IAM443- Founder and Coach Helps Others Heal, Grow, and Step Into Full Power

Sarah is the founder and CEO of multiple businesses. She is a licensed counselor, coach, writer, blogger, and podcast host. Her first book is coming out in October 2019. All her businesses center around helping others heal, grow, and step into the full power of all they were created to be. She believes in the power of vulnerability, connection, and intentional growth and believes these characteristics are important for success in every area of our lives.

• CEO Hack: Walking alone, taking the time to reflect
• CEO Nugget: Don't focus so much on the things that don't matter
• CEO Defined: Thought leader, one with the vision

Website: https://thewespot.com/

https://www.sarahmonares.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahjmonares1
https://www.facebook.com/thewespot

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarah_monares/

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today Sarah Monares of thewespot.com. Sarah, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Sarah Monares 0:38

It's awesome to be here. Thanks for having me.

Gresham Harkless 0:40

No problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Sarah so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Sarah is the founder and CEO of multiple businesses. She is a licensed counselor, coach, writer, blogger, and podcast host.

Her first book is coming out in October 2019. All of our business is centered around helping others heal, grow, and step into the full power of all they were created to be. She believes in the power of vulnerability, connection, and intentional growth, and believes these characteristics are important for success in every area of our lives. Sarah, are you ready to Speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Sarah Monares 1:14

I'm ready.

Gresham Harkless 1:16

Awesome. So I want to kick everything off with what I call your CEO story. What led you to start with the business?

Sarah Monares 1:21

Oh, okay. This has got to be quick. So of course, every story has tons that go into it. But I ended up going to school to be a counselor. Based on I'll sum it up by saying that, I didn't know. But I had a lot of my own healing I needed to do from my past and things that I've been through and loved helping other people. But when I went to school, I realized I was going to school, and I was healing myself in order to learn how to help others.

And so I started a private practice in 2009. I'm a licensed counselor, and I've built up my practice with multiple other therapists working there, we were seeing lots of clients every week, and it was really awesome. And I felt like I was made for something bigger, something more. And I was really seeing these patterns within my clients of a lot of people dealing with the exact same issues. And they really think they're the only ones struggling with those things.

And so I started to see a little bit of an issue, like, we need to find a way to connect these people, we need to find a way to talk about these things in a larger platform. So people can find each other, connect with each other, normalize a lot of the things that they're feeling and dealing with, and just how powerful that is. And I love counseling, I still do counseling, and there's a lot of power in not hiding.

And so counseling can be a very, you know, it has a lot of negative connotation for people, it's scary, you don't want people to know, they're in counseling. So really, all of these things are what propelled me to start the we spot to start blogging and writing and talking about my history and, my experiences and bringing people together and multiple platforms to be able to have these real conversations.

Gresham Harkless 3:32

Nice. Well, I definitely, you know, truly appreciate that. And I think like even that you spoke to a lot of times when you know you're going through something that's difficult, you often feel like you're alone. And I think that by you, like you kind of spoke to is having that opportunity to kind of talk with somebody to work through things.

You know, it's so important and, a lot of times, especially people that I say are givers and are naturally want to kind of give, you have to kind of as I say, put on your own oxygen mask first, and make sure that you're able to give more, but you have to heal yourself, first in order to do that a lot of times.

Sarah Monares 4:03

Yeah, I completely agree.

Gresham Harkless 4:06

Nice. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about The We Spot. And of course, I know you have a book coming out. I know we talked a little bit more offline about that. So I want to also hear about that and all the exciting things you have in there.

Sarah Monares 4:15

Yeah, awesome. So The We Spot is a women's community. And the name came from really just wanting it to be an all-inclusive place for women to come together in all different religions, backgrounds, and belief systems, that's really important to me. There are a lot of communities out there that focus on just this religion or just this belief system.

And I think it's really important for us to be able to come together and lift each other up and love on each other and support each other while still knowing we have very different backgrounds. I think that's a huge healing that needs to happen in our world in general. And so that's really what The We Spot is founded on.

