good, we do good. When we feel our best, we’re our most productive selves, our output is higher, our motivation skyrockets, new ideas flow, and we attract what we want to receive.
For anyone in business, operate from a place of abundance and balance. Don’t think grinding 24/7 on this one particular problem is going to get you where you want to be in the best possible way. Don’t get it twisted, hard work is important.
But, creating a healthy balance, taking needed breaks (even a few minutes of breathing deeply or stepping away from your work), getting enough sleep, being able to fully disconnect, are all ways we put out the energy and vibes we want to attract in business.
There’s been a shift in our culture on supporting work/life balance post pandemic and the more we can step into that fully, the easier we will be able to relate to our clients. Both ways of working in business may get you to your destination, but you’d probably much rather be flying first class or on a private jet, than stuck in coach in a middle seat
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Marisa Lonic: I think it’s changed it for the better to an extent. The expectations we had on working parents prior to the pandemic was nuts. We expected parents to work as if they didn’t have children and raise children as if they didn’t work. It was a constant tug of war for a lot clients I worked with.
While, I wouldn’t say the problem is completely solved, there has been a lot more dialogue and empathy out there to highlight the challenge and hopefully move in the right direction with providing the appropriate support and understanding for working parents.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Marisa Lonic: Invest in toilet paper 🙂
I intend to keep stepping out of my comfort zone over and over and over again.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Marisa Lonic: I don’t think online business is going anywhere. The pandemic simply sparked a quicker and higher raise than most probably anticipated in such a short timeframe. It’s just too convenient for most consumers and provides more work/life balance for all parties.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Marisa Lonic: Probably about 6-8
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Marisa Lonic: It’s not easy for me to be vulnerable, but I know vulnerability is an important way to create connection with others. Because I am also a working parent, I often share stories on my social media outlets in real time of challenges I’m facing.
I find those relatable posts are what allows other working parents to feel safe for possibly feeling what they’re feeling in challenging seasons. I also share a lot of raw, personal stories in my books: Time MOMagement and Biz MOMagement.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Marisa Lonic: I’‘d say online business social media visibility can be challenging. I don’t even pretend to understand social media algorithms half the time. That can feel discouraging for business owners who are pouring into social media marketing and not seeing the traction they’re looking for.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Marisa Lonic: I’d love to be more savvy in all those places, but I recognize my zone of genius and prefer to delegate for many of them :). I’d say my focus right now is on continuous growth and visibility online and since online marketing is constantly evolving, it’s always a skill I try to stay on top of.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Marisa Lonic: Whoever sees that data and doesn’t take a nanosecond to self reflect probably should. I believe the best leaders are ones who are self aware and continuously on a growth track. You can’t grow if you’re not recognizing areas of possible improvement in your life (business and personal).
The best changes that can happen are for companies to invest more in personal and professional development for their people and make learning and self improvement a part of the regular culture. These aspects often get pushed off and consequently not prioritized, either from a budget perspective, a time perspective or an interest perspective.
That often leads to elements of toxicity in a company’s culture, which can easily spread and grow, hence causing unhappy employees and higher turnover rates.
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?
Marisa Lonic: Great question! Ability to read minds 🙂 I like to think I have a pretty high EQ, but I definitely miss the mark sometimes.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Marisa Lonic: Making a positive impact on millions. I’m on my way there 🙂
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Marisa Lonic for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Marisa Lonic or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Brianna Régine Walston:
Our core creative strategy and operations management teams are run by women of diverse backgrounds, skill sets and personalities—and I love it. We all come from different walks of life, and have an appreciation for each of our individualized experiences.
Work culture is important to me, so maintaining an environment that promotes transparency, vulnerability, and a sense of belonging gives women a place to be themselves, entirely (instead of being silenced, ridiculed, worried about losing their job, etc). If a mom has to be a mom and leave work early to attend to her children, we let her. If a teammate is having a challenging time because she’s PMSing, she has the space to be supported by her teammates–because we get it.
These examples can seem small, and non-work related, but it’s really these experiences that should be considered when making workplace decisions about PTO, or flexible work hours, or healthcare and abortion resources, or leadership promotions, or mental health days, or for in-person environments–accessibility to feminine products.
