Tap into limitless potential with the Social Media Success for Professionals podcast on mastering the art of lead generation on social media! Learn to capture attention and develop client relationships with proven and practical strategies. Plus, Heather will help you grow your brand voice and drive sales with creative content ideas. Listen now for free as we unlock a world full of possibilities!
In this final episode of 2023 for Social Media Success for Professionals, Heather sits down with her wife, Megan, for a special year in review. She reflects on personal and professional growth, successes and plans for the future. Heather shares her newly found “main character energy,” and how it has transformed her outlook. The conversation emphasizes the importance of relationships, connections and finding balance.
This episode is full of gratitude with Heather sharing her journey and valuable insights that have emerged during her best year yet as founder of Holloway Media Services. Tune in for a fun and heartwarming conversation that will inspire you both personally and professionally. Discover how to embrace your authentic self, nurture relationships and achieve growth in your own life.
Don’t miss out on this empowering episode!
Social Media Success for Professionals Talking Points
[0:00] Introduction
- Heather is super excited to welcome her wife Megan to the final episode of Social Media Success for Professionals Year in Review.
- Overall thoughts on the importance of reflecting on accomplishments.
[02:21] Main Character Energy
- Heather shares how she embraced her main character energy in her personal and professional life.
- Take charge of your narrative, embracing growth and fostering relationships.
[06:37] Professional Word of the Year
- 2023 Professional Word of the Year = efficiency
- Heather and her team used efficiency as their guiding principle for this year to better serve clients and accomplish more.
[07:46] Words for 2024
- Personal word/phrase for 2024: willingly give and graciously receive.
- Heather talks about the importance of balancing giving and receiving in her life.
- 2024 professional word of the year to be revealed.
[09:55] Major Accomplishments
- Heather highlights two major accomplishments from this year.
- Heather got to create this podcast with Megan.
- Holloway Media Services doubled the size of its team, which has contributed to Heather’s professional growth and success.
[16:10] Challenges in Finding and Keeping Top Talent
- It’s difficult to find and retain top talent in the marketing industry
- People’s interests and career paths can change, leading to staffing challenges.
- Heather was thankful she quickly found a new team member when needed.
[17:49] Automation and the Role of A.I. in Marketing
- Heather expresses her initial fear and skepticism about automation and A.I. in marketing, believing it could replace the need for marketers.
- Heather has come to realize that A.I. cannot provide strategy and personal authenticity, which are crucial in marketing.
[18:51] Overcoming Obstacles and Embracing Technology
- Heather discusses how they overcame the fear of becoming irrelevant in the marketing industry.
- She emphasizes the importance of embracing technology while still recognizing the need for human expertise and connection.
[20:34] The 2 Lessons Learned in 2023
- The value of building a team and delegating tasks to achieve business growth.
- The significance of always prospecting, fostering relationships, and following up with potential opportunities.
[31:01] Understanding Our Own Realities
- Heather discusses how reading books about different perspectives and realities helped her understand that each person has their own reality.
- She emphasizes the importance of not being easily offended or bothered by others, as everyone’s reality is unique.
[32:08] Niche Down for Success
- Initially resistant, Heather eventually embraced the idea and decided to focus on serving speakers, coaches, consultants, and other professionals.
- She encourages entrepreneurs to find their niche based on their values and expertise.
[35:39] Vision and Belief
- Heather emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision for the future and believing in it.
- She recommends writing down and sharing your vision with others to hold yourself accountable.
- She advises entrepreneurs to balance busyness with quiet time to allow for inspiration and ideas to flow.
[38:39] Show Love to Your Partner
- Heather reminds entrepreneurs to show love and support to their partners.
- She acknowledges the importance of having a strong support system and the impact it can have on personal and professional growth.
[39:29] The Reward of a Strong Team
- Heather expresses her gratitude for her team and highlights them as the most rewarding part of 2023.
- She praises their dedication, care, and ability to support her in pursuing new ventures.
- The team’s support has given her the freedom to explore other opportunities and grow as an individual.
Certifications have been integral to the success of Holloway Media Services this year. To discover more about certifications for your business, please visit the websites below mentioned in this podcast.
