Beyond the Algorithm: Building a Voice That Lasts with Marta Spirk

Hey there, I'm Leslie Youngblood, and this is Sirius Lady Business, the podcast where

we get real about what it takes to build a business as a woman today.

From late night Google searches and client curve balls to the wins that make it all worth

it, I'm talking about the stuff no one puts in the highlight reel.

Each week I'm bringing you honest conversations, lessons learned, and stories from women

who are out here doing the work, messy, meaningful, and unapologetically bold.

Whether you're just dreaming about starting a business or deep in the grind, this podcast

is your space to feel seen, supported, and fired up.

Because let's be honest, this journey is hard, hilarious, and absolutely worth it.

So let's dive in.

Welcome back to Sirius Lady Business, I'm Leslie Youngblood, your host feminist

and founder of Youngblood MMC, a marketing, media, and content agency.

Today we are joined by Marta Spurk.

Marta Spurk is a speaking coach, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and professional

singer who helps women entrepreneurs turn their story into a powerful, revenue-generating

signature talk.

She supports her clients in clarifying their message, delivering it with confidence, and

leveraging speaking as her strategic income stream on stages, podcasts, and within their

businesses.

Through her coaching programs, Keynote's podcast in award-winning book, The Empowered Woman,

the Ultimate Roadmap to Business Success, Marta blends storytelling, thought leadership,

and practical speaking strategy.

So women can be seen, heard, and paid for their voices.

Welcome Sirius Lady Business, Marta.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm super excited to chat.

I had to emphasize that last part, paid for their voice.

Because there is so much value in our voices.

And I love that we're going to be talking, building a voice that also lasts today.

And you are somebody who's been in the online space for years, clearly from that incredible

bio that we just shared for you.

What has longevity taught you that truns never could?

I love that.

Well I think it's the power of not giving up.

But eventually I have a Martaism that I like to drop here, then and again, that is people

will notice if you don't go away.

So there's something to be said about, and it's funny I was teaching about this the other

day, and I was like, what's an animal that doesn't disappear and keeps coming back and

somebody says cockroach?

And I was like, well I need something.

Yeah.

Maybe if she has a skirt in a crown, we can use the cockroach.

But that's the idea is that you don't let gets you down, you're resilient.

And you keep coming back and that's what allows you to have that longevity and for people

to recognize you.

Because in a world where things disappear in 24 hours, I mean talk about social media content

and stories, what will actually stay is your decision really.

It's your decision to not, to not stop and people will notice that and they'll be able

to track it back, you know, with search, yes, search engines, you know, I love that because

it is so simple yet so unglamorous and it's not what people want to hear.

And I have this conversation a lot with the clients that I work with and in my daily life,

whether I'm talking about a workout program, right, or building a business, it's like, we

all want the quick fix.

We want the viral post.

We want the beach body, which I hate that term, but right, we want to get fit with the

step of our fingers or a pillow or this and that and there are pills now that can do that

and help people that need it, which I think is great.

But really, when you don't have that, it's really as simple as being consistent so people

end up having to pay attention to you.

And I feel like there is a Taylor Swift quote that she talks about that somehow, where

she's like, I'm not going away or I'm just going to stick around until people to notice

me.

And I feel like that's a testament and a great example because you know, she's somebody

who started young was discounted and years later has the largest grossing tour of all

time has become itself me billionaire and has all because she gone through all sorts of

public discourse and just refuses to stop and doesn't care.

And so, and I feel like anybody listening, that is really, you know, exactly what you're

saying too.

And it doesn't mean you have to play the virality game or the, even the relevance game,

I feel like we all try to be relevant, but so, and I would love to hear what your thoughts

are on the difference between being relevant and being resonant.

Mm-hmm.

That's such a good question.

You have the best questions.

Oh, true, because people are seeking the viral because that's that instant.

And I'll just, I just want to speak to that for a second because I have had several

clients come to me, want to start working with me because they did something that made

them go viral and interestingly enough, I had a client that made a post commenting about

Taylor Swift.

And that generated a lot of attention.

All of a sudden at the drop of a hat, she gained lots of new followers and she's like,

how do I leverage this?

