Episode 53 of the Acupuncture Marketing School Podcast: Building a Legacy-Leaving Business with Maika Endo

Welcome back! This week I’m talking with Maika Endo, business coach and former owner of an award-winning spa in Beijing, which she managed remotely from 4,000 miles away in Istanbul.

Maika has so much experience as a small business owner and she has a unique approach to building a business that sustains you while healing others.

Born in Japan, Maika is currently based in Turkey and has lived all over the world including China, France, and the US.

She’s the host of the Business Clarity Podcast and the author of Focus & Flow.

Her goal is to help wellness entrepreneurs create businesses that leave a legacy and allow them to have a life of meaning and impact.

Maika shares how overwork led to exhaustion and illness many years ago, and how that experience informs the way she leads others and coaches wellness entrepreneurs.

I really appreciate Maika’s approach to business and marketing and this is the second time I’ve interviewed her. Her previous interview was about four years ago, which you can read here if you’d like.

In this episode, we talk about:

  • Why getting clear on your personal values matters so much in running a small business
  • The various ways you can leave a legacy with your business, and why it matters
  • How social media is like a fast-paced highway, and long-form content (podcasts, blogs) are like a slow walk in the sunshine
  • The importance of focusing on your own goals instead of drowning in the “shoulds” and chasing after other people’s dreams
  • And more

Donations for Turkey Earthquake Survivors and Programs:

Maika lives in Istanbul, Turkey. Though she is not at the epicenter of the recent earthquakes (which are focused in southern and central Turkey, as well as Syria), she says the entire country felt the tremors.

Maika and her husband have been dedicated to relief efforts in the past few weeks, and I’d like to share a few links that she shared with me as reputable nonprofits and fundraisers that are helping the nation recover from this tragedy.

If you’re inclined to donate, please consider these nonprofits to help support Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquakes:

  • Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey (TEGV) – Maika’s husband’s career is fundraising for this nonprofit through running marathons. (How amazing is that?) Donations to TEGV are currently being released for the earthquake-affected area. The units now provide shelter, food, heating, hygiene, psychological support, and continuing educational activities.
  • AHBAP Association: A major Turkish non-profit NGO.
  • Earthquake Aid for Displaced Mothers and Children: Ruth, one of Maika’s trusted and respected community members, has organized a Go Fund Me to prepare baby and mother supplies to be taken to families displaced. 

🎙️ Listen to Episode #53: Building a Legacy-Leaving Business with Maika Endo

Show Notes:

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Transcript:

[MICHELLE GRASEK] (00:04)

Welcome to the Acupuncture Marketing School Podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Grasek, and I’m here to help you get visible in your community, take marketing action with confidence and get more patients in your practice and more money in your pocket every week. We both know you’re a talented, passionate acupuncturist and that acupuncture has the power to change lives. So let’s dive right into this episode and talk about how you can reach more patients.

(00:34)

Welcome back. This week I’m talking with Maika Endo, business coach and former owner of an award-winning spa in Beijing, which she managed remotely from 4,000 miles away in Istanbul. Maika has so much experience as a small business owner and she has a pretty unique approach to building a business that sustains you while also healing others. Born in Japan, Maika is currently based in Turkey and has lived all over the world, including China, France, and the US. She’s the host of the Business Clarity Podcast and author of Focus & Flow, and her goal is to help wellness entrepreneurs create businesses that leave a legacy and allow them to have a life of meaning and impact. I really appreciate her approach to business and marketing, and this is the second time I’ve interviewed her. I will link to her first interview in the show notes if you’d like to take a look.

(01:32)

As I mentioned, Maika lives in Turkey in Istanbul, and though she is not at the epicenter of the recent earthquakes, which are focused in Southern and Central Turkey, as well as in Syria, she says that the entire country felt the tremors and she and her husband have been dedicated to relief efforts in the past few weeks. So I’d like to share a few links that she shared with me as reputable nonprofits and fundraisers that are helping the nation recover from this tragedy. If you’re inclined to donate, I will include the links or these nonprofits in the show notes. They are the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey, the AHBAP Association, which is a major Turkish nonprofit and Earthquake Aid for Displaced Mothers and Children.

[MICHELLE] (02:18)

Without further ado, I’m really excited to introduce you to Maika Endo. Hello, welcome. How are you?

[MAIKA ENDO] (02:29)

I’m good. Hi Michelle. So nice to be here today. Thanks for inviting me here.

[MICHELLE] (02:34)

Thank you for meeting me and chatting with me. This is the second interview that we’ve done, and I think the first one was about five years ago, maybe six years ago, so I’m so excited to talk with you again.

