Meet Christiana Maxion - one of my friends in Dubai! I had Christiana on an earlier podcast episode and she spoke about her sober journey. In today's episode, Christiana shares her entrepreneurial journey - from being a teacher in Abu Dhabi to becoming an Entrepreneur.
Listen here!
If you enjoyed this episode please don’t forget to subscribe, rate and share the podcast so it can reach more people that it will serve and benefit.
You can connect with Christiana at christianamaxion.com. You can connect with Alex to discover the type of entrepreneur coaching she offers at: https://www.themindfullifepractice.com/entrepreneur-mastermind. Follow me on Instagram @alexmcrobs and check out my offerings in yoga, meditation and coaching at http://themindfullifepractice.com/.
Transcript:
Alex: Hi friend this is Alex McRobbs founder of the Mindful Life Practice and you're listening to the Sober Yoga Girl podcast. I'm a Canadian who moved across the world to the Middle East at age 23 and I never went back. I got sober in 2019 and I now live full-time in Bali, Indonesia. I've made it my mission to help other women around the world stop drinking, start yoga and change their lives through my online sober girls yoga Community. You're not alone and a sober life can be fun and fulfilling, let me show you how.
[Music]
Alex: Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Sober Yoga Girl podcast. Now, I'm super excited for this episode because I have my friend Christiana with me here today and she is the Dubai Matchmaker and for people that are listening to this um, they won't see this but Christiana has this beautiful neon Dubai Matchmaker sign right behind her which I love and so I had Christiana on my show a few months ago and I am super excited to have her back because well today I'm recording this episode as part of the Be Your Own Boss week and so we have a few people listening in on the zoom call and might be having some questions later on in the episode and I'm just really excited to hear more specifically about her entrepreneurial Journey. So, Christiana and I were both teachers at the same time in Abu Dhabi. She now has become the Dubai Matchmaker started her own business in the UAE. It is pretty amazing so I'm looking forward to hearing more about that, so welcome.
Christiana: Thank you so much Alex for having me. Always love a chat and especially about business because you and I have very like, we have a lot of parallels in our, in our lives. Which is really cool which we actually discovered more the first time that we spoke on your podcast. So I'm excited to like expand on that talk about what's happening new in my life and your life and yeah let's get into it.
Alex: Amazing so I have a question for you to start. What did you want to be when you grew up? When you were a kid?
Christiana: Okay my very very first aspiration, I wanted to be a marine biologist and, and I laugh about that now because I'm actually super scared of the ocean. So, how I came to I think maybe like watching Free Willy I was like oh my Gosh save the orcas and all of that so that was like my first aspiration and then it's, it's interesting I would say that career was never something like I thought about. I think I was just more focused on getting really good grades and because I was an athlete, I was just focused on Athletics getting really good grades getting into a great University and maybe I kind of did it backwards I didn't really know what I wanted to do as a career until I already graduated in University and I was like okay what do I do now? So then I got my Master's in education because working or being an athlete working as a coach. My parents were like this is something you really love so that's how I got into I guess my first part of my career.
Alex: Amazing and so what should you do right when you finished University? I know you we talked about this a little bit on the previous episode but just so everyone can kind of hear like, your journey um to where you are now.
Christiana: Yes. So I actually I went to Notre Dame and I chose to major in finance because at the time it was like the number one undergraduate business school and I was thinking wow that's a great degree not even thinking like what career could I have but I knew that I didn't like extensive reading and I wasn't a very good writer at that point in my life. So I said I'm really good with numbers, it's black and white. It's either yes or no. So I went into Finance. I uh did an internship with Merrill Lynch and I was like oh no I was like this is definitely not the route I want to take in my life because, especially when you live in New York, it's very like, it's a one track, right? You um uh, kill yourself in banking ,investment banking for three to four years. Slot yourself into a hedge fund, millionaire by the age of 29 and but it's like, what do you have to show for it? And for me I've always been a person like, I love life so much and I knew that if I went down that route, what would be my work/life balance and like I mentioned before, my parents were like hey you should actually look into education. Get your Masters in Education uh because I had a really great program uh in New York that I was involved in. Was kind of like a fast track and yeah then I got in the classroom, I absolutely loved working with kids, like I worked first grade in kindergarten and uh working in education like that's one that's the first career I had here out in the UAE and I, and I think I spoke about Sonia on the first podcast we did is, what I appreciate about the UAE is that you get promoted based on Merit rather than on longevity. Where working in the states, it's almost like okay once you hit like a benchmark in number of years then you get promoted. Where out here in the UAE it's different so I was in a very corporate school and I climbed that corporate ladder very quickly. I was a leader in a school by the age of 29 I think it was and became a published author. I came out here to Dubai as a leader in a school um how did I become a Matchmaker? That's a different story but that is my uh journey to yeah being here now I guess but if you want to ask me more questions about becoming a Matchmaker we can get into that too.
