Margo Lovett
Margo Lovett is a woman who left corporate in 2016, 2017, invested in herself to become a professional podcaster. She just wanted to leave a roadmap for other women, how to reinvent themselves at age 61.
She likes what podcasting has shaped her to be – an entrepreneur with a heart. To create Go Beyond The Interview – a media company had to happen. Her purposeful sweet place of energy finds her podcast hosting, interviewing, teaching podcasting and telling her story.
She says that “Marvelous things happen (professionally & personally) when I work in my wheelhouse – all things podcasting.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I grew up in the Midwest of the States; a skinny girl with glasses who felt she couldn’t learn in school unless her sister stood at the chalkboard with her. My sister was my calming agent because I was very insecure, not comfortable in my skin, feeling inferior and in the 1st grade twice.
How that changed I can’t be sure but by my first year in middle school, I learned how to play violin, and this brought out my very competitive side. To play the violin was something that I could master, own and be good at it! All throughout middle school, I was first or second chair (a standard I set for myself). The violin gave me my voice!
My Dad bought me my own violin but much to a shame that haunts me to this day, I disrespected his kind gift when I quit orchestra In my 2nd year of high school! I was coming into the area dominated by 2 pretty and popular girls who always held the chairs that I got used to, and I felt as though I could not compete with them. The lines of pretty (me with extreme acne, glasses), social popularity (nobody asked me for a date), and 1st/2nd chair showdown left me feeling like the girl in early grade school.
I turned instead to journalism, writing for the school newspaper. Funny, I began to see myself as an investigative reporter. Henry David Thoreau caught my eye and I studied his work. Literature found a place in my heart but the violin was never replaced.
Was there any turning point in your life that changed your journey? If so, what was it? Please tell us the backstory behind it.
A few years before I reinvented myself, I studied podcasting/ terrestrial radio at a school in Hollywood, Ca, and took broadcasting as a hobby.
My turning point actually started 4 months before I quit my job of 26 years at age 61. A very distressing event happened at my place of employment, it triggered something packed away in my distant past. My mental and physical health took a downward spiral, and I couldn’t pull out of it. Using the advice of my therapist, I quit! Took a year off in life and returned stronger, better, and ready to figure out how to turn my shelved hobby into a company.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say “YES, go for it!”
The idea of creating a mecca, a place where women over a certain age could go and be inspired and informed as to what re-reinvention , becoming a podcaster, entrepreneur looks like was and is still my motivation and “why.” I couldn’t find the inspiration, motivation I needed, so it has always been my goal to offer a place of transparent honesty to women seeking insight into this big change in life they are embarking upon! Press forward as an entrepreneur (do ask for help),never leave your voice behind, and have conversations along the way with others (relationships).
Everyone has their own set of challenges when starting an entrepreneurial journey. Still, the most essential part for others to learn is how you deal with those. Would you like to share with us your challenges and your coping mechanisms?
Truthfully, I have challenges but they are also common to many female entrepreneurs; consistent cash flow, finding the women seeking what I offer and staying relevant, able to answer the needs of past clients. I find belonging to an exceptional, hold me accountable mastermind, studying the industry, praying to God for direction and simply doing my work help me cope and rise to meet the challenges another day!
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
Truthfully, I decided to create my podcast Academy during the pandemic, and we launched in 2020. What an experience to actually create an 8 week comprehensive course; the power point slides, sifting through so much information! In the end, my Academy has a live 8- week course, a at your pace way of study, and a learn to podcast in 8 – slides. We have graduated podcasters, and many are still podcasting.
Personally, the pandemic causes me to appreciate life, my faith and my purpose in this life that can be derailed or ended without notice.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
I have organically built and hosted a podcast that started in 2017 (many podcasters quit by episode 10 or within the 1st year). We are still going strong.
My Academy has graduated podcasters. Many initially knew very little concerning what and how of podcasting but today use their podcast to market their brand, business, cause.
I have personally interviewed Emmy and Peabody award winners, Grammy nominated song stylist, a US Senator, been featured in magazines, my media kit has a bit more detail.
https://bit.ly/3GDOjJx
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
The change I want to see is that we gather with like-minded women and do our work. Together we can “all eat” and meet success as entrepreneurs.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your personal life and professional journey? What is your personal motto in life?
I learned that nothing was easy for me early in life, but if memory serves me right (and it does), God brought me this far to go all the way with my business, doing good on a global basis and podcasting is my Rocketship.
“Organic growth is good for and to me”.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women’s leadership today?
Just do not believe that you have to fit the old established way, mindset to get your work done; and if where you are has failed to change their mindset, then you must leave!
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
Invest in yourself, place all bets on yourself and keep growing. Mistakes will happen, but keep growing , praying and connecting with like minded people.