Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alyssa Pfennig. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alyssa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

In 2021, I moved from Indianapolis to Mexico with my 2-year old daughter. Now, we’ve lived in San Miguel de Allende for nearly three years and life is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

My heart always longed to live in another country. I had traveled the world and always thought I would move somewhere with a partner, but that never happened. After I had my daughter, moving abroad still called to me. I had my little partner. It was time. So, in January 2020, I put my yoga studio and wellness center that I owned for over five years on the market and had a buyer lined up. I knew that our lease was up for renewal in April, so I was either going to sell it or close it, one way or another.

Then, all hell broke loose when the worldwide pandemic ensued. In an instant, everything changed. I had to furlough my staff of about 25 part-timers, including my mother. I was at home caring for a 6-month old, handling all of the administration, marketing and now technology for my studio as we moved to online classes, and working 10 hours a week as a virtual assistant as all of my income came to a screeching halt. I was beyond exhausted.

I questioned my dream of moving abroad with a baby and the uncertainty of what was going on. My broker coached me to stay in the game and my landlords worked with me to keep things going through the summer. My daughter started walking at 9 months old and I sold my yoga studio and wellness center for six figures in August that year.

By the spring, I had formed another business with eight clients in less than six weeks. My branding and marketing agency, Hekate Strategies, was born. I was still exploring a move overseas and settled on Mexico due to the proximity to the United States to visit my parents and being a country rich in culture, traditions and delicious food. So, I secured a relocation consultant and we went to visit San Miguel de Allende for 10 days.

It was clear to me how life could be so much easier for me there. As a single mother juggling motherhood and being the sole provider, my health was declining. As soon as I returned, I was much more aware of how my anxiety skyrocketed each day and was much more at ease when I felt like I had more support.

Yet, I had to face fear and address family dynamics to ultimately make the move. I remember having a great realization in my kitchen one day that I was afraid of living a life with ease. And this was my chance. When I announced to my family that we were going to move, I was met with some disdain. My mother was sad, but supportive. My father was angry. But I was nearly 41 years old and I knew if I didn’t follow my heart, I would just watch my health continue to decline from a mix of heartbreak and chronic inflammation.

In October 2021, we made the move to San Miguel de Allende. Mexico embraced us with open arms and we have so much support and have made a beautiful life here. I run my business entirely online and often meet with clients in person at beautiful locations for private business retreats.

My daughter is almost five years old now, bilingual and bicultural. She and I are both thriving. I dance tango every week. We’ve been on sacred pilgrimages with spiritual elders and have a supportive community. And we are integrated into Mexican culture and way of life. And I’ve been able to check off something from my bucket list, including becoming bilingual.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I spent years making work my life, spending countless hours and weekends in the office, and burning myself out. As COO of a national real estate and alternative investments organization, I could no longer sleep well and lived on coffee and soda, and whatever food I could inhale at my desk to get me through my 70+ hour work week.

As a trained yoga therapist, I followed my heart into entrepreneurship, illuminating a path forward that none of the women in my lineage had ever done before. Yet, I continued to carry a mindset of hustlin’ and working in my masculine energy to ensure the success of my 2,500 sq. ft. yoga studio and wellness center that I owned for 5+ years.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I decided all of that had to change. I sold my business for six figures (during a worldwide pandemic!) and launched my branding and marketing agency, Hekate Strategies, that set the stage for my beautiful life in the central highlands of Mexico.

Now, I combine all of my wisdom and experience as a consigliere, helping other leaders with their business growth strategy and making critical business decisions as well as be their go-to marketing expert.

In any business, having a trusted advisor is crucial to making the right decisions and navigating complex situations. If you are familiar with the term “consigliere” and automatically think of The Godfather. You are my people.

The role of the consigliere may be associated with organized crime, but in reality, it is a position that is essential to any business, whether it be a small business or you’re scaling to multi-7 figures.

As a consigliere myself, I have had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients, and I have seen firsthand the impact that this role can have on their success.

I host 3-day private business retreats and remote working experiences in beautiful locations across Mexico in addition to the 1:1 consulting I do online with clients.

My agency, Hekate Strategies, are experts in customized design, creation, maintenance and support of uniquely branded private medical practices, mental health practices, medical spas and yoga studios that rank high in Google search and help you grow your business.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I sold my yoga studio and wellness center for six figures in August 2020 during a worldwide pandemic. I grew the business from the ground up and started out in a 1,000 sq. ft. space that wasn’t much bigger than a room to practice yoga. A couple of years later, we transformed a 2,500 sq. ft. empty warehouse into a gorgeous yoga studio with three treatment rooms, an office and retail space. I put my blood, sweat and tears into making it successful. However, after five years and a baby on the way, I was ready for a change. I learned that there was an opportunity to sell it and while I could do it on my own, I found a broker to help me. I learned a lot from him about the business of selling businesses and the many different roads we could go down. First, I learned that a rule of thumb for business valuation is 3x the current profit and you could factor in owner’s salary. Of course, it can vary across industries. My broker did the legwork of creating marketing, including a drone video of the space, outside and inside, which is also one reason he sold more businesses than his counterparts. I had a buyer lined up in January 2020, but when the pandemic began, the buyer wasn’t sure about the purchase. So, my broker brought in other potential buyers to discuss. One approached me for a partnership to keep the business going. I was so exhausted with a new baby at home that I was just ready to let it go. It was challenging to be juggling everything while I waited for a buyer to come through, but my broker coached me to hang in there through the summer. The sale finally went through nine months later.

Besides business valuation, the other things I’ve learned related to selling a business is designing it to actually have value beyond the owner’s brain. For example, it’s paramount to put in systems and processes and a dedicated staff so things run more like clockwork. This makes a business more valuable to a potential buyer. And it will grow your business faster in the meantime. If the business is only successful because of the owner’s involvement, it’s essentially worthless to the right buyer. Make your business worth more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lesson in life I had to unlearn was to stop being so independent and allow myself to be held. Like many women, I learned from an early age to do it all, be it all, give everything I had away, and sacrifice myself. I didn’t know how to ask for help and receive support. I didn’t know how to let go. I was hyper-independent and operated in my masculine energy. This led me to some great success, but it ultimately led me to burnout. It’s not how we are designed to sustainably operate as women, let alone if we want to live a fulfilling life.

My time in Mexico is what truly shifted things for me, especially through learning tango over the past two and half years. My teacher says that in tango, you discover yourself “through” the other. I discovered that I had a really challenging time letting go and allowing another to “support” me in the close embrace, a parallel to my daily lived experience. My teacher, who I have private lessons with each week, would always ask me, “Why don’t you let me hold you?” Hell, I thought I was. Yet, I was always still holding on to some degree. I couldn’t flow, embodied and connected, despite all of my years of studying yoga, meditation and Eastern medicine.

The first time I ever took a tango class was before I was pregnant with my daughter. An older gentleman asked if I was a boss somewhere. He could feel the tension in my embrace. It was true. I managed 25 people and while I had a flexible schedule, I still had a ton of responsibility on my shoulders.

After studying feminine energy in business, I contemplated, “What IS the masculine container holding me?” The more I personally worked on letting go of the invisible blocks and limiting beliefs I held that were deeply rooted in my family of origin and ancestral lineage, I noticed that little by little my dancing improved and I learned how to trust and let go. I began to open my heart and moved from feeling numb, and being stuck in functional freeze, to actually truly feeling and embodying the music, connecting to my dance partner…and myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alyssapfennig.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssapfennig/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyssapfennig
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssapfennig/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alyssapfennig

Image Credits

The image of me in black and my one main photo is by Amanda Richardson-Meyer Photography.