Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Angel Tuccy speak to a crowded room at the Small Business Expo NYC 2018. She’s attractive, with beautiful blue eyes and a gorgeous smile, and petite, but don’t let her size or good looks trick you … this lady’s a dynamo of intelligence, emotion and raw power.
Listening to her talk, I felt inspired. As she dropped gems of powerful inspiration, the room was charged with electricity. For me, it was the best talk of the entire conference. She is that good to listen to. So good, in fact that I’m taking my notes from her talk and developing them into 1) a blog post and 2) an entry within my email marketing campaign.
After going over my notes, I contacted Angel Tuccy and asked her if she’d be up for an interview. Thankfully, she was. (Thanks Angel!)
Turn your Passion into Profits with Angel Tuccy
Learn how to turn your passion into profits with Angel Tuccy. She has done it and she will show you how to do it, too. Do yourself a favor and check out the courses offered by Angel Tuccy. She offers a goldmine of valuable content that can help you identify your passion, turn it into a book, and then leverage your “authority” and “expertise” as a published author to get radio and TV interviews, creating opportunities for speaking engagements, more interviews, and future book deals. If a once “shy teen” can do it, so can you. Get started here.
Connect with Angel Tuccy
Connect with bestselling author, radio host, and inspirational leader and speaker Angel Tuccy. Visit the websites below to get started. (Take action now. Fortune favors the bold.)
Angel Tuccy’s books at Amazon.com
https://twitter.com/angeltuccy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeltuccy/
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Courses by Angel Tuccy
Media Headlines and PR Guidebook
4 Steps to Creating A Compelling Media Pitch
Media and Marketing Masterclass
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Interview with Angel Tuccy, best selling author, inspirational leader and speaker, advocate for small business. Be sure to visit her website
Interview
1. Let’s start with your early life. Where did you grow up, what town, state? How was your family life?
My dad was a Navy man, whose job regularly transferred his location and his family around the country.
I often changed schools at least once or twice a school year. I was super shy, and I don’t have any long-term childhood friends, except for one. We reconnected on facebook about 4 or 5 years ago. We were best friends when we were in 7th grade.
I’m the oldest of 3. I have a brother 3 years younger and a sister 8 years younger.
I was a bookworm, loved to read and my mom and I would watch Shirley Temple & old musicals together. Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand & My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn are 2 of my favorites.
Growing up, was there any indication that you would one day become a well-known radio host, best-selling author, and speaker?
I recall wanting to be a cruise director, like Julie, from the Love Boat.
I was just a kid, trying to get through life. I don’t think I had any big dreams or aspirations.
My mom worked small jobs wherever we lived, and my dad’s career was the motivator for everything else.
2. Once you reached the stage of being a senior in high school, just about to graduate … what were your aspirations? How did they play out the year following HS graduation?
I was being interviewed for a magazine in 2010, and was asked a similar question, and this memory came flooding back to me.
My senior year, I took a speech class for graduation requirements. I was awful. I shook like a washing machine in its final spin cycle every time I was in front of the class.
One section of the course was to do a bit in the school’s radio station booth. I recall my teacher saying to me “Angel, you’ll never have a career in radio.”
It’s so funny how our brains and memories work. Up until 2010, I didn’t remember that conversation at all. But here I was being interviewed about my path, and the memory came back to me instantly.
I spent 2 years at the junior college, taking courses on early childhood education, while working as a nanny. Other odd jobs included working retail and then an admin in a corporate office. I didn’t have any clear direction of what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was 39.
2. Did you go to college or university? What was your major? What were main areas of interest outside of academic pursuits? Did you host a college radio station? Can you tell me about any incidences during your college or university years that stand out, in a way that they shaped your view of the world and, perhaps, put you on a different path in life?
I met my husband when I was 22. We married a year later.
I had to quit my office job due to a complicated pregnancy. I had twin girls and I became a stay-at-home mom. My son was born 4 years later.
I was a full-time mom, doing play groups, volunteering at our church and the school. I took a course on cake-decorating, and made elaborate school party snacks and fancy holiday cakes.
I decorated, and then re-decorated the house. I kept myself and my kids busy and involved with church and school activities.
