We were lucky to catch up with Mary Vallarta recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you ever had an amazing boss, mentor or leader leading you? Can you us a story or anecdote that helps illustrate why this person was such a great leader and the impact they had on you or their team?

Yes, I have. My CFO from a previous company I worked at. She wasn’t my boss but she was clearly a key leader in the company. She started out as a consultant and worked her way up to CFO. She is respected by so many people in the restaurant and hospitality space and she makes it a point to consistently care for her professional relationships with people in the industry. I admire how effective and stellar she is at her job, while still being so compassionate and warm with anyone at the company. She exuded boss energy with the softness and care of the mature feminine. She was so on top of her work while being a present and involved mother to her 2 boys and a supportive wife to her husband. While we worked at the company together, she would reserve time with me regularly to mentor me in my Director level position. I was able to learn strategies in how to communicate more effectively with my direct boss and how to develop and inspire my team. She gave me personal advice on how to approach motherhood as a working mom with a full career. One of the most valuable lessons she told me is to get comfortable and find enjoyment with feeling discomfort. It’s how she’s able to move past her introvertedness and be social and present whenever she is at functions or in one on one conversations. She continues to be an integral part of my life and development.

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 am very multifaceted so I do a few different things. First, I’m a marketer, producer and creative director so I help companies increase their visibility and sales. I focus more on the restaurant and hospitality space because I love food. I just launched Tasty Directives, which acts as a marketing and brand arm for companies looking to elevate their brand presence and marketing activities. The restaurant space is extremely competitive so it’s important to really know your customer, how to get in front them, and how to regularly engage them into dining at your establishment. Examples of the work we do are food photography, local community marketing, loyalty or retention marketing, influencer marketing, and more.

In addition, I am also trained as an Ayurvedic Health Advisor and Facial Guasha Practitioner. This came about because I was having chronic health complications and typical western medicine approaches just weren’t working. I discovered Ayurveda and in about 8 weeks, the headaches recurring yeast infections were gone. That was 3 years ago and through God’s will, those chronic ailments haven’t returned. Guasha is amazing for keeping skin taught and lymph flowing. I work with clients one on one through Ayurvedic consultations and guasha treatments.

Finally, I am a creator due to my work in creating content, whether that’s for Tasty Directives or for my work as an Ayurvedic Health Advisor and Facial Guasha Practitioner.I just love sharing tips and knowledge that have helped me and I know can help others as well. Recently, I have been feeling called to share more content around motherhood and the femininity. I believe that a lot of women nowadays have been feeling burnt out because we are in so much in our masculine, in our professional and in our personal lives. I want to support women in seeing the power of reclaiming and being in our femininity. I also just have so many ideas in my head so I either give life to them myself or find people who can help me do just that. That’s also why I love directing, producing, and building teams.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Giving before you ask is the best way to grow your clientele. I learned this from Gary V from his book, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. What he teaches is to give valuable content first. That’s how you find your audience. Then give some more so you gain their trust. Then, present your offer, which is the ask. That can be the form of a service or product you’re selling. Because you’ve built a rapport and have already given so much value, your audience and community will be more likely to support and trust you, the person who has already demonstrated their knowledge and give so much to them.

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

I had to unlearn that people are out to get you. I had to reframe that by looking at people as beings who are here to help me get the things I want and I can do the same thing for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://maryvallarta.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/maryvallarta/
• Other: For Tasty Directives: http://tastydirectives.com http://instagram.com/tastydirectives

Image Credits
Photographer: Margo Renate, Ivan Solis Food Styling: Danielle Campbell Culinary: Oliver Plust