Episode 219: Build a Marketing Plan That Actually Works | Marissa Stahl | CEO & Founder, Cherry Creative
What does it really take to market a small business today? Marissa Stahl, CEO and founder of Cherry Creative, shares why “more content” isn’t the answer and what actually drives sales and connection. In this episode, we unpack how to build a 360-degree strategy that feels aligned and effective, not overwhelming. Marissa also shares what she’s learned as a founder, how her background in theater shaped her mindset, and why relationships and community should be at the center of every marketing plan. If you're a business coach for women, a service-based founder, or someone craving more purpose-driven work, this is for you.
“Relationships and Community are the two most important words for building an effective sales & marketing strategy.”
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Exclusive podcast offers outlined here: https://www.cherry-creative.com/podcast
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Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
00:00 Relationships, community, and the truth about digital ads
01:00 Why she started Cherry Creative
03:00 From social-first to full-service strategy
05:00 The myth of “Instagram will save your business”
07:30 The power of in-person connection
10:00 How she helps clients build loyalty
11:30 Patience, momentum, and the long game
13:00 What most people miss in their content strategy
14:00 Why cool content doesn’t always convert
16:30 Common gaps in small business marketing
18:00 The joy of seeing clients succeed
20:00 How she shows up as a leader
22:00 Why she believes you don’t have to be just one thing
24:00 Building a business that funds your creative life
26:30 Staying grounded through spiritual practice
29:30 How she landed her dream gig at the SAG Awards
34:00 The underrated power of showing up
36:00 Advice for aspiring founders
39:00 What she’s manifesting next
Two key words that I go back to over and over is relationships and community, but you can't rely on an ad to build a relationship with your brand because people don't trust it. That's not really a hundred percent a positive experience. Ads should be relied on to close the loop on a relationship that you have already started somewhere else.
That's Marissa Stahl. I'm Kara Duffy, and this is The Powerful Ladies podcast.
Welcome to The Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Thank you so much for having me. It's so nice to chat with you on this platform.
I'm really excited to get. A chance for everyone to learn who you are today. We've been working together for a year and a half now, maybe. Yeah, I think so. And you, besides just being a really awesome and cool human, you are really great at the work you do.
You bring great questions to our Thrive calls to one-on-one calls. You care so much about your clients and your team and I think how you're approaching. Modern marketing for businesses is really ahead of the curve of where a lot of people I think, who have gotten into the marketing and the digital marketing space in the last decade are stuck and not sure what next looks like 'cause it changes so much.
I'm really excited just to tell everyone who you are and what you're up to. So let's just start right there. What's your name? Where are you in the world and what are you up to?
Yeah my name is Marissa Stahl. I am in Santa Monica, California, but I grew up in Tampa, Florida, so I. I'm a Florida girl at heart with the good and the bad.
And so I'm currently the CEO and founder of Cherry Creative, which is a digital boutique digital marketing agency based in California. But we have worked with clients all over the country and the world, including Australia. So I've had some fun navigating the challenges of scheduling meetings across many a time zone.
But yeah, we started as a. Social media specific agency, but it really just ended up happening where a lot of our clients needed these other digital marketing tools like email or paid ads or assistance with their websites that we really could advise on and could really connect and bring a full 360 approach to what they were doing in the digital marketing space.
Because my belief is really you can't just rely on social media. You can't just rely on email. You can't just rely on any one thing. You have to really do it all in order to have the most effective marketing strategy.
And that's something I think that you do such a great job at Cherry Creative is thinking about each partner.
You have each client in a very holistic 360 way. Is that something that you've, like, how did you get there? Because if you started in social media specific, was it realizing oh gosh, like I wish we could do this for them? Or how did you decide to be more holistic and work in all the ways that marketing can for a client?
I think it really just to go back a little bit into my, where I started background. 'cause I think that's really where it. Stems from in the beginning is I was a theater major in college, so I have a vast background in acting and in storytelling, and I think that is a big part of what I bring to marketing.
Like marketing at the end of the day is just storytelling around whatever brand or product or mission you have and are trying to communicate across all of your marketing channels. So I think in bringing that knowledge, and it's honestly just in a desire for myself and what I'm interested in, to make sure that we're telling the full circle story no matter what it is, whether it's a creative endeavor like a play or something that I'm involved in.
On the side or when it comes to my clients. But it was a lot of that approach where I saw that we were doing. As much as we could on social, but some clients were being frustrated because. Things weren't exactly working out the way that they needed and just have working in this space for so long and having the opportunity to work alongside a lot of other marketing professionals, through other clients who were owning those other channels.
