Wellness Magazine Seeks Investment with Kelle Sparta Episode - 553

I love getting my fingers into a new business and being able to dig in and see what's going on in it and find the optimal path and find the places where things are stuck and find the places where systems are missing and find the places where there are creative ideas that could expand and break the box, right? Disruptors. And I love that.

Great. Are you an overachiever struggling to find balance? This episode reveals the business model and partnership that allowed one coach to shift from spiritual transformation to tangible media ownership. Welcome to Streams to Impact, brought to you by Steve Tucker Capital. I'm your host, Dr. Allen. There comes a moment in every high achiever's life when success feels less like freedom and more like a gilded cage where every bonus, every raise, every hour of mastery seems to feel Like it's feeding the IRS more than it feeds your dreams. But there's another way, a path the ultra-wealthy have quietly taken for decades, where money works as hard for them as you work to earn yours. It's time that you rode into the open range where your wealth runs free, your taxes shrink, and your purpose expands. Beyond the Paycheck is the Financial Clarity Compass, an instructional masterclass by Dr. Allen, psychology professor and investment counselor. The private educational experience is our gift to you. To claim your gift, go to www.go.stetucker.com/beyond-paycheck. Now, take a deep breath and let's ride together into today's conversation. Before that, we do that, just one brief disclaimer. All information shared on Streams to Impact is for educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. All investments incur risk. You should not invest if you're not prepared to lose 100% of your investment, and you are always encouraged to consult your legal, accounting, and tax advisors before making an investment. What do you get when you combine a spiritual business coach, a transformational shaman, a bestselling author, And the co-author of a major media brand? Well, you get Kelly Sparta. Kelly is a top 2% podcaster and the author of The Overachiever's Guide to Spiritual Awakening. She joins us today as the co-owner of Mind Body Soul Magazine, a venture that allows her to strategically blend her spiritual expertise with sharp business expansion. She is here on Streams to Impact to share the unique business model of her latest acquisition, the power of her business partnership, and why she is currently seeking funding to scale this transformative media platform.

Kelly, I am so delighted to have you back with me here today, and I am looking forward to hearing all about this new endeavor that you have transitioned into. It's exciting to me in 2 ways. I know the person on the other end of this transaction, And I know you, and I had no idea this was going on. And so I want to hear all about it. So tell us all about Mind Body Soul magazine.

Yeah, so Mind Body Soul magazine has been around for about 4 years, and you had connected Stacy and I for a completely different reason. And Stacy— it became clear to me that Stacy really wanted to sell the magazine because she was fried. Right. And that's, that's what happens when you do solopreneur things. And then you, you know, you, you have a few staff here and there, but you don't have quite enough people usually. And that happens to a lot of people. And I work with a lot of people who do that because, you know, I do business coaching. Right. So, and, you know, I was— we were just being friends initially and I was just helping her out, being like, well, here's a suggestion here. There's a suggestion. And she was like, oh, I love these ideas, blah, blah, blah. And then she was like, I was tired. I just want to sell it. I was like, well, I said, uh, okay, I, I run a business. Um, so, you know, maybe, you know, and I was just like, well, you know, I'll— if I hear of anybody, I'll let you know. And in the meantime, and I love how spirit brings everything together, right? Because it's just how it works. In the meantime, uh, random guy reaches out to me on LinkedIn. And he runs an advertising agency. And I'm like, I don't usually talk to these people because they just want my money, you know? Like, I'm not wasting my time, right? Um, and, uh, but I was like, I, I felt compelled to meet with him.

Mm-hmm.

