Exploring the intersection of Conscious business and personal growth with a visionary leader
Jasmina Stojanović stands at the forefront of conscious business, combining her expertise in design, marketing, and holistic practices to redefine success. As a co-founder of the slow-living web portal and former editor of Sensa magazine, her career is a testament to purpose-driven innovation. Our interview explores the unique perspectives and experiences that shape her approach to business and personal growth.
You have a rich career behind you that has shaped the work you are doing today, can you tell us about the biggest successes in your career so far and what is the focus of your business now?
I wouldn’t be trustworthy with what I want to talk about today, which is conscious business and economy of purpose if I didn’t ask the question at the beginning of this conversation – what is success? If we talk about the success that was most visible from the outside and measurable by the scales and standards of the public, then I will proudly point out the companies where I worked and the magazines and projects that I led: “Sensa” magazine, as the first mindstyle holistic magazine in the region, which became leader of new (pro)thinking and built a whole new set of thinking and holistic business within the former Adria Media Group, and today Wireless Media. Then “Original magazine” of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, in which I was the project and editorial manager and within which we organized educational conferences “Dare to be Original” in Novi Sad 2019, “Original Conversations” 2020, the event “Original City” 2020, webinars, podcasts, “Masterclass” trainings dedicated to young people and entrepreneurs, “School for Entrepreneurs” as support for small businesses during the pandemic. As an editorial manager, I did exclusive interviews and covers with world-famous personalities, coaches, and scientists, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Vishen Lakhiani, Marie Forleo, Tara Morh, Gregg Braden, James Clear, Sadhguru.
If we look at success as the courage to step out and do something of your own, then I can say that I am a happy entrepreneur who celebrates almost seven years of independent business in design, marketing, consulting, event organization, coaching, translating of books (15), influencer marketing, with numerous smaller and larger clients within various projects, including Exit, Novaston, Ada Mall, Rajićeva, Stop Shop, CCC shoes and bags, Glam up & Folklore, Glovo, dm drogerie, Donkafe, Jahorina ski resort, Ski resorts of Serbia, Rosa Homolje, BeanZ, AVA shopping park, Stop Shop, Idea. I am the co-creator of the slow living&loving web portal to Self, www.vremeza.com, and the co-founder of the “momentUm publishing” edition with the Finesa publishing house, I published my book “Happiness as the Development of Consciousness” and am developing its brand extensions and projects.
Most of all, I like to see my success through the quality of my life – which is to be the master of my time, decisions, and income, to educate myself, improve myself, to be able to travel and meet different cultures, acquire ancient knowledge, and develop my inner-energy world. And above all – to feel good. That’s why today I focus on purpose – something that many people in their lives don’t know what to do, because of which they feel empty and unfulfilled, something they are searching for and something without which even the businesses of the future will not survive.
Running an organization without decisively highlighting a purpose for employees and customers is like running an organization in the early 1990s and not implementing technology
As a result of your work, this year you are launching the original training program “Conscious Business and Economy of Purpose – (C.B.E.P) S.B.E.S. Could you tell us more about it?
Much like technology decades ago, purpose has now become a business imperative. In today’s world, running an organization without decisively highlighting a purpose for employees and customers is like running an organization in the early 1990s and not implementing technology. The purpose economy is emerging and is defined by the desire for people to have more drive in their lives. The creation of economic value is centered on enabling purposeful self-expression for employees and customers – through meeting needs greater than their own, enabling personal growth and community building. Today, 85% of companies driven by the purpose economy show positive growth. The figure drops to just 42% when looking at companies that don’t consider purpose, says Aaron Hurst, an expert on the purpose economy.
In addition to the fact that the purpose will be increasingly the focus of companies to survive, one of the reasons for the development of this program is that when working with clients within the agency and consulting and coaching 1-1, I saw that most of them have the same fears, doubts, blockages, insecurities and areas they do not know and in which they think in advance that they will not be good. Not every entrepreneur can be and does not need to be a designer, a digital media strategist, a marketing expert, or an excellent writer (although this is increasingly expected). Still, it will certainly help him to understand what he and the business he wants to develop need, through getting to know those skills.