I saw the opportunity with clients who didn't have someone who was owning their email or owning their paid ads to really step in, be that expert voice of we can make this social media work that we're doing so much more effective if we have these other channels too. Rely on and lean on whether when it comes to partnerships or just their brand storytelling overall.
There's so many clients who come to me and I'm sure you as well, and they think that Instagram is going to make or save their business. True or false?
It's a tricky answer. I think a lot of stuff with social is. The answer is not yes or no. And I think that's why people get so frustrated by it, because it could save it, but it also could not.
Yeah, and I definitely wouldn't recommend anyone just do Instagram, especially right now or just do one particular channel because things can change in an instant. There are those. Stories where people's businesses have been completely changed by just one platform. So I understand where that comes from and it's not impossible, but it's just safer to, spread out.
Spread out what you're doing. Yeah. Diversify the risk. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Just like our finances, we have to diversify diversity everywhere in business too.
Especially when that's if you're only relying on one method to generate income. You and I have talked a lot, and you've heard me say that we can't forget about direct selling.
Yeah. And what that looks like, whether it's, walking door to door or calling people or going to events. Like there has to be a human element behind whatever you're selling. And I think that there's an illusion out there that if we have just an Instagram account and a Shopify account, I don't need to do any of that because Instagram will do it for me and.
I think people forget that we still need to build a relationship with people through these platforms. It's not just show up and say hi unless you're gonna spend, half a million dollars on ads and let the ads build that relationship for you. It's we're, I think people forget that marketing is sales, and marketing is the communication that you mentioned earlier, and what conversation do you wanna have with your dream customers because they don't wanna just be told to buy stuff all the time.
Yeah, I think you used two key words that I go back to over and over is relationships and community. So we, you can't rely on an ad to build a relationship with your brand because people don't trust it. That's not really a hundred percent a positive experience. Ads should be relied on to close the loop on a relationship that you have already started somewhere else, whether that be.
A partnership or in person. I know why people have leaned so much on digital because it's easier and it's more cost effective. But those, like in-person touch points or in-person experiences, smaller events showing up depending on what the brand is and really getting your product like into someone's hands and having a face of a person explaining what it is, communicating with them and like actually starting a relationship is what will build like a longstanding
customer.
And to me that sounds way more fun. Yeah.
And you won't have a community off of like just one-off sales from whatever your product is. It comes from building all these relationships one by one, hopefully a little bit more at a scale when you're able to, but one by one and then those people interacting with each other is like really what creates that community feel.
And I also think that people forget that sure. Like you can use an ad to, to close the deal. You can use digital elements to like, it make the illusion that it's faster and easier. But often those quick turn actions like don't have the loyalty. Like a lot of people right now are freaking out about success they've had on TikTok or success they've had on a different platform.
And it's just not there anymore. So it's like what happens after, like the one hit wonder goes away from a viral moment. Which is why I think it's so smart what you're doing with clients to say, okay, you need an email strategy. What is your PR strategy? There's so many opportunities to engage with the people that you want to be in your community.
And this might be me as a business owner, but that's the best part. Like getting to have the community and have it be something that's more than transactional is what I think makes the business worth having. Otherwise, like why not sell? Like you could have a car wash, it wouldn't make a difference.
Yeah. And I always see that too when with owners or higher up people at the companies that I work with, they get the most excited about the people who. Got their product and shared organically and want to talk about it or are brand ambassadors and you don't really create that through that transactional initiation.
So you have to think about okay, what are the opportunities that we can have to create these like organic fans of our brand? And unfortunately I think, we have seen some successes. In the past, like five to 10 years of brands who have been able to build a really loyal community quickly. And so a lot of times small business owners will compare themselves.
That, but you don't know how much money that they were putting into the ad spend or the connections that they had previously to launching this business or, the amount of gifting that they were doing or whatever. So I try to get them to understand that going slow and building it organically is the better approach.
But I understand why people are impatient too.
Everybody is, it's, yeah. It's so hard and I think that's where a lot of businesses make a big mistake of, you've worked so hard to get to this point, even if you just started, you had to make so many decisions, so many hours, and then to get mad that you're not getting immediate results.
And then people tend to either cut a product off too soon or cut a business off too soon. Like we're not allowing any organic. Momentum to start getting created. Yeah. And it's the field of dreams quote of if you build it, they will come, is a complete lie in business. That is not how it works ever.
And so I think people forget that there's a lot of effort that has to go into the marketing and sales side, both from the partners like you that you work with and the brand side as well.