And it's very interesting that a lot of people that get this overnight thing, usually

they don't have this structure and they don't have what it takes to actually leverage that

because it takes a while to learn what you're good at and what you monetize, you know, speaking

to don't give up, don't go away because eventually you will find where you fit in that

beautiful marriage of what people want from you and what you can offer, which is essentially

the core of business.

Now, talking about relevance and I think social media has really, you know, done a trick

on us in terms of that because there are some, I mean, I just, I thought that this idea

was gone, but clearly it was not.

I stumbled upon a post on Instagram like in the Explore page saying, you need a time stamp

your stories and you need to start talking about what you're doing in your day.

And I was like, oh my gosh, people are still doing that.

Like they're still sharing every moment of their day.

I remember when I started with network marketing and that's what was encouraged and it

was exhausting, especially as a mom of littles, like I need to talk about everything that

I eat and where we're going and, you know, the B roll of me setting up, changing, getting

in the car like quickly, I decided this is not for me because I'm busy doing other

things and it's just so, like, it takes up so much brain space and energy that is not

allowing me to show up fully for either the clients, you know, the prospects or my family.

So I decided I wasn't.

So social media has not helped with that and a lot of voices on social media because

they say you need to be on all the time.

Otherwise you lose your relevance to what you're saying, but throughout the years and it

took me time, it wasn't overnight because I played that game for a long time.

And I want to say that it was in the last couple of years that I allowed this feeling,

this need, right?

Because it's almost like a drug like, oh my gosh, I didn't post today.

What if people forget who I am, right?

It's this year to then the trust of I am positioned in a unique way and I trust myself

enough to know that I can take a break and that people are still going to be out there

and that I reach out to them and have conversations and close clients.

So it's something that one of my mentors said, do not lead your business and your life

for that matter with frantic energy.

So I think the resonance comes into that place.

I am not desperate because people notice that they notice when you're desperate, when

you're seeing them as another, you know, number or as a money sign versus the connections

because it's quality over quantity.

If you know how to position the back end, so back to what I had just said, if you're

still living in the land of, I'm going to run ads to my $27 offer, I'm sorry, that's

tough.

That's a tough place to be in and once I switched into having more high ticket, having

qualified conversations and less conversations and less content for that matter, everything

shifted for me because I don't feel like I need as many numbers, people, I'm just having

better conversations and it's a lot of trust in what I have to offer.

Yeah.

And again, it sounds so simple and it makes so much sense once you figure it out, but

when you're in it, it can feel so frustrating and desperate because you're like, what do

I mean?

I need to pay my bills and I have to fix it.

I'm still kind of things are trickling in.

And so I have to keep on that hamster wheel essentially, a self made hamster wheel.

And then you said, your energy is off.

It disconnects you from your voice.

You may be more likely to take a client that's not aligned with what you do or who you

are, the type of person you want to work with.

Was there a moment when you realized that chasing visibility could disconnect you from

your voice, yourself, Marta?

Yes.

Absolutely because at the end of the day, chasing visibility means, and I say, I still

say to clients, you need to be visible, but there is a difference with chasing.

And I think of it as equaling it to validation, right?

When you're not backing it up with a structure of a business and it's more so look at me

and tell me I'm doing a good job.

And that doesn't pay.

You know, believe me, I have, you know, looked for the likes, the comments.

But if you don't have that structure in the back end, visibility doesn't mean much.

And time and time again, people will come to me and say, you know what?

I just need more eyeballs.

Do you really or do you need to get clearer on what you can offer?

Because it's again, quality over quantity.

And we've known this from watching influencers.

They can have a bajillion followers, but what are they gaining out of that?

You know, selling their souls to sponsorships and having to film their every waking moment?

Like, is that the lifestyle that you want?

Because it's not for me with a family and children.

Right.

Right.

And maybe it is for them.

Maybe it works for them.

And that's okay.

And I love that you said there because it's visibility is different for every person,

too, right?

For one woman, it might be that influencer lifestyle.

For another, it might be posting unlinked in for another.

It might be being in somebody's inbox every day.

But we get in our heads of like, oh, I have to be an influencer and post five, 10 times

a day.

Like are you out of your, can you imagine?

I don't know.

And so if it feels wrong, then it means it's disconnecting you from your voice.

And there's a different way to use it that will work for you.

