How a Terrified Hairdresser Became a Public Speaking Coach
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How did Donna Riccardo transition from hairdresser to public speaking coach?
I wanted to start teaching other stylists and other salons that the speaking thing came into being, and it didn't go well at first. And I realized if I wanted to make that difference, I had to learn. You have to know your material well enough. You leave them with what is going to help them and make a difference for them.
Donna Riccardo is a confident, empowering, and accomplished professional speaker, coach, bestselling author, and the founder of Red Stiletto. Through her work, she helps women and entrepreneurs build confidence and craft compelling presentations, empowering them to amplify their voices and create lasting impact.
What I had for many years was teaching and training and working with people. And I had really gotten over a lot of fears. And so I thought, well, that's what I have. That's what I enjoy. That's what I've learned. That's what I've trained myself to do. And I can help other people do it. So I stepped away from behind the chair and started a business helping people with speaking.
How important is that preparation to what you're doing now?
Well, the purpose of it is to really...
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welcome back everybody to another episode of the living your legacy podcast today i am joined by donna ricardo of the red stiletto how are you doing today you just finished your interview so we're on the other side of it now did we get all the jitters out we got all the nerves gone how are we feeling yeah i feel good So for the audience out there that's watching this, they haven't seen your episode yet, so they haven't got a full introduction to you. Kind of walking through your story, you're from New Jersey, correct?
Well, I grew up there.
Hopewell, New Jersey?
Hopewell, New Jersey.
That'll do it. Jersey in the house. I got family in West Orange.
Okay.
It's a nice little area.
Yeah, that's way further away from Hopewell.
Yeah, they're kind of like up in the mountains, but they're not that far from Newark.
What childhood and early-career experiences shaped Donna's entrepreneurial mindset?
Right. But talk to me a little bit about growing up in Jersey.
Well, I grew up in a small town, around 2,000 people, and I think it's, at this time, not even many more than that, if many at all, any at all. I grew up with my mother and father and my brother a year and a half younger, and we lived in this small town, and we were able to just go out, walk around, and do whatever, go to the drugstore, go out and play in the fields. We used to climb trees.
See, back in the day, we don't climb trees anymore. We might hug trees, maybe, a little bit.
Cats and dogs. Yeah.
Exactly. So talk to me a little bit about, you know, you're an entrepreneur today. How did we get from young Donna to entrepreneur Donna? Where was that transition? What was kind of the aha moment of I need to start a business?
Well, my parents were entrepreneurs, which I really didn't fully realize until many, many, many years later because they were just who they were.
Yeah. You don't kind of understand it as a kid. You're like, oh, they're just going to work. But you don't realize that they're going to work at their own thing.
Right. And in my former career, I was a hairdresser. And I always felt like I was an entrepreneur because it was me and my client. It was up to me to, you know, have the clients come back to me and keep them happy and have them send their friends and, you know, sell them products. And I always felt like I was very entrepreneurial. And it wasn't until I actually went to start this business that I realized I was a subcontractor. And it's way different.
super super different that's that's exactly how it started for me when i got into video like i i was like oh i have my own video business but in reality i was a subcontractor where did where did that shift happen where do we get to red stiletto
Well, there came a time when I just could not do hair anymore.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
How did Donna Riccardo transition from hairdresser to public speaking coach?
0:00–2:17
2
What childhood and early-career experiences shaped Donna's entrepreneurial mindset?
2:17–5:50
3
When did Donna decide she couldn't do hair anymore and start a new business?
5:50–9:10
4
Why did initial speaking attempts fail and what motivated Donna to learn how to speak?
9:10–11:53
5
How does Donna define the role of preparation in confident public speaking?
11:53–15:26