Nina Macarie is a visibility expert helping female entrepreneurs get more visibility and connect with dream clients through podcast interviews. She is the creator of the P.I.T.C.H. podcasts framework, helping clients pitch themselves to the right podcasts with ease and confidence in an authentic way.
Today, Nina’s mission is to help female online entrepreneurs, coaches, course creators, consultants and podcasters get an amazing first impression as they start spreading their messages on other people’s platforms.
Nina lives in Romania with her husband, two kids and three cats.
Nina Macarie, Visibility Expert
Can you tell our readers about your background?
No matter where you come from, if there’s something in your heart that you are meant to do, you will do it. I grew up in a communist country until I was 10 years old and was although I was influenced by my family’s beliefs, (I saw my father turning down two entrepreneurial opportunities because he thought that having a secure job in employment was the safest option and then he had to retire early and find another job because his pension wasn’t enough), I still dreamed big. I knew that I wanted a better life than living pay-check to pay-check. Back then, the only big thing that I knew of was the European Union so I started dreaming about how I could work for this institution and have all the money and the freedom to travel to different places. I experienced a few bumps in the road but in the end, after getting a master’s degree in Public Administration in Madrid, Spain and working for the government in my own country, I was able to land a 5-month internship at the European Commission (part of the European Union) and I felt as though my dream had came true. On the other hand, during this time, I had been married for four years and my husband did not want to live abroad. So I decided to come back because I felt it was time to become a mom.
What inspired you to start your business?
I am so blessed to have two kids and I’m very grateful that I was able to be a stay-at-home mom for more than five years. Then when my kids started to go to day care full-time, I suddenly woke up having all this free time, not knowing who I was, what I liked or what I wanted to do. Three months before my son was born, we moved to a different city because we thought that being closer to our extended family was going to be beneficial, plus we didn’t want to raise our kids in a big busy city. So, going back to my previous job wasn’t an option. I could now do everything I wanted but because my focus for the previous five years was just on the kids, I felt overwhelmed and had no idea what to do. My husband suggested I should start working with a coach and so I tested a few things here and there but I still wasn’t happy. I couldn’t find the one thing I was looking for (doing something that I loved but that was also meaningful and fulfilling to me).
Where is your business based?
Even though my business is based in Europe in Romania, I work with clients from all over the world. Fortunately, although my business involves working closely with my clients, I created a system that doesn’t require a lot of 1:1 work, so I can work at times that are most convenient for me. It wasn’t easy when I first started because I’m a people-pleaser and I’m all about client satisfaction. But in the end, I managed to come up with a system that works, for me, my business, and for my clients.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
When my husband and the main income provider lost his job unexpectedly, we decided to move across the country for his new job a few months later. Since we were starting from scratch, I thought that a new, fresh job would be everything I needed. I ended up feeling so trapped, so misunderstood, so uncomfortable that I quit the job 9 days later. That day, I went home and searched for work from home jobs and this is how I stumbled on a Facebook group for social media managers and this is what I started doing. I worked for a fitness coach but I realized that there’s too much hustle for me and I didn’t really enjoy this type of work but being part of those Facebook groups made me realize that I could become a virtual assistant and having an admin background was really helpful. I registered on an online freelancer platform and I joined a lot of Facebook groups where people needed help and were posting job opportunities.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
The beauty of running an online business is that there’s no cookie-cutter recipe. Based on where you are on your journey and your personality type, you can choose whatever feels comfortable to you but at the same time it’s going to be a little bit of a stretch. A quote that has recently become one of my favorites is that your goals should be “big enough to excite you but small enough to feel achievable”. Yes, it’s great to set big goals but if they are too big, too scary, they are not going to work and you’ll end up procrastinating and feeling super uncomfortable, overwhelmed and you’ll most probably end up quitting. I stepped out of my comfort zone, like going live in a FB group or on Instagram as part of a challenge because I wanted to get more awareness for my business but those were only spikes because I didn’t have all the pieces together. What helped me was making the commitment to saying “yes”, I wanted to become more visible and I wanted to do it in a way that felt right for me. Then I started joining coffee chats and virtual networking events where I could practice my elevator pitch, the way I talked about my business and the work that I do for my clients. Then I was ready to move one step further and I became a part of two business bundles and the more I practiced my pitch the better I became. I then became part of four online events where I got to share my expertise. The first one was the scariest but I gave my brain the evidence that I was able to do it once and therefore it wasn’t dangerous for me to do it again.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I started my business with this deep belief in my heart that I could help other work-from-home-moms to grow their businesses. I knew that having an admin background was going to help me but I had no idea how I was going to do that. This is why, when I started working as a general virtual assistant, I was willing to help everyone with all the admin tasks and I couldn’t understand why I was only able to land short-term gigs. My one desire was to land that long-term client that was going to allow me to prove to her that I was capable of doing great things. So, I was investing in courses with the money I was making because by this point, I’d found out that in order to stand out it’s better to offer a niche service. At this stage, my biggest challenge was that even though I taking all these courses, I didn’t have the courage to market myself as having this new skill. This is why, when I watched a masterclass on how to pitch to podcasts, there was a course that was available to buy at the end of it (and this course was special because it had two parts: one for the virtual assistants and one for the client), I gathered all my courage and I decided that I was going to barter my services in exchange for that course. Even to this day, I remember the fear and the excitement and all the what if’s (what if no one responds, what if I’m not good enough, what if they say no,…) but luckily someone said yes, and not only that, we started working together and I got the experience that I wanted.
