Lisa Virtue [00:00:00]:

Thania, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm just thrilled to talk to you.

Thania Guardino [00:00:03]:

Thanks for having me. This is so fun.

Lisa Virtue [00:00:05]:

So let's start by just telling the audience who you are and what you do for work and any kind of stories or anything you want to share with how you came to do this work.

Thania Guardino [00:00:13]:

Sure. My name is Thania Guardino. The H. And my name is Silence, if you see it spelled. And now you know. I run a company called The Conquer Company and I specialize in helping female founders and entrepreneurs, small businesses, as well as supporting a very small, small niche sector of HR called Earning and Employment Records. And the way that I got into this is that I started my career in public relations and advertising. I went to school specifically for it.

Thania Guardino [00:00:42]:

I had watched the movie what Women Want with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, and I saw her as an advertising executive in that movie and went, oh my God, I want to do what she does. Like she was owning the room. There was a bunch of dudes in there and she was the one, like, calling the shots. And she was magnetic and brilliant and creative and strategic and, and tactical. And I just really fell in love with that character and that career path. And I knew right from a freshman in college that I wanted to pursue that. And then I started right after college in mobile innovation, working for startups, and then moved into education technology and then experienced some back to back layoffs. And throughout my career, I had always been helping like friends and family with their, you know, social media or their marketing or anybody that was doing their own business.

Thania Guardino [00:01:31]:

I was just always giving, like, unsolicited free advice or taking on little projects here and there. And then once I had those, like, back to back layoffs, I decided that I didn't want to join a company until I knew that they had enough Runway and enough money to keep me as a salaried employee. And then all of those little side things just kept turning into a business. And then I was like, okay, I have to just do this on my own. And so that's kind of how I got started.

Lisa Virtue [00:01:54]:

Amazing. Thank you for sharing that. So the gig economy is alive and well in your life?

Thania Guardino [00:01:59]:

Yeah, exactly.

Lisa Virtue [00:02:00]:

Yeah. And sometimes it comes out of these moments right, where we're like, I need to work for myself. I gotta do these things full time that I am passionate about. So it's very obvious that you've poured your heart into your work since the beginning, from being young. So as a marketing professional, what the meat of our conversation today is going to be around authenticity as a Leader, Right. Showing up with your heart, your heart set, we call it at heartset Studio about like we're going to help people strengthen this heartset, which is showing up for other people, kind of getting into that mode. And the biggest way to do that is to understand yourself first. And people think they know themselves.

Lisa Virtue [00:02:36]:

Right. I'm sure you experienced this a lot in PR and marketing. Like the brand is like, here's our product and you're digging and asking powerful questions. And I bet you've have so many stories of times where people are like, what is our authentic voice? What is our brand?

Thania Guardino [00:02:50]:

Yeah, yeah. So I think what happens is a lot of the time, especially entrepreneurs and you know, founders, is that they're so busy running a business and they're like in a train that's in motion and they're trying to build the train while it's happening. And a lot of the times people don't have a marketing background when they're starting a business. So they're not building the business around their target audience, they're building it around their dream, their vision, whatever that might be. Some of them, depending on their background, will think about their target consumer, their target, you know, demographics and have, you know, target 1, 2 and 3 and think about them and do that kind of background work. But even then, like just knowing your target audience doesn't necessarily mean that you already have defined your own branding.

Lisa Virtue [00:03:31]:

Right?

Thania Guardino [00:03:31]:

Like branding it to me is like how you're perceived, it's your personality. And then you take it a step further and is, you know, who is the person leading that company and what is their personal branding story? Because so often those are tied. Right. Like we see all the time in the media, CEO of so and so got caught at a concert doing some shady stuff. You know what I mean? So both things now matter. Especially now in an age of social media where transparency and the age of the Internet where you can google anybody and find stuff. Now who you are as a leader also represents the company and vice versa. Right.

Thania Guardino [00:04:05]:

Like who you work for also matters. Like, oh, you work for who now that represents your values and sometimes even your politics. Right. Like all of these things are becoming a Venn diagram where it's all converted, converging.