And so within The We Spot, I have the we podcast where I interview women and men, I do work with men and counseling, just not so much online. But the podcast is about talking to men and women about their real stories and what they've really struggled with and gone through and helping people, like I said earlier no, they're not alone. And then we have a blog where we have 15 bloggers, we're adding 15 more.

And it's been amazing, and all of these ladies right from recipes, to their deepest, darkest feelings about things. And it's, an amazing, vulnerable place where we get to feature these ladies, we have a new article that drops Monday to Friday, about all different areas of growth. And so I blog on there, I blogged for a couple of local magazines, and a mom's blog. And yeah, my new book is coming out, it's called Looking In and Finding Out and that comes out next month.

Gresham Harkless 4:15

I definitely appreciate that. And I think that, especially in this day and age, I feel like you said a little bit too, like, a lot of times when you're going through something you feel so alone. So I think the beauty of this day and age is that we have so many different ways that we can connect with people.

And I think that while we feel alone there are so many different ways you can reach out to people, whether it be through a blog, or a podcast, or video interviews, whatever it is to kind of reach out and connect with people to let them know, for one, you know that they're not alone, but to they always have a place or an opportunity or somebody they can reach out to or connect with. Because I think a lot of times, we need that in our most difficult times.

Sarah Monares 4:36

Yes, I totally agree with you. Yeah, it's amazing to see the bigger community of people that are saying, Yeah, you know, me too. And we all know the power of too. And also be able to find a space where it does encourages you to go and get the additional help and support that you need. Outside of that as well.

As part of The We Spot we do have, we are women in the business directory. And so we highlight women-owned businesses and different services, so counseling and coaching services, so that people do have access to some of those places they can go to do the deeper work also.

Gresham Harkless 7:23

Yeah, absolutely. And have an opportunity to do that, obviously, but also to be able to tell your story, and things that you're going through I think also brings maybe helps with some of that kind of you spoke to the negative perception sometimes of going to and speaking with somebody that you kind of realize that none of us has it all together, and we're all kind of working on something.

And when you hear that from somebody you hear that, especially from successful people or, people that you know, or have gotten to some level you want to go to it kind of brings power to like where we are, and understanding that it is okay to ask for help. It is okay to go to a psychiatrist. It is okay to talk to this person because we all need some type of help in some different way.

Sarah Monares 8:00

Yes Amen.

Gresham Harkless 8:04

Now, I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce, and it could be for you or your organization. But what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Sarah Monares 8:12

So I think that there are two things in particular, and the first one is, is really the encouragement of people really be vulnerable and real in their everyday lives. I think a lot of times in, business and corporate and all of these things, it can feel a bit, you know, stuffy or like, I'm trying to create this perfect facade of myself.

And that's how I become successful in business. And I think it's totally the opposite. I think that we really encourage own your story, own who you are. That's really what makes you successful in your business and in your life and really points people back to themselves. I think the best rule is that there are no rules.

And being able to help people go within their own selves and find their recipe for success rather than looking outside of themselves for you have to do A and B and C and D, which can seem so overwhelming and discouraging, and what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.

Gresham Harkless 9:23

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be an app or book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Sarah Monares 9:36

More effective and efficient, so I think going back to listening to yourself, being grounded within yourself, that's super important. I've really prioritized walking every day, time alone, time to reflect, time to get back to my own self and center myself. And I think that there's a balance too because I think that a lot of times we can think that, you know, we're the only one we need. And that's completely false.

Gresham Harkless 10:04

Nice. So now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. So that is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you could happen to be a time machine, what would you tell your younger business?

Sarah Monares 10:17

I would tell myself to not focus so much on the things that don't matter. The little pieces, I think, I spent so much time getting hung up on, you know, researching, how do you blog, how to make a blog successful, how to have a great logo, you know, all of these things that I realized, now you can have an amazing business without even having a logo, really I mean there's all of these little things that we spend too much time on and get too hung up on making sure that they're perfect, making sure that they're right before we move forward. And I would just really say, let go of a lot of those things, and it will come together, but really prioritizing and looking at what really truly matters.

