Maria Chapman: From Hospital Bed to Thriving Entrepreneur

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In this episode of Conversations with Rich Bennett, Rich sits down with Maria Chapman, a remarkable entrepreneur and advocate. Despite battling rare neuromuscular conditions, Maria rebuilt her life through writing and founded Connected Ghostwriting. She shares how she transformed personal challenges into a thriving business and now helps disabled entrepreneurs find their own paths to success.

Guest: Maria Chapman 

Maria Chapman is the founder of Connected Ghostwriting and Journey to Success, a nonprofit dedicated to helping disabled entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses. After being medically retired due to rare neuromuscular conditions, Maria turned her passion for writing into a thriving agency. She is also a speaker and advocate for resilience and inclusive entrepreneurship.

Main Topics: 

·         Maria’s journey from being medically retired to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

·         Challenges of living with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) and myasthenia gravis.

·         The pivotal role of resilience and adaptability in overcoming adversity.

·         Founding Connected Ghostwriting and the importance of storytelling for nonprofits and professionals.

·         Laun

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Celebrating 10 Years of the Podcast
• 1:31 Meet Maria Chapman: Entrepreneur and Advocate
• 2:46 Battling Rare Neuromuscular Conditions
• 6:55 Misdiagnosis and Finding the Right Medical Team
• 11:59 Rediscovering Writing and Launching Connected Ghostwriting
• 17:13 Using Exercise as Part of Recovery
• 26:29 Challenges Disabled Entrepreneurs Face
• 32:58 Founding Journey to Success: Supporting Disabled Entrepreneurs
• 40:15 Building the Ecosystem for Authors and Nonprofits
• 45:27 The Authorpreneur Mindset
• 50:09 Supporting Veterans Through Entrepreneurship
• 56:41 Life and Business Principles: "Pivot, Don’t Quit"
• 58:05 What’s Next for Maria Chapman?
• 59:17 Closing Thoughts

Transcript

Rich & Wendy 0:00
Hey everyone, it's Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning 10 this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we've shared laughs, tears, and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next 10 years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios Harford County Living Presence, conversations with Rich Bennett, I really appreciate it. 

You're an amazing guy. 

Rich Bennett 1:00
>> Welcome to Conversations with Rich Bennett. Today, I'm joined by Maria Chapman, a powerhouse in resilience, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. Maria is the owner of connected ghost writing, and the founder of Journey to Success, a nonprofit dedicated to helping disabled entrepreneurs 

build businesses that align with their health and values. After being medically retired from her teaching career, due to a rare neuromuscular conditions, Maria rebuilt her life through writing, turning a few hours of weekly work into a thriving agency that now supports her family and employs a team. She's here to share her remarkable journey from hospital bed to business owner, and how she's now helping others to do to say, "I don't know why I am so tongue-tied." 

Maria Chapman 1:52
I have that effect on 

Rich Bennett 1:53
people. 

people. are you delivering? 

Maria Chapman 1:59
I did. >> How 

Rich Bennett 2:01
I am doing awesome. Before we get into the non-profit and everything, I have to ask about the 

rare neuromuscular conditions. What was that? Did I say neuromuscular? 

Maria Chapman 2:15
>> You did, but I could have put the actual condition names in there, but that would have just been worse. 

Rich Bennett 2:21
>> Yeah, don't make it harder on me. >> Good Lord! 

Maria Chapman 2:23
>> Yeah. So, I have chronic inflammatory demilinating polynoropathy. 

Rich Bennett 2:29
>> Right. Yeah, I'm glad you didn't put that in there. 

Maria Chapman 2:32
>> And I have myastinia gravis, and so those are two different conditions that just don't play nicely with each 

Rich Bennett 2:40
other. 

Maria Chapman 2:41
Not that either of them plays nice by itself, but you know that's... 

Rich Bennett 2:44
>> What exactly are they? 

Maria Chapman 2:46
>> So, the the easiest way to describe it is myastinia gravis is my body has a hard time absorbing the chemical your nerves release to your muscles. 

Rich Bennett 2:59
>> Oh, okay. 

Maria Chapman 3:00
>> And it causes rapid muscle fatigue and CIDP, which is the shorthand. 

Is this a similar process to MS, but it's peripheral nerves instead of your central nervous system in your brain? 

Rich Bennett 3:14
>> Oh. 

Maria Chapman 3:16
>> 

Rich Bennett 3:16
>> 

Maria Chapman 3:16
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 3:17
Wow. 

Maria Chapman 3:17
>> So, I have both, although we think the myastinia might be in remission. 

Rich Bennett 3:23
>> Good. 

Maria Chapman 3:23
>> I don't know. It's hard to tell, because there's two things going on, but... 

Rich Bennett 3:30
>> So, how does one get that? Or do you know? 

Maria Chapman 3:33
>> Well, I mean, so they're both autoimmune conditions. So So, the the how... I mean, who really knows? The theory is I was a teacher. Teachers don't take sick time. I don't know if you know. But we don't take time off. And I had 

Lyme disease, and I didn't know it. 

Rich Bennett 3:55
>> Oh, 

Maria Chapman 3:55
>> 

Rich Bennett 3:55
good. 

Maria Chapman 3:55
And I could not find anyone to test me, and it was neurologic Lyme. It was in my spinal cord. 

And then, I also had strep throat that didn't clear properly. 

Rich Bennett 4:08
>> Okay. 

Maria Chapman 4:09
>> Despite antibiotics, I didn't. I didn't. And then, I got a flu shot. And all of those things replicating on nerve cells, my body just started attacking the nerve cells. And went haywire, so... 

Rich Bennett 4:23
>> All right. Yeah. This is scary. What do you mean you couldn't find anybody to test you? 

Maria Chapman 4:29
so So, I started having symptoms in 2018. I was a weightlifter 

Rich Bennett 4:34
>> Oh. 

Maria Chapman 4:35
and a runner, and I stopped being able to run. 

Rich Bennett 4:40
>> What? 

Maria Chapman 4:40
>> And if I ran, I'd get like, the way the best way I can describe it, and anyone that has CIDP, when I've said this in support groups and things, they're like, yes, that's what it is. It feels like an electrical storm in your legs, or arms or whatever. And so, I would get that every time I ran, and I thought, well, maybe I'm overtraining. So, take some 

Rich Bennett 4:58
on. 

Maria Chapman 4:58
time And on it. And then, I started losing weightlifting ability. So, if I was doing overhead presses with 30 pounds, then it was 20, and then it was 15. And, at my worst, I couldn't lift a cup of coffee. So... 

Rich Bennett 5:14
>> Really? 

Maria Chapman 5:16
Yeah, yeah, it was it was pretty it was pretty scary and in that time I saw 12 different doctors and and I 

I Was told it was probably anxiety. 

Rich Bennett 5:31
Oh come on. 

Maria Chapman 5:32
I was like yeah, I have anxiety because 

Rich Bennett 5:36
Of all this 

Maria Chapman 5:37
Because 

Rich Bennett 5:37
yeah 

Maria Chapman 5:38
my body is not working right, but But it's like a chicken and egg problem so Anyway, 12 different doctors. I Like I live in Connecticut 

Rich Bennett 5:50
Right, 

Maria Chapman 5:50
For Lyme disease why I'm disease originated. 

Rich Bennett 5:52
Oh 

Maria Chapman 5:53
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 5:53
really? 

