Welcome back to our series of inspirational interviews as part of our Brand Transformation campaign! Today we meet Hanieh Vidmar, who transformed her personal brand after having a child. She now helps clients develop the skills and confidence they need to become outstanding public speakers.
Tell us a bit about who you were before the change? What was your personal brand (i.e. how other people perceived you)? What were you known for?
After I left uni, my main roles were speaking and presenting. I opened a salon with my sister in 2012 (completely different to what I was used to apart from the business aspect) and then sold it due to various reasons. After I had my son, I decided to launch a mummy vlogging channel. I have always done my own thing, I’ve always wanted to be and for the majority of the time I always was, in charge of my own time and had my own businesses. I’ve always been known as someone who wants their own business and as a go-getter. In my previous “jobs” I still had my business on the side and I’ve won various awards for my presenting and business.
Tell us where you are now and how your brand has changed?
Today, I relaunched my old business but with a bigger plan and bigger goals. I’m a speaker and trainer with a goal to help people over come their fears of public speaking, help them sell from stage or to deliver investment pitches. I love everything to do with public speaking – always have done!
What made you think you needed to change? Was it a bolt of lightning moment or did it happen over time?
I sold the salon after a long think and careful planning: this is following a car accident and falling pregnant. I wanted to keep my salon and open more but this unfortunately couldn’t happen. Being a new mum inspired me to share my stories and experiences with other new and new-to-be mums but it phased out as I wasn’t enjoying the topics as much! I just wanted to get back to my old topics and use that as content for my new, yet old, business venture.
How did you set things in motion? Did you leap in or make the change in increments?
Unfortunately, mummy vlogging just stopped. I wanted to do more with my time. So I stopped it abruptly, then took a break to plan my next move and that’s how haniehvidmar.com came about.
What was the reaction of others? Did they support you or did they resist the change?
To be honest, I didn’t tell anyone of my plans. It just ended and my conversations and plans had changed to so my family knew that something new, bigger and better must be coming as once I make up my mind, there’s simply no going back nor influencing me.
What was your most valuable resource/what kept you going?
Enjoyment and excitement. I think if you want to do anything, you need to be excited about it and enjoy it. There’s simply no point in doing something that fills you with dread (unless it’s public speaking of course 😉) and something that you simply don’t enjoy. You won’t give it your all and you’ll soon fall into a trap and wonder how to get out. That’s why I changed my role and plans. I want to enjoy everything! I want to plan tasks I enjoy and plan tasks that I’m excited to start on.
How do you feel now that you’ve made the change?
Great! I feel productive, I’m enjoying my tasks and I am excited for future projects and next steps. I feel like I give tasks my all and eager to learn more too.
What’s your advice to anyone contemplating something similar?
Do what you love! If you don’t enjoy it, plan ahead and make changes. But don’t allow yourself to feel depressed or anxious about it. Seek help, seek support, ask questions and make changes – even if it’s one thing a day or even a week. Set yourself a task to gradually make a change, or if you’re like me, and are able to, pull the plug! Life is short and most be enjoyed.
Thank you for such an inspiring interview, Hanieh!