We recently connected with Christina Mial and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Christina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
This is a very good question! Ultimately, success is a journey rather than a destination, and it looks different for everyone. It’s important to define success on your own terms, aligning your goals with your values and priorities, and pursuing them with passion and purpose. For me, success looks like accomplishment. Sometimes those accomplishments are good and sometimes they are not so good. In order to be successful, it is important to complete what you started and get an end result. I think either way, you are either going to learn a lesson or earn a blessing. When things fail, society has taught me that it is deemed unsuccessful. I look at it like this. There are things that I learned along the journey. There people that I may have met that I didn’t know before I started. My networking circle expands as I strive to meet my goals. When I do not allow my frustrations to deter me, I am successful. Seeing how hard I am willing to work to overcome obstacles, speaks success to me.
There are going to be wins and losses in your success story, but gauge your success more so on the process you endured versus just the progress that was achieved.
Have you even seen the smile on a child’s face after performing some act that while may look simple for some, it was a huge deal for them? That smile says success! I want to smile at the end of all of my attempts because I knew that I put my all into it, regardless of the outcome.
That is what I think it takes, to be successful.
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.
If you were to ever meet me in person, I can guarantee you that you would leave our encounter feeling like you have known me your whole life. Then, there is the elevator pitch question of “tell me about yourself” and I freeze up.
I am a multifaceted individual who wears many hats with expertise and passion. Those that know me refer to me as a dynamic figure embodying a diverse array of roles and talents. I have learned how to bring a wealth of experience and insight to each endeavor. In 2020, amidst the challenges of the pandemic, I made the decision to embark on a transformative journey, becoming a certified life coach. I recognized the need to support individuals feeling stagnant and isolated during uncertain times, and made it my mission to empower others to break free from limitations and thrive.
Every single thing that I touch is rooted in faith-based principles, It is very important for me to offer guidance, encouragement, and practical strategies to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and purpose.
Currently I am working on my fourth published work and as a skilled storyteller, the response of my audience confirms to me that I possess a remarkable ability to captivate audiences, transporting them into the heart of each narrative and leaving a lasting impact.
Through my unique and authentic approach to coaching and advocacy, lives are transformed, hope is restored, and communities are strengthened.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
There isn’t just one effective strategy that I have used, but I can share the top three. I would have to say consistency is the number one effective strategy that I used to grow my clientele. With consistency, there is discipline. It is easier to garner trust when you exhibit characteristics that deem you trustworthy. I personally wouldn’t want to deal with a business that operated that didn’t exhibit consistency.
The second thing would be proactive networking. I would place myself in rooms and events that allotted me the opportunity to network with industry professionals. I studied my craft so that when presented the opportunity, I knew what questions to ask of my peers in the same profession. I learned how to secure mentors and by knowing my industry, it let them know I wasn’t wasting their time.
Finally I would say, authenticity. Bringing my true authentic personality helped as well. The representation of me that was seen through my social media presence was the same meeting me in person. Have you ever met someone offline and thought to yourself, “was I talking to someone else this whole time”? Yea, I do not ever want you to feel that way with me.
It is a very crucial aspect for growth to operate with unwavering commitment to providing unparalleled service and exceeding client expectations. A lot of people get nervous and even intimidated to start a new business in a field that is heavily saturated, but I operate with a belief that even if the person next door has the same type of business, it is not like my business because no one can offer the quality that I offer.
If I could add one more thing, I would say that I also learned to ask for and share results! Don’t be afraid to get testimonials from your clients and customers. This helps to show that I have not only built trust with my clients, but that I am able to foster long-term relationships.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
My goal this year is to concentrate on a single social media outlet more than the other, but over the years, across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter), I have increased my following to over 10,000. I would absolutely love to drive that collective traffic to one centralized location.
The summer of 2021, I was stuck at 127 followers on TikTok after having my account for a little over a year. I learned from a friend that once you had 1,000 followers you could go live. I took this as a challenge. I wanted that ability. I wrote out a plan and committed to posting videos three times a day every day for the next 30 days. I exceeded my goal in less than that. Consistency and authenticity helped me to gain followers. I know that you should have a dedicated niche, but for me, it was important to make people smile and that is what I did.
Currently, with my Facebook presence, my audience there is used to my daily inspirational posts which I call, “Good Morning! I’m Praying For You”. Due to the response these posts have gained over the past three years, a book of the same title with an interactive journal was birthed that is now available on Amazon.
As a Certified Life Coach, social media has also helped with building my clientele. Social media allows people to see your humanity.
My advice to you that are trying to build your social media presence is to just be you! Be your full authentic self and do not be afraid to show it. People love to see and read stories that look like them. Develop content that provides value to your audience. This could include informative articles, entertaining videos, engaging visuals, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your work. Strive to educate, entertain, or inspire your followers rather than solely promoting yourself or your products/services. I love to make videos of my process, whether it is going on a drive, shopping, going on a picnic, or attending an event. Everything can be made into content when you show it through the lens of a spectator.
Finally, I have one word: hashtags! Hashtags are a powerful tool for increasing the discoverability of your content. There is someone somewhere that has some of the same thoughts as you and they are looking for their tribe. The easiest way to find those that you have something in common with is to hashtag it. Some examples of hashtags I consistently use: #LifeCoach #MomsofTikTok #FaithBased and the list goes on. I highly suggest you try it. As a matter of fact, commit to 21 days of “hashtagging” and let me know how it works for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christinalmial.com
- Instagram: @christinalmial
- Facebook: Christina L. Mial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinamial