How One Little Podcast Helped Me Build an Empire

Podcast: Play in new window

Subscribe: Email | TuneIn | RSS | More

If you read the title of this post then you’re probably thinking, wait, Heather has an empire? I might be exaggerating a bit. But this podcast did help me build a business, expand my network, and discover a new career path. This is my 200th episode of Motherhood in Hollywood and I’m celebrating! And of course my guest is Chris Brooker. We’re taking a brief look back at the incredible guests who took the time to share their story with me on my little show and what has changed in my life in the almost five years since MIH launched.

My first Motherhood in Hollywood in July 2015

I have to say a huge thank you to my first few guests, Jen Hasty and Amy Crofoot. These two mamas were my only mom friends at the time and graciously agreed to come to my house and let me pick their brains about being a mom in Hollywood. When I started MIH there were no parenting-centric entertainment podcast. There was a lot of comedy podcasts, entertainment podcasts, and parenting podcast but none that combined what it means to be a working parent in showbiz.

Cut to five years later and every A, B, C and D level celeb has their own podcast on parenting. Clearly I started a trend! And clearly I have stayed humble. I had no idea what doors this podcast would open for me and truly, I don’t take a second of it for granted. Before starting this show I never knew what a mommy blogger was. I never knew there was a world of “events” that people went to and got free product in exchange for posting about it on social media or talking about it on their podcast. I was so immersed in the actor hustle that this side of life was completely foreign to me.

Heather and Chan on the redCARpet at the Skirball Cultural Center in 2015.

The first event was I invited to was the Red Carpet Safety event. My friend Jill Simonian, aka The Fab Mom, asked her friend Saraah Samandi if I could tag along with my two year old. It was a blistering hot day in early September and a ton of moms and celebrities were packed into the Skirball Center looking at the latest baby products. And when I left, they handed me a huge bag of baby swag. For what? Just for going to a party and mingling with celebs? I was sold! I started researching blogging, designed my own website, focused on growing my social media and set out to see if I could get more free stuff!

Soon I started making connections at the events I went to and met other moms with similar interest. We shared ideas about how to grow, and reach our goals. I quickly realized that my goals started to change. I didn’t want just a bag of swag, I wanted to make money and start a business. I researched podcast ads, sponsored Instagram posts, media kits and marketing tools. I hired a publicist to help me get my name out to various online publications and to be a guest other podcasts. I spent more money than I made. But in the end, it paid off. I started getting celebrity guests, and influencers for my podcast. Top producers and writers wanted to be on my show! Call me The Jeffersons cause I was movin’ on up!

Then I started being referred to as an “influencer.” This is not a title I’ve ever been comfortable with because it implies I somehow have influence over people. I’m just a wacky actor. Who would listen to me? But that’s the term the industry still uses to this day when I work with brands or host events or speak on panels. So I just accept that’s what I’m called and don’t let it go to my head. I know it’s a ridiculous term and there are ridiculous influencers in the space, but that term doesn’t define who I am. Recently I had some people in my life try to tear me down and belittle my business and career because they don’t fully understand or support what I do. Or maybe, they just let their own insecurities get the best of them. The broke my heart in the cruelest way and tried to make me feel bad for what I’ve accomplished. Don’t ever let anyone steal your joy! If anyone wants to buy me a drink sometime I’ll gladly tell you the story. But this particular post is about the uplifting and wonderful things that have happened so we will leave their negativity behind. And fortunately, they are no longer a part of my life.

But I digress…

I’m building an empire! And somewhere along the way I started covering red carpets. I never set out to do that but after many spending years as a reporter before moving to LA, I certainly had the skillset for it. Although I had left my reporting days behind, I never stopped working in news behind the scenes as a writer. It was the perfect job for me to work in part time while I pursued my dreams. While building up MIH, somehow I got on several email list for invites to TV and movie premieres and family “press” junkets. It was so exciting to get to take Chan to these events and watch movies or new TV before they were released. Sure this is how the stars must feel! I had made it! I was finally a star! But only in my head of course.

I was also invited to join blogger round tables with the cast of these films and “interview” them. Which really just means, you ask one question and then listen to other mommy bloggers ask questions. Truly some of the most grueling times during my journey was listening to people gush over celebrities and ask embarrassing questions. “If your house was on fire would you save your newborn or your dog?” Seriously that was a question someone asked during a “press” event for the movie “Valerian.”