Yeah. I think a lot of times, especially with small businesses, people will come in and. Invest in social, and they're like, okay, I'm done.
Now you're not done. You definitely need to continue to push the needle in other areas
when a small business does come to you and they're like, I don't even know where to begin. I know I need help. I know I can't get to all the customers I need on my own. Like where should someone start? What's the beginning of figuring out a digital marketing plan?
So I definitely look at what they've been doing and have a deep conversation with them about what they've tried that has failed and what they've tried that has worked. Then we often talk about, okay, what are other brands that you really like that you think are doing a great job at their marketing? And I push them to think about brands that aren't even in their space.
If you're a beauty brand, you could also love what Apple does. You could love what. A PL does. And then from there, getting really clear on like why do you like what they're doing? And usually it really does come down to storytelling. Like they really tell cool stories that are adjacent to their brand, but aren't exactly directly hitting the nail on the head.
And then really, just depending on their budget, we'll go into with, okay, with that amount of money, here is what I think we can do. I'm definitely content driven, like strategy first, content second. So we definitely wanna make sure that anything that our clients is putting out there is visually representative of the brand that they already have and wanna communicate and will also be something that will speak to their target audience.
I think a lot of the times people target audience and the content direction that they want don't align, or it won't be content that their target audience will respond to because they wanna look. Cool or trendy. And their audience is not a cool and trendy person or someone who cares about that. And maybe the cool and trendy content will be too aspirational for their target audience to connect with.
And we will start normally with social, but then we do peek in do you have an email strategy? If not, what can we do to. Fold this in. Do you have a partnership strategy? If not, let's talk about that. And where we can have either some organic or free relationships, either with like-minded brands where we can do something on trade or move into the paid influencer, paid partnership space.
Is it sounds so hard to me, so you let me know is it's so hard to tell a client. When the vision they have for their business is like not gonna get them where they need to go. If they think their customer is cooler than they are, or if they think their product is cooler than it is do you have to break the news to them in order to do your job well?
Sometimes
yes, it's definitely a case by case situation. I obviously, that's a delicate thing to advise. I think. Those conversations come up sometimes when they're clear that something isn't working and so then they're a little bit more receptive to help. But you have to gauge when that time is of when they're more receptive to feedback and when they're not.
If what if there is a misalignment, it will come to a head at some point of. Something isn't working, so let's figure out what it is. And yeah, sometimes I do have to have those conversations. Whether they disagree with me or agree with me doesn't really matter. I think it's like my responsibility to give my expert opinion.
That's what they pay me for, and it's fine if they also don't agree. I'm the first one to say that I don't have all the answers, like I'm only one brain in the world. That's why I like to have a team or other people to rely on because my brain only thinks the thoughts that it thinks. They could have other ideas, the business owner that they wanna try out, that we're happy to execute.
But yeah, those conversations are definitely not fun to have.
I think, 'cause I think it comes up often when you're in that when you're responsible for marketing. You are looking at all the reasons why it may or may not work. Like how do we make sure that this campaign produces the ROI that people want?
And I've had so many conversations with clients who are trying to help their clients and they're like, Ugh, but their website isn't functional, or it's not on brand, or There's always a piece missing. And I think. Another mistake that businesses make when they're hiring marketing experts or agencies to work with.
They think it has to be, as you said, really narrow, like just social and I'm done. And it's what if you use that brain or invited that brain to look at your whole business to really see what you can't see? Because it, nothing's ever as black and white as we think it is, and we can never see our business the way that somebody else can from the outside.
So I think it's really interesting how different people have chosen to navigate those conversations. And often it's a picking your battles For sure. Yeah. Let's just try it over here. And if we really have the analytics that proves that the website's what's causing the problem, we'll address it then.
But I think for any business owners listening, I would challenge your marketing experts or. Honestly, any expert you bring in photographer, videographer. Ask them to just look at your brand, like what else do they see? Because they'll often can give you a long list of things that they are nervous about.
Yeah, we did our, or not redid our website, but did a website at the beginning of this year. Didn't even have one for the first year and a half or two years, and I was the one who designed it and I asked my designer and my other team members to take a look and gimme their notes. They caught so many things that I never even saw.
Even just like this red is not the same red as it over here, or like this logo coloring is not the same as like this logo coloring, and I never would have seen that because I was too close to it. I think that happens a lot, especially when it comes to websites, because if you haven't optimized your site in a way that it's easy for people to interact with or check out all the efforts that you're doing on social paid, everything is gonna fall flat.