Lisa Virtue [00:04:16]:

Yeah, absolutely. So this self concept, this authentic voice as a. We see it play out especially high stakes visionaries, founders, people with a mission behind what they do, which is who people want to work for. Yeah, absolutely. And then we find leaders that maybe there's a mismatch too. Like this is happening a lot Right now I'm hearing a lot about leaders that are like, gosh, I'm working for a company who's adopting AI in such a terrible way. And so I don't feel like I can show up with that heartset or show up authentically so. So people are shifting, maybe opening their own business, going, I'm going to do this on my own, or they're kind stuck in a spot that they're just not comfortable.

Thania Guardino [00:04:57]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:04:58]:

So when people are in this stuck place and they're trying to either rebrand themselves, figure out, should I stay, should I go? Where do you find that they can show up authentically still? And even when they're in that hard spot, what have you seen?

Thania Guardino [00:05:15]:

I think when you're feeling like you're stuck, it's, you gotta go back to, like, the basics of, like, what do you want out of life? Or where do you want to go with it? And then let that be your compass because at the end of the day, like, you're going to be stuck with the life that you design. And it's scary, right, to have to take that ownership of it. But once you do, then you can step into fully being seen. And I think a lot of the time when people talk to me about, I don't want to share on LinkedIn or I'm too shy, I'm whatever, it's a fear of being seen. And I've experienced that. I also did health and fitness coaching for an MLM company called Beachbody. And so I was helping busy corporate girls get help healthy while doing my own corporate career. And a lot of it was like, I don't want to share my story because what will people think? They're going to judge me.

Thania Guardino [00:05:59]:

But when I framed it as well, if I share my story, it might just help one busy girl change her life and get on the fitness track. And I can help her. And it's worth it to me to do a stupid sweaty selfie in my sports bra if I can impact one girl. Right. And I really took that teaching and brought it to the rest of my life. I'm no longer doing health and fitness coaching. But it's the same thing when I think I talk to people that are like, well, I don't want to post on LinkedIn because I don't be annoying. I'm.

Thania Guardino [00:06:26]:

I'm afraid that my, my cousin sue in Georgia might judge me on Thanksgiving, like three years from now. You know, I think it's that fear that really holds us back because it's hard to be Seen, it's hard to have your authentic voice because my favorite thing to think about is when President Obama not to get political, but just run. Nothing for a second here. When he got elected, it was like 51% of America voted for him, but that means that 49% of the country did not vote for him. And I always think about that when it comes to success. It's like anytime that you do something successful or you're in the limelight, you know, you're in the important room. There's always going to be haters and people on the outside who are critiquing you and not your fan. But then that means that you've made it right.

Thania Guardino [00:07:08]:

Like, you're on the track of doing something right if you have critics. So I think if you're in that stuck place, it's about thinking about what it is that you stand for, what you want to bring to the world. And I always like to remind people that there is only one of you in this entire world. And if you just like stop and think about that, biologically is pretty freaking awesome. And if you've ever been on a fertility, fertility journey, you know that it can be difficult to get pregnant. And I think when we're younger, we don't know that. Right. And then as you get older, you realize, like, what a miracle it is that we're all actually here.

Thania Guardino [00:07:44]:

And for me, I have a spiritual background and belief system, but to me, I think that each one of us were created with a unique purpose and unique gifts that only you can bring to the world. And once you tap into that belief and you understand that, it actually makes this thing called personal branding such a easy task. Because when you think of it in a grander sense and, and a higher power sense of what you were called to do here, posting on LinkedIn is no longer a scary thing when you know that your higher power has literally designated you to a life of whatever your unique gifts are. So on a spiritual level, that's kind of what I think about when it comes to personal branding and your voice is leaning into that, the fear of what should I do with my life, I'm stuck, or whatever becomes much clearer because that vision that's been placed in your soul and your heart is now much more visible when you can just lean into it, not be afraid to be seen and know that you can express those gifts.

Lisa Virtue [00:08:38]:

Love it. Oh, my gosh, I could respond to so much. I'll try to keep myself.

Thania Guardino [00:08:41]:

I know I'm trying not to talk too much and let you go, so,

Lisa Virtue [00:08:44]:

oh, no, it's perfect. I think the audience will definitely, you know, see themselves in a lot of what you've said and resonate so much. It's so vulnerable to show up. It's so vulnerable when you're in those places. Like, let's go back to this kind of mid manager or a leader that is not the founder and they're trying to pay their bills and keep up with the economy and at the same time feel like they can't speak up. And I have had situations where I had team members tell me, like, oh, you know, there are politics going on or there's toxic work environment. And they would say, I don't feel like it's safe for me to state how I feel. And my reaction sometimes would be depending on where we were at in that situation.