WBENC
WOSB
NGLCC
Successful marketing is all about fostering connections. Are you leveraging the full power of your lead magnet to connect with prospective clients? Download 15 Ways to Use Your Lead Magnet to Sell More Services and upgrade your sales strategy today.
Happy posting!
If you’d like to read the entire episode, here is the transcript:
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Welcome to the Social Media Success for Professionals podcast. Hi, I’m Heather Holloway founder of Holloway Media Services former television and radio producer and social media expert. I’ve multiplied my sales using organic social media. And this show is a way for me to share my experiences and guide you on what it takes to grow your business using social media marketing to I’ll cover everything you need to know to leverage social platforms to build your business, practice, or firm and have a steady flow of clients, patients and customers waiting to work with you. I’m diving deep into the marketing vault to bring you the best social media secrets to engage high-paying clients, build trust, and establish yourself as an industry leader. So tune in, take notes and get ready to experience social media success. Well, howdy, everybody.
Welcome back to the final episode of social media success for professionals in 2023. And we’re doing the year-end review. And what’s so special about this episode is my wife was joining me on this episode, and I cannot even believe it, because I’ve only been begging you to co-create on things for 20-plus years. And here we are. Welcome, Meg. Welcome to the show.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Thank you. Longtime listener, first-time caller. I’m so excited to be here. Thank you for this opportunity.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Cool. So here we are. Actually, why are we here?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
I got that. Okay. So, yep, I got invited by your brilliant marketing director, Jacque, because she and your team. Also, incredible folks put together some questions for you. Year-in-review, this has never been done on the podcast. It’s the first hopefully annual, and they put their heads together, which is always a good time, and came up with some inquiries about how last year went, what we’re looking at for the future. And when Jacque floated the idea of me potentially interviewing you, I jumped on it. And can I tell you why?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Please
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
because as your partner, I get to watch you go forward motion through everything. It’s at a running pace all the time. And very rarely do you get to stop and look back and appreciate what you have done, what you’ve created. All the successes, all of that. So that’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to talk about the wins the challenges, what went right, what we’re looking forward to. That’s why we’re here.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Wow, wow, how lucky am I get to work with a fantastic team, Jacque, Amy, Joe. And then of course YOU, here on this. And I just have to loft out my appreciation for my team, for you for taking the time out of your day to come here and help me do this. So thank you for your support. And I’m very excited to get into this.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Me, too. It’s gonna be fun. Are you ready?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
I’m ready.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Okay, so something that you and I do. We pick words of the year. It’s been a couple of years in the running now. And the team was interested in, What was your word for 2023? And how did it guide you through the year?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, cool. Great question. Love that. This year, booboo, you have a phrase. And so I was like, wait, hold up, Record scratch. You really can have a phrase and not just a word?? I was like, yes! So because of you, I love (is that a thumbs up? So raising just try.) Because of you, I came up with main character energy I am I am done playing second fiddle: I am tired of the status quo. And so in order for me to emerge as the entrepreneur that you want to work with, because you know, like and trust me, I have to step into this main character energy skin. So all right, I already have hair, I got the look going on. So I might as well show up with my you know, my emotions and, you know. how I show up in the world. And so I embrace this main character energy. And there are a couple of different traits of main characters that we fall in love with, right in television, and movies. And so here are a couple that I’ve extracted that I feel I really stepped into this year. May I share?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Yes, please. I LOVE the authenticity of that, by the way, of admitting where you were and where you’re headed? Okay, go.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, great. Okay, so being the main character means you’re the protagonist, right? Like it all starts in ends with you. So you must heed that call, right? Hero’s journey, you must step into that because you have to take charge of your narrative. You have to take charge of your narrative! For so long, Meg, you know, I looked outside myself. I was looking for somebody else to give me the answer when the answers were inside of me all along, all along and so now I’m like, alright, I’m gonna step up and take that. So with that narrative, that narrative can be limiting or can be life-giving. And for the longest time, I was in that limiting, dare I say, negative mindset. But something happened in ‘22. That shifted my way of living, I have a whole new system of living. And part of that is talking positively even about the most hurtful things, okay, I’m not trying to sugarcoat things. I’m just, I’m just trying to find, how can I calibrate it to a better feeling? Just a better feeling about it? And that has been, and made a world of difference? A world of difference? Another thing would be emerging with purpose. Okay, I am a mouthpiece. We all know