Alex: Yeah well, why don't you share a little bit about that Journey? Like, how you made that transition?
Christiana: Yes, so it was actually in 2020 uh, I felt like the pandemic for some people really breeded. Like a lot of like creativity um for those who maybe would have had a lot more time on their hands because they're not commuting, they're not going into an office, maybe a less workload. So in 2020 I created a comedic Instagram account that was basically just documenting my dating escapades as a western expat in Dubai in lockdown and post lockdown. I think a lot of people were attracted to my empowered dating standpoint. I always preach, have your high standards and zero expectations when dating and I would get people asking me so many questions about dating, about relationships and I've always loved helping others. Especially working like the education space but now it's like working with, with adults and it's quite funny because even in education, yes you work with children but also you have to work with adults too because there's a team,there's leaders and all of this and I always found it uh interesting like the comparison with working with children versus adults. Because children are much more simple and adults are much more complex and I've always been a solution Seeker. So I love figure out their problems, navigate their relationships. Something happened in my career where it kind of gave me more uh time and a space to think how can I turn this into an actual career for myself is something that I absolutely love. So I thought everybody complains about dating in Dubai. How do we fix it? So then I just invented, I invented, I invested well, I kind of did invent what I did because I was the first public Western Matchmaker based in Dubai here. Like, publicly and when I did start the business actually priority and slip but I'll take it from there. I did invent what I did, I, I really didn't speak to other matchmakers. Um, I did become a certified dating coach but I didn't want my head to be muddied with how matchmaking. Was in other cities and other countries, so I really reflected on my experience on other people that I have been helping and I said what would work in this region because dating in Dubai is way different than dating in New York or dating in your hometown in Ohio because maybe everybody knows each other they've grown up with each other since they were five years old. We're dating in a really expat dominated City and everybody, no or most people didn't grow up here so you don't have like that foundation of a friend group, who do you trust? Do you take people at face value? Do you have your guard up? Um, there's, what? Is it over 200 nationalities represented here? All types of religions, all types of people, ages, sizes, colors, everything and I thought about my dating experience and I said what would work here to help people find their ideal match because obviously the dating apps aren't working because everybody's complaining about everything and in my experience here in the UAE, I have dated the most fabulous people. Met the most amazing people I've ever met in the world and I truly believe that there are so many quality people here in the UAE. Here in the UAE, here in the GCC and I want to be that bridge that connects them. So that's where it all started. Gosh October 2021 was my first client and here I am today. Gosh, what did I? 11x in Revenue in 12 in 11 months or 12 months something like that and now we have so much other expansion coming it's great.
Alex: Wow, it's so amazing and it's so inspiring just to see how quickly it all came together. Like, I, we were talking on the last I think it was in the last podcast episode when you were talking about the dating and Dubai account and I was like oh my Gosh, like I remember that and I forgot how much I loved it but when at this point, like I was single. I wasn't really dating you know, dating my business as me and Christina always say. It's like we're both digging our businesses and so um I was like living vicariously through that Instagram of like all of your stories of dating in Dubai and it's just amazing to see how it's evolved and transformed to, to where it is now it's huge.
Christiana: Yes and, and I say that I mean obviously it's not always a smooth road but like when you look at the grand scheme of things, like things did come into place or settled into place quite quickly and I feel like when you're on the right path and you persevere, you do have resilience, you do have grit and you take action, you make it happen for yourself. Then the universe, God, like everything just opens up for you. Honestly and like the next big thing happens and this door opens, that opens back door and that door and all of a sudden you're in rooms where you're like, wow how do you even meet this person? and then they open that door. So it's been, it's been a great ride in that sense where it hasn't been linear. It's been more like, not even up and down just like up, up, up above. Which like, I'm so grateful for and appreciate every single day.
