#46 Author Meghan Cosenzo live on CTV (and a debrief chat about her book writing journey!)
Do you feel your stories need to be shared because they will help people avoid your mistakes? Maybe you're like Meghan was - $120k in debt and determined to get back to zero.
Meghan Cosenzo is my guest in this episode. She talks about her book that came out in early 2021, Getting Back to Zero, the story of why and how she got into debt and the steps she took to get out. Whether you're in debt and need a team of cheerleaders to help get you back to zero or you're an aspiring author, this episode will fuel your fire and get you moving forward!
Learn more about Meghan, her book and her videography business at cosenzomedia.com!
***AND WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE LAUNCHING OUR VERY EXCITING NEW PROJECT FOR YOU IN THE SUMMER OF 2021! LISTEN TO THE END OF THE EPISODE TO HEAR WHAT IT IS!!!!
My name is Lyndsie Barrie and I'm so glad you have found FempreneurLand! We are a group of hundreds real, live women based in Calgary, Alberta who want to help you monetize your talents and fulfill your dreams through effective marketing and strategic lifestyle design. Check out all the events we have coming up, both networking and business growth training, at FempreneurLand.com and on Instagram @yycfempreneurs! Thanks for supporting the podcast by subscribing, listening and sharing!
PS - If you want to write your first book, reach out to me so I can help you at FempreneurLand.com/contact!
Every Tuesday a new episode of the Fempreneur Marketing Podcast drops! Subscribe:
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Until next time,
Lyndsie Barrie
Author and Founder, FempreneurLand.com
News Anchor [0:00 - 0:37]
Welcome back. It is 8 40 on your Wednesday morning. And debt is a scary word. And usually a topic that most of us prefer to sweep under the rug. But the hard truth is the majority of Canadians live with debt hanging over their heads. But that doesn't always have to be the case. We are connecting now with author Megan Costanzo, author of Getting Back to Zero. Thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Absolutely. Now I just mentioned it dead is one of those uncomfortable conversations that we don't really love to have. Now you didn't just write a book about getting debt free. You actually lived the experience. So, can you talk to me a bit about your personal journey?
Megan [0:41 - 2:41]
Today's episode is featuring two interviews with Megan cas Enzo. First of all, you're going to hear the interview she did on CTV News where she got to talk about her brand new book called Getting Back To Zero. Um, a lot of women who I talked to about writing a book, they feel the message they have to share in their book has been shared before. In other books. They feel they aren't unique. Um really they're just playing small. Um or they don't realize that their story, even though it could be very similar to someone else's, maybe the message is the same, but they don't realise is they're going to deliver that message differently. Now. Megan, of course, was very brave and she shared her journey of being over $100,000 in debt and how she climbed out of that, how she worked her way out of that and got back to zero. That's a really a really heavy topic and I'm really proud of her for doing that. Now. We've all been through some hard things that we would love to share with others because we want to stop them from having to suffer through the way we did. And we feel that if they had had some key steps, some a bit of a blueprint, even they would have got from point A to point B faster. They wouldn't have felt alone, they wouldn't have felt maybe ashamed or embarrassed that they were struggling. So, if you have a book in your heart, on your on your heart, in your mind, a book that keeps you up at night, or even just the time it pops into your head is an idea that you'd like to pursue. You should absolutely pursue it. And so today's interview with Megan, I hope will inspire you to write that book to surround yourself with other women who are writing books and I can absolutely help you with that. So, please reach out to me if you want to write a book. So, let's dive into this interview with Megan CAS Enzo on CTV, which is going to be followed by an interview that I did with her immediately after she was on CTV that same day. Just to get a little more of the back story behind what went on to lead up to this point of her being on CTV talking about her new book,
News Anchor [2:41 - 5:59]
