June 30, 2025 • 30 mins
Cut The Tie Podcast with Thomas Helfrich
Episode 282
Marisa Vallbona never intended to start a PR firm—but a surprise layoff while on maternity leave changed everything. In this inspiring episode of Cut The Tie, host Thomas Helfrich speaks with the founder and president of CIM Inc PR about how getting fired became the best thing that ever happened to her. Marisa shares the lessons she’s learned across 35 years in business, from building a service-first company to firing clients who don’t align with her values.
She talks candidly about overcoming ego, leaning on faith, and the power of optimism in building a life and business you love.
About Marisa Vallbona:
Marisa is the president and founder of CIM Inc PR, a national public relations firm specializing in integrated marketing across industries like real estate and consumer products. With more than 35 years of experience and a passion for high-touch client service, Marisa built her business through referrals and word-of-mouth. A proud surfer, mother, and woman of faith, Marisa lives by the principles of integrity, gratitude, and service.
In this episode, Thomas and Marisa discuss:
- Getting fired on maternity leave—and what came next
Marisa shares how losing her job right before returning from leave led her to start a business she never planned—and never left. - Why exceptional service builds the strongest brand
From day one, Marisa grew her agency through word-of-mouth by delivering Ritz Carlton–level service and creating lifelong client advocates. - How optimism and faith shaped her business
Rooted in scripture and guided by faith, Marisa’s approach to business is grounded in service, generosity, and resilience. - Letting go of clients who don’t align
Marisa explains how firing toxic clients opens the door for better ones—and why you should trust that abundance will follow. - Surfing, family, and staying grounded
Whether she’s catching waves or co-parenting with grace, Marisa talks about staying present, grateful, and fully alive.
Key Takeaways:
- Sometimes rejection is redirection
Getting fired led to a thriving business that never would have existed otherwise. - Service over everything
When you focus on delivering exceptional service, clients do the marketing for you. - You define your value—not your employer
Marisa cut the tie to letting others dictate her worth or financial future. - Abundance beats scarcity every time
Firing a toxic client opened the door to better, more aligned opportunities. - Stay grounded in what matters
Faith, family, and purpose fuel long-term success more than any metric.
Connect with Marisa Vallbona:
💼 LinkedIn: Marisa Vallbona
💼 Website: cimincpr.com/
🌊 Fun fact: She’s an avid surfer and makes regular trips to Maui to hit the waves!
Connect with Thomas Helfrich:
🐦 Twitter: @thelfrich
📘 Facebook: Cut The Tie Group
💼 LinkedIn: Thomas Helfrich
🌐 Website: cutthetie.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Cut the Tie.
Hi, I'm your host, thomasHelfrich, and we are on a
mission to help you cut a tie tosomething holding you back, so
you can unleash the best versionof yourself or just become a
really good entrepreneur.
Today, I'm joined by MarisaValbona.
That is right.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You said it right.
A lot of people get it wrongWay to go.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I was like, oh gosh, I felt the pressure and the
stress from that.
I think I'm going to be okay.
The cortisol levels have jumped.
My body will be okay.
We're going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You're great, marisa.
Why don't you take a moment?
Introduce started 35 years agoand I started it by accident.
We can go into my story later,but we do PR across the US for
(00:51):
world-renowned companies and Ilove it so much Like I've never,
ever regretted it.
I love my career, have so muchfun, I have the best clients in
the world and I just adore it.
So Well, I love that and youknow I have so much fun, I have
the best clients in the worldand I just adore it.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So well, I love that, and you know I have questions.
But the book coming out,literally rewriting a little bit
, my wife read through itfinally, after I'd sent it to
the publisher, to be fair, andshe said, hey, I don't like a
few things in here.
I'm like it'd be helpful ifyou'd done this two months ago,
but anyway.
So I'm rewriting, but it wouldhave been helpful if you'd done
this two months ago, but anyway,so I'll be writing more.
But here's the thing, I've gotthis whole thing coming out.
(01:27):
At some point we're going to gooffline.
You're going to tell me how todo the PR right on that.
Oh yeah, love that.
I'm going to back into that.
But here's the next questionTell me why you're unique or why
people pick your business.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Most of it is service , service.
And I, you know, and I'll tellyou, it's not just my business
where service makes a difference, but we grow our business
through word of mouth.
I mean, I don't even I don't doany advertising and my and I
should and I should do PR formyself, but I really don't.
(02:00):
I don't really have to, becausemy business has grown over 35
years through word of mouth andseriously and essentially what
it was was I backed into mybusiness by accident, and I can
go into that story, you know,when you ask me that question.
But I'll tell you it's all beenword of mouth because we
(02:21):
provide exceptional service.
It's so much easier to keep aclient than it is to get a new
one, and so our clients feel somuch white glove service from us
that they go around tellingeverybody you have to hire
Marisa and her team, you willnot regret it.
And so that's how we get andkeep clients.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I think, from a strategy standpoint, anyone
listening or watching that's thebest strategy.
It's by far.
It's close rate and thecheapest is just do awesome work
.
Get something that will worryyou.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I mean, think about it Like, think about how you
feel about the vendors you workwith, the companies you work
with.
I mean, when you go in and youbuy a Mercedes or a Range Rover
or an Audi, how do you feel atthe dealership?
The level of service that youget when you stay at a
Ritz-Carlton, for example ifyou've ever stayed at a
(03:19):
Ritz-Carlton the level ofservice that you get is off the
hook.
It makes you want to go back.
That's the level of servicethat you get is off the hook.
It makes you want to go back.
That's the level of service ifyou're an entrepreneur that you
should be providing each andevery customer, client,
everybody you work with, andwhen you do that, you're going
(03:39):
to get so much business that youcan turn away business that you
.
You know clients that you don'twant to work with.
That's the secret.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
As a 2013 Honda Odyssey minivan owner, I will
tell you I'm happy that theydon't have powdered cream for
the coffee when you get service.
I'm going to throw that outthere.
My bar is pretty low.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, you know what I'm going to tell you a little
secret.
I'm going to tell you a littlesecret.
I love powdered cream and Iactually yes, I do.
I love it.
Coffee Mate, that's my jam.
And I'll tell you a littlesecret.