However, a few weeks later she referred me to someone else. And this is how I started pitching my clients to speak on podcasts and gained not just a new skill, but also the experience I was looking for.
How do you stay focused?
Running an online business might not be for everyone. There is no one else other than you who will tell you what to do and when to do it. Over time, I’ve discovered that having a plan is always helpful, even if sometimes the plan goes wrong or something unexpected pops up. You can always make adjustments and sometimes you might need to be resourceful and you’ll just have to find another way of getting the same end result. So, having a plan in place and knowing every single day what things I have to work on helps me stay focused and motivated.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
I'm the shy, quiet, good kid that got to a point where she started her business because she wanted more time and flexibility in her life. I totally understand the struggles of starting your own business, for e.g. not knowing exactly what you're doing, sharing your story because you need more exposure, credibility and authority to grow your business. I don't believe in overnight transformations; I believe in taking small steps forward. I know what it looks like to be scared to put yourself out there, to believe that your story is not interesting enough, I know what it feels like to take messy, courageous action and I don’t think that it’s by accident that I get to do what I do. It takes courage to put yourself out there in front of other people’s audiences but in the end, the end reward is so fulfilling. It’s not just that I understand my clients’ struggles, I also invest in me and my business and I love learning from people that are a few steps ahead of me.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Connecting and having real conversations with other business owners has been the most effective marketing strategy for me. This is why I make sure that every month I join virtual networking events and coffee chats where I get to tell people about my business without feeling sales-y or the “spammy Pammy”. When I was focusing on where and how to find my next client, I had such a difficult time getting my next client but when I was focused on having a genuine conversation around my business and my mission, the other person was the one showing interest in my services.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Find your why! I know this might sound very cheesy and actually it’s one of the things that we don’t really want to do because usually we just want the next strategy, and the next tactical step. We so often just want to take the right action, yet without doing the prep work it might not be the right action for you as a business owner. Your “why” is something that is going to move the needle forward in your business and it’s going to help you get through those rough days when you don’t feel like getting out of bed, you don’t want to do the work, you have a meltdown, there’s something not working as you’d like it to, having your why in mind will help you navigate through those hard days.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie is a book that every business owner who wants to pitch her/himself to getting featured should read. Although this book was written a long time ago, there are some basic principles that are still valid and that you can still apply when it comes to promoting and pitching your business.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
My favorite business tool is the program management tool that I use, ‘Asana’. I love it because it makes my life so much easier. Not only that, I can brain dump all my ideas and it helps me stay organized. I can set up boards not just for my business and my clients, but also private boards for my personal life and family. I love having all the things that I need for my clients in one place for future reference and I can set reminders – it’s so important for me to know exactly when and with whom I need to follow up because I don’t want to miss any opportunities for my clients. I couldn’t possibly remember every instance when someone tells me “get back to me in one, three or six months”, my brain would explode. But it’s so easy to add an email as a task so every day when I start working, I can review my to-do list and know exactly what I have to accomplish that day.
Who is your business role model? Why?
I started my business as a mom who had a big dream in her heart and wanted to do something meaningful and fulfilling but who also wanted to spend more time with her family. So I’d say that my role models are those moms who have a similar vision and run successful businesses – just to name a few: Carrie Green, Cathy Heller, Jasmine Star. These are not only people that I follow online but also people that I’ve purchased from because I knew that they had something special that could help me grow my business and I that I could learn from them because they are where I would like to be in a few years time.
How do you balance work and life?
When I initially started, I was so eager to help my clients that I was available almost all hours of the day and night. I didn’t have any boundaries in place because I wanted to demonstrate my value and how I could be of help and service. Soon, I realized that not only was this not healthy, but I didn’t have time for my family (crazy, right? since this was one of the reasons I started my business in the first place). I gradually made changes and now my calendar is only open to clients, potential clients, conversations and other events on just three days each week (Tuesday-Thursday). This way, I can focus on myself, my business and my family on the other days. Also, as a rule, we sit down and have dinner as a family as often as we can.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
In the winter, I love ice-skating, and this gives me the opportunity to spend more time with my kids, playing board games (I’m pretty competitive😊) or solving Sudoku puzzles. In the summer, I love hiking. We live in a beautiful town close to the mountains which gives us the opportunity to explore and enjoy the nature on weekends.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
As a service provider, you can get to a point where your clients and income are capped but still, I would love to be able to help more people by sharing their stories and core message on other people’s platforms. Since I was able to create a framework that I use to help my clients get more speaking opportunities through podcast interviews, I would love to start teaching this because I know there are a lot of people who are scared to share their message or don’t necessarily know how to do it in a way that’s beneficial for their business.
How can our readers connect with you?
You can find me on Instagram, it is there where I’m the most active and if you’d like to download my checklist to asses if you are ready for podcast interviews, you can find it here.
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!