What are some things that you're really proud of that your company's been able to achieve for clients?
We're mostly in the organic space, so I think we're always really proud of real organic growth. People like to cheat it with buying followers or buying likes, but it's so fun to see those interactions of.
Someone we gifted or someone we identified as a partner, really becoming a fan of the brand and then wanting to continue a relationship from that initial whatever it was we initially did with them. This happened with a client of mine. We did a big gifting strategy for, they're in like the home improvement space and seeing the products.
Actually in people's homes and how they designed and style them is always so exciting. Where before we were just working with like the renditions that they had from their website, which are beautiful, but definitely fall flat and don't give you that real personality of how something is gonna be in your home.
So I think it's always exciting when we've secured a partnership or an influencer relationship and they come back with like really fire content that we're like, yes, exactly. They killed it. And then the client's really happy to see it. And it's just it's that full circle moment. It makes everything worthwhile.
What are you most proud of as a business owner yourself? Oh my gosh.
I think still. Going at it every day. Like I never really intended to start a business. It just was something that happened and I'm so grateful for it. And I'm also so grateful and proud of the employees that I have. They're such hardworking women.
I, they're so reliable. I know how hard it is to find amazing team members and I'm so grateful that I found them. Yeah.
I'm also really proud of you 'cause you just keep showing up and like I. I like having clients that want to keep growing and expanding and making the experience for everyone involved better for you, for your team members, for your clients.
That push for excellence, which I really think shows up across all areas of your life, is so embedded in how you run your business, and I think that comes through when you're pitching a client or talking to a new potential lead. How much you care, like if they're on your team, you're not gonna let them down.
Yeah. Yeah, that's a big thing because there's a lot of people who have businesses that are, it's very transactional for them, and they're like, I'm just gonna do what's in the SOP and figure out the rest yourself. Yeah. That's not taking care of someone. Not that we shouldn't have boundaries and we shouldn't change the SOP if it needs to, but yeah.
There's a level of caring and commitment that you have that changes. I think also, not just the ability to trust, but to give you more authority in the projects that you do, which is another complaint that so many marketing agencies have is, we're just the task masters. They don't let us actually make any choices or they edit everything a hundred million times.
So have you consciously put that into how you work with clients? Is it something that you just naturally have leaned in on? Where did that come up into your business planning?
Yeah. Thank you for saying that. I appreciate that. I think, again, that just comes down to my personality is I am just always been someone who likes to be involved in things like in college, in school, growing up.
Like I wanted to be. In a leader in my sorority, I wanted to be involved. So I think that happens with my clients where, we get so invested or deep into their business because we're writing so much copy and explanation about what they're doing, what they're selling, who they are, that we really become experts in their brand.
And so it's against my nature to keep things that. I know and see that they could be doing better to myself because I do wanna help them, I think. In a service industry, like you really are serving your clients and they're ultimately gonna be happier with us if their whole business is working well.
And so if we can help them in any space, like we're gonna do that. And I really just think, I'm also a naturally curious person, so I'll poke around and. Probably sometimes to my detriment be vocal about things that I find sometimes when they don't really wanna hear it. But I think it's worked pretty well and I think it's also gone back to that relationship.
Like it's created amazing relationships with the people that we work with who wanna continue to work with us for years on end. Or bring us in on other businesses or other projects that they have or refer us to other people because. Get so invested.
Yeah. If we go back to 8-year-old you in Tampa, Florida.
Yeah. Would she have imagined that this is what your life is today?
I think she would've dreamed it. Like my dream growing up was always to move to la. But I think if I told that version of myself that I had my own business was living in Santa Monica with a beautiful full life, she would be. In disbelief or just ecstatic.
I'm not sure, but
yeah. Yeah. And you have some hidden talents as well. You have an amazing voice. You're a great actress. How are you fulfilling the other creative parts of you that don't fit into your business on a day-to-day basis?
Yeah, so that's how I fell into doing social media in the first place, was through the acting performative pursuit after college, like I did.
All of those side hustle jobs that are stereotypical for an actor. Like I was a I worked at a juice company. I was a nanny. I worked at a restaurant. I was a personal assistant. Like all the things that you can think of. I would've done Uber probably, but Uber didn't really exist then. I think it was just starving.
And it just was so hard. Like that probably was like the hardest period of my life. Like I have so much respect for people who continue to do that hustle and I have a lot of friends who are still doing that. And it just like my self-esteem took such a hit with that and I realized that there was no way I could continue any creative pursuit if I didn't have something stable on the side.
