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

Mary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

Having your own business is a roller coaster of emotions. There are some days that I beam with pride at the business I have created. Then there are some days when I consider throwing in the towel and just going back to the corporate world. I think the days I feel like quitting are the days I lack self-confidence. I think about all the people out there that can do my job better than me, that are more creative, that are smarter and my motivation gets crushed. Full-fledged imposter syndrome takes its’ grip.

For those days, I’ve learned to take a break and reflect on my accomplishments and the years of experience I’ve acquired. I jam out to my favorite music and take some time to work on personal creative projects. After a while, I realize I am worthy of having my own business. I have a lot to offer. People love my work. So I go back to my office and carry on.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Más Bilingual Marketing is a marketing agency specializing in social media management, content creation, photography, and videography. What makes us unique is that we get Phoenix. Our team is made up of bicultural and bilingual creative minds that have a passion to serve our home community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As a business owner and even personally, I’m constantly looking for ways to evolve and keep learning. Our business started out offering only public relations. We later added translations, copywriting, and event planning to our services. A few years later I learned photography and found a new creative side of myself and felt the urge to incorporate it into the business. Then Covid-19 happened and things came to a screeching halt. I used the downtime to lean into my creative side and learn videography. I knew we had to pivot and change our service offerings to survive. At the height of the pandemic, we decided to focus on social media management and content creation and since then the business has been thriving and growing. Had I not made the change, my small business would have fizzled out.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As a young professional, I was taught to give superior customer service while working with difficult customers. Looking back, I wasted a lot of time and energy responding to clients’ demands and not speaking up when I had ideas to improve processes. I was the type of employee that was known to bend over backward for clients or respond immediately after hours or on weekends even if it wasn’t urgent. Although I still have some of those bad habits, I’ve learned to advocate for myself and to have those awkward discussions about respecting each other’s work/life balance. I make sure to set boundaries and only take on clients who I believe will have a good working relationship with us. It’s a lesson I wish I would have learned earlier!

Contact Info:

• Website: masbilingual.com
• Instagram: @masbilingual
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/maryhickeyreynoso/