this. This is no secret, am I right? So, okay, my purpose I’ve been given the gift of gab, well, I might as well use that power for good, right? With great power, comes great responsibility, well I’m out here to spread joy and love. That’s it, joy and love. So I honor the talent that I was given by getting out there and having the courage to use this talent, and to use it for good. So here I am. Embracing growth is another main character energy characteristic. And, you know, you and I, all the time are working on our growth on our personal growth. I wish I would take as much time working on my health as much as I do on my mental health, and we’re gonna get there, right, we’re going to get there. And then, and then expressing unique challenge talents is another, excuse me, expressing unique traits is another characteristic of main character energy, and then fostering and nurturing relationships. But I didn’t have the confidence before. I’ve been working on that confidence, right? But that personal growth. And so now as the main character energy, man, come one, come all, I love y’all. I love y’all. Love you all. Even ones that hurt me, I love you. And so just fostering relationships and growing in that way. So that’s, those are my main character energy characteristics.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s a lot. Thank you for sharing that. That’s amazing. And that’s on the personal side. Right. So how about professionally? Was there a word there as well?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, were this short and simple for professionally. But efficiency, right? So efficiency, let’s be efficient with our time, our money, you know, with other people’s time with other people’s money, if we, if we keep efficiency as our North Star, we will show up and be the best agency for our clients and ourselves possible. So and I really do feel that our team and myself included have embraced efficiency.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s great. Yeah, when things are efficient, you can get more work done, meaning you can serve more, which is I know, a value of yours. For sure. So those go hand in hand, the main character energy, the efficiency, stepping up into leadership, that’s all such good things for, you know, the rest of us to hear of how a business can be led! And what about headed into 2024? Have you picked words for 2024 yet?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, so personally, for 2024 If you know me, I hope something that I offer is my willingness to give, I will give and give and give, and well, you know, up until this year, really, truly to almost to a detriment of myself, because I would give oxygen before I would receive oxygen. Well, as Southwest is so good at telling us and every other major airline, for that matter, put your oxygen mask on first, before you can help somebody else, right? If it’s so important for somebody in an airplane to put their mask on first, before helping their child out. Like I should do that too. And just the natural world without any emergencies, right? So, I am a giver, I give and give and give and give. And now it’s my turn to receive. And so, but with receiving, you know, I have to been working on that self worth. And you’ve been a big part of that, my friends have been a big part of that, my teachings have been a big part of that my coaches have been a big part of that. So I’m really doubling down on that receiving so one of my mantras is to willingly give and graciously receive and I was doing half of that equation. So now I’m gonna go full equation and receive and 2024.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s great, because you do you give to all of us so much. And when we try to give it back to you. Yep. There’s some work to do there of being able to receive compliments the same that you give them out. And so I’m excited for you on that one. How about professionally, word of the year 2024?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Ooh, to be revealed. Right. So I’m going to come back to the team. And I’m going to actually, we’re going to come to that conclusion together. I would like to know how the HMS, team HMS, wants to just crush it in ‘24 What is going to be our North Star? So, stay tuned.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Ooh, perfect. Cannot wait to hear more about that. I hope you do a future podcast episode about that your team’s incredible. They put their heads together in such a great way. So stay tuned for more, as Heather says there. Next question from where I sit observing you, this has been a hugely pivotal year. TONS happened for you and the business. What were your major accomplishments this year, both personally and for HMS?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah. Cool. So what’s funny is I wrote down a lot, I have a lot of notes. So I’ve written a lot of personal. Professionally, I feel like, professionally, I have a bunch of wins, which are coming from my personal growth. And that’s great. But I’m gonna I’m going to talk professionally here for a second. And the first one is right here. Right now, what we’re doing is one of the biggest accomplishments of this year that I could have received. This gift of creating this podcast episode with you, Megan. Just I’m going to receive this gift right, let’s start now. This is phenomenal. I’ve wanted to do something like this where we talk all the time, like you sit in the car, and this, and that, wehn we’re walking, bah, bah, bah! We haven’t recorded this stuff. So here we are doing it. So I think it’s this is one of the biggest accomplishments is getting us to sit our hineys down on camera with a microphone, professional lighting, the whole nine. So that’s very cool.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
