Summary

Natasha Berta, a marketing consultant with a playful approach, integrates her inner child with her adult self to create a thriving online marketing business, emphasizing the importance of being less attached to ego and more open to playfulness in work.

Abstract

The article presents an interview with Natasha Berta, who challenges traditional formal business attitudes by incorporating her vibrant, childlike energy into her marketing consultancy. Berta, whose business philosophy is shaped by her Capricorn astrological traits and a deep understanding of existence beyond ego, views herself as a "Creatrix" and encourages both herself and her clients to approach work as play. This mindset shift is believed to enhance learning, creativity, and mental wellness. Berta's method involves reframing client sessions into playful experiences, which helps maintain a light and energetic atmosphere. She also emphasizes the importance of mental hygiene and daily meditation to balance her high-paced learning and teaching. The article concludes by summarizing the key insights from Berta's approach, including the benefits of a childlike perspective in business, the value of playfulness in learning and work, and the necessity of mental stillness practices.

Opinions

Natasha Berta believes that being childlike in business allows for less attachment to ego and a more energetic, creative approach to work.
She attributes her ability to be more childlike as she ages to her Capricorn astrological sign and a deeper understanding of existence through meditation.
Berta sees herself as a "Creatrix" and encourages a playful vibe in her business, which she finds more enjoyable and productive.
She reframes client sessions as play to keep the atmosphere light and to foster curiosity and aliveness, avoiding the mechanical and dry aspects of work.
Berta is described as a "bulldozer" in her learning approach, quickly mastering new tech tools and platforms to teach her clients, while also being mindful of maintaining energy balance.
She values meditation and mental stillness practices to manage her fast-paced mind and to prevent burnout from constant learning and teaching.
Berta enjoys playing and creating for the sake of it, without the need for specific outcomes,

Let Your Inner Child Have Some Creative Fun in Your Business Too

An interview with Natasha Berta — Marketing Consultant

Created in Canva by the Author. Photo of Natasha Berta used with permission

I have a limiting belief, especially through my early years of working in a large corporate company, that we need to look formal so that we can be taken seriously in business.

But, seeing the way my business mastermind group colleague Natasha Berta, taught us an introduction to using YouTube for our solopreneur businesses in a fun and relaxed manner, complete with her unicorn-colored hair, shook me out of my limited perspective. She was so childlike, yet she was able to structure her 15-minute presentation in a clear and concise manner. I learned something new about YouTube marketing, with ease and fun!

This is why I interviewed Natasha to find out how she arrived at this beautiful integration of both her inner child and adult selves, to build her thriving online marketing business.

Here are my questions in headers, and her answers below each question.

More Childlike = Less Attached to Ego

I’m just a sort of unnameable mass of energy that’s just bobbing around, and that’s what we all are. Reality is just a big ever-changing mass of energy.

How are you so childlike in your business? Were you influenced or inspired by something or someone, or have you always been childlike?

My astrological sun sign is Capricorn and I remember reading that Capricorn children are very serious, then they get more childlike as they age. I do notice that I was very serious when I was much younger, but now that I’m older, I can easily tap into that childlike energy.

The other part of it is my non-attachment to my ego-self. When I was younger, I was into yoga. I used to wear orange and shaved my head. I was very serious about claiming and expressing my identity. Ever since I started meditating, I’m understanding more deeply about the reality of existence, and less attached to my ego-self. I’m not so caught up in identifying who Natasha Berta as a person is.

Now, I understand I’m just a sort of unnameable mass of energy that’s just bobbing around, and that’s what we all are. Reality is just a big ever-changing mass of energy. So, now, I don’t feel so worried about anything in life generally.

That’s fascinating! I’m wondering since you mentioned you’re like a mass of energy, do you see yourself like a shape-shifter sometimes?

I hadn’t really thought about being a shape-shifter. I do tell my kids that I’m a witch and I can read their minds. I tell them that we are all magical and we can create magic with our thoughts.

I see myself as a Creatrix. And as a highly sensitive person, I need to be careful in maintaining my mental hygiene, so I can use my magical creation powers properly.

Learn Better by Reframing Work As Play

“The decision-making, creativity, and focus on process that characterize play require and produce mental alertness. The reduced focus on ends and on others’ evaluations reduces or eliminates our fear of failure. For most of us, our work does not have life-or-death consequences, so fears we have about failure are likely to be exaggerations.” ~Peter Gray Ph.D., Psychology Today

Are your clients childlike like you too?

I have clients with various personality types. The ones I enjoy being with the most allow me to be silly and ridiculous. I can feel free to swear in front of them and I don’t feel like I have to look or do anything special to impress them.

It definitely feels like a playful vibe. I like to frame the sessions by saying that instead of working, we’re going to play with this or that, and use a much more experimental approach.

When I reframe my client sessions this way, it helps them have a clearer mindset about staying light, rather than needing fixed outcomes.

Ah! It feels like the adult part of you is laying the ground rules, so the childlike parts of you and your clients can play within the rules!

Yes, I do feel that my primary rule is that we have to be light and playful because if not, it becomes mechanical and dry. I’ve noticed that as soon as I stop being curious and feeling alive for something in my life, it starts becoming just another thing that I have to do, so I tend to reject this thing eventually.

Maintaining Mental Wellness

How did you learn to pick up the multiple tech tools and platforms to teach to your clients?

Ha! My husband calls me a bulldozer sometimes because my default is to dive in and take massive action. I naturally learn anything really quickly, but I get bored very quickly as well. I find that my mind is so high-paced that I tend to feed it lots of information or give it lots of projects to work on.

This is why it’s easy for me to pick up new tech tools and know enough to teach my clients.

Learning something new can be quite challenging for my clients sometimes. I love having more ease and space in my client sessions, so if I notice that my energy is starting to swirl my client’s energy off-center, I try to ease back on my energy level.

To keep my mind from overrunning on learning/teaching mode, I find that it’s been very useful for me to meditate daily. I try to meditate twice a day for an hour each time, and each year I go on a 10-day Vipassana Retreat.

How else do you play in life outside of your business?

I love playing for the sake of playing. I do visual art with watercolor paints, sew my own clothes, and camp outside in nature.

Over the past five years, I’ve learned the value of being alive without needing to have a specific outcome or to demonstrate my results to anyone. It’s perfectly okay to just be and not have anything to show for it. We all have permission to just be.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you, Natasha, for sharing what it’s like for you to infuse more play in your business as a highly sensitive person and hyper learner. It’s so fascinating to learn from your life journey.

The top three insights I’ve gathered from our discussion are:

It’s easier to be more childlike when you’re less attached to your ego-self.
Having a light and playful approach to learning and work is much more energizing and sustainable than treating it as dry and mechanical.
Take time to balance your mental workload by practicing meditation, or any practice that encourages mental stillness.

If you are keen on connecting further with Natasha, please do visit her website and Instagram account.

Thanks for reading!

More about Natasha Berta and her business

Natasha Berta is the owner of Connected Marketing. She helps you connect with your ideal clients without selling your soul :)