Maria McHale, Journalist, Content Creator & Award-Winning Blogger
Maria McHale has been creating eye-catching words and building audiences for over 20 years now. She knows what it takes to get eyes on you.
As a journalist, writer and award-winning blogger, she has written thousands of stories for most of the major UK newspapers and knows what grabs attention.
She created the Get Noticed Mastermind for business owners who wanted to stand out with stories and content that connect with their audience.
She also runs a writing community called Writers Ink, which caters for writers of all levels who want to hone their craft and get noticed by agents.
After 16 years in London, she returned to Ireland in 2006 and mentors creative people who want to stand out online with content and stories that get noticed.
Tell us about your current role and what you like about your career/role or areas of focus.
I'm a journalist and business mentor and the creator of the Get Noticed Mastermind, which helps business owners show up and get noticed online with storytelling and content that converts followers into clients.
I just love helping people communicate their passion and expertise and show up as themselves. It's easy to have the highlight reel on social media, but I love working with people who want to be comfortable standing out while still being true to themselves. It is very exciting for me.
What inspires you, motivates you, helps you to make each day count?
I love helping people do what they love. I think a lot of people can struggle to communicate their work and what they do in an engaging way that connects with their clients, and they also find it difficult to express themselves.
I love mentoring people to show up as the real versions of themselves, which gets them noticed by their clients. They also learn to tap into their own creativity so that they have content ideas on tap – it's a lot of fun unleashing that!
Outside of your professional work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
I love reading, walking, chatting. I can read for hours and walk for miles. I'm very sociable, so anything that involves meeting friends for coffee, brunch or dinner is fun.
Also, any time I get to spend with my grown-up son and teenage daughters.
When it comes to your life chosen career, is there a phrase, quote or saying that you really like?
"What would you do if you weren't afraid?" - It's an absolute favourite of mine that I always come back to.
It's just the best cure for any niggling doubts and always makes me jump. Too often we talk ourselves out of things. I really do think we should talk ourselves into a lot more things.
What are you most proud of in your life?
I'm actually super proud of all the times I've fallen down or been knocked down and got back up again.
It's a great comfort and strength to me that I KNOW I can get through anything. It's made me feel very resilient!
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
That failure is not a disaster, and being a perfectionist is not a plus. I spent so much of my younger years trying to make everything perfect!
I feel exhausted, just thinking about it now. Now my motto is "done is better than perfect", which means I get a lot more done. When the recession hit, I took the fallout very personally, so understanding that failure is not fatal was a huge lesson for me.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles?
I love anyone who stands for something – whether it's being their biggest boldest selves or anyone who is left field.
I'm fascinated by creative people and their processes too. And love reading behind the scenes stories on people I admire. People like Grayson Perry, Eddie Izzard and Vivienne Westwood are fascinating to me.
In business, I love Chuck Feeney's attitude and his determination to give away all his money to good causes while he was still living. So much integrity in his story.
I also consume lots of comedy – I just love how a comedian can craft the most perfect story and make it seem so effortless. I'm a massive fan of Stewart Lee and his off the wall stories.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Getting it right in what way? I appreciate it's not cool to like Amazon for a whole host of reasons, but at the same time, I do admire the way the business works for us consumers.
I also love Netflix and what it's doing right now. Not just the service but the push to create and fund new and original drama. I love seeing innovation in business, and those two have completely changed what we expect in their respective fields.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
My first boss said on my first day at work – "Always be yourself, you are your greatest asset".
I'll always remember that, and that attitude and approach runs through my work now – being yourself is actually enough.
If you can share things about you and what you do, you will find your people, and that's all you really need to get started in the business.
You don't even need that many people—just a bunch of engaged fans who get what you are trying to achieve.
What drives or motivates you each day in a work environment?
I love helping people share their stories. It's what being a journalist is all about, and it's also what I mentor people to do—sharing stories that resonate and connect with their audience so they can do what they love doing. It's satisfying, and I still love doing it.
What are your thoughts on the future of social media?
I love social media! Having run businesses before the internet, it's the most amazing tool ever invented – to think we can broadcast to the world from our kitchen.
That said, I do appreciate there are dark corners and people who make it a murky cesspit at times. My answer is to carefully curate who I see and connect with, and I ignore the rest.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Twitter is my favourite – I love how equal it makes everything. You really can have access to all sorts of people, and I've found amazing people and stories through it.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever been a mentor to anyone?
I regularly have a mentor if I need one. As a mentor myself, I am a huge fan of the benefits of having someone alongside you when you are working to the next level.
I've had several over the years, and if I ever want to learn something, I seek out the best person in that field and go and work with them – if they are good at what they do, a mentor helps you get where you need to go much faster!
How do you network? What is your prefered way to network?
I actually hate what 'networking' has become! I love people and am always curious to meet new people, but very few people know how to network properly.
So there's a lot of people wandering around social media now who are 'collecting' people in some kind of mad numbers game. They have no interest in connecting, only in what they can get out of people or how they can sell to them.
My motto is 'build relationships before you need them'. Connect and give value to your contacts – don't go in with an ask on your first meeting, it's a real turn off.
I love to chat with all sorts of people and have met some of the most amazing friends through networking. When it's done well, it's a great experience to meet new people. You often have no idea what can come out of it. Always happy to connect with new people on any of the social media platforms I am on.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work?
In terms of writing, you've just got to write. Be interested in everything and everyone. There is always a story; you just have to find it.
In terms of being a mentor and business coach, I think you have to have a passion for helping people get what they want and develop a reputation for being excellent. That is a good start!
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
I think doubt and fear keep people small. I'm a massive fan of surrounding yourself with a peer group of people who are on a similar path.
I'm a huge believer in mastermind groups which is why I created my own. Whenever I have had moments of failing or thinking of giving up, having people who are my peers, around me who kept me going is a massive part of my success in building a successful business.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience?
Success to me is a lot about freedom. I started my first business so that I could bring my son to school – I wanted flexibility and not to have to be somewhere at a certain time every day.
That has been one of the greatest gifts in the last 20 years – being able to work when and how I wanted to. It's still the same for me today. If I want to take a morning off, I can.
I've also been very lucky to continue to enjoy what I do – creating communities/masterminds is a real passion for me, and I really do feel like it's a joy as opposed to 'work' most of the time.
I've always tried to delegate the jobs that I don't like or drain me, which has meant I always want to sit at my desk and start work!
Also, I think, despite loving freedom and being fluid about work – that works for me because I've had to create systems that support me. It means that you can walk away and not be consumed by work.
All those things have stopped me from being crushed by overwhelming odds anytime my business grew.
What skills do you feel have helped you to become successful?
I love people, and I think I'm a great motivator and encourager. I love helping people, so coaching and mentoring is perfect in this regard.
I think you need to be able to listen, to be a problem solver and to be very determined if you're working in your own business. I'm all about how you can make something work.