Young and Profiting with Hala Taha - Hala Taha: Strategies for Accelerated Success with Hala Taha (The Tim Castle Show)

Episode Date: September 9, 2022

True success doesn’t come from wishful thinking. It comes from dedication, grit, and lots of time to live the life of your dreams.  Hala Taha, host of Young and Profiting podcast, built her empire ...by sacrificing four years of travel, fun, and relaxation to hustle. Now, she’s running a $4 million company while hosting the #1 Education podcast across all platforms.  In this episode, we are replaying Hala’s interview on The Tim Castle Show, where they discussed Hala’s career progression, her outlook on rejection, and how she built YAP Media into the powerhouse it is today. She also gives advice on how to break into the podcast industry and how to rewire your mind to reach your goals.  Topics Include:  -Hala’s background in singing, songwriting, and radio  -How did Hala end up starting YAP?  -Hala’s outlook on rejection  -Skill stacking  -How Hala ran YAP while working a separate full-time job  -Leaving Disney  -Hala and her family’s experiences with COVID-19  -How Hala attracted YAP’s first clients  -Why most people can’t break into the podcast industry  -Permission-based marketing  -The secrets of growing a podcast  -Hala’s helpful habits  -The danger of humility  -How to rewire your mind to open the doors to new opportunities  -And other topics… Hala Taha is the host of Young and Profiting Podcast, frequently ranked as a #1 Education podcast across all apps. Hala is also the CEO of YAP Media, a full-service social media and podcast marketing agency for top podcasters, celebrities, and CEOs. She is well-known for her engaged following and influence on Linkedin, and she landed the January 2021 cover of Podcast Magazine. Tim Castle is a success coach, speaker, and bestselling author. He works with clients on topics like mindset, performance, sales, leadership, and self-improvement. He is an advisor to startups on the Blue Chilli HeathTech Program and The Stockland Accelerator. He is also a Mentor to She Starts Accelerator for female entrepreneurs and serves as Head of Sales for a mobile technology business across the Asian region. His podcast, ‘The Tim Castle Show’ interviews courageous people who doing inspirational things around the world.  Sponsored By: Shopify - Go to shopify.com/profiting, for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features Constant Contact - Go to constantcontact.com to get started for free today The Jordan Harbinger Show - Head to jordanharbinger.com/start to get started today! Connect With Tim Castle: The Tim Castle Show: https://www.timjscastle.com/podcast  Tim’s Books: https://www.timjscastle.com/negotiation  Tim’s Website: https://www.timjscastle.com/  Tim’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timcastle3/  Resources Mentioned: Dr. Jack Schafer’s Book: The Like Switch  Chris Voss’s Book: Never Split The Difference  Robert Greene’s Book: The Laws of Human Nature  More About Young and Profiting Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com   Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships Leave a Review - ratethispodcast.com/yap Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Follow Hala Taha LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala Learn more about YAP Media Agency Services - yapmedia.io/ Join Hala's LinkedIn Masterclass - yapmedia.io/course  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This episode of YAP is sponsored in part by Shopify. Shopify simplifies selling online and in-person so you can focus on successfully growing your business. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash profiting. You're listening to YAP, Young and Profiting Podcast, a place where you can listen, learn, and profit. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Halla Taha, and on Young and Profiting
Starting point is 00:00:27 podcast, we investigate a new topic each week and interview some of the brightest minds in the world. My goal is to turn their wisdom into actionable advice that you can use in your everyday life, no matter your age, profession, or industry. There's no fluff on this podcast, and that's on purpose. I'm here to uncover value from my guests by doing the proper research
Starting point is 00:00:50 and asking the right questions. If you're new to the show, we've chatted with the likes of XFBI agents, real estate moguls, self-made billionaires, CEOs, and bestselling authors. Our subject matter ranges from enhancing productivity, had to gain influence, the art of entrepreneurship, and more. If you're smart and like to continually improve yourself, hit the subscribe button because you'll
Starting point is 00:01:13 love it here at Young & Profiting Podcast. What is up, YAPFAM? Today you are in for a special treat. A replay of a guest interview I did earlier this summer on the Tim Castle show. I go on a few podcasts each week and when a really good interview happens, I love to replay it on my own podcast because you guys tell me that you love to learn about my journey and I love to be on the opposite side of the mic. I don't often get to tell my story and I love to y on the opposite side of the mic. I don't often get to tell my story. And I love to yap, yap, yap. So it's a win, win for everyone. Tim Castle was a host of this interview, and he is a best-selling author, mindset coach, and the founder of the School of Success. The Tim Castle show has a mission to speak with courageous people,
Starting point is 00:02:00 doing inspirational things. I'm really happy that Tim thought that I was one of those people and invited me on the show. And in this episode, we talked about how I built the just people doing inspirational things. I'm really happy that Tim thought that I was one of those people and invited me on the show. And in this episode, we talked about how I built the app media empire and my outlook on rejection as well as how to overcome it. I told Tim about how I got into broadcasting and podcasting, my habits and strategies
Starting point is 00:02:19 for reaching my goals and some advice for breaking into the podcast industry. No matter your profession, I think you'll want to hear this episode. And be sure to check out other episodes on the Tim Castle show. His podcast is linked in the show notes. Now enjoy this replay of my interview on the Tim Castle show. Thank you so much for doing this. I'm so grateful for you to come on and chat to us today. You are amazing. I've been following your journey.
Starting point is 00:02:48 I first came across you when you were at HP, right? When you were just dying the podcast. Wow. Yeah, so and obviously I've seen that transformation, right? I've seen you move from HP and then you move to Disney and I'm like, OK, cool. That's awesome.
Starting point is 00:03:02 Disney's a massive company, like I could see you growing. And then I saw you developing out YAP. And then even more than that, then it built to you obviously making the move to go full-time as an entrepreneur. And like, that's happened in a very short space at time considering like 2018 to now. That's just a set of scene.
Starting point is 00:03:22 But like, let's just go back a little bit. Can you just chat us through your journey and your background and some of the kind of ways that you've got here? Yeah, I love that. And I didn't realize we were starting yet, but I love your style. How you just jump right into it. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah, so you're asking about how I got into, like, how did I even end up starting? Yeah, right? And I would say, yeah, I would say it has to do with what I was doing in college, right? So when I was in college, I was in the radio club,
Starting point is 00:03:53 and I was also singing and strong writing. And at the time, I thought that I was going to be a famous singer because singing was my natural talent. And so I went out and I started looking for internships and I thought well I could just get a job at a radio station and push my music at the radio station. So I ended up getting this job at Hot 97 and it's the world's number one hip-hop in R&B station. This was like 10 years ago, like a long time ago. So radio was huge, it was like kind of a big deal to get a job there. I was in
Starting point is 00:04:23 this New York, New Jersey area, and so all the DJs there were super famous and well known, and it was just like really prestigious to work there. And so I was super hyped, you know, 19 years old working at the station, and I fell in love with radio. I kept working on music, but I got less and less interested in music, and more interested in broadcasting. And so I used to have online radio shows on the side with the DJs. And so the same DJs that are super famous right now on the radio, I used to pretend to be Angie Martinez
Starting point is 00:04:54 on online radio shows, which was the precursor of podcasts. And I had maybe three or four shows over the three years that I was working at Hot 97. I used to also do all the commercials. I would read commercials on the air and started honing my skills as an on air personality. I would produce the shows, I would audio edit. I really honed my skills and fell in love with interviewing and being an on air personality. That was first at Hot 97.
Starting point is 00:05:21 My journey, as you probably know, was filled with lots of ups and downs. I worked at Hauntedy7, I was a free intern, I worked there for free for three years, and you only get to work in a place for free for three years if they value you. So I was a great worker, and I did a great job, but they ended up firing me when I asked to get paid. Most of the because I was a liability, because I called out the fact that I was an unpaid intern for three years and they kind of were like, let's cut our losses, goodbye, Hala. Don't come back again, right? And so I got fired.
Starting point is 00:05:52 That triggered me to launch my own thing called the Sori of Hip Hop, strawberryblown.com. It was a blog site with 50 female bloggers. You know, we grew very quickly, became one of the biggest online hip hop and entertainment websites in the world. Blogs were huge back then.