I like it to emerge. Talk about emergence.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah. Another really major accomplishments is that I doubled my team. I doubled my team! Which which was, you know, what, what, what started out as Heather creating hundreds of posts per month, just whittling away at her typewriter, typewriter? Laptop. You know, then Amy came on board during COVID when I was like, How can I hire a teammate? And then Amy emerged and was available, then the next thing you know, my cousin Joe, he’s like, You know what? I’m set Heather and I want to be in a creative field. And I’m looking for that. And I’m like, Well, Joe comes on board. Then we had Lo. Lo came on board as our strategist and she helped us out but then Lo had to go. But because of relationships that we built with former clients, we were able to get I love the freedom I love. What is it free agents, right? I look for free agents all the time, I’ve picked up three free agents on the market, Jacque came on board when we needed her desperately and my goodness. So doubling the size of our team. And also being able to pay ourselves better, was one of the biggest accomplishments that I could have received. So that’s a really good one. Another one is creating partnerships, with clients who worked with us two, three years in the past, coming back to us and saying, Hey, not only do we want to work with you, again, we want to partner with you. So our relationships are growing, our partnerships are growing. I am so appreciative of the folks that I’ve met, the seeds that I have planted. The relationships, like I said that we’re creating is we’re operating on a new level, a whole different level. And that came because of? You want to guess?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Do it.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Okay. I’m asking you, do you want to guess?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Meditation?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Oh, sure. Meditation, but also certifications. So you know, we are three times, a 3x certified company, we have National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Business Enterprise certification, Women’s owned small business certifications. And with all these certifications, Meg, it is just really elevated our agency into a whole different, you know, from the minors to the majors like *snaps* that. And because of that, I am so appreciative of all the training and what we’ve accomplished because of that personal development. I’m just so appreciative that so so I think, you know, to sum it up is becoming certified, working with you in this podcast, doubling my team, increasing our income, just loads. We could have a podcast just on this just, there’s just so much that happened in 23. I just I am so appreciative. so appreciative.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s incredible. That was a lot. I should have known that answer to because you worked really hard on those certifications. And those came to you because of these partnerships, right? Knowledge about them. So you just speaking of them right here right now is letting your audience know, hey, there are certifications out there that can help you elevate your own business would you say?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, 100% Absolutely. And I have to loft it out to Natalie at Mid Penn Bank, Natalie Falatek. Thank you so much for even seeing the work. Let’s go step further. Julie Webb, thank you for putting again putting together the Mid Penn Bank Women’s Expo because of that I was able to meet Natalie Falatek, who said the word certification. I didn’t know what these certifications were that they existed or even the importance of them. So that was in 2022. Then fast forward to, that was in 2022. And then at the end of ‘22, we got gay and lesbian certified NGLCC certified, which launched me into the WBENC, which launched was like, dominoes falling next thing you know, I’m in a worldwide brand business development program that we can’t tell you about, yet. Coming out soon, but you know, this brand, you love them. You’ve worn them. You can’t get enough of them. And we’re at the table with these executives from this worldwide brand? Holloway Media Services? This wee marketing agency, you know, from Central Pennsylvania?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Not so wee anymore! Yeah. So maybe that’s something I don’t podcast much. But is this where they usually say? We’ll put that in the show notes? When you got it? Certifications?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
So yeah, elevation all the way this past year. It hasn’t been all rainbows, though. Much as I love rainbows, and would love it to all be you guys have had some challenges. Yeah. What would you say? If I asked you what challenges or changes in the marketing industry you are HMS to has had to successfully you know, adapt to face?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah. So Holloway Media Services as an agency and I think anyone that owns a business and has teammates can, can understand this. But you know, finding top talent and keeping top talent is probably one of the most difficult things to do unless you’re me, (Just kidding!) It’s, it’s one of the most difficult things to do. Because people come and go, they, they, you know, life changes, they may be in marketing one minute, and then the next thing they want to go make donuts, which might be me someday. So, you know, it’s a challenge we faced, we, you know, we were rocking and rolling with a team with our internal team, but then one of us had to leave and so replacing that was scary, expensive, you know, all the things! But, luckily, I think because of my attitude, it wasn’t too hard of a hurdle to overcome because man, we had that replacement right there. Thank goodness the replacement was ready and we could keep moving along. So that staffing but on the other thing, you know, marketing in general: content creation in general, we want to automate everything. *Chat GPT is going to save the world! AI is going to do it all for us. We don’t need a marketer!