I volunteered to be the MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) Coordinator, and took my first role in leadership. I ran a leadership team of 15 women, and we grew our program into one of the most successful MOPS group our church had ever had.
It was a great opportunity for me, and I discovered something I was good at.
I worked part-time for the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) for 10 years as an admin. I love spread sheets and being part of an organized team. We put together a major golf tournament every year, until they closed in 2008.
I was then hired by a public speaker, Eric Reamer, to be his admin and help with marketing. I became a sponge, learning everything I could find on marketing. I helped him grow his business and he made me a partner. I helped write his presentations, and one day, he asked me to give one alongside of him.
I had no experience in presenting, so I wrote out word-for-word my entire 45-minute presentation. I stood in front of an audience of 60 people, and shook my papers, freaked out and sweating through my shirt to give that presentation.
I was awful to watch, I’m sure.
However, I came back and did it again the next month, and the next month, for 3 years, I put together and spoke once a month to our local chamber of commerce, teaching the members how to attract new clients and create create customer loyalty. We called it Relationship Marketing.
One day, someone in the audience suggested Eric and I start a podcast, so we did. Six months later, a local radio station heard our show and invited us to do a daily 30-minute program on a local station.
We took our headphones off after our very first broadcast and I knew immediately, this is what I want to do. I want to be a nationally syndicated radio host of one of the most popular shows in the country.
I wanted to be like Dave Ramsey. That was November 2009. From their, I was nominated and received many awards, including Most Influential Woman Leader of the Year in 2011. It was quite a ride!
3. Growing up, were you raised in a Christian home? How did that affect your worldview? Later on, once you became a radio host, how did that shape your perspective?
My family attended church on Easter and Christmas. We prayed before meals and before bed, but that was the extent of my Christian home. When I would visit my great-aunt in for summers in Pennsylvania, she would take me to Catholic Church every Sunday.
The best part was afterwards, we’d go to my great-grandma’s home and she always had a feast. She spent all her time in the kitchen, creating delicious meals, cookies, pastries, breads, and people from the neighborhood were always stopping in for coffee and to visit. There was always a hub of people around and it was so entertaining.
When I was an early-adult, my parents and I starting attending a church that was brand new. We had some friends who helped get it started inside an elementary school and they invited us to attend the launch. We started going every Sunday. Jay Tuccy had also been invited to attend the first church service. Afterwards, our friends invited everyone to their home for brunch, but I was working retail and didn’t go to the brunch. Jay asked about me, and my mom sent him to bring me lunch at work. We started meeting up at church every Sunday, and eventually started dating, We were married a year after our first kiss.
4. How long were you a radio host for, and at what stations? Did you work in one state or various states?
We hosted a daily 30-minute program on AM 560 KLZ, a Crawford Broadcasting Station, in Denver CO. We did that for 15 months.
We got our big break to expand the show when the host of the show before us took a job in Washington DC. We expanded to a daily 2 hour program.
We attempted several times to “self-syndicate” which means we paid for air-time on other stations in other states. We were in Arizona, in Minneapolis, in Birmingham, and a few others. Each time we tried, it became too expensive and too-time consuming to find sponsors and advertisers in the other states to keep our program on the air.
Eventually, we connected with BizTalk Radio. They took our show national. We were the morning drive on the east coast and in Dallas. They broadcasted our show for many states across the country, along the I-70 corridor.
In 2016, we changed stations in Denver and joined the Salem Media Communications line-up. We were the morning drive, 5am – 8am. We were waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning. We were on a brand new radio station in Denver, AM 1690 KDMT, Denver’s Money Talk. We were so excited to be included in the Salem family. They had 146 stations across the country and we were going to finally “make it”! We just had to pay our dues with the morning drive, and we thought we were finally making our dreams come true.
After a year, we were invited to also host a 2nd program within the Salem family. The host of their most popular show, Crosswalk on 94.7 FM was retiring and Eric & I were invited to host the show.
We moved to the afternoons. We hosted our business talk show on AM 1690 from 2-4pm, and the Christian lifestyle show from 4-6pm. It was us and Peter Boyles as the only hosts to broadcast 4 hours of radio show every weekday.