I remember thinking, why aren’t these people more professional? Don’t get me wrong I think you can have fun when you’re interviewing someone but there’s a certain level of professionalism and understanding of the film business and industry that should go into these interviews, especially if you’re being called press, right? But now I realize I was looking at these family press junkets through the eyes of a journalist and not through the eyes of a fan. I can see now that I was taking myself and these events way too seriously.  And I’m embarrassed to admit, I let it bother me.  I yearned for something more professional, to do these interviews in a more professional setting, but I hadn’t put the pieces together yet of how or what that looked like.

It was in one of these blogger round tables for Despicable Me 3 that I realized I wanted to do these interviews one-on-one and not with a group of bloggers. In fact, I was getting frustrated because here I was in front of Steve Carrell who I had worked with on “The Office”, twice, and cringing while he was asked about something ridiculous. What was I even doing there? I’m not a mommy blogger. I am an actor and journalist who just happened to start a podcast. I felt like I should’ve been working with Steve Carell on a set or interviewing him one-on-one at the very least. We are basically peers right? Why shouldn’t I get my own interview with him?

It’s okay to laugh at how ridiculous I am. Seriously, who did I think I was?

Excuse me while I get uppity. I mean no disrespect to mommy bloggers but I never identified with that moniker. The reality is, I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just a mommy podcaster or influencer with no credibility. I found myself bucking against the name that I had worked so hard to create. I had no idea that naming my podcast Motherhood in Hollywood would forever label me as a mommy blogger and that people would look past all of my other accomplishments and only put me in one category. I have won two Emmys and have over 40 film and television credits. I felt like I had a lot more to offer but I was struggling to make sense of my place in the industry. Did I want to act or interview people? And did I have to choose one or the other?

I was lamenting these frustrations to my BFF Amy Calvert who also just happened to be the GM at my old TV station KJRH in Tulsa. I mentioned the idea of being a Hollywood correspondent for her station and thankfully, she loved the idea. And just like that, I was back in my reporter pants! I’m now realizing that my leap back into reporting was totally driven by my competitive nature and the desire to prove that I’m better than everyone else. I know I’m not actually better than anyone, but competition is certainly is a good motivator!

I started reporting again and doing regular stories for KJRH in Tulsa. I interviewed Blake Shelton about his coaching on “The Voice”, covered San Diego Comic-Con and The Golden Globes. I jumped into reporting again with both feet and I loved it. One thing people don’t know about me is that I loved reporting before I became an actor. And I’m a highly competitive reporter. When I have a good story idea, I will cut a bitch who beats me to it. Chris can tell you when I worked as a reporter in Tulsa, I would watch each newscast and flip between stations to see what everyone led with and if they had a better story than me. I might have been a little insane about it. And it’s also probably what ultimately drove me away from news. I was so obsessed, it started to wear on my soul and I was losing touch with a part of myself that I loved, making people laugh.

Quick shot of me on the set of “Get Shorty” with Ray Romano!

I was doing all of this reporting while going on auditions, taking care of Chan, producing a weekly podcast and working part time for KNBC as a writer. And every now and then, I actually got to work as an actor. I filmed shows like “The Orville”, “Get Shorty” and “Atypical.” I was getting offers from brands to promote everything from probiotics to jewelry. The hustle is real. People ask me all the time how I do it all and honestly I don’t know. I don’t sleep very much. Maybe insomnia is my secret weapon. Yet even in the midst of all this hustle, I realized I still wanted more. I wasn’t where I wanted to be. I was claiming to be an actor but my focus wasn’t in the right place. And sometimes, it still isn’t.

But what do you do when the door of opportunity opens in front of you? You walk through it and hold on tight.

After interviewing some of the biggest producers,  directors and screenwriters in town I realized that the reason I’d been toiling away hoping for bit parts as an actor was because I had no control over my acting career. I can’t cast myself in a TV show, a producer has to do that. I can’t create a role for myself, a producer has to do that. While I was interviewing all these amazing people I was also secretly soaking up all of their knowledge and trying to figure out how I could better myself as an actor and move up in the industry.