Lisa Virtue [00:09:24]:

Sometimes it was like, look, I would speak up in a way that stayed true to me and what I thought was best, but based on what I was hearing from the team and I got promoted and trying to remind people, like, if it's, if it's the right situation, you being vulnerable and you speaking up and saying it in a way that is kind. Right. Obviously there's ways to say things which we can get into in a minute and not being like, because nobody wants to promote that person, but in a way productive that will produce results. And you know, my tagline is crush goals without crushing souls. Like, there's ways to do that. Yeah. It's not always going to be in alignment with the organization you're in, but like you're saying, if you stay true in your theme throughout life is you're staying true to those basic values that you have, you win.

Thania Guardino [00:10:11]:

Yes. And I think there's a. Having worked on a leadership team, being a founding employee of startups, also having, you know, clients that are big name Fortune 500 companies and being in rooms with a variety of people, from interns to top CEO presidents, you know, like being in rooms with lots of different types of people. I think the art of discernment and transparency is such a beautiful art to hone in on. And if you can practice that and sharpen that skill, I think that is a valuable thing. And being able to show up authentically and also having respect. Have you ever been in a meeting where somebody has said something and it's just like an outrageous thing and like there's that awkward panic in the room and then no one wants to say anything and there's always that wonderful one person who then says something that the whole room is thinking. And you can just kind of feel the rest of the people in the room, their body language go, thank God I didn't have to say it.

Thania Guardino [00:11:11]:

Thank God for the person. I'm normally that person in the room that's like, okay, no one's gonna say anything. I have to say, yes. You know, but you have to have the confidence in yourself and what you bring to the table and in order to have that level of transparency and discernment. Right. Like, it's scary to tell the CEO or the big power position in the room that, like, that's not the best idea that you just presented. And here's why. Right.

Thania Guardino [00:11:34]:

Like, to your point, you don't have to crush them, but you can still show up and say what you're thinking. And a lot of the times what I found is that when you're living in this, like, authenticity and showing up with your unique gifts and all of that, you're attracting the people that are going to be your people, and you're repelling the people that are not your people. And I tell this to my clients all the time. It's like, don't be afraid to repel. Like, well, if I make my target audience women, then what if men see that and they don't want to work with me? I'm like, that's okay. Because your target audience, you designated this. And the type of men that you would want to work with as your demographic will see what you're doing and be attracted to it. Or, you know, you can take that example in many different ways.

Thania Guardino [00:12:15]:

But I always like to remind people that, like, you're going to attract your target audience and your people and thrive because you don't want to please everybody. You just want to please and attract and serve this small portion of people and do it well a thousand percent.

Lisa Virtue [00:12:32]:

Because not everyone has the same problems. And what we do with businesses and services is we're solving problems for people. And so if that person doesn't have the problem, you want them to move on and scroll past. Right? Like, yeah. Plus, we can't. We can't serve a thousand percent of everyone.

Thania Guardino [00:12:47]:

No. But, like, when we're in it, that seems like such a weird idea, right? Because most people who are starting something have such big hearts and big, you know, servanthood, and they want to serve everybody. But I think that's the hardest piece for people to really wrap their brain around. Is that in niching your audience and your vision for it, you actually are doing more of a service for the people than if you were trying to cast a super wide net on.

Lisa Virtue [00:13:12]:

Mm. It's so true. I see this with coaches and clients that I work with that are trying to start their own business constantly. And it, myself included, niching down is the hardest thing anyone does. And the best organizations out there that do serve the masses do it brilliantly.

Thania Guardino [00:13:28]:

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:13:30]:

And just because you're. You're authentically speaking in a very niche way does not mean those are the only people you will end up serving. So I used to market only to women. 50% of my clients were men.

Thania Guardino [00:13:43]:

Yeah, right.

Lisa Virtue [00:13:44]:

But they all had that heartset. That's how I finally figured out my niche. I was like, what is the commonality of all these people? It's not that they're women. It's like, oh, they want it. They care about people and they show up, you know, and they want to show up in an authentic ways. How to do that is a whole nother part of it. How do you show up authentically? I have a couple phrases that I'm looking at right now that I want to share with the audience because you mentioned something around when you do speak up and you're trying to be respectful in the manner that you do. So there's some ways that you can do it that are not so pointed right at the, at the individual.