That's how I got into marketing and I think with. When you are a creator, whether you're a musician or an actor or something that has like a non-defined linear path, even though really there are no linear paths, but that's a whole other story. But we'll often ask you like, how long are you gonna do that?
Like I would always get a question after I graduated up, how long are you gonna pursue acting? Or how long are you gonna try that route? Or when are you gonna give up? Don't you think it's time? And it just made me so angry because. First of all, I was like, I was pursuing this for one year before people started asking me that.
And no one would be asking anyone in the finance field, how long are you gonna do finance? You're not successful enough yet. People would give them the runway of 30 years before. They would ever even think about judging them in that way. And I just like to this day, stand by the fact that you don't have to be just one thing and like I can still be a performer and still have a business.
There's no reason why I can't. I forget what your original question is, but my whole thing is just, you make time and space for the things that you wanna do and that you're passionate about, and there's no reason why you have to ever stop doing something just because it's not working out in the way that you want it to.
Like maybe it will in 20 years. You never know.
You never know. Yeah. I kinda think it goes back to even what we were saying earlier about businesses giving up too soon on a product or even a brand. Like where's the room for it? To find the right time and space where it all makes sense.
Yeah. And are you taking chances like anyone who's in a creative space, it's such a vulnerable and emotional and often spiritual commitment to, I do this because I love it and I'm gonna keep doing it and it doesn't have to make sense to other people. Yeah. I think people who are solely focused in one area, I'm amazed by aren't you bored? Aren't, don't you have questions about anything else? Yeah, like I am confused and impressed, I think at the same time. Yeah. Of how people can be solely dedicated to one thing and blinders on everything else.
Yeah. I think for me, I've had to find over the years, like different ways to fulfill that performative need or desire.
And like right now I am doing more improv. I'm on an improv team. I, we have, practice once a week we're doing shows. My ultimate goal is to get into musical improv, but I'm trying to get my regular improv better first, and like for now, that's fulfilling that performative need like. In 10 years, it will probably look like something different, but that can be its own separate journey.
You don't have to not do something like that just because you're a business woman now. Like I never subscribed to
that. No. One of the artists that I work with calls their, day job, their corporate sponsor. Yeah. And it's not even a full-time day job. It's like a, they're a consultant for a couple days a week.
It's what are you doing that's allowing you to pay for everything else you care about without crushing your soul at the same time?
I think a big part of that, and it was a lot of soul searching for me in that two year period, was also realizing that I didn't want to sacrifice the life that I wanted for this creative pursuit either.
And I think that's like a struggle that a lot of artists have to go through. Do I wanna continue sacrificing or is it okay for my life to look the way that it looks right now as I'm on this pursuit? And for some people it is. For me, I really struggled with that and I wanted certain things out of life as well as pursuing something creative.
But I knew that I would only get the actual full rounded life that I wanted if I had. A business or a career on the side.
Yeah. I love that you have said in some of our group calls, you're like, I just like nice things and I don't feel guilty about it. And I'm like, yes, exactly. We shouldn't.
Yeah. I think, within reason, of course. But definitely I think it's like a reward for all the hard work.
Yeah. And. You're a very logical, strategic, thoughtful person. Like you're not doing your job because you're like, oh, I need that bag. No. It's oh, it'd be really great if I could make it all happen at once.
There's actually a post I think, going up this week for on my Instagram about the question I think most people are not asking enough. And it's, how can I have it all? How can I be the actor? How can I have things in my life that I like and bring me joy? How can I also have a business? How can I also travel?
Like why are we settling to, for making so many sacrifices that I think we often don't realize we're doing because we think it's a left, right, black, white choice when it absolutely does not have to be.
I a hundred percent agree, and I think you have to remind yourself of that so many times. And also having it all doesn't mean that it's gonna come with no stress, like that's just a part of life and you are gonna have to continue to change and re juggle how you prioritize things throughout your entire life. That's just the fun of being alive.
I think so and I also think that choosing going after what it all means to you has to really mean for you.
We can't have it all that we want, plus what our neighbor has, plus what our mom wants us to have, plus whomever we have to be able to give up all the things that really aren't for us or don't light us up.
Yeah. I think, one of my favorite quotes is comparison is the Thief of Joy. Really.
Staying in your lane. I'm sure you've heard this analogy, but it's the same thing of like when you're driving on the freeway and you, the lane next to you is moving quick, so then you move and then that lane's going slow or the other lane's going fast. It's just stay actually in your lane and you'll get where you need to go.