Alex: Yeah that's amazing. I love that you shared that when you're on the right path it all just kind of falls into place. Like, you do have to take action and persevere but um, it all just comes together and I think that's absolutely true.
Christiana: Wel,l I also think it's a, it's a sign from whether you believe in God or the universe, it's a sign that you're and like every day or most days I wake up and I go, dear universe and God whether I'm writing it or saying it out loud, I just say, I appreciate this, thank you so much. I'm manifesting this. These are my affirmations and it's funny because I also think that when you are on the right path, you are vibrating on like a higher frequency. So, I will literally say things out loud and then they happen and I'm just going to give you like a silly one that happened to me today. I saw my girlfriend at this event and uh and she wears an aura ring and she was the one that like, kind of like made me think, okay you know I want to get an aura ring and I had ordered the ordering, Gosh some there was something that happened where like the order got lost. I had to process it again. Whatever, it happened a couple weeks ago so it was literally out of sight out of mind and then I saw her ring today and I go, oh you know that I just ordered one. I am not kidding and I said, I wonder when it's gonna get shipped because I had to go through XYZ. Three minutes later on my email or a ring popped up, your ring has been shipped and I was like ah. So, I was like, I was like they're listening. The you know, this person's listening to me so that's just like a small one but obviously other things happen but yeah.
Alex: And that's just amazing, when you get those moments of affirmation of like wow the universe is bringing like what I'm manifesting.
Christiana: Yes, it's really really cool that's.
Alex: Amazing, did you ever think when you were young when you were kids that you would be an entrepreneur when you grew up? Is that something you ever imagined?
Christiana: So, I come from a long line of entrepreneurs. So my grandfather first, he was gosh he was an executive at Con Ed and then he was heavily involved in politics and then he started a Securities business um in the city in New York City, then he opened up parking garages. Now my parents always thought that I would go into the parking garage business because it was lucrative and anyway they always thought I would go that route. I decided um not to and it's I mean, can I get a little controversial on here or no?
Alex: Yeah.
Christiana: Okay, so I kind of felt like I was bred whether it was my environment or familial, I need to figure out the balance between the two. I kind of always thought I was just gonna marry rich if I'm very honest and probably another reason why I went into education because it was a job you can do anywhere and get hired for anywhere. I mean at that time I didn't think I would ever leave the states or even leave New York. So I was like, I could be a teacher anywhere. Um, and then it did prove itself when I did move to the UAE and I was dating somebody out here. Um and yes anyway I didn't think I was going to be an entrepreneur until certain things happen in your life, So obviously that person and I had split. I then, I was not really focused on my career but then when that happened I said I'm gonna have to make something for myself. So like I said, I worked my way up the education ladder. I became a published author and I was thinking okay, I'm gonna make a business out of the books that I was writing but then life led me down this path where I created this business and I would not change it for the entire world. Yes people always say like,oh my it's amazing you have so much freedom, you have so much time, okay if you want to be an entrepreneur for freedom don't be an entrepreneur. Like literally I work 24/7 and is constantly burning in my brain but the ideal thing is that it doesn't feel like work because I love love. Firstly, that's my job industry, love. I love love, but I also love what I do and helping people so any little thing on my to-do list does not feel like work even though it is. It does not feel like it, there are things where I'm like I could definitely outsource this but as like a solopreneur right now I do everything myself for the most part. Now I'm starting to Outsource I need to let go a little bit. I have a lot of control issues when it comes to this, this is my baby but uh I'm learning to let go of it.
Alex: Yeah and I love how you shared um just about like that whole process of like running all these things and people think that it's like we have all this freedom as entrepreneurs but in reality like, yeah I'm working literally all the time but it also doesn't feel like work and actually one of my coaches said she asked me if any little Parts feel like working or struggle and, and like being able to identify what those things are then made it clear to me like do I still want to keep doing these things? Do I need to keep doing them? Can I Outsource them? Can I just um, can I restructure for the business so that I don't have to do these things.
Christiana: And, and that's exactly, that it was interesting I had a, I had a meet up with one of my girlfriends. She also owned her own business and she had similar conversation with her coach and, and at first like so her reflection was she said at first I just thought you know, what I'm I hate doing this? Like the at some part like her admin part of like her job she's like I hate doing this and then she said, she was like at first I just thought like I hated doing it because it was like busy work but then she said she was like it's because I'm not good at it, so why am I forcing myself and spending hours on something when I can pay somebody one hour who's really good at this just to do it and, and it made a really good point and kind of hit home for me because I was like, yeah I could have someone else do that too uh can I give up the control I don't know yet we have to see.