And I was like, uh, okay, whatever, whatever, right? And so we had our meeting and it was non-surprising. I mean, he didn't try to sell me. We were networking, but, uh, I was just like, I don't know why I'm having this conversation. And he's like, I don't know why I'm having this conversation. He's like, I just knew I had to take this call. He said, I don't know why I'm here. And I'm like, me neither. So clearly there's a reason we're here because we were both compelled to take the meeting. And he's like, yeah. And I said, well, I said, uh, the only thing we haven't talked about is the fact that, you know, a few years back, I did a year-long program on buying businesses and I was looking to buy businesses. And, and, uh, and he went, that's in my goal for this year. And I was like, ah, okay, so let's talk. Right. And as it turns out, he, uh, was, uh, he had previously, uh, published magazines, uh, in, in with a similar sort of business model to Stacy's. Mind Body Soul magazine. And, uh, and it— so, and he ran an ad agency so he could do all the tech side, which I can do but I don't prefer to do. And, you know, I'm like the numbers girl and I'm, I'm good at the, the backend systems and things like that and, and, you know, motivating the troops and, and things along those lines. And so the two of us started talking about what we might want to do together. And, you know, this is a completely different conversation from Stacy. I had not considered Stacy's business, but we were just like, okay, so what would we like to get and where do we want to go? And, you know, we formed a partnership agreement and we put together, you know, all of the contracts in regard to that and how things would fly and got to know each other because, you know, a business partnership is a marriage and you got to make sure you guys get along. Right.

Mm-hmm.

And so we, we did all of that and then You know, Stacy and I were talking randomly, I don't know, a month or two later. And she was like, you know, I still really want to sell this business. And I was like, let me, let me talk to somebody. And I called him up and I was like, what do you think? And he's like, well, maybe. And I was like, okay. And so we, we came in and we bought the magazine from Stacy. And so the magazine's really cool. It is a 100-page, uh, high glossy, you know, super luxe magazine that's targeted to, uh, the 40 to 60-year-old affluent women who spend money on health and wellness. Right. And so the magazine is, uh, it's targeted in that way and we have The business model is advertorials, right? And so people buy either, you know, resource sections or there's 2-page spreads, there's covers, whatever. And that's the business model for that. And it gets distributed right now in Aspen, Telluride, Vail, and San Diego County. And that's in physical form. there's 2,000 copies that go out in each of those. And those, of course, get passed along to other people because that's how magazines work. And so, you know, the, the run rate is pretty high. And so, um, in addition to that, what we've added that Stacy didn't have— she wanted to do, but she didn't have the, the ability to do anything else—

Right.

Was, uh, we've added an entirely fully functional website. And so that the, the, not only are you getting the advertorials in the magazine and the print, but you also get online presence with the marketing for that. And so that's the other piece that he and I have been working on. We, we put the magazine on pause for us to really just get all the backend systems up and to get everything moving and so on and to get all of the, the website and whatnot. Working. And now we're at the point where we're like, okay, time to, to get things rolling again. And so we didn't do the September or the summer issue, but we're looking to publish winter. So that's where we are.

Well, it's a beautiful magazine. I had seen it through Stacy, and it really is just a phenomenally beautiful, beautiful magazine.

Yeah, she did a really good job.

Yeah, yeah, she really did. And, and the way she, you know, the, the CoverGirl idea that she has, which is, you know, focusing upon a health entrepreneur in some way, shape, or form, it's just a beautiful model. I've always thought so. I'm sure it's just going to be wonderfully successful. And taking it online, that really does add Quite a dimension to it, particularly much more interesting for advertisers. Yeah, I'm sure they'll just get a much broader reach this way.

Yeah, and we're working on getting all the back issues installed on the website as well, so that'll help increase SEO and, and all the fun things there. So yeah, we're in the process of getting a lot of things done that are gonna really amp things up.

Yeah, well, you talked about the basic business model is that of advertising. That's where the revenue comes from. But Stacy had a— I don't know, I don't think she called it a franchise model, but it was similar to that. Are you going to continue that?

No, no. Having talked to Stacy about it, it seemed like it was more work than it was worth. And trying to teach somebody to do what you're doing is much harder than doing it yourself. So, you know, we're, we're looking more at, uh, the, the expansion process that we're looking at is, uh, currently there is a single center of the magazine and then we just change the covers for the different locations. Um, but we will, the, the goal is initially to make 4 separate magazines for the 4 different locations or maybe 2 since Aspen Vale and Telluride are very close to each other. We might do one there and one in San Diego first.

Mm-hmm.

And then eventually we'll expand expand to other high-market locations, you know, affluent market locations, and then expand, you know, create a new magazine unique to each of those locations. And people can buy into one location or multiple locations and things like that. So that's going to be the, the, the plan. And we're also looking to expand distribution.

Mm-hmm.

