Know It's Time for Your Next Chapter with Allison Maslan - Ep.383

Speaker A: Foreign.

Speaker B: Welcome to the Wickedly Smart Women Podcast featuring stellar conversations with emerging and established wickedly smart women. Thanks for joining us today as we celebrate women who are committed, care deeply and have the courage to take action and create conscious change all around the world. Now here's your wickedly SM smart host, Angel B. Hartwell.

Speaker A: Welcome to another episode of the Wickedly Smart Women podcast where we explore the journeys of high achieving women who've exited senior corporate roles or businesses that no longer align to answer a ah, deeper calling. Here you'll gain wisdom and immediately actionable insights as these wickedly smart women share how they've created new ways to lead, serve and generate value through their own thought leadership. This is your host, Angel B. Hartwell and today I'm joined by our special guest, Alison Maslin. Alison is the CEO of Pinnacle Global Network and was recently named one of the 10 Women Entrepreneurs to watch by Forbes magazine. She is the Wall Street Journal best selling author of Scale or Fail? Which is endorsed by Damon John and Barbara Corcoran of Shark tank. Allison's built 10 successful companies over the last 40 years. For the 17 years, she and her team of CEO business mentors have helped over 150,000 founders and leadership teams scale their companies, fast track their success and create a more meaningful life through her company, Pinnacle Global Network, one of the Inc. 5000 fastest growing private companies. Four years in a row, Alison has shared the stage with noted business leaders such as Richard Branson and Magic Johnson and has been featured in Ink, Success, Fortune, Fast Company and Forbes magazines and a regular contributor to Entrepreneur magazine and Featured expert on NBC, CNN, ABC and CBS across the U.S. very exciting to have you here today. Welcome to the show, Allison.

Speaker C: Oh, I'm so excited to be here. This is going to be so much fun.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Well, so when we were in the green room, we were talking about how you have been an entrepreneur since you were 19 years old. So I think I really want to start with that part of your journey. What inspired, inspired you back at 19 to take the path less taken by most people?

Speaker C: Yes. And especially for women. Uh, back then in most of the boardrooms that I was in, I was the only woman. And uh, I felt because I was so young, I had to pretend I was older at the time. I do remember that, uh, my father, ah. And my grandfather were both entrepreneurs and my father, uh, built a women's clothing chain which was the largest privately owned clothing chain at the time, uh, in, you know, across the US and so I used to travel with him since I was little My sister and I, from store to store. And I just learned so much from observing him. He was so passionate about his work and helping people. He really liked to make a difference in people's lives. And so I think that passion just kind of melded onto me. And when I was in college at ah, Arizona State, I started writing poems for people as gifts for birthdays and anniversaries. And they started hiring me to write them for their aunts and uncles and so on. And that ended up evolving into a full service advertising and PR firm called the Borali Group, based here in San Diego. And that ended up attracting clients like Ben and Jerry's and Charlotte Russe and Supercuts and so forth. So I was, I had no idea what I was doing, but I was not afraid to ask for help. And that really was the secret to my success early on.

Speaker A: I love that. Okay, so I love this idea of something that you start one thing and it, uh, evolves into another thing. So tell us a little bit about after you poems as gifts evolved into this advertising and PR firm. I'd love to hear like the next stage when you, what, what were the indicators that it was either time to exit that company or I'm not sure what you did with that company. So maybe you could tell us what you did with that company because you've founded 10 successful companies in 40 years. So I'd love to have you speak a little bit about the indicators that it's like when something, when you're complete with something. How do you know?

Speaker C: Yes. And each one has been a little bit different. That particular one, I didn't count the poem. One is actually a real technical business. I was making like $25 a pop in college, so it was a nice extra cash flow for me back then.

Speaker A: We're going to call it 11 businesses, 11 successful companies.

