 Well it's been a minute since I, Martha D. Staab, sat down to write a blog. I have to give it to my team who has been writing content for this site. We have more coming I promise but It takes something truly triggering for me to get mad to write my thoughts out and put them out so publicly. So brace yourselves, grab some tea and a snack because I'm about to go in.
So the other day my significant other and I are chilling on the couch and decided to call up a relative. We keep things to a minimum when it comes to life events because we don't want to sound like were bragging or we know they wont understand our life or business and I have noticed this with a lot of family members I downplay a lot of my life for the sake of other peoples feelings. We were running out of things to talk about but my significant other mentioned to this person I was going on vacation soon. The response was "Oh she must have a lot of vacation time saved up for a trip like that..." we paused the phone and I stupidly said "Oh they don't know I started my business... just tell them. The phone is then unpaused and my significant other says "Well actually, Martha owns her own business now... she has for 3 years, she's a marketing contractor for business who need that type of help." DEAD SILENCE... The person on the phone changed the subject to something else and eventually the call ended. I legit was super upset by this because wow, 3 years into this journey and people are still pretending what I do doesn't matter. As of late my travel schedule ramped up and I have been ping ponging around the country and honestly I love it. I love being able to go to all these places, make memories, take my work with me and make a dent in business. Coming off one of my trips I've had people I know make sly remarks like " Well I guess business is good..." Yeah it is. I've sat here for 3 years and I have watched people I know not support me in a way I thought they would. From liking my content, sharing or even showing an interest. People I have known for years, decades. I would be lying if I said this wasn't hurtful but it is and I had to really understand why I was getting no response for all the work I was doing. I had to do a deep dive into the psyche of people. So in order to understand people I have to go back to my own father. He was born in the 50s and when I was going to college he told me to get a good job, get a retirement, put in your 20 years and if you were young enough the first time you could get another retirement. I was taught early on to go after this career model and I did for a while until I decided to go out on my own and call my own shots. Now a lot of that old school thinking is what trips people up. It took my mom a good while to understand that I was legit working when she came and spent a few months with me. When she saw me from sun up to late at night in front of my laptop putting in the work she understood more to my business and what I was doing. From zoom meetings to stressed out days she saw first hand that this was like no 9-5 job because I never clocked out. Phones ringing at random times, conversations with clients, she understood. But those who aren't looking, or are just assuming, they assume I'm over here selling Herbalife, Mary Kay make up or worse, selling all my family and friends into a pyramid scheme. I do not do Multi-Level marketing!!!! The problem is, the things entrepreneurs are striving and achieving for is a life that is not known to the baby boomer age. See this generation figured out with the help of technology that achieving a work-life balance is possible. The 9-5 model is not the end all be all. So when people can achieve gathering as much of a salary at home and they would at a 9-5 it's baffling to those older people. That and we're in the process of breaking those ancestral curses. We are well on our way to hitting the glass ceilings we were never suppose to hit. Another reason people don't support is because they are assholes. Look when you are doing a brand new thing that people haven't seen be done before of course they are going to watch you like a hawk. It makes sense why our metrics for views is high but our engagement is low. People watch, people stay in the darkness just waiting for you to fuck up. I've been asked why I hold my grudges and keep them near me. The answer is simple, it's my gasoline to keep me going. Like Pitbull says he loves his haters because If you have haters that means you're doing something right. So for all you fellow entrepreneurs out there here is my word of advice: 1. Blast your business everywhere... people are watching. 2. Don't give a fuck about other people. I stopped caring a while ago but every now and then it gets under my skin. 3. Be unapologetically yourself 4. Your voice is your currency. I hope this helps you on your journey. ~Martha
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