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

Alright, Maureen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I spent almost 14 years as an engineer with NASA, conducting jet engine research, and I LOVED it. My childhood dream was to be an engineer, and it was my focus all throughout my school years, all the way through college. I loved the gritty test facility environment, the smell of aircraft engine fuels, and the technology we were developing. I loved the teamwork, the camaraderie, and the feeling we were on the edge of fascinating groundbreaking developments.

It was not a typical office job with a structured schedule. I did have a desk and an office, but I had tremendous freedom to be out and about in the test facility, meeting with customers, or going to other parts of the lab to check progress on equipment or hardware or procurement. Our test facility only operated during the second shift, so my daily schedule was not traditional at all, and I liked the flexibility.

When I left NASA to start a family, even though I didn’t have a salaried position, I was still very much in charge of my schedule and priorities. Raising kids was way harder than jet engine research, but I loved it.

When my kids were school age, I began to think about what was next for me. I didn’t want to return to full time engineering for a few reasons. First, my skills were beyond rusty, and the work I had done at NASA has accerlated to a level that was beyond my skills. Second, I didn’t think I’d find as sweet a setup as I had when I left, with the flexibility and freedom I craved.

As I considered my next steps, I stumbled into professional speaking. Through Toastmasters, I found a skill set I didn’t know I had, and I began to develop my presentation skills. I began giving speeches on leadership, which quite frankly was not very fulfilling (or profitable!)The content I had was very vanilla and generic. I bored myself.

Around 2011, I read a book called “The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women” about impostor syndrome, and my soul came to life. I thought “THIS is what I’m supposed to be speaking about!” I dove in and researched the topic, developed my own content and began to market it.

It was perfect for me because with young children at home, I needed the flexibility. I could work when and how much I wanted, I was building my credibility, my content and my stage presence.

My kids went off to college and I focused 100% of my time on building my business, and things were moving along nicely! I was on my way to my best year ever. Then COVID hit and my calendar and my income were wiped out overnight.

Many of my professional speaking friends immediately pivoted to doing more virtual events, with the sophisticated setup of camera, lighting and sound. I didn’t enjoy it, and I had a pity party for months. I decided to quit speaking all together, and look for another income source. I decided to go for something on my bucket list: I always loved decorating. So I took on a full-time job as a Design Associate with LaZBoy. I had no background in design or retail sales or home furnishings, but I”m good with people and LZB needed to hire.

It was glorious! I loved the job! And I was good at it. I learned massive amounts about selling, handling difficult conflicts, retail operations, manufacturing, distribution, and communication across a gigantic organization. I worked there for 2 years and loved it. The reason I left was that once COVID was on the way out, my speaking schedule started to fill up. It was quite unexpected because I hadn’t done any marketing at all. People simply found me through google search.

I left LaZBoy and have no regrets. I had a fantastic boss, terrific team members, and I was surrounded by beautiful spaces every day. Plus, I had a steady paycheck. As an entrepreneur, the steady paycheck isn’t there. Money comes in waves, (sometimes very large ones!) and I am always watching my projections and expenses to make sure I’m living within my means.

It’s the freedom and flexibility I love the most. I doubt I’ll ever go back to working a regular job again.

Maureen, 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?

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an engineer. I grew up in New York City, surrounded by bridges, tunnels, and tall buildings. I wanted to design them. I attended U of Notre Dame, starting as a Civil Engineer. But I didn’t like some of the classes, so I switched to Mechanical Engineering. During college, I had summer internships at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where I was introduced to (and fell in love with) jet engines. The highlight of my college romance life. LOL!

After college, I focused on organizations in the aircraft engine industry, notably General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and NASA Lewis in Cleveland. I chose NASA because I was wowed by the tour of the Propulsion Systems Laboratory (PSL) during my site visit/interview. PSL is an altitude/flight mach number simulation facility for testing full-scale live jet engines.

I developed expertise in jet engine test techniques, infrared thermal imaging, and exhaust nozzle technology. I was eventually promoted to the Facility Manager of PSL and was the youngest and first female to have the position.

However, despite having great success, I struggled with self-doubt throughout my career at NASA. Was I qualified for the job? Do I know enough? Do others realize I’m not exactly sure what to do? I didn’t know it, but it was Impostor Syndrome…the chronic self-doubt that causes smart, qualified people to feel like a fraud.

Today, my story and my techniques for overcoming impostor syndrome show people they can think their way out of self-doubt. My Fraud-Free Framework has been called “game-changing” by people. I deliver keynotes and workshops that challenge well-qualified professionals to truly embrace their skills and potential so they can match their confidence to their competence and unleash more influence. I’m a licensed associate of the Impostor Syndrome Institute, the world’s leading source of impostor syndrome solutions.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

In the professional speaking world, most meeting planners and event organizers won’t hire you unless you have a killer demo video. But getting the footage for the video is one of the hardest parts of the job. Something always seems to go wrong. The lighting is terrible. The sound quality stinks. A waiter walks across the frame. The camera doesn’t track the speaker who steps out of frame. It’s so frustrating!

Then you have to find a talented video editor skilled at telling the story of the content/speaker, and knows more that just how to put cool transitions in the video. The really good ones are not inexpensive. A quality demo video has a definite professional feel, with great music, transitions, captions, a variety of stage clips and audience shots. PLUS, as a speaker, you have to be crystal clear on your messaging, and how you solve a problem the client has.

In 2022, I decided I had to invest in a great video. I still lacked fantastic clips from real events (because I didn’t have any for 2 years!) I hired a well-respected (and pricey) video producer in our speaking world, and he and his team created an amazing video. But at the last minute, I pulled the plug on releasing it until I could gather some more live clips from some speaking engagements I had planned. It was risky and pricy to push it out, but I”m glad I did. The added clips were of me on large stages with a big crowd and it made a huge difference in the feel of the video. I was able to raise my fee, and as a result, 2023 was a record-breaking revenue year for me. I never would have done that without this awesome video.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’m an expert in Impostor Syndrome, not just because I show people how to overcome it, but because I experienced it!

The dirty secret about impostor syndrome is that you never completely eliminate it. But you can alleviate it. It’s not a once-and-be=done thing. It’s an ongoing, disciplined, and focused rewiring of your thoughts. I’m living proof it works.

Impostor Syndrome will try to convince you that you are not qualified or ready for your job, that you’re not as smart as others think you are, and that you cannot succeed long-term. You think you got the position because of external circumstances like luck, timing or personal connections. And if the circumstances were that random for you to GET the job, then you’ll LOSE the job just as randomly. You’re constantly second-guessing your decisions, doubting your ability, and wondering if today the gig is up, and they’ll discover you’re a fraud.

Sometimes I still feel like this. But it’s just feelings, not facts. The facts are different. I’m qualified. I’m skilled. I’m competent. I’m creative. I’m diligent. I’m teachable.

I’ve learned to reduce the impostor syndrome EXPERIENCE to an impostor syndrome MOMENT, that I can broom out of the way and get on with the business of loving my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maureenz.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenzappala/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/maureenzappala