So, you know, we want to get into like the high-end hotels and have that at the concierge desk, maybe even in the rooms, go into country clubs and private airline waiting spaces, the, you know, the lounges and things like that so that we can reach the clientele better, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Where is it being distributed now?

Aspen Vale, Telluride, and San Diego.

But I meant actually reaching out to the clientele.

Oh, they're, they have, they have different, uh, drop points in different locations in each of those locations that she's already got laid out. And so they're, they're, they're just in different places in, in, in the areas. It's different for each town.

So just, just in public places, in public places. Yeah.

Yeah. Because they're, they're affluent towns. So, you know, Pretty much most of the people walking by are affluent. So we can get a little more granular when we get into larger cities and things like that.

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, you talked a little bit about you and your partner, but give us a little bit more background on you in terms of what you do, in terms of your, your spiritual coaching and and shaman transformation work, and how does this really come together with, with your new partner? And, and tell us a little bit about who he is.

Yeah, so, so for me, I am a spiritual business coach, and I have been in business for 38 years. And so I have a background— I've been online marketing since 2004, so what, 21 years now? Yeah, built my first site on Yahoo Site Builder. Yay. But I also conceived of the, you know, a very early version of an LMS system, learning management system. In 2005, I had one custom built the minute that the MP3s came out. I was selling to real estate agents back then and I was training and I was like, MP3s. I want to be able to run my class online. I want people to download stuff and be able to take it with them, an MP3. And I had, uh, I hired somebody to custom build an LMS system for me back in 2005 because I saw that that's where it was going, right? This is my curse and my benefit is that I'm about 10 years ahead of my time. I'm like, I'm, I'm implementing things that I conceived of 10 years ago now because now they're available right now. There's the technology to do them. But yeah, so the, uh, uh, and so my background is in a lot of, you know, the business side of things, the spiritual side of things, right? So I do a lot of mindset work, uh, with high-end entrepreneurs. That's what I do. Um, and, uh, and so this is a natural outcropping, right? Because I'm going to be writing a column for the magazine.

Mm-hmm.

And I'll be looking at the editorial stuff, uh, until we have an editor on staff, right? So I'll be doing that. Um, Kenneth, on the other hand, so Kenneth Lord is my business partner and he is a, um, as I said, he owns a marketing agency and he used to own a magazine with a similar model where it was a free magazine that is given away to the public and makes its revenue off of advertising. So he has background in exactly what we're doing.

Mm-hmm.

And so, uh, and he has, he, he has the mindset. It's not, it's not just a business for him. He is into the wellness and the health and the, all of that, right? Very, very spiritual kind of guy in terms of, you know, he's, he's more on the Christian side of things and I'm more on the, the spirituality side of things, but very heart-centered, very, you know, values-based person. Right. And so it's a really good match for us. And the longer we work together, the more we're like, wow, this is really good. We like this. You know, it's like, I can't do this. Okay, I'll do it. I don't want to do that. Okay, I'll do it. You know, it's a really good partnership. I'm super happy with it, which, you know, for a random person on the internet that spirit sent you to, it's like, hey, you can't complain about that, right? So yeah, and so between the two of us, our skill sets are super aligned, right?

They—

we fill in each other's gaps.

Well, that kind of synchronicity is— it just feels so good when it happens, and, and you just, you know, it's just right. And you can't always explain, but you just know it, it's the right thing.

Absolutely.

That's the thing about spirit, isn't it?

It is.

Well, you've given us a little bit of an understanding what your plans are in terms of improvement on the business. And I mean, that was kind of from a structural kind of marketing kind of thing, but tell us what your vision for that From that health and wellness and spiritual perspective?

For the magazine?

Yeah, for the magazine. Okay.

