Marilda walked away from a successful 20-year career as Senior Project Manager, as, for many years, she felt unfulfilled: she was continuously struggling to juggle career and family. And eventually found herself drained and depressed.
Marilda massively changed her life in 2019 when she realized that developing a new set of skills in the current economy is a must. And here is why: over $2.5 trillion per year is being spent on retail purchases online and, over the last few months, there's been a 25% increase in online sales.
By leveraging the digital skills, Marilda created her own business - Living My Digital Life - and reached a whole new level of work-life balance. This shift would not have been possible for Marilda if she had not discovered the power of affiliate marketing.
She is now the owner of her time and can build her career around the family (not a life arranged around the job as it used to be).
Her mission is to empower other women to stand up for themselves and make the same shift. Hence Marilda offers a program that walks you through specific steps to learn the skills you need to create a profitable online business from scratch.
Who is Marilda?
I consider myself a woman who has awakened from a long “dream-hibernation”! We, women, are a bit like that... eternal dreamers. We struggle to take care of the children, work, and more work, housework, cooking, grocery shopping, the list is endless every day. And we live in a daydreaming mode, wishing we had a magic wand to accomplish everything in a few seconds. We want to have Wonder Woman's powers to be perfect all the time. I used to be like that until the day I woke up and realized I was completely disconnected from reality. My real-life did not align with my dream life, and this resulted in constant unhappiness.
After decades of juggling career and family and finding myself stressed, depressed, and exhausted, I decided to call it quits, and I reinvented myself. From hibernation to awakening, passing through all the stages of the problematic acquisition of awareness and a profound transformation.
I am the mother of twin boys, I am Italian, but I now live in Malta with my family, which has further expanded by adopting two beautiful cats rescued from the street in miserable conditions.
I graduated in Italy and then got a degree at Peking University, where I improved my Chinese language knowledge. I worked for 20 years as a Project Manager for a renowned translation company.
And today, I am a digital marketer and affiliate marketer, and founder of Living My Digital Life.
What is it that you do for your clients?
I don’t call them “clients” but companions or beautiful souls, people who have decided to embark on a path of transformation to find their own way in this world, business-wise and life-wise. They are people who want to free themselves from social conditioning that pushes us to work like mice on a wheel and traps us in a working model that is not fulfilling.
I help people, especially women, reinvent themselves in the digital economy, which offers tremendous possibilities. Yet, people don't know about them and don’t take advantage of this vast opportunity. I help them understand the best options available and start shifting from the traditional economy into the digital economy.
What do you offer?
Help, guidance, and above all, a course that serves people to position themselves effectively on the online landscape.
People are terrified of moving into the digital economy (despite realizing that the traditional economy is dying) because they don't know it. The course makes sense as it speeds up the practical learning: it is a selection of techniques, tools, strategies, and detailed application. There is currently a massive gap between those who have the skills to work online and those who are just starting: the course fills this gap quickly and effectively.
More and more people are losing their jobs and realize that the only way to thrive is to move into the digital economy, but they don't know where to start from and can't afford to get lost in the thousands of information found on the web. They get lost, frustrated, and give up, falling back into the spiral of precarious or low jobs.
That is why they look for a course to get out of digital illiteracy.
What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
My goal is to serve women, helping them take their place in this area, close the gap with men, and ultimately fulfill themselves in their working and personal lives without ever giving up their role as mothers (or their dreams).
Too often, women are forced to choose between working or having children, or, if they choose both, they are trapped in the constant and exhausting struggle to juggle career and family. It is anachronistic, and the digital economy offers the possibility to escape this trap.
Where do I see myself in 10 years? At the center of a community of empowered women who can change this society and the planet's fate. Yes, I am still a big dreamer!...
What’s your biggest regret?
Not having started earlier. I have spent the last ten years of my life chasing time every day. And always losing the battle against time, because you know, if you chase time, you are always late... The most recurrent phrase I have told my children is "Hurry up; we're going to be late!". By living this way, I have missed so many opportunities to live in the moment and enjoy the little beautiful things. For example, a funny face, a playful expression, a game, a discovery, and those moments never come back, because children grow up fast and don't stay with us forever!
You changed your life drastically; what have you gained?
Flexibility, which means the ownership of my time. I can organize my work according to my needs and those of the family. I follow a detailed plan and focus on priorities when my children are at school; thus, I am very productive. I start my day early; I am self-disciplined and apply various techniques to complete each task effectively. This way, I have plenty of time for myself and my family.
