Meet Ursula McDaid... Creator of Divine Vegan Self-Care Products and Spiritual Coach
Oct 10, 2019
This week I had the opportunity to connect with Ursula McDaid and interview her about her phenomenal journey as an entrepreneur.
About Ursula
I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, and moved all around the country for many years before settling back in my hometown. I received my BA in French and Political Science from Grinnell College, and then promptly decided I didn’t want to do any sort of job remotely related to my degree. My spiritual and entrepreneurial journey came out of spending most of my life in a state of perpetual anxiety and deep dissatisfaction. Now, I help others move past their own trauma, old patterns, limiting beliefs and fears to live lives they’re truly in love with. My emphasis is on self-love, accountability, creating from alignment and letting go of perfectionism.
The following is our interview, my questions in BOLD and her answers follow:
What kind of work do you do?
Right now, I manage two thriving businesses: The first is an exclusive line of handmade, vegan self-care items: bath bombs, sugar scrubs, bath salts, face oils and other products made with eco-friendly, sustainably sourced ingredients, and high-quality essential oils.. My goal with these products is to help people have more FUN with their self-care and make it a regular part of their lives. The second is my intuitive, spiritual coaching business where I help people identify what is standing in the way of getting to their dream life, and how to crush those limitations and excel with ease and love. I combine your average psychology and mindset work with alternative modalities like astrology, human design, reiki energy and chakra readings, tarot, oracle cards and good, old fashioned intuition.
What inspired you to get started as an entrepreneur?
I was unhappy for many years, plagued with anxiety, depression and a diagnosis of Bipolar I, and then BPD. I was looking for my self-worth and happiness in outside sources: my jobs, relationships, money or lack thereof...nothing was working and finally one day I decided something had to change. I became more proactive with my healing and discovered the incredible power of mindset work (your thoughts = your emotions = your reality) and self-love. This gave me the confidence to search for greater meaning in my life, which began with not being tied to someone else’s business. My boyfriend asked me what I enjoyed doing, what my hobbies were and at the time I didn’t have any, but knew that I liked taking baths. From there, I researched how to make my own bath products, gave samples to family and friends and found people LOVED what they were trying and that they were experiencing profound energetic and emotional shifts as well as they began to use the products frequently. It’s just taken off from there!
What was your biggest struggle to get things going for your online business?
I think my biggest struggle in the beginning was finding reasons to keep going and keep putting myself out there, even when it felt like I wasn’t selling anything. I had giveaways, I sent out promotional samples, I worked with influencers and beauty bloggers, I hired a coach and began to address my deep-seated energy blocks. And what was really important was learning how to create things that felt good and exciting for me, not what I thought people would like (because I was usually wrong). Once I let go of the fear of failure and told myself, “I literally cannot fail as long as I keep going,” that took a lot of the pressure off and I was able to let the business build in its own, organic way.
Was there a time you thought about giving up? What kept you from quitting?
When I was just starting out, I thought about giving up just about every week. Now it’s about every quarter, haha. But really the notion that there’s no such thing as failure as long as I don’t give up, and letting go of the idea that my businesses have to look a certain way for me to be happy. I took responsibility for my emotions and well-being in the present moment. If I felt like I was getting too stressed out, I’d put my business on a brief hiatus, knowing that I would return when my energy was renewed. Another thing that’s really helped me is focusing on creating and selling from alignment. This means that I don’t do things that feel uncomfortable or because people tell me I “should” do them; instead I focus on having fun, first and foremost, and doing things in a way that feels good to me. That’s really helped negate that burnout feeling.
What have you learned since beginning?
That I’m a lot more resilient than I thought. That anything worth having can take a long time to build, and that’s okay! That my businesses get to be run in ways that feel good to me, and I don’t need to model my success after anyone else’s. And that there’s always an amazingly useful lesson in all failures. Oh! And that fear will always be present when you’re doing big things with your life, but it doesn’t have to drive the car.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
Only take action from alignment and do what feels good. There is no moment other than the present, if you want to feel happy in the future, you must do your best to feel happy now.
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Keep going! Do what feels good for YOU, not what others’ tell you that you should be doing. Don’t compare your current reality with someone’s “overnight success”, as that overnight success probably took several years. Take days off, even when you are first starting out. Build work/life balance into your business. Hire a coach. Start treating your business like a business right away.
What’s the professional win you’re most proud of?
Selling out of one of my earliest bath bomb launches within a few minutes!
Is there a book you’d recommend to help with success and personal development?
Too many to name! A few of my favorites: Do Less by Kate Northrup, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. You Are A Badass Series by Jen Sincero, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, No Matter What by Lisa Nichols, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Warrior Goddess Training by HeatherAsh Amara...I’m usually reading about 8 different books at once.
Do you have a routine that you attest to your success? If yes, what is it?
At least 15 minutes of meditation. Writing 10 things I’m grateful for and why. Setting intentions for my day: how I want to FEEL. Moving my body in a fun and energetic way for at least 25 minutes.
How has social media played a factor in your success?
Social media has been a fantastic tool, especially for selling products and getting my message out there. I like the simplicity of it and how it allows me to build trust with my audience. It’s also hugely practical for reaching large amounts of people all at once. Lately, however, I’ve been pulled to do more in-person work in my local community and beyond. Still brainstorming ideas about that!
What are the biggest social media mistakes you see commonly made?
Selling without providing value first. Cold-messaging without nurturing relationships. Complaining about how other people do business. Feeling like they “have to” do Live videos or post every day or do any of those things that other people tell them they need to do, even if they don’t feel good.
What is the business tool that’s been most helpful?
Canva. Facebook entrepreneurial marketing groups. Hiring a business coach.
Is there something you wish everyone knew?
Your business gets to be whatever you want it to be! Don’t have a website? Don’t like doing live videos? Don’t feel like niche-ing down? You don’t have to do any of it!
What’s coming up for you in the next few months?
Gearing up for the Holiday season with my products. I’ve been toying with the idea of a self-care subscription box program for a while, but might save that for after the Holidays because January/February tend to be the months when people need that self-nurturing the most. I’ll also be launching a new coaching course in the next month or so. This one is going to be jam-packed with content on how to heal from the past, attract more abundance, let go of the need to control and will have a lot of the woo-woo astrology, human design and all of that wrapped up into it. I’m so excited, I’ve done a lot of self-work and learning since my last course and can’t wait to share what I’ve learned!
What has being successful taught you?
Being successful has taught me to value myself, to depend on myself, and to be patient about the timeline of my results. No one is going to just hand success to you, but you also have to recognize success when it comes and not brush it off at any stage. You can hit all of your goals and milestones, but if you never stop to recognize it, you’ll always feel unsatisfied and unsuccessful.
What are some fun facts about you?
I’ve lived in 8+ different states all around the country. I speak fluent French and lived in Paris briefly. I’m super empathic and have a deep connection with animals, as well as humans. My favorite color is neon hot pink and I’m absolutely obsessed with boba tea.
*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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