Being a woman in radio, hosting 4 hours of live radio broadcasting every day, I thought this was going to open up so many new opportunities for expansion. I was excited and nervous about the potential that was happening.
Instead, we went backwards. Our AM station reduced its marketing budget. The station wasn’t retaining advertisers. Their was tremendous strain and stress on the sales team. I felt invisible. I was spending 5 hours everyday, inside a room without windows, talking into a microphone. I was feeling lost, rejected, and overwhelmed by the responsibility of the Christian program. It was an honor, but not serving my true calling of helping entrepreneurs.
5. Was there an “aha moment” for you, when interviewing a well-known speaker or author, when you thought to yourself, “Wait a second, I can do this, I can do what this guy’s doing!” ?
I remember interviewing Jackie Collins, best selling author. She had sold over 500 million copies of her books in over 40 countries, and I was interviewing her! It was an adrenaline rush.
I realized, because of my microphone and audience, I could invite anyone to be on MY show. And we did.
We interviewed all the great business authors. All the great business gurus, specialists, and innovators in business.
I was so blessed and honored to share their story. I wanted to do that for small business owners and entrepreneurs every where. I wanted to give them the opportunity to be featured as an expert in their space.
I ended up creating a unique business & marketing model that featured small business owners and entrepreneurs on major media.
It was innovative for radio.
We were podcasting our live radio show before anyone else in Denver was – at the time, you were either podcasting or doing terrestrial radio, not both. We were doing both.
We put a webcam in our studio from the very beginning – though it was discouraged by those running the station. When we moved to the afternoons, we were on facebook live, too. Every single day. We were the first to cross over into the digital space before everyone else caught on. Now, everyone does it.
6. Imagine that, right now, you are looking at your 18-year old self. Describe that girl in 3 words.
Shy, lost, hopeful
7. Describe the woman you are now in 3 words. How have you changed and what led to that change or growth or direction?
Excited, loved, happy. I read the book “What to say when you talk to yourself” and it changed me from the inside out. I realized how powerful my thoughts were directing my course.
I started reading book after book on the power of positivity, self-improvement, and taking action. My husband used to read these books together every single night. We are now both business owners of our own companies and have been for the last 10 years.
8. When did you first meet your husband? Tell me about that.
We met at an Amway meeting, and the next week, at a church service. I was dating someone else at the time. One weekend, I was stood up by my boyfriend, and Jay took me to the Denver Zoo to cheer me up. My boyfriend and I broke up the next day.
Jay and I went to church together every Sunday while we were dating, giving us a strong Christian foundation for our relationship.
9. How has being a mother of shaped your view and perspective?
Being a mom is the best thing & the hardest thing in the world. They depend on me to have my act together, and because of that, I want to to be the best mom I can for them. I’ve discovered that I don’t have to know it all, or have all the answers. They need me to love them. And through that love, we figure out the rest. I’ve made many decisions along the way that put my children first, and I think we are a stronger family unit because of that.
When we were first invited to host a daily radio show, the local station offered us the drive-home time slot, which is the best time slot you can get in the radio world.
However, taking that time slot meant I wouldn’t ever be home when my kids came home from school. That was an important time of day for them and for us to connect.
So I turned it down and took the mid-morning slot. It was a tough decision for me because I felt like I would have to sacrifice my family for my career.
Fortunately, the radio station offered to re-play our program in the afternoon, so we could have both. We could host the morning show, and while I was home being a mom, my show played in the afternoons for over a year. It was a turning point for me, and a great reminder to stick to my values.
10. What are your favorite takeaways that you get from your current career as an author, speaker, and small business advocate?
I have the best job in the world! By helping others get the media exposure they need to grow their business, I get to do what I love. I get to shine a spotlight and microphone on their success and their stories.
It’s a beautiful thing when my clients realize that others want to hear their stories and I get to help make that happen. I get open doors for them, make introductions, & remind them of their greatness.
11. Where would you like to be in 10 years?
On a sailboat with my husband, running our business from a laptop.
12. If you could have 3 superpowers, what would they be?
Stopping the clock to savor moments in time.
Instantly transporting to other locations.