I started researching what it takes to be a producer and get a show made. I reached out to friends who had literary agent contacts and eventually signed with a literary agent who I thought would help me get a show developed. I remember I left Chris and Chan 3 nights a week to go to a nearby bakery (coffee shops are so cliche!) to sit and write. And after a year or so I had a well-developed show that was ready to be pitched. The only problem was, my agent was leaving the agency for another job and I had no way of getting my foot in the door for pitch meetings. If you didn’t know, getting a literary agent with no referral or experience is a gargantuan task. But I wasn’t ready to give up.

And while all of this was happening, MIH was growing. My Instagram blew up and my podcast numbers soared, well, for me anyway. And I was still going to red carpets and covering entertainment for KJRH. I became consumed with getting every entertainment scoop I could for my social media, my podcast and KJRH. I started to realize that while my acting opportunities were fewer and farther between, maybe this reporting thing could be another avenue for success. I was completely comfortable in front of the camera and I remember reasoning with myself that even if I wasn’t getting acting roles at least I was still performing and getting my name out there in someway. Plus, I really enjoyed it.

A big break, or push in the right direction, came in the form of my news director at KNBC, where I worked part time as a writer. He had listened to my podcast and seen my red carpet coverage on my social media. We had a meeting to talk about me expanding my role and covering entertainment for KNBC. He had the great idea of creating a new position for me: digital entertainment reporter. No one at the station had ever held that position before. I would be the first ever digital entertainment reporter for KNBC and in the LA news market. Now stations like KTLA and KABC have digital reporters but nobody does, or did specifically what I do.  And for the last 2 years I have immersed myself in this new role while still cranking out my podcast, and growing my business. It feels like second nature to me to tell stories and interview people in this industry. I have such a love for the film and television making process from every aspect. And I love talking to actors about their process as well. Truly this job is a dream come true.

And yet, I still want something more. A big part of my heart and soul is missing. Acting. I miss acting. Reaching 200 episodes is a huge accomplishment and I’m so grateful for every single person who has downloaded, shared, commented and followed me over the last 5 years. I couldn’t have done it without your support! But as I sit in the midst of a global health crisis, spending everyday at home, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I know I still want to be an actor. I also want to be a host/reporter. And I love being an “influencer” and sharing my life online. Do I have to choose one path or the other? It feels like if one part gets more attention, then the other areas of my life don’t move forward and I”m struggling to balance, and focus. It’s been more than 3 years since I took a regular acting class so how can I call myself an actor? My podcast episodes are so inconsistent these days that I’d hardly call myself a podcaster either. I have been so consumed with doing a good job, getting the best story and re-inventing myself as a reporter at KNBC that I’ve lost touch with a lot of the reasons why I moved to LA in the first place.

I’ve also come to realize that I don’t actually despise the term mommy bloggers as much as I thought I did. Nor do I have judgy frustrating feelings for those family “press” junkets. I understand their place and the need for projects bib and small to have that kind of press. I’ve grown to have so much respect for my mommy blogging friends who share their lives online. They have actually turned out to be more loyal and supportive than some of my actor friends. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you I’ve grown up a lot in the last 5 years as well. You can hear it in my interviewing style on my podcast (I swear less), and see it in the posts I share on my website and Instagram. That doesn’t mean I’m not still silly and wildly inappropriate sometimes. It just means that good empire rulers should never stop evolving.

I guess what I’m trying to say through all of this somewhat stream of consciousness rambling is, I don’t know what the answer is in terms of re-connecting with the acting side of myself or how to tell you exactly what to do if you want to build an empire. I’m using this time of being in quarantine to self-reflect, get focused, and decide if I have another 200 episodes of my podcast left in me. I honestly don’t know how Marc Maron does it. I have been producer, editor, interviewer and marketer for this show for almost 5 years and honestly, I’m not sure if I want to do it anymore. I have several amazing guests lined up for the next month so I know I’ll keep it going for a while. But what is that saying… All good things must come to an end? I’m sure I’ll know when the end is near for MIH podcast and it will be hard to say goodbye. This show has been one of the greatest accomplishments of my life and brought my family incredible opportunities, financial security and immeasurable joy. It’s crazy to think it all started with something as small as a microphone and a willingness for people to listen. If you learn anything from my story, I hope you don’t let anything stand in your way of following your dreams. Start that podcast. Post all the IG and TikToks you want. Don’t let others define you and don’t be afraid you blaze your own path. After all, isn’t that how all great empires are built?

Thanks for listening. Have a great week! And remember, I’m not a perfect mom. But I can play one on TV!