Alex: Stay tuned. So what have been some of your biggest challenges along the way?
Christiana: Um I would say a challenge for me is something I'm having right now. So, I am, there's a lot going on at the business and I'm so grateful. I'm so happy not only with the expansion of like current affiliation, I have with uh us brand and a Canadian brand which makes us Global matchmakers now but also there's television show pending, yeah but the main thing that's happening right now is that we or I and my tech team will be building um an app that isn't a dating app. Trust me there's enough of those out there. This will come back the dating apps and kind of solve dating in a different way, but it will be like an in-pocket matchmaking concierge for high earning professionals and expat dominated cities, we are my, my biggest thing with that is that I am a first-time founder. We are seeking investment for that and funding for this project, so being a first-time founder and going through and having to learn how to build a pitch deck, how to do your financials, who to talk to, what are Angel Investors, what are VCS, what is a family office, oh wait now you have to open up an SPV, oh wait don't forget has to be in a free zone, oh wait but your license is this, now you have to get a technical license, oh do you want a co-founder, are you going to give up Equity, are you going to pay them a salary? So, I would say those are like my current, I wouldn't say challenges because I love learning and I love expanding and I like knowing, what I mention more control. I like knowing every single thing. So I have invested lots of time and effort into understanding things, meeting with lawyers, reading books, talking with people that are 10 steps ahead of me, two steps ahead of me, to learn what it is that I'm doing, so I do it right and I don't make mistakes but obviously life is learning. Life is a gamble. I would say that my biggest challenge right now is do I give up equity in this company that I know will be extremely successful and who do I give up Equity to? Do I trust the people that I give Equity to? And I know from a lot of founders that I've spoken to, they said the number one thing that you hold in like your bank is equity. They're like, you'd rather pay somebody a salary then give them a part of your company. So I'm learning, I'm trying to figure that out before I sign contracts with people and do all of that. So my largest challenge right now is, I'm gonna say this out loud so God, in the universe, can give me an answer please guide me in knowing what the next steps are for my business. In terms of, do I get co-founders or do I just go with it and figure out the salaries later on.
[laughs]
Alex: Thanks for sharing that. You know, all of those little details for me have been so um, I'm so hesitant about all of that, like I'm just so afraid of like getting co-founders, giving anyone apart in the business like and so I just like I'm in avoidance, like it's been a Alex basically one woman self-funded, like everything that Mindful Life Practices has come from me because I just, that all of that stuff just seems so complicated so I think that's amazing you're learning so much and getting into it and, and figuring out what's going to be right for you.
Christiana: Mm-hmm.
Alex: I'm excited about this app. That's fantastic, that's great.
Christiana: But I love about it is that it's based on real lessons that I've learned not only as a Matchmaker, as a single person who was on the apps and really from my clients who had praised. This is what I loved about your service XYZ ABC and our service is one-to-one personalized and our prices start at twenty thousand US dollars. So that's obviously not something that's accessible to everybody and like I said before, I love love. My main mission in life is to connect people. So I'm really excited for this application because it's going to be a way to reach the masses and to make our services accessible to most people so I'm really excited for that part and just to create so much more love and connection in the world that's what I care about.
Alex: That's amazing and what is your vision for your business like in the next couple years or five years what do you see?
Christiana: Yes, so I'm also manifesting this. Is that we get our television show commissioned. So, it will be a docuseries about my matchmaking here in Dubai and getting that commission. I'm talking to like three different producers right now. So we have to see what is going to happen with that and having that show really highlight not only how amazing Dubai is and the UAE but really highlighting alternative ways to find love. I think a lot of people have a lot of dating app fatigue. A lot of people are maybe lonely or feel lost in an expat city at or in like a new, a new country, new city as an expat. So helping them to find alternatives to actually meet a partner. That would be one of the things on my list uh another thing is obviously the launch of the app. Not only in UAE but then hopefully Singapore, you never know that could be cool and maybe KSA and Gosh I just, I want my mission/vision, all my values to be focused around connecting people and connecting people for love mainly but yeah for companionship. Whatever you need in this world, I want to be known as matching, taking action, connecting people, foreign that's like my mission. Oh yeah and I'm gonna be on the cover of Forbes and it's gonna say Matching/Taking Action.