[MAIKA] (02:49)

Yes, me too. So nice to connect again.

[MICHELLE] (02:53)

I love all of the work that you do in the entrepreneur, especially the wellness entrepreneur space. I mean, I’ve been following you for such a long time now, and I think you have such a wonderful balanced approach to the way that you teach everything, marketing, business, building. The big impression that I get from your work, and you can tell me if this feels accurate, is that you are always working to help people build businesses that are sustainable for them, not just in terms of that the business is sustainable, but that it makes sense for their life, that things should be intentional and should be aligned with the life that they want to live and the direction they’re going in.

[MAIKA] (03:44)

Yes, you encapsulate this perfectly. I help entrepreneurs build legacy leaving businesses and their approach is really value driven, identity driven, because I do believe that’s the way to fulfill our purpose and create a business around our mission, one that feels really fulfilling and meaningful to us.

[MICHELLE] (04:11)

When you say building a business that is, I think you said value driven, that’s based on the person’s values, right? So what, can you talk a little bit about what that looks like?

[MAIKA] (04:22)

Yes. When I start working with somebody, we really explore who this person is as a person because I don’t only coach the business owner, but the person as a whole, and I want the person to thrive in business and life. So we define what are their deep core values, such as, for example, one person may say it’s community, motherhood, wellbeing. We look at all the aspect and why is this meaningful to this person? Those values, that identity become like a compass through which they will look at every areas of their business is going to be their North Star that will inform their decision in their practices, in the marketing, in all the areas of their business, basically.

[MICHELLE] (05:21)

I think this is so important for preventing burnout, creating a business that feels aligned with who you are as a person and what are your goals for your life. I was speaking to an acupuncturist who teaches marketing in Australia recently. Her name is Mandy. She said something that really struck me. She said, “if your business doesn’t work for you, then it’s not your business.” I loved that statement because I think it, you know it’s easy for us to make decisions based on what we think we should want or should have, what our businesses should look like, but if it’s not aligned with who we are and our goals, then I think we’re going to tire out pretty quickly.

[MAIKA] (06:08)

I think in the online space now, because everybody’s in the online space building their businesses, it’s really easy to lose sight of what we really want and let other people’s goals become ours too. We tend to become a replicate and pursue some goals because it made sense for another business owner. I feel like with this online space, it becomes more and more complicated to really focus on our internal transformation and journey.

[MICHELLE] (06:44)

Yeah, it’s very distracting for sure to see all the other people on Instagram and the things that they’re doing and accomplishing.

[MAIKA] (06:53)

Yes.

[MICHELLE] (06:54)

I remember that the first time we talked, a couple of years ago, you shared with me your story about building the spa cocoon in Beijing and how you eventually became really very sick and had burnout from how hard you were working. I am curious if that experience is part of what guides you towards the specific way that you coach your clients.

[MAIKA] (07:22)

Definitely, I think. One part is that the clients who come to me are attracted by this message of work life balance and sustainability. I think my story resonates with them. I think we all have some story where we went through a certain burnout or exhaustion and this becomes the insight from which we thrive. And I think I root my approach from this experience of going through burnout, and I became a peace of mind warrior through this because I don’t want to ever have to experience that again and I don’t want other people to struggle building their business and feel like it has to be a heavy burden because It doesn’t have to be this way. And if that part of my story can be helpful for somebody, I feel then it has its purpose and meaning to, I think it definitely brought me to coaching. It’s part of a pivotal moment, I think in my, on my own journey to becoming a coach.

[MICHELLE] (08:32)

Do you mind sharing a little bit more about that experience of building the spa and the burnout? Because that was an award-winning spa. I think people always assume like, oh, you have an award-winning business, everything must be great, you’ve got it all figured out. But on the on the other side, like in the background, you became very ill.

[MAIKA] (08:55)

Yes, it’s very ironic because I wasn’t walking my, or talking, walking my talk how you say that and I forget the saying, it’s like the cobbler shoes are the, were the worst shoes. It was really that I was telling my clients to be healthy, to get their massages every month and on the other hand, I was skipping meals, I was working endless hours and sleeping late. I really had, I think an unhealthy lifestyle and I was ignoring all my stress, stress signals. And I felt there was really a dissonance like people feel this is all such a relaxing business and a beautiful business, but behind-the-scenes it’s a business and you have day-to-day pressure, cost, staff to manage. And it’s like any other business, you have financial pressure and you want to really keep your business afloat, you want your business to do well, so the stress is real.

