Meet Megan Dowd | Values Coach & Brand ‘Therapist’

We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan Dowd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I have always been one to do things a little bit beyond the brief. To this day my mother loves to tell the story of a research paper assigned my sophomore year of high school: I chose to research the effects of traditional gender roles (specifically that of the housewife) in television on the culture at large. We went to local universities to find obscure books and papers, I spent hours at our local library, I dove into what various acting roles implied about how we conceived of gender roles – it was, perhaps, a bit beyond what was expected for an initial high school sophomore research paper, but whatever. UNTIL – a friend came over and my mom asked what her paper was one and her short reply sent my mom into fits of giggles: kidney transplants. And I had to confirm with my dear mother that yes, something that “simple” was indeed an option. But I wanted to be interested in what I was writing about! And thus, my rather obscure choice of topic.

It’s funny as I reflect upon it because I’ve always been a bit of a rule-follower AND YET within that desperate need to Not Get In Trouble, I question why at every turn. And thus when being asked “why did you pursue a creative career” it feels obvious that I would choose something at the fringes. I accept that I “have to have” a career, but at what cost? And according to what measure of success? I understand the brief, the necessity of making a living in our current socio-economic structure. But I’ll do it my way, thank you very much.

The short answer to the question: since I was a tiny little one I wanted to be an actor, to bring stories to life in front of a captive audience. That dream has shifted, but that deep hunger in my bones to share stories and cultivate shared experiences has not. In many ways, there has never been a question of IF I would pursue a creative career: the question has always been WHICH career.

What should our readers know about your business?
So let’s take it back to 2016 when I decided I needed a freakin’ break from acting, had just passed (with flying colors I might add) my Pilates certification, and together Husburrito and I were embarking on what we had decided to call The Ohio Experiment. He had an offer to teach at a university, so we decided to move to Ohio and Husburrito would teach as a tenure track professor. It’s a very long story about why we had to be there for 3 years, but there was a 3 year commitment wherein he was both a tenure track professor as well as a student getting his MFA in Experience Design.

Why is this backstory important? BECAUSE I HAD A LOT OF TIME ON MY HANDS. And needed to do *something*. At Husburrito’s encouragement I decided to try to bring my Pilates instruction online – I signed up for an online branding course and dove in headfirst.

I freakin’ loved it. And also spent a lot of time being like “…I want to be respectful, but seriously, this isn’t that hard… is it?” So much of it felt like a character study and production design. Which frankly, is a decent parallel between a theatrical production and branding. And of course, being the helper I am, I want to help all my classmates, so as soon as I threw my branding together (not hard, also I loved it, also my target demographic loved it, holla!), I dove in to helping all the cool peeps I was meeting perfect their branding and copy and web design and messaging.

Fast forward a full year, and I’m still pretending to build an online Pilates business while really helping everyone I meet in the business realm with their own work because I can’t help it and it’s so much easier than trying to do Pilates online, and my dear sweet husburrito has a bit of a Come To Jesus talk with me about how he truly did not care what I did for work – we were fine financially at the moment – but that it was important to him I build something I actually like and was I aware that people paid good money for all that help I was giving to everyone and their sister? I promptly had an existential crisis because I don’t have a design degree or business degree or Online Business Degree, and he lovingly reassured me that as long as the work was good, no one truly gave a fuck.

Megan Has Good Words was born, and for the next two years I did copy, branding, web design, and narrative strategy for folks. That last one – narrative strategy – was a term I essentially made up to emphasize the importance of narrative within all those three things. Everything I was doing was informed by my theatrical training, and the way I wouldn’t let clients generalize their stories was what got me referrals.

I honestly don’t know how much would have changed were I not in a car accident in summer 2019 (almost 3 years ago to the day that I’m typing this!). All of a sudden I just couldn’t work for a month(ish), and getting the machine moving again was HARD. This was also the time I was starting to understand my own neurodivergence, and just how poorly designed most online biz courses and programs really were. Went to a brand/biz retreat that really was the final nail in the coffin – I have never felt so out of place in all my life, and because I had lost my last fuck I actually said so when we were made to go ’round the dinner table and vocalize something we had learned about ourselves. I stood up and said that I learned that it could be ok to disagree, that I was actually in opposition with some of the tactics we had been taught, and that I was learning that it was still ok for me to be there. That dissent is necessary, that friction is how we change and learn, and that despite my initial misgivings, I fit in purely because I didn’t fit in – that there was still a place for me because good business is built on questions and contradiction, not on everyone complacently saying yes and staying positive.

The number of folks that came up to me after that lil’ speech was staggering – they too felt uncomfortable, but didn’t feel safe to say so because of the group energy. This gave me a boost of confidence to let myself be as neurodivergent as I know I am and not force myself into what I thought online business owners were supposed to do and be. 2020 was gonna be MY YEAR!

Ha. We all know how that went for all of us.

With the pandemic came a second business – Hello, CEO – and The Connection Collective (a membership for neurodiverse entrepreneurs to find community and resources that work for ND folk) and my realization that I just didn’t want to do the branding and the copy and the web design anymore. So much of the work was always front-loaded, and I wasn’t necessarily charging for it, and I knew the big value from working with me was pretty adjacent to coaching (but because of my lack of coaching cert I was very careful not to offer Coaching as a service). Started coaching and leadership certification in Summer 2021, and will have my coaching certification sometime later this year, and my leadership cert early 2023.

This may seem like a long walk for a short drink of water, but if there are any lessons to be learned from that long walk, it’s this: the shit is always going to hit the fan. Sometimes in big ways, sometimes in little ways, but it is ALWAYS going to hit at some point. The more flexibility and good humor you have baked into your daily life, the better you’ll fare when it happens.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh my heavens, I’m still within my first few years here in Portland, OR (and moved here during the pandemic, so that feels like it stilted explorations), and thus in no particular order:

– we’re going to need to go to Mt Tabor; totally up to the guest if they want to go for a long walk or just hug a tree, but communion among the giants, and glimpsing Mt Hood through the canopies, is an absolute must;

– assuming they eat chicken, we’ll be getting a full takeaway dinner from Hat Yai (thai fried chicken YUM); fingers crossed they have both the roasted brussel sprouts AND steamed asparagus, both are absolutely unreal.

– no visit to Portland OR is complete without an afternoon in Powells; even if no books are bought, there is something magical about wandering the stacks upon stacks and breathing in that smell of bound paper.

– weather permitting, pack a picnic bag of snacks and beverages, grab a book, and make an afternoon of lazing around ANY of the gorgeous parks throughout the city.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh my heavens, the list of folks to shout-out grows continually. I am absolutely certain I will forget at least 3 folks who have made indelible marks on my life, and to them I offer my deepest apologies.

A Shoutout to my dear sweet Husburrito, for having a bit of a Come-To-Jesus talk with me when I assumed that since I didn’t have a degree in Online Business, I couldn’t possibly build one.

A Shoutout to the friends that celebrate, that cry, that rage, and that laugh with me through every ridiculous turn as my story unfolds.

And a Shoutout to a favorite book and a favorite quote and a favorite reminder:

“A comedy isn’t about being funny,” said Mrs. Baker. “We talked about this before.” “A comedy is about character who dare to know that they may choose a happy ending after all. That’s how I know.” “Suppose you can’t see it?” “That’s the daring part,” said Mrs. Baker.

Website: withmegandowd.com; helloceo.co

Instagram: @withmegandowd; @hello__ceo

Image Credits
Alicia Leigh Photography