Voice Notes is a regular Voice Bureau special feature, in which we take our readers behind the scenes of an online brand presence we want to learn from — and into the professional life, creative lifestyle, and personal gestalt of a brand creator we admire and appreciate. Through a host of evocative questions and sentence starters, our goal is to portray the idiosyncratic, private approaches behind doing one’s excellent work in the world. (Abby’s note: I think of these Voice Notes Q&As as Paris Review-style author interviews. I hope you enjoy reading our contributors’ responses as much as we enjoy asking the questions.)

Abby (Chief Voice Bureau Officer) says:

Gini Martinez, Founder of Rock What’s Yours

→Connect with her at GiniMartinez.com. Also find her on: Twitter; Facebook; Pinterest; Google+

Official Dossier

How do you like to introduce yourself, professionally? How do you want to be known?

I’m an Embodiment Teacher. I teach people how to consciously inhabit their body to be more grounded, centered, and agile for improved presence, performance, and longevity.

How long have you been in business for yourself, in total years?

I’ve been in business for myself for more than 15 years.

What’s an important difference between you and other brands who offer something similar (AKA your clients’ other alternatives)?

I bring a balanced blend of no-nonsense and empathetic warrior to my teaching.

What would we typically find you doing at 10:15 AM on a Tuesday morning? How about at 4:30 PM on a Friday afternoon? We want the real deal here, not a gussied-up version of events. ;)

Either working via video conference with a client or writing. (I do my best writing before noon.)

Most recently, you’ll find me having an end-of-the-week cocktail — it’s 5:00 somewhere — and playing Bananagrams with my 10-year old.

Where in the world do you live? And why?

I live in the Los Angeles area. While I’ve lived in a variety states over my lifetime, I was born a SoCal girl and married a SoCal boy. It will always be home to us.

Show Us Your Voice Values 

MY TOP 3-5 VOICE VALUES ARE:

Power, Depth, Accuracy

(Abby’s Note: Discover your own Voice Values when you subscribe to The Voice Bureau’s Insider Stuff e-letter. Look for the sign-up box in the upper righthand corner of the site.)

Which of your Voice Values made you say, Oh, duh. Of course that’s me. And why?

Power & Depth were obvious. They describe my person as well as the work I teach and the results it provides.

Any Voice Values that totally surprised you in showing up? As in, you really didn’t see that one coming?

Accuracy surprised me, but immediately made sense. I’m a mother of three boys and I don’t allow them to make broad, sweeping statements about each other during arguments. I push them to be focused and accurate in their assessment of one another as that supports constructive communication and problem solving.

Choose one or two of your Voice Values & tell us how you can see these showing up in the way you communicate with readers/clients/customers, or the way you run your business

Continuing with Accuracy, I make a point to question statements clients make such as: “My body is falling apart!” Is your body really falling apart? (HINT: No.) Hyperbole leads to overwhelming feelings of impotency. (Um, hello, Power.)

Do you notice that your especially Right People clients seem to be drawn by one of your Voice Values, in particular? How can you tell?

Yes, Depth. When you’re willing to go deep, you’re also willing to take responsibility for yourself. Power can be an attractive characteristic, but can just as easily attract a person who’s looking to be told what to do by someone who exudes a Power value, as opposed to being emPowered by them. My especially Right People want the latter.

Tell us briefly about a product, service, or offer you’d like to share with The Voice Bureau’s readers. How can you see your Voice Values playing out in this offer, either in how you created it or in how you’re presenting it?

My foundational virtual embodiment class Embodiment 101: Consciously Engage Your Mind to Control Your Body expresses Power is directly in the title, while Depth is slightly more implied as your mind is an internal (deep) part of your being.

The content brings Accuracy into play because I present scientific research to support the work, as well as provide opportunities for clients to develop a more Accurate sense of what’s going on inside their body by improving self-awareness around their postural and movement habits.

Personal

What 3 words best describe your lifestyle?

Jackassery-free. (Abby’s Note: See Gini’s desktop background, at left.) Playful. Family-centric.

Finish this sentence: I can never get enough . . .

black pepper.

The iPhone app I wouldn’t want to live without is

Dictionary app. Must. get. just. the. right. word.

Process & Atmospherics

Tell us about your creative process in your business. What does it look like?

When I’m creating something, you’ll find me doing one or both of the following:

• sitting alone in complete silence
• walking in circles and talking to myself

How do you get yourself creatively unblocked, if/when you ever are?

By doing anything else. Walking away from the project.

Give us your faves.

