Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monifa Harris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Monifa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

There’s a specific kind of bravery that kicks in when you’ve got nothing to fall back on—just a dream in one hand and $200 in the bank.

That was me, the day I packed up my entire life into a very small car in Jacksonville, Florida and drove 1,100 miles to Boston to attend grad school for opera. I had been accepted to the Longy School of Music. I had a scholarship. I had a dorm room waiting. What I didn’t have was a safety net—or any idea how I’d pay for the gas to get there.

But I had something louder than fear: a burning in my stomach and a knowing in my heart that said, “This is the way.”

It made no logical sense. I was betting everything on a whisper that wouldn’t leave me alone. No backup plan. Just my voice and a vision that felt more real than the uncertainty in front of me.

I made it to Boston. I earned my Master’s in Opera Performance. And those early gigs—where the stakes were high and the learning curve even higher—taught me what no textbook ever could: how to breathe under pressure, speak with resonance, and show up fully when everything’s on the line.

Those lessons became the foundation of Vocal Alchemy—my method for helping high-achieving creatives and professionals reclaim their voice, regulate their nervous system, and lead with embodied presence.

That drive taught me this:
Your voice will take you farther than fear ever will.
And sometimes the biggest risk… is staying where it’s “safe.”

Monifa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Monifa Harris—Voice Confidence Coach, speaker, and creator of the OMance Method and Vocal Alchemy, a voice and somatic integration approach that blends performance mastery, nervous system regulation, and self-healing. My clients are high-achieving professionals, creatives, and visionaries who are ready to reclaim the parts of themselves they’ve muted in the name of perfection, professionalism, or survival.

My background is an unexpected blend of opera, trauma-informed coaching, energetic alignment, and lived resilience. I hold a Master’s degree in Opera Performance and once sang in the Metropolitan Opera building. But I also healed from liver cancer. I navigated extreme anxiety. I walked away from traditional, “expected” spaces that didn’t know how to hold my fullness—as a neurodivergent, first-generation Black woman, and as a creative force.

That path is what shaped the work I do now. I help people stop overthinking and start embodying their voice—so they can speak, sing, and show up with clarity, courage, and creative power. Whether I’m working with a professor preparing to present research, a founder stepping onto the keynote stage, or a lifelong closet singer ready to record their first song, the goal is the same: to return them to their truth and unlock the expression they thought they’d lost.

What sets my work apart is how deeply personal—and deeply practical—it is. Vocal Alchemy isn’t about scripted performance or performative polish. It’s about presence. It’s about breath. It’s about tuning your nervous system so your message can land, your leadership can expand, and your body can trust that it’s finally safe to be heard.

What I’m most proud of?
The singing. The speaking. The bold shares.
The passion that pours out of my previously silenced and perfectionist clients.
The ones who once thought they had nothing to say—and now can’t stop sharing their voice with the world.

If there’s one thing I want you to know, it’s this:
Your voice matters. It’s not a luxury. It’s not a talent thing. It’s your gateway to power, peace, and legacy.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started with just a handful of people in a private Facebook group—friends, clients, a few curious souls. I held small challenges and online events, creating spaces where people could experience my work directly. It was intimate, experimental, and honestly… terrifying.

Why? Because my work didn’t look like anyone else’s.

My approach to voice and presence wasn’t built on rigid technique or traditional pedagogy—it was avant garde, somatic, energetic, deeply personal. And I knew peers were watching. People teaching at Ivy League institutions. Singers performing at the Metropolitan Opera. Part of me worried I’d be dismissed—or misunderstood—for stepping outside the expected.

But I kept showing up. Gently, consistently, in ways that felt like me.

My best advice for those just starting?
Start where you are. Don’t wait until it’s “perfect.”
Pick one platform. Choose one way to share. And focus on having the kinds of conversations that light you up. That’s where the magic is. The people who need your voice will recognize it—not because you’re trending, but because you’re true.

Over time, I realized that the more I allowed my real voice to come through—emotionally, creatively, and energetically—the more resonance I created. That’s how you build an audience. Not by trying to go viral, but by being so tuned in to your own message that it starts to ripple outward.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Small business is a constant dance with change. You’re always listening—for shifts in the market, in your own energy, in what your clients truly need. And if you want to last, you learn to pivot early and often.

My entire journey has been shaped by pivots.

I went from traditional voice teaching to creating Vocal Alchemy—not because it was trendy, but because it was true. I knew that voice alone wasn’t the whole picture. People needed a path that also included nervous system regulation, embodiment, creative freedom, and healing.

I pivoted through cancer.
I pivoted through COVID.
I built my business from the ground up, bootstrapping every offer. The money I made was what I had to work with.

Sometimes it’s simply about asking, “What can I do with what I have right now?” and then doing it with your whole heart.

Every shift I’ve made has brought me greater clarity and passion: It always comes back to helping others find power in their voice, no matter the noise around them.

That’s the heart of what I teach now. Not just how to speak—but how to lead through uncertainty with presence, adaptability, and truth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://monifaharris.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dramamezzo/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/MonifaHarrisVoice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monifaharris/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/monifaharris

Image Credits

All recent images are Work Play Branding, Darrell Harris for the ones in cream, the others I’m not sure