And so I think that that just really important for us to all remember because whether you're

just starting or whether you've been in it, there's always a new tool that's coming

along to help you where everybody's hot on as well.

So I think it's really important.

And you may not even realize that you're performing, right, versus utilizing your voice or how

do you even know without somebody telling you that, Marda, how do you know you're performing

versus expressing?

I think it has a lot to do with that clarity of who you are.

And that comes with time as well.

But having mentors and people to reflect back because you may think you know what you're

doing and who you are, but listening to your network, listening, you know, to clients.

I think that.

There's such a huge value in reverse engineering and analyzing data of what one said if somebody

says yes to you, where did they come from?

What was the sales cycle?

So to speak like how long did it take for them to actually say yes to you?

And what did they say yes to because let's not reinvent the wheel.

Let's do more of what works and less of what does not.

And to your point, different things work for different people.

And there are different seasons, right?

There was a season where I was okay with posting more often because, you know, people will

ask me, how are you, you know, doing this all the time into me was like, well, I enjoy

it.

And I'm doing it.

And then now I'm at a moment where it's like delegate a lot.

So I'm still being visible, but I am not the one doing it.

And so when you were talking about, you know, influencers and other people, you have

to realize that some of them have large teams and people that literally are walking with

them recording that content.

So it's not just you with your tripod, trying to do it all by yourself and then spending

hours editing that stuff like there's other people doing it.

So there's, you know, my gosh, there's so much, I think behind the scenes that people

don't see.

And that's intentional to make it look like it's effortless, you know, but once you see

the behind the scenes for one, it's not as glamorous as it looks because work is work.

So I've been saying this a lot.

You know, there's the quote, you know, find something you love and you won't work another

day in your life.

That's BS.

There is work involved.

There are moments when you're not going to want to show up because we're human, even

if you love it, like I love my clients, and after when we're done with the call and

like, oh my gosh, now I remember why I love doing this, but some days I don't want to

get the call started.

Some days it's a rough start, you know, so we got to remember that we're human.

100%.

And it is.

And that's why I love these conversations because you learn everything, everything is a

mirage in a way, right?

Like all these things we put out and that was something that really flipped my brain when

I was in the corporate space, playing the corporate game of like, I want the corner office

and I want the title and I want the salary.

And then you get there and not only are you burned out because it's not aligned, but

then you see the people that are doing it also have no idea and are no smarter than you

and behind the scenes.

It's like, wait, why I was supposed to get to a place where it's a whether that's

corporate or in your own business, like, I'm going to get to my million dollar year and

you get your million dollar year and you're burned out and you're exhausted.

And you're like, this isn't how it's supposed to be.

It's because something along the way you weren't aligned with or you got carried away by

the idea of what you thought you should do.

And it's so easy.

We all do it.

And so it's, I think it's important to have these conversations like, but that's truly,

you know, such a truth that I think we again forget to take into consideration when

we're just trying to grind it out and build a successful business in life.

And it can be said how important sustainability is in that action and sustainable action.

And it takes consistency, but you're ambitious, you're ready to roll.

You don't want to lose out on opportunity and you're feeling that drive.

But what does sustainable ambition look like from your perspective, Marta?

I love that because I've been having lots of these conversations about what ambition

means because I think it means different things again for different people, but at different

stages.

So for me, ambition in the beginning meant that drive that I'm not going to say no to an

opportunity.

Obviously, you know, if it feels aligned or whatever, but a lot of it had to do a little

bit with FOMO.

Like, I don't, you don't know who's in the room.

Maybe this is going to be, you know, an amazing connection.

And especially as you're starting out in business, there is a lot of truth in that.

You want to build that visibility and to not shy away from opportunities because everything

is a connection and it's a planted seed for the future.

But then there's a moment which what I feel like I'm living now where I've been in a lot

of rooms.

I've done a lot of things and a lot of things and that has come with time because, you

know, it's interesting because I think there's that's been a theme in my life.

I remember I got married, generally speaking young, I was 23 and I moved away from Brazil

so, you know, Mary, my American husband and came to America and I remember the words

that my dad, the word that my dad said when he handed me off was patience because for

me, my entire life, it's like everything now and everything fast every day.

So I have brought this energy into my business, which I think it's a positive because I'm

willing to do what it takes.