I think that's the hardest thing, especially in the social media space. 'cause I'm naturally seeing other people's lives all the time with the work that I do. And just continuing to remind myself that like the experiences that I wanna have and the life that I wanna have looks completely different from theirs and good as it should.
I really also admire how you have said, I wanna be at this place. How do I get there? And I think about how you've worked with the MAs for how many years now? The SAG Awards. SAG Awards, excuse me.
Yeah. Yeah. I've done eight shows now.
Yeah. So yeah, like how did that come up? Because I'm like, I wanna hang out at the SAG awards, and you're just like, oh yeah, this is what I do every year.
I work for them. I get to go. It's great. And I'm like, wait, that's an option. You can just find a way to, to work and get there. I
love the SAG awards. It's like the perfect marriage of my acting background and marketing background of what I do. And it happened super organically. It actually was an internship that I had in college my last semester.
And with their publicity office, and this is, how long ago it was, but they didn't have an Instagram at the time. So I, as an intern was like, we should have an Instagram. And my boss was like, okay, if you wanna do it. That's fine. What's happening like with TikTok right now. Yeah. And so she let me free reign on show day, run around, tap all these actors on the shoulder, ask them if I could take a picture with my iPhone.
They were all so confused. And just post live to, to the Instagram account and it's such a small team over there and it's really a family feel because the production office is like the same people every year who do the show. It's the same publicity people and they just bring people back who know what they're doing and know the lay of the land.
And I've been super fortunate to been asked back so many years to help out on the publicity and marketing side. And it's like an amazing experience, obviously, because it's a celebration of just actors with the SAG awards, which is. So fun and they have the best speeches out of any award season or any show in the season.
And then it's also these people that I've worked with for 10 plus years, so it's a big reunion every year as well. It's just, I think this year was the most special to me because it really felt that like a family of just everyone coming together and seeing the actors is cool obviously, but it's almost more fun to just hang out with the friends that you've created over a long period of time.
And yeah. And just a reminder for everyone listening to think about what you want in your life and figure out creative ways to get there. It's so often the way that we think is the only path to get there is so wrong. There's so many other ways. Yeah. And finding your people I think also matters.
And I think you also do a really great job of that. You've been successful in finding people for your team. You have a great social circle yourself. You do a great job of volunteering yourself to be in spaces that you wanna be a part of, and I wish more people did that for themselves.
Yeah, I think more than half of the battle is just showing up for people or for, whether it's your clients or whether it's friends or relationship that you're in.
Like I just went to, a friend of mine from high school had a show last night in la. I went to it like by myself. Couldn't find any other friends to go, but just to show up. And I think people remember that. And also it brings me joy of seeing my friends do things that they're badass at. And I just like experiences that's like really what I like to spend my time and money on is like doing and experiencing new things.
But I think just. Weaseling your way in is like the theme, like I weasel my way into my clients of doing more work for them. I weasel my way into like new friend groups or situations that I wanna have. I think actually that I used to be super shy growing up, which now I'm not really as shy at all, but when I came to USC for college, I didn't know anyone, so I really had to push myself to put myself outta that comfort zone, push, put myself in new.
Situation so I can meet people and like actually make friends.
It's a skillset that will give you access to anything you want.
When you hear the words powerful and ladies, do they mean something when they're on their own versus when they're next to each other and combined?
They definitely mean something separately for sure.
Powerful to me, I think is such a great word. 'cause to me it really just means like you can do anything like you're capable of, anything you put your mind to and like successful in everything that you can execute. And lady, I feel like I've always considered myself a lady. Like I definitely look and feel better when I feel good about how I look and usually present myself in a more polished way. I think in conjunction they, bring together both of the themes of those words, of what I just spoke about, like really pushing yourself through any space that you wanna be in, but like in a polite way that, you know, with a smile on your face where you're gonna be well received.
When you look at how you've gotten from. Tampa to where you are now. Who are some of the powerful ladies who have helped you get there?
Oh my gosh. Definitely my mom. Just my parents in general. And so many along the way. Like definitely joining a sorority in college was a good thing for me.
To have a good community of amazing women who were really like-minded. I think that was a great part for me about going to. The school that I went to is most of my friends are ambitious and want more out of life and believe that's possible. So I was raised into adulthood with that mindset and USC does a really good job at brainwashing you in that way as well of you can do anything you wanna do.
Which I think is an amazing experience to have because you just have this. Disillusioned view that you can really conquer whatever you want, but then it's all about the mindset. My sister is for sure a powerful lady along the way. We ha we are completely different.