Speaker C: Yeah, I kind of figured that out early on. I actually moved to Atlanta and I was like, you know, not many people are hiring poets. And so I was at a party, I'll never forget this, and I was telling someone that that's what I did. I wrote poems. They said, well, I don't really need a poem, but do you do greeting cards? Because my company, which was MCI at the time, if you remember them, and they need some greeting cards. And my dad used to tell me that when someone would ask me to do something, even if I didn't know how to do it, if I felt like it was worthwhile, just say yes and then figure it out later. So I said, sure, absolutely. I do it all the time. So ended up being this massive order. It was like 10,000 cards. So I remember going into this jiffy print place in Atlanta. I was about maybe I was 20 years old. And this, I just remember this man looking at me going, young lady, how did you get this job? And so I kind of got a taste of that and working with bigger companies and having bigger jobs. And so then people just started asking me, well, I don't need greeting cards. Do you do brochures? I don't need brochures. But do you do television commercials? Do you do radio commercials? And, uh, so I used to just go to the radio station and the TV station and kind of hang out. I don't think they allow that now. But I would say, teach me everything I need to know, or I would go to press checks at 3 in the morning to watch how they would print. And that really was my education. Now that business, uh, took me till I was in my almost 30. And that's when the business started really growing. And I had a partner at the time, uh, and I didn't understand how to scale, I didn't understand how to delegate. I had a small team, but I was a control freak because I was so worried about my clients being taken care of and everything done just so. And I ended up imploding from the stress. Just where so many, and maybe some of the listeners have had the situation where you care so much, but it's not mathematically possible to get your arms around everything. And my daughter was under two years old at the time. And so I was trying to manage it all, plus going through a divorce. And I just imploded from the stress. And I ended up having a terrible car accident. Uh, that was a massive wake up call for me. It almost took my life. So that was as far as evolving from that business. That was the universe saying, honey, this isn't working. And so that is, I ended up walking away from that business and really taking a year to figure out who I was and what I wanted moving forward.

Speaker A: M. Yeah. I love this story because whether it's leaving a company that you've created or leaving a corporate position, that these kinds of things are very similar. Where you, if you are feeling like you're about to implode from the stress, that that's a sign, right?

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker A: If you feel like you're, you know, stretched too thin and trying to manage it all, that's a sign, right? If you're. And. And one of the things that I heard years ago was you can either hear the whisper or the knock or the two by four or the Mack truck. Right?

Speaker C: This is the Mack truck for sure.

Speaker A: You got the Mack truck. And generally speaking, I think when we are younger, it takes the Mack truck.

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker A: But then after the first Mack truck, you know, you start to listen when it's the knock or the whisper more so.

Speaker C: Oh yes. Oh yes.

Speaker A: In looking back at that time, do you recall whether there was the whisper or the two by four before the bad accident happened?

Speaker C: I think a hundred percent there were whispers. The issue was that, you know, now I'm so in alignment with my intuition. I know when something is off. Back then my head would get in the way and say things like, what's wrong with you? You should know how to do this. You should be happy because you're making money and if you leave this, then what are you going to do when it doesn't work out? So I had that internal battle and I think had I not had the car accident, I probably would have continued because I was a bit of a perfectionist and I would have ended up in the hospital anyway, but it would have been from getting some type of illness. And so I think, uh, you know, luckily I survived that accident. But yeah, I, I was not as open back then because I was just very driven and focused on my success.

Speaker A: Well, and, and I think also Allison, because of people like you and like there, I feel like there was a whole wave of women in the 2007, 8, 9, 10 period. And I was part of that wave. You were part of that wave. One of my first men, Lisa Sasevich, who's been on the show, was part of that wave. There was a wave of women who came through and showed that it was possible for us to be successful and also to have the lifestyle that we wanted to have. Uh, and where we broke the illusion that you had to be driven and masculinized and you know, all intellectual versus intuition, all. And I feel, I don't know if this is true for you, but I feel that we were pioneers. Many of us were pioneers in that time and now there's been pretty widespread adoption that, you know, your intuition and being in alignment is really m. It's taken more of a center stage than that complete control freak, perfectionist, masculinized mindset that we came with, that we were,