Aphrodite touch – it’s like the Midas touch where everything turns to gold, but instead, everyone you touch, feels loved inside.
13. Over the last 1o years, you’ve hosted over 2,000 broadcasts and 3,500 guests. What are some of the most valuable things you’ve learned from them?
I’ve learned that everyone is unique, and when we tap into our own uniqueness, we really shine. We don’t have to try to be someone else, or compare ourselves to how others achieve success, we have everything we need inside of us already. We are enough.
I’ve learned that you don’t have to be perfect, or the best, but you can’t quit. You attract the success you’re looking for by the actions you take every single day.
I’ve learned that everyone has a story to tell, and sometimes, just listening to them can be the greatest gift you have to offer.
You’ve probably noticed patterns along the way. (Success leaves clues. If you want to be successful, follow in the footsteps of giants.) (NLP incorporates modeling as method toward a positive outcome, modeling behaviors that work.)
Do well-known authors, speakers, industry leaders share the same characteristics and habits? If so, what are they?
Leaders definitely create success.
When I first started helping Eric grow his business, I remember asking other people what they did to achieve their success.
So often, the answer they gave me was “I was just lucky, or I was in the right place at the right time.”
I was disappointed in their response because I was looking for the magic 1, 2, 3 formula.
What I discovered is that we all have a different path to take. We all have our own time line to follow. Success may be waiting for us to discover something inside of ourselves.
There may be lessons we still have to learn along the way before the next door will open.
When I get anxious, my mantra to bring me back to peace is “More time with God.”
The more time I spend with God, the less anxious I am about my future. God helps me find peace with my journey.
Every leader recognizes they are on a journey and everyday they take action and make intentional decisions that fuel their vision. They are focused, they know their WHY, and they don’t waiver too far off-course before recalibrating.
14. You’ve spoken with thousands of entrepreneurs, small business owners, authors, speakers, industry giants.
What is the major “achilles heel” or “missing ingredient” (or ingredients) that they need to reach financial success?
Financial success stems from your mindset. If you think you’ll never get out of debt, never make that much money, always struggle financially, then you are right.
We all have the opportunity to be financially independent, but we aren’t doing what it takes to create it. That’s our choice.
When I attend the Rainmaker Summit put on by Bill Walsh and Powerteam USA, there’s an exercise that clearly defines your financial picture. Most people discover that they aren’t on the path to achieving financial success. Either they aren’t charging enough for their services, or they aren’t serving enough clients to make it happen. In America, we can create as many revenue streams as we want to.
There are countless stories of people who created financial success from nothing. They made a choice.
We all make our own choice.
We are not a tree, we can move.
Writing this is a stark reminder that I am right where I am because of the choices I make everyday to either create more abundant wealth, or not. Truth bomb right there. 🙂
15. Regarding mindset, how important is mindset when it comes to financial success? Do you believe that most people set themselves up to fail, that most people “subconsciously” keep their foot on the brake because, somewhere along the line, they’ve associated success with “being greedy” or some other negative character trait?
(Personally, I think that people need to give themselves permission to succeed and that, until they do, success will always be “just out of reach”. Sometimes, people reach success and immediately sabotage the success in order to return to a familiar pattern that of poverty and routine, something that they are comfortable with.)
Just yesterday, I was sitting in a workshop and a woman in the front row was asking about how much to charge for her public speaking presentations. She currently is asking $500.00 and says there’s no way she can ask for more, that no one will pay more.
Sitting in the audience, we all could feel and hear her limiting beliefs like a fog horn. And yet, somewhere in our own world, most of us have that same reel playing in our own heads.
Maybe it’s not the $500 mark, maybe it’s the $5,000 mark, or the $50,000 mark. We have our own limiting belief system and we often don’t realize how limited our world is.
We can see it so easily in someone else. In order to have a breakthrough, I need to speak my possibilities out loud. I need to write them down on paper.
I need to be surrounded by people who are doing even greater things, that pull me up and stretch me.
I need to take continuous action until it’s a habit, an innate action, that comes naturally.
16. You’re a best selling author. Congratulations Angel. Tell me about your book, Lists That Saved My Life. What sparked the idea?
My first book is called Lists that Save my Life.
I got the idea after a camping trip.