Maria Chapman 5:54
old lime Connecticut is where Lyme disease was first 

Rich Bennett 5:56
I had no idea 

Maria Chapman 5:59
Look at that you learned 

Rich Bennett 6:00
Ow! 

Maria Chapman 6:00
from them today. So yeah, so Lyme disease is so common here My daughter's been treated for Lyme disease my son's been treated for Lyme disease my husband has had it everybody like It's 

Rich Bennett 6:12
wow 

Maria Chapman 6:13
so 

right and I Was a trail runner I ran in the woods. Oh 

Rich Bennett 6:19
Oh. 

Maria Chapman 6:24
But because I didn't have 

A visible active tick bite because I didn't have any of the visible symptoms they kept dismissing it and know we're not gonna test you know We're not gonna test you and then I finally I fired my whole medical team and started over with a new doctor and that was the first 

Rich Bennett 6:42
Good 

Maria Chapman 6:42
She did and she tested me she started me on antibiotics and all of a sudden I stopped getting worse My hair stopped falling out 

Rich Bennett 6:52
Your 

Maria Chapman 6:52
like 

Rich Bennett 6:52
hair was 

Maria Chapman 6:53
in 

Rich Bennett 6:53
falling 

Maria Chapman 6:53
Curls again. They were falling out. It was sad 

Rich Bennett 6:58
damn 

Maria Chapman 6:59
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 6:59
Holy cow, scary 

Maria Chapman 7:01
Scary. 

Yeah, so I mean that's the theory is that it started with Lyme disease, but 

Rich Bennett 7:09
This is 

Maria Chapman 7:11
2018 2018 I started having symptoms November of 2019. I 

On Thursday. I taught a professional development sent seminar for the teachers in my district and On Friday, I got out of bed and my legs didn't work 

right so 

That was 

Rich Bennett 7:32
What in the world were okay? Obviously, I know what was going through your mind. I mean just outright scared 

Maria Chapman 7:40
Panic absolutely, 

Rich Bennett 7:42
but how is your husband and your and your kids? 

Maria Chapman 7:45
so my husband um 

At the time jumped into like let's do the next thing mode, right? Like let's 

Rich Bennett 7:53
right 

Maria Chapman 7:53
go to the hospital and frankly if you are trying to get attention in a hospital having a tall white man there with you is a great move 

Rich Bennett 8:01
Okay, 

Maria Chapman 8:02
I highly recommend it 

Shouldn't have to be that way, but 

Rich Bennett 8:08
now, it shouldn't 

Maria Chapman 8:10
But if you ask him now he will say he was pretty sure I was dying 

Rich Bennett 8:15
oh my god, 

Maria Chapman 8:17
and you know, he never said it at the time and He was very focused on just like do the next thing care-taking jumping him with the kids and all of that but but if you ask him now he will he will say he thought I was dying and And, 

Yeah, it was scary 

Rich Bennett 8:39
Yeah, I don't I'd probably yeah, I know I would be the same way. I'd be scared out of my mind I mean if that would happen to my wife. 

Maria Chapman 8:48
know yeah, 

Rich Bennett 8:48
I 

Yeah, I and I would not be funded at the hospital if they said no 

Maria Chapman 8:56
Good 

Rich Bennett 8:56
Good thing. I'm a tall white guy

huh? 

Maria Chapman 8:59
You'd probably get some attention at the hospital 

Rich Bennett 9:02
My god, so all right at this time so before that you weren't were you writing before? 

Maria Chapman 9:11
so I 

Was so in my teaching career I was 

Instructional coach for teachers so I did and I did a lot of curriculum writing and curriculum design work So I did a lot of writing in there 

Rich Bennett 9:26
Okay 

Maria Chapman 9:26
in that area of my professional life 

But writing for myself I hadn't done in nine years so I actually I initially went to school for journalism and social work 

Rich Bennett 9:40
Oh, wow 

Maria Chapman 9:41
Yeah, and then I listened to people who told me that it was too hard to make a living writing 

Rich Bennett 9:45
Mm-hmm. 

Maria Chapman 9:48
So I walked up and teaching and now I and now I write for mental health and social justice professionals so that 

Rich Bennett 9:54
I love 

Maria Chapman 9:55
just just like it just It's funny to me how that worked out, but I 

Had someone who was close to me Deleted a manuscript off my computer when I was 27 and 

It was such a blow. I let that stop me from writing for nine years 

Rich Bennett 10:16
Tell me they deleted it by accident. What? What? 

Maria Chapman 10:21
No, they did not 

Rich Bennett 10:24
Oh oh my god. All right. And now you're helping to write for what? 

Maria Chapman 10:28
Yeah, so connected ghost writing we write primarily for mental health and social justice professionals So we write for a lot of nonprofits 

We take care of impact reports. We write books about stories of people. They've helped to 

Rich Bennett 10:42
Mm-hmm. 

Maria Chapman 10:42
Help encourage donations I write for a lot of therapists 

Rich Bennett 10:47
What made you decide to go that way 

Maria Chapman 10:54
Well, I don't know that I can say it was an intentional decision right 

Rich Bennett 10:58
Right. 

Maria Chapman 10:58
accept that you know I'm I have the background in journalism and social 

Rich Bennett 11:03
work. 

Maria Chapman 11:03
Mm-hmm. Right? And so it was sort of a natural area of interest. On top of that though, November November 2019 is when I was hospitalized. And so when I 

started freelance writing, looking for people to write for, 

Rich Bennett 11:20
Mm-hmm, it 

Maria Chapman 11:21
was early 2020. 

Rich Bennett 11:25
Uh-oh. 

Maria Chapman 11:26
Yeah. So while y'all were dealing with COVID, I was learning how 

Rich Bennett 11:28
Yeah. 

Maria Chapman 11:28
to walk again. 

Rich Bennett 11:31
Oh my god. 

Maria Chapman 11:34
Yeah. Um, and I think because of how Prevalent prevalent the need for mental health care was at the time, it was a natural. 

Rich Bennett 11:49
And still is. 

Maria Chapman 11:50
segway Segway, right? But people became more aware of it at that time. 

Rich Bennett 11:56
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. Anything is too. And we've mentioned this before several times on the podcast because during COVID, those kids that were in school at the time, lost, Saw Saw statistic. I think it's like they lost three years of social at social communication 

Maria Chapman 12:16
yes. 

Rich Bennett 12:16
or whatever. And it just drove mental illness sky high. 

Maria Chapman 12:21
Yeah, Yeah. We are 

we have five kids, three-year adults, two or younger. So 27, 25, 22, 14 and eight. And so at the time, our 22 year old was graduating from college or from high school. school and And it was really tough on her. 

Rich Bennett 12:43
Yeah. 

Maria Chapman 12:44
My 14 year old was in fifth grade. I actually started at my Crow school and my basement. I had a bunch of neighborhood kids in here. 

Rich Bennett 12:52
Okay, Okay. 

Maria Chapman 12:52
Because I was I was a teacher but I wasn't working because of being medically retired. 

Rich Bennett 12:57
right Right. 

Maria Chapman 12:58
And all of our our neighbors, you know, they were a lot of them were nurses and they they needed to go to work. 

So 

Rich Bennett 13:08
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 13:08
so their kids were here. And I was helping them with their lessons. So my son got to have that social interaction all the way through COVID, which 

Rich Bennett 13:18
right 

Maria Chapman 13:18
I was pretty 

Rich Bennett 13:18
right. Good. So wait a minute. How old your oldest? 

Maria Chapman 13:24
27. 

Rich Bennett 13:26
Five kids Five kids. 