A couple of weeks ago I went tothe Ritz-Carlton and I packed
(04:19):
my own Coffee Mate to go to theRitz-Carlton.
And because I love it, there'sjust something about it.
It makes your coffee taste likecake and it's.
I mean, that stuff is poison.
It's got all kinds of additivesand preservatives in it and I
don't eat additives andpreservatives, but I love coffee
mate.
So I travel with my own coffeemate, no matter what caliber of
(04:43):
hotel I stay in.
So yeah, don't be talking smackabout my powdered coffee
creamer.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I'm going to leave it at this.
Two rules I used to have If Iever worked somewhere and they
had powdered cream and that waswhat they provided employees out
Not working there.
Second, I think you shouldconfuse the staff, because it is
a high-end in the Ritz, it'sjust create lines and put like a
dollar bill rolled up and readit in there and like do not
touch, and it's just you'resegmenting for your coffee and
(05:11):
just confuse them and it'd befunny to see what they say.
All right, let's talk aboutyour journey.
So tell me a little about yourjourney and on this, on this
accidental success that you had,what the biggest tie was?
You had to cut to find success.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The biggest tie I had to cut was my ego.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Go on.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, I mean, it's not that I had a huge ego, but
what happened was?
I mean, I actually got my startin PR when I was 12 years old,
so I fried an egg on a sidewalkin Houston.
I was born and raised inHouston.
Super hot day.
My friends and I are allsitting around in the summer and
we're, like you know, just upto no good and we're thinking
(05:57):
what are we going to do?
There's nothing to do.
Today, I'm telling you it wasblazing hot.
You're in Georgia, you know howhot it gets.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I mean I've definitely boiled and cooked an
egg on Blacktop living in theMidwest in St Louis when we were
growing up.
It was so much fun to do oh mygosh, it's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
So you know how hot it gets and like you can see
like the steam coming up off theasphalt, right.
So it was one of those days.
So we thought, hey, y'all,let's like cook an egg on the
sidewalk.
So we did, and one of us gotthe wild idea I don't remember
(06:35):
who it was, maybe my sister andso they dared me.
I was, like always thedaredevil, like the most
extroverted daredevil.
Hey, call the news stations,make them come out here and do a
weather story.
So I called the news station,got them to come out and do a
weather story.
Like I didn't even know how todo it, but essentially I called
them like, hey, we fried an eggon the sidewalk.
Do you want to come out and,like, do a story on it?
(06:55):
And that's when I found out youcall the assignment desk.
So they came out, they did aweather story, but nobody wanted
to go on camera.
They, they did a weather story,but nobody wanted to go on
camera.
They were like hey, I dare youto do it.
So I got on camera and talkedabout what we had done.
At the end of the night myparents came home from work and
it was like, hey, I got on TV,this is what I want to do for a
(07:16):
living.
I want to be a newscaster.
So that's essentially how Iended up getting my degree in
journalism, with an emphasis inPR.
That's how I got my start.
Okay, so I ended up.
When I graduated from college, Iworked at a PR firm and I
(07:39):
thought I was going to stay atthat PR firm for life.
I thought I was going to end upclimbing the ladder, ending up
being the CEO of the PR firmafter the you know principals
had left the firm, retired, etc.
But what happened was I endedup getting pregnant.
I had my son, my oldest son,and when I was on maternity
leave, I got this wonderful callon the Friday before I was
(08:03):
supposed to get back frommaternity leave and the
principal said hey, how'smaternity leave going?
We'd love to see you in ouroffice on Friday.
And I said well, I'm comingback on Monday.
They said, no, we really wantto see you on Friday.
I said, all right, well, I sawyour eyebrows go up.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I've had that call before, so go on.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, but while you're on maternity leave in
1990, right, that's the time todo it.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You couldn't do it today.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, no, you couldn't.
And so I come in and they're,you know, like, hey, you look
great, how's it going?
And I said, you know it's goingfine, I'm having fun with my
baby, but I'm really not meantto stay home.
I meant to stay home, I can'twait to get back to work.
I mean really driven andambitious right.
So they're talking to me andstuff and they said, look, you
(08:50):
are one of our higher paid, youknow senior account executives
and we love the work you do.
But we're really sorry, we haveto let you go.
So I got let go, okay, and I'mthinking I'm a poo creek without
a paddle.
And you know young marriage atthe time an infant and I got
(09:14):
home I told my husband whathappened.
He was already running a graphicdesign firm with a partner and
they basically said why don'tyou just join us and provide PR
services to our clients andwe'll just make it a, you know,
a full service agency?
And I thought, well, I've neverwanted to work for myself.
(09:36):
I wanted to eventually run thatPR firm I work for, but anyway,
I thought I'll just do that inthe interim while I look for a
job.
So I started doing that and Igot so busy I never had time to
look for a job Beyond what I wasmaking at the PR firm.
(10:05):
I never had time to look for ajob and, ironically, I still do
work with my now ex-husband'spartner.
We just got off a conferencecall before this podcast and you
know I still do.
I still did projects with myex-husband but he ended up
getting a great job and so he'sno longer doing the work.
(10:26):
But it's just fantastic how thatended up happening.
And that was 35 years ago andI've never looked back.
You want to talk about cuttingthe tie?
I mean wow, and I've neverlooked back.
It's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That is amazing.
You uh the ego of well it's Idon't know if it's ego was the
thing you cut.
It was more of the sense ofpurpose, of where it really
belonged.
Like you, you identified youridentity with someone else's
dream and there, when theydidn't align to your dream
anymore, you're like whoa, whoa,wait, that's not how I saw my
life going.
So, and when they didn't alignto your dream anymore, you're
like, well, wait, that's not howI saw my life going.
(11:03):
So that's a big tie for a lotof good to come.
But I thought I was going to dothis, I thought we were going
to be that, and you said, wait,that's not how it went.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
But what I meant by ego was it was having to swallow
my pride on the fact that I gotlet go.
That was a gut punch.
I mean that was a gut punch andI have to say that was one of
the best things that everhappened to me, but it took me a
good year to get over it.
Is that it.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I've been through it like six times.
So like, at some point I'm justlike, oh, here it comes, that's
great, it's hard, it is, it'sincredibly hard.