Lisa Virtue [00:14:19]:

So here's a couple of phrases because I love our audience to have some phrases too. From my perspective, just starting the sentence that way, what I know from my experiences or my research, wherever you're getting that knowledge from, our data shows.

Thania Guardino [00:14:34]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:14:34]:

I recommend based upon. And then a really good one I love for brainstorming is. So first off, this thought is only 30 seconds formed, but I felt compelled to share it.

Thania Guardino [00:14:46]:

That's great. Right.

Lisa Virtue [00:14:48]:

So it shows. Like, you're also flexible in your thinking and you're not stating a fact. This has to happen. But you're sharing a perspective. And like you said, a lot of times, you're not the only one. There are other people, but they're trying to figure out how to say it. So when you can show up eloquently in a way that is brief but pointed but respectful, and it becomes authentic, it becomes confident. And I.

Lisa Virtue [00:15:12]:

You probably are similar to me. Like, it takes practice.

Thania Guardino [00:15:14]:

Absolutely. And I. As you're saying that I'm like, the other part that I think matters in that is like your tone. So I have struggled when I'm in a room and people are having a discussion that I think has gone far too long. And you're Just like, okay, we've exhausted this already, and it's hard to. Not for me. I've had to learn how to take some of the passion out of it and try to just neutralize it and understand that people will respect you, and you set the tone for the conversation when you speak. So if you lean into what everybody else's emotions are, then you're not being the best leader.

Thania Guardino [00:15:48]:

Right. One of my favorite podcasters, Keisha Fitzgerald, is always talking about being either the thermostat or the thermometer. Like, either you set the tone or the room will set it for you. So you get to decide when you walk into a room which one you're going to be. And I was like, oh, yeah. Like, I have adhd. So I'm very aware of multiple things happening simultaneously in a room, and a lot of the times that can impact my thinking, my energy levels, my whatever. And so having that thought process before, it's like, okay, I'm not going to absorb the energy in the room.

Thania Guardino [00:16:22]:

I'm going to bring the energy I want to see in the room. And that also, for me, is living in an authentic way. Because instead of, you know, trying to mask some of the ADHD symptoms, like, I get excited about things, and I sometimes yell a little louder volume levels. And. And that's okay, because that's what I bring to the world, is I get excited about little things. And when you have me on a project or you have me as your marketing person, like, I'm gonna get excited when you hit a goal, and I'm gonna celebrate about it. And if you want somebody who's more meek and more mild and more subdued, then, like, I'm not your girl, and that's okay. And it's leaning into that and knowing that and living that in rooms and spaces, like you said at the practice.

Lisa Virtue [00:17:02]:

Yeah. And owning it. Right. This is that back to, like, personal branding. Owning who you are authentically and how you show up best, and then letting people know it's not. It's not a TMI situation. Like, there's definitely the determinant. Back to what you were saying.

Lisa Virtue [00:17:16]:

Like, we. We all need to be discerning, especially as leaders in what we offer and what we share. But this is where I love. There's an assessment that I like to have my clients do, which is how the world sees you and how fascinate. And it. It's a really good one because it's about personal branding, and companies can use it to help their brand voice as well. But the team can do it. And then you get some really great adjectives about who you are when you show up at your best.

Lisa Virtue [00:17:42]:

And sometimes if we're not at our best, we go too extreme with it. Like, the passion. Right. It can also be like my eyes furrow in the middle.

Thania Guardino [00:17:49]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:17:50]:

I have to watch, like, my facial expressions. I've worked on that for a long time because I would do a lot of this, like, thinking, and it was so obvious. And then people would interpret it, maybe misinterpret it as, like, a bad thing, But I was really just processing.

Thania Guardino [00:18:05]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:18:06]:

Being aware of what. What are you doing as a brand showing up. And so for me now, it's like, okay, I can say I am a passionate. I want to lead with my heart and feel into what I'm doing and have the data support that. Like, I feel it first and then I go and find the data. Right. So being able to share that with someone so that they can also either check you on it as needed or your team understand your perspective when you're speaking to them. So powerful.