Maria Chapman 13:27
Yes, Yes. So we are a yours mine and ours family. 

Rich Bennett 13:30
Oh, I was going to say because they know what you would have had been like 10 when you had your first. 

Maria Chapman 13:35
No, I'm older than that, but thank you. No, so my husband was a single custodial dad of three when I met him. 

Rich Bennett 13:42
Okay, Okay. Okay. Gotcha. 

Maria Chapman 13:44
And I had one and we had one together. So 

Rich Bennett 13:46
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 13:46
yours mine hours. 

Rich Bennett 13:49
I like that. Well, I want to go back a minute because in the beginning, you mentioned how you were running and doing weightlifting or body weightlifting or body weightlifter or bodybuilder 

Maria Chapman 13:59
a know there's a I say 

Rich Bennett 14:00
because I 

Maria Chapman 14:01
I know I say weightlifting. I don't think bodybuilding is actually a great route to health. 

Rich Bennett 14:05
health Okay, Okay, well, and there is a difference, too, I believe. So we are since then, have you been able to get back into that? Have you really? 

Maria Chapman 14:17
So 

Rich Bennett 14:17
oh, that's 

Maria Chapman 14:18
I 

Rich Bennett 14:18
awesome. 

Maria Chapman 14:18
I actually, so the neurologist that I see now, he credits the fact that I had been weight training since my 20s with 

Rich Bennett 14:27
Hmm 

Maria Chapman 14:28
my ability to recover way I did. 

Rich Bennett 14:33
Good. 

Maria Chapman 14:33
So So the majority of people with both of these conditions are either permanently wheelchair or walker bound Um once they get to the point that I was. But his theory is that since I had so much muscle for the disease to work through, 

Rich Bennett 14:50
Mm-hmm, and 

Maria Chapman 14:53
and then muscle memory being what it is, I was able to recover faster. So I remember when he told me that I said, so what I'm hearing you say is that I should never stop weightlifting. 

Rich Bennett 15:07
That's why I would 

Maria Chapman 15:08
it. 

Rich Bennett 15:08
take 

Maria Chapman 15:08
Right? Yeah, so I mean, that from the moment I was able, like I was backlifting weight sitting in a chair, you know, I have a gen on the other side of the cabinet behind me is a gym and 

Rich Bennett 15:20
okay okay. 

Maria Chapman 15:21
So that's always sort of been part of my identity, part of who I am. So I just, just even if it was a one pound weight, I was doing it. 

Rich Bennett 15:31
Can't stop. 

Maria Chapman 15:32
Can't stop um Can't stop. And then when I got to a point, I actually found a research research study on my Estonia Gravis patients that was done with specific rehab exercises in a physical therapy setting. And I took the study, I turned it into a workout program using using exactly what they had done. 

Rich Bennett 15:55
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 15:56
And And you put it in a spreadsheet for myself, I did that for eight weeks, and then I needed something harder. It really, like it actually worked. And I remember I went to my physical therapist and I said, this is what I've been doing at home. This is all too easy now, but here's where we're at. And then I started sharing that spreadsheet with other people in my chronic illness groups that had the same conditions. 

So yeah, it was, it was I guess I'm wired to the solution. 

Rich Bennett 16:28
Okay, Okay. So since you're back doing all that, the exercise, are you actually helping other people as well with that have different problems? Not with the writing, I'm talking about with the exercise. 

Maria Chapman 16:42
Yeah, not directly, but yeah. So, I had -- there's a group I'm part of that's a mayosthenia gravel exercise group. And so, it's people with the condition, but who don't want to stop exercising. Years ago, when people would get this condition because it's rapid muscle fatigue is the main symptom, doctors would tell them to not exercise. 

Rich Bennett 17:03
Really? 

Maria Chapman 17:04
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 17:05
Why? 

Maria Chapman 17:06
Because their muscles would fatigue. 

Rich Bennett 17:11
But wait a minute, okay, now I'm lost. 

Maria Chapman 17:14
So the muscles that affected for me the most were my eyes and my ability to swallow and talk. 

Rich Bennett 17:21
Oh, wow. 

Maria Chapman 17:22
Yeah. And so, it really was, like, if I exercise too hard, if I push myself too far, then I'd have trouble swallowing the rest of 

Rich Bennett 17:34
it. Yeah, but I would think if you didn't exercise them at all. 

Maria Chapman 17:37
Then you atrophy. 

Rich Bennett 17:38
Then, 

Yeah. 

Maria Chapman 17:41
yeah, 

Rich Bennett 17:42
yeah. 

Wow. 

Maria Chapman 17:43
Exactly. And so, that's the research study I found. And I don't even remember who did it right now, or I'd credit them, but but the research study I found was sort of the first one where they were like, well, maybe exercise is good for people with this condition. Let's try this in a controlled way. 

Rich Bennett 18:00
Right. 

Maria Chapman 18:01
And the results were really good, so so I did it. 

Rich Bennett 18:05
Wow. 

Maria Chapman 18:05
And then when I could walk to my mailbox, I started working with a personal trainer and 

Rich Bennett 18:11
How long was that after everything happened? 

Maria Chapman 18:14
So I've had three flares. 

So, the first was the big one in 2018. And then I got COVID in. 

Rich Bennett 18:26
Oh, good lord. 

Maria Chapman 18:27
Yeah, COVID will send me right back. 

It's terrible. And now, if I do get it, I take the entire ride rolls and I do okay. But the first time I had COVID, it set me right back to needing a walker for a period of time. 

But you know, I started working with a personal trainer as soon as I could, because frankly, I need someone to tell me to rest, tell me to stop, to slow me down, 

and to work on all of those modifications. Like, well, if I can't do a push-up today, what can I do instead? 

Rich Bennett 19:03
Right, right, 

Maria Chapman 19:04
Right. And and so I just, I pay Randy to think about it so that I don't have to. 

Rich Bennett 19:12
So how often are you actually working out? 

Maria Chapman 19:14
I lived three days a week, and then 

other stuff as I want to. So at this point, the only thing I can't do yet is 

Rich Bennett 19:26
Yeah, 

Maria Chapman 19:26
run. 

Rich Bennett 19:26
I love that. I love that yet, 

Maria Chapman 19:28
The only thing I can't do yet is run. And that's not to say I can't run at all, 

Rich Bennett 19:34
right? 

Maria Chapman 19:34
I do occasionally do some interval stuff, run for a minute, walk for a minute, kind of things, and on a treadmill controlled environment, all of that, not outside, and I can run with my kids, I can play with them. 

Rich Bennett 19:47
Right. 

Maria Chapman 19:48
I just can't run the way I like, I can't run a five-caner. 

Rich Bennett 19:52
You can't run like you 

Maria Chapman 19:53
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 19:53
used to, yet, 

Maria Chapman 19:55
yet. I 

Rich Bennett 19:56
Yeah. 

love love that. I love that, yeah. Have you actually, especially since you do the Goosewriting, have you ever thought about writing your own book? 

Maria Chapman 20:05
Oh, yeah, it actually comes out late fall or early. 

Rich Bennett 20:08
Oh, come on. 

Maria Chapman 20:09
Yes, it's being published by Morgan James, publishing. 

Rich Bennett 20:13
Really? 

Maria Chapman 20:14
And it is a, I mean, it's, so it's me, but it's also how to start a business if you have a disability, because that's what we do in the nonprofit. 

Rich Bennett 20:24
Right. 

Maria Chapman 20:24
And for the nonprofit program. And it's, it's sort of undoing that notion that to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to put in 60, 80 hours a week. 