I am not going to back down like, now me, I need to do something.

I'm doing it probably two minutes after you told me I'm not going to wait and I know

there are some people that are like in a little, you know, let's wait out.

Let's see.

And to me, that kills me because I'm like, I'm there right now.

You know, don't don't ask me twice.

I will weigh out the choices and benefits after the fact and learn from it.

You know, but at this moment in my life, I feel like ambition has meant a lot of integration

and maturity as well.

Like being mature enough to know that I don't have to chase that I have done my time

in the chasing time, you know, in the chasing season, because in the beginning, it took

a lot of that to fine tune.

But then once you have built your credibility and you have done the work, which I have for

several years, it's about just learning to be at peace with what you've accomplished

because it can be exhausting and then it becomes more of that validation that you realize

never comes, you know, to speak to this happens in corporate as well.

Like, where else can you go?

I'm going to have to buy the company.

I'm going to have to be the president, but you're still going to have to write, right?

Life will still be life.

So it's coming to the point where I'm not going to fall off the face of the earth, which

that could be a desire that you have, you know, I don't know.

It could be that the next face of retirement.

But it's more so like learning to enjoy.

I know it's cliche, but having that gratitude of look at how far I've come, I actually have

a lot of wisdom.

And I can help somebody out that's just starting by having conversations like this and telling

them not everything that glitters is gold.

And I know that, not because it's a, you know, a saying, I've seen it with my own two

eyes.

Right.

100% and once you see it, you'll never forget it either, right?

It's like important lesson that you'll carry with you.

And I also think though, too, Marta, it's a testament to you because you learned to

delegate.

Like you said, right?

Yeah.

That's next.

I can't sustain this.

It's so many business owners and women because we juggle and do so many things will become

a bottleneck in our business because we don't want to give things up, but you, whether

we feel like it's admitting weakness or that we do know or that we are so trusting in

the people, how did you figure, how did you navigate that when you were at that stage?

Yeah, I think it's, it's again, that trust in yourself, right?

That you can't, I could absolutely do this, but it's going to take me so much more time.

And I think with having done this for so long, it's almost like, oh my gosh, this, this

makes me want to take a nap.

I'd rather have somebody else do it and then have to fix it or just not be 100% the way

I wanted it to do.

Then have to do it myself.

Honestly.

And also the trust that it's still okay because I've been doing this for a while and

I know better that it doesn't have to be, you know, this specific way for it to work.

I know I think a lot of it is that trust in myself and in others and also being willing

to give up on people's expectations.

I think, you know, is this going to look weak?

I don't care at this point.

If you think I look weak, that's on you, you know, and if you're wasting your time

thinking about me looking weak, you're wasting your time because you should be doing something

else, focusing on yourself, right?

And honest to God, this has taken I think the longest time and it's just, I think in

looking about like my life path and the different personality frameworks and different things

that I've studied throughout the years, I know and it's interesting because that's what

I, what I talk about and that's for the focus of my business because I think it's like

the life less than that you're meant to learn and that's why, right?

Yeah.

Hot.

Hot.

Yeah.

Is not speaking people's approval and to impress people and when you look at eat with

a life of a performer and helping people be visible, that's exactly what a lot of it

is.

It's, I need to look impressive to build credibility and build authority.

But on the same hand, I don't depend on that as my identity and to feel good about myself.

Like, ooh, it's so hard to separate you.

It's so hard to separate the two.

I can't eat it especially as a performer because that's the basis.

You're picked for your chosen or the audience laughs or they don't laugh or they react or

they don't.

And it's very quick like in that sense and it's very raw.

I can't imagine how raw that is and we can take it internally and make it about us or

you can just realize you got to do it and move on and that you have to let go of the outcome.

And that's probably when you get your great role or have that great talk or the voice really

clicks and it's, it's, it's frustrating that it has to work that way, but it does.

Yeah.

It's not in a way.

Yeah.

I mean, it's learning, right?

It's learning to walk while falling.

Yeah.

There's no other way.

There's no other way.

And it's no frustrating.

And it really is what you were saying.

When do you know the difference between performing and expressing and that's it?

It's the rawness of at the end of the day.

I don't really care if you come up to me because I've had so many, you know, based on what

you're telling me, you understand what I'm saying.