But she is such a hard worker and so driven and really shows up for everyone in her life. She's one of the most caring people that I know and has amazing friends and, loved ones who really show up for her in return. And I've definitely had some amazing bosses. Like my first boss in social media was great.
Like really took me under her wing, really wanted to teach me and grow with me with the company and really gave me a lot of, free reign to take control of clients or take control of projects and gave me a lot of trust there. And you as well. Oh thank you. I feel like you, I like always tell how much you've changed my business and helped me along the way, but.
You really did lead me into this new phase of business and really helped me get to where I am right now. And I couldn't, would not be here without you for sure.
That means a lot to me. So thank you for saying that. And I, it's, I think it's just like that perfect alignment right of. I heard a quote today, rain.
Wilson is currently on the which podcast? The Rich Roll Podcast, and they keep dropping these knowledge bombs that he shared on that podcast. And he's the character who plays Dwight in the office. So not something that you think of as this spiritual guru of like mindset, and then you see Rainn Wilson sharing these clips of the upcoming podcast and you're like, wait, what?
And the one that he shared today was about how we're all here to help other people achieve their dreams and we can actually achieve our dream if we like surrender our dream to the universe and just focus on helping other people. All of a sudden you look around and you're like, holy shit. Like my dream that I wrote down however many years ago is actually happening.
Yeah. And I think that's, I think that's something that you and I share of like just loving, helping move someone forward. Like I get so much joy out of seeing you win and seeing the other clients win. And then the even echo effect of look at what your clients are doing now. It's when we see how connected we all are it, I think it shifts being able to stay in that positive mindset and the yeah, we can do anything approach.
Like most of the problems we have ourselves and in the universe, we know how to fix, or someone does.
Yeah.
So then it's why aren't they fixed? Yeah.
For me, a lot of that, or a lot of my journey from Florida to here was also just letting whatever was gonna happen. Anytime I've had a plan or a thought of how things are gonna go or how I want things to go, it never goes that way.
And in the moments when I've been able to fully surrender and just be like, okay, God, okay, universe, show me what you want for me. Everything has worked out so much easier and just fallen into my lap and has, invited me into spaces that I never thought I would be in, or introduced me to people who have really changed my life, and I try to do that more.
It's probably the biggest thing that I struggle with, of just trusting the process and trusting that whatever's gonna happen, and have a plan and do good work along the way, but also just let it let
go. Do you have a practice that allows you to stay in touch with that? Are you meditating, praying what are you doing to keep remembering that?
A few different things. I do this magical morning practice with a friend of mine in France. It actually is a thing that came from Gala Darling, who's really big in like tapping manifestation space. And you, we send voice notes to each other every morning where we say five things you're grateful for, five affirmations.
And then you say how you want your day to go. That current day, but you say it in past tense and then you say what you want to happen in the future, but you say it in past tense. And I always do that on a walk. So definitely being outside and having that space to think for me is really important.
And praying as well. I was raised very Christian and have, continued my journey in my own way throughout my adult life. Allowing space and quiet time, I think is hard for me, but that's definitely necessary in order to surrender and trust the process.
The people who I have met through my business, through this podcast who are going through life with the most success, the most freedom, the most ease, they have always had a very strong practice of with a spiritual element.
Of knowing that they can't control everything, they're just gonna work their hardest and be open to what shows up. And it's been really interesting 'cause it's been across faiths, across belief systems. But the people who, they're not people who worry a lot, like yes, there's still stress, yes, there's still anxiety.
Yes, there's still pressure. But it's at a level that they don't stay in for very long. Versus there's been people who I've coached who hang out in this worry space so much where it's paralyzing them to take any action. And sometimes I think it's just because we think that we have the ability to cause anything, right?
Like I, there's a funny balance I think have to do of remembering how powerful we are and how unpowerful we are in equal amounts so that we can. Believe in the power that we have to make to be influenced in our lives and outcomes. But also remember, like it's all a game. Like I really don't know. Yeah.
How it's gonna shake out. What would it look like to just relax about it along the way?
I think for me it's, that's where the acting thing has come into play. And I notice myself getting more stressed out about work when I don't. Have something fulfilling that performative need.
Because you just need to diversify your attention as well. It's like when people say date, but date multiple people so you don't get too attached to one person in the beginning stages. Of course. It's the same, I think with work is I'm so much easier to just, it's so much easier for me to relax and be like, it's gonna work out.