Starting point is 00:06:09 And then I shot that down three years later because we didn't get a show on MTV. I can go into detail wherever you want me to pause and go into detail. The long story short, I was devastated after strawberry one didn't work out because essentially I had failed twice. I had gotten fired from my dream job at Hanine 7. I literally thought I was going to be the next ancient Martinez. So I got fired from Hanine 7, devastated, rebuilt from there. The same DJs he wouldn't pay me minimum wage when I was having the sort of hip-hop would call me up to host their parties.
Starting point is 00:06:39 I was on the flyers with them. I got shouted out on the radio more than when I actually worked at Hanine 7. So I had basically like jumped over where I was and like totally elevated by creating my own path and creating strawberry blonde.com. And then we had this opportunity to be on MTV and it was right after Jersey Shore and it was another one of these like huge moments in my life and they filmed us all summer. They got us a studio on Broadway. They hooked it up. I got my hair and makeup done every day. I thought I was a celebrity and then MTV pulls the plug and they just didn't, they said,
Starting point is 00:07:11 hey, ho, I were moving in another direction, we're not going to air the show. And at this point, I was like devastated, right? And so that was like the lowest point in my life. And then I was like, okay, I'm going to be normal. And I went to corporate and to your point, you opened up the show, like I met you when you're at HP. When I was at HP, that was like a low moment in my life. That's when I didn't necessarily believe in myself for like four years.
Starting point is 00:07:33 I kept getting promoted. I was a great corporate employee. And like I did well in my career. But like looking back, I didn't believe in myself anymore. You know, I was like playing safe, right? I started playing safe instead of taking these risks and trying to become extraordinary. But thank God, you know, I had a couple of rejections at Hewlett Packard, some internal positions that I wanted, long story, we don't have to get into it,
Starting point is 00:07:58 but basically it allowed me to think about what I really wanted in life, and I went back to broadcasting, and I thought, well, I want to impact the world with my voice. Like, I always wanted to since I was a little girl, not going to be a singer, but I want to be, you know, a podcast host because podcasts were getting mainstream. And I felt like I had all the right skills to do it right. And so four years ago, April 2018, I started a young and profiting podcast. I side hustled for four years, basically. Two years ago, I started the app media also as. I side hustled for four years basically. Two years ago, I started the app media also as a side hustle while working at Disney. Now I have 16 employees, or number one podcast and education across all apps.
Starting point is 00:08:34 I got a webbeonery, you know, just signed to Cumulus Podcast Network, started my own network. So everything is good. I'm super thankful. But Hala, what an introduction. You're, hello, what an introduction. You're exploding, right? Your podcast is wildly successful. But what I love about just what you explained is it's kind of like the exponential jumps that you made. It's exponential growth, massive success. Like some of the stuff you're showing out in terms of MTV recording a show all year with you. And that's a huge investment, right?
Starting point is 00:09:05 You think that that's going to then come off and it's going to be your next chance to kind of explode. But throughout this story of lots of stops and starts, what's apparent is you had this great, this hustle, this determination. What I'd like to jump back to is kind of that moment at HP when you were at the low point. How did you motivate yourself to then really
Starting point is 00:09:26 double down on your strengths? Because obviously you've done a lot of things before that and had kind of huge success. That doesn't happen to everybody, but it could, if you're not a mean like you could do that. So how did you pick yourself up and then get to where you're? So I am really good with handling rejection, right? I feel like I always use it as a way to like fuel my next big thing. So he'll have Packard while, you know, I did say that I felt like I was a little bit complacent and not really thinking about how big I could actually be. How you do anything is how you do everything. Like I truly believe in that.
Starting point is 00:10:03 And so when I got into HP I was like an entrepreneur. I was super tech savvy because I learned from the internet I was starting my corporate career much later than everyone else like five years later than everybody else It's six years later than everybody else it and so I thought I was gonna be really behind But it turns out I like was getting promoted every six months because I was just so much more technically advanced than everybody else. And so I actually did really well and kind of excelled in corporate. And that was one of the reasons why I wanted to start the podcast because I was like, wow,
Starting point is 00:10:35 I'm finally not broke. I finally made my first six figures. Like, I have something to give to the world. And so the reason why I share that is like, everything happens for a reason. Like I don't regret even that kind of slow time in my life because I learned so many skills that I'm using today. Now they call me the podcast princess, but at Hula Packard, I was the PowerPoint princess.
Starting point is 00:10:58 And those skills really helped me now. You know what I mean? I make huge deals just with some PowerPoints and being able to be a good presenter. And I learned that in corporate, even though it was in the most exciting or glamourous thing, I still learn those things. And so your original question was like,
Starting point is 00:11:16 how did you pick yourself up in that low point? Like honestly, whenever I am down and whenever something bad happens, I try to figure out what I can learn and how I can pivot and learn something new. So when I was in corporate, I just focused on corporate. How do I be the best corporate employee? How can I get promoted?
Starting point is 00:11:33 How do I dominate this the same way that I dominated the music industry? What I did at Hula Packard specifically is I started something called the Young Employee Network. So I got at the company and my office had like lots of young employees, everybody was in silos and nobody was talking to each other and there was no culture at all. No company party, no summer picnic, nobody talked to each other in the hallways,
Starting point is 00:12:01 nobody even knew each other outside of their teams. And so I researched it and Hewula Packard had 300,000 employees across the world at that time. And I found out that they had this thing called the Young Employee Network and like New York has a chapter and Florida has a chapter, but New Jersey didn't have a chapter. And so I was like, I'm gonna start the Young Employee Network
Starting point is 00:12:20 and I got a petition and I had a hundred people sign it. And then I became the president of the Young Employee network and I literally infused culture in the whole office and that got me recognized by the C-suite and then I started doing what I had done at Hotness. I started interviewing the CEO at like all the company events. I started, you know, they started taking me to all the different conferences and flying me to Europe and I would be the one like on the mic like managing the booth. And so the same skills that I had at Han any 7, I just transferred them to Hughitt Packard and made the best of it and I skyrocketed in my career.
Starting point is 00:12:56 And so I just feel like everything in life has a reason and when you fail, you don't start from scratch, you start from experience. And that's what I always say. So I just use those experiences to propel me to the next thing and the next thing. Man, I love that. So that was such a quote. When you fail, you don't, what was it? You don't lose, but you start from experience. When you fail, you don't start from scratch, you start from experience. Oh, that is, that is life. That is life right there. That's so good. I like what you say. So it's all about your attitude, doing what you can with what you've got where you are. And then obviously creating, you created a lot of success for yourself because you saw an opportunity, you moved on it, you moved on that opportunity and then the business recognized that,
Starting point is 00:13:41 you brought community. So how has the role of community played apart in your journey? Oh my gosh, community is everything. I feel like I've always been this person that just like attracts a community. So I'll give you an example. I'll give you a couple of examples. So the story of hip hop, that was my first kind of big experience as a leader.
Starting point is 00:14:04 And that was an organization. It was a block site. We hosted parties concerts. It was a block site. It wasn't very successful monetarily, but we were famous in the tri-state. It was a successful brand, and gave me the foundation that I have now
Starting point is 00:14:16 in terms of how I created the app brand. And those were all free volunteers. And I learned how to attract people to work for free. I understood how to motivate them, how to keep them happy. And so I feel like that's just a great skill that I've kind of honed. And with Yap, funny enough, when I started the podcast, I didn't want a team because I was sort of scarred,
Starting point is 00:14:39 you know, 50 caddy girls when you're 25, like a nightmare, you know? And I was like, I never want to do that again. I want to do this, gonna be my solo show, gonna do it by myself. I know how to do audio editing and video editing. I just do it by myself. And I was so wrong, like, by episode two,
Starting point is 00:14:55 I had my first volunteer, Timothy Tan, who's my business partner, by episode eight, I had 10 volunteers in a Slack channel. And it was actually just super fans from the show who would reach out to me. And they would be like, hey, Halla, I heard this podcast. I think what you're doing is amazing.