Gresham Harkless 11:06

Yeah, and that could be, definitely, I don't know, if you find that the same thing, that could definitely be hard. Especially if you're starting up, I guess you can say any new venture you to understand what the priorities are, because a lot of times those external influences will tell you that you need to have a logo, it needs to be this way it needs to be this font, and so on and so forth for you to be successful.

But then you have the business that doesn't have a logo, and they're super successful. So trying to kind of balance all of that and understand, you know, what is that priority sometimes can be one of those difficult things, but sounds like it's something that you feel is definitely important.

Sarah Monares 11:37

Yeah. Because I think it can make people stay in the same place. Rather than taking action and moving forward. They spend a lot of time researching and trying to do what, is the best thing to do, rather than taking action.

Gresham Harkless 11:55

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that action kind of creates that momentum. And that momentum kind of creates success. And I think, a lot of times, and I don't know if you find the exciting thing, where you kind of feel as if you can't go back and create a logo later on, you have to have it from day one that you can't improve, your copy on your website, you can't do these things and improve upon those things. It has to be right from day one. And sometimes when you try to do that you never get started.

Sarah Monares 12:19

It's so true. It was something that really impacted me really quickly, we went on a tour of Budweiser. And one of the big hallways in the building is the logos that they've had from the beginning until now. And I don't know, there's probably 50 of them like there are a ton of different logos. And I was like, wow, like it's not going to always be the same. It's continually going to change and you don't have to have it 100% perfect from the beginning. Obviously, they are a hugely successful company that didn't have the right logo when they started.

Gresham Harkless 12:56

Exactly. And that's a great reminder because I think that's one of the things that, I started to notice when I started to read a lot of biographies and autobiographies, those people that have reached success. And of course, that's always different for everybody. But I think you realize, you think that sometimes they are they're born and they wake up and then they're successful, but they have ups and downs, they have those peaks and valleys.

And I think when you understand that you understand there's changes there's evolution to logos and evolution to life on a deeper level, then that kind of gives kind of peace, I guess you can say in the journey that we're on.

Sarah Monares 13:27

Yeah, totally.

Gresham Harkless 13:29

Nice. So I definitely appreciate that. And now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote-unquote, CEOs on this show. So Sarah, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Sarah Monares 13:40

Yes, so I've battled with this question. Honestly, the CEO feels a bit too fancy of a word. To me, though, I think what it means is thought leader, I think it means the person who has the vision, and it's their job to look within themselves for that vision, and then bring together a team of people to help motivate and bring on board to make that vision or a reality to come to life.

Gresham Harkless 14:13

Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And, I think a lot of times, you know, we can get hung up on those different aspects, but I think that having a different perspective on whatever it is you are doing as a leader and what we're producing what we're creating, that's for our that's our decision to make, just as we kind of talked about, in whatever we decide is what we can kind of make happen and come to fruition.

So I appreciate that definition. I appreciate you winning that battle and give me giving us that definition as well. However, I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know. And then of course how best they can get a hold of you find out about all the awesome things you're doing and of course get a copy of your book.

Sarah Monares 14:55

Awesome. Yeah, I would just say to leave people with just keep going, keep moving forward, keep taking the steps, do whatever it is that you need to do to not stay in the same place, whether that's asking somebody for help or whatever. But whatever it is that you have in your heart that you want to create, it's there for a reason. And we have so much at our fingertips, we can find the help and the support to move forward and bring that to life.

So people can find me, I'm pretty active on Facebook, that's probably my most active social media platform. I do have. And that's just Sarah Monares. And then on Instagram, I'm Sarah_Monares. And thewespot.com and SarahMonares.com. Both have information about my book, it'll be through Amazon, and it's called Looking In and Finding Out. But if you go to either one of my websites, there'll be lots of links for you to find it.

Gresham Harkless 15:57

Awesome. Accessibility and visibility are everything. To make it even easier, we will also have it in the show notes as well too, so that everybody can follow up and get a copy of the book and find out about all the things you're working on. So Sarah, thank you so much again for your time. I appreciate all the awesome things you're doing of course appreciate your reminder for us to kind of get moving forward and not wait till yesterday or the day before that, do it today or tomorrow and I appreciate you I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Outro 16:22

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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