Rich Bennett 20:35
Yeah. Okay. 

You need to write a memoir, too, though. 

Your story. We just started. We haven't really gotten into the Goosewriting, but your story, what you went through is amazing. You're a strong and ass woman. 

Maria Chapman 20:51
That's true. 

Rich Bennett 20:52
And I know me because of the weight lefty, 

Maria Chapman 20:54
no, I 

Rich Bennett 20:54
Everything 

Maria Chapman 20:55
can't. 

Rich Bennett 20:55
you've been through. 

Maria Chapman 20:56
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:58
Wow. 

Maria Chapman 20:58
That's true. So I, the thing about memoirs, though, is that they're very hard to sell if you're not already famous. So we'll see. 

Rich Bennett 21:07
Wow. Yeah. That's 

Maria Chapman 21:08
But 

Rich Bennett 21:08
true. 

Maria Chapman 21:09
I was writing the first chapter of my book the other day because I wrote the whole book, and I said, wait a minute, I need a chapter at the beginning. I just sent it to my editor yesterday. So I'm 

Rich Bennett 21:20
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 21:20
excited. 

And I called my mom and I said, hey, mom, I need to tell the story of the Easter eggs in the first chapter of my book. 

Rich Bennett 21:31
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 21:33
And I wanted her permission. So when I was a kid, my dad left in December, my mom had five kids. I was trying to hold things together. And this is when I was 12. And that first Easter, we were not invited to anyone's house. My dad's side of the family didn't invite us over, her side of the family didn't invite us over. So she's home with five kids, Easter morning. And I was 12, so that means the youngest was three at the time. 

And the way I remembered the day is my mom, you know, we did the Easter baskets in the morning and then my mom went to her shower and she came out of her bedroom and said, OK, grab your Easter baskets, get in the car. We're going. 

And 

Rich Bennett 22:22
OK. 

Maria Chapman 22:22
we drove two hours to Lake Michigan. 

Rich Bennett 22:25
Wow. 

Maria Chapman 22:26
And then we took all of the Easter eggs that we had died and we chucked him into Lake Michigan. Like that was the activity of the day, just completely 

Rich Bennett 22:35
ridiculous. Oh, I don't know. That sounds like it'd be a lot of fun. 

Maria Chapman 22:39
So fun and, but I remember talking to my mom about that. As I got older and what she said to me was I was sitting in the shower crying and I realized that I had two choices. I could pout all day about the fact that my kids and I weren't invited anywhere for Easter. 

Rich Bennett 22:58
Right. 

Maria Chapman 22:59
Or I could shake things up, do something differently and make it a good day. 

Rich Bennett 23:04
And you guys had a 

Maria Chapman 23:06
And 

Rich Bennett 23:06
blast, 

Maria Chapman 23:06
we had a blast and the reason I needed that story for the first chapter is because it is a story that is not about disability. It's not about chronic illness, but it is about having that moment where you say to yourself, you know what, this sucks 

Rich Bennett 23:20
right. 

Maria Chapman 23:20
really bad. This, this sucks and this is not fair. 

And also I'm going to do something about it. 

Rich Bennett 23:32
it. 

Maria Chapman 23:33
It's that moment of not just sitting in the how much it sucks. 

Rich Bennett 23:37
Yeah, 

Maria Chapman 23:37
vision to just be like, well, I can't change what's going on right now, but I can go through Easter eggs and the lake. 

Rich Bennett 23:48
I'd be sitting there trying to skip them across that lake and everything. 

Maria Chapman 23:53
Yeah, I think we did a couple of time. 

Rich Bennett 23:54
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 23:55
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 23:56
Of course if my luck, I'd probably be the one to get the raw legs. I forget to die. 

Maria Chapman 24:03
But do you still throw them in the lake? 

Rich Bennett 24:05
Well, yeah, 

Maria Chapman 24:06
true. 

Rich Bennett 24:06
this 

Maria Chapman 24:06
true. Maybe 

Rich Bennett 24:06
is 

Maria Chapman 24:06
not right now, though. They're expensive. Don't I wouldn't throw eggs in the 

Rich Bennett 24:10
lake. I don't know. They drop down where I'm at. 

Maria Chapman 24:13
Did they? 

Rich Bennett 24:14
But I picked up a dozen the other day for 39. 

Maria Chapman 24:17
All right. 

Rich Bennett 24:20
But it's, I would I need to do is find a farm and just get fresh. Because something about fresh eggs and even duck eggs. 

Maria Chapman 24:28
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 24:28
Oh. 

Maria Chapman 24:29
Where I live, there are a lot of places, a lot of houses around me that sell eggs. 

Rich Bennett 24:34
Mm hmm. 

Maria Chapman 24:35
I would love to have chickens, but I would then need someone else whose job it is to take care of them. 

Rich Bennett 24:42
Yeah, it's a lot of work, I think. 

Maria Chapman 24:43
I'm just also already overextended like I'm. 

Rich Bennett 24:48
Well, you got a nonprofit, you got your business. You know, you got, the uh, you're working out three days out of the week. 

Maria Chapman 24:58
Pile kids. 

Rich Bennett 24:59
Uh, I have a funny feeling with in probably this year, you're going to be getting ready for a 5k. 

Maria Chapman 25:07
We're going to see, I mean, 

Rich Bennett 25:09
ah, you're going to do it. I think you are. I really think you are. So yeah, I can understand why, you know, because you know what's gonna happen if you get chickens. Next thing you know, you're going to win goats. Then you're going to win shit. And then you're going to have to maybe you're just going to have to get a farm. 

Maria Chapman 25:22
Right. And then and then I'm going to be too busy. 

Rich Bennett 25:25
Yeah, still 

Maria Chapman 25:28
too 

Rich Bennett 25:29
You're 

Maria Chapman 25:29
busy. 

Rich Bennett 25:29
You're going to be, you're going to be working at 60, 80 hours a week. 

Maria Chapman 25:33
Yeah, no, I will not be doing that. 

Rich Bennett 25:35
Yeah, you don't want to do that. All right. So I want to get into the ghost right and everything. But I love the fact that you're, you know, helping people, um, that, you know, disabled entrepreneurs and all. 

So what, what are some of the biggest challenges that that they face that people don't always see or understand? 

Maria Chapman 25:58
So my, 

there's a couple of things that I run into when I'm working with entrepreneurs that have challenges. One of them is this idea of climbing the corporate ladder. And whether it's entrepreneurship or as an employee, there's this idea that one should always be striving for this big thing at the top. 

Rich Bennett 26:28
Right. 

Maria Chapman 26:29
I don't know if you've ever tried to climb a ladder in a wheelchair. 

But it's a little tough. 

Rich Bennett 26:35
Oh, 

never even thought about that. 

Maria Chapman 26:41
And, you know, the traditional corporate ladder that people talk about, the traditional route to success that people talk about was built for 

white men in the 30s, 40s and 50s who had a stay at home wife taking care of the house. And all they had to worry about was getting up and going to work from 9 to 5. And then they went home and put their feet up. 

Rich Bennett 27:03
Mm-hmm. 

Maria Chapman 27:04
And that is not the people that are in the workforce. 

Rich Bennett 27:07
Not today now. 

Maria Chapman 27:10
And so all of these people, when they are working with me, have come from a background where they are trying to climb a ladder that wasn't even 

Rich Bennett 27:21
built for them. Yeah, wow. 

