As a way of honouring women around the world, we celebrate every 8th of March as International Women’s Day and certain parts of the globe regard the whole of March as Women’s Month. In time for this celebration, we feature two wonderful female entrepreneurs who have led their respective lives inspiring others.
It seems like a match made in heaven for mentor Cristina Re, Director at Cristina Re Designs, and mentee Danielle Mastro, Co-founder and Director of Lights, Lights, Lights when EO Melbourne brought them together through the chapter’s Mentorship Program. Cristina and Danielle shared how their connectedness, their roles as women in the family and society, and their entrepreneurial journeys have become instrumental to their mentorship experience like pieces of fabric that create a beautiful tapestry.
EO Melbourne member Danielle Mastro of Lights, Lights, Lights (left) and her mentor Cristina Re of Cristina Re Designs (right) found great inspiration with each other through the Mentorship Program.
The power of human connection
Danielle could still recall their initial mentorship session and realised how timely it was that they were brought together by circumstances. “The thing that was so bewildering for me was that from the first moment I sat in front of Cristina I was quite nervous to meet her because my mum knew who she was, and her brand is so highly regarded in that environment. Yet, within minutes, I found myself divulging all the things that were in my heart because she made me feel like I was in a safe space to do that,” she stated.
“We're both very spiritual and very connected to our backgrounds, our families. Our belief system is very strong, and I think we connected on that before we even really talked about business. And that is what made me feel safe,” Danielle continued.
Cristina reasserted this, “Why Danielle and I connected was very much in talking about our values and our value system. I guess some of the things that I asked Danielle very early on was ‘What do you want? What makes you happy? What's important to you?’ And that comes from a very long journey of starting a business and having certain values.”
Apart from their values and beliefs, another factor that also connected Cristina and Danielle are their similarities and like-mindedness as entrepreneurs. Their conversations have dwelt on life, in general, and also touched on their businesses and strategies, especially that both of them are creative individuals that are into designing. They share the challenges and wins that many business owners experience in the entrepreneurial space. “One thing I mentioned to Cristina that I battled with was the loneliness that sits in being an entrepreneur and a business owner and how difficult it can be to share the highs and lows in this world,” Danielle remarked.
While Danielle recognises the value of having SMART goals and the technical side of running a business, she also finds significance in learning from someone else’s experience. “Some of the best learnings I've had in this relationship thus far have centred around how Cristina has juggled life and work. That has meant us both being open and vulnerable to our real life, not just the life that we let the public or our peers or our colleagues or our team or our customers see.”
Nuggets of wisdom
Listening to Cristina’s stories and insights enabled Danielle to capture several things she learned from their discussions. “After each one of our sessions, I sit in the car and I furiously write down all the things that she doesn't realise she's imparting wisdom when she's talking to me. I have a page of the things that she says, just her quotes because she's very powerful. We'd talk about something and then she'd round it up in one sentence, it blows my mind,” Danielle shared.
Among the many insights that Danielle picked from their conversations is about how staying true to who she is. “Just do what I believe makes me happy,” Danielle quoted Cristina. “Every time I make a decision, I ask myself, ‘Is this going to make me happy? Is this coming from my heart? Am I doing this?’ She said that at our first meeting and reiterated it, probably not even knowingly, every time we talk. It has become my surrendering. That has become my intention this year – surrendering to that idea that my heart needs to be in everything that I do. It's the most powerful gift that Cristina has given me or our chats have given me.”
Women power
For someone who has led her business for many years, Cristina acknowledges her value and strength as a person, a business leader, and a woman. “Over the last few years, I've come to understand the importance of putting myself first – valuing myself, my intuition as a woman, my needs, and my beliefs. I'm very strong about that because I think we have such a strong gut instinct as women. Often, we get swayed by different circumstances, by fear, by negativity. I've gone through that long journey to realise that in the end, it comes back to you and it comes back to believing that you can achieve everything you want to achieve, that you deserve it and that you're worthy. This is a topic very much centred around women. We face a bit more of this issue about feeling worthy, that we can achieve it, we can have it all, and we can be strong, powerful and courageous. I think it's very timely with International Women's Day. Just this year, we've thought about putting that and affirming that even more. It feels good to know that what I say strikes a chord.”
Such thoughts and realisations have helped Cristina moving forward, which she now shares with Danielle. But their relationship as mentor and mentee was not only about Cristina giving a bit of herself and knowledge to Danielle but also about her learning and taking inspiration from Danielle’s story. “Apart from me feeling good when I talk to Danielle, I am also inspired by her. She's an amazing business owner. I’ve heard what she has achieved, her successes, and the way she works with her team. She's a mother, and yet she's continued to be passionate and strong and creative. I know how hard it is running a business, with what we've all gone through, so I think she's amazing,” Cristina declared.
The power of self-love
Danielle was grateful because Cristina has kept her grounded, guiding and assisting her on her entrepreneurial journey. Danielle cited their conversation the day before her company’s strategy day, “I was so stressed because I couldn't figure out what I was going to roll out in less than 24 hours later. Cristina said to me on the phone, something like ‘Sometimes you just need to live a little in between what you're doing and where you want to be. Just soak in a little bit of life and it just comes to you. After I got off the phone, I looked at my daughter and brought her to the park. We had the best day and I didn't do anything. In my head, I was thinking, ‘I'm just parking it, I'm not going to worry.’ That night, I went to a moon ceremony which I go to every full moon and new moon, and I was laying there and meditating. What Cristina said was in my head all day, and that night it just came to me – the whole strategy day was just about doing what we love. It all centred around our heart space. I whipped it up in less than two hours when I got home that night and it was the best strategy day we've ever had,” Danielle said.
For Cristina’s part, she found joy that her words have impacted Danielle. “Danielle just reaffirms it that what I'm saying matters and that I'm coming into my own more and more – about the importance of feeling joy, about feeling the worthiness, about taking time for myself, and about putting myself first. Self-love, self-love, self-love. When you visualise, you attract and create everything that you believe you're worth, and you will bring it towards yourself. So, the more that you step into that power, the more that you feel good about yourself. The more you believe in yourself and not listen to fear, the more greatness you achieve. Then the magic happens. That's what has happened for me in the last six months, and speaking to Danielle has been great because she's part of that magic,” Cristina professed.
This is the magic that happened through mentorship – connecting with people who have recognised their strength and those of others. Are you ready to experience such magic?
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If you’re interested to know more about EO Melbourne’s Mentorship Program, visit this page.