Marie is the Founder & Director of Them You & Me, a digital marketing agency speaking friendly digital. She strives to demystify digital marketing and guide businesses through digital transformation.

As women continue to be a driving force for change around the world, this series aims to highlight those who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to creating an impact.

In this exclusive interview, Connected Women caught up with Marie Nadal Sharma, founder of Them You & Me.

Marie Nadal Sharma discovered a zeal for all things digital and immersed herself in it years back. She has, since then, become a digital achiever speaking friendly digital, passionately empowering businesses in their pursuit of understanding and implementing digital marketing. Marie has plenty to share from her past experiences, recent travels and current mindset.

Tell us about you and your business/career, and what you were doing before?

I am a Digital Marketing Strategist.

I love coaching business owners, offering them fresh perspectives, challenging notions and implementing customized strategies for their businesses. I especially believe in using friendly words that cut through the digital marketing jargon and make learning easier and more enjoyable.

After a 14-year career in luxury travel and hospitality, I jumped into the digital space and realized that I loved it. I have always been creative and this gave me the chance to learn more and challenge myself in so many ways.

I had always hoped to make a difference and today technology is vital. I want to empower people, demystify digital marketing, and help them understand what it is all about – what it really means to go digital. I want to tell them that if I can do it, they can too! It is all about learning, and having fun along the journey!

My role as a digital marketing strategist is to help businesses start their online strategy and make sure that their ideas and projects do not remain as a plan on a piece of paper. Digital marketing can be intimidating and having someone on speed dial to discuss the digital space changes everything.

Start Now And Don’t Hold Back

Life is now and it does not wait for anyone to be ready for it.

I believe that we are never totally ready to follow our dream or start that dream project. I believe that everyone has a story to tell and something to show to the world. Not everyone will agree or support you, but that does not matter. Listen to your heart and find your tribe — the ones that will help you throughout your journey.

Start gathering information, write all your ideas in a notebook, start with baby steps that will encourage you and motivate you for more. Do anything, except postpone. Do not think that it is not the right time, that you are too busy and that you don’t have what it takes. Just start and give it a chance! You will become a better person for it.

Just imagine, what if your story, your entrepreneurial journey inspires and helps someone else in turn?

The Journey Of Entrepreneurship Is Like Travelling

My husband and I took a 4-month sabbatical in South America two years back. We had planned it for years and honestly, I had always wondered if we would do it one day.

The older you get, the more responsibilities life hands you, and again, there is never the perfect moment to do it. So we set off! We emptied the apartment, put everything in storage, left with a backpack and let South America disrupt everything.

Travel is not always easy; it can challenge you to the core and reveal who you really are. But you never give up and you keep going. You figure that it’s not about what happens, it’s about how you handle it.

Trekking in the extreme conditions of Patagonia made me realize that an entrepreneurial journey could be the same. You go one step at a time, but you cannot go back. You need to reach the summit or refuge where you can rest, reflect, get inspired and start again. And when you do reach it, you have an amazing sense of accomplishment that fuels your desire to achieve more the next day.

I wish everyone could experience what we did. It was life-changing, inspiring and challenging, but more than that, it made me realize that when you put your heart and mind into something and you really believe in it, you have a chance to make it happen.

During the trip, I realized I wanted to be the caring and nurturing person I was in my personal life in business as well and make a difference. I wanted to make people feel better, encourage them to be who they really are while working in the digital space. I wanted to combine my passion for people and my creativity with my zest for all things digital.

If I Could Do It All Again

I would pause more and let go often.

I would not be so hard on myself. There is no such thing as perfection and I have learned to be vulnerable and to be perfectly imperfect. You don’t need to please everyone and have everyone understand your concept/vision. You just need a few people, your tribe, and know whom to rely upon.

There is no need to say that everything is alright when actually it is not. I believe in authenticity and vulnerability and it is only through admitting the good and the bad that you will find people giving you a hand, willing to step in to help.

Speak out more! Ask for help, for advice, for constructive feedback. You don’t have to do it all alone!

There’s no such thing as failure or success. I believe that any entrepreneur from any industry is already a success, having been brave to begin in the first place! Give yourself more credit and be kind to yourself. Life isn’t about competition! It is about flexibility and integrity. So just go for it!

Perfection does not matter but giving it your best does. And through it all, find the people who stick with you and keep them close.

To Help You Along

“Life is too short. Start with your strengths, start with your weaknesses. You owe it to yourself to just start and give it a try. Life is meant to be lived fully, daringly and authentically.”