We had the good fortune of connecting with Maresa Talbert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maresa, how do you define success?
Initially, I defined success through the accomplishment of the goals that I had set for myself, to include my career path. Then I defined success FOR ME as earning a certain amount of income. Over time, that definition further evolved to enjoying my own autonomy. Once I found my own autonomy, I realized that it wasn’t quite enough. While I had the independence to choose my own working hours or choose how and when I worked, I was unable to take off from work without consequence.

I was exchanging time for money. Because time is finite, so was my income. I was working non-stop, and started to experience burnout. I realized that I could no longer exchange time for money, and I started to take back ownership of my time. Now, my definition of success is health, family, and FREEDOM. The freedom to enjoy life by my standards, and have BOTH the time and the money to enjoy life as I so chose.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Talbert Law Office, APC is the “go-to” legal resource for all things business, nonprofit, and intellectual property law.  Talbert Law Office helps entrepreneurs, founders, and creatives start a business or nonprofit, maintain legal compliance, avoid risks, and protect personal and intellectual property assets through business formations, contracts, and trademark registrations, and more.
Our top three priorities are to:
(1) deliver premier legal services at transparent and affordable rates;
(2) provide culturally-relevant legal education and representation
(3) empower our clients and the community to create their own way, thrive in their purpose, and build legacy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Whew, this is tough because I am a proud homebody!! But if I had to host my bestie for one week in San Diego, my itinerary would look something like this:
(1) Sunday, my friend just flew into town, and we’re going to Rhythm’s Chicken and Waffles in PB, and then going home to relax.
(2) Monday, I’m cooking breakfast, then it’s a spa day at Spa Kingston in Banker’s Hill. We have lunch at Louisiana Purchase in North Park, and dinner at Stacked, Fashion Valley Mall (thank goodness, it’s back open!)
(3) Tuesday, I’m cooking breakfast again, maybe there’s a professional networking event happening, or it’s just a lazy day for us. We’ll order takeout from Maggie’s Cafe in Kearny Mesa, and watch movies.
(4) Wednesday, I’m cooking breakfast (you see the theme here?), and then we’re going to take a drive to Southeast San Diego, where we can view the beautiful scenes of the City from Skyline and Paradise Hills. But we can’t take up too much time, because we must grab some of San Diego’s BEST BBQ from Coops West Texas BBQ in Lemon Grove before they close at 3pm.
(5) Thursday, you guessed it! I’m cooking breakfast, and then we’re hanging out at La Jolla Cove. We’ll end our day with late lunch/early dinner at Eddie V’s.
(6) Friday: Yes, I’m cooking breakfast again. We might do a day of (window) shopping at Fashion Valley Mall or Carlsbad Outlets, and go to happy hour at Sip Wine and Beer, and then grab dinner at Humphrey’s on Shelter Island.
(7) Saturday: Last day — let’s do brunch at Parkhouse Eatery in University Heights, and we’ll close out the week with a Hornblower Cruise Sunset Dinner.
(8) Sunday: Time for my friend to fly back home! It was a great week! Let’s do it again soon!

As you can tell, I like to EAT! But after all of that, I need another week to recover.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

First and foremost, I thank God! God has truly directed my paths to allow me to occupy this space at this moment. I have to thank my husband, who has held me down through the uncertainties of my entrepreneurial journey, and my mother, who is just my ultimate role model.

I have to thank my mentors who were there in the beginning and encouraged me to take this leap of faith — those people include Judge Michael Washington, Doug Lytle, Johanna Schiavoni, the late Dr. Willie Blair, and so many others.

I’m so grateful to my community and the organizations that are doing the real work to make our city, state, and country better, and have truly supported me throughout my entire journey. Those organizations include the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, BAPAC San Diego, and San Diegans for Justice, among others.

The honorable mentions are not exhaustive, by far!! But my shoutout is dedicated to MY community, MY people — you know who you are!! Thank you for trusting me to serve you!

Website: www.talbertlawoffice.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/maresatalbert/

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