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

Maura, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I have a very different way of going about submitting proposals to new prospects. It’s a 3-part strategy that places equal emphasis on what I do before and what I do after I submit the proposal. I find that where most people go wrong is submitting something very standard that doesn’t take their prospects’ needs and challenges into account. I always have a discovery call with a prospect, where I can learn every little thing about their business–their big dreams, their challenges, where they see themselves in five years and beyond (Note: It’s a red flag when a prospect reaches out to you blindly and says, “Just send us a proposal.” There’s no way you can do so successfully without speaking to them. Always insist on a call!) A lot of small business owners are afraid to get on the phone with prospects because they’re worried they’re going to have to talk all about themselves to convince the prospect to hire them. In actuality, the key to a successful sales call is listening. Listen to all the little cues prospects give you, and use those details to create a proposal that shows them you get where they are. After my initial call (part 1 of my strategy) I make a proposal that outlines everything we talked about and reiterates the prospect’s objective (part 2 of my strategy). When it’s done, I schedule a second call to walk the prospect through it. When you send a proposal over email, it’s almost like a shot in the dark. Generally, prospects skip to the money part or they might not understand everything you’ve outlined. When you can walk them through the proposal, not only does it show how invested you are in the business, but it also gives you a chance to explain you’re thinking and answer any questions you may have.

It’s for purpose-led, ambitious entrepreneurs who are ready to light a fire in their business and make 50% more monthly recurring revenue.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Maura Walters. I’m a writer, speaker and business mentor for female creatives. I’ve helped more than 100 female founders build businesses they love—without burning out, without saying yes to every single project, and without sacrificing their passions.

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a magazine editor. I used to make mini magazines in elementary school, and my parents actually saved a report card from my first grade teacher that said, “Maura wants to be a writer when she grows up.” I only ever had dreams of working in women’s magazines and eventually becoming an editor in chief.

To get there, I pursued a pretty traditional path (or so I thought): I wrote for the newspaper in high school and took every writing class available to me. I attended a college with a great journalism program, and also wrote for their newspaper for four years. I got a degree in journalism. I was going to do this.

I was the only one of my friends who graduated college without a job. Most of my friends pursued safer paths in accounting, finance and engineering. None of that was for me. Despite the terrible economy and how cutthroat the industry was, I was determined to move to New York City after college and get a job in magazines.

I took the first job I could get, working on the ad sales side of Redbook magazine. It wasn’t my dream job, but it was how I got my foot in the door at one of the major publishing companies. I figured I would keep my head down, say yes to every request and eventually move to the editorial side of magazines. Exactly one year later, I got a highly coveted job as the second assistant to the editor-in-chief of Town & Country magazine. This was it. I had arrived. While there was a lot of grunt work involved, I also got tons of small writing assignments. I attended all the fun parties. I went to fashion week. I met incredible people. I was living my dream.

12 months later, I was let go.

I had the rug pulled out from underneath me. This job that I thought would be the clear ticket to becoming an editor-in-chief someday, this job that I had dreamed about having since I was a little girl, was taken from me. I will never forget being called by HR, told to pack up my things and leave that dream forever.

We no longer live in a world where there’s a clear path to the top. Hard work in corporate America unfortunately does not always pay off. Layoffs are a fact of life, and even the best, most talented people aren’t immune to job cuts.

The good news? There’s never been a better time to be in business for yourself. After I lost my job, I knew that if I wanted to stay in New York City and rethink my dream, I had to figure things out for myself. I had to get really clear on what I wanted to do. I had to charge for my services appropriately, and I had to be strategic about seeking out the right opportunities.

I always loved telling stories, and felt like I could help brands and nonprofits that I really cared about make an impact by sharing theirs with the world. I had several full-time jobs after losing that first dream job in magazines, but finally in December of 2020 decided to go forth on my own and launch Maura Walters Creative. We help brands leverage their messaging to land their dream clients and customers. We specialize in website copy, social media strategy, newsletter development and thought leadership.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I first started working for myself, I had so much unlearning to do! I came from the world of digital media, where it was ingrained in everyone that to rise through the ranks and keep your job, you had to work 24/7and be available at all times. To be honest, our country has a completely broken relationship with work: We wear busy like a badge of honor and tend to value the people who seem to work the hardest. It’s exactly why you see so many parents, especially mothers, pushed out of the workforce. It’s why so many work environments are hostile to people with disabilities and people who have caregiving responsibilities, say, for an elderly parent.

I went out on my own so that I could have more flexibility and set my own schedule. I knew that it was imperative to set boundaries with clients from the get-go, so that I didn’t feel like I was constantly working. I’m very clear about my working hours and hours of communication, and I take a CEO day every Monday. That’s a day that’s free of calls that allows me to focus on my business and ease into the week. I highly recommend it!

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

I think the trick to growing an audience on social media is to make your content more about them and less about you. How can you show up for people? How can you be of service? What can you give them that they won’t get anywhere else? When I started asking myself, “How will this help people?” before I published any post, everything changed for me. Also, I think the “saved” feature is highly underutilized. It’s not uncommon for a post of mine to do decently with likes but be through the roof with saves. When I see that people are saving my advice on creating proposals or a script I shared for telling a client a request is out of scope, that’s a big indication to me to publish more of that type of content. Likes are not everything!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://maurawalterscreative.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maura_walters/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maura-walters-b943382b/
• Other: I’m hosting a Proposals Intensive on Friday, May 19. Since I talked about proposals at length in the article, I’d love to have this workshop included in the feature! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/get-booked-a-proposals-intensive-with-business-mentor-maura-walters-registration-619352268307

Image Credits
Headshot: Kate Milford