How writing a book helped Helen Monaghan to grow her brand

Writing a book isn’t the quickest or easiest thing to do, so how do you measure the results that you get from publishing it?

I often interview clients soon after they’ve published their book. But that’s only half the story. The most successful are those who have writing and their book (or books) as part of their long-term marketing strategy.

I’d like to share a case study with Helen Monaghan who worked with Librotas a few years ago. She published her first book in April 2016, and she talks about the success she has had to date and what’s happening next!

About Helen Monaghan

Businesswoman Helen Monaghan grew up on the west coast of Scotland and was the first woman in her family to go to university. She thoroughly enjoyed both creative writing and maths and the world seemed to be her oyster. Having long had a fascination with numbers, the chance to study for an accountancy degree proved irresistible to Helen.

After graduation, work doing financial management for small to medium sized organisations followed, and it was here Helen realised what a positive difference her financial brain and approach could make to the average small business owner. “It is well known that most small businesses fail within the first few years due to either exhaustion or a lack of cash. Sometimes both!” said Helen. “New business owners have to do many things, such as business strategy, marketing, sales and finance in addition to doing the work they sell, whilst being a partner, parent, and friend all at once. It’s little wonder most people crash and burn.”

Multi layered approach to finances

Helen’s acute perceptions about money and success, and how we react in a cognitive, emotional, somatic and intuitive way, meant business owners found what they learned with her clicked deep down. More and more entrepreneurs approached Helen to work with them.

“I was thirty when I qualified as a chartered management accountant and had high hopes about what I could achieve with small business owners, but my time and attention went to larger organisations. A few years later, a good friend went bankrupt and lost everything. I felt so desperate for her,” Helen continued. “I had all this knowledge that I knew could really help small business owners at crucial points. Why wasn’t I sharing it?

“With this in mind, I had the momentum to set up my own consultancy, later to be known as HM Finance Coaching, then after working with several small business owners I wondered if I could put my knowledge into a book. I did a survey of my contacts asking what financial information they would find most useful and had such a positive response it surprised me. People were really keen for this sort of information. It was time to return to my first love of writing.”

Fulfilling a life-long dream 

With a readership firmly in mind, Helen dared to take the plunge and started writing her book. “I knew I wanted to access expertise advice in the book trade and looked for a mentor to guide me through the process,” Helen said. She was delighted when she was introduced to Karen Williams, the Book Mentor at Librotas. After one call with Karen, Helen knew she had found the right person to help her achieve her goal.

Story telling expertise  

Helen continued: “Karen has written five business books herself and knew exactly how to tell a sound business story. One of her main strengths is around structure and content and she really helped me turn thoughts, ideas and pearls of wisdom into a linear story that flowed and had a beginning, middle and end for the reader. I worked with Karen one-to-one and also attended her writing retreat which is incredible for supportive time focussed on your book surrounded by other business owners all writing a non-fiction book. After I’d finished writing my manuscript, she then supported me in launching the book to my audience.”

Successful Business Minds launched to the business world in 2016, helping business owners at the coalface.  

Writing a book helped me refine my business goals and push on further 

“I’m an introvert and writing and publishing the book helped me in many different ways,” Helen concludes. “Whilst writing, Karen challenged me to clarify and communicate my passions and strengths which in turn really helped me refine my unique selling points, which has been great for business. Some other big life goals became clearer as a result too. I now realised I’m more driven than ever to help eradicate poverty and that starts with educating people about money and the psychology behind spending and saving. There is no doubt that I wouldn’t have been able to articulate that big life goal if I hadn’t written this book. I’m about to publish my next book about how we feel about tax and how this impacts our business and financial goals.”

The Magical Mix of Money, Tax and Happy Life will be available in the summer of 2019.

The girl from a working class village in Stirlingshire is flying!

Key business benefits to writing a book 

• Writing a book helped Helen clarify her business goals and grow a brand.
• Return on investment came in the form of raised credibility and new clients.
• A clear forward strategy emerged comprised of writing more business titles and selling consultancy that aligns with them.

Find out more about working with Librotas at http://www.librotas.com.