Featured Member: Silvia Pencak

Let’s get the basics out of the way. Who are you? Where are you from? I am Silvia Pencak, The Magnetic Branding Expert and Mentor, to help other women entrepreneurs build successful brand and to support those who don’t settle for a mediocre business and average lifestyle.  I am a wife, a mom of 2 beautiful girls (Little Pumpkins), and I reside in Toronto, Canada.

When and why was your business started? Magnetic Look (www.MagneticLook.com) was started in 2009 with major re-branding in 2010.

What do you love about being a female entrepreneur? I love setting the pace for my business. I love to work at the “speed of light” and being my own boss enables me to move as fast as I want to or take time off if I choose to. I just came from 3 weeks of vacation in Europe, while my team took care of my sites. It wouldn’t be possible if I had a job. Also, being there for my girls when they are sick or for their school concerts, this is exactly what makes me love my business. Having an internet business enables me to take my business wherever I go, which is priceless. I am able to help business owners around the globe and inspire them to live to their full potential.

Why did you start your business?  I never thought of starting a business. My passion was always to help other people and somehow I thought you could do it only as a social worker or a missionary. This is why I started my own non-profit organization in 2002. After moving to Canada, I still wanted to support my non-profit, so I knew I needed to get a good job. I started my business as a necessity. I wanted to prove to the Canadian government that I do NOT actually need another degree (I have 2 already) or Canadian experience to succeed in this country. My first business turned out to be very successful, and I ended up coaching other women how to do the same thing. I fell in love with coaching, consulting and brand development. In 2010 I decided to share my expertise with the world.

How did you launch your business and/or dream? I didn’t have a big launch. I’ve been working on my website for some time. In the beginning I was trying to just add some online component to my existing offline business. It took me about a year to realize what I really want to be doing. I already had a website; it just needed some re-branding.

What is your mission statement? My mission is to inspire, empower and support small businesses getting from where they are to where they CAN be. You tell me what you want and I help you develop a strategy to make it a reality.

How do you stay inspired? Since becoming a Christian in 1992, God is a main source of my inspiration and motivation. Whether it’s through Bible, church, other people, or daily, small things that make me laugh or ministering to others, He is the One behind it all.

Why do you feel Inspired Women Succeed? When I read Inspired Women with capital “I”, I see women who are connected to the source. They have the inspiration and everything they need to care about others, to go the second mile, to push through in tough times, to not give up and go back to what is comfortable. Simply because they love others and can’t stay quiet and not share their gifts with the world. There’s absolutely no failure for these women!

What are the biggest challenges you have overcome as a female entrepreneur? Being an immigrant to Canada and English being my second language, my biggest challenge has been fear of being different and not fitting in. Until I stepped out of my fears and designed my whole brand around it. So my biggest weakness became my biggest strength as it gives me completely unique approach when working with my clients.

What is your BIG DREAM for your business – what do you hope will happen? My big dream is to help more people to find their unique abilities and skills, to find their own voice, become who they were meant to be and build magnetic brands all around the globe. And I hope you can feel how passionate I am about this, because I am.

How do you incorporate your faith into your business? God makes me who I am, so without Him there would be no Magnetic Look or Magnetic Silvia (my name on social media). I’m passionate about being the vessel in His hands for those around me – whether it’s in business or in everyday life.

What are you favorite biblical parallels and verses that encourage you? Why? That’s a tough question. I don’t have favorite parts. Different parts and verses inspire me at different circumstances. But if I had to pick my top 3, here’s my list:

1 Samuel 16:7 – It calms me down to know that God doesn’t care about what we have or how we look or what we achieve. He cares about who we are inside. He cares about my soul. So powerful!

Psalm 139 – It’s so amazing to read about how much God cares about every single part of me. His love, His attention, His presence-very inspiring. At any time!

Genesis 37-47 -Story of Joseph is my favorite story in the Bible. It proves that you don’t have to have a “good” life to be God’s favorite. And also that God is always in control, no matter how bad the situation looks. He already has His plan for my life!

How do you promote/market your business? I have my blog My Magnetic Blog that I’m very proud of, full of tips and resources and I’m blessed to have a very good readership. I also love social media. I’m on Twitter (@MagneticSilvia), Facebook (http://facebook.com/MagneticSilvia, YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/MagneticLookTV), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/magneticsilvia). I also do article marketing, attend local networking events and host free teleseminars. Word of mouth is a big part of my success.

What is the biggest risk that you have taken in your business? Has it paid off? The biggest risk was to start a business, make the step in faith, and invest money without knowing how it will turn out. And yes, it was a definitely the right thing to do.

What risk do you need to take now? I need to create my own workshop and start doing live workshops. Most of my clients are from either  the U.S., Australia and UK.  I’d like to grow my audience here in Canada as well.

What media opportunities have you had? I was a host and one of the speakers at Stand Out and Thrive telesummit in 2010 and I was a speaker at Business Rules of Engagement telesummit in 2011. I also spoke on teleseminars around the U.S. and U.K.

What one woman epitomizes (for you) a model of Christian entrepreneurial leadership? Why? I  don’t have a model that I follow. That said, there are many women who inspire me, each of them in their little thing. Mary Kay Ash inspires me to pursue my dream, no matter how challenging it might get. Carrie Wilkerson inspires me to take fact action. Dr. Daisy Sutherland inspires me to keep a balanced life. Diane Cunningham inspires me to keep God first and love people. And I could go on and on. We are all unique and we all have our own strength. And all can inspire and get inspired while still being ourselves.

What 3 tips would you share with a friend setting out on her own entrepreneurial adventure? From a business perspective, I would say count your pennies. Be a wise builder, don’t jump into the business if you are not fully committed to make it work. From a branding perspective, learn from others, but be yourself. You can not inspire others if you are a copy of someone else. You need to build your business on what inspires you, taking advantage of your own skills and abilities. Dig deep and find out what makes you unique and strong and build your brand on it. And my last tip is to never give up. There will be tough times when you will feel like it all doesn’t make sense and you will feel insane. Just get through it. It breaks my heart to see women giving up just a couple of steps before the finish line. You never know – there might be a breakthrough around the corner. Remember the story of Joseph. Just be faithful in whatever you do and the reward will come!

What resources and books would you recommend—the ones which have best helped you? The Bible is my ultimate source of wisdom and inspiration for my business and life.

What do you have coming up? Events? I just launched Social Media Simplified program (www.magneticlook.com/sms) and I’m revamping our coaching programs planning to launch them in September (www.magneticlook.com).

Tell us about your family and your support group? I have a fantastic and very supportive husband, who is also an entrepreneur. We’ve been together 10 years and still enjoy talking to each other, lol. We have 2 girls, 8 and almost 3 years old. Basically my whole family is here in Canada. I have many friends and coaches, and you can meet me at many business groups and masterminds. I’m also part of the NACWE community.

Who were/are your mentors? I recently work with Carrie Wilkerson and Fabienne Fredrickson. I also used to work with Bernadette Doyle and Ali Brown.

Silvia Pencak is The Magnetic Branding Expert and Mentor. For over 7 years Silvia kept building successful venues in Europe and Canada. She became known as the expert in building strong brands and is often asked for advice in branding, marketing or social media. She understands that the power of branding, authenticity, relationship building and marketing efforts can make or break a successful business. Silvia shares her expertise online at http://MagneticLook.com to help other women entrepreneurs build successful brand and to support those who don’t settle for a mediocre business and average lifestyle.