Meet Trailblazer Heather Conkin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Conkin.

Heather, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began my career by stumbling into property management right out of college. From there, I got into the world of commercial real estate where I started as an analyst but quickly realized I wasn’t my best self sitting behind a desk eight hours a day! A couple of years later, I applied for a job as a trainer within that company and got the job. I discovered it was a much better fit for me. Getting to work with different job functions, creating training content, and speaking in front of an audience played to my strengths and preferences. However, when I became a mother, I struggled to balance the demands of work, home, and kids. When my daughter was four and my son was two, I decided to take a big pivot and became a stay at home mother.

I was able to have the freedom to explore other things. I love stay-at-home motherhood, but I have also always been a person who knew I needed something that was all mine so I explored different creative outlets like photography, blogging, and podcasting. After moving from Memphis, TN (my hometown) to the Boulder, CO area, my photography business was born and in its early stages, I explored all types of photography. As I honed my craft, I got the itch to learn something new, and this time it was podcasting, and like most things I try, it was born out of the desire to learn a skill. I always loved talking to anyone who would listen to whether it was in front of an audience or one-on-one, but I wanted to get better at articulating my point clearly. I thought that would mean joining a local Toastmasters but little did I know, podcasting was the path that would sharpen my communication skill.

During this time, I was devouring anything I could on minimalism. My life was changing. I was getting rid of stuff in my house and commitments on my calendar that was no longer serving me and turning into a much more peaceful and self-reflective person. I wanted to share what I was with my girlfriends, but all the books and blogs came off as weird and unrealistic. Every author or blogger that I’d been exposed to either sold all their stuff to live in a tiny home or was a bachelor with one piece of teak furniture surrounded my stark white walls. This fact didn’t matter to me, but I wanted to make minimalism more accessible. One day, out of the blue, a long time friend called me to ask me about my minimalism experiments, and long story short, The Practical Minimalist podcast was born. We partnered to create a show that would teach moms how to have freedom with less in an approachable way by sharing stories, strategies, and missteps in our own lives. The show becomes successful and we created new episodes every week for about three years.

After our journey with The Practical Minimalists came to a close, I took a few contract jobs, focused on my family, picked my camera up again, and thought about what I might like to do next. I quickly realized there was a podcast shaped hole in my heart. However, I didn’t want to jump back into it without having a clear vision and a deep desire. What I landed on was the fact that I have always loved connecting others. Although I have always had a lot of friends, I have always felt like the outlier; I had so many overlapping circles and didn’t really feel like I fit in anywhere. I had a beat on the soccer moms, the hipsters, the single moms, the entrepreneurs, the crunchy moms… and I had met a lot of interesting people on the internet while making The Practical Minimalists. But then I realized; maybe this is a strength. Maybe I can use my weird social chameleon powers + my love of connecting people for good. Hence, The Thanks Ladies Podcast was born. The Thanks Ladies Show is a podcast where I share things from the women in my life that you might want to know. The podcast is designed to uplift, inspire and connect women. We might talk about anything from how to survive anxiety to how to ached a great eyebrow… we talk about everything from the deep and meaningful to the light and fluffy. There’s something for everyone.

The show is my gift to the women that find it and it’s also a platform I use to promote my photography business (which is now focused on social media photography) and any other idea I have or products and services I might create in the future. I love creating this show and where it takes me along the way.

Has it been a smooth road?
No! When I started both podcasting and photography, I was starting at square one. I had no idea what I was doing. Also, another thing I was not prepared for was rejection, upset customers, bad reviews, etc. For women starting their journey with anything new, I’d say to remember that everyone starts somewhere and everyone experience imposter syndrome. Everyone. As for experiencing different varieties of rejection, I’d say that it gets easier with time and it really is true that if you never have any complaints… what you’re doing is probably too watered down.

We’d love to hear more about Thanks Ladies Podcast.
I create a weekly podcast called the Thanks Ladies Show where I share things from the women in my life that you might want to know. It’s designed to elevate, to inspire and to create a connection. I use the podcast as a platform to promote my photography which is primarily focused on social media photography to elevate women who are influencers or have local businesses. I will also use it to promote other products and services I might create down the road. What sets me apart from others is probably the fact that I don’t love the word hustle. I actually love the message of more joyless hustle. Being a creative entrepreneur doesn’t mean you have to work yourself to the bone.

Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
I know this will sound a little “woo woo” but honestly the thing that has worked best for me is putting that energy out there, being receptive, and BELIEVING that the right people will come alongside you. When the thoughts going on inside my head are something like: “Ugh. I have no mentors. All my friends want different things that I do… etc.” well… that’s exactly what I find. On the flip side, when my thoughts are more along the lines of: “Wow! I have amazing friends! Incredible mentors are available to me!”… that’s exactly what I find as well. I choose to believe the latter and have never found myself lacking in mentors or supportive, like-minded friends.

Pricing:

• Photography Sessions begin at $275 but vary based on location, time and services

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heatherconkin.com
• Email: hconkin20@gmail.com
• Instagram: @heather.conkin

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