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

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school

It was October of 1996. A chronic straight-A student, I had just dropped out of my Ivy League college because I didn’t see the point of it. I heard people talking about the value of learning for learning’s sake, but what I saw was a degree factory powered by privilege, one that spit 21-year-olds into jobs paying $100,000 a year while just a mile away from campus, our fellow humans lived in abject poverty.

When I went back to school a semester later, it was on my own terms. When a professor assigned us to write an essay about the English Mystery Plays, I said, “I can write this, but I’ve written so many essays just like this in my time here; could I write a play instead?” She said yes, and we did a table read in class. I also did an independent study that culminated in a proposal for a new required course for first-years students; the goal was to get them to actively reflect on what they wanted out of college, and why, and to share resources and tools they could use to craft the college experience they desired.

At the end of my senior year, the head of the English department told me I was being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, in recognition of my independent-minded approach to my education. That honor, for that reason, meant more to me than any “A” or gold star I had ever received, and it still does. At age 21, I had discovered the profound fulfillment that comes from making choices aligned with my inner guidance, even when those choices didn’t make sense to my parents or other people.

That experience, of leaving and then coming back on my own terms, was the beginning of carving my own path in life; in other words, it was the moment that the entrepreneur inside of me was born. I had discovered my agency, and my voice, and there was no turning back.

Amanda, 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 am a writer and entrepreneur. My company, Mighty Forces, helps change makers and creative souls attract meaningful opportunities by creating an authentic online presence. Clients include nonprofit executives, media makers, mission-driven founders, and job seekers who are trying to figure out what they want to do next…and anyone fueled by a vision for change.

I do what I do because I believe that authenticity + agency = hope — and I want to be part of inspiring as much hope as possible. Not a “cross your fingers and hope for the best” kind of hope, but the hope that comes from people remembering the power that exists inside of them.

Previously, Mighty Forces focused on amplifying women’s voices and stories, before I had a change of heart in early 2024 and felt called to serve people of all gender identities. My last company, Good Things Consulting, helped nonprofit organizations and independent media companies increase their reach and impact through digital storytelling. Prior to going out on my own, I was editorial director at PBS.org, where I helped documentary filmmakers translate their stories to this new-fangled thing called the World Wide Web.

It was during my time at PBS that I discovered my passion for helping other people tell their stories online, where they could reach people all over the world, without a gatekeeper’s approval. Throughout my career, I’ve also carved out space for my own creative work — that is, to tell my own stories — as an author, screenwriter, and essayist. I write a personal blog called The Creative Desk about living life as a creative human, and was a finalist in the Sundance Episodic Lab for an original TV script I wrote called “Yes, Andrea.” I also self-published a book inspired by blog posts I wrote during my pregnancy and the first year of my daughter’s life, called “Feeling My Way: Finding Motherhood Without Losing Myself.”

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I recently pivoted Mighty Forces — we went from a focus on amplifying women’s voices and stories, to serving change makers and creative souls of all gender identities. The inspiration behind this pivot literally came to me when I was meditating; it felt “all of a sudden” but I know it had been gestating under the surface for a long time. Over the years, I’ve learned to trust my inner guidance above all else; when that message came through, I could feel how right it was, and I acted pretty quickly to implement it.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients is current and past clients! There is nothing as powerful as word of mouth. My advice is to focus on attracting the customers who really want to serve (this can definitely take practice), and then on developing authentic relationships with them, and serving them to the best of your ability. When you do that, in my experience, they will not hesitate to refer their friends, family, and colleagues your way. I have one client who has sent me three or four referrals in the last couple of weeks alone! Plus, taking this approach makes it likely that clients will come back to you. I just had a woman reach out to me who hasn’t worked with me in years. The subject line was simply, “Help!” She briefly described the situation she found herself in and asked if we could start working together again.

A friend of mine is a realtor, and he’s famous for saying, in person and in email, “I always have time for your referrals.” We tease him a little bit because it sounds cheesy (I may have even mentioned it when I officiated his wedding) — I’m not recommending you use that exact language! But the idea is sound: Let your clients know that you appreciate it when they send people your way. It may seem obvious and like it doesn’t need to be said, but everyone’s busy, and it may not occur to them that a simple act like shooting an email about you to a friend could make a huge difference for you….but it can!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.mightyforces.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mightyforcesamanda/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandahirsch/
• Other: http://www.amandahirsch.com

Image Credits
Photo credits: All taken by me Captions: – Photo of me in red dress: Amanda Hirsch – Zoom screenshot: A screenshot of the Mighty Forces braintrust – Mug: A mug that Amanda sent to her clients as a holiday gift – Your Authentic LinkedIn presence: A booklet you can download for free on the Mighty Forces website