Speaker C: we were brought up with a hundred percent. I mean, that's how I was raised. And it was the very, you know, big work ethic and, and I don't regret that. And this time that I'm talking to you about, this was in the 90s. And so by the time when you're talking about that 2007, 8, I had already built some other companies and I had been through it. And when I took that year to decide what I was going to do next, that was a time of healing for me and reconnecting with who I was as a person. And what I realized then was it couldn't just be about the goal, it couldn't just be about the money. Like I needed relationship connection. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. And so that, that spoke to me loud and clear. So that's when I ended up becoming a homeopathic physician. And I don't know if you knew that about me, but I know for, for 20 years. Wow.

Speaker A: All right, well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're gonna let people know where they can find out more about what you're up to now. But I love to, uh, we'll probably pick up on that homeopathic physician piece as well. So ladies, if you're recognizing yourself in this conversation and the role that you're in no longer fits there. Path forward. The Smart Start Consultancy blueprint is a structured engagement where we work with high achieving women to design their own boutique consultancy that reflects their expertise and supports high value five to six figure client engagements. The first step in determining whether exiting corporate and starting your own consultancy is timely and aligned for you is a get started Consulting Clarity conversation. Learn more at ah connect.wickedlysmartwomen.com thanks so much to our audience around the world. Wickedly Smart Women is a number one internationally ranked show downloading in 148 countries right now. This week we are going to send our specials hello to our listeners in Indonesia. Let's see where else we want to send them here. Republic of Moldova and the US Virgin Islands. And we will be right back with Allison Maslin.

Speaker C: Foreign.

Speaker B: The Wickedly Smart M Women podcast is brought to you by the creative age consulting group Women. Are you feeling that inner nudge? Knowing it's time for a change and ready to decide what's next? If you're a high achieving woman considering leaving corporate life to start your own consultancy, now is the time to gain clarity. Introducing the uh, Wickedly Smart Women's roadmap to get started consulting. This is your essential guide to making the decision with confidence. Inside you'll Discover the top 10 signs that it's time for a high achieving woman to exit corporate and start her own business before it's too late. Visit roadmap.wickedlysmartwomen.com or click the link in the show notes to download your free copy and take the first step toward deciding if starting your own business is the right move for you. Once again, that's roadmap.WickedlySmartWomen.com get started today. Foreign.

Speaker A: And we are back with Allison Maslin. You can find out more about Allison and what she's got going on now@pinnacleglobalnetwork. Uh,.com when you get there, you can find her books. She's got several books that she's written and new books on the way so you can become part of her ecosystem over there@pinnacleglobalnetwork.com we'll have that for you in the show notes. So before we went to the break, Allison, you were taking us to your next evolution. So you evolved out of advertising and PR into homeopathy. And, uh, so help us to understand what happened to take you from homeopathy to Pinnacle Global, because that's a big leap, too, you know, Be a leaper, Allison.

Speaker C: I know I was a leaper. I think it was just I was always following, have always followed my passion. And homeopathy became a big part of my own healing during that transition time period. And I was so fascinated by it, uh, that I, I wanted to know everything about it. And then, you know, that passion turned into a career. And then I ended up building the first homeopathic college in Southern California called the Homeopathic Academy of Southern California. And I built that 99. I sold that in 2005 that still runs today. And then. And during my time in running my practice, I had several other companies. A scuba dive service, certification company, real estate company, real est investment company, software company, beauty salons. So I just loved business. I've always felt that it's the most creative way to share your gifts with the world. And so it was time I was going to start another business, which was my 10th business. And I wasn't sure what I wanted to do next. I had explored a lot of different things. And I was in a conversation with my husband. We've been together 20 years this year. And he said, uh, why don't you just put it out to the universe and see what comes? And so I started having all these people asking me, ah, Allison, how do you do it? How do you build these companies? Can you teach me? And so I started supporting them and just, you know, one at a Time. And that began to evolve. And then I realized, well, this isn't very scalable. And so I started building a team of mentors to work with our clients. And now we have over 40 and they're all over the world. And, uh, and so we're now in our 17th year at Pinnacle Global Network, and our focus is scaling. We have a methodology, uh, that supports the business owner in all facets of the business and their life. And so I. I don't. I love this so much. This really is my legacy business because I take all the years of the ups and the downs, the roller coaster, and. And now I get to pay that forward.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Uh, beautiful. I want to go back to you selling the homeopathy college in 2005 and ask, like, again. Was there a whisper? Was there a knock? Was there two by, like, how do you know that it's time for you to be done with something and to let it go?