It's gonna work out, when I lose a client or have a shift in some way when I have something else to go on and. Put my attention on that. I enjoy doing. It's like way easier said than done, but I think that is the biggest thing that I struggle with is like continuing to let go and remind yourself that it's all gonna work out.
Like it's worked out this far. It's gonna continue to work out.
Yeah. And have that play element right? Like when you're performing and acting. I'm sure you get to laugh at yourself more, and you get to laugh with other people more, and it adds so many key things that we need as humans. There's a social element, there's a play element, there's a step inside someone else's experience element, and there's being super present because it's a reactionary listening base game.
So many of those things are so critical for people to figure out how to embed into their lives. Because it doesn't have to be through acting. Yeah. But we still need those core elements in our lives as well. A lot of people do it through like sports.
But yeah, I think improv has been so good for me in the past year to go back to, because it's the antithesis of who I am in my normal life.
Like it's not put together. It's not, I can, I'm trying to be a recovering perfectionist, but I am not usually so you have to be sloppy. You have to be silly. You have to act before you think. You can't have your own idea, like you really just have to go in blind and let go. And it's so fun.
I know people get really scared of it, but I really recommend anyone to do just like a one-on-one class. It's a great way to meet people and just play like you just laugh the whole time. Just play and it's a permission to be silly and crazy and weird and everyone's doing it so you don't feel weird about your weird.
How has working in the improv space made your business better or made you a better leader in your business?
I think theater, just with improv and my theater background as well, is so much about team building. It's so much about relationship building. Like whenever you're in a play, you become a little family and every single person is important from the lighting person to stage management, crew to, there's no small parts, only small actors like.
It's all about, you're all working towards a common goal. And that's the same with, business or what we were talking about earlier. We're all here to make this successful. You're, you might be paying me as a part of that process, but I'm also on your team. Like I believe in what you're doing.
And I think with my own team members as well, I, try to implement that philosophy of making it a good place to work, making it. Fun as possible, as fun as possible, or just making them feel valued and rewarded as much as I can.
What is your dream client? Who are you looking for? Who would you love to work with?
Oh my gosh, dream client. I'm not a big like personality person, but I would love to work with a celebrity adjacent brand with someone who's really interested. Invested in the product. So like Oprah for a while, she had this I think it was like before she did her Weight Watchers but she had this like frozen food collaboration and I always thought that would be really fun if she would be invested in it or like a goop situation where the founder is still really invested there. Aveline, something like that. Just because I think. You can build so many fun stories around it and content opportunities.
We've been asking everyone where they put themselves on The Powerful Ladies Podcast. If zero is an average everyday human and 10 is the most powerful lady you can imagine, where would you put yourself today and on average?
Oh my gosh.
Today, probably like an eight. I feel good today. Probably six, seven on average. Because I think of, a tent like Margaret Thatcher or something like that. Maybe I'll get there one day, but I don't know if I even wanna yeah.
Amazing. We've also been asking everyone this year, what is something you want, what is something you're manifesting that we can share with the powerful ladies, community and universe so we can help you make it happen?
Oh my gosh. Something that I want, I would love an international client. Or like a travel based client to work with and do fun partnerships around and events and that kind of stuff would be amazing. Yeah, I'm like trying to think of other things. I feel like this is a good opportunity to like manifest something.
Yeah, I think just like growth in all areas of my life is constantly what I'm going
after. Amazing. For everyone who wants to hang out with you, hire you, support you, go see you on improv, where can they find, follow and support you?
Yes. If you wanna hire us go to our website, cherry creative.com.
And if you want to find me with, that'll be all my improv stuff, and I share a lot of work there too. It's Marissa, M-A-R-I-S-S-A-C as in cherry, Cherry's my middle name. That's where the same comes from. Install. S-D-A-H-L, all one word on Instagram.
That's probably the
best
place. I'm so excited to see what you're up to this year and to see what you're creating.
It's an honor to have you today. Thank you for being a yes to me, to powerful ladies, and for sharing your story today. Oh thank you so much for having me, Kara. It's always fun to talk to you.
All the links to connect with Marissa and Cherry Creative are in our show notes@thepowerfulladies.com. Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening, and leave us a rating and review. Come join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies. And if you're looking to connect directly with me, visit kara duffy.com or Kara Duffy on Instagram.
I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope we're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
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Instagram: @marissacstahl
Twitter: @marissacstahl
YouTube: @marissacstahl
Website: cherry-creative.com
LinkedIn: marissa-stahl
TikTok: @marissacstahl
Email: marissa@cherry-creative.com
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