I hadn’t even started the radio show yet, but it was in the works. I wanted to have the book written before our show started airing, so I could have the title, published author.
I had written a children’s book many years before, but I didn’t publish it. Eventually, it was my 4th book.
How long did you take for you to write?
I wrote the book in 15-minute increments at a time. It took about 6 weeks. And then editing took another 6 weeks.
It was published in December 2009.
In January, I heard Lisa Nichols speak about becoming a Best Selling Author, and I had a magnet pull inside of me to become a best selling author.
In April 2010, the book hit #1 in Time Management, and stayed on the Amazon best seller list for 32 weeks in a row. I was speaking every week to keep the momentum. I teach my clients to speak on media (radio, blogs, podcasts, tv, stages, etc) every single week.
17. Are you planning a follow-up book?
My second book was Lists That Saved My Business.
My 3rd book was co-authored by a local chiropractor. It’s called Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll – an edgy title but a great health, wellness, and lifestyle book.
My 4th book was a children’s book called Mommy Has Lots To Do, illustrated by my daughter. And there have been many, many books since then.
I love to write and to share. Now, instead of writing books, I’m spending my time writing curriculum for my digital course “Make Your Big Impact”.
18. As a mom, a wife, an author, an inspirational leader, and speaker, you are juggling a lot of opportunities and obligations. Did you go to juggling school? 😀 How do you do this?
I’m a scheduling-queen. Everything I want to do gets “calendered”.
I’m pretty good at delegating and asking for help.
I learned a long time ago that if it’s truly important, I schedule it.
Time with my husband and my family gets priority.
Now, I’m speaking across the country and am traveling every week, so “calendering” becomes more important than ever.
I keep a large calendar in my home office so my entire family has access.
Each quarter, my husband and I take a beach vacation to relax and recharge.
And we schedule family trips, too. That’s my biggest rock. Then my work fills in the spaces.
19. What’s the best advice that you have for someone who has an idea for a book, but doesn’t know where to start?
A lot of people want to start with their “heart” book. This is your passion, your book of poetry, or your story of triumph.
We all have a “heart” book inside of us. Write it down. Just write it. You’ll discover that once you start, it will flow out of you like water.
However, I want my clients to write their “food” book. The book that puts food on the table. The book that gets you invited to be a guest on media and ties back to your program, product or service. This is the book that drives sales, builds your database and sets you apart in the marketplace.
Your “food” book is the door opener to more media interviews.
The best thing about your “food” book is that you likely already have it written.
Do you remember season 5 in Sex and the City? Where the main character is asked to take her newspaper articles and compile them into a published book? That’s my favorite season.
You already have a blog, presentations, frequently asked questions that you can compile into a book that establishes you as the expert in your industry.
I tested this theory one weekend and pulled together a book in 72 hours.
The book is called Jumpstart For Business, how to turn your slowest months into your best months. It was published 72 hours after I started it. I refer to it as my “no excuses” book.
20. What’s the best advice that you have for someone who wants to write a book and be a public speaker, doing what you do?
It’s the same advice that was given to my by Mark McIntosh of Turning Lemons into Margaritas. He said, Just write it. Stop gathering data. Stop asking questions, and write.
Only writing is writing. Research and interviewing is stalling. Put it on the calendar and take action.
21. Have you read “The Secret” and “The Power” (Rhonda Byrne)? What are your thoughts about these books?
Yes, and yes. If you want something bad enough, you’ll make it happen.
If you want something around you to change, you have to be the first to change.
So often, we want things to be different than they are now, but we don’t want to change any of our thoughts or behaviors in order to make it so.
We can be busy, but that’s not the same as being productive. We can read all the books on success, but we have to take the action.
As soon as you take the action and invest in yourself, you’re letting the universe know that you’re ready to be invested in and opportunities show up big time.
I was hosting 2 radio programs, 4 hours a day. I thought I was stuck on a path with no way out. I had a business partner, clients, contracts. And I didn’t know if I was brave enough to make the change.
I started taking action, baby steps towards options.
I took a weeklong public speaking course.
I signed up to speak at a national expo.
I re-worked my sales funnel so I could travel a little more.