I've had people when I started singing and really putting myself out there.

People would come back to me and say, I have some strategies and exercises to help you

project your voice more.

And I'm sure they thought that they were helpful, but you know, you'll go through these

things and that can make you second-guess yourself and it's got nothing to do with the audience

and what they say to you.

It's how you take it.

Right.

I completely agree.

I want to go back to two with delegating because I think that's so important and I learned

this lesson recently where I delegated something and the person brought it back and it was

even better than I expected.

And I was so stressed about letting this thing go and giving it to somebody else.

And you forget in your brain that's just like, you go, go, go, go and I got to do this

and I don't want to give this up, but I know I have to.

And then somebody gives it back and it's way better than you ever could have done.

This is why you also have to delegate because you got to let all their shine and express

themselves and you're all working to get when they see the vision.

And so you're you're you're hindering yourself or you're taking away that ability to be

delighted by people too and in that collective coming to go there to make something really

cool that is in your brain into reality.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

And also understanding that everybody has, we talk about this, but then we forget because

it's all apreneur is when we start, we have to do everything, right?

So it's so hard.

It's like you're telling me, I need to delegate, but when I first started to do everything

like pick, pick something, you know, make up your mind and it's like different phases

of things and understanding that people have different genius, I've just been having

this conversation with my sister, actually, because she's like, Oh, I don't know what

I don't want to do next and feeling kind of lost in her direction.

And she's like, what I'm really good at, I think, is helping organize and I'm like, you're

totally ops.

And she's like, what does that even mean?

Because like in the in the world of business, you know, I'm like, well, let me tell you

what this means in the world of business, like in that total opposite, I am not the

ops person.

I am the person that comes in.

I encourage you, you know, I set the room on fire and I'm like, no, go out there and

do great things.

Again, it takes a while for you to get to the point of not only recognizing that you're

good at that and being like, and I'm not good at the other things, let other people,

let me be delighted by other people that are great with spreadsheets that, you know, are

so organized and I can let that go not because it's a sign of weakness, but it's actually,

you know, to think brain a brown vulnerability is strength, like to admit, I suck at this

and I don't want to be good at it because I'm almost 40 and I'm on my lane, I'm over it,

I'm good, somebody else, please, please help me, I want to give this away, I want to

give this away.

And you've come so far and done so much, Marta, tell us a little bit about your journey

and how your voice has evolved over time.

Oh my gosh, it's crazy to think and I think the closest I get to turning 40, which will

be in a few months, it's having me reflect even harder on the last 10 years.

I mean, obviously the last 40 years, but especially with having my business, they have been

the biggest life bootcamp because they have gone hand in hand with raising my kids.

So I have triplets.

They recently turned 10 and I actually started my business when they were just a few months

old.

So it's been in parallel, you know, raising my kids and raising, they say, your business

is your baby too.

So like the fourth baby there, yes.

And it's been, it's been a journey of allowing myself to lean into the things that I have felt

like the pull to do, which I'm very grateful that the entrepreneurial journey allows for

that because when you're, you know, when you have a boss and when you have somebody telling

you what to do, you don't have as much freedom to go out on a whim and say, I want to do a

photo shoot.

I want to rebrand, right?

I want to change like, and that's where I've been also able to dive into music more because

I realized I'm the boss here.

So if I want to add this, even if I don't know exactly what it looks like, I can, I can

experiment.

I think that's what this journey has taught me is the power of experimentation and not

being afraid that it doesn't lead anywhere because it did, if it give you information on

what where you want to go next, you know, and not being so attached to failure or success

or being willing to modify your definition of success as you go, that's, that's been

the journey really because to me in the beginning, success meant, I don't know, hitting six

figures because that's what I saw everybody talking about, you know, and then I hit six

figures and it's like, wow, this guys didn't part.

Interesting.

I thought they would, you know, and it's like the whole post moves and, and then figuring

out what is that, you know, and, and so I think this journey of starting, I started with

network marketing because that's where I was at, you know, postpartum with little babies

and the promise of make a few bucks while your kids are napping to realizing I really

cannot have a boss.

I want to build my own things and I want to sell my own things and then figuring out what

is that?

What audience want?

What can I offer?

Moving from life coaching into more marketing and now full on being in the world of messaging

and speaking and to look back and, you know, I have two degrees in English.