Alex: I love that, I love that so much.
Christiana: Yeah.
Alex: All right, what advice would you give to someone who's just starting out their entrepreneurial journey?
Christiana: Okay, what I would say to that person is, are they leaving their job to start it? or what country okay or are they sitting on some cash and starting it or starting from zero? Because there's a big difference.
[Laughter]
Alex: Um starting from zero starting from zero.
Christiana: Okay firstly is there a demand? Because I know a lot of people that follow their passion but is it a saturated market you have to think about that, what is your USP like? What are your Unique Selling Points? Um and I would say the number one thing is mentors, talk to people that are 10 steps ahead of you. Hire somebody to be your mentor, that's five, ten steps ahead of you in the region that you're in because. Every region is different. The first business mentor I had was based in Dubai and she made so many connections for me in terms of like even the PR agency that I work with now that her wouldn't have had that door open there and my PR, Alex you used my PR too, they are incredible, fantastic. So I would say mentors are so, so important and she really helped me streamline a lot in the beginning when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do and my entrepreneurial journey and uh yeah I would say yeah assess the market, what is your USP and get a mentor.
Alex: And that is such a good point what you brought up about like the the Unique Selling Point the USP because when I first began and that was my biggest struggle when I first began the Mind of Life Practice was that yoga is just too saturated of a market, that's it and it was just too difficult for me to market yoga but sobriety and yoga really struck a chord with people and so it was like finding that thing that made us unique and different than other yoga teachers out there.
Christiana: Definitely and, and that's the thing right and of course you're never going to be the only person in the market. Like now I know that there's other people that have popped up but let's say like you are building yourself one of your unique, your unique selling points would be you and think about you. What do you bring to the table in terms of like for this business, what are people going to be attracted to in you? And that's important to assess and even to ask other people because sometimes like you can be reflective but other people's uh feedback is really important too so that's another thing I'd say to dance.
Alex: Yeah brilliant all right I want to switch it over now to ask those that are listening in and watching does anyone have any questions for Christiana?
Yasir: I do.
Christiana: Hi Yasir, how are you?
Yasir: I'm great. Uh thank you for sharing your stories. So it's by and I have two questions. First, what tips you would give to sustaining your business and the second one is what is your biggest failures or learnings?
Christiana: Absolutely, okay sustaining the business, so what's interesting is in the beginning and I've expressed this on other interviews is so I had left my job. So, I did not have any savings when I started. I literally started from probably negative because I put everything on credit card because I, I knew in my heart of heart that this was going to work. I didn't know how but I said it's gonna work and I will figure it out. Um in the beginning I would say like worries about money but I, I always say that pressure creates diamonds. So I had to change strategy and when I was talking about before about assessing the market, what I first created and because I was so so new I had to adjust. I had to change what my packages looked like. I had to change what my pricings were because I just needed more experience and more testimonials for things and more word of mouth. Hey she's great, she did this, she hooked me with my boyfriend, my girlfriend, this, this that, that so I would say that great learnings is um up, you have to be able to reflect, reassess your strategy and listen to the market. Ask people for feedback but also don't let every bug get in your ear because some people just don't know and it's, it's hard, it's a hard balance because it's like you want to listen to other people's feedback but you also have to trust your gut and go through intuition. So it's kind of like you have to find that middle ground for yourself and sometimes it feels like a seesaw, like this balancing act but usually if you're an open person who is reflective you will find the right way that will work for you. Did that answer your question? Wait, I mean ask the question again?
Yasir: You answered the first question, yeah.
Christiana: Okay and then what okay what was the second question?
Yasir: Uh what are your biggest failures or learnings?
Christiana: Oh gosh, yeah I would say this this is a great one um, when you are starting to build something there are going to be naysayers and they're gonna be yaysayers. It's important to assess and reevaluate the people who you surround yourself with if you reassess and reevaluate those relationships you need to see who is a cheerleader? Who's a Debbie Downer? Who maybe doesn't wish you success deep down inside and what is it they say like I forget the exact term but something like the blank is the sum of the five people around you or what do they say then your network?
Alex: You become yeah like you've become the five people you're surrounded with.