we are connecting now with author Megan Costanzo. Author of getting back to Zero. Thanks for joining us. Yeah, thanks for having me. Absolutely. Now I just mentioned it dead is one of those uncomfortable conversations that we don't really love to have. Now you didn't just write a book about getting debt free. You actually lived the experience. So, can you talk to me a bit about your personal journey? Sure, basically I had a company that was online, I was also in the film industry and I still am. But what happened was the film industry in Regina kind of died and I ended up finding myself trying to rely on my business, which is more at the time of hobby and I just accumulated a whole bunch of debt and then I found myself, it was around 120,000 into debt and it was a hard truth because I felt like I was living a secret life, I didn't even tell my family or my spouse at the time, it was like my hidden life that I tried to just continue to get let go of. And so the book is really about my journey, being aware like, hey, this is something that I created, this is my responsibility and how do I go from having all this debt to getting back to zero because it really felt like it was, it was all I was, you know what I mean? Like it was a defining moment, right? Yeah exactly. The stigma around sharing about your debt. But the truth is, most of us do have debt. So this led to you publishing your most recent book, how's the book setup you said it's part of your personal journey but is there a guide for people? Uh there will be a guy that's coming out. But basically I laid out each chapter so I paid it off last year and then each chapter ends with a thought provoking questions. The things that I went through in the chapter. I'm like okay think about yourself, think about where you are at now and how does how does that layout and where do you want to be um going forward? Um And yeah there's a guy coming out later right? Talk to me about that guy because it's going to have some some action, some movement to it may be getting people moving who are afraid to kind of tackle those numbers. Yes, my story was more like an inspirational story, motivational story for people to get like going or maybe ship some thinking, but the guide is actually like a laid out plan. So it makes you think about your actual financial picture, your income, your expenses and how do you really get back to zero? And then looking at once you get back to zero, what are your goals? But is your vision for your life? Right? And you know what I love about this too is you're not saying it's going to happen in a year. Let's pull up a board here. You gave me some quick tips. I asked if you had something you would share with us, Talk us through it. Uh sure basically you look at your financial picture honestly. So where are you currently, where is all the money laying or owed? And then you want to get a support system. So that's one thing that I didn't do, I didn't ask for help and until it was a little too late and I did have a support system after that. But it's really important to really be honest with at least one person being like, hey, this is where I am and it's unfortunate but I want to do something about it and then you create a plan and you create a budget and you follow through and you let go of expenses that you might have that you don't necessarily need and you live super basic and simple with your means and then you really keep your eye on the prize like where do you want to go from here? Your debt shouldn't define you. Hey
Lindsay here again, before we transition to the kind of post interview interview I did with Megan. I want to let you know that I'm going to share something really exciting with you at the end of that interview regarding a project that make it and I are working on in the realm of producing a television show. So stay tuned for that and let's get into the post interview interview with Megan here. Okay, so Megan was on the news this morning. Tell us how that went and just give us a little debrief.
News Anchor [6:31 - 6:47]
It wasn't good. It was really cool disk using the platform. Being able to be on the news anywhere. You know what I mean? Like I'm literally in a hotel room because I have to work. Um, so yeah, the lady was super nice and I got to talk about my book and I don't know,
Megan [6:47 - 6:56]
good, good, good. Something exciting is in the works, You talked about it a little bit on the news this morning, You tell us more about that.
News Anchor [6:57 - 7:46]
Sure, I wanted to create a guide for my book because I know that the book itself is more my journey and it's supposed to be like inspirational and motivational for people, but I also want to be able to have, help people create action steps and help them get out of debt. So I created this action guide that goes through all of the different levels, you know, creating your financial picture, getting some plan and budget, getting support system, getting rid of expenses, creating a vision and goals, and really keeping your eye on the prize to get there. So, um yeah, it should be available soon, It actually is done. I'm just trying to get it uploaded to amazon properly for printing purposes. But yeah, I'm excited about it just because I know um that's what people need. They need accountability and action
Megan [7:46 - 7:55]
really, I think, you know, it sounds like the inspiration for your book was knowing that there's so many people out there who are in debt and are not talking about it are
News Anchor [7:55 - 7:56]
fighting through it
Megan [7:56 - 7:58]
and faking being okay
News Anchor [7:58 - 7:59]
and your
Megan [7:59 - 8:13]
thought provoking questions at the end of this chapter are there's three of them. Have you written down the things you love doing? Is there a way to utilize the things you love to your advantage? So I think you're meeting like creating income streams from things you love to do.
