"You have to be comfortable in the uncomfortable" with Maria Traino
Why I Quit
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Watch on Youtube
Today, we are joined by Maria Traino, who has quit three different jobs in search of a career she was passionate about. She has always loved being creative and working in graphic design. This led her to securing different roles at a marketing agency, newspaper, and a non-profit. Growing up as the daughter of third-generation Italian restaurant owners, Maria was always inspired to have side hustles even while working full-time. She spent over a decade building up freelance clients part-time and eventually started to consider leaving her full-time job to build her own business.
She put together a plan thinking through what she would need to cover her expenses to make the leap. Three months later, she officially started Inspired Studio, which is a boutique brand design, and strategic marketing agency. She thought about what she could do if she gave her full time and attention to the business and set a goal of matching her corporate salary over the course of the first year. Not only did she achieve this goal, she has continually grown her business over the past nine years. She focused on building relationships, increasing value, and partnering with experts to offer more services to help their clients grow their businesses.
During COVID, Maria felt a pull towards another mission. She became inspired to help other entrepreneurs as they work to design their business and life. Maria took all of her experiences and passion towards entrepreneurship to offer one on one coaching. If you are interested in learning more, you can find more information about it here!
Check out the conversation as we dive into the following:
How being the daughter of third-generation Italian restaurant owners helped shaped her ideas about building a services business
How she experimented to figure out what type of work she didn’t like to do
How important it is to embrace being uncomfortable in business
How work life balance is about integration and accepting that work is part of your life
How she didn’t want to have to chose between being a parent versus a business owner, so she made it her mission to be great at both
Listen to Maria share her story and get inspired with her amazing advice to people thinking about following a similar path. Check out the full conversation on YouTube or Spotify by clicking the links below.
Know someone who should be on Why I Quit? We’re looking for all types of stories and people to feature at the top of the show. To nominate yourself or someone else, email dave@foundersapproach.com and tell us your name, where you’re from and what you want to talk about.