How did you get over it?
I think I sometimes will askthat question in between.
But you know, the tie to cutsort of bit speak is the ego of
being like oh, I'm not feelingsomeone else was determining
your value in that moment, andthat's, that's angry, like and
(11:51):
and and I think that's a bigpiece that goes away once you
start working for yourself asyou determine your value.
Right, but how did you get overit?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well, I made the decision that I was never, ever,
ever, ever, ever, ever, evergoing to let anybody else
determine my financial futureagain.
And so I took control and Idecided I was going to go after
my clients.
I was going to create the bestPR firm that I could ever create
(12:28):
.
I had always made mental notesof what the PR firm I worked for
, what they were doing wrong andI, you know, even though I
never wanted to start my own PRfirm, I remember clients chewing
us out about what they felt wasan injustice at the other PR
firm, and a lot of that wasservice.
They felt that they weren'tgetting the right service
(12:52):
because they felt that theprincipals would come in and
pitch the business and thendisappear and pawn it off onto
senior account executives,account executives and account
coordinators.
And I remember thinking that isso wrong.
Like you just don't do that.
And so, even though I neverplanned to start my own PR firm,
I, in the back of my head, likesomething, told me you don't do
(13:15):
business that way.
So the way I got over thatinjustice was to build something
better, build something greater, and I'll never forget this.
Like, the PR firm where I workedwas very real estate heavy.
That's how I got into realestate PR and consumer PR.
(13:37):
And so when I started my firm,those guys actually had the
audacity to call me and say, ifyou plan to do real estate,
you're going to fail on yourface and because we were in the
middle of a recession back thenin 1990.
And I said, well, just watch me, and I'm telling you, it's like
(13:58):
it was just success aftersuccess, and you know I'm very
you.
It's like, well, it's justsuccess after success and you
know I'm very real estate heavycommercial, residential, just
everything.
It's been great.
And you know you're only assuccessful as you believe
yourself to be and as youservice your clients.
It's been wonderful.
(14:19):
I have the greatest, mostamazing clients.
So that's how I got over it.
That's how I felt better aboutwhat I'm doing, because of the
relationships that I built withmy clients, my colleagues, how I
was able to give back to theprofession through my volunteer
(14:40):
service profession through myvolunteer service.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
It's funny because usually people realize they need
to cut something from a moment.
Your moment was smacked intoyour face, right?
You're like, oh, here it is.
And then you realize, well,here's the tie I need to cut.
After A lot of people have itthe other way, like I think I
need to do this, and thensomething triggers them to take
action.
Something took action on youand you're like I'm not going to
do that anymore and I love that.
I love that you've stuck withit.
Like it or not, you stuck withit.
(15:06):
I find it interesting that youit sounds like you had gone
through a divorce.
That's not even the tie you hadto overcome.
The bigger one was just thatoriginal gut punch from a life
event.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Well, and the interesting thing is like even
my divorce, that was verydifficult, but my ex-husband and
I are still beautiful friends.
I mean, we're you know, weco-parent beautifully together.
We're still beautiful friends.
We just had dinner together inSan Diego recently with our son.
We still love each other asco-parents and I think that's
(15:39):
very important co-parents, and Ithink that's very important.
I think having wonderful humanrelationships is important and,
believe it or not, after I gotlaid off from that PR firm, I
sent a thank you note to theprincipals who laid me off and I
thanked them for everythingthey taught me.
Now they didn't know that thatthank you was a thank you for
(16:03):
everything they taught me not todo and for what they taught me
to do.
But I ended up becoming goodfriends with them as well,
because you can't move on insuccess unless you're willing to
let go of the negative.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Right Anger only serves to hurt you with that.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Exactly, and you have to move on in forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So talk about some of the impact you've had with this
mindset for your customers,your family, just the impact.
How has the impact been on yourfamily, your business since?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Phenomenal, phenomenal.
I mean I had a client I wasmeeting with in San Diego, a
commercial developer, and youknow we had not met in person
yet.
And when we met in person afterthe first hour, he said what do
you think of me now that you'vemet me in person?
And you know?
(17:02):
I said you're great, you knowreally like you.
And I said what do you think ofme?
And he said I like you a lotbetter in person.
He said I liked you a lot byphone and by Zoom meetings, but
I like you a lot better inperson.
He says there's just somethingabout you and I mean the thing
about it is it's do you have anabundance mindset or scarcity
mindset?
Do you have a mindset that theglass is half full or it's half
(17:26):
empty?
Are you a positive thinker or anegative thinker?
And I'll tell you my boys tellme that I'm a ridiculous
optimist and I got that from mydad and it's really served me
well.
I mean, I've had manysituations where I've had to
fire clients and I don't thinkof it as I'm letting go of this
(17:49):
income for my firm.
I look at it as I'm letting goof toxicity and I'm making room
for positivity and every time Ido that, sometimes within hours,
a new client that's bigger andbetter and more positive comes
into my.
I mean, I'm telling you it'seerie within hours.
(18:11):
So it has served me so well andit served my sons really well
too.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
I love that You've impacted downstream.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, yeah.
So who inspires you?
Amazing man?
He immigrated here from Spainand he was recruited to work at
Baylor College of Medicine,became a world-renowned doctor.
When he moved here, he didn'tspeak much English at all.
(18:54):
In fact, I grew up at homespeaking Spanish and Catalan.
Those were our primarylanguages spoken at home.
Among the kids.
We spoke to each other inEnglish.
I learned English mostlywatching TV and then at school.
And my dad, when he firststarted working here, when he
was on call, they would call himon the phone and you know like
(19:18):
he'd be sleeping right in thedoctor's lounge and they'd call
him and they'd say Dr Valbona,and they'd ask him a question.
Well, he didn't understand whatthey were saying, and so he'd
jump up out of bed and he'd gorun to the patient's room and it
would be something as simple asthe patient has a fever, what
do we do?
But because he didn'tunderstand English, well, he
(19:40):
would have to see, like you know, the nurse's lips moving and
hear them, and see in person andsee what was going on with the
patient.
And so he would take thepatient's temperature, give the
patient Tylenol, put a blanketon the patient, etc.