Thania Guardino [00:18:34]:

Or even hiring, like, when I was a VP of marketing for, like, a startup, I learned that my personality and my leadership style can be intense for the wrong person. Yes. And so when I was hiring people, I would tell them, like, my communication style can be very straightforward. It can be blunt, and it's not personal. But whoever I hire has to understand that and have a similar communication style where we can just chat. Especially in a startup world where things are moving so fast, you don't have a lot of time for niceties. Like, hey, how are you? Right. It's like, hey, did we get this thing done? Okay, great.

Thania Guardino [00:19:09]:

Cool. Okay. That actually needs to be changed to purple. Oh. And actually now it's green. Oh, just kidding. Go back to purple. So, like, having direct reports for me that had that same communication style and had a thick skin quote-unquote for my style of leadership made my job so much easier because I didn't have to stress about if I say, do I need to liven that up a little bit? If my eyebrow furrowed, she wasn't going to.

Thania Guardino [00:19:33]:

You know, my direct report didn't care. She was. I loved this direct report. She was Korean, went to ucla, and she was like, first gen, you know, child of immigrants. And so she was like. We would joke about it because my background is very similar. And so we're like, dude, you grew up with first gen. You know, parents that got here, like, you can be as correct as you want.

Thania Guardino [00:19:51]:

This is. This is gentle. You know what I Mean, that created a culture where like it was a balm team because of our compatibility. But had I not known that about myself, I wouldn't have been able to hire somebody who was compatible for that and was strong in the areas that I was weak. And I think that's a big part of this too is like, it's easy to show up and be yourself authentically if you have the right team around you. But that again goes back to knowing like, what do you want out of life? Where are you going? And then building that and designing that around you as if you're not in a position to make those decisions. And like, maybe it's time to go to a company where you are able to build your own team that is complimentary because maybe you are at the company right now or you like inherited your team and it's all the people on your team are not people you would have hired had you been the decision maker. And like, those are tough spots to be in and it's tough to be quote, authentic in those moments.

Thania Guardino [00:20:43]:

But again, I think it goes back to like your value system because for me it would be easy to leave a job and I have left a job where the culture and the leadership are not in line with who I am because I know I'm miserable if I cannot be myself. Like it's so hard, you know, just right now and chatting with you, it's so fun. You know, we're able to look at each other's facial expressions and be passionate about it and be excited and it's so fun for me. But having to mask that and I don't think people talk about this enough in society. When you're masking who you truly are, it can be devastating and like so impactful to your health and your well being and all of these things and just be soul crushing. And it's so much more fun to be living in your authenticity, truth and you know, just be yourself and not care what anybody thinks is honestly the most freeing and fun thing. And I again, I think it attracts wonderful people, wonderful clients and a network that is in line with who you are.

Lisa Virtue [00:21:36]:

I couldn't agree more. So I'll share. For me, my people are the ones that will go deep and go fast in conversation. Like, I want to talk about what makes you you. This is why I'm a coach because yeah, it's lights me up. And anytime I was in those conversations with team members where it was very surface level, it was small talk that was not a good fit for me as a leader because I felt like I couldn't really help. It was so transactional. So, yeah, it resonates with me a lot when you're building your team.

Lisa Virtue [00:22:05]:

I would love to see leaders do this more often in a job posting when it talks about who we are as a company and who your leader is and what kind of personality fit will be the best. Those are my favorite job postings from my clients because then they can really start to say, that's me, or, oh, that's really not me. I don't think I'm a good fit. Maybe skills wise I am, but it sounds like the team is going to suck me dry or it's going to be exhausting working with these people.

Thania Guardino [00:22:31]:

Right.

Lisa Virtue [00:22:31]:

So, yeah, I would love to see more leaders when they're building their team and they're recruiting, figure out what is that cultural fit and be really explicit about it and be open about it. And that starts off the conversation. As long as people know that expectation upfront, then they can work off of that.

Thania Guardino [00:22:49]:

Right.

Lisa Virtue [00:22:49]:

So if somebody comes in, you think you hired the right person, they thought they were the right personality and they're like, oh, this is really not the right fit. Well, now you have a baseline to talk about it. We're like, well, I did tell you these are the things. Let's work through this. Or maybe it isn't a good fit. Right. But that conversation is so much more natural than, oh my gosh, you deceived me and I thought it was going to go this way, but you presented that way and then I get into the role and it's not the right fit and it's. That's such a disservice to the humanity of work.