Starting point is 00:15:10 I also wanna help spread this message. How can I help you? And so one guy from Estonia would help me with my website. One guy from Atlanta would help me with my videos. One guy from California would help me with guest outreach. And many of these people are still on my team and now their team leaders with 10 people under them and have left their jobs.
Starting point is 00:15:26 And it's just crazy that we started it as volunteers. And community is just so important because it helps you spread your message. So whether it's community on social media that's helping me spread my message, whether it's community of my company, and the people who help me build the app to what it is, doing these with other people's always so much easier. And it's also a lot more fun. Like I just feel like
Starting point is 00:15:49 it's just been such a fun journey, just not doing it alone and to count on other people and to build something special together. Man, I love what you say. It's so cool. So you took the experience of being an intern from hot night seven and you applied that to your own business, but at the same time, you took the experience of being an intern from Hot Night 7 and you applied that to your own business, but at the same time, then you built the blog, but you realized you didn't want to get 50 people under you again, but yet you overcame your ego to go, hey, no, actually, we need a team, we need to start implementing these practices because these are what made you successful. And if you want to grow, when you want to explode, you've got to do these things within this process rather than try to do it all in your own. Like, massive.
Starting point is 00:16:25 Like, the part that I really want to dig into, because I feel like I saw this happen, was you at Disney, and you're building the app on the side, like a side hustle, and you podcast the exploding, how the heck did you manage to have a corporate gig like at Disney, big roll, and do all of those things and then turn it into what it is today. Like time and then it's massive. I really worked so much. Like I just worked, you know, I can't explain it any other way other than like I worked 16 to 18 hour days and so I can go over my day with you. I would wake up at like 6 a, you know, start working on my podcast. And so I would get all my stuff prepared for the day. I was consistent on posting on LinkedIn every day
Starting point is 00:17:12 and posting for my podcast every week. So in the morning, I'd make sure that like everything was done. I had already volunteers all around the world. And so I would like tell them what to do as well, like whoever was working a couple, by the way, like people would only work like three to five hours a week, it wasn't much. But like I would just know like, okay, you're gonna do the videos, you gotta do this. I tell everybody what to do in the morning before my actual job. And I would go on the train and it was a 45 minute ride. And I remember that when I was growing for those who don't know, like I have a very big LinkedIn following. And that's kind of what I leveraged to create all of this, right? So my LinkedIn blew up before my podcast.
Starting point is 00:17:49 And I was so consistent on LinkedIn, even if like before I was big on LinkedIn, my job on the train every morning was to get my post out. Whether it was about the podcast or not, my job on the train was to do my LinkedIn post. And then I go to work and many of the times during lunch, I would interview one of my guests, which would mean that I couldn't do
Starting point is 00:18:10 any studying day of the interview. Now I feel so blessed because I can just, this is my job, I interviewed Dan Pink today. I got to study for five hours. I didn't even study him yesterday. But before when I had a corporate job, I'd be studying all week, you know, constantly. Just when I'm cleaning, I'm listening. When I'm like, any, like, little pocket of time, I'm trying to study for my interview because when I'm at Disney, I literally
Starting point is 00:18:34 can't even pull up my notes until a minute before the interview starts. And by the way, there was no, like, conference spaces. I don't know what was wrong with Disney at the time, but you couldn't get a conference space. And so I would be manning a phone booth from the morning, just so I could have a spot. I would send the phone booth all morning to make sure that 12 p.m. lunchtime when I have my interview, I was able to be in a quiet space.
Starting point is 00:19:01 I remember one time I locked myself in a closet. One time I locked the girl's bathroom, one time I locked the girls bathroom and there was like a couch in the bathroom and I took the interview there because there was no other space. And so I just made it happen. You know, it was like just pure, like, just relentless action and making it happen. And I was lucky because the reason why they hired me at Disney streaming services was because I had a podcast. They were relatively supportive. They knew I would take interviews at lunch and things like that. I crushed my job so I didn't really get in trouble for anything.
Starting point is 00:19:32 On the way home from work in the train, I would do all my engagement. I'd respond to my community that's key. I was a real person in the DMs and my comments responding. Then at night, I was lucky. My boyfriend at the time, he was a famous music producer. And so I would make dinner and he would go to work at like nine. And then I would just work on my podcast till 12. And then do it all over again. I used to get like four hours of sleep a day.
Starting point is 00:19:58 Like I swear, four or five hours max. I was really sleep deprived. So I don't say like, here's a thing. This was temporary, right? And I feel very proud of delaying gratification for that long because I worked every weekend, I worked every night, I missed out on a lot of fun things, I barely traveled, I freaking hustled, but I saved money, I was able to fund my own business, bootstrap my own business, start this podcast, live out my dreams. And I did delay gratification for four years,
Starting point is 00:20:29 but guess what? Now, I do whatever the heck I want. I go to the spa during the day. I take all my meetings like getting massage, like I just feel like I do whatever I want now. And I, but I worked so hard for so long. And even before at least 16, 18-hour days, I was working very hard too,
Starting point is 00:20:44 but there was four years where I just, all I did was work. And even before at least 16, 18 hour days, I was working very hard too, but there was four years where all I did was work. And I don't regret it, even though a lot of people like look down on that hustle type mentality, but I feel like delaying gratification for like, you know, a handful of years can literally, I feel like I'm more successful than 50 year olds now or like, you know, and so, and I've just like skipped
Starting point is 00:21:03 10 years because I did that. So, just very thankful for the younger version of me for doing that. We'll be right back after a quick break from our sponsors. Young and profitors, do you have a brilliant business idea, but you don't know how to move forward with it? Going into debt for a four-year degree isn't the only path to success. Instead, learn everything you need to know about running a business for free by listening to the Millionaire
Starting point is 00:21:30 University podcast. The Millionaire University podcast is a show that's changing the game for aspiring entrepreneurs. Hosted by Justin and Tara Williams, it's the ultimate resource for those who want to run a successful business and graduate rich, not broke. Justin and Tara started from Square One, just like you and me. They faced lows and dug themselves out of huge debt. Now they're financially free and they're sharing their hard-earned lessons with all of us. That's right, millionaire university will teach you everything you need to know about starting and growing a successful business.
Starting point is 00:22:00 No degrees required. In each episode you'll gain invaluable insights from seasoned entrepreneurs and mentors who truly understand what it takes to succeed. From topics like how to start a software business without creating your own software, to more broad discussions such as eight businesses you can start tomorrow to make 10K plus a month, this podcast has it all. So don't wait. Now is the time to turn your business idea into a reality by listening to the Millionaire University podcast. New episodes drop Mondays and Thursdays. Find the Millionaire University podcast on Apple Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Your dog is an important part of your family. Don't settle when it comes to their health.
Starting point is 00:22:37 Make the switch to fresh food made with real ingredients that are backed by science with nom nom. Nom nom delivers fresh dog food that is personalized to your dog's individual needs. Each portion is tailored to ensure your dog gets the nutrition they need so you can watch them thrive. Nom nom's ingredients are cooked individually and then mixed together because science tells us that every protein, carb and veggie has different cooking times and methods. This packs in all the vitamins and minerals your dog needs,
Starting point is 00:23:05 so they truly get the most out of every single bite. And NOM-NOM is completely free of additives, fillers, and mystery ingredients that contribute to bloating and low energy. Your dog deserves only the best, and NOM-NOM delivers just that. Their nutrient-packed recipes are crafted by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, made fresh and shipped to your door. Absolutely free!
Starting point is 00:23:28 Nom-nom meals started just $2.40, and every meal is cooked in company-owned kitchens right here in the US, and they've already delivered over 40 million meals, inspiring clean bowls and wagging tails everywhere. Ever since I started feeding my dog Nom- Nom, he's been so much more energetic, and he's getting older, he's a senior dog, but now we've been going on longer walks, and he's much more playful. He used to be pretty sluggish and sleeping all the time, but I've definitely noticed a major improvement
Starting point is 00:23:57 since I started feeding him Nom Nom. And the best part, they offer a money back guarantee. If your dog's tail isn't wagging within 30 days, they'll refund your first order. No fillers, no nonsense, just nom nom. Go right now for 50% off your no risk 2 week trial at trinom.com-shap. That's trinom-n-o-m.com-shap for 50% off trinom.com-. Yeah. That's off to you, Heather. Yeah, you made it quantum leap. You got not just one step ahead, not just an incremental jump.