Maria Chapman 27:25
And so the roadblock there, like we have to redefine what success looks like. And that really requires you to completely block out what anybody else is saying. 

Rich Bennett 27:39
A corporate ladder needs a damn ramp. 

Maria Chapman 27:42
I mean, the phrase I use in my book is "Sperm the Ladder to the Ground." 

Rich Bennett 27:47
Ooh, I like that even better. 

Maria Chapman 27:49
Just throw a grenade behind you while you walk away. It doesn't matter. It wasn't built for you. It's not your ladder. 

Rich Bennett 27:56
So... 

Maria Chapman 27:57
Build a ramp, build a path, build a winding trail to the woods, I don't care, but do it on your own terms. 

Rich Bennett 28:03
So what kind of people are you... when I talk about disabled entrepreneurs, 

what's some of the disabilities of the people that you're working with have? 

Maria Chapman 28:16
So I am focused on helping people who are disabled mid-career. Typically that means a chronic illness or some sort of injury. So the two people I'm working with on a one-to-one basis right now. One of them is a woman who has MS. 

Rich Bennett 28:31
Hmm. 

Maria Chapman 28:32
And could no longer continue in her traditional employment setting because of it. And the other person I'm working with had long COVID and also had a traumatic brain injury. 

Rich Bennett 28:43
Oh, 

wow! 

Maria Chapman 28:46
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 28:48
Now, are they close to where you live or are they... 

Maria Chapman 28:51
Uh, no, we're national. 

Rich Bennett 28:52
Okay. So how do they find you? 

Maria Chapman 28:56
Those two people are people I met in a networking group somewhere along the way. I have an incredible network of people. I do a lot of 

Rich Bennett 29:04
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 29:04
network. And I really believe that businesses live her die based on your network. 

Rich Bennett 29:10
Yeah. 

Maria Chapman 29:10
And connection with other people. And your network can't just be about what can I get out of you. It's how do I serve, how do I help, how do I help connect people to one another? Um, and so that's how I met them. And so when we opened up applications initially because we, the nonprofit just got funding in December. We are a, we are now three months old. We are a baby organization. And I like to say that we're building the plane while flying it. 

Rich Bennett 29:42
I 

Maria Chapman 29:43
you 

Rich Bennett 29:43
like 

Maria Chapman 29:43
know, it's like we're going down the runway while we attach the wing. And then we'll, install the seats when we're taking off. Um, because you can't really, you can't build a program out unless you're testing it along the way. 

Rich Bennett 29:55
right, You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

Let's take a little break here so I can tell you about my friends over at four seasons, the landscape and construction services. And when it comes to lawn maintenance and lawn renovations, they are definitely the go to people, even snow removal services. But something else that a lot of people don't think about. That's very important that they do storm water maintenance, whether it's a pine clean out, remove, overgrowth of what are ornamentals. With debris trash and even drainage services, you know, if you have a cracked foundation, they could rerun your down spouts, French French drains, proper grading, there's so much. It goes in to storm water maintenance and the proper drainage in your yard and a lot of people don't know how to do it. You don't want it to run into the bay. You don't want it to run towards your foundation. You need the professionals to take care of it. Professionals are four seasons of landscape and construction services. Give Give them a call today, 

443 390 yard. That's 443 390 yard 9273 or go to their website four seasons landscape MD dot com. Again, that's four seasons landscape MD dot com. They're giving you sustainable landscapes for the future and they are the ones that get your yard. Lauren beautiful, you said three 

Maria Chapman 31:30
months, three months. Yeah, yeah. So I opened up the applications just in a couple of entrepreneur groups that I was part of already. 

Rich Bennett 31:38
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 31:39
And sort of pulled from my network. We are opening up. 

broader applications. I work shooting for June. We are starting with the journey to success academy, which is on like asynchronous learning online courses that we're putting together. To guide people through the early stages of business ideation and coming up with is this idea feasible. Does it fit in my area of genius? Is it something I can actually do with the time I have available. Putting together a brief business plan. And then people will be invited to apply to the one-to-one mentorship program once they've completed the online courses. 

Rich Bennett 32:20
Okay. So with you guys are five of one C three. 

Maria Chapman 32:25
We are. 

Rich Bennett 32:27
So three months. How long did it take you to get to five of one 

Maria Chapman 32:30
part. 

Rich Bennett 32:30
C three 

Maria Chapman 32:31
Let's see. We were funded December 12th and we had the five of one C three before the end of February. 

Rich Bennett 32:40
Really? That's 

Maria Chapman 32:41
We Build 

Rich Bennett 32:42
pretty good. 

Maria Chapman 32:43
the plane while we fly it, Rich. 

Rich Bennett 32:45
Well, I know, but still, I mean, when a lot of times when people apply for that five of one C three status, it could take six months to a year. 

Maria Chapman 32:52
So here's how you get around that. 

Rich Bennett 32:54
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 32:55
You find the right people and then you trust them to do the work the right way. 

Rich Bennett 33:03
Wait a minute. Are you saying you should align yourself with people that can help 

Maria Chapman 33:07
you? 

Rich Bennett 33:09
So 

Maria Chapman 33:09
we're funded by a private foundation. And so I said to the director of the foundation, I said, "Hey, who do you know that handles the 501c3 filing?" My husband's a CPA. Could he handle it? Absolutely, but he's never done it before, so it's going to take him. right? And So 

so she connected us with an attorney who's done the 501c3 filing for lots of the non-profits she's had before. And it really 

Rich Bennett 33:37
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 33:37
was... 

Rich Bennett 33:38
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 33:38
You I had a conversation with the attorney. This is what we're doing. She sent me a bunch of paperwork. I put a board together. We signed the paperwork and approved everything, and the lawyer handled the rest. It was seamless and easy because we hired the right person. 

Rich Bennett 33:57
And And so this has been three months, and when did 

you start connected ghost writing? Was that 2020 or 2019? 

Maria Chapman 34:07
So I started. It wasn't named connected ghost writing at the time, but I started ghost writing and freelance writing in December 2019. 

Rich Bennett 34:16
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 34:17
And then in November of 2022 is when we officially incorporated as connected ghost writing. 

Rich Bennett 34:26
Okay. 

Maria Chapman 34:26
By that point I'd added a writer, an editor, an virtual assistant and I said, "Well, I can't just be Maria Chapman anymore because 

Rich Bennett 34:34
you got a team." 

Maria Chapman 34:35
There's other people doing 

Rich Bennett 34:36
Yeah. 

Maria Chapman 34:36
things, right? 

Rich Bennett 34:38
So. So what was it that triggered you to say yourself, "I need to start this non-profit to help other people?" 

Maria Chapman 34:48
So So the day I got 

medical retirement paperwork from the school district. So at this point, this is during COVID, everyone's working remote. I asked to work remote, and they said, "No," because they wanted me to be able to go back into the building within 24 hours notice. It's very strange to end. Yeah. So then 

I requested-- accommodations? accommodations? I used the job accommodations network and they helped me figure out what reasonable accommodations would be for my condition. I submitted those to the school district, and I was denied the accommodations based on the phrase "undue hardship," which people don't know about. People think employers have to accommodate. They do not. 

Rich Bennett 35:35
What 

Maria Chapman 35:35
They can 

Rich Bennett 35:35
What? 

Maria Chapman 35:35
say, "It's undue hardship. It's going to be too expensive or whatever to accommodate." And so that's what they did. 

Rich Bennett 35:44
To 

Maria Chapman 35:44
And then there were meetings with the union and the higher-ups in the district. 