• Music to work or groove by: George Michael’s Listen Without Prejudice album
• Non-business related Twitter account to follow : @ErinsCafe
• Pet to have within arm’s reach: Roxy, our German Shepherd
• Snack to keep you fueled: homemade protein bars
• Your other favorite thing: Speakeasy with Paul F. Tompkins.

Branding & Biz Dev

What iteration of your website/business/brand are we looking at? (If you can remember!)

This is the only iteration of Rock What’s Yours. Previously I owned a brick-and-mortar Pilates studio called Pilate Your Body.

How long did you operate your business before you felt you’d really hit your stride?

My business is teaching and I’d say it took 10+ years to sense fully what it’s like to own my teaching instead of regurgitating the work of others.

What does empathy in marketing mean to you?

Not preying on collective fear. When I owned my Pilates studio, initially I found marketing to be a challenge because I did not want to lure people (read: women) with the promise of “flat abs.” Flat abs may be your jam, but I feel there’s a more respectful manner with which to engage you.

Why are you on social m-dia? How do you use it?

I was born social. I use different platforms of SM in different ways. Facebook, Pinterest, and G+ are exclusively for business — engaging both current and potential clients. Instagram is purely personal. Twitter is what I’d consider my SM home and I use it for both business and personal engagement. I have 3 criteria for following someone on Twitter. They must be at least one, but more often a combination of:

• smart
• entertaining
• informative

I don’t automatically follow back and am comfortable unfollowing someone to keep my Tweet stream personally satisfying.

What’s the one system or process you’ve implemented in your business that you’re proud of?

Seasonality. I have 3 boys in school and my husband is a teacher, so our schedule evolves throughout the school year. I’ve created a schedule that honors those changes to ensure both a rewarding business and satisfying personal life.

Who’s your secret business mentor or inspiration, or two, or three? What do you appreciate about these brands?

My mother and father. During my formative years, my parents owned a Tupperware distributorship. I had the opportunity to witness as well as work in the day-to-day operations of their warehouse and front office and also the training center, which my mom ran exclusively. After my mother was promoted to the corporate level, my father opened a cinnamon roll shop franchise and I worked each week with him, baking and serving customers. Following my college years, my mom went on to open direct-selling markets for multi-million dollar companies throughout the world.

The best lessons I learned from them are:

• attention to detail regarding your product
• being genuinely of service
• the value of an encouraging word or simple acknowledgment for a colleague, employee or customer

What’s your next big business or branding challenge?

I don’t perceive my business as a series of challenges. For myself, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking success is just over that challenge mountain, only to feel I’ve been set back when the next challenge presents itself. (And it most certainly will present itself.) Instead, I challenge myself every day to do and be better so that each day becomes another link in the chain of continuous successes. This approach enables me to smooth out unforeseen kinks with greater grace and ease.

What’s your best advice for other smart people who’d like to do something like what you’re doing?

Just do it. You can read a million books or blogs on how to do it or how not to do it, but that’s all irrelevant if you aren’t actually doing it. And what you’ll find is that if you simply pay attention to what you’re doing, you’ll figure out all the things that need to be adjusted, modified, or improved without having to entertain someone else’s jackassery.

Right People Rules 

Give us one or two traits you really appreciate or value about your Right People readers and clients. What makes this type of person such a good fit for the way you deliver value?

I love that they value the concept that “everything is connected.” This (not always obviously) applies to bones, muscles, and joints, but they also appreciate the macro holistic view that what we do in one area of our lives impacts all the others, for better or worse. As a result, they’re motivated to take action as well as responsibility for their results.

Give us one or two of your “Uh-Oh” Client red flags. As in, if a prospective client says or does this, and you know it’s not going to be a good fit.

If they say, “I want someone to tell me what to do” or “I want someone to fix me.” Those statements indicate they aren’t a good fit . . . at the moment.

What, secretly (up until now), is your favorite thing to do for a client?

Make them laugh. The content they’re learning is more likely to stick if they’re having fun. Also, who doesn’t like to laugh?

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever gotten from a client?

“You are one of the most grounded and sane persons in my life.”

What sorts of joint venture or collaborative opportunities are you open to in the foreseeable future? What sorts of people or businesses are you looking to link up with?

I’ve recently been collaborating with a couple of holistic nutritional counselors to provide more comprehensive services to our clients. Our work naturally supports and complements each other. It’s a great fit!

In the comments, we’d love for you to:

Tell us what embodying your business or brand feels like for you. What really resonated in this Q&A with Gini? We’d both love to hear from you.