Meet Joanna Szewczyk... Pinterest Software Developer
Oct 04, 2019
About Joanna:
Born in Poland, New Yorker by heart, currently living in Miami. Just a girl who follows her dreams and passions. Crossing my bucket list items one at a time. Very organized, loves bunnies, babies, adventure, sports, travel, business. Always learning and trying new things.
The following is my interview with Joanna, my questions in BOLD and her answers follow.
What kind of work do you do?
I work with entrepreneurs: professionals, influencers and e-commerce.
I teach them how to build, grow, manage and automate their Pinterest account so it brings them the right, ready to buy audience to their websites, blogs, social media channels and stores.
I created PinMeApp to help Pinterest users automate their pinning so they can spend time on the more productive parts of their business and take the hustle of scheduling from their plate. PinMeApp is not a scheduler- it's an automation tool that allows you to set up your pinning once and the software will pin on your behalf.
I also offer Pinterest Management service where its a fully done for you Pinterest Management solution.
What inspired you to get started as an entrepreneur?
My character traits, I am very independent. I like to do what I want, set goals and achieve them. I can't take someone having the power to fire me, tell me when and if i can go on vacation, what time I can leave the office or what dumb, useless task I have to complete that day.
What was your biggest struggle to get things going for your online business?
Lack of help and guidance from someone who done it already. With my first business I had a mentor who taught me everything which made it super easy to start and grow and make money right from the start. Here it was completely different I had to learn everything from scratch did tons of mistakes, restructured 3 times.
Was there a time you thought about giving up? What kept you from quitting?
No, never. I always know that I will achieve what I want its just a matter of time. I achieved everything I wanted so far, it won't be different in the future.
What have you learned since beginning?
To do the important things first and take the imperfect action. I think listening to Gary Vee - think I found him like 5 months ago, really showed me the perspective, that you're gonna die, tomorrow is not certain, so don't overthink it, just do it. I would stop myself from reaching out to people as I didn't like the design of my site and I thought people will judge me. It takes practice to stop thinking that way, to be confident in your results not the details. But the details are important too, and even stupid thing like a brand photoshoot grew my trust rate a lot. People are visual and they do judge, but that shouldn't stop you from doing what you want.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
I think the best advice was the one I didn't get. I took courses, I hired experts to help me grow my business and at some point I went for a coaching retreat, where I was supposed to get valuable advice for my business, but I didn't learn nothing new, I didn't get any valuable advice. At first I was annoyed, as I spent money, travelled and there was no ROI, completely disappointed. And then I realized that if this coach is at a place where I aspire to be and they didn't teach me nothing I didn't knew already it means I don't need any more coaching, all I need is execution. The only thing I was missing is showing up online, 2 months later I started showing up on FB, started growing my network there, started YouTube channel. People must be able to FIND you, TRUST you in order to BUY form you. So FB and YouTube definitely helped with the trust, as I don't think blogposts on my blog are enough.
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Do what you LOVE, you KNOW, you DID that will help others solve their BIG problem. Don't try to figure out a business idea. Many people do this mistake they decide what they want to do they learn and then they teach others. It usually isn't working.
My both businesses where a complete surprise to all my friends. First my big problem was my weight, I gained 20 pounds 10 years ago, after my first visit in the US for 3 months, and I couldn't loose weight for 2 years. I tried everything but nothing worked, then one day I met my nutritionist and got my result 2 months later. It was his idea that I should become a nutritionist as well. At first I didn't want to do it, but I gave in, got lots of support and soon had my very profitable business that made me really happy every day. Seeing my clients loose weight, getting better health results was the best experience I had.
With my current business it was something I didn't plan either. I read an article in Forbes in Jan 2017 about a 26 year old blogger who makes $100k a month and decided to give blogging a go. 10 months later, realized I won't be able to monetize the blog without traffic so I dived into research how to get traffic from Pinterest. I SEO optimized my account, I built my app and results came immediately. First month 420% increase in traffic. By month 2 I had 1200% increase in traffic. I realized my app will help a lot of people run their online business, as EVERY BUSINESS needs traffic. So I built the app. Then I thought not everyone is on Pinterest so I started offering Pinterest Management, get awesome results, first month my client grew from 1k to 7k page views referred through Pinterest, but I realized thats not scalable, and the people I hired wasn't performing as good as I would wish. At the same time I started content creation so that took a lot of time. And then one day an idea came to actually teach my step by step process and offer Pinterest Training.
So as an advice I would definitely say, start where you are with what you have cause you never know where you end up. Waiting for the perfect idea or circumstances is an excuse.
What’s the professional win you’re most proud of?
The results I get, I don't see any competition in my space.
Is there a book you’d recommend to help with success and personal development?
I don't know. I like relentless, as I am relentless so it resonated with me. Not sure if this will resonate with everyone. I have a long list of books I want to read, but still have other priorities. But I would 100% recommend Sam Ovens Consulting Accelerator program, that is the best resource I know about success and personal development.
Do you have a routine that you attest to your success? If yes, what is it?
I don't think i have a stable routine but I start my day with a glass of water with aloe, herbalife shake and thermojetic tea. It fills me up and gives me energy for 2-3h. I drink green juices and aloe and thermojetic tea throughout the day. I drink soy and almond milk with my shakes. I have a keto meal delivery so it saves me a lot of time. I never feel hungry, I never think of food, it used to be a daily struggle and annoying to me when i was hungry or didn't want cesar salad or salmon again. Now, I don't really care what I eat, it's always a pleasant surprise when my meals come. I try to swim daily, go on a bike, play tennis, paddle board, jetski, go on road trips as often as I can. I think when I am in the ocean or playing tennis is when I get my best ideas.
How has social media played a factor in your success?
Pinterest was a life changer for me, without it I wouldn't have my business.
What are the biggest social media mistakes you see commonly made?
Lack of consistency, lack of purpose.
What is the business tool that’s been most helpful?
When developing app it was trello, 100% it was awesome to see how we are progressing building new features, seeing abandoned ideas, how the scope changed, really valuable
Is there something you wish everyone knew?
The neuroscience, like your brain wants to protect you, so the second you start having doubts about your idea, your brain will give you reasons not to pursue it. You have to know how to control it. There is a good video that explains it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l45JWeeP_Pw
What’s coming up for you in the next few months?
Personally I will be moving in December, haven't decided where to yet.
Professionally I am thinking of doing Pinterest Workshops, I like having human interactions and network face to face- I am not a cheat chater over social media. And I think workshops are a better way to keep things moving, do the work, get the support on the spot, get questions answered in real time. No ebook or 1:1 call gives you that. And I want my clients to get results fast. Pinterest is not a social media that needs your daily attention. You set it up and automate it. If you are efficient you can do it in 3 months and get free targeted traffic for years so it's a very good investment for your brand and business future. Remember if they can't find you, they won't buy from you.
What has being successful taught you?
That you can achieve anything you set your mind too.
What are some fun facts about you?
- I never iron
- I went on 7 week solo trip on the Pacific - Hawaii, Auckland, Sydney and French Polynesia
- Everything I have I paid for
- I heard "will you marry me" over 20 times, been engaged twice, married once
- I live laptop lifestyle over 5 years now
Connect with Joanna:
*Some clickable media, usually the book recommendations, are affiliate links, and should you choose to buy through using those links then The Infinite Power of You Inc. may earn an affiliate payout commission. This is at no additional expense to you, and helps keep this blog going.
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