[MICHELLE] (10:01)

Oh, yeah. I just remember this, that for a while you managed that spa from halfway around the world. Did you manage the spa in Beijing from Istanbul for a while?

[MAIKA] (10:13)

Yes, and before that from Thailand. So I had set the spa to, I mean, a lot of people think if you have a brick and mortar business, you have to always be in the business and I don’t believe that’s true. If you streamline and really delegate well it can work and at least for a certain time. I was in a place where I was planning to leave China and basically go to the next chapter. For me, it didn’t make sense to open more franchises. This was not part of my identity and goal. So in order to do this, I identified what I need to outsource, delegate, automate, and to test being away to see if it worked. I had to be away physically. So I went to Thailand and I really loved Thailand, so I took massage classes and then I became a digital nomad and I realized that this is the best thing I did for the business because then people on the field, they grow and they take new roles. After this, when it was on autopilot, then I was able to move to Turkey and everything went smoothly. I was able to then find a buyer to take over the business, everything was, had processes and everything was organized. She was really happy that she didn’t need to put a lot of input in the business. It was self-sustainable.

[MICHELLE] (11:50)

I think that is a new concept for a lot of people that just because you own a brick-and-mortar business doesn’t mean that you have to be in there every single day. It doesn’t mean that it has to be micromanaged, but delegating is really, really hard for people who, especially people who start out as solopreneurs, I think. Is that something that you help people with?

[MAIKA] (12:14)

Yes. I do see that delegating is a big milestone in the life of a business owner because we’re, we want things to be in a certain way, and we’re used to a certain way. We feel like we waste energy teaching somebody to do something. I feel that that’s the price to pay for your own freedom. Otherwise, it’s bound to only rely on you being there and if you want more freedom, if you want to focus your energy on growing the business or growing other aspect of the business, I think you have to learn to be okay that things will be different in my, it doesn’t mean it’s worser, it is just different. But a business needs to be able to work without you in it also, and if you’re working with staff, the employees also need to feel that you trust them for that.

[MICHELLE] (13:12)

Most of my audience are acupuncturists and we are very enamored of our patients and our role as acupuncturists. It’s really hard for a lot of us to visualize stepping back, whether that means hiring another acupuncturist and sharing our patients with them or funneling the new patients towards them. I’m sure that you work with a lot of other hands-on wellness practitioners, and I’m curious, like, what advice do you give them to help make that transition if it’s what they really want, if they feel like they need a little bit more freedom from their location or just not being in the building every single day of the week?

[MAIKA] (14:01)

I think if it’s what they are okay, as you say, with sharing the patients and the fact that the patients, we want them to come because they trust the establishment and the reputation and the processes, then I would focus really in building your craft in a way that is something that another person could do the same processes. It’s like in the spa actually, each therapist have their own way and style, but there is definitely a cocoon signature method that people come to and no matter who will be the therapist, they will feel the tender loving care. At the end of the day, if we’re able to deliver that to the patients, it’s beautiful because that means you can serve even more people. More people can come benefit from your craft, your processes, your tender loving care, and feel healed when they leave, as opposed to only depending on the time you have. And you can’t always be there. You have, you might be sick sometime when you’re sick. Do you want to share them with a strange business, another business, a stranger? Probably you would prefer them to still be able to come to your establishment, to your practice and have a trusted team member, a collaborator, be able to deliver the treatment.

[MICHELLE] (15:41)

I love that idea of having something about the treatments or the entire experience at your office, be a signature of what you offer. It sounds like setting up systems and getting streamlined in that way and being really clear about like what needs to be included or the different steps in the process. It sounds like that is really important in the way that you coach people to build their businesses and to bring on extra staff to help them.

[MAIKA] (16:14)

Yes, because I really believe in, to me, when we leave a legacy, that means, when we go away from this life, maybe it’s in 50 years, but maybe it’s in a week, we don’t know, but I would feel better knowing that people are still being taken care of and things will be okay. It doesn’t all rely on my shoulders. Part of what gives me a sign that a business is sustainable is really when people come, but they don’t even know, they don’t know the owner. Maybe they heard of it as a story or a legend, but they really trust the brand. They trust the, it could be anybody in the business, this therapist or another therapist. They trust basically the company. That’s really important I think, in sustainability, longevity of what we’re building, which is a legacy.