This is focused on business, but managing your own life and finances is also business. I have been getting the same questions and inquiries for consulting for years, and I realized that it is very important to teach people how to think, direct themselves, how to design their actions in business, how to approach the organization, how to recognize co-workers, etc. In the beginning, entrepreneurship is both SOULpreneurship and SOLOpreneurship. Every manager in every company has the same challenges for their department as someone just starting their job – the processes are very similar, all the way to the top and the CEO.
What sets this program apart from others currently available on the market, makes you stand out, and what is the added value you will offer to those interested?
In this program, I combined spirituality and materialism. I have seen from working with people and from personal experience that our businesses and careers develop as quickly and successfully as there are no blockages in us to (self)sabotage us, among other things. However, I witnessed great successes and careers that brought people to the status of millionaires, but at the same time I made sure that they were still not happy and satisfied, and then I asked myself – what is it that makes us fulfilled?
This world is not either-or, everything is one and when we look at it, when we look at ourselves as a whole, and when we simultaneously work and develop both fields – then we are satisfied
In addition to experience and work in companies and systems and with large clients, I went through a series of holistic-energy trainings: I am an NLP Master, ICI coach, reconnective healing practitioner, Points of You facilitator, WingWave coach, Access the Bars practitioner. I completed the “Autogenic training”, “Emotional Gates”, and “TRE” exercise program for stress relief, among many others. I spent a week at the Buddhist Shaolin Monastery living with warrior monks and learning from Shi Heng Yi, who is the 35th generation head of the monastery, ancient skills that have been passed down for 1500 years. I went through the education and initiation of Q’ero shamans from the Andes, who are the last descendants of the Inca tribe, and the training of Dr. Alberto Villoldo, an anthropologist and physician. I finished the “Awakened Life” seminar by Dr. Deepak Chopra, living in Zurich, learning about consciousness and awareness. All this knowledge about energy, subtle ways of functioning of our body, and shaping of reality, helped me to successfully go through very difficult and challenging moments in my life, to help many clients build successful careers, and to shape business according to my measure.
People have a habit of separating these two things and of viewing things and the world in dualities and opposites: either materially or spiritually. Either business or healing. Either atheism or religion. And this world is not either-or, everything is one and when we look at it, when we look at ourselves as a whole, and when we simultaneously work and develop both fields – then we are satisfied. We have rich people who are unhappy despite everything, and we have poor people who are happy despite everything. I made sure that we can work on not being either-or, but both. And awareness and purpose play a key role in that.
Could you tell us about your plans for future projects?
In the last year, I have started many things – from the co-publishing edition “momentUm”, the publication of the book “Happiness as the Development of Consciousness” and the “Game of Consciousness on the Scarf”, which was created based on the chapters of the book, now the training program “Conscious Business and Economy of Purpose – (C.B.E.P) S.B.E.S.”, I organized promotions in the cities of Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia, gatherings within the framework of #VremeZa portals SOFRA and SOLASTA to return life and beauty to reality instead of being constantly in the digital world – this year I would like to watch what I planted grow and nurture it carefully so that it brings even more beauty. I learned the concept of AYNI from the Andean tribe Q’ero, it is their word for reciprocity and means “today for you, tomorrow for me”. It’s about lifting each other to higher levels so that everyone grows. It’s about sharing, so everyone has what they need. It is about sharing knowledge and wisdom, so humanity grows and harmony strengthens. They think about the whole world, the community, and finally individuals. If everyone is well and if the whole world is well – then I will be well, naturally. But I can’t just be fine if nothing works for me. The education I create will be part of my author’s work “AYNI System for Acquiring Knowledge and Skills”, with the desire to transfer knowledge so that we approach life and business consciously. That’s the purpose for me.