And So so, I was medically retired from the school district. I got the paperwork. I was sitting on the couch with my husband, and you know, the walkers in front of me, and I remember kicking the walker over. Like, I was a toddler having a tantrum or something. I was a little mad. And I said to my husband, he said something silly, like, "It's okay, you're going to figure this out." 

Rich Bennett 36:18
Right. 

Maria Chapman 36:18
Right. Right. And I said, "But I'm not good at anything else." 

Rich Bennett 36:24
Wow. Wow. 

Maria Chapman 36:25
Just that was my mental state at the time. 

Not great. So So then I did the indeed job search thing that one does. 

Rich Bennett 36:34
And 

Maria Chapman 36:36
And I actually-- I interviewed for a few positions. I actually was offered a position from Scholastic. 

Rich Bennett 36:42
Oh, wow. 

Maria Chapman 36:43
Curriculum writer. And perfect-- I mean, it would have been a perfect segue for me, 

Rich Bennett 36:47
right? Right. 

Maria Chapman 36:48
And then I disclosed my disability and requested reasonable accommodations, and they withdrew the offer. 

Rich Bennett 36:54
Ah, jeez. 

Maria Chapman 36:55
Yeah. So at that point, I'm like, all right, we're kind of drowning in medical debt here. I need something. 

And I applied for Social Security. Now in Connecticut, teachers don't pay into Social Security, but I had work history since I was 14. 

And really what I wanted was help with the medical bills. I wanted-- 

Rich Bennett 37:19
Right. 

Maria Chapman 37:19
Right. So I applied for Social Security. And I was denied. And when I had the call with the Social Security Administration, they said, "We agree that you can no longer work in your original career 

Rich Bennett 37:34
field. field, right?" 

Maria Chapman 37:35
But we think you can work in some capacity. And I said, "Great. I agree with you. What What services exist to help me figure out a new career?" And the guy actually chuckled and said, "Oh, we don't do that." 

Rich Bennett 37:49
What

? 

Maria Chapman 37:54
And so, here I am trying-- I'm applying for jobs, and I'm being told that I'm too disabled to have the jobs. And then I'm being told that I'm not disabled enough for disability. And I'm like, "Well, I kind of agree. My brain worked fine." 

Rich Bennett 38:07
Right. 

Maria Chapman 38:08
And I wanted to do something. 

Rich Bennett 38:13
I don't. 

Maria Chapman 38:15
And so that's when I decided that once I got through this and once I figured this out, 

that I would find a way to help other people do this. And 

the director of the foundation that funded us, she was a client, and at one point over a Zoom call, I mentioned this to her. Not looking for funding, but just as a... oh, I'd really loved to do this someday. And that started the ball rolling. So your network matters. 

Rich Bennett 38:48
All right, 

I'm pissed. No, sirs. And this is what 

Maria Chapman 38:55
Hold 

Rich Bennett 38:55
this... 

Maria Chapman 38:55
on, hold on, hold 

Rich Bennett 38:56
hold on. 

Maria Chapman 38:56
on, 

Rich Bennett 38:57
Oh guy, am I going to get even angrier? 

Maria Chapman 38:59
No, you have two choices. You can sit in the shower and cry, or you can go throw Easter eggs into Lake Michigan. 

Rich Bennett 39:05
Oh, so... What, but that's, there's the thing I don't understand is, you know, they wouldn't make accommodations for you. Here you are disabled. I would think that stuff would be covered under ADA, but apparently it's not. 

Maria Chapman 39:20
Undo hard shit. 

Rich Bennett 39:23
It's a loophole, basically. 

Maria Chapman 39:27
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 39:27
That's ridiculous. 

All right, well, that's got to be fixed. 

Maria Chapman 39:33
Good luck. 

Rich Bennett 39:35
Yeah. 

That... oh my god. That is... Okay, so you started the ghost, right? You think God. 

Maria Chapman 39:44
(laughter) 

Rich Bennett 39:45
But was it your original plan to... because you offer all kinds of services with the company, right? 

Maria Chapman 39:53
So we do book writing is 

Rich Bennett 39:56
Right. 

Maria Chapman 39:56
the first obvious one when people hear ghost writing, but we also do website and blog content. We have search engine optimization specialists on staff, so we can do website things as well. And then we also do co-writing. Actually, that's probably... 

Rich Bennett 40:11
Prowriting? 

Maria Chapman 40:11
It's probably the bulk of what we do right now. And that is, I've been writing my book. I have this draft done, and I can't look at it anymore. Please help. 

Rich Bennett 40:24
Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. 

Maria Chapman 40:27
Oh. Okay. Yeah. That's... If 

Rich Bennett 40:29
I get stuck on mine, I know who to 

Maria Chapman 40:30
There you 

Rich Bennett 40:31
call. 

Maria Chapman 40:31
go. You know, it's fun. We sort of make a plan, and do this. this is what we have. This is what's good about it. This is how we would need to finish it. This is what we'd need to change to make it marketable and sellable. And then we do a book coaching program as well, where... I'm holding your nose to the grindstone and making sure you commit and write your book. 

And... 

Rich Bennett 40:54
Oh. I love 

Maria Chapman 40:55
that. With that, right? So with that, I serve as the strategy person. I do a lot of... I do a lot of I do a lot work with clients and making sure that the book isn't just done, but that it connects in some way to a broader purpose. And so that might be for the nonprofit. Does it help the participants of the nonprofit? Does it bring in donations? What do we want the book to do? If I'm writing a book for a therapist, am I writing the book to other therapists? Am I writing it to clients? What's the right book to write right now based on the business I want to have in 10 years, not the business I have today? So I do a lot of that work with our coaching program, and then my editor does the, I you know, show don't tell kind of... 

Rich Bennett 41:41
our coaching program. Right. 

Maria Chapman 41:41
do a lot of work with our coaching program. I I do a lot of that stuff, but of course I do a lot of the stuff except coaching, and 

We with all of those, we do a lot of work around the ecosystem surrounding the book, so what is your website doing? Are you just doing the book or is there an online course as well, because I have the curriculum background. So I end up writing online courses for a lot of my clients 

Rich Bennett 42:01
We 

Maria Chapman 42:03
do a lot of work with our coaching from their book. So we do the book, then I write the online course, and so when they're done, they have a 

book that gets people to get used to paying them money for something. They have a low ticket offer, then they have maybe a course that's a little bit more expensive or they have a coaching program, whether it's one-to-one or group coaching, and so we're really looking at that whole ecosystem. How do we set it up so that it's not just I read your book and do a lot of work with our coaching program. We do a lot of work with our coaching program. stop. 

Rich Bennett 42:35
Okay, so you're the type of books, are mainly like curriculum books. I guess maybe even guide books, 

Maria Chapman 42:43
A lot of self-help, a lot of 

Rich Bennett 42:46
a 

Maria Chapman 42:46
personal 

Rich Bennett 42:46
self-help books, maybe. 

Maria Chapman 42:46
development, our coaching program. I've written some business books that are directed towards people in the coaching therapy world. Sexual 

wellness books are another one we do, 

career development, so I like how to make decisions about a career or career change. 

Rich Bennett 43:10
our coaching program. Now, is this strictly- I'm talking about the business, it's not the non-profit. 

Maria Chapman 43:15
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 43:15
Is it strictly helping people that have a disability or is there for 

Maria Chapman 43:20
anybody? 