[MICHELLE] (17:18)

I love that you take that legacy approach. I always think about my acupuncture practice as if it’s never going to go away, like it’s always going to exist in the community and provide a service. But I don’t know if I’ve ever actually thought about that in a very practical sense. Like, if I want that to be true and I want it to outlive me, like what would I have to put in place to make that a reality. I’m sure that’s many, multi-layered and takes time to decide, but I love the, it’s almost like planning with the end in mind, what is my ultimate goal for this business, and how am I going to work backwards from there? If I want to leave a legacy, I should probably start thinking about it now if that’s the type of legacy I want to leave.

[MAIKA] (18:07)

Yeah, and if that’s happened that way, I’m already picturing maybe, maybe when you’re 80 or 90 and you hear about patients saying they went to your practice, they got treated and it was really wonderful, they’re so thankful, I feel that’s a beautiful image actually.

[MICHELLE] (18:31)

I’m sure lots of our listeners can also easily imagine how amazing that would feel. It definitely makes my heart feel warm and fuzzy to think about contributing to the community in that way for such a length of time.

[MAIKA] (18:47)

I also want to say it doesn’t have to be like this for everybody. I know that some business owners, when they’re ready to end their career, they’re not going to resell their business. They don’t want another person to take over and they just want to close the business and I respect that too.

[MICHELLE] (19:06)

Yeah, it depends on so many factors, but in some cases, I’ve known acupuncturists who just knew that it was time and they didn’t want it to be complicated. It is, unfortunately, I feel like at least in the US it’s notoriously difficult to sell an acupuncture practice, although I just spoke to a friend of mine who did it out in Washington. So it can be done and I encourage anyone who’s thinking about it not to give up on that idea if it’s what they want, but yeah, I’ve known people who just felt really deeply satisfied to retire and close up shop and have it be a nice process on its own.

[MAIKA] (19:50)

Yes.

[MICHELLE] (19:51)

You know, even if your business doesn’t outlive you, the legacy is still there because you took care of people when they needed it, and that had an impact on their life at the time and that leads on with them.

[MAIKA] (20:04)

Yes. I do believe that in the lifetime that we have, if the business is for that lifetime, it still has its ripple effect through the clients, the patients and their families. So it’s really, I think, an individual choice to decide whether we want the business to outlive us or we just want it to be for now and to us, that’s the right thing.

[MICHELLE] (20:29)

Yeah. I know that you often talk about how social media is not necessary to find new clients. I would love to talk about this because I have this internal struggle or love hate relationship with Instagram in that I really enjoy Instagram. I think it can be a really fun platform, but I also think that content creation can be a bit of a beast. And I know so many acupuncturists who they want to capitalize on the power of social media, but they’re just busy enough that regular content creation, it feels a little tough. So sometimes it’s nice to hear someone say that there are alternatives. because I know there’s acupuncturists out there who are, their interest in social media is like negative 10%, like, not at all. I’d love to know, what do you recommend instead or what does that look like for you and your clients?

[MAIKA] (21:29)

I feel that what I want to recommend, I think that’s where we align, Michelle, because I see that you also create a lot of evergreen content. Again, this brings back to the question of what do I want? What do I want that will outlive me? I’m always bringing back this question, and I feel that when you look at Instagram, for example, or the piece of content on the feed, it’s going to last 24 hours. I feel that we spend so much time crafting this post, but in the end, it’s so ephemeral. And we also start to think like, we start to have Instagram brains because we want to, we think of those captions and I really feel alienated when I feel that, and in my values, I feel like the evergreen type of content such as a more podcast or even a video or a blog post feels more aligned.

(22:29)

I feel that it’s, if social media is like the highway, the evergreen type of content feel more like the long prominent, like a quiet walk on the side, and a person who is going to really take the time to listen, for example, for a 30-minutes podcast or to read an article, is going to be more present than somebody who’s going to just browse Instagram and consume content. I think the mindset is different. I do enjoy social media. I mean, I love Instagram, but I feel the necessity to take regular sabbaticals just to reset and remind myself that this is one touch point, but it should not be my entire focus. Or even it should not be the marketing for my business, and it’s not a least one that brings me the most, the deepest point of joy. I would say it gives me joy in the moment, maybe for 24 hours, but if I have a impact from a newsletter, I feel this is a more sustainable and more nourishing satisfaction.

[MICHELLE] (23:52)

I love your analogy of social media as a highway, fast-paced, things are happening so quick, they zoom by you and then they’re gone versus deeper, longer form content like an article or a podcast episode being like a nice relaxing walk. I do think that it’s a different level of engagement. As you said, if someone’s willing to say and listen to a podcast episode, they’re more invested, at least in a different way. And I do think it’s nice to shine a light on a new podcast episode on Instagram so that they know like, hey, this is here for you, but they do have to take that leap. They have to actually make the effort to click through and end up on the podcast episode. I love that idea that it’s a deeper engagement once you get them to that point. They’re spending much more time with you. They get to know you a lot better in a deeper way.