* Bologna, Bologna. But when it first came out, I was I was scared. I was like, Oh, shut the laptop. Nobody needs us anymore. Why would they they can just go put a couple of words into a machine and it will spit out generic copy. And that’s good enough? Well, what we’re finding is, it ain’t good enough. And it’s not even teaching strategy. And so there goes that bubble again. So, you know, overcoming that obstacle of, are we relevant? Is the business that I built, still needed? That was scary. We are content creators, you know, it’s and marketing is one of the first budgets that’s cut when people get scared in a recession. And so overcoming that as well. I don’t like to stay here long on these limiting things. So what I will say is, we’ve embraced the technology, we use the technology, I’m not scared of AI, you will always need a heartbeat, always you will always need a strategy, AI will not give you that. And let’s be honest, folks, you don’t want to do it. Regardless of the technology, you don’t want to do it. So we’re here to help you on that.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s awesome. I think that’s one of the most graceful moments that you’ve had this past year of having to adapt to this new you know, emergence of technology that could have the potential to take over roles. But for you guys, you are a heart-centered business. You are people helping people at the end of the day, it’s not about what tech can do. It’s about what you bring to the table with your own experiences, your own storytelling, your heart all of that has been just a cool graceful move to watch you you know embrace this year.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Thank you and what AI can’t replace your authenticity, you can tell it go and you know, understand my tone of voice you know, and you can have it try and spit it out. But at the end of the day, you really do need that heartbeat to extract the essence which makes you you and we do it better than anybody else in the world. ChatGPT – love your babes, but you will never replace us.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Plus, not nearly as good jokes. Your jokes are way better. Okay, this is one of my favorite questions and I think so valuable for your listeners to hear, whether they are entrepreneurs themselves, wanting to start their own business, they’re in business having a good year or having a bad year, they’re in the messy middle, whatever it may be, what lessons have you learned in 2023 that will change how you prepare for 2024?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, one of the biggest lessons that I can impart to the public is and entrepreneurs is that no one builds a business on their own. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t built by one person either. Like, let’s not forget that. Right? It really truly does take a village. And so this year, I have leaned hard on my team I have delegated more than I have ever before. And I’ve lofted it out and let it go and trusted that it would get done and to the the quality that I want for us. And they nail it every time without fail, without fail. So you cannot do it alone little entrepreneur, go get yourself you know yourself a team, or at least one other person to bounce ideas off of. If that’s either in a masterclass, a group coaching session doesn’t matter, you need help, you need help. So go get it. Another one that I learned is ABPs its the ABPs of business always be prospecting. Everyone, anyone you meet could get you to that next thing that you need. It could be a connection, it could be business, it could be funding, it could be a different way of doing something, right? But you always want to talk to people. And you always want to prospect, right, you’re you’re in it, dig for that gold. How can that person that you meet, get you to that next level, and then foster that relationship? Right? You’re not just trying to extract something, right? We talked about that willingly give, graciously receive. So give to get, okay, we’re not trying to take something from someone. But man, anyone you talk to tell him what you do! Tell them what you do. And then if they say, “Oh, I have somebody for you,” or “Oh, I could use that.” Write it down, write it down. And the next thing I would say is follow up. Right. So that’s another lesson is: I’ve just tried to get better at following up if have you heard the fortune is in the follow-up? Yeah, so the fortune is in the follow-up. I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it. But really, truly the fortune is in the follow-up. Because here’s the deal. Most people aren’t following up on these leads on these prospects on these people on these people, not just prospects, but these people who are going through things: give a damn, really truly is all takes give a damn. In the extract the gold, you’ll get it. And another one would be listen, I think learning how to listen more. Before I would just. Give you all of it. Right. So now Heather’s trying to be a little bit better about listening, asking questions and allowing the other person to be heard. And that’s another big one.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Oh, I like that, too. There’s some real gems there. I think you’ve grown so far in the prospecting and following-up arena that can be really scary to follow up with some if they’re a stranger. And then you know, you’re trying to not make them a stranger. But we’re all you know, scared little kids sometimes reaching out asking if you still want to go play. So I think it’s been really neat to see you foster those relationships. And I love that you’re giving that advice because it’s really come to fruition. A lot of the things that have come up this year, positive-wise have come from those relationships.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
That’s right. And I’ll tell you to do you know, to bounce off of that, with all of my training in these certification programs, the word relationship, if I had $1, like we’d be set going to Fiji right now. I’m telling you, I’m telling you, you can go be MBA certified, you can be on doctor in this, you can have, you know, 27 marketing certifications, cool. You got the tech knowledge of how to do it. But don’t forget about that person, you won’t have the work unless you work that relationship. So don’t forget that. And that’s that’s something that I’ve had to remember.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
All good stuff. Thank you for sharing all of that. That’s amazing. Awesome.