News Anchor [8:14 - 8:14]
Yes.
Megan [8:14 - 8:24]
And then what is your story, what has brought you to where you are at this point in time? Do you want to talk a little bit more about what you hope those three questions do for people who are reading your book?
News Anchor [8:25 - 9:13]
Um sure for me, for example, it felt like I lost myself, like I had this all this passion and all this creative juices flowing when I was younger and then as you get adult, ng, you lose sight of who you really are. And that happens to a lot of people, they just go day by day, sleeping, working, eating, sleeping, working, eating. And it's like, no really, where are you be present where you are and just think about what you really love to do. I forgot that. I really love to dance and I loved to, you know, do theater and things like that and get out to nature and it's really getting back to your roots and figuring out, um, you know what makes you happy? that is important because that will motivate you to really work hard to get out of debt.
Megan [9:14 - 9:39]
I think so too. And I've never really heard anyone come at it from that angle because I think a lot of people stay so focused on the numbers and for me that does not work and I'm like you I need tangible tangible goals that feel good, you know, and that are going to be unique to me because you know what I love isn't what everyone else loves. I'm speaking of what what you love, where are you right now and what are you, what are you up to
News Anchor [9:39 - 10:05]
today? But funny enough, I did that interview in my hotel room because we're working in Canon, ask us on a tv show. So I had to uh figure out how to make this work. And my computer is literally on my suitcase because I like to keep it raised, so it's not a weird angle like looking at my nose. Yeah. And uh yeah, so I'm just staying at the Delta and can Damascus and it's pretty sweet. Yeah,
Megan [10:05 - 10:18]
that's yeah, the Delta can ask us. Oh yeah, that's super sweet. Um I know you can't talk a lot about what you're doing today, but can you say what the name of the show is and what's going on there as far as like, you know what actually you're working on?
News Anchor [10:18 - 10:32]
Oh sure, yes, I um why work in the camera department? And I'm working on Jan season three. So the Jann Arden tv show, which I don't know where it's plays, but I know it's on crave. Yeah. Okay. Okay, cool.
Megan [10:33 - 10:35]
So you hang out with Jann Arden every day, That must be
News Anchor [10:35 - 10:39]
fun. She's pretty funny. Is she? Yeah,
Megan [10:39 - 10:45]
I loved, I loved watching her, I used to watch the rick Mercer show all the time and I loved watching her on that so that's cool.
News Anchor [10:45 - 10:50]
Yeah, lots of jokes on set. It's not a dull moment that's for sure, awesome. So you're,
Megan [10:50 - 11:03]
You're hanging out in the lap of luxury, working in the TV industry just wrote a book, have a kick ass videography business got out of debt a year ago. Over 100 and $20,000 of debt. I don't understand.
News Anchor [11:04 - 11:05]
Um So
Megan [11:05 - 11:07]
what now what's, what's coming for you?
News Anchor [11:08 - 11:39]
I'll be honest, it kind of feels weird because I was always so focused on the money and trying to get that paid off. Like even now I'm just like well now what you know? Um so I have to really get clear and focused on what I want to create, but that is for sure around media and film and telling people's stories through video. So that is really what I'm creating and building right now is just some programs and ways to get out there and, and motivate people and be impactful I guess. Yeah, yeah.
Megan [11:39 - 11:41]
So you're being very,
News Anchor [11:41 - 11:42]
you're very you're
Megan [11:42 - 11:50]
skimming over the power of what you're offering here. So I'm going to just take a moment to give everyone my version of what
News Anchor [11:50 - 11:51]
you're okay.
