We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mara Whitener. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mara below.
Mara, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
While most operations specialists, Fractional COOs, systems specialist often use and recommend a certain set of systems or more fo a cookie cutter approach, I do not. I help CEOs and business owners with complete custom plans to improve and streamline how their business runs, create more time and space for them to get back to what they love to do and have their business thrive. I do this by using Human Design in all of my work. It allows to know the CEO on a deeper level and further cutomize their support system to them. The difference this makes with my clients is going from an avg of 25-50% growth in 1-2 months to 100%-300% growth in 2-3 months. Perosnalized business support systems are the key to optimal growth!
Mara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Hi, I’m Mara Whitener
If you’ve been spinning your wheels for far too long, trying to puzzle together a plan to run and grow your business without pulling your hair out, jeopardizing your relationships, or costing you your health & peace… the expert guidance you’ve been looking for is here.
CLIENTS OFTEN COME TO ME WHEN…
– They’re feeling pulled in a million different directions, all while their business seems to be hitting consistent ceilings and bottlenecks
– They have a big vision but have lost touch with a clear sense of how to get there, because the day-to-day tasks that keep falling in their lap just yank them backwards – like a hamster in a wheel
– They’re spending more time putting out fires than acting as the visionary and leader of their business that they truly want to be
– They need an answer for how to keep going – let alone growing – while also making time for their marriage, family, and personal life
SIMPLY PUT, THEY LOVE THEIR BUSINESS AND BELIEVE SO DEEPLY IN WHERE IT’S GOING AND THE IMPACT THEY’RE HERE TO MAKE.
But… the amount of mundane and stressful to-dos that pile on day after day make them question how they’re ever going to get where they really want to go.
It can be frustrating and demoralizing at times, but it doesn’t have to be this way! Your vision is 100% achievable, and this is precisely where I come in.
I won’t bore you with all of the nerdy facts I know about business and organizational structure and strategy from my degrees in International Business and Business Administration or my 20 years spent building, growing, and selling 6 and 7 figure businesses. 🤓
What I will tell you is that I get it.
I know, personally, what it’s like to be burnt out from trying to do it all because you really, genuinely care.
And, I also know that your vision for a business and life that deeply suits you, lights you up, and makes the ripples in the world that you’re here to make, is all your own.
Growing your business your way isn’t about finding the one “right way,” it’s about finding the one right way that works for you.
And spoiler: it absolutely does NOT have to feel so hectic day in and day out.
As a matter of fact, all that says to me is that there’s a hidden problem – a missing puzzle piece – in your current operations.
And, once we find it – we can fix it! Because when we do, that’s when everything shifts, and quickly.
– You’ll get way more time in your day and mental space in your mind to finally own your visionary CEO role with joy and peace
– You’ll find missing cash flow opportunities that are suddenly unlocked now that the highest priority problems are identified and solved
– You’ll grow with a sustainable and sound foundation that you trust; no more running around putting out fires and shirking quality time with your family to keep your business afloat!
– Your big business vision will finally feel achievable again, adding fuel to your fire and wind to your sails, because you can see and feel how possible it is (and how close you are to reaching it)
Plus, maybe most importantly, your business will start to sustain itself with a whole lot less output from you.
Hello freedom! Hello joy!
Hello all-new levels of visionary impact!!
If your joy is bringing your big, bold vision and impact to life, get ready. Because my joy is helping you do just that, without burning yourself out on the parts of business you don’t love!
AT WHITENER PROS, OUR APPROACH IS DIFFERENT IN THAT IT’S COMPLETELY CUSTOMIZED AROUND YOUR VISION.
Wondering how I became this expert who’s so uniquely equipped to support you with this? I’ll tell you…
It all started when I took my international business and business administration degrees to an insurance marketing firm and helped them grow from 6 to 7 figures pretty quickly.
From there, my husband and I decided it was time for me to take my expertise and apply it to what I was truly passionate about.
Plus, we also wanted to reduce my commute time and be able to have more time together. Can you relate? 😉
As a former bodybuilder (yup, did that too!), I decided to pursue a personal training business and, in the process of doing so, stumbled upon an opportunity to begin selling women’s clothes. What I didn’t expect was that my business skills would result in that business taking off rapidly! So much so that I ended up opening my own clothing boutique. It was so successful that I ended up having competitors reach out to me, asking for my advice.