Speaker C: Yes. You know, there's such an identity that is connected to your career or your business. So it was a difficult one for me at the time. I was having, uh, difficulty with one of our faculty. And I was just thinking about this the other day, just out of the blue. And he was a, uh, bit rebellious, but we had a lot of students that also really liked him. And it was almost like this mutiny that was happening. That's the school. And I just at the time thought, you know what? This isn't fun anymore. And I did this because I like the healing. And it was taking me away from my practice. And so I ended up selling that. But I learned so much from that experience because it was a three year certification program. So I had to learn how to put a curriculum together. I had to learn how to bring in other teachers from all over the world. So those are things that I do now that my team and I do now in Pinnacle Global Network. So I think that was the purpose, but it was just time.

Speaker A: M sure. Well, what I love that I'm reflecting on in this whole conversation and I want our listeners to hear is that every single thing that you did in it now in Pinnacle is. Is kind of all of the gifts are on the table. Is that what I'm hearing? Am I hearing that correctly? And all of the learning and all

Speaker C: of the lessons, it all comes full circle. In fact, even my third book is I am bridging, uh, the gap between business and quantum physics. You know, homeopathy is energy medicine. And, you know, law of similars is like, like attracts like. And so all of those Things came from my history. So sometimes you're in a situation and you might feel like this is so painful or this is so tough. But I've learned to embrace those because I know there's something more beautiful on the other side that's waiting for me.

Speaker A: Right. Yeah. And, and that comes with the experience of having that happen multiple times. For sure. You know, I'm um, I got into this business after 20 years in real estate and then I had a spiritual awakening and started doing healing work with my hands and you know, all of the stuff. And then that evolved into the online space when my art gallery closed. And you know, I've had a very similar track in terms of having done this thing and this thing and this thing and this thing and this thing. And now I'm here in the podcast space and so, you know, I think it's very important, especially for women. Do you find, let me ask this question. Do you find that women are better, more flexible about shape shifting and evolving in their businesses than men? Or am I just being sexist right now with this question?

Speaker C: You know, I haven't really thought about that. But I will say the difference that I see because we do work with men and women and we tend to work with people that are more heart centered, men and women, Women tend to follow, want to follow their passion more. So it's passion and purpose. And I feel that as we evolve and mature, our passions change. I'm not the same person that I was in my 30s or even my 40s on what's important to me. Uh, but I need to be doing something I love or I don't want to do it. And so I feel that I see that with women and in, you know, we work with women in the seven, eight, nine figures. And I just had a conversation with one of our clients a couple weeks ago and she kind of got permission from me on a call that we were doing that. You know, you can leave that now. It was in, in home care. She had this whole other passion she wanted to follow, but there was a part of her that felt like maybe that wasn't the responsible thing to do. But when she realized that, yeah, I can follow my passion even though I've got this other business over here, it was so freeing for her.

Speaker A: Mhm. Beautiful. Well, I want our listeners to hear that as well. That like if it's time for you rather than, you know, wait for the Mack truck, let. Alison, uh, I be the permission for you today to say I'm done, I'm, I'm Complete. I'm moving on. I'm trying something else. I'm following my heart. I'm following my passion. I'm aligning with my purpose. Let, let us be your permission get slip givers today.

Speaker C: Life's m too short, life too short. You should be doing things that lift you up, not, uh, bring you down. And if you can tap into how you feel the alignment feeling just, it's like just that perfect fit just feels right. And that's for me.

Speaker A: It's like butter melting on hot toast. For me. That's how I call it. It's like, oh, when I'm aligned, when I'm fully aligned, everything is coming together. Like butter melting on hot toast. In your case, when it's all aligned, it's like flying on the trapeze. So I'd love to have you share with us a little bit about your trapeze activities.

Speaker C: Yeah. So I have been a trapeze artist for over 25 years. I was a gymnast growing up, and then I went to Club med in my 30s to get over a, A, uh, relationship that didn't work out. And I remember walking along and looking up and seeing this massive metal contraption and I saw people flying and I was like, you can really do that like in the circus. So I got up there and that was it. I was hooked. And then I found a five generation circus family in la, uh, that used to fly at Ringling Brothers for many, many years. And so I started training with them. I trained with them for 20 years. And that became, that was a whole community for me, the trapeze community. And a lot of the people from Cirque du Soleil trained with them. And then, uh, we ended up getting a bigger property where I am now. And all I cared about was where are we putting the trapeze? That was my big dream. So now instead of braving the 405 for several hours, I just walk out my back door and climb up that 40 foot ladder.

Speaker A: Well, I'd love to have you share what lessons from the trapeze you have brought into Pinnacle Global Network that you share with your clients.

Speaker C: Oh, my gosh, so many. There's so many things about trapeze. I would say probably the biggest thing is that I learned to face my fears up there so that I'm more confident on the ground. You know, when I'm up on that pedestal, even though I've been doing this for a long time, I still get the butterflies. And even though my body has a memory and I know what I'M doing. Sometimes if I'm off kilter, my head will go. What do you. What if you fall? What if you're not supposed to be up here today? What if they don't catch you? All the things that we deal with on our everyday life. And so I've had to learn to just go, okay, shut up. Like, to myself, like, just. I'm, um, speaking to that voice. Like, I'm not. You're there. I'm not gonna listen to you right now. I've got this. And so that is. It definitely has made me more confident. I had a situation the other day where I was kind of having a down day. A few things had fallen apart. There was a little disappointment, and I didn't want to. I had my coach coming over and I really was like, oh, maybe I should cancel. And then I got up there, I got on the ladder. I. And then, then we do something called a raise so we have even a higher swing and momentum. And I'm standing up there and I'm looking out over the trees, and I felt such a sense of empowerment. I felt like in that moment, I was reclaiming myself after this challenging day. And I. I was so happy that I was up there. But there's decision making. Like, you have to be all in. There's teamwork. You have to trust your team. You're flinging your body midair. And so you've got to trust that this person knows what they're doing. And, you know, it's, uh, it's also failure. I have fallen way more times than I have to actually catch my track tricks successfully. You have to learn how to fall. So it really, it really, uh, is the best teacher in so many ways.

Speaker A: Beautiful. Well, you are an amazing teacher as well. It's been my pleasure having you on the show today, Allison. And for our listeners, please go ahead and find out more about what Allison has going on @pinnacle global network.com. and thank you so much for tuning in, listeners. Stay connected@, uh, wickedlysmartwomen.com where you'll find episodes, resources and more ways to engage with the brand. And if you're ready to leave corporate or have already exited and want to design your own boutique consultancy and codify your thought leadership, eliminating the ceiling on your earnings. The first step is a get started consulting clarity conversation. Learn more at connect.wickedlysmartwomen.com Keep your ears open and remember, you are a wonderful and wickedly smart woman.

Speaker B: Thanks for tuning in, downloading and listening. Be sure to rate and review Wickedly Smart Women on Apple Podcasts and share with other women who can benefit from today's episode. Wickedly Smart Women Women is the premier podcast series for informing, activating and inspiring the leader who carries profound wisdom, um, and knows that now is the time to welcome wealth. We welcome your feedback and guest suggestions and invite you to subscribe to our mailing list to be notified of each new episode@wickedlysmartwomen.com

Speaker A: Sam.