Thania Guardino [00:23:18]:

Absolutely. And your bottom line too. Right. Because like how much money are you losing by hiring the wrong person when if you would have just been a little more discerning.

Lisa Virtue [00:23:28]:

Yep, yep. And transparent. Yeah. Oh, so true. Gosh, We've, we've explored a lot of things. Hiring, showing up. So as people build their personal brand, I know you have a gift for the audience too, around helping them with this. Any other tips, things you want to share around how to look deep, how to understand who you are?

Thania Guardino [00:23:48]:

I think I want to give some more like tangible thoughts here and maybe some practices that people can kind of take away and understanding. And so I have some notes I had written down. So I think part of what I see happening in 2026 is that having an authentic voice and showing up authentically, particularly in online spaces, will become much more important because we're living in the age of AI, right? So there's going to be a shift in content creation where people want to see things that are back in the day when social media first started, I would call it, I would call it like behind the scenes stuff, right? Like, oh, we're at a team lunch, look at us behind the scenes, right? It wasn't the corporate stock photos that, you know, the company had taken. And I think now today it's going to be similar where it's going to be founders without makeup in their living room with their kids in the background and toys everywhere and they're like a selfie giving a top tip of the day, right? Like, because of the rise of AI, people are going to now know that you can use AI to make videos that aren't actually you. You just write the script and it's fine and it looks good and the message is still being carried. But I think people are going to lean in and you're going to see trending content where it's messy and it's dirty and it's so authentic and it feels like it's your best friend and you're hanging out with them while they're building a company or while they're working at whatever company. So I think having this is going to be very important in being on trend and differentiating yourself from AI creation. It's all happening, right? Like my LinkedIn, I can tell who's using AI.

Thania Guardino [00:25:20]:

ChatGPT. And now when people are writing in fragmented sentences and writing the way that they text, writing the way that they talk, you're reading it completely different because now we all know the language of chat GPT.

Lisa Virtue [00:25:32]:

Yeah, it's so refreshing. People want. Humans want to work for humans.

Thania Guardino [00:25:37]:

Yep. Yeah, yep, sure. So I think people love connection and authenticity and they're gonna lean into that. Some examples of companies, I was just. There's a place called Porto's. Have you heard of this restaurant? Where it's in, it's in LA, it's in California, but it's this like Cuban pastry bakery restaurant. And it started, I think it was like in Burbank and it just like exploded in LA. And now they have, I think like six locations and they are massive.

Thania Guardino [00:26:04]:

I was in there with my aunt yesterday for the first time and I'm looking around going, what is it about this bakery that made it explode into a multimillion dollar business? There are so many bakeries in LA. Isn't it interesting that the personality of this restaurant and the quality of its goods created this phenomenon? When there's so many competitors. Yeah. And it was making me think about the conversation that we're having today is sometimes your branding, your personality can carry you and your product is good, great, maybe not even that good. Right. Because sometimes you're rooting for a creator or a brand or something, and their product isn't that good, but you like them so much. You don't. Yeah.

Thania Guardino [00:26:45]:

You will always support them, right? Yep. And I think that is so important in knowing that when you're thinking about your own personal branding or even your corporate branding is like knowing again that you have that uniqueness that you bring to the table and fully leaning into that people will support you because, again, you've attracted the right customers. Right. And so they will support you when you launch something that sucks and fails. And. And they'll support you when you run an ad or you run some social media content. That isn't the best. Okay, well, we tried it and it's, you know, it's more of a community thing that we're in on the journey with you as you're building it, rather than showing up as this.

Thania Guardino [00:27:19]:

Like. Well, I'm Thania and I do marketing and, you know, this is how I always am. And I have perfect everything. Like, nobody likes that. I like the girl. Like, oh, you have ADHD. Oh, my God. Like, you had that fun, passionate thing.

Thania Guardino [00:27:30]:

Oh, you have immigrant parents, too. Like, now we have things to talk about and lean into. And like, so that was my whole thing that I wanted to tell you about that. And then the last piece is that when it comes to, like, LinkedIn and you're afraid of posting, my thing is this show, the nitty gritty, the behind the scenes, and it's better to just show up once a month than zero. So if you were to show up in 2026 every month with one high quality, authentic post, you would have 12 more than you had last year when you did zero. And then you can just increase that. Like, once you do the first one, then you do the second one. You're like, people actually are, like, connecting with me.