I started teaching English in Brazil when I was 14 years old.

It's always been about voice and it's always been medication, you know, so it's like I

knew I had a glimpse that it took all these years to see it come to pass and it's not

over.

So it'll still in front.

Right.

Well, and there's people that go their whole lives and don't figure anything out, right?

And don't want to get honest or given to themselves and what your inner voice is telling you

truly.

Is there something that younger Marta believed about success that you no longer believe,

Marta?

I think it has a lot to do with and I'm still letting go of that.

I think, again, I really believe that this is my life's journey is I don't need the applause

and the accolade to feel good about myself.

Like I am worthy as I am just by being who I am and I don't need all of that.

I can have it, but I don't need it.

And I thought that I needed it, you know, so that's, and it's like, I know now that I

don't need, but getting to the point where I feel it in my bones, I think that that's

the journey, right?

So I think she thought she didn't know that she didn't need it now because of so much.

Now I know better, but there are times because I want to be honest that I still feel like

this is going to be something that is going to add to my life and make me feel better

about myself and time and time again, I am proven wrong that it's not.

It's really within and it's always been with it, you know, I mean, if that's not just

the journey for all of us, right, is we project and look externally when really it's an inside

job and it's really hard.

It's the hardest job of all is that is there something that you've learned that you're

no longer willing to do for growth, Martha, think compromise my, my values and my family

life because like I said, I was so gung-ho on many things and that was a point of contention

in my marriage for a long time because my husband is not in the entrepreneur world and

I'm grateful for that.

I have been presented it, but it's good to have somebody outside of it to ground you.

And that's not to say that people, you know, couples that are both entrepreneurs that

don't have a good life.

I'm just saying in my instance, this has been good for me because we really balance each

other out like he's the analytical, I mean, he's an electrician.

So he needs to be very attention to detail, you know, his life depends on it.

And I'm the total opposite.

I'm flying high in the sky, you know, so we really help each other in that sense.

But I think in the beginning, it's almost like I resented my reality of I felt like,

you know, having triplets was holding me back, so I needed to go even faster and, you

know, harder because it's like I'm losing opportunities and time.

And now 10 years later, I look back and these were some of the things that he would tell

me, you know, it's like, it's okay, you don't have to do this now, you can wait until

later, but it didn't matter because that's where I was at, you know, and I'm grateful

that he's so good.

Yeah, but now I look back and I was like, dang it, I, I didn't know.

I didn't need to, again, I didn't need to, but I did.

So I have many results and fruits out of that because I did it.

Yeah.

So that's good and grateful for it.

But I think now I am, it's been easier to say no because in the beginning, everything

was a yes, you know, because it's like, what if this right, right, right, and nothing.

And now that I realize there is no big break, it's a combination of any opportunities.

It's really a puzzle and there are pieces in the puzzle.

There is not a giant piece, otherwise it's not a puzzle, you know, yeah, not a puzzle

if it's a giant piece, I love it.

I mean, I relate to that so much because my husband is not in business, my husband is

a firefighter.

And it's really difficult because so with his particular profession, we've had arguments

and discussions, more so when I was in a corporate space, I was working 80 plus hours

a week.

That was, but that was me making bad decisions and not selling boundaries that I, so I take

full responsibility, but even now as an entrepreneur, and just in general, it's like he's on

it eight and he's off at eight.

And nobody is texting him about things about work in that time that he's off work.

And so when I'm, you know, just working, I could like work for forever, like, you know,

do this.

It frustrates him and he doesn't get it.

And I'm like, you know, you know, understand, I wish I had somebody that understood.

But then I think I chose this person that is at a totally different perspective than

me, right?

It complements me and it's not exactly the same and challenges me.

I chose this.

This is my person for a reason.

And I have to learn from this and, and this is making me think differently and being

a better entrepreneur, professional mom and wife because I'm not ignoring my, you know,

that I'm ignoring my family for hours and hours upon and I'm being more present and

trying to do better and he's also learning.

And so it's just so funny and I would love to have a conversation.

I've thought about bringing him on, but having conversations with female entrepreneurs

about the spouse dynamics because much of what we're also, and I think it's changing.

And I think that's something that's really important to see and know more female entrepreneurs,

more female business owners.