So he got a reputation as goingabove and beyond in providing
(20:01):
the most incredible care.
As a physician, he moved upthrough the ranks.
He ended up serving royalty,serving elected officials,
presidents, nasa astronautsbefore they'd go on missions.
When they came back from theirmissions, I mean incredible
physician.
(20:22):
What that inspired me to do.
And he always told me he wouldcall me every day.
Because I was living inSouthern California for about 35
years, he would call me everyday.
How's work going?
What have you done lately?
How are you serving yourclients?
What are your clients sayingabout you?
I mean, because to him it wasso important that his legacy
(20:43):
would be service.
And what are you doing to giveback to the community?
What's your volunteer work?
What are you doing?
And that was so important tohim and it was for a reason.
And the wonderful thing is isthat my adult sons are the same
way.
It's wonderful.
(21:04):
I mean, he is my hero.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Love it.
Sure, he knew it too.
What's some of the bestbusiness advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (21:16):
you know that there's nothing worse than getting
caught in a lie.
So there's nothing that thetruth brings out is worse than
getting caught in a lie, and Itell my clients that all the
time always tell the truththat's a I mean that's, that's
(21:39):
solid advice.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
That's often how you have to get rid of your
customers, like you're anasshole, so we're getting rid of
you.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Well, it is, and you know.
When you're dealing in anethical situation, like a crisis
situation, an ethics situation,you always have to tell the
truth, Because once you starttelling even little lies, you
have to keep track of them.
I can always tell when I'mdealing with a shady client.
(22:07):
They they start lying.
I don't trust them.
I have to fire them.
They end up in a crisissituation.
Nothing the truth brings out isever worse than getting caught
in a lie.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, that's great.
You're right, If they're beingattacked of some sort, then it
takes the ammunition away fromthe other party, because now
they're like, hey, this is whathappened, so we'll just deal
with that now.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
What's your must-read book?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
The Bible Every day, every day.
So one of my go-tos is the bookof Proverbs, and so the book of
Proverbs has 31 chapters and soevery day.
(22:58):
So, like on, let's say, april1st, I'll read chapter one of
Proverbs, then April 2nd,chapter two, and then I'll read
something else in the Bible.
But every day I start like thatand I look at it as my quiet
time with God and I.
You know, honestly, it's likefeeling grounded every day when
I start my day and just feelinglike and that's why I'm
(23:19):
president of my company, becauseGod is my CEO, that's why it's
called CIM Inc.
Pr.
It stands for CornerstoneIntegrated Marketing, because
God and Jesus are thecornerstone of my life,
cornerstone of my business,cornerstone of my business.
I'm telling you, when I startmy day like that, everything is
(23:41):
so easy, I feel so peaceful andnothing rattles me.
But back to Proverbs.
It has the best advice fordealing with difficult people,
difficult situations, difficultlife, anything.
Difficult situations, difficultlife, anything.
(24:01):
And the Bible is B-I-B-L-E Best.
Instruction Before Leaving Earth.
I've never heard that before.
Yeah, that's my most read book.
And then my second favoritebook is oh my gosh, I'm spacing
on it now, but I love it.
It's oh, think and Grow Rich.
(24:22):
I read that book almost everyyear.
I love that book.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Think and Grow Rich.
Check that one.
I have to add it to my list.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I highly recommend it .
Oh, it will change your life.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
If you could go back into any time period in your
life.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
When would you go back in time and what would you
do differently?
You know, I'd probably go backto my high school years my high
school years and I wouldn'tworry so much about what other
people think.
And I'd love to go back to myhigh school years knowing what I
know now.
(25:10):
Wouldn't that be awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I'd have a tough time finishing high school.
I'd be like hey'm just gonna gobuy apple stock.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
I know, wouldn't that be great or something.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
No, it would be.
And and the idea is, I think,that the lesson there is you
know care, you know you won't beable to.
You should care less whatpeople think of you.
The idea is just do it now.
If you still have that problemanyway.
Shameless plug time for youfirst of all.
First of all, thank you so.
This has been fantastically.
What a great story you have inlife and the faith-based.
I love all this.
Do a shameless plug foryourself.
(25:44):
Who should get ahold of you andhow do they do it?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Anybody who is looking for PR services, anybody
who wants to promote theirbusiness in any kind of
integrated marketing, whetherit's social media, the news
media, online media, any type ofpromotions get a hold of me.
You can find me at CIM Inc PRand my contact information is
(26:12):
there, so get a hold of me.
We work with companies of allsizes, whether you're a startup
or a world-renowned company.
We would love to work with you.
Reach out to me personally.
I will return your email oryour text message and we'd love
to work with you, so reach outto us.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Now, if there's one question I should have asked you
today and I didn't, what wouldthat question have been and how
would you have answered it?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I don't know what my hobbies are, maybe.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
What's your hobbies?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
My passion is surfing .
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Surfing.
Are you in San Diego still?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I'm not in San Diego.
Still.
I was in San Diego 35 years andI started surfing about 10
years ago and, oh my gosh, Ilove it.
I got into it because a clientI had a surfing client and when
the client hired us, I told theclient.
I said I don't know anythingabout surfing except my sons do
(27:14):
it and my brother does it, so Idon't really know anything about
it.
And they said that's okay.
We wanted to hire you becausewe like you as a PR firm.
We think you'll do a great job.
Anyway, long story short, wegot them on TV a lot.
Their sales increased.
They said we got to get you ona surfboard.
Seriously, I didn't want to doit because I was terrified of
sharks.
The water there's so cold, butI thought I'm just going to get
(27:35):
this over with, put on a wetsuit, paddled out.
I never thought about sharks,all I was concerned about was to
make sure I did it right.
I fell the first two times.
You know that I paddled out,but then I caught every wave and
the feeling is like nothingI've ever felt before.
I love it, like I love it, likeI love it.
(27:58):
I was addicted.
I just can't get enough of it.
So I've got a trip planned toMaui in a month.
I can't wait to go.
I go to Maui almost every yearto go surfing.
I do surf here in Texas.
I'm in Houston now.
I got to tell you.