Yeah, so, you know, the vision that we have— we're actually currently seeking an investor for the business. We need to hire in some sales staff, and so once we have some salespeople in the door, we have The, uh, the, you know, the business will fund itself from there, right? So we just need to bring in sales staff and have some reserves in the back. So our current goal is to bring on about $250,000 worth of investment money, and that will give us a really nice cushion and the ability to hire on sales staff and get things going. So that's the initial run. And then from there, We're really looking to expand the brand. So, uh, there's a magazine called Modern Luxury, which is, uh, not exactly the same, but it's adjacent, right? And we look at that one and it's, it's going gangbusters. It's got a ton of, of magazines that they put out. They, they do multiple different types of magazines, whole publishing arm of things and things like that. So, um, and so, you know, that's the model that we're looking at. Mm-hmm. And we're saying, you know, this makes a lot of sense to us and to just expand to different markets in a sane pace, right? I see people and they try to grow too fast and I'm like, no, no, no, we got to work out every little kink in one and then we move to the next one and we make the next thing work, right? So eventually I'm looking at doing a separate magazine as well on using the exact same model that will be one with a deeper personal growth, spiritual sort of bent, right? Um, and so that'll be one of the offshoots. And then, you know, who knows where the other one will go? Well, we'll wait for that to show up, right? But I'm not doing anything else until we get this one clicking along and, and, you know, going really well because that's, that's a recipe for disaster to do that, right? You want to definitely make sure everything's copacetic before you shift anything. And so one of the things that we did is that, uh, Stacy was doing a lot of the franchising and she went to that model because she was tired. Right. And she's like, oh, get somebody else to do this section and that section. And she was also throwing events as launch parties and things like that.

And we're—

we have cut out the events. We've cut out the franchising. We've brought it back to the core model to make it simple and easy to execute because she was flying all over the place and wearing herself out doing all these different things. And I'm like, They're not necessary. They were just things to make the advertisers happy. We can make the advertisers happy with the website. We're good, right?

Mm-hmm.

So we are really working on how to be as lean and efficient as possible so that it maximizes profits and it keeps the stress levels as low as possible, right? Um, so that it's sustainable so that we are operating internally the same way that we are asking people to operate in the materials that we send them in the magazine, right? It's like we have to be congruent with our own message. And so, that's what we are looking at in terms of that is creating a congruency internally. So, in terms of making sure that nobody's overworked and everybody's in a good place and everybody's financially solvent and happy and that there aren't— we're not like, we're going to pay people what they're worth, right? Not Not the least amount we can possibly pay them. We're looking to run an ethical business that is sustainable on the long, long-term scale, right? So we're not looking to give money away, don't get me wrong, but we're— you can't keep the top talent if you don't pay them what they're worth, right?

Right.

And I want top talent. So—

Well, this, uh, this whole endeavor seems to me, from what I know about, uh, your previous endeavors and the different retreats and coaching and spirituality things that you're doing, it seems to fit really like a glove. When did it really come together for you to go, yeah, this really— this is just a compatible situation with what I'm already doing? How did that all come together?

So I would say it probably came together in like May or June. Um, we, we inked the deal in July. Um, and, uh, so, you know, the, the business just seemed to fall into our laps, right? You know, it was like the partnership fell in, the business fell in. It was kind of like, oh, well, okay, this is what we're doing, right? And so, uh, you know, the, you know, obviously we did our due diligence and we, we did the, the look at the numbers and ran the financials and the whole nine yards because, you know, that's just good business. But, uh, you know, the, the spirit was very clear. It was just like, because Stacy and I meshed and Kenneth and I meshed and, and, you know, everybody just got along and it just was a smooth and easy transition in that regard. So, uh, yeah, it was. It's like a half turn off from what I usually do because it's the health and wellness sector, and I usually do the spirituality and personal growth side. Not that I don't speak fluent health and wellness, I absolutely do. You know, I could talk ad nauseam about it, but it's not what I had been doing in my other side of my business as much. Although I do reference it for my clients, it's just not what I market. Right. Um, and so it just made sense to me to have, uh, this sort of be part of my ecostructure.

Right.

Um, and for Kenneth, it was a, it was a slam dunk for his history and what he knows how to do and, you know, his background and everything. And so I was like, yeah, that's great. Let's just do that. So yeah.

It just sounds, it just really sounds wonderful. And I'm, I'm just so glad it has all come together so well, so interesting, so synchronicity, and that, uh, that it is working.