But we see these successful men, right, and the majority of VC Monday goes to men, VC

funding goes to men and there's women supporting them behind the scenes through their kids,

all the things and it's like, my God, you know, how much I could accomplish if I had a wife.

Right.

And they're so it's just, it's just a different, and it's not to say it's holding us back.

We just have to look differently.

We have a different path and are, it's not a hindrance.

It's an asset and we just have to figure out how to make it work in our puzzle and find

that puzzle.

Two, I want to talk about this because I'm sure you'll have opinions on it, Marta.

Have you heard of the 996 rule for working?

I don't think so.

The 996.

It's really big.

It's big in the VC and the startup space, I think primarily out in Silicon Valley, but

I saw a post about it recently about a founder, a male founder who uses this 996 rule.

It's, what is it?

Right.

Nine from nine in the morning to nine at night, six days a week.

They're focused on work and building something out.

And I'm like, listen, nine a.m. to nine p.a.

What can you imagine?

You're getting off school at 350.

And then it's so, it's begging for burnout, begging for, you know, for chaos.

And it's just such a male, I think, school of thought.

Obviously a male came up that way.

Yeah.

It doesn't work for women.

You know, and so, and that's what I love to see about being an entrepreneur and why

for women, you can make your hours.

If you want to work from nine to three, the kids go down and you work from nine to midnight.

And that works for you.

And you can do that.

And you can call your own, build something that works for you and that you're passionate

about.

And aligns with you and your voice.

And that's why I think it's so important.

But burnout can be always, you know, just a few steps away if you're not careful.

And so in your perspective, Marta, how do women reclaim their voice after burnout?

Oh my gosh.

So first of all, I want to speak to this thing that you just mentioned and sad before

when, and thank you for sharing about your journey and your marriage and your relationship

because that is really important to talk about because for a long time, when I first started,

we are so susceptible when we're, you know, beginner entrepreneurs because we don't

know anything.

So tell me what to do.

And I'll listen to you, especially if you look successful.

And there was a huge, you know, there still is sort of, but I think

things are shifting, but there was a huge movement of boss babes that retired their

husband.

Oh, and that was the, yeah, that is the matter of success, right?

If you retire a husband, you've reached the epitome, that is never happening in my life.

My husband is never going to allow me to retire him.

He's always going to be doing something and he really prides himself in his trade.

In fact, he wants to indoctrinate my kids like, don't go to college, get into the trades.

So I love it.

So that's what he knows.

So it is.

Yeah.

But whatever works for somebody else does not necessarily work for you.

And something you said is, I have a different path and we all have a unique path.

And that's something that in the beginning of my business, it helped me.

And again, I started seeing it, but it took a while for me to actually internalize it

and embody it because, you know, we are stubborn.

But it's like being somebody's life and thinking, oh my gosh, she has it all together.

And then realizing, no, she doesn't.

She may be making a million dollars, but, you know, her marriage is falling apart, whatever

it may be.

She's going fingers, but that is to say, you don't want somebody else's life.

You really don't.

You really don't because at the end of the day, they have a completely different background,

a completely different setup.

You have your own path.

So just be proud of it and learn to work with it.

And I say this because of my unique situation with having triplets.

Like, I am not a single woman that is just dating a guy and can do the nine to nine six

days a week.

I'm not.

So why would I put myself in there and jeopardize my, the things that I already have that are

sacred to me, which are my marriage and my children, because somebody out there said

that I need to do that.

No way.

No, thank you.

I will find what works for me.

And again, if that works for me and my husband's on board and we're working it out,

then that's okay.

But I have had several mentors that didn't say necessarily directly to me, but part of

their teachings were, if your husband's not on board, say goodbye.

You know, if your husband's not on board, you just got to keep going.

And again, there's something to be said about, you know, certain relationships where you

have to know when it's time to say goodbye, right?

But then there are moments.

It's like you can just stick it out and it's actually your fault that it's not working

out.

You know.

So now, speaking about burnout, which is what was your original question that I have so

many thoughts and so many things that, you know, you said that I was like, oh my gosh,

I need to piggyback on that and comment.

I feel like a lot of it is grounding yourself in the people that love you and want the

best for you.

You know, and sometimes it's not the other entrepreneurs around you.