It is phenomenal.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
I mean surfing in Galveston would be slightly
different than the North Shoreof Maui, which is a slightly
larger waveset.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I don't surf the North Shore.
I'm not good enough for that.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
That's pretty big, Like a normal day is like 12
feet right 15 foot Well, I'monly 5'2" so I can surf, you
know, just like.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
head high, a little over head high, that's my max.
But I prefer to surf, like youknow, four foot waves.
I have nothing to prove toanybody.
I do it for fun, for exercise.
It is a blast.
Out here I surf at Surfside.
There's a big surf communityhere.
It's a lot of fun.
I surf with a group of guys.
We just have a great time.
(28:59):
I love seeing the dolphins outthere.
It's just a blast.
It's great.
I highly recommend.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Yeah, I've been surfing one time, and it was in
Maui and a two, 36, two.
The wave was not big enough tosupport me.
I just sank through the waveand so my wife got right up and
was like, ooh, the whole end I'mlike I'm too fat.
Anyway, things learn Like itlooks like fun.
I enjoy watching it, but it'sjust not.
It's not on my radar anytimesoon.
(29:25):
Thank you so much, marisa, forjoining me today.
You've been great.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Thank you for having me.
This was a blast.
So much fun.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And listen anyone still listening.
I appreciate you Get out there.
Welcome to Cut the Tie.
Hi, I'm your host, thomasHelfrich, and we are on a
mission to help you cut a tie tosomething holding you back, so
you can unleash the best versionof yourself or just become a
really good entrepreneur.
Today, I'm joined by MarisaValbona.
That is right.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
You said it right.
A lot of people get it wrongWay to go.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
I was like, oh gosh, I felt the pressure and the
stress from that.
I think I'm going to be okay.
The cortisol levels have jumped.
My body will be okay.
We're going to be okay.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You're great, marisa.
Why don't you take a moment?
Introduce started 35 years agoand I started it by accident.
We can go into my story later,but we do PR across the US for
(00:51):
world-renowned companies and Ilove it so much Like I've never,
ever regretted it.
I love my career, have so muchfun, I have the best clients in
the world and I just adore it.
So Well, I love that and youknow I have so much fun, I have
the best clients in the worldand I just adore it.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So well, I love that, and you know I have questions.
But the book coming out,literally rewriting a little bit
, my wife read through itfinally, after I'd sent it to
the publisher, to be fair, andshe said, hey, I don't like a
few things in here.
I'm like it'd be helpful ifyou'd done this two months ago,
but anyway.
So I'm rewriting, but it wouldhave been helpful if you'd done
this two months ago, but anyway,so I'll be writing more.
But here's the thing, I've gotthis whole thing coming out.
(01:27):
At some point we're going to gooffline.
You're going to tell me how todo the PR right on that.
Oh yeah, love that.
I'm going to back into that.
But here's the next questionTell me why you're unique or why
people pick your business.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Most of it is service , service.
And I, you know, and I'll tellyou, it's not just my business
where service makes a difference, but we grow our business
through word of mouth.
I mean, I don't even I don't doany advertising and my and I
should and I should do PR formyself, but I really don't.
(02:00):
I don't really have to, becausemy business has grown over 35
years through word of mouth andseriously and essentially what
it was was I backed into mybusiness by accident, and I can
go into that story, you know,when you ask me that question.
But I'll tell you it's all beenword of mouth because we
(02:21):
provide exceptional service.
It's so much easier to keep aclient than it is to get a new
one, and so our clients feel somuch white glove service from us
that they go around tellingeverybody you have to hire
Marisa and her team, you willnot regret it.
And so that's how we get andkeep clients.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I think, from a strategy standpoint, anyone
listening or watching that's thebest strategy.
It's by far.
It's close rate and thecheapest is just do awesome work
.
Get something that will worryyou.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I mean, think about it Like, think about how you
feel about the vendors you workwith, the companies you work
with.
I mean, when you go in and youbuy a Mercedes or a Range Rover
or an Audi, how do you feel atthe dealership?
The level of service that youget when you stay at a
Ritz-Carlton, for example ifyou've ever stayed at a
(03:19):
Ritz-Carlton the level ofservice that you get is off the
hook.
It makes you want to go back.
That's the level of servicethat you get is off the hook.
It makes you want to go back.
That's the level of service ifyou're an entrepreneur that you
should be providing each andevery customer, client,
everybody you work with, andwhen you do that, you're going
(03:39):
to get so much business that youcan turn away business that you
.
You know clients that you don'twant to work with.
That's the secret.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
As a 2013 Honda Odyssey minivan owner, I will
tell you I'm happy that theydon't have powdered cream for
the coffee when you get service.
I'm going to throw that outthere.
My bar is pretty low.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, you know what I'm going to tell you a little
secret.
I'm going to tell you a littlesecret.
I love powdered cream and Iactually yes, I do.
I love it.
Coffee Mate, that's my jam.
And I'll tell you a littlesecret.
A couple of weeks ago I went tothe Ritz-Carlton and I packed
(04:19):
my own Coffee Mate to go to theRitz-Carlton.
And because I love it, there'sjust something about it.
It makes your coffee taste likecake and it's.
I mean, that stuff is poison.
It's got all kinds of additivesand preservatives in it and I
don't eat additives andpreservatives, but I love coffee
mate.
So I travel with my own coffeemate, no matter what caliber of
(04:43):
hotel I stay in.
So yeah, don't be talking smackabout my powdered coffee
creamer.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
I'm going to leave it at this.
Two rules I used to have If Iever worked somewhere and they
had powdered cream and that waswhat they provided employees out
Not working there.
Second, I think you shouldconfuse the staff, because it is
a high-end in the Ritz, it'sjust create lines and put like a
dollar bill rolled up and readit in there and like do not
touch, and it's just you'resegmenting for your coffee and
(05:11):
just confuse them and it'd befunny to see what they say.
All right, let's talk aboutyour journey.
So tell me a little about yourjourney and on this, on this
accidental success that you had,what the biggest tie was?
You had to cut to find success.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
The biggest tie I had to cut was my ego.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Go on.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, I mean, it's not that I had a huge ego, but
what happened was?
I mean, I actually got my startin PR when I was 12 years old,
so I fried an egg on a sidewalkin Houston.