Starting point is 00:24:32 You made many jumps ahead and you took that hustle, that initiative, again, speaking through like you, you prioritize what was important while killing it at your job. So you could get left alone to then do what you wanted to do and build this amazing community and companies. Coral. Um, so when did you make the decision? How did you make the decision that it was time to leave Disney and corporate forever and go and double down on? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:01 So, um, just to kind of give everybody a timeline of everything. So is that Hula Packard? My last year at Hula Packard is when I started Younger Profiting Podcast. By the time I got the job at Disney, it was maybe six months after Younger Profiting Podcast, we were already like a number one how-to podcast on Apple and already interviewing huge guests. So by the time I got the job at Disney, I was already like making noise with my podcast, but that's it. It was just like a little noise, right?
Starting point is 00:25:25 I kept building, kept building, and at some point, I figured out one thing that really set everything off. And that was that Apple's not the only game in town. I was very focused on Apple. I'm a very creative person. I understand how to build community, how to leverage my assets.
Starting point is 00:25:44 And so I figured out that there's 70 apps in the ecosystem, not just Apple. And I was like, well, I've got this little notoriety of being the most popular podcaster on LinkedIn. Let me just leverage that. And so I literally reached out to every single podcast tool, every tool that I use, like my hosting provider, podbean, my recording, riverside.fm, like de-script, like everything, good pods, every single podcast company in general,
Starting point is 00:26:13 and then all the players, so like, Castbox, player FM, podcast Republic, and I would reach out to them with all the same message. And I'd be like, hey, what's up? My name's Hala, at this point, I was not the podcast princess, so I was just like, I, you know, one of the biggest LinkedIn podcasters out there.
Starting point is 00:26:29 I'd love to promote your app, your blog, in exchange for you featuring me. And that meant different things. So people would write articles about me or people would put a banner in their app and promote the podcast. And so I just kept parlaying that. Until like literally it seemed like overnight,
Starting point is 00:26:44 I went from getting 3,000 downloads a month to like 100,000 downloads a month and then just like my chart in my analytics tool for my podcast literally was like a hockey stick. And then everything changed. Then I got on the cover of podcast magazine and then I got an interview with Mattia McConaughey and just like one thing after next, it was just like just accelerated. So it was like slow, consistent growth. It was still growth. And you saw the journey.
Starting point is 00:27:08 I was still bubbling, people knew who I was, but it really went fast. Like two years into it, it just skyrocketed. So at the same time, this was the best and worst time in my life, COVID hits. So I have my podcast. it's doing really well, interviewing huge guests, got this executive job at Disney. COVID hits April of 2020, March of 2020,
Starting point is 00:27:33 Disney says work at, go to home, you know, everybody's working from home. I had more time. At the same time, my dad gets sick with COVID. So I ended up going to my parents' house in Jersey and taking care of my parents gets sick with COVID. So I ended up going to my parents house in Jersey and taking care of my parents who both had COVID. I ended up getting COVID. My dad goes into the hospital. Everybody's still working from home. And I found myself, it was a really shitty situation, terrible
Starting point is 00:27:58 situation. And I found myself with a lot of time. Okay, even though I had a corporate job, even though I had a corporate job, even though I had a podcast, I had no friends at the time because I was sick with COVID. Even though I was done with it, but everybody was scared of me because we were like the first family impacted by COVID.
Starting point is 00:28:16 So like nobody wanted to visit me or anything like that. So like no friends for a few months, no boyfriend, I didn't see my boyfriend for three months. And I was just stuck at my parents house, bored, you know, my dad was in the hospital working for my job, which I could basically do with my eyes closed at this point. And I had no commute. So I had like three, four, five extra hours a day, if not more. And at the same time, I met this lady Heather Ramonahan. And Heather Ramonahan, she is a very famous LinkedIn influencer.
Starting point is 00:28:45 She's known as a confidence creator. She came on my podcast right before the pandemic hit and she kept stalking me basically on LinkedIn and she would comment on all my posts. Hey, how are you doing these videos? I want to understand, like, can you do my videos? And I would just be like, hey, how they're like, I will volunteer your team, I have a job, like my dad's sick in the hospital. I don't have time for this.
Starting point is 00:29:03 Like, thank you so much. She kept being persistent and I was interested in her being my mentor and I'm quite aware that like the mentee mentor relationship is given take and so I said, hey Heather, like I can't do this for you like as a service but I could teach you how. So why don't we get on a call and I'll show you how to make these videos.
Starting point is 00:29:20 So I get on a call and I show her our Slack channel. I show her all our folders, I go into Canva and I'll her our Slack channel. I show her all our folders. I go into Canva and I show her our templates. I show her headliner and like just walk her through and she's a collar. I never gonna make these videos by myself. Let's be real. And she's like, I just got on a call with VaynerMedia
Starting point is 00:29:37 yesterday and your stuff is better than theirs. She's like, I wanna be your first client. Like just trust me. You can do this. Like you've got a business on your hands, I wanna be your first client, like just trust me, you can do this. Like, you've got a business on your hands. Let me be your first client. And I said, okay, fine. And so I did her videos. I literally tried to try, I think, like,
Starting point is 00:29:54 six hundred bucks a month or less. And she was our first client. And still, everybody's just volunteers and interns at this point. And it's just, they're just doing Heather's videos. Next thing we know, we're taking over all her LinkedIn, all her podcast, and then we get the next client. And literally, this is actually funny that I brought it up.
Starting point is 00:30:12 I told you that in corporate, I became the PowerPoint princess, right? My second client, the second pitch that I ever did after Heather Monahan was a billionaire. And I went on his podcast. His name's Jason Waller, he's the, he host true underdog, which is now part of the Latin media network.
Starting point is 00:30:31 And I went on his podcast and he was very impressed with me. That's why he invited me on to begin with and he was like, hey, Holly, do you do this? Like, do you do this for other people after the show? That's what he asked. And by the way, people ask me that for years, but I just always ignored it, right?
Starting point is 00:30:45 So he asked me that. And for the first time, I was like, yes, I do offer this as a service, right? Because I had Heather Monning. I was like, Heather Monning is my client. And he knew who that was. And I was like, yeah, I do her LinkedIn, I do her podcast. And he's like, all right, let's have a call.
Starting point is 00:30:59 Like, I want to talk tomorrow. So that night, I put together a PowerPoint. I had no website. I had, you know, we weren't even incorporated. Younger profiting wasn't even trademarked at the time. I put together a PowerPoint and I got on a call with Timothy Tan, who was my first volunteer and not even my business partner yet, but he was like my second in command.
Starting point is 00:31:18 And we go through this deck and, you know, we're thinking 10K for all these, we'll take through his podcasts as this is that. And then Tim was like, let's just charge 30k. Like, what could happen? And I was like, okay, let's try it. So I got a call with him, and I just do my best job presenting using
Starting point is 00:31:36 like my MBA skills, my corporate skills, like everything that I learned up to that point. And I was like, all right, well, it's gonna try, like this is all we can do for you. I go through everything and it's going to be 30 came month. And he was like, bam, let's do it. And I was like, oh my god. And then everything changed, right? So my second client was $30,000 a month. And so then I was able to hire my team, started paying my team, started hiring more people. I have a team all over the world.
Starting point is 00:32:05 So my creative teams and the Philippines, my operations team, this is in India, my social media managers and producers are in America. So then I started paying people, like we became a real company. And then I just landed like next big client after the other because you just have more leverage. Now I had Heather and Jason as leverage.
Starting point is 00:32:21 So then I got Cara Gold in the CEO of Hint. Then I got the CEO of 100 Got Junk and I started taking all over his stuff. Brittmore and of Britton Co. Now I'm doing Marshall Goldsmith, who's a huge author. And it just snowballs so quickly. So six months into it, I'm at Disney still. And I have 30 employees around the world, right?