Rich Bennett 43:20
anybody, 

Maria Chapman 43:20
That's 

Rich Bennett 43:21
for 

Maria Chapman 43:21
anybody. That's anybody. I do typically hire people who identify as disabled in 

Rich Bennett 43:27
way. 

Maria Chapman 43:28
some 

Rich Bennett 43:28
Right. do a lot of work with our coaching Holy cow, you should- 

Wow, We I don't know of any other business like this. Where am I wrong? 

Maria Chapman 43:41
I mean, my business coach runs authority ghost writing. He's brilliant. He's more expensive than I am because he's been doing it a long time. Josh Bernoff is another ghost writer that I- 

Rich Bennett 43:52
Yeah, but not the ghost writing part. I mean all the different services you're 

Maria Chapman 43:56
Well, 

Rich Bennett 43:56
offering. 

Maria Chapman 43:56
right. So the full ecosystem build out, Nick will do that with people, not as a done for you service all the way through. But 

yeah, a part of it is the team that I've put together can handle all of that. So why not? 

Rich Bennett 44:16
I mean, to me that because a lot of people when, like when you I love self-help books, just give you an idea. But a lot of these self-help books, I never see any, you know, like workbooks to go along with them or even courses you could take. I love the fact that you are your coaching the people that are that are you're doing these books for and they should be doing that. I mean, to me, that makes sense. Remember in the beginning you said about as an author, it's hard to make money. But you are looking at all the other ways for these authors to help them make money. 

Maria Chapman 44:56
I like the term authorpreneur. 

Rich Bennett 44:59
Oh my god, hello, hello. I thought I was the only one that used that phrase. 

Maria Chapman 45:04
No! 

That's the word I use because if you are just wanting to be an author, I'm probably not the right ghost 

Rich Bennett 45:13
right now. Right. If you're an author, you should look at it as a business. That's my take. Wow. 

Maria Chapman 45:21
And 

some people have this negative connotation and I certainly did before I was in the business world, right. This negative connotation of marketing and selling and business. But let's take so I have clients that they talk about working with me. So let's talk about them. 

They have a book coming out in August called Ignite Your Power Within. And it is a book for women and it walks through 14 power words that these two women who are jewelry designers have designed jewelry using these words. 

That and right and so it's each of the words and why they use it. 

Why it's one of the power words? How to use it in your own life. Okay, so that's the book. In addition to the book, they have a companion journal that's coming out because they preach a journaling habit in the book. But their book is geared towards busy women in their 30s and 40s who are doing the mom thing 

Rich Bennett 46:29
and 

Maria Chapman 46:30
so their journal is a 5 minute journal. 

It is not 

Rich Bennett 46:37
journal. 

Maria Chapman 46:38
It is not let's write 3 pages a day, right. It's a 5 minute journal. And so they have the book, they have the journal, they have the bracelet. Now they're booking speaking it, 

right. They were just texting me last week that they had a great one at a mom prerender event. So it's not just I'm writing the book and now I'm done. It's I'm writing the book and then I want to do what. So the first thing I ask someone when I sit down with them for a consultation is what do you want your life to look like in 3 years, 5 years and 10 years? 

Rich Bennett 47:11
Oh, 

Maria Chapman 47:12
and I'm not talking about your business. Notice I didn't ask what do you want your business to look 

Rich Bennett 47:17
like. Right. 

Maria Chapman 47:18
It's what do you want your life to 

Rich Bennett 47:26
look? Man, so your business coach too. 

Maria Chapman 47:31
Yeah, and the nonprofit. I mean, yeah, yeah, I do a lot of the business coaching in the nonprofit and I'm not an expert in all things business. 

Rich Bennett 47:39
You're always learning. 

Maria Chapman 47:40
I am always learning and I know experts in all the things. So I do a lot of connecting people to experts. I have so many people in my network and I am so grateful to all of them who are jumping on calls with the people who are working within the nonprofit who are offering a free consultation or 

contributing an interview to my book to help people. 

And I don't know, I'm great. 

Rich Bennett 48:04
It's 

Maria Chapman 48:05
awesome. 

Rich Bennett 48:08
Are you sure we're not like twins somehow because I mean, author, pro nor every that you just like helping people. And about learning from other people, are you reading what's a book you're reading right now? 

Maria Chapman 48:23
I'm reading the next conversation by Jefferson Fisher. 

Rich Bennett 48:27
Okay, all right, because a lot of the stuff you mentioned is also in the law of success by Napoleon 

Maria Chapman 48:33
Hill. Oh, yes, no, I'm not reading that. 

Rich Bennett 48:36
Okay, don't get the deluxe edition. Well, no, get the deluxe edition. It's actually good, but it's like, it's sick. 

Maria Chapman 48:44
It's a lot 

Rich Bennett 48:45
Oh, my daughter thought I was reading the Bible. I said, well, in a way, it is, but it's just a different type of 

Maria Chapman 48:51
great. 

Rich Bennett 48:51
Bible. It's really sick. So with number one, tell everybody where to find, where to find the business, the website and everything if they need your help. 

Maria Chapman 49:03
Yeah, connected ghost writing.com and it's connected ghost writing LLC on all social media channels. And then you can also find me under my name Maria Chapman. 

Rich Bennett 49:13
All right, so now the nonprofit, I wanted to ask you this question earlier because you're helping entrepreneurs with disabilities. 

Granny, you're only three months old right now, but have you considered going to like the local VA and Talking to them because I'm sure they could provide you with a lot you're not in your head. You already did didn't you? 

Maria Chapman 49:38
So I met this week with the National Disability Institute and I am talking with there's a group out of Syracuse who did a study on 

Entrepreneurship for Veterans with Disabilities and so I'm working with them and talking to them about their programming and how can we integrate some of the things that they learned into what we're doing? In the online Academy and in the one-to-one mentorship. 

Rich Bennett 50:03
That is great because I know there's Being a veteran myself 

talking to a lot of other veterans that 

Have have a disability a lot of them were just so down. They they don't think they can start their own business and Sometimes it is hard to pick them up 

Maria Chapman 50:24
Well, it's that it's that me sitting on the couch kicking the walker over and saying I'm not good at anything else 

Rich Bennett 50:30
Mm-hmm But the thing is too and here's something I think a lot of people don't realize because Just talking to you if you were not doing the ghost writing Just hearing your story and the fact that you're helping others. If you weren't doing ghost writing I could see you out Doing like motivational speaking and and talking to others and 

Maria Chapman 50:51
I do that yeah 

Rich Bennett 50:53
yeah, yeah, you do that 

Maria Chapman 50:53
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 50:54
too. Oh my god. 

Maria Chapman 50:55
I love speaking put a microphone on my hand and I'm happy Yeah, I love speaking 

Rich Bennett 51:01
I help Maria one other kind of surprises do you have for me? 

Maria Chapman 51:05
Now that's it anything to do with words and helping people 

Rich Bennett 51:09
You're sure, 

Maria Chapman 51:09
that's it. I'm not gonna do your taxes 

Rich Bennett 51:12
Oh, I gotta do mine 

Those of you listening, don't worry. It's not past d-day yet. We're recording this on April 3rd You get do you sing as well 

Maria Chapman 51:25
oh? Not since my grandmother's chuno. No 

Rich Bennett 51:27
Okay, just want to make sure because you say anything with your voice. I just want to make sure you did throw it any more surprise 

Maria Chapman 51:33
I say in the car does that count? 