And one day, the station manager said, Angel, we’re making a change and you’re no longer on the air.
It was one of the happiest, and scariest days of my life.
Do I dare step away from radio broadcasting?
I’ve been doing it for 10 years.
And the magnet inside of me lit up and 10 days later, I had a brand new path, and brand new journey. I’m on fire for speaking and serving. I’ve been gifted a chance of a lifetime to be mentored by one of America’s top business coaches.
I’m trailblazing for more women to speak on stages. I’m traveling with my husband of 25 years and it’s like we’re honeymooning again. I’m having the time of my life.
22. Thank you so much for your time, Angel, in answering all these questions. As you are a radio host, having interviewed over 3,500 guests, feel free to add your own questions and your own answers.
Thank YOU. It’s pretty powerful to see your entire world wrapped up in a story like this.
23. Tell me about your “Make Your Big Impact” course at www.MakeYourBigImpact.com How did you come up with the idea?
After both my radio shows were dropped, I took a couple days to find peace.
A door had closed, but I knew it was because an even better opportunity was waiting for me.
I need to re-write my bio for an event I had been invited to speak at.
The words “big impact” came to me, and I started writing my new digital course.
As soon as I started writing, it was flowing out of me like water. I wrote the entire course, recorded it, recorded an audio CD, re-wrote my speaking talk.
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Courses by Angel Tuccy
Media Headlines and PR Guidebook
4 Steps to Creating A Compelling Media Pitch
Media and Marketing Masterclass
_____________________________________________
Everything started to click into place. The book, an eventual retreat, the course, my bio, and it felt amazing. I felt free. I felt like my inspiration had been bottled up inside of me for so long and was finally being released.
My new role is to help others make their big impact on the world. I help you craft your story in a way that attracts radio hosts, bloggers, and podcasters to invite you to speak on their programs.
I help you create a business model that uses the power of media to attract perfect clients to your sales funnel. Media is the most effective way to attract more qualified leads.
Being interviewed for a 4 to 40 minute radio interview is the best use of your time to reach the biggest audience. Many of my clients want to make an impact on hundreds, thousands, even millions of lives.
Being featured in the media is the best way to connect with that many people. (although, it took me over 2 hours to answer these questions)
24. Who do you use for your autoresponder software (MailChimp, ConvertKit, OntraPort, Aweber, TrafficWave, or another service)?
I’ve used AllProWeb tools in the past. I have a dear friend who just recommended I switch to OntraPort. I also use MindMeMobile for text messaging, and Acuity Scheduling for my calendar app. My digital course is on Teachable.
25. Tell me about some of the people who have influenced you on your journey to becoming an entrepreneur, author, and speaker.
I have interviewed over 3500 guests, and read thousands of books. Every one of them has influenced me in one way or another.
That wraps up the interview with Angel Tuccy. She is one amazing lady. Thank you for the interview, Angel.
About Angel Tuccy
Angel Tuccy was once a shy bookworm who is now a bestselling author, inspirational leader and speaker, and advocate for small business. Seeing her talk is both inspirational and motivational. Find out more about Angel Tuccy, and how she can help you get inspired to write your book and then get on radio and TV programs in order to promote your book and your business, by visiting her websites below.
Turn your Passion into Profits with Angel Tuccy
Learn how to turn your passion into profits with Angel Tuccy. She has done it and she will show you how to do it, too. Do yourself a favor and check out the courses offered by Angel Tuccy. She offers a goldmine of valuable content that can help you identify your passion, turn it into a book, and then leverage your “authority” and “expertise” as a published author to get radio and TV interviews, creating opportunities for speaking engagements, more interviews, and future book deals. If a once “shy teen” can do it, so can you. Get started here.
Connect with Angel Tuccy
Connect with bestselling author, radio host, and inspirational leader and speaker Angel Tuccy. Visit the websites below to get started. (Take action now. Fortune favors the bold.)
Angel Tuccy’s books at Amazon.com
https://twitter.com/angeltuccy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeltuccy/
____________________________________________
Courses by Angel Tuccy
Media Headlines and PR Guidebook
4 Steps to Creating A Compelling Media Pitch
Media and Marketing Masterclass
_____________________________________________
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