Christiana: Yes, you do and I always say that your network is your net worth. Who are you hanging with? Are these people elevating you? Are they in similar positions or maybe are they stuck? Now, I'm not saying drop every single person that isn't at your quote-unquote level but I am saying that you need to protect your energy in certain ways and surround yourself with people that are elevating you and let's say you don't have a large Network yet, my favorite thing to do is to go to an event or even go on LinkedIn and I literally I just got a message right before this interview. I've seen, I've seen somebody at this net working event and I didn't get to talk to him but my friend said oh I got his name. I know what company he works at so I messaged him on LinkedIn. I looked up his bio for something I just felt like this magnet towards this guy and I looked up his bio and he's literally five steps ahead of me in my journey now in terms of like tech startup. So I just messaged him on LinkedIn. I said, hey can I please buy you a coffee. I love your bio, I love this and for the most part people are really open to meeting. If you just put yourself out there because they think wow, this person has some balls. Like, they're just randomly calling me, why not, they sound really interesting. So yeah even if you don't have those people in your network, reach out. Reach out to people on LinkedIn, reach out to people on networking events, hey can I buy you a coffee, can I sit you down for this pick your brain but when you go into any of those relationships especially one-on-one um and you're taking them out. Number one thing I would say is either start the conversation or end the conversation with this, say how can I add value to your life? Because when you go in there coming from a position of I want to help you, how can I help you? That person automatically goes, wow I want to help this person, they're not selfish they're not just using me, they actually want to help me.
Alex: That's such a great answer and um I love that um idea of like just reaching out to people and actually I'm going to be um doing a workshop tomorrow about starting a podcast, but that has been like the biggest the best thing for me is like running my podcast and just reaching out to people and inviting them to be on guests guests on the show and then learning from them through the interview like that's become my um my favorite uh networking tool.
Christiana: Yeah for sure and for the most part people are so open to talk and to help others. The worst thing that can happen is they don't answer you and they say no well guess what, that doesn't mean anything to your life because you didn't know them before anyway so it is what it is.
Alex: It's so true and sometimes it's what I found is that people won't respond because they're just like busy and they have a bunch of things going on and that doesn't mean that it's like a rejection per se. Like there's been a couple people who um like Andy ramage who started One Year No Beer. He didn't respond to the first email I sent about being on the show and someone was like, just email him again and I never would have done that but I emailed him like two weeks later and he was just like yeah I'm in you know until sometimes it's.
Christiana: I totally agree with you and I will say this and like that age-old saying the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Just hit him up again. Some people are just super busy, especially like talking to a guy right now who literally runs one of the largest funds here in the UAE and I had sent him something we had met, we met twice. I had sent him something and then he said he's a yep on it I'll get back to you I didn't hear from him for like two weeks and I saw him in the lobby of a hotel and he goes oh my God, he's like, I totally forgot. Let me send that to you. He's like coming to Cairo next week but I'm taking you out the week after like some people are just busy you know but usually humans want to help other humans usually so I would just say just go for it.
Alex: Amazing, does anyone else have any other questions for Christiana?
Linda: I'm curious to know about your tattoo on your hand there that I can kind of see. Would you tell us about that?
Christiana: Yes so I have a tattoo that says, I just ride. It was so funny, I had a business meeting yesterday with this guy and he goes, he goes oh he's like your tattoo, do you cycle? I don't know that's what he asked you he goes, what do you ride? Might go, anything you want me to, just kidding but I it's always a great opening line especially when you're talking to a guy because then the guard gets let down. Oh but um it's actually the Lana Del Rey song and the song is called Ride. I got this when I was a broody 23 year old and basically the message in the song is like she talks about how she feels like she has a war in her mind so then she just rides and it's really about like going with the flow. Trying to figure out like, what your path is and I actually, I used to teach spinning so I used to be like oh yeah I'm also a spin instructor so.
Alex: Yeah back in the day me and Christiana both were spin instructors.
Christiana: Can you imagine that?
Alex: I know it's like it's so funny how how like our past have evolved so so much so fun and.
Christiana: You know, what's funny. I was on the phone with my brother and I was telling him about all like the especially, like the tech expansion that's coming up and he said to me he was like, he's like I, he's like I'm so proud of you because you're a person that when you say you're gonna do something, you do it and he reminded me, he killed remember obviously like I spoke about like, the book. Becoming a school leader but he's like remember he's like, you wanted to teach Pilates, you became Pilates instructor. You want to teach today you became a spinning instructor whilst you were doing, this, this and that and I had forgotten that Alex, I literally was like oh my gosh you're right and then I was like oh it seems like a pattern, I like it.