[MAIKA] (24:55)

Yes, definitely. I think there is the depth of the connection, and if somebody respond to that, it’s really gratifying I feel, if somebody says I listened to your podcast and I really appreciated the content.

[MICHELLE] (25:09)

Yeah. Random fact, my mom mentioned recently that she was listening to one of my podcasts and she just really enjoyed the guest that I had on and I was like, “You listen to my podcast? I had no idea.” She was like, “Yeah sometimes I’m on your email list, I see them come through.” And you’re right, it was such a surprising, deep satisfaction. I was touched. I’m like, “Oh my God, you listen to me talk in real life all the time and you also listen to the podcast. That’s so nice.”

[MAIKA] (25:41)

That’s really nice. I think of that too, is how our loved ones would be able to connect with us through this content. For example, I believe when, at the end of our life, maybe Instagram will be shut down because I don’t know, Meta will not keep empty, I mean a dead account. We have no control over this. And I don’t think our family would go back in our feed and try to connect with us, but I do feel they may listen to the podcast and feel like they’re close to us.

[MICHELLE] (26:15)

That’s like a whole new level of leaving a legacy behind. And because it also challenges you to show up really authentically in that content when you think of it as a legacy, because you do want it to represent not only whatever you are trying to sell or promote for your business, but who you are as a person so that when people return to it actually feels like it represents you or who you were at that time.

[MAIKA] (26:47)

Yes, and if this brings a bright spot to their day, I feel like we’ve reached our mission. I think they can listen and this was a little helpful or brought a bright spot, then it makes it so much meaningful here.

[MICHELLE] (27:02)

Yeah. Is part of what you are teaching your clients about showing up with that authenticity? I mean, it must be because you’re starting with their values and then leading them towards gearing their marketing around who they really are and what’s important to them.

[MAIKA] (27:22)

Exactly. Now, I have a group curriculum-based group program, and we start really with the vision, the core values, our identity. We create this compass and we use that to define timeless marketing strategies, those that align with our values and honor our identity. So it’s an approach that I’ve started to build and cultivate and it’s really, I feel, yeah, it feels really aligned with who I am and the teacher in me, and the coach in me. I feel like I’ve merged the business aspect and the coach in me.

[MICHELLE] (28:08)

I was signed up for that online free class that you offered recently, and it was wonderful so I know the compass that you’re talking about and your class was wonderful. The worksheets and everything were super

[MAIKA] (28:24)

Thank you.

[MICHELLE] (28:25)

If you’re hosting that again, we can definitely include the link. I think people would love to experience your style. I have one more question that I ask everybody at the end, and that is, what is your definition of success?

[MAIKA] (28:42)

I love this question because this is what we explore when we are doing this wheel, this compass. This is where we realize that the end of the wheel, that success is so different to every person. In my will, success means that I am honoring my value of motherhood while pursuing my professional goals, my professional purpose. I feel that those two identities to me are really interconnected. I feel like I’m a better mother when I have also fulfilled my purpose of being a coach and a business educator. And on the other side, I also feel that in my approach of business, I really want people, I mean the entrepreneurs to be able to lead their business without sacrificing their personal values and their lives. So to me, success is really when you’re able to fulfill your purpose without sacrificing the other areas that are important to you and to me, that’s motherhood, family, community, wellbeing, self-care.

[MICHELLE] (29:55)

Thank you so much for sharing and for being here today.

[MAIKA] (29:59)

Thank you so much.

[MICHELLE] (30:01)

Where can we follow you online? I know you’re on Instagram.

[MAIKA] (30:06)

I’m on Instagram, although this month I’m on a sabbatical, but I am regularly active when I am out of my sabbatical at my condo. My website, maikaendo.co, you’ll find, there are freebies, and you’ll know about the free training in our next launch and then my podcast Business Clarity, where you’ll be invited next week.

[MICHELLE] (30:31)

Yay, I cannot wait.

[MAIKA] (30:34)

Yes, me too.

[MICHELLE] (30:35)

Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. This is wonderful. It’s super to talk to you after so many years of following along with you. So I really appreciate it.

[MAIKA] (30:46)

Thank you so much. I’m so glad we’re connected after all these years, and yes, I look forward to our next interview.