Yeah, I'm excited actually. Um, I wanna— there's in my column, I want to be writing about stuff that I don't normally talk about. Uh, so I want— I'm, I'm excited about going out and doing research because I want to bring all the latest research for health and wellness into my column. And so, you know, to, to look up the latest studies and to see what the longevity research is, what the health research is, what the— oh yeah, you know, you thought that your— that, that hormone replacement was bad, but that's not true. Here's the new research that says that it's actually better for you and lower risk overall to do it than not to do it. Right. You know, I want to be bringing all that stuff to My audience of readers, and to be able to bring them in and do that, and to help the advertisers craft something that is informational as well as advertising, right? So that they can provide value while they you know interest people in their products and services, right? And to be able to help them nurture that experience, right? And so I'm I'm excited about that. And one of the things that we did when we took over the magazine was we did research and we looked up Reddit and, you know, we're like, okay, what do people like? What do they not like?

Right.

And they love the journaling pages and they love the recipes and they wished things were deeper. And I was like, okay, deep is where I go, right? I live in the depths. So let's go as deep as we want to go. But, you know, I mean, I'm not going to take it super deep because that's not what the model is. But I am going to, I'm going to bring some more depth to the magazine to help people engage at a deeper level. And ultimately the people who want to go even deeper than that will end up in the spiritual magazine that we launch later. Right. So yeah, it's, I'm, I just, I love this. I am, I have been working with entrepreneurs for, oh, probably 20.

20 years.

28 years, something like that. Maybe longer. No, longer since early mid-'90s. I've been working with entrepreneurs. So I don't know, do the math. 30 years.

Ah, okay.

30 years.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, and so I've been working with entrepreneurs for that long. And I just, I love, I love getting my fingers into a new business and being able to, you know, dig in and see what's going on in it and find the optimal path and find the places where things are stuck and find the places where systems are missing and find the places where there are creative ideas that could expand and, you know, break the box, right? You know, disruptors. And I love that. It is my absolute happy place. It is the business version of what I do for interpersonal work. It's like, let's dig into the guts of this thing and clean it all out and get it up and running, right? That's It's just what I do. It's who I am, right? And so, you know, I do that personally with my coaching clients and I go deep into what's going on with them and, you know, help them address their mindset and do all of the inner work necessary in order to be able to step into that new identity and expand their income and expand their happiness factor and their, their lower their stress levels and all of the things, right? You know, overall improvement of life, you know, 10 out of 10, right?

Mm-hmm.

And so, you know, doing that on a business scale, just, it's, it's the same thing to me. It's just different trappings, right?

Well, a wonderful new path, and I'm excited for you and, and glad to hear it has worked out for Stacy as well. Well, that was a powerful look at how to achieve spiritual wealth alongside strategic business growth. And with us today was Kelly Sparta. And we explored the acquisition and unique business model of Mind Body Soul Magazine, the importance of a successful partnership, and the vision for their current funding round. So Kelly, thank you so much for riding with us today. And for everyone listening who wants to connect with Kelly, you can join the mailing list for the Mind Body Soul Magazine, and you can find that at mindbodysoul.media/newsletter. And if you want to broaden your business and you are looking to engage new audiences, please consider becoming an advertiser in the Mind Body Soul magazine. And you can do that by going to mindbodysoul All of that information will also be in our show notes. And before we go, just remember that you can claim your gift from Steve Tucker Capital, the Financial Clarity Compass, an instructional masterclass by me, and it's designed to help you ride into the open range where your wealth works as hard for you as you work to earn it. So claim your private educational experience at www.go.stetucker.com/beyond-paycheck. Thank you so much for being with us today. It's always a delight to be with you, and thank you for riding along with us on Streams to Impact, and we'll see you in the next episode.

Thank you for tuning in to Streams to Impact, brought to you by Steed Talker Capital, a company empowering passionate professionals like you to develop multiple streams of passive income built on solid passive real estate investments. As a significant part of our endeavors to make a cosmic and meaningful impact for this world, Steed Talker Capital contributes significant portions of our profits to activities and organizations committed to better understanding the equine. These endeavors attempt to enhance the treatment of horses worldwide. Steed Talker Capital, working for a world where all creatures great and small flourish abundantly. If you are ready to learn how our passive investors have earned an average 33% annual return on their investments, schedule your complimentary Passive Income to Prideful Impact consultation. Obviously, we cannot continue indefinitely to offer these valuable consultations for free, so grab your passive income to prideful impact consultation while you still can. Go to steedtalker.com/passive.