I was born and raised inHouston.
Super hot day.
My friends and I are allsitting around in the summer and
we're, like you know, just upto no good and we're thinking
(05:57):
what are we going to do?
There's nothing to do.
Today, I'm telling you it wasblazing hot.
You're in Georgia, you know howhot it gets.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I mean I've definitely boiled and cooked an
egg on Blacktop living in theMidwest in St Louis when we were
growing up.
It was so much fun to do oh mygosh, it's so much fun.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
So you know how hot it gets and like you can see
like the steam coming up off theasphalt, right.
So it was one of those days.
So we thought, hey, y'all,let's like cook an egg on the
sidewalk.
So we did, and one of us gotthe wild idea I don't remember
(06:35):
who it was, maybe my sister andso they dared me.
I was, like always thedaredevil, like the most
extroverted daredevil.
Hey, call the news stations,make them come out here and do a
weather story.
So I called the news station,got them to come out and do a
weather story.
Like I didn't even know how todo it, but essentially I called
them like, hey, we fried an eggon the sidewalk.
Do you want to come out and,like, do a story on it?
(06:55):
And that's when I found out youcall the assignment desk.
So they came out, they did aweather story, but nobody wanted
to go on camera.
They, they did a weather story,but nobody wanted to go on
camera.
They were like hey, I dare youto do it.
So I got on camera and talkedabout what we had done.
At the end of the night myparents came home from work and
it was like, hey, I got on TV,this is what I want to do for a
(07:16):
living.
I want to be a newscaster.
So that's essentially how Iended up getting my degree in
journalism, with an emphasis inPR.
That's how I got my start.
Okay, so I ended up.
When I graduated from college, Iworked at a PR firm and I
(07:39):
thought I was going to stay atthat PR firm for life.
I thought I was going to end upclimbing the ladder, ending up
being the CEO of the PR firmafter the you know principals
had left the firm, retired, etc.
But what happened was I endedup getting pregnant.
I had my son, my oldest son,and when I was on maternity
leave, I got this wonderful callon the Friday before I was
(08:03):
supposed to get back frommaternity leave and the
principal said hey, how'smaternity leave going?
We'd love to see you in ouroffice on Friday.
And I said well, I'm comingback on Monday.
They said, no, we really wantto see you on Friday.
I said, all right, well, I sawyour eyebrows go up.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I've had that call before, so go on.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Okay, but while you're on maternity leave in
1990, right, that's the time todo it.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You couldn't do it today.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Yeah, no, you couldn't.
And so I come in and they're,you know, like, hey, you look
great, how's it going?
And I said, you know it's goingfine, I'm having fun with my
baby, but I'm really not meantto stay home.
I meant to stay home, I can'twait to get back to work.
I mean really driven andambitious right.
So they're talking to me andstuff and they said, look, you
(08:50):
are one of our higher paid, youknow senior account executives
and we love the work you do.
But we're really sorry, we haveto let you go.
So I got let go, okay, and I'mthinking I'm a poo creek without
a paddle.
And you know young marriage atthe time an infant and I got
(09:14):
home I told my husband whathappened.
He was already running a graphicdesign firm with a partner and
they basically said why don'tyou just join us and provide PR
services to our clients andwe'll just make it a, you know,
a full service agency?
And I thought, well, I've neverwanted to work for myself.
(09:36):
I wanted to eventually run thatPR firm I work for, but anyway,
I thought I'll just do that inthe interim while I look for a
job.
So I started doing that and Igot so busy I never had time to
look for a job Beyond what I wasmaking at the PR firm.
(10:05):
I never had time to look for ajob and, ironically, I still do
work with my now ex-husband'spartner.
We just got off a conferencecall before this podcast and you
know I still do.
I still did projects with myex-husband but he ended up
getting a great job and so he'sno longer doing the work.
(10:26):
But it's just fantastic how thatended up happening.
And that was 35 years ago andI've never looked back.
You want to talk about cuttingthe tie?
I mean wow, and I've neverlooked back.
It's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
That is amazing.
You uh the ego of well it's Idon't know if it's ego was the
thing you cut.
It was more of the sense ofpurpose, of where it really
belonged.
Like you, you identified youridentity with someone else's
dream and there, when theydidn't align to your dream
anymore, you're like whoa, whoa,wait, that's not how I saw my
life going.
So, and when they didn't alignto your dream anymore, you're
like, well, wait, that's not howI saw my life going.
(11:03):
So that's a big tie for a lotof good to come.
But I thought I was going to dothis, I thought we were going
to be that, and you said, wait,that's not how it went.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
But what I meant by ego was it was having to swallow
my pride on the fact that I gotlet go.
That was a gut punch.
I mean that was a gut punch andI have to say that was one of
the best things that everhappened to me, but it took me a
good year to get over it.
Is that it.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I've been through it like six times.
So like, at some point I'm justlike, oh, here it comes, that's
great, it's hard, it is, it'sincredibly hard.
How did you get over it?
I think I sometimes will askthat question in between.
But you know, the tie to cutsort of bit speak is the ego of
being like oh, I'm not feelingsomeone else was determining
your value in that moment, andthat's, that's angry, like and
(11:51):
and and I think that's a bigpiece that goes away once you
start working for yourself asyou determine your value.
Right, but how did you get overit?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well, I made the decision that I was never, ever,
ever, ever, ever, ever, evergoing to let anybody else
determine my financial futureagain.
And so I took control and Idecided I was going to go after
my clients.
I was going to create the bestPR firm that I could ever create
(12:28):
.
I had always made mental notesof what the PR firm I worked for
, what they were doing wrong andI, you know, even though I
never wanted to start my own PRfirm, I remember clients chewing
us out about what they felt wasan injustice at the other PR
firm, and a lot of that wasservice.
They felt that they weren'tgetting the right service
(12:52):
because they felt that theprincipals would come in and
pitch the business and thendisappear and pawn it off onto
senior account executives,account executives and account
coordinators.
And I remember thinking that isso wrong.
Like you just don't do that.
And so, even though I neverplanned to start my own PR firm,
I, in the back of my head, likesomething, told me you don't do
(13:15):
business that way.