Starting point is 00:32:43 I get notified that I'm gonna be on the cover of podcast magazine. I also found out I was about to interview Matthew McConaughey. And this is January of 2020, I believe. I became a full-time entrepreneur February of 2021. And that's when I was like, all right, I gave them 30 days. They didn't want me to leave, but I was like, I'm sorry, this is just, it's so obvious that this is taking off. And I feel like I should have left like two months after I started yet media
Starting point is 00:33:10 the agency. But yeah, so that's basically it, you know, just skyrocketed. But here's the thing, I don't want to give the wrong impression. It skyrocketed because I had done all the hard work up until that point. I had the social proof, I built the community, and I was only of service to everyone for so long. I literally never thought I would make a dollar. I just wanted to give back to my community and just be this voice and help people. And it only worked because I had built that very strong foundation. And I listened to the demand.
Starting point is 00:33:45 I didn't start something that I thought would work. I started something that when I realized that everybody was asking me for the same thing, they wanted my marketing and podcast. They wanted me to do what I did for myself. They wanted that for themselves. And so I just turned that into a product. And it was never even in my plan. I never wanted to be the CEO of a marketing agency, but it was just the perfect thing to actually
Starting point is 00:34:08 get me to my goal and help me invest back into my podcast and grow it even bigger and become hopefully the number one female podcast in the world, which was my original goal. So yeah, it's all the lesson here is follow the demand and be aware of your opportunities and take that risk. That's so true. That's it. Just when someone's calling it out to you and actually speaking to and commenting and chasing you down and trying to get you to focus on actually you're amazing at this thing, can you please do it for me? Just please jump into it. Is that also the lesson that you perhaps stayed a bit too long at Disney or would you have changed anything on that journey? perhaps stayed a bit too long at Disney or would you have changed anything on that journey?
Starting point is 00:34:45 Well, I'm happy that I played it like with a very risk-free approach because I was an entrepreneur already. So you have to understand that like, I was this failed entrepreneur and I found all this stability and corporate. Like for the longest time in my 20s, I was making 20, 30 grand a year.
Starting point is 00:35:02 You know, it was a lot of smokes and mirrors, you know, being in that music industry and not really figuring out how to make money and radio has no money and they weren't paying me. And so for six years, I was just broke. And then all of a sudden, I was making over six figures and was an executive and all this stuff.
Starting point is 00:35:18 I was just really addicted to the stability. And I was very hesitant to go out on my own. So I built it up to a point where I was making way more money with the business than I was at Disney. So it was the obvious choice. And so I recommend to side hustle. If you have the time, and if you can delay gratification side hustle, and make sure that there is demand that you've tested it before you go invest a lot into it. And then there was a certain point where it was just clear as day and night. Yes, I probably could have left three months earlier,
Starting point is 00:35:49 but in the grand scheme of things doesn't really matter. I'm just thankful that I actually took the daily action to side hustle that whole time and did something. Even if it did take me longer in the end, maybe if I had started maybe a year earlier, I'd be even further, but you know, everything happens for a reason. And I feel like the timing was fine.
Starting point is 00:36:10 I think that's perfect. Yeah, it's good to call that out because it is the daily action and it is the way that you take action on your goal because this is your goal, right? You're living your dream right now. You've built the studio, you've got everything, you've got time to research podcast,
Starting point is 00:36:23 you're running a huge corporation of your own, you're in charge, you're not kind of getting held back by any kind of gatekeepers out there. It's great, but it is that daily pursuit. And I think the sacrifice that you've done is all is all paying off now because you're way you want it to be. So obviously you've done some amazing things, you've had McColley on the show, but it's not about just focusing on that because you've had some amazing things. You've had McColley hang on the show, but it's not about just focusing on that, because you've had some very interesting conversations
Starting point is 00:36:47 with tons of other people. What strategies can you share for podcasters out there that potentially want to grow, and they're not seeing the results, and they're just struggling to even land the guests they want, and not just McColley Hay, but like some of the other guests. Yeah, I mean, here's the thing.
Starting point is 00:37:04 Podcasting is a tough space to break into, not just McConaughey, but like some of the other guests. Yeah, I mean, here's the thing, podcasting is a tough space to break into because I feel like if you really want to win in the space, you have to be relentless and you have to be so obsessed with learning everything about the industry. And that doesn't mean just focusing on the production of your show. I think way too many people focus on putting out episodes,
Starting point is 00:37:27 and that's all they care about. I'm gonna put out an episode, even if nobody's listening, even if I never even evaluate if I'm good or not. And a lot of these podcasters are not doing enough research. I can't even tell you, you've done an incredible job, so this is nothing to do with you.
Starting point is 00:37:45 How many podcasts hosts I've gone on, and they'll be like, how do you pronounce your name? And I just laugh, because I'm like, you have literally like 500 episodes you could go listen to on my podcast to hear my name, and I'm not like a nobody. I've been interviewed on 300 shows, so how do you not know my name? That means you didn't listen to one interview I was on. That means you didn't listen to one interview I was on. That means you didn't listen to one podcast that I was on.
Starting point is 00:38:06 So also step back and realize, like do you even deserve to have people listen to you? Do you even deserve to have these guests come on your show? If you're unwilling to research the guests that you already do have, right? So step back and realize that this is a craft. And you've got people like me and Jordan Harbinger and Lewis House and Jay Shetty
Starting point is 00:38:25 who are like 100% into it and focused in it and know everything about it. That's who you're competing against. So if you want to compete, you got to know as much as we know and try as much as we try, right? So back to my original point, you can't just focus on production. You need to focus on promotion. 50% of the time, I always say 50% production, 50% promotion. If that means that you're putting out eight episodes a month, try putting out four and instead spending the rest of the time figuring out
Starting point is 00:38:54 how to get listeners, right? And so some tips in terms of listeners, the number one tip is that podcast listeners are in the podcast apps. No matter what it is with marketing, you want to be where your audience hangs out. So that means you want to be in the podcast apps. Why do I do interviews like this? Because I'm sure people who are listening to this are going to want to listen to YAP, right? And so a lot of people, you know, are like too good to go on podcasts for me. I'm like, I'll go on most of the podcasts out there if you have like a relatively any bit of an audience
Starting point is 00:39:27 because I want, you know, everybody to know about, yeah, and my audience is in the podcast app. So guest interviews are a great way to grow your show. So try to get, you know, that means you have to be a thought leader, that means you have to grow your social profile, that means you have to be a desirable guest, right? And also ask and target them and figure out how to target them. There's like a lot that goes into that.
Starting point is 00:39:48 So becoming podcast guest. Then there's also advertising opportunities within these apps. So this is something that I stumbled on accidentally through creative strategies. When I was starting out again, I was thinking like, I want to grow. I'm so huge on LinkedIn, but I'm only getting 3,000 downloads a month. These people who are on LinkedIn, they love my videos, they love my pictures, they don't listen to my show, right? There's no correlation there. It's half the people on social media don't even listen to podcasts. So again, you need to be in the podcast app. So I reached out to these players and I was like, Hey, I'll do a feature on
Starting point is 00:40:23 you on LinkedIn in exchange for you guys feature me in your app. Then I found out that they have all these advertising opportunities on all the players. Apple is the only one that doesn't have a paid advertising opportunity you can advertise on Spotify with audio commercials. You can advertise on Castbox with a banner on Podcast Republic with a featured podcast.
Starting point is 00:40:42 Every app has something different. You can even advertise in a way when people are signing up to these apps. They get auto-subscribed to your show, right? And so there's so many different opportunities, but you have to learn about them. And by the way, they're not public a lot of the times. And so you have to reach out and figure out how to reach out
Starting point is 00:40:59 and get your pitch together and make them want to work with you because they don't want Joe Schmo on their app. You want them to believe in you and to feel like you have some sort of potential and you'll keep active users on their platform. So reaching out to these apps and getting advertising opportunities and then the very traditional way is host red ads and in feed drops on other podcasts. So I can hire you and I can be like, hey, like, you know, I'd love for you to do a commercial free app. And you can actually track that in chartable and see
Starting point is 00:41:28 how many people went and downloaded my podcast as a result of you saying a commercial about it. So very like basic concept, you want to be where the people are listening to podcasts and that's in the podcast apps to grow your show. And like you said, get creative. You've really got creative there. Do you think people assume that because they've got a big following on one channel, that it's just automatically going to convert and that's a big mistake? Oh, 100%.