So along the same lines of relationships and things that have inspired you that way with the growth of your business. I know you’re a really avid reader, you all should see bookshelves in our house. They’re getting a little bit ridiculous. But, curious: has there been a book this past year that has inspired you?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, book. Books? Yeah, books. So okay, so we were sort of taking this podcast episode, both professionally and personally. So I’ll start with professionally, look, there are three books, go out and get them right now. Read them multiple times, and then check back with me next December. after a year of following these three books. One is my homeboy Donald Miller. He wrote a book called Story Brand and so you know, cool, you’re gonna Chat GPT tell me 10 blog posts, you know, write 10 blog posts about blah, blah, blah, whatever man, if you want to make that stuff, even better, Story Brand is the way to go, why we need we learn best through stories. So if you’re selling something, tell a story. Get really good at telling stories. So Story Brand would be a great book to do that. Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold. Vivid Vision. How do you know where you’re trying to get to, if you then plot it out? Or write it down? And it may not be the end all, be all, but dang it, you gotta have sort of a target, right? You need to know what direction you’re heading in. And so Vivid Vision is a really great book, to sort of craft how you want your business to go what you want it to look like how much success you want, right? You can also use it personally. So there is going to be a time, Boo, where we go off on a vacation and we each have a copy of Vivid Vision because I want us to Vivid Vision our life together. It’s that important.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
I love that.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
And then the other one would be Oversubscribed by Daniel Priestley. Oversubscribed is probably one of the easiest marketing books that you could read about getting yourself oversubscribed. So if you’re sitting there, and you’re like, Ah, where’s my next piece of business going to come through? It’s because you haven’t made yourself consumable in a way that people are just trying to get on your email list or trying to get on your calendar. Well, between Story Brand, Vivid Vision and Oversubscribed, you should never NOT know where your next client is coming from. Those three books will totally change your business next year. So check out those three books. And then personally, I mean, you and me now really quickly, I just got to say that that bookshelf is half of my problem.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
So you and I got a little bit obsessed with a little site called Thrift Books. I say little, basically any title that we’ve wanted to find a copy of, we go there. Bing, bang, boom, it’s in the mailbox probably the next day. They’re super fast shipping. And we both yeah, every time that that green package arrives. Is it for you? Is it for me? But yeah, I love to hear what you’re reading both personally and professionally because I put them on my list and I think vice versa. We’re constantly comparing notes about what we’re getting into. Literarily.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Literarily. Yeah, absolutely want to represent hashtag Thrift Books for the win? Yeah. And boy do I love getting some used books. By the way. I try not to get brand-new copies. I try to get those used copies because why? I don’t know. You get photographs. You get markups you get like inscriptions. I’ve gotten Dan Kennedy I’ve gotten signed copies from Dan Kennedy, man, one of the like the OG markers out there. So very cool. So personally, a couple books in ‘23. That changed my perspective. Okay. First one would be A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, and hashtag give it up to Oprah too because like her reading club, I mean, and her podcast has helped me find these authors. And I call them my spiritual teachers. So A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl. So this is one man’s account through concentration camps and survival. And if you really want perspective on your life, read that damn book. And then The Seat of the Soul, The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav and Linda Francis. Tell you what, checked back in with me after those three books, and I’m going to tell you that you will have a different lens, you will learn how to forgive, you will learn how to let go, you will learn that potentially what you’re going through isn’t the worst. And just perspective. Just perspective. And understanding perspective and understanding on your fellow humans, I think is probably the best elixir that I’ve extracted from those books. Just how to work with people and meet them where they are. It’s a work in progress. But those three books right, they’re life-changing.