Megan [11:51 - 12:43]
So these programs that Megan just talked about, um she recently did this program, which was a group of entrepreneurs who needed video. They needed high quality video for their websites and social media etcetera. So she recorded these incredible videos for them and edited them and now they have these very awesome videos, so they're very professional, but yet very natural Megan does a great job of helping you be yourself in a video. Um not you're terrified, stuttering, shaking self, but like, you know, a little bit of nerves is okay, right. I think I saw a little bit of nerves and some of those videos, but I think I like that, I like it when people are obviously a little bit nervous just a little bit because it shows that they care. Um but anyways, so you have these programs that help people um create video, So tell us more about like what that is.
News Anchor [12:43 - 13:40]
Um well, it's really in a beta stage right now, but the program is like a four week course where I go through in group sessions and one on one how to create your story and sell your brand on video um in a way that is impactful and can connect people and attract your tribe. So it goes through all the different aspects, so your vision, you know, your mission, your purpose, what does that look like? And then you create and develop a story and a script and then we go through different aspects of video, like lighting and uh, you know, clothing and what you should look in front of the camera because that is also important. And then in the end, once we go through all that process, I consult with you and then I actually shoot the videos or help you shoot the videos because it can be done remotely. Um, so it looks professional and I edit it with like we call it B roll and different things to create an interesting story, you know what I mean? So people are intrigued and want to learn more.
Megan [13:41 - 17:03]
Nice, Nice. So check out Megan everything Megan at Costanzo Media dot com. Thank you for letting me do some prompt to interview with you Megan, You're welcome. All right there. You have it in a moment. I'm going to share something very exciting with you. But first I just wanna let you know that Megan's guide, the step by step guide book that goes along with her story in the back to zero or getting back to zero book is on amazon now, so you can get both the guide and the book on amazon. She has put so much love and knowledge and so much pain honestly, like she struggled for six years to get out of debt and she wants you to be able to do it to accept faster because you will have her story and the things she knows works and the things she knows doesn't work all at your fingertips. So if you are in debt, you're not alone, reach out. Get help. Start by getting the books. Megan is available to chat with you like reach out to her. Cosenza media dot com on instagram at Cosenza Media Now, Megan and I, we have, We have been working on an idea that we chatted about probably, I think for the first time we chatted about it in January of 2021 and we are getting to work on it. And what it is is a reality TV series and it is about the marketing school and the women in the marketing school because what we want to do is make sure that women everywhere and anywhere who have a business idea or maybe a business that's kind of floundering because they're lacking inspiration and ideas for marketing or maybe ways to repackage their awesome talents to be able to make more money. We want to help them get unstuck, get moving forward, become more financially secure, become more happy in life and just be more fulfilled with the way they earn money and just the lifestyle that they're leading. So we're creating a reality tv series about that. So you're going to learn all the marketing awesomeness but not only that you're going to get to connect with the women who come through the marketing school. We have about 100 and 50 graduates through from printer marketing school at this point in time. And obviously that number keeps going up and up. The classes are anywhere from 8 to 12 women and they get to know each other super well. Um They yeah they just they share their hearts, their challenges there winds their ideas and it's powerful and it's it's just not something you can get from purchasing an online course where you're watching recordings, you need that connection with other from printers And I want to bring that right to you because every one of the women that you see on this reality tv show will be available to chat with you through either instagram. Yeah. Um I really just want to keep expanding this amazingly awesome connected community of fem printers and just make sure that more and more women know about us and that we are real women with really great tools and strategies that work. And most of all we just want to help you. We just want to help you succeed. So watch for that. We'll be talking more about that here in the podcast in the coming weeks and months. And if you aren't following us on instagram you can find us at why I see from printers on instagram. Have a great rest of your day and thanks so much for listening to and sharing the fun printer podcast. Bye for now.