Maybe it is, but sometimes it's not.

It's actually what we were just talking about at the end of the day, the people that are

not in business, the people that don't know what your world looks like.

And then they can look you and I say, I will still love you even if all of it falls apart

in your shadow band online.

We can move shadow band.

Exactly.

We can move your hack to whatever.

You lose all your people and nobody wants to buy from you anymore.

We can move to the country and we will, you know, have a life and it'll be okay.

You know, like I think having that support is super important, but maybe it could be

other entrepreneurs that give it to you straight and say, you're chasing things that are

not going to fulfill you because they know better.

So I would say it's having that support network around you because they will pick you

back up and say, Hey, that was not the path.

You didn't listen.

You know, or you just had to go that down that route to understand sometimes we do.

We have to go down that route to be like, Oh, yeah, it's not here.

So I think that's what has helped me in my chasing journey, you know, but what could help

somebody else that's feeling burnt out is ground yourself in the people that truly,

truly care about you because there's a lot of people out there that do not, they just

want your money.

Right.

As they're looking externally and not getting it or not, you know, they're not on your

path.

They're not on your path.

Right.

Only you are on your path.

And March, I love that you wrote a book, the empowered woman, the ultimate roadmap to

success in business.

Tell us for a woman, listen today, that seeking something, tell us what's in that book

that will help her find peace, like excitement.

If she's going through a difficult moment or just trying to figure things out right now.

Yeah.

So this book is sharing a little bit more about my journey where I come from who I am.

And then the beginnings of building a business, so encouragement in the beginnings of business

and also in continuing on, but it's grounded in understanding who you are.

So I, like I said, I'm a geek on personality stuff.

So I leveraged the anyogram, which is a framework that really, really helped me in the beginning

of my business and still does because it helped me see who I am and why I was drawn to

doing the things that I was doing and the time of my life where I felt so confused with

just having had triplets and moving back from Brazil to the United States.

And there was so much going on and I still felt this pull to start the business.

And I felt wrong, you know.

So if you're feeling like you are wrong, like you're broken, I created this book to help

you realize that we all have our specific gifts.

Like that's the goal of my book is to help you see that you are unique.

And there is something for you to do on the surf.

There is a purpose for you.

And there are people out there waiting for you to fulfill this purpose and start taking

steps into this calling of yours so that they can benefit from it so that they can fulfill

yours.

Like I, I, I love the imagery that the Bible brings of us being a body because I really

think that that's what it is.

And everything has its place, nothing replaces the other and we need all for it to work.

So understanding yourself really, really helps.

And that's what the book is about.

So I call it the ultimate roadmap to business success because I'm not sharing the gimmicks

of message to people.

And all those things are important.

We have to do those, which is the boring things, right?

I don't want to have to send the email, follow up your math.

You know, like we need to do all those things, but it's more, even before that, it's, how

do you feel about yourself?

How do you feel about when people are not nice to you?

You know, how does that impact how you show up?

So that's, that's what I believe is a foundation anyway.

Yeah.

And I love that you said that people are waiting for you because I think we don't think

that way when we are considering starting something or feeling a pull, all we think about

is getting judged, failing.

People are going to judge me or I'm going to look cringe or whatever.

We think of the negative instead of the people that you can help that are waiting for somebody

like you to come along with your perspective and your voice.

And so I think that is just so incredibly important.

And something we all can take a lesson in endlessly because even if we know it, we

forget it because that's just the way that it goes.

So incredible.

Marta, as we wrap up here today, I would love for you to share with our listeners where

they can continue to follow up with you outside of this podcast.

Yes, absolutely.

So if you Google me, Marta Spurk, I am the only one as far as I know so you should be

able to find me.

But I, you know, besides my website, MartaSpurk.com, I do have my podcast called The Empowered

Woman.

It's on Amazon.

I have music out on Spotify and Apple Music and you can find me on LinkedIn, Instagram

and Facebook.

Perfect.

And we will also drop those links in the show notes so everybody can click on over and follow

Marta and her incredible work.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Marta.

It was a total pleasure.

I'm like, we could talk for hours and hours.

But we just appreciate you taking the time out of your day to join us for this really important

conversation.

Yes.

It was my pleasure.

Thank you.

Cheers.

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