Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monique Hunter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Monique, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
Comedy was always my outlet during periods of depression but now I wanted to share my outlet with the community by actually producing comedy shows – an area that was in desperate need. I had no idea about the entertainment industry, in particular, comedy shows. But I knew I had a knack for organizing events so it was a big learning curve for me. I wanted to do Laugh House full-time which was good in theory. I needed a lot more things in place for that to happen. But I jumped ship from my educational career anyway. Then came COVID and I pivoted to weekly virtual comedy shows and income was very minimal. I have pivoted many times with Laugh House but have not given up yet. I will use the remainder of this year to measure the progress of the company.
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.
I spent 20+ years as a Special Education teacher and coordinator. I felt the energy to work with students draining while the interest in creating a space for people to laugh increased. Comedy has always been an outlet for me during periods of depression and definitely believed there was a need in my area. I did some research and immediately obtained a consultant from SBA Score to learn how to get started. I have pivoted the business model several times including having virtual comedy shows during the COVID pandemic. I also added Independent Educational Consultant to my repertoire and work with families to help plan for college or navigate the school system if parents have children with special needs.
My why for Laugh House is to provide escapism from everyday life by providing feel-good moments of laughter and fun. Laughter is the best medicine and I want people to have access to quality comedy shows without having the challenges of driving a distance or into the city and finding parking spaces. I am most proud of me starting Laugh House. It all started with me being frustrated to drive to Baltimore to see a comedy show and the thought just lingered in my heart for months until I heeded the call. I don’t have all the answers but I started and that means a lot. I want to have multiple passionate businesses which is why I became an Independent Educational. I am so passionate to help high school students have a post-secondary plan by way of college.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn was to start with small steps to get to my bigger goals. I looked at businesses and thought I should be doing the same thing without building blocks. A lot of stress, money lost, and everything else that could have been eliminated if I started with building blocks and let go of perfectionism. Every business I have heard about their backstory, they started somewhere. They just didn’t get a brick-and-mortar immediately or start with a big following. I had to understand that concept but paid a big tuition for it.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I recently read the book, “Start With Your Why’ by Simon Sinek. When someone asks what we do, we start talking about what we do and not our why. People who align with our why will be our customers. This book made me change my whole perspective about my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dmvlaughhouse.com/
- Instagram: dmvlaughhouse
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMVLaughHouse
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laughhousellc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DMVLaughHouse
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq-4rsUUN5pKhsvcKdxKIFg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=J2P2HNeZM9GjkhPfDYpqfA