So the way I got over thatinjustice was to build something
better, build something greater, and I'll never forget this.
Like, the PR firm where I workedwas very real estate heavy.
That's how I got into realestate PR and consumer PR.
(13:37):
And so when I started my firm,those guys actually had the
audacity to call me and say, ifyou plan to do real estate,
you're going to fail on yourface and because we were in the
middle of a recession back thenin 1990.
And I said, well, just watch me, and I'm telling you, it's like
(13:58):
it was just success aftersuccess, and you know I'm very
you.
It's like, well, it's justsuccess after success and you
know I'm very real estate heavycommercial, residential, just
everything.
It's been great.
And you know you're only assuccessful as you believe
yourself to be and as youservice your clients.
It's been wonderful.
(14:19):
I have the greatest, mostamazing clients.
So that's how I got over it.
That's how I felt better aboutwhat I'm doing, because of the
relationships that I built withmy clients, my colleagues, how I
was able to give back to theprofession through my volunteer
(14:40):
service profession through myvolunteer service.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
It's funny because usually people realize they need
to cut something from a moment.
Your moment was smacked intoyour face, right?
You're like, oh, here it is.
And then you realize, well,here's the tie I need to cut.
After A lot of people have itthe other way, like I think I
need to do this, and thensomething triggers them to take
action.
Something took action on youand you're like I'm not going to
do that anymore and I love that.
I love that you've stuck withit.
Like it or not, you stuck withit.
(15:06):
I find it interesting that youit sounds like you had gone
through a divorce.
That's not even the tie you hadto overcome.
The bigger one was just thatoriginal gut punch from a life
event.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Well, and the interesting thing is like even
my divorce, that was verydifficult, but my ex-husband and
I are still beautiful friends.
I mean, we're you know, weco-parent beautifully together.
We're still beautiful friends.
We just had dinner together inSan Diego recently with our son.
We still love each other asco-parents and I think that's
(15:39):
very important co-parents, and Ithink that's very important.
I think having wonderful humanrelationships is important and,
believe it or not, after I gotlaid off from that PR firm, I
sent a thank you note to theprincipals who laid me off and I
thanked them for everythingthey taught me.
Now they didn't know that thatthank you was a thank you for
(16:03):
everything they taught me not todo and for what they taught me
to do.
But I ended up becoming goodfriends with them as well,
because you can't move on insuccess unless you're willing to
let go of the negative.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
Right Anger only serves to hurt you with that.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Exactly, and you have to move on in forgiveness.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
So talk about some of the impact you've had with this
mindset for your customers,your family, just the impact.
How has the impact been on yourfamily, your business since?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Phenomenal, phenomenal.
I mean I had a client I wasmeeting with in San Diego, a
commercial developer, and youknow we had not met in person
yet.
And when we met in person afterthe first hour, he said what do
you think of me now that you'vemet me in person?
And you know?
(17:02):
I said you're great, you knowreally like you.
And I said what do you think ofme?
And he said I like you a lotbetter in person.
He said I liked you a lot byphone and by Zoom meetings, but
I like you a lot better inperson.
He says there's just somethingabout you and I mean the thing
about it is it's do you have anabundance mindset or scarcity
mindset?
Do you have a mindset that theglass is half full or it's half
(17:26):
empty?
Are you a positive thinker or anegative thinker?
And I'll tell you my boys tellme that I'm a ridiculous
optimist and I got that from mydad and it's really served me
well.
I mean, I've had manysituations where I've had to
fire clients and I don't thinkof it as I'm letting go of this
(17:49):
income for my firm.
I look at it as I'm letting goof toxicity and I'm making room
for positivity and every time Ido that, sometimes within hours,
a new client that's bigger andbetter and more positive comes
into my.
I mean, I'm telling you it'seerie within hours.
(18:11):
So it has served me so well andit served my sons really well
too.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
I love that You've impacted downstream.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, yeah.
So who inspires you?
Amazing man?
He immigrated here from Spainand he was recruited to work at
Baylor College of Medicine,became a world-renowned doctor.
When he moved here, he didn'tspeak much English at all.
(18:54):
In fact, I grew up at homespeaking Spanish and Catalan.
Those were our primarylanguages spoken at home.
Among the kids.
We spoke to each other inEnglish.
I learned English mostlywatching TV and then at school.
And my dad, when he firststarted working here, when he
was on call, they would call himon the phone and you know like
(19:18):
he'd be sleeping right in thedoctor's lounge and they'd call
him and they'd say Dr Valbona,and they'd ask him a question.
Well, he didn't understand whatthey were saying, and so he'd
jump up out of bed and he'd gorun to the patient's room and it
would be something as simple asthe patient has a fever, what
do we do?
But because he didn'tunderstand English, well, he
(19:40):
would have to see, like you know, the nurse's lips moving and
hear them, and see in person andsee what was going on with the
patient.
And so he would take thepatient's temperature, give the
patient Tylenol, put a blanketon the patient, etc.
So he got a reputation as goingabove and beyond in providing
(20:01):
the most incredible care.
As a physician, he moved upthrough the ranks.
He ended up serving royalty,serving elected officials,
presidents, nasa astronautsbefore they'd go on missions.
When they came back from theirmissions, I mean incredible
physician.
(20:22):
What that inspired me to do.
And he always told me he wouldcall me every day.
Because I was living inSouthern California for about 35
years, he would call me everyday.
How's work going?
What have you done lately?
How are you serving yourclients?
What are your clients sayingabout you?
I mean, because to him it wasso important that his legacy
(20:43):
would be service.
And what are you doing to giveback to the community?
What's your volunteer work?
What are you doing?
And that was so important tohim and it was for a reason.
And the wonderful thing is isthat my adult sons are the same
way.
It's wonderful.
(21:04):
I mean, he is my hero.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Love it.
Sure, he knew it too.
What's some of the bestbusiness advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (21:16):
you know that there's nothing worse than getting
caught in a lie.
So there's nothing that thetruth brings out is worse than
getting caught in a lie, and Itell my clients that all the
time always tell the truththat's a I mean that's, that's
(21:39):
solid advice.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
That's often how you have to get rid of your
customers, like you're anasshole, so we're getting rid of
you.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Well, it is, and you know.