Starting point is 00:41:59 Like, you see it all the time in podcasting. You don't need to be a celebrity. I'm not a celebrity, right? You don't need to be a celebrity to be a huge podcaster. In fact, most podcasters are not social media influencers, like for the most part, it's pretty rare to have both. The one key that I would give to everyone who does have a social following
Starting point is 00:42:18 and wants to bring that following to the podcast is that it's all in the DMs. It all happens in the DMs. So a great example, and you can do this, like no matter if you're a podcast or not, this is just such a helpful marketing tip. It's called permission based marketing. So if somebody, if you put out like a micro content clip
Starting point is 00:42:36 of your podcast, right, and it's like a two minute teaser, anybody who likes or comments on that post is raising their hand and saying, hey, like I want to watch a full episode. In the same way, forget about, let's broaden it out. I don't think everybody's a podcaster who's listening. Let's say you have a product. Let's say you're a real estate agent.
Starting point is 00:42:56 You put up some information about real estate tips, real estate investing tips. Anybody who likes and comments on that post may be interested in your real estate services. And so that is them raising their hands saying, you have permission to contact me. And I guarantee you that anybody you contact who already took the first action of liking and commenting on your post will never say that you spam them, will never be rude to you for reaching out. It is your green light to approach them. So for the microcontent example, I'd be like, hey, I noticed that you liked my recent post with Ed Mylett. If you want to watch the full interview, here's the link.
Starting point is 00:43:33 And then usually, and I always ask, this is a great tip too. Let me know how you liked it. I'd love to hear your feedback. Usually people feel very happy that, you know, I personally reached out to them. This worked even when I was a nobody, by the way. I've been doing it for four years. And they reach out and they go, oh my gosh, she listened to episode, it's so amazing.
Starting point is 00:43:52 Like, you did such a great job. And that would be like great. Can you please copy and paste this as an Apple Podcast review? And they usually say yes. And so you get all these people to do the actions that you want. And so long story short, the DMs is where all the magic happens. The DMs is where you get people to go to whatever other platform you want. And so long story short, the DMs is where all the magic happens.
Starting point is 00:44:05 The DMs is where you get people to go to whatever other platform you want them to go to, does not happen in the post. And by the way, all selling also happens in the DMs, not on post. So use your post as a way to educate, inspire, motivate, and then anybody who engages, you can then whatever calls to actions and conversions that you want to happen, they happen in the DMs. Let's hold that thought and take a quick break with our sponsors. You hear that sound, Young and Profiters? You should know that sound by now, but in case you don't, that's the sound of another sale on Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform
Starting point is 00:44:41 that's revolutionizing millions of businesses worldwide. Whether you sell edgy t-shirts or offer an educational course like me, Shopify simplifies selling online and in person so you can focus on successfully growing your business. Shopify is packed with industry-leading tools that are ready to ignite your growth, give you complete control over your business and brand without having to learn any new skills in design or code, and Shopify grows with you no matter how big your business and brand without having to learn any new skills in design or code. And Shopify grows with you no matter how big your business gets. Thanks to an endless list of integrations and third party apps, anything you can think of from on-demand printing to accounting to chatbots, Shopify has everything you need
Starting point is 00:45:18 to revolutionize your business. If you're a regular listener, you probably know that I use Shopify to sell my LinkedIn Secrets Masterclass. Setting up my Shopify to sell my LinkedIn secrets masterclass. Setting up my Shopify store just took me a few days. I didn't have to worry about my website and how I was going to collect payments and how I was going to trigger abandoned cart emails and all these things that Shopify does for me was just a click of a button, even setting up my chat bot was just a click of a button. It was so easy to do. Like I said, just took a couple of days.
Starting point is 00:45:46 And so it just allowed me to focus on my actual product and making sure my LinkedIn masterclass was the best it could be. And I was able to focus on my marketing. So Shopify really, really helped me make sure that my masterclass was gonna be a success right off the bat and enabled focus. And focus is everything when it comes to entrepreneurship. With Shopify single dashboard,
Starting point is 00:46:07 I can manage my orders and my payments from anywhere in the world. And like I said, it's one of my favorite things to do every day is check my Shopify dashboard. It is a rush of dopamine to see all those blinking lights around the world showing me where everybody is logging on on the site.
Starting point is 00:46:23 I love it. I highly recommend it. Shopify is a platform that I use every single day and it can take your business to the next level. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopfide.com.sash.Profiting. Again, go to shopfide.com.sash. Profiting all lowercase to take your business to the next level today. Again, that shopfide.com.sash. Profiting shopf today. Again, that Shopify.com slash profiting, shopfly.com slash profiting all lowercase. This is possibility powered by Shopify. Yeah, fam. If you're ready to take your business to new heights, break through to the six or
Starting point is 00:46:55 seven figure mark or learn from the world's most successful people, look no further because the Kelly Roach show has got you covered. Kelly Roach is a best-selling author, a top-ranked podcast host, and an extremely talented marketer. She's the owner of Not One, but six thriving companies, and now she's ready to share her knowledge and experience with you on the Kelly Roach show. Kelly is an inspirational entrepreneur, and I highly respect her.
Starting point is 00:47:18 She's been a guest on YAP. She was a former social client. She's a podcast client. And I remember when she came on Young and Profiting and she talked about her conviction marketing framework. It was like mind blowing to me. I remember immediately Implementing what she taught me in the interview in my company and the marketing efforts that we were doing and as a marketer I really really respect all Kelly has done all Kelly has built the corporate world, Kelly secured seven promotions in just eight years, but she didn't just stop there. She was working in nine to five. And at the same time, she built her eight-figure company as a side hustle and
Starting point is 00:47:53 eventually took it and made it her full-time hustle. And her strategic business goals led her to win the prestigious Inc. 500 award for the fastest-growing business in the United States. She's built an empire. She's earned a life-changing wealth. And on top of all that, she maintains a happy marriage and a healthy home life. On the Kelly Road Show, you'll learn that it's possible to have it all. Tune into the Kelly Road Show as she unveils her secrets for growing your business. It doesn't matter if you're just starting out in your career or if you're already a seasoned entrepreneur. In each episode, Kelly shares the truth about what it takes to create rapid, exponential growth. Unlock your potential, unleash your success, and start living your dream life today.
Starting point is 00:48:31 Tune into the Kelly Road Show available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hey, yaap fam! As you may know, I've been a full-time entrepreneur for three years now. Yet media blew up so fast, it was really hard to keep everything under control, but things have settled a bit and I'm really focused on revamping and improving our company culture. I have 16 employees,
Starting point is 00:48:54 so it's a lot of people to try to rally and motivate, and I recently had best-selling author Kim Scott on the show. And after previewing her content in our conversation, I just knew I had to take her class on master class, tackle the hard conversations with radical candor to really absorb all she has to offer. And now I'm using her radical candor method every day with my team to give in solicit feedback, to cultivate a more inclusive culture, and to empower
Starting point is 00:49:20 them with my honesty. And I can see my team feeling more motivated and energized already. They are really receptive to this framework, and I'm so happy because I really needed this class. With Masterclass, you can learn from the best to become your best, anytime, anywhere, and at your own pace. And we all know that profiting in life doesn't just mean thriving in business. With Masterclass, you can brush up on your art skills or your cooking skills or even your modeling skills. With over 180 classes from a range of world class instructors, that thing you've always
Starting point is 00:49:53 wanted to do better is just a few clicks away. On masterclass, you'll find courses from many app all-star guests like Chris Voss and Daniel Pink. I've been taking their sales and negotiation classes and I've been feeling like a real shark lately. I've totally leveled up my sales skills. How much would it cost you to take a one-on-one class from the world's best? A lot. But with masterclass annual memberships, it just cost you $10 a month. I have to say the most surprising thing about masterclass since I started this incredible journey on the platform is the value.