Freedom: I don't have to prove anything anymore. I'm not stuck in a 9-to-5 corporate job, and I don't have to please my boss or colleagues. I work and study (because I continue to educate myself in this area) according to the principle of achieving results, so I don't count the hours worked but the goals achieved. I can experiment with new strategies and techniques; I make mistakes and learn not to make the same mistakes again without explaining myself to anyone.
Spirituality. I learned to live mindfully and be present in the moment. On this 'transformation journey,' I started to go within and listen to my soul, which, for so many years, had been screaming its needs and desires, but I couldn't hear, caught up as I was in the struggle to balance work and family.
Happiness. I was suffocating in sadness and depression, without even realizing it... as I was working long hours in the office and I was away from my kids. I couldn't spend quality time with my family (not to mention me-time). I used to live looking forward to the weekend, but you know the weekend flies by, and you then the Monday Blues hits. Now I’ve finally learned to balance things differently, in a smarter way, and, as a result, I started to live with more serenity, which gives me energy, motivation, and joy.
What is it that you plan to do with your life?
I intend to live authentically. I want to live to the fullest; this is the reason why I wanted to stop juggling career&family so firmly. That working model was stealing my time and energy and was preventing me from LIVING. Survival and living are two different things: most people, especially women, survive—no joy, no reward, no fulfillment, just dreams that remain empty hopes.
Why do you work with women?
In my corporate career, I visited many companies (as a senior project manager, I was on the first line with customers). I observed that most of them were male-dominated environments. I also noticed that whenever a woman landed a promotion, she could powerfully inspire more women to move up the career ladder and create beneficial outcomes for both male and female employees. The office was more inclusive and balanced.
However, I also know that these are exceptions: most women are struggling, earn less than men for the same role, work harder, still don't get promotions, and are also in charge of taking care of kids. Motherhood is still considered a penalty.
When I changed my career and moved into an online business, I saw that there are so many opportunities for women to build a profitable business and, most importantly, achieve a whole new level of work and family balance. The issue is that women are scared and need guidance to make the shift, so I started to empower and inspire women to find the courage to reinvent themselves by showing them that the change is possible and necessary.
What are your top three tips for getting started?
It is difficult to choose just these three tips, but these are probably the most important ones because people never consider them, yet they are the foundations of our "why." And without meaningful 'whys,' it is difficult to move forward (in any direction).
1. Take responsibility for your choices. 'We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.' I love this quote by Confucius; it's so true. We cannot waste our life by merely surviving and complaining all the time and feeling unhappy or unfulfilled. It doesn't make sense at all! We have responsibilities for ourselves, our kids, and this planet. We have to make choices mindfully, and we have to be accountable for these choices so that we may never regret having wasted our lives when we have no more days to add. When we understand this, then the second life starts.
2. Look inside and decide what matters the most and what you want to achieve. This is when our “whys” come into play. To position yourself in the online market, you need to know your vision, values, intentions, and purposes. Otherwise, your steps will be unsteady and your message ineffective. Easier said than done…that’s why you need to embark on a journey to rediscover and empower yourself. Go within.
3. Meet like-minded people, and take action. To go through this transformation, getting in touch with a community of like-minded people is crucial. You need to talk, share, see, feel, and ultimately meet people on the same journey; those people will support you anytime to face your fears and take action to move forward. Nothing is going to happen if you don't take action. Procrastination is the number one cause of failures in the digital market; that's why you need somebody to push you and hold your back.
What’s the best option to start an online business?
There are many options and possibilities, but I always advise to start from Affiliate Marketing, which is the same path I chose.
Affiliate Marketing is low risk because it requires a little investment and time, and I know how precious time is for working moms.
When you start this business, you sell products from other companies and get a commission; the great thing is that you don't need an office, or a warehouse, or an accountant. You can start just one or two hours a day, alongside your job, and when the income stream is steady and continuous, then you can quit your job and focus on this primarily.
As an affiliate, you can sell an unlimited number of products; you don't need to buy any of the products you sell; you only need to learn how to promote them, but obviously, you want to choose the ones you like best or feel comfortable.
Once the promotional campaign is set up, possible sales take place 24/7. This way, you can spend your time with your children or dedicate time to yourself while your business continues in the background. Your office may be the SPA if you want, so…
There are other options, of course, it depends on your skills and desires. Maybe you want to go to E-commerce, or you can join Amazon FBA, for example. Amazon FBA will do the heavy work: customer payments, packaging, distribution, and customer service. What you have to do is prepare marketing and advertising campaigns and sell the products. There are so many options that people don't even believe. That's why the course is helpful: it speeds up choice and practical learning.
Follow Marilda on Instagram, find her on Facebook, or visit her website to learn more about the programs.