When you're dealing in anethical situation, like a crisis
situation, an ethics situation,you always have to tell the
truth, Because once you starttelling even little lies, you
have to keep track of them.
I can always tell when I'mdealing with a shady client.
(22:07):
They they start lying.
I don't trust them.
I have to fire them.
They end up in a crisissituation.
Nothing the truth brings out isever worse than getting caught
in a lie.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Yeah, that's great.
You're right, If they're beingattacked of some sort, then it
takes the ammunition away fromthe other party, because now
they're like, hey, this is whathappened, so we'll just deal
with that now.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Right.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
What's your must-read book?
Speaker 2 (22:36):
The Bible Every day, every day.
So one of my go-tos is the bookof Proverbs, and so the book of
Proverbs has 31 chapters and soevery day.
(22:58):
So, like on, let's say, april1st, I'll read chapter one of
Proverbs, then April 2nd,chapter two, and then I'll read
something else in the Bible.
But every day I start like thatand I look at it as my quiet
time with God and I.
You know, honestly, it's likefeeling grounded every day when
I start my day and just feelinglike and that's why I'm
(23:19):
president of my company, becauseGod is my CEO, that's why it's
called CIM Inc.
Pr.
It stands for CornerstoneIntegrated Marketing, because
God and Jesus are thecornerstone of my life,
cornerstone of my business,cornerstone of my business.
I'm telling you, when I startmy day like that, everything is
(23:41):
so easy, I feel so peaceful andnothing rattles me.
But back to Proverbs.
It has the best advice fordealing with difficult people,
difficult situations, difficultlife, anything.
Difficult situations, difficultlife, anything.
(24:01):
And the Bible is B-I-B-L-E Best.
Instruction Before Leaving Earth.
I've never heard that before.
Yeah, that's my most read book.
And then my second favoritebook is oh my gosh, I'm spacing
on it now, but I love it.
It's oh, think and Grow Rich.
(24:22):
I read that book almost everyyear.
I love that book.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Think and Grow Rich.
Check that one.
I have to add it to my list.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
I highly recommend it .
Oh, it will change your life.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (24:40):
If you could go back into any time period in your
life.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
When would you go back in time and what would you
do differently?
You know, I'd probably go backto my high school years my high
school years and I wouldn'tworry so much about what other
people think.
And I'd love to go back to myhigh school years knowing what I
know now.
(25:10):
Wouldn't that be awesome.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
I'd have a tough time finishing high school.
I'd be like hey'm just gonna gobuy apple stock.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
I know, wouldn't that be great or something.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
No, it would be.
And and the idea is, I think,that the lesson there is you
know care, you know you won't beable to.
You should care less whatpeople think of you.
The idea is just do it now.
If you still have that problemanyway.
Shameless plug time for youfirst of all.
First of all, thank you so.
This has been fantastically.
What a great story you have inlife and the faith-based.
I love all this.
Do a shameless plug foryourself.
(25:44):
Who should get ahold of you andhow do they do it?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Anybody who is looking for PR services, anybody
who wants to promote theirbusiness in any kind of
integrated marketing, whetherit's social media, the news
media, online media, any type ofpromotions get a hold of me.
You can find me at CIM Inc PRand my contact information is
(26:12):
there, so get a hold of me.
We work with companies of allsizes, whether you're a startup
or a world-renowned company.
We would love to work with you.
Reach out to me personally.
I will return your email oryour text message and we'd love
to work with you, so reach outto us.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Now, if there's one question I should have asked you
today and I didn't, what wouldthat question have been and how
would you have answered it?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
I don't know what my hobbies are, maybe.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
What's your hobbies?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
My passion is surfing .
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Surfing.
Are you in San Diego still?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
I'm not in San Diego.
Still.
I was in San Diego 35 years andI started surfing about 10
years ago and, oh my gosh, Ilove it.
I got into it because a clientI had a surfing client and when
the client hired us, I told theclient.
I said I don't know anythingabout surfing except my sons do
(27:14):
it and my brother does it, so Idon't really know anything about
it.
And they said that's okay.
We wanted to hire you becausewe like you as a PR firm.
We think you'll do a great job.
Anyway, long story short, wegot them on TV a lot.
Their sales increased.
They said we got to get you ona surfboard.
Seriously, I didn't want to doit because I was terrified of
sharks.
The water there's so cold, butI thought I'm just going to get
(27:35):
this over with, put on a wetsuit, paddled out.
I never thought about sharks,all I was concerned about was to
make sure I did it right.
I fell the first two times.
You know that I paddled out,but then I caught every wave and
the feeling is like nothingI've ever felt before.
I love it, like I love it, likeI love it.
(27:58):
I was addicted.
I just can't get enough of it.
So I've got a trip planned toMaui in a month.
I can't wait to go.
I go to Maui almost every yearto go surfing.
I do surf here in Texas.
I'm in Houston now.
I got to tell you.
It is phenomenal.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
I mean surfing in Galveston would be slightly
different than the North Shoreof Maui, which is a slightly
larger waveset.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I don't surf the North Shore.
I'm not good enough for that.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
That's pretty big, Like a normal day is like 12
feet right 15 foot Well, I'monly 5'2" so I can surf, you
know, just like.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
head high, a little over head high, that's my max.
But I prefer to surf, like youknow, four foot waves.
I have nothing to prove toanybody.
I do it for fun, for exercise.
It is a blast.
Out here I surf at Surfside.
There's a big surf communityhere.
It's a lot of fun.
I surf with a group of guys.
We just have a great time.
(28:59):
I love seeing the dolphins outthere.
It's just a blast.
It's great.
I highly recommend.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Yeah, I've been surfing one time, and it was in
Maui and a two, 36, two.
The wave was not big enough tosupport me.
I just sank through the waveand so my wife got right up and
was like, ooh, the whole end I'mlike I'm too fat.
Anyway, things learn Like itlooks like fun.
I enjoy watching it, but it'sjust not.
It's not on my radar anytimesoon.
(29:25):
Thank you so much, marisa, forjoining me today.
You've been great.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Thank you for having me.
This was a blast.
So much fun.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And listen anyone still listening.
I appreciate you Get out there.
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