Starting point is 00:50:28 For the quality of classes, instructors, the platform itself is beautiful, the videos are super high quality, you can't beat it. Gain new skills and as little as 10 minutes on your phone, your computer, tablet, smart TV, and my personal favorite way to learn is their audio mode to listen on the go. That way I can multitask while I learn get unlimited access to every class and right now as the app listener, you can get 15% off when you go to masterclass.com slash profiting. That's masterclass.com slash profiting for 15% off an annual
Starting point is 00:50:59 membership masterclass.com slash profiting. The podcast princess in the house. That was so good. Yeah, you've just given some really good tactics and strategies that I know. If people implement and actually go through what you say, they'll get results, but it's tough right. You've got to do in that's building it brick by brick. It's not just getting one huge strategy that blows up and then it's all done. It's brick by brick and then implementing it. Let's go into some quick questions. I'm loving this by the way.
Starting point is 00:51:33 Like some of the things that you said, they just stand out right. You asked for more money when you moved your bar up and you had the 10K ask and you went, no, let's do 30K. That was a big move, right? Because then suddenly you've got 360k to go for it. And then that snowballed and it is a snowball, right?
Starting point is 00:51:48 And what I'm seeing through all of this is it feels like it was the perfect storm, like things just fell into your lap. But it isn't, right? If you take it back, you're always creating the next move. You're always taking that initiative, that action to bring the things to you, to then actually take action on them and listen to the feedback and go for it.
Starting point is 00:52:07 Love that you stepped up, you went to the billionaire and it just so happened that you just created you app. As a business, you've got your first client, Heather Monahan and then you said it right, you didn't hold back, you didn't go, oh no, I'm not sure I've only just done this, I haven't got a website, I haven't got a team yet, you went for it and you said yes, we can do that and you did it that evening, you did the PowerPoint and you went and you pitched it. There's so much good stuff that you're just saying that people can take regardless of their business, doesn't have to be podcasting and just motivate them to move through and
Starting point is 00:52:36 go for it and take action. So, Hala, like, this is great, but let's go into some quick questions. Okay. What is your motto or mantra for life? Oh, I mentioned it before Tim. It's how you do anything is how you do everything. So that's one of my favorite ones. Also, this one's kind of like cliche,
Starting point is 00:52:55 but rejection is redirection and I really believe that. And I'll stick on that for a moment because I think about all the notes. And I always say like I'm very thankful for all my nose because I really feel like timing is everything. And I'm really thankful that Hotna Y7 didn't give me the job because actually when I was younger, I didn't realize that the DJs made 30 grand a year. My first client was 30 grand a month, right?
Starting point is 00:53:21 And so it's like I'm really thankful that I, like of course Angie Martinez, like the main host was making more money than that, but like in the grand scheme of things, it would have taken me so long. And many of those DJs now are contacting me, like, hey, you're the podcasting guru. Can you help me? Like I want to start my own thing
Starting point is 00:53:36 because they're trapped under corporate podcasts is my own thing, I own it, right? And so I'm so happy they told me no. And at the time, I thought like my life was over and like, but like we said before, when you fail, you don't start from scratch, you start from experience. So it's like, even though I was working there for free and I didn't make a dollar, I learned how to audio edit. Like I learned how to produce shows. Like I learned how to do sales. I used to sell showcase tickets to the rappers
Starting point is 00:54:03 in hustle all day. And so it taught me like hard work and I learned a lot from it. Same thing with the sorority of hip hop. It failed in the end. I didn't get MTV in the end, but I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to build websites. I learned SEO, I learned social media.
Starting point is 00:54:18 I took that and then leveraged that for Yap. And by the way, I'm so thankful I didn't get MTV. Look at Snooki's brand. I feel like I'm going to have so much more longevity than that. They would have destroyed my life. And they did, they were trying to make us fight. And they were trying to make me look bad. And they would have, who knows how they would have positioned me.
Starting point is 00:54:36 I probably would have embarrassed my family and all these things. So it's like, thank God they told me no. And same thing with HP, thank God they didn't give me that position that I wanted because I would have never started a app. And so every no has actually redirected me towards what I actually wanted in life. And so just be thankful of all of your experiences good and bad because in the future,
Starting point is 00:54:58 you're gonna look back and be like, wow, like I'm really thankful that it happened this way because it couldn't have happened any other way, basically. You know, and so, like long story short, I'm thankful for all my nose and like everything happens for a reason and timing is everything. I think that like this is my time
Starting point is 00:55:17 and so I'm just thankful that everything lined up the way that it did. Insane, yeah, it sure is, Hela, like it is your time. It's your time to shine. And like I like that. The nose of Guy did you through to be heading towards the actual goal. And then only looking back, do you see? Wow, that was a complete dead end.
Starting point is 00:55:34 And not the right way for me to go. I love it. I love it. But the key is you actually have to take action. So in all situations, I didn't just like, wallow and ruminate and just think about the past. I kept moving forward. And I didn't really know exactly whereow and ruminate and just think about the past, I kept moving forward. And I didn't really know exactly where I was going, but I kept moving forward, right? And some sort of positive direction, even if it was like a little detour, like,
Starting point is 00:55:54 Hewlett Packard, I guess, like working in corporate for four straight years, it was a slight detour, but I kept moving positively and taking action. And the detour, you did the best in that moment with what you had in you were you, authentically, in that moment, at HP, creating that new network. And then that took you to the next stage, the skills that you got there with the next. So what is one of the biggest takeaways
Starting point is 00:56:19 you have got from a guest on your show? From a guest on my show. Yeah. Let's think. Oh, one that was really impactful lately. guest on your show. From a guest on my show. Let's think. Oh, one that was really impactful lately. So I had Nathan Chan on. He is the founder of founder. It's like this online magazine. And he actually has a friend that is friends with Jeff
Starting point is 00:56:39 Bezos. And Jeff Bezos is like, obviously, this, everybody knows he's a CEO of Amazon literally the richest man in the world. And he asked his friend, he said, you know, Jeff or his friend asked Jeff and he was like, Jeff, like you have everything anybody could ever want you literally could buy whatever you want. What is a man who has everything desire?
Starting point is 00:57:01 Like what do you desire? What's left to desire if you have everything? And Jeff said, I desire to evolve. All I want to do is evolve. And so that really hit me because it made me realize like the purpose of life is to evolve. Like there's really no other purpose. It's to evolve to get better, to get smarter, whatever that means. And so as long as you're evolving in a positive direction, you're on the right path. And so that was one of the most impactful things that I've heard in a while. And I feel like you only really have that kind of knowledge.
Starting point is 00:57:35 When you've achieved so much, you realize that once you've achieved so much, the only thing left to do is to evolve personally. And so that's the biggest takeaway recently. Not much wisdom in that. There's just sort of, you can see there's a lot of truth in growth and the fact that someone with all the money in the world that could do anything they want wants to grow more and wants to expand.
Starting point is 00:57:56 And that's just complete self-expression and oneness. I love it. So let's talk about habits. What habits have accelerated your success? Because it has been a rocket ship. Yeah, I would say asking and not being afraid to ask. So I shoot my shot all the time. Even to this day, I was shooting my shot.
Starting point is 00:58:16 I'm trying to interview Mark Cuban at Podcast Me Movement and shoot my shot. I shoot my shot with Matthew McConaughey to get him as a guest. I'll tell everybody a funny story. I got Matthew McConaughey to get him as a guest. I'll tell everybody a funny story. I got Matthew McConaughey as a guest because I literally emailed him. And I was like, hey, Matthew, I'm like, I noticed that you're going on podcasts smaller than mine.
Starting point is 00:58:34 And I took a screenshot of like one podcast that you went on. And I was like, I took a screenshot of my ranking. And I was like, I'm like 500 times bigger than this podcast. Can you come on the app? And he was like, I'm like 500 times bigger than this podcast. Can you come on, Yap? And he was like, sure. And that's how I got him. You know what I mean? So it's just like taking a chance.
