I recently had the opportunity to exclusively interview Best-Selling Author and Keynote Speaker Heather Monahan and ask her ten random facts about herself as well as what advice she would give those wanting to become an Keynote Speaker . I also had the opportunity to find out about her latest project she is currently working on . Check out my interview with Heather below:
Loryn: What is was your least favorite thing about writing Confidence Creator?
Heather: The unknown. I had never written a book before and I was starting over as a rookie. I had been at the top of my career in media as a Chief Revenue Officer and starting over at ground zero in a new industry was intimidating and uncomfortable.
Loyn: What advice would you give to those interested in finding there inner confidence?
Heather: First, you need to get real with yourself. What is your current baseline? you need to ask yourself some tough questions to figure out where you are starting from in order to build the roadmap. It is no different then trying to lose weight or achieve a goal we start at our baseline, set our sights on our goal - get a visual of what success looks like and write it all down. Give ourselves a timeline to get there and record our action steps each day. We need to celebrate the wins and track our progress. Getting an accountability partner to keep you focused helps. I have a free option at my website heathermonahan.com - here is the link to sign up so you don’t have to go it alone https://heathermonahan.com/accountability-partner-sign-up/
Loryn: What advice would you give those interested in becoming a public speaker ?
Heather: I did an entire podcast episode on this topic since I am asked about it so often! You can check out Creating Confidence with Heather Monahan and search for the Kindra Hall episode. There are a number of things you can do but the first step is to start speaking! Speak everywhere and anywhere you can. You need practice to refine your message. You can volunteer for charities or at schools to get going. Then you want to capture video of you speaking so you can create a reel. You will also need a speaker one page and/or kit to highlight the key topics you can address in your talk. Then you need to set a google alert on “speakers wanted” and apply, apply, apply.
Loryn: What is the best advice you've received, and actually put into practices ?
Heather: To pick my head up and look around outside of my small world to see what it is that I really want out of life.
Loryn: What would you tell someone whom is interested in becoming their own boss?
Heather: I would suggest doing it differently than the way I did it. Start slowly on the side, start building a side business even if you are building the infrastructure quietly, you want to get as much done while you are still receiving a paycheck.
Loryn: What is a lesson you've learned since being your own boss?
Heather: I wish I had been more strategic about things when I was still in corporate America. I would have been working to build this quietly on the side while I was still in my CRO position. In fact I could have leveraged that position to help me build quickly. Getting fired left me in a position where I had to jump in without a product or strategy to drive revenue and that was so stressful.
Loryn: What motivate you to start your own podcast?
Heather: I listen to what my audience wants. I get DM’s on social media every day and I was getting requests to show up more and provide more insight into my life and my struggles in business. Then, I started getting requests to launch my own show. I didn’t have the bandwidth as a solo entrepreneur to take that on at the time however I knew it was a big picture goal of mine. After going on the Lady Gang show as a guest, I leveraged the success of that episode to land a meeting with the founder of PodcastOne who eventually offered me my own show.
Loryn: Why would you encourage people to attend conferences ?
Heather: There is nothing like live events! The energy and the connections you make are priceless. Investing in yourself will always be the best investment you can make.
Loryn: What is something you are currently working on ?
Heather: I am currently negotiating my book deal for my second book and it is so exciting! the first time I wrote a book I self-published because speed to market was critical to me. This time I want the expertise and support of a publisher to gain access to more distribution points and direction that I didn’t previously have.
Loryn: What is something people may not know about you?
Heather: I am really funny!!!!!!! :)
Be sure to stay updated with Heather Monahan by checking out her website: https://heathermonahan.com/ . Plus you can connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram under the name Heather Monahan.