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Beautiful, I love how they marry to the personal and professional that you’re into all of it, learning about people and working with people and all of that makes a lot of sense as you, you know, deep dive into what we’re all here for are all trying to do with our lives.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Thank you. Well, those three books you know, A New Earth, Man’s Search for Meaning and The Seat of the Soul just again helps you to understand we don’t know what’s happening in any anybody else’s brain, right? We and we all have our own realities. And those books helped me to understand that we have our own In reality, there is no reality. How many people are on the planet? That’s how many realities there are. Okay, and so so if you can understand that, and I got that understanding because of these books, it’s like, wow, wow, you learn not to be so damn offended or bothered. Right? So good read them.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s huge not to be so bothered. Oh, I love it. Oh, yes. So if anybody needs any recommendations, go ahead and message HMS on Facebook or Instagram, we’ll get to, you know, next book for you to read. Speaking of our audience, and speaking of in related terms, your audience, we talk a lot about having a niche, you know, who we’re marketing to, or who we’re looking to work with that type of thing. So, next question from your team is any new niches or some people say niches you plan to explore this upcoming year?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah. Oh, man, I tell you what, when you asked me that six years ago, when I was first getting into business, I’m about to flip the table, because I’m like, What do you mean niche down? I’m for everyone, right? And like, it’s funny, because if you say that, then you’re sort of for no one. We’re in marketing. So we can market, right? Marketing there are there are rules that you can follow. For any business, you just put them through the rules, and then boom, you’re good to go. But it kind of came down to values, really. So who do I want to niche down or niche down to because of my values, our values as teammates? In the beginning, I was swayed to go after breweries. I don’t drink. Right? I mean, I love the atmosphere. And I think it’s cool. But I may have what, half a dozen beers a year maybe. Back in the day, I was in the craft beer, but really was I was guess I was in more into the scene than actually drinking. So I was pushed into like, go after breweries and the next thing, you know, anybody that would come along and say, Heather, I want to work with you. I said, “Yes, come on in.” But what I allowed was vampires to just suck the life out of me because I was like, dang, I didn’t know working with you, or this industry would be like that. So as I am emerging, as a speaker, as a consultant, as a professional that you want to do business with, I’ve learned that Oh, snap. That’s my audience. Why? Because I’m coming from it. I know how to promote a speaker, a coach, a consultant, a professional service provider, a lawyer, a doctor, a thought leader, because I am that, right? I am that. So it took that, you know, lightbulb moment to come on. So yeah, so we’ve niched down, I’m very excited about it. So come one, maybe not come all but come most speakers. Because you have to have a cool message, man, I’m here to help the world heal and grow. So that’s who we are for we are for the people who are out there, doing good in the world, trying to help us progress positively. Right, we post with a purpose. It’s one of our mantras. And so we are out there for the speakers and those professionals who want to use, you know, online, to promote themselves and grow. So yeah, so we niche down the speakers, baby. What’s up?
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
I love that, too! Finally figuring this out has to be such a weight off the shoulders, because we’d go through all these, you know, courses and workshops about finding the niche. And really, it comes down to who you are and what you want to do in this world and helping others do that, too. Yeah. Fantastic. That’s really rewarding to hear. Congratulations.
