Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Kraschinsky.
Hi Julie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I enjoyed 10+ years in corporate America before becoming an entrepreneur. After college, I started my career as an Administrative Sales Assistant in a heavily male-dominated field and worked my way up to Major Accounts District Manager.
Once I was married and we started a family, I realized I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. I remember my husband at the time said, “Sure, but don’t spend any money!” After two years and two kids later, I was getting tired of asking for an allowance and always getting grief on how much I was spending. Although I loved being home with my children, I felt there had to be something I could do that would still allow that AND to bring home my own income again. That is when I finally said yes (after five years of saying no, thank you) to a direct sales business.
I thought I would just sign up to earn an extra $100 a week to spend on the kids. What I found was I loved the community and the impact it was having on other people. I ended up making it my caeer; earning 14 career cars, many awards and prizes. That was almost 27 years ago!
I just recently retired from my position as Sales Director with that company and have continued on with my passion to empower women as a coach/guide to women entrepreneurs. I have seen the struggles when a woman starts a business and is doing “it all”. My guidance is the help them step into the CEO role of their business — my C-E-O is to have more Clarity – Energy & Overflow rather than Confusion, Exhaustion & Overwhelm. I do this through group and individual coaching with proven strategies that I have used over the years as a CEO.
I also am the Executive Managing Director for the Calabasas-Westlake Village Chapter of eWomenNetwork, a community that connects entrepreneurs around the globe. We hold two local, in-person events in our area and there are opportunities to attend online events from all over the US and Canada.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I started my Direct Sales business back in the early 90s, there were not many companies that were around. Some of the immediate struggles were finding customers beyond your friends and family. We did not have cellphones and the internet was just getting started. Also, many did not take me seriously because I was selling makeup and skincare and they felt, coming from Corporate America, that I was just dabbling in this business. Most people they knew that were doing this type of thing didn’t make much money and they didn’t want to be bothered feeling like they were obligated to buy something.
I started networking with chambers and other community organizations and then my business started to take off with people I didn’t know. One year into my new leadership position, my husband took a transfer and we moved from NY to CA where we knew no one. Enter struggle #2!! I had to step out and meet new people to keep my business going but not long I had earned a prestigious car with my company and we were a top team in our national area.
While I was enjoying volunteering at my children’s schools and building my business in unfamiliar territory, my marriage came to an end. Enter struggle #3! This was probably more life-altering than the move across the country. Not going into details; it was a very emotionally draining time for us all!
We’ve been impressed with Spirited Soul Coaching, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m so excited to have created my new business this year. I’ve been coaching women for years, but this is different. I now am serving women who really want to make an impact in their lives and the lives of others and are willing to invest the time and money in themselves. Because I helped women start a direct sales business for over 25 years and since becoming the managing director of eWomennetwork three years ago, I saw a pattern that ran through most female entrepreneurs. They put everyone else first and, for the most part, were not acting like the CEO of their company. So many feel they cannot hire help because they should be doing it all themselves until they make money. They were getting overwhelmed with so many tasks at hand and burning out before they saw results. Or they were seeing results but it was not consistent. They started a business to have more time/money/freedom and they were working MORE hours and making LESS money.
I have to admit, I was one of them! But I caught on early and put my kids to work with little things they could do such as label catalogs, stuff bags, organize products, etc. Then I hired an assistant who worked as a babysitter and in my office for a few hours a week. I found when I delegated and cleared my head of the things that I didn’t need to do but needed to get done, I made room for more abundance to flow.
I’ve been in the study of Universal and spiritual laws for years! I’ve been in a deeper study with a coach/mentor for the last three years, putting these principals to work in my own life. I LOVE investing in my personal development, learning and then teaching others. I have a deep faith in God and in the Laws of the Universe and by trusting I have more ease, flow & joy in my life! My clients have had so many breakthroughs by putting my practices into their routines. They are experiencing more joy, peace, ease and more abundance.
I have a program that is called The Joyful CEO Life – and I take them through a weekly group session as well as options for 1:1. It started as a 90 Day program and has now morphed into a year-long program. The results my clients have gotten in three months was amazing, but since it’s really creating new habits and becoming a new version of yourself, it is more of a journey. I like to call myself a guide rather than a coach, as these women already have it in them to the brilliant, amazing women I know them to be; they just need to see it for themselves.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I’ve come to define success differently as I “mature”. I feel success is not the big beautiful home, the car, the trips because I had all that but was not happy. Success to me is waking up every day with sheer joy and gratitude loving that I get to serve and live in the work that I have been called to do. The nice material things are just a bonus; relationships, experiences and having peace in my life are the most important thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: spiritedsoulcoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliemkraschinsky/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/juliemkraschinsky/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jkpinkdreams
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekraschinsky/
Image Credits
Debbie Walton Photography