Starting point is 00:58:50 Anybody else would have been like, oh, Matthew McConaughey is never gonna say yes to me. But like shoot your shot, right? Also, another like, the question was like general life lessons, right? Sorry, I lost my shirt. When we go back to your accelerated success, it's been like a rocket ship. Like, are there any habits or kind of strategies that you've doubled down on? Like, I love that. Shoot your
Starting point is 00:59:11 shot. Just just ask, just go for it. Don't, don't be your own limiter. What else has kind of got you there in terms of habits? Yeah, I mean, relentless action towards growth. Like, I'm always trying to think of new ways to grow the shell. Like, that's the game, right? How do I get more listeners? And it's just experimenting. So it's like, I'll give you one example. We have new Spotify playlists. I have this crazy idea that I'm going to reach out
Starting point is 00:59:35 to college professors all over America. I'm going to create playlists about human behavior and sales and careers, whatever it is, and target professors and be like, add me to your curriculum. You know what I mean? I mean, you have a playlist. My team will create a worksheet.
Starting point is 00:59:50 Like, let me know if you use it. And then I'm going to get like hundreds of kids at a time listening to my show and spreading the word. Like, it's all about these like creative strategies. And it sounds really time consuming, but that's like the only thing that works right now. Like, unless you're're gonna pour thousands of dollars in Google ads and Facebook ads that honestly don't even work, right?
Starting point is 01:00:09 And so just like coming up with creative strategies to grow, I feel like that's a habit. Just taking action all the time is a habit, right? Not sitting on my laurels and expecting things to just happen. I literally take action every day and I've instilled that mentality in my team to just take action and feel like they're able to make decisions without me
Starting point is 01:00:30 and take actions on my behalf to grow the show. And so I feel like those are some things that I've done in order to accelerate our success. Fantastic, fantastic. So books wise, what's your favorite book? Recommend. So the first, side of a couple books, the first, I'm going to mention is from Dr. Jack Shaffer, he was actually the first guest on my show.
Starting point is 01:00:54 He's been on, yeah, 304 times his, this X FBI agent, he wrote something called the like switch. And it's all about how to nail your first impressions, how to get people to like you, how to create friends, and like turn your enemies into friends. And honestly, I've listened to that book maybe 50 times. It is amazing. It's called the like switch by Dr. Jack Shafer. I recommend the audible book, especially if you like podcasts, you're going to love the audible book. It is just a gem, so much useful information. It seems obvious, but it will just help you in every aspect of your life. How to smile
Starting point is 01:01:30 properly. How to have a conversation with someone so they feel like they're important and they want to like you more. It just helps you with your networking. I feel like it's a very important book. I also love Chris Voss, also came on my show, never split the difference. So that's one of my favorite like sales and negotiation books just so much great information in that book. Had to make friends and influence people, Napoleon Hill, also such a great book. I love human behavior.
Starting point is 01:01:58 Robert Green, the 50 laws of power, the 50 laws of human nature, I think it's called actually, sorry. He's got so many books. Robert Green is amazing too. So anything by Robert Green and his human behavior books, I love. Let's see, I'm seeing a theme here about influence psychology and...
Starting point is 01:02:16 I know, I don't know, I love that so much. I talk about that so much on the app. I just feel like it's an incredible skill to have, whether you're a marketer or in sales, or just no matter where you are in life, even just improving your own relationships. Human behavior and studying that is just so powerful. It's one of my favorite topics to talk about on you.
Starting point is 01:02:35 Brilliant. How can someone maximize achieving that goal? Or goal achieving? There's lots of ways. First of all, write it down. That's one of the biggest things that I feel like a lot of people just don't do. They don't write a plan. They don't write it down.
Starting point is 01:02:51 They don't break it down. A lot of people just hope and wish and do a lot of talking, but they never put pen to paper. So write it down, break it down into steps, put a timeline around it, and make it real. Like that's how you make it real. The other thing that I would say is that if you have a goal, say it out loud, say it often, you know, I'm constantly saying that I'm gonna be the number one
Starting point is 01:03:17 female podcaster in the world, because that's my goal. And so I say it any time I can say it, I say it. Even if it makes me look arrogant or not humble, I don't care. I was actually just talking about this on my podcast. I feel like I'm anti-humble. I feel like that's one of the sickest things going on in our culture right now,
Starting point is 01:03:34 is that everybody thinks that they have to be humble. But what they don't realize is that humble, actually the meaning of humility is to be low to the ground, right? So do you want to be low to the ground? Or do you want to be high and big? Or do you want to be high and big? Of course you want to be high and big. So stop worrying about what other people think.
Starting point is 01:03:50 When you talk about your accomplishments or your goal is like, just say it out loud. Be proud of where you want to go and say it out loud and often. And by the way, when you say it out loud and you repeat it, your mind starts to see the opportunities that you otherwise would be blind to. So once I had the goal to have a social media agency,
Starting point is 01:04:09 I started seeing all the demand that I was ignoring. All these people that would, at the end of my show, literally, like clockwork. Hey, I knew to see you're so big on LinkedIn, do you offer this as a service? And I would always be like, no, no, sorry, nothing to see here. All of a sudden, I started realizing that this was an opportunity and seeing those opportunities,
Starting point is 01:04:28 same thing with my podcast. I had the goal to be the number one podcaster in the world. I really believed it. I used to look at my podcast chart and I literally would put my finger on the top of the corner of my computer screen and I'm like, one day, that's going to be like up there. And I used to always say that and I used to cry, like being like, why isn't it there and like be so into it, you know? And like envision that line going up. And then one day that line literally was what I imagined.
Starting point is 01:04:53 And it's because I would think about it. And because I thought about it so much and I wrote it down and I took action, I started seeing the opportunities, like reaching out to the podcast players, like just seeing, just shaking my shot because I believed that I could do it, right? And the other thing that you need to keep in mind is that in order for all of this to work
Starting point is 01:05:13 and for you to achieve your goals, you actually need to believe that it's possible, right? So, none of this works if you don't actually believe that it's possible. So, if you have confidence issues, do the work to stop negative self-talk, to become more confident and actually believe that life is limitless and your goals are possible and you will start to take the actions needed. So I have so much content on Young & Profiting Podcasts about how to achieve your goals
Starting point is 01:05:39 and stop the negative self-talk, believing in yourself. And so I'd love for you guys to check that out if you want more information on that. Hello, Tah-Ha. Like, this is what people should be doing every day. They should be getting totally into your own profiting. Where can they find you? Where can the audience go to to find more about you?
Starting point is 01:05:58 So younger profiting is on every single major podcast player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, CastBox. You can also find me on LinkedIn. Just search for my name. It's Halah Taha and I'm on Instagram at Yap with Halah. This has been a blast. Thank you so, so much. So much gratitude going from me for you coming on here. And just this is the ultimate story of growth. This is someone that in the space of the last decade has taken their skills and they've just stacked them and just moved and hustled and had grit and determination. I can see this emanating from me. This is so much that you've just shared that I know it's going to help the audience and it's going to resonate with them really deeply. So thank you. Thank you so much, Tammy.
Starting point is 01:06:36 You did such a great job and I wish you the best of luck on your podcasting journey. Are you looking for ways to be happier, healthier, more productive and more creative? I'm Gretchen Ruben, the number one best-selling author of the Happiness Project. And every week we share ideas and practical solutions on the happier with Gretchen Ruben podcast. My co-host and happiness guinea pig is my sister Elizabeth Kraft. That's me, Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer in Hollywood. Join us as we explore fresh insights
Starting point is 01:07:08 from cutting-edge science, ancient wisdom, pop culture, and our own experiences about cultivating happiness and good habits. Every week we offer a try this at home tip you can use to boost your happiness without spending a lot of time, energy, or money. Suggestions such as follow the one-minute rule. Choose a one-word theme for the year or design your summer.
Starting point is 01:07:27 We also feature segments like, know yourself better where we discuss questions like, are you an over buyer or an under buyer? Morning person or night person, abundance lever or simplicity lever? And every episode includes a happiness hack, a quick, easy shortcut to more happy. Listen and follow the podcast,
Starting point is 01:07:44 happier with Gretchen Rubin. When you download the Croger app, you have easy access to savings every day. Shop weekly sales and get personalized coupons to get the most value out of every trip every time, whether you shop in-store or online. Download the Croger app now to Save Big. Croger, fresh for everyone, must have a digital account to redeem offers. Restrictions may apply, see site for details. Save Big on your favorites with the Buy, Fiver More, Save a Dollar each sale.
Starting point is 01:08:10 Simply buy Fiver More participating items and save a dollar each with your card. Kruger, fresh for everyone.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.