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Thanks for sticking with me through it. And for helping me see.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Yes. 100% through all of it. Totally. All right. So talking about making dreams come true, which is, I think what you’re headed into now, as you embark on some new experiences of your own and looking ahead to next year, I’d say if you could give us a little peek into what advice you would give to other entrepreneurs planning their 2024 embarking and merging themselves. You know, what, what would you want to impart there?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, sure. So, in a call kind of comes back to that little book I gave you on vivid vision, right? How do you know where you want to go if you don’t even loft out what that could look like and so, I’m a manifester generator and so when I envision myself or have a vision of how I want it, not how but sort of the why, right? Why would I want this to do this? Well, because it feels really good. I see myself on stage. Why do I see myself on stage? Because I love it and it’s, it comes naturally to me, give me the microphone. I’m a weirdo. Man, I want the mic. Right. And when I see myself there feels good. And if you can remember that good feeling feelings will get you to where you want to go? Golly, why aren’t we thinking about that all the time, right? So no matter how silly or crazy or whatever it is envision yourself having a vision for 24. Where do you want to go? Where do you see yourself going? Write it down, share it, tell the friggin world, have a podcast about it. Write a blog post, journal. If you’re more introvert, it doesn’t have to go into the world. But get it out, get it out somewhere, right? So have a vision. Remember that busyness does not equal business. I’m gonna say it again, for the folks in the back. Busyness does not equal business. Okay, so for as much busy for how busy you are. Take an equal amount of time to stay quiet. Because that busyness will lead to stress and anxiety if it’s not accumulating to what you want. And if you don’t know what you want, right, we go back to step one, get that vision. But we want to, to get quiet. We need to get quiet to our allow ourselves to disconnect from the tech and the meetings. And the, dare I say, family responsibilities, personal responsibilities, like detach yourself for a moment every day and give yourself permission to be quiet. Otherwise, you will block the million-dollar ideas that are trying to be given to you at all times. At all times. The universe is like Boo Boo, I got you. But we are in our own way. So get quiet. And then the last thing is, if you have a partner, be good to them. All right. They’re there. You’re here. You’re taking your time out of your precious day to support me. So support your partner as well. Show them love.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Oh, I like that one. That’s great. I love that advice for these entrepreneurs potentially listening. Anybody that’s looking to start anything I know something that you helped me with this year is when you want something and you’re visioning like that, not just visioning and writing about it, but believing that piece I have been missing. So personally, that really struck home a couple of weeks ago, we nailed that. So thank you for that. Oh, I’m getting a little choked up. Yeah, this has been so cool to get to spend this time with you. We’ve got one more if you have one more minute. Curious what you loved most about 2023. We’ve talked highs lows, you know, what has been just the most rewarding part of 2023? And how does that inspire you moving forward?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, thanks. I was excited for this question. Because the most rewarding part of 2023 for me is my team. That is the most rewarding part of all of this is co-creating with human beings that are sweet. They care, they love on each other. They love on our clients. They give a damn, they love their family, they show up. I ask. And they give. And we have fun. And if it doesn’t align, if it’s not fun for us, you gots to go. So my greatest reward is my team. And what they bring and what they’ve given me, they’ve given me freedom to go and explore the things like voiceover acting, to launch out as a speaker. And honestly, it’s like everything I give, they just give me right back. They just give me right back. So Team HMS. It’s you. You’re my greatest love of 2023. This year, my team is gonna look you right in the camera and just say thank you so much.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
That’s so cool. Oh, they are such good people. Thank you, HMS team. Thank you, listeners, for giving us your ears for the last couple of minutes. Anything else before we wrap up here, Heather?
HEATHER HOLLOWAY
Yeah, just thank you. Thank you, fans, followers, friends, for joining me and us on this journey. 2024 will be our biggest year yet. And I am excited for what’s to come because we are learning to serve in such a tremendous way and big way, expansive way. And we just want to call in everyone who wants to work with a heart-centered, heart-focused agency to come on and have some fun with us. And I can’t wait to see where we go.
MEGAN HOLLOWAY
Fantastic. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
HEATHER HOLLOWAYAwesome. Well, that’ll do it. Recap 2023 You heard it, you got all the sauce, right? And we’re gonna branch out in 2024 and bring you more Social Media Success for Professional podcast episodes. We’re going to teach you more and more and more about emerging and growing online with your social because you can do it without Chat GPT. Alright, we’ll see you in the new year. Love to all.
I’m Heather Holloway and you’ve been listening to social media success for professionals. Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me and my team. Hey, remember, check the show notes for resources and links to other episodes. And don’t forget to hit that subscribe and follow button to be notified when new episodes are released.
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