Well, I wanted to help them! So, I began consulting all of them. At the time, I was doing this for free, but supporting them in streamlining and growing their businesses became my absolute favorite thing. I loved it so much that I kept trying to juggle it along with running my own business until it got to be too much. I started burning out and realized that what I needed was to honor where my heart was leading me.
So, I sold my boutique and started consulting full time and never looked back.
Today, I’ve never been more grateful to offer this level of service to visionary entrepreneurs and pinpoint the precise solutions that will help them achieve their vision and grow exponentially.
If you’re ready for that level of support, I can’t wait to connect with you.
SOME OTHER FUN FACTS ABOUT ME…
– I love to foster kittens, which my husband and I began doing shortly after our precious fur baby Buddy passed in 2022.
– We love all of our kittens and absolutely consider them our children – although we do have to keep them away from our cat Sienna so they don’t fight!
– As a teenager, I won 5 congressional awards and medals for building the first-ever community leadership and youth program for 14, 15, 16 year olds – and it’s still running today!
– I totally identify as an introvert and prefer being behind-the-scenes.
– Behind the scenes is where I shine, making big changes in my clients’ lives and businesses. While I’m not flashy or showy about it, I can (and will) move mountains in your business.
If you’re ready to explore working together but not quite sure how yet, you can learn more about my signature services here.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The most trying yet rewarding experience in my life and in my business journey was when I experience burnout. My last business grew so fast and so quickly I even outgrew my own attempts to keep up with running things smoothly in the backend. I was bale to catch up and get the right team and systems in place, but as a result I had competitors and other businesses reach out to ask how I was doing it. Ask how I was running things so well and was so profitable. My nature is to help so I began helping them on the side for free, because ti just felt like the right thing to do. I helped them determine what unique systems, processes and team members they needed in their business that allowed them operate their businesses so much easier and begin to have some relief from the daily headaches. They were now easier to operate and more profitable.
BUT, as a result I eneded up burned out from running my own business and helping others on the side. So it forced me to do some soul searching. I needed to determine the right path to go down. After a lot of thought and healing I decded to follow my true calling which was to help other businesses learn to put the right pieces together for their business. I was able to sell my business to someone that had a dream to have a boutique and thus was born Whitener Professional Services.
While I have always been an operations specialist, this experienced really taught me that keeping the priorities you want in life and in business at the forefront at all times and build your business around that will create a much more sustainable long term business. That’s how I have built this business and that’s how I help others build their business!
Any advice for managing a team?
The best advice I have for managing a team and maintainig high morale is to treat everyone like the person that they are. As a Certified Aligned Success Leader, I work with business owners to put together teams based on Human Design and create next level work environments that have people begging them to work there, and I could talk about this for days. But what is boils down to is the second you start to pull in others to help you in your business you are starting to build a team. That first person could be a part time contractor but they are still your team. As as a manager/team leader it now must become part of your responsibility to communicate and lead them effectively. You must take time out for them.
Listen, we have all had jobs where we have worked for others and just felt like we weren’t seen as an actual person. We were supposed to function within their parameters or never have an off day. The management was either too busy or didn’t care what you had going on or how to ultimately supprt you to work at your best. People are tired of being treated like this. They want more. They want to be treated like people and with respect.
The best way to support your team is to remember they are people. They don’t want to be treated how they were treated before. Take time to communciate with them fully. Take time to talk and listen to them as to how they are feeling and what they may have going on in their lives. Be willing to comeo up with alternatives and solutions to help them deal with life as it comes but also get done what needs to get done. Teams members will be more open and loyal when you show that you care and are willing to work with them.
To take it a step further use a tool like Human Design to get to know them at a deeper level and further customize how you support them and their zone of genius. Learn how they work and communicate best and then cater your way of working with your team to them. This little bit of effort will go a long way!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.whitenerpros.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitenerprofessionalservices/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitenerprofessionalservices
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mara-whitener/
Image Credits
Heather Edmunds