Thania Guardino [00:28:03]:

Oh, my God, I had such a good conversation with so and so, and it just makes it easier. So that's my one tip and encouragement for you as a tangible thing that you could do. Today I was like, okay, Thania, I'm going to commit to just one post every month about something to do with behind the scenes and showing, you know, a little bit of the messy and a little bit of the authenticity and getting out of my comfort zone and just showing up to be seen and it be okay.

Lisa Virtue [00:28:25]:

Yeah. Show that humanity. I love it. We all crave that. Oh, we just swipe past all the AI stuff.

Thania Guardino [00:28:31]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:28:31]:

I feel like it can be the death of social media if everyone just keeps using AI.

Thania Guardino [00:28:36]:

Boring.

Lisa Virtue [00:28:36]:

Yeah. Well, there's enough of it in our lives and we know it's not going away, but. Oof. There's a time and a place.

Thania Guardino [00:28:42]:

Yeah.

Lisa Virtue [00:28:43]:

Yeah, for sure. Like, I love Chad. That's my name for chat GPT. It's my chat. That's a good one. I like it. I love my Chad, but I will disagree and I will say no. Thank you for the brainstorm, but I'm good.

Lisa Virtue [00:28:55]:

I'm gonna go write this or, you know, can you help me edit this? I love that, but at the end of the day, I don't want a robot leading me. There's no heart and soul, and they don't understand what you're going through. So, Tania, your gift to the audience is a customer avatar worksheet, which people can also use for their own personal leadership brand. So why don't you talk a little bit more about that?

Thania Guardino [00:29:15]:

Yeah. So it's basically a worksheet that asks you to think about your ideal customer or your ideal demographic and then think about, like, who are they? What do they do? How old are they? How much money do they make? Like, what do they care about? What are the things they dislike? Like, where do they hang out? Where do they shop? What. What are they thinking about? What are their values? And it's in a cute little worksheet that I've designed with my ADHD brain that's very detail oriented so that you can really brain dump what's in your brain and drop it into there and then synthesize it into the next page where then you can just organize all of the brain dump that you did. It can be overwhelming to be like, oh, I don't know. And so I. It's literally a worksheet. So you can kind of work it out and then the next page you plug and play, and at the end of it, you can walk away with three different avatars of who your ideal three demographics are. And then you can give them a name.

Thania Guardino [00:30:05]:

And now, you know, like Lisa is. And then you have the demographics for all of it. So that will be available for you guys to enjoy.

Lisa Virtue [00:30:12]:

That's perfect. Thank you. I. I can anticipate a few different ways that leaders can use this, by the way. So one, if you're going to be opening your own business or consulting or Coaching, like, of course, that's kind of an obvious one that people can use it for. But also if you're public speaking or you're a thought leader or you've got stakeholders that you need to think about really understanding your audience before you go in front of them with a high stakes conversation or presentation. This would be a really good way to use that too.

Thania Guardino [00:30:40]:

I love that. Use case.

Lisa Virtue [00:30:42]:

Yeah. Or you're trying to hire someone who's your ideal hire.

Thania Guardino [00:30:45]:

I've never thought about that. I'm going to tell you that's a great idea. I love it.

Lisa Virtue [00:30:50]:

This is fabulous. Tania, it's been such a pleasure talking to you. I know this is just the first of many conversations, but. Well, it's not the very first of our conversations, but you know what I mean, like the first of many collaborations. I'll say. So thank you so much for your time today. And by the way, heartsetstudio.com podcast is where we have all of our freebies and our downloads. So head there.

Lisa Virtue [00:31:10]:

Thania's contact information will be there as well. But do you want to also mention how people can get a hold of you?

Thania Guardino [00:31:16]:

Yeah, absolutely. So the name of my company is called The Conquer Company. That's theconquercompany.com and on there you can book a free 15 minute call with me if I can help you in any way, shape or form when it comes to marketing. So kind of like an in house marketer for anything that you might need, website, digital design, strategy, all of that. You can find me on there and all of my socials are, you can find me on LinkedIn and say that you heard me on the podcast and we can connect on LinkedIn.

Lisa Virtue [00:31:43]:

Beautiful. Thank you so much and it's been such a pleasure.

Thania Guardino [00:31:47]:

Thank you.