Rich Bennett 51:36
Yeah, karaoke 

Kitchen 

Maria Chapman 51:41
yoke kitchen, yeah 

Rich Bennett 51:42
Well kitchen yoke Sherry okey any kind of yoke yoke Yoke okey. Yeah, never mind. Don't do that to me look. You already messed me up in the beginning, okay? All right, so the nonprofit 

Something very important What's the website so people can also go there and make a donation? 

Maria Chapman 52:02
Yes, it is journey to success dot org with the number two. So journey number two success dot org and there's information on there about our individual 

Small business and corporate sponsorships and then I like to say we have three different ways you can get involved with the nonprofit So if you are a need to be service provider And you are interested in offering either free or discounted services to our participants We would love to have a conversation with you and you can contact us right right through the website um 

We also are building out the journey to success academy So if you have something that you teach better than anyone else and you would like us to put your on your course in our online academy We are happy to do that. We actually have Purted at joy who wrote the book. Uh, what's her book? 

Rich Bennett 52:57
It's not I don't 

Maria Chapman 52:58
It's 

Rich Bennett 52:58
know. 

Maria Chapman 52:58
not my head right 

Rich Bennett 52:59
now 

Maria Chapman 53:00
Um, crusher money goals. It was an Oprah bestseller last year um, so she Donated a couple of her online courses to our situation Um, and so we're happy to have other people do that and then of course monetary donations are always appreciated as well a 

Rich Bennett 53:17
For the non-profit you'll help people anywhere. Doesn't matter what state country or whatever. They're well I guess you got to be careful with the country. 

Maria Chapman 53:25
Yeah. I think we're staying US for now because the rules are different 

Rich Bennett 53:30
all right, so All of you listening especially the ones that well all of you listening period make a donation Those of you listening that Have a business Go to the website and look at becoming a either a small business sponsor or a corporate sponsor Because from what I know I don't know of any other non-profits that are doing something like this 

Maria Chapman 53:54
Yeah, there's a nonprofit out of 

I think it's Massachusetts that helps people with mental illness 

Rich Bennett 54:04
Mm-hmm welcome 

Maria Chapman 54:05
Focus disabilities 

Start businesses and so the the director of that non-profit and I are are chatting and working in tandem and Referring people back and forth because I love 

It's aligned but a little bit a little different 

Rich Bennett 54:20
Yeah, I love this and I can see this just blowing up and um actually This 

This non-profit I can see becoming your full-time job 

Maria Chapman 54:33
No, I'm not giving up writing. I'm not doing it Never 

Rich Bennett 54:37
Never say never 

Maria Chapman 54:40
No, I gave it up once for nine years. It's not happening again. 

Rich Bennett 54:43
Well, you know you can see all right the nonprofit would be your full-time job And the and the boys right now would be your part time. 

Maria Chapman 54:50
My 

Rich Bennett 54:51
Don't 

Maria Chapman 54:51
side 

Rich Bennett 54:51
worry. I'm not gonna make you work 60 hours a week, okay 

Maria Chapman 54:55
If you tried 

Rich Bennett 54:58
Now don't tell me you're gonna be starting a podcast

Maria Chapman 55:01
I have a podcast. Oh 

Rich Bennett 55:02
Come 

Maria Chapman 55:02
on. No, I do it's I do I do a podcast with my 

SEO specialist content strategist Stephen dude is called business words and every week we pick a word 

Rich Bennett 55:16
Really, 

Maria Chapman 55:17
let's guess how it relates to 

Rich Bennett 55:20
business. Oh 

Maria Chapman 55:21
Yes, it's fun. It's fun. 

Rich Bennett 55:24
like 

Maria Chapman 55:25
I 

Rich Bennett 55:25
oh, I'm gonna have to look that one up now Actually, is there a website for that? 

Maria Chapman 55:30
No website yet, but we are on Spotify and Apple podcasts 

Rich Bennett 55:34
Okay, just business words or business words podcast 

Maria Chapman 55:38
business 

Rich Bennett 55:39
words business words, okay, man 

Maria Chapman 55:42
We just started that November so I'm not we've been doing it. It's biweekly 

Rich Bennett 55:47
By okay, well good a Great platform for y'all for you to push your business too and the nonprofit 

Maria Chapman 55:56
to well Yeah, and I 

Rich Bennett 55:56
They're 

Maria Chapman 55:57
just get 

Rich Bennett 55:57
talking 

Maria Chapman 55:57
to talk with one of my business besties about words 

Rich Bennett 56:00
business best business bestie. I liked that All right, so before I get to my last question is there anything you would like to add what 

Maria Chapman 56:10
I think Covered it. Didn't we we did the whole thing? Oh 

Rich Bennett 56:15
I don't know, but I can see you coming back on again. 

Maria Chapman 56:19
I I'm up for that 

Rich Bennett 56:20
Okay, yeah, because I want to I want to Vent you something to you when we're done here giving an idea and you can either run with it or just say Rich you're crazy. I ain't doing it it be the first 

Maria Chapman 56:32
What'd 

Rich Bennett 56:32
time somebody's told me that? 

Okay, so my my listeners always submit questions and 

Oh, oh, I like this one. Okay. This one's from Kelvin Abrams. 

Maria Chapman 56:45
Oh, dear. Okay 

Rich Bennett 56:47
What quote or principal do you use to guide your life and your business? 

Maria Chapman 56:59
Pivot don't quit. 

Rich Bennett 57:03
Where did I see that 

Maria Chapman 57:04
at on my website? 

Rich Bennett 57:06
That's why 

Maria Chapman 57:07
The tagline for the nonprofit. 

Rich Bennett 57:11
I like that. Okay. 

Maria Chapman 57:13
There's a couple others. I mean pivot don't quit But I also like that quitting isn't failing. It's just that you you learned something that 

Rich Bennett 57:19
it's 

Maria Chapman 57:19
made it 

Rich Bennett 57:20
learning 

Maria Chapman 57:20
impossible to stay 

Rich Bennett 57:21
Yeah, you you have to fail to succeed. I've always believed. 

Maria Chapman 57:25
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 57:26
Yeah. All right, so that that wasn't my last question This is my last question. What is the next big thing for Maria Chapman? 

Maria Chapman 57:34
The next big thing is 

Getting my book finished. I'm I'm sending it to the publisher May 1st. That's my drop dead date So it's with my editor now. She's gonna kick it back and tell me all the mistakes I made Pretty excited about that. Thank you so I appreciate you and 

so getting that finished and Doing the you know the cover design all of that. 

Rich Bennett 57:59
Yeah. Oh, you're doing the cover design? 

Maria Chapman 58:01
No, but I 

Rich Bennett 58:02
have oh, they are 

Maria Chapman 58:02
pick things and design is not my strength 

Rich Bennett 58:07
Okay, 

Maria Chapman 58:08
so the publisher handles the cover design and and all of that and getting into getting it into Barnes and Noble and I don't know to handle any of that thank goodness, but 

Rich Bennett 58:16
You have to handle the 

Maria Chapman 58:17
marketing Ah, yeah, but that's that's 

Rich Bennett 58:20
that's well. You already know how to get on other podcasts 

Maria Chapman 58:23
I know a thing or two about how to market books. 

Rich Bennett 58:27
I would hope so 

I would definitely hope so Maria. I want to thank you so much and well you got to come back on when the book comes out of course 

Maria Chapman 58:38
I would love to and 

Rich Bennett 58:39
God there's I have a funny feeling you're gonna be on several more times. I just I feel it 

Maria Chapman 58:45
That's it send the invite

Rich Bennett 58:46
You got it Thanks

Rich Bennett 58:50