Alex: It's amazing children's book author Christiana also wrote a book, children's book.
Christiana: So Being the Falcon here we are.
Alex: Pretty cool, does anyone else have any other questions? I love that you asked about the tattoo that was a great question.
Christiana: I have many other little ones and I have more to come because I have little things like little milestones that I have in my brain and uh I owe myself another tattoo. So it's another Lana Del Rey song. I'm very motivated by lyrics and the tattoo is from her song radio and in it she says “do you love me because I'm playing on the radio” and one of the other lines in it she says “now my life is sweet like cinnamon” obviously cinnamon isn't sweet it's spicy so I love that line. Sweet like cinnamon. So I'm gonna get on my bicep here it's gonna be a sweet like cinnamon and I oh I owe myself that because I've already been on seven different radio shows and a couple different um Telly shows so I'm like okay I need to get that one now.
Alex: Amazing. Any other questions for Christiana before we wrap it up?
Linda: I'll ask one more question yeah, um I'm trying to think of how to formulate it but I guess um so I'm curious to know how you know, if you are focusing on helping other people find matches um do you feel like that is, I guess how does that translate into your own personal world and life. Um, and because I'm thinking of it from a place of there are jobs I've done over the course of my life sometimes where I spent a lot of time booking travel for people and then that made me not want to book travel for myself because it was the thing I was doing all the time and so I'm curious to know if you feel like you're noticing any of that bleed into your own your own experiences.
Christiana: What I will say is like it's funny because I get friends and uh people that I know that say wow you have the best job because you get kind of like a first look at like all the bachelors that are in Dubai and I kind of say that it's quite interesting and yes this is quite controversial for a matchmaker to say but in my personal life I actually do not believe in monogamy, in my personal life, for marriage. So for me I love being a matchmaker because I meet so many different people and the first question I can ask somebody is hey are you single and whether or not like they take offense or they're open to it I can always say, oh I'm a matchmaker. That's why I asked, so I'm kind of on the front lines of all the eligible bachelors. Which actually gives me my picking so this is lovely but I will say that um yeah, I'm currently dating a few people and I'm loving life but Alex as you know the number one man in my life is my business. So like that always comes first definitely um and yeah I mean it's quite interesting because people will, I had somebody asked me the other day what did they say they're like oh well um if, if you're single then how can you be a Matchmaker? I'm like firstly, your relationship status has nothing to do with whether or not you can match somebody and I said and secondly, I'm on the scene so I'm like I'm in the know of what dating is like. I was like I'm in the thick of it with you so actually I'm the best kind of Matchmaker to hire and all the ins and now so being single.
Alex: Oh sorry with someone just saying something?
Nayla: No go ahead Alex.
Alex: I was just going to say that what you just said is so true because I follow this other love coach on Instagram. I followed her for the longest time and I found myself like actually someone getting annoyed by her because she's been married for like 12 years and has like kids and I'm like you you like don't even know what it's like to be like.
Christiana: To be single in 2022 it's a way different animal and it's interesting because I, I get clients that come to me who have never dated in their entire life because they got married when they were 20. Um they have children or whatever or not don't have children and they're divorcing now and they're like, what the hell is dating in the 2020s and they reach out to me because they go, I don't even know what this new animal is. Like, I don't even want to poke at it, help me navigate me through this and it's interesting because my matchmaking team like, one of us is married um has a child the other one is divorced and now in a relationship and then you have me and I'm just in many relationships but, but we all all set like we're all around the same age like 34, 35, 36 and we say that like the reason why our clients come to us is because we're young, we're Savvy, we know what the dating scene is in the 2020s and so we have clients that age range 29 to 67. But they know like you come to us like we're going to be really real with you and say this is what dating looks like now but we will help you find success because we have a database over 40,000 people in the world if we can't find you somebody then we gotta, gotta go another route but we will find you that person. So yeah I, I will say that us, as matchmakers when I think about like my team, we do this full-time. This is our number number one job, number one passion and the three of us on our team have like our own little like specialties and like expertise and when we were talking about like outsourcing and like kind of like giving up like the reign of control, it's great because we all have our strengths and kind of like our not weaknesses but please, like things we don't want to do, so we all help one another and that's what I love about our team and how we're all kind of on the same wavelength in that sense but in different stages of our lives but all the same and another very weird strange fact not only are we all women but we're all Scorpios and me me and Annie have the same birthday we're both November 19th and what is Erica Erica's November 6th so like we're all like within two weeks of one another which is kind of cool too.
Alex: Alignments.
Christiana: Yeah.
Nayla: Uh I, I just have not so much a question but a comment to make. I, I've been working now with Christiana since I don't know, June. We yeah, I connected with you in June or July and it's been um it's been a journey and I, I'm kind of like referring back to what you were saying about uh vibrating on a different frequency and you, you are you really are and you've surrounded yourself with really amazing people. So Cristiano's hooked me up with a stylist um, hair, makeup, a photographer um went to a photoshoot a few weeks back and it was you know, to get, to get photos from my bio for the matchmaking and um you know like we're talking about the business, we're talking about how to set it up. We're talking about you know, who will help you and all of that. It's all like the mechanics of it but there's a different dimension that Christiana has been able to put in there and that comes from your, you vibrating at higher frequency, is surrounding yourself by equally beautiful people and equally highly vibrating people. Seriously and for me through all the exercises we've done together, the photoshoot, it's helped me um open up and uh it was a self-confidence exercise you know, it's all these things that we've been putting in place to boost my self-confidence and my femininity. Which is an issue I've had and I've been wanting to work on and so I just, I just want to say there's a different dimension here which is less tangible. But, but so important and that I think you're doing beautifully Christiana and I think I guess yeah, I just, I just want to say that and put that out there and I guess the question is, is as you grow and as you start outsourcing not outsourcing but you know getting help and all of that is, is you know like I, I understand your fear of letting go because you want to ensure that the spirit carries on right and everything that you do.
Christiana: Yeah.
Nayla: Yeah that's all I want to say.
Christiana: Oh well honestly like throw a tear to my eye. Thank you so much and I hope that like every, every person that I work with and I mean I hear, I hear the feedback but feels and knows that like my number one mission is to help you achieve your goals in love and I will work my hardest tooth and nail, make everything happen so that you are happy. Not just with the service but like we said like you just elevate in life because it's also important to know too like when I do work with people who are looking for monogamous relationships, who are seeking that partner or marriage or a family that um yeah I talked to them about finding a partner and I put this on my website saying the largest investment in your portfolio shouldn't be a car, planner, home, it should be in your ideal partner because when you are connected with that person, if you do believe in monogamy and marriage and family when you are connected with that one person, it does elevate everything else in your life. If you choose, you're a good picker of a partner because they will just help elevate you or the opposite but that's in being a really big a really great picker of a partner. Which is why like Nayla when we go through the whole coaching process as well it's about putting yourself on a pedestal not like I'm the best person in the world but more just like that self-confidence and I tell people when you start dating from a pedestal, where you know, all the things that you bring to a relationship, it's much easier to see both the green and the red flags and then from there you're able to be a great picker of a partner. So yes, Nayla is in her journey and I cannot wait to help her and introduce her to her best guy.
Nayla: Can't wait either but Alex I mean, I mean because Alex you're also kind of helping people. I don't know if you, what I was saying resonates at all or you know?
Alex: It was just beautiful. It was so beautiful to hear um you speak from firsthand about Christina and how she's impacted your life like that was just beautiful and you're totally right about that the importance of surrounding yourself with those people that will lift You Higher and then that kind of elevates the whole um all the work you do and the way that you're able to touch people and so yeah absolutely I'm so glad you joined us tonight Nayla it's nice to have you.
Nayla: Thank you. Thank you for inviting me.
Alex: All right, well we're wrapping up at the end of our um hour together. Um, thank you all so much for joining. Thank you so much for Christina. Um, this was amazing. I loved having this conversation and all the different questions asking more with an entrepreneurial focus but it was also really cool to have other people in the space and just different questions and hearing different parts of your journey that I didn't hear the first time we talked so thank you so much.
Christiana: No, thank you Alex. Thank you everybody who joined and your questions, comments. I am always so happy and proud to be a part of your journey Alex so thank you.
Alex: Thank you, all right.
Alex: Hi friend, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Sober Yoga Girl podcast. This community wouldn't exist without you here. So thank you. It would be massively helpful if you could subscribe, leave a review and share this podcast so it can reach more people. If we haven't met yet in real life please come get your one week free trial of the Sober Girls Yoga membership and see what we're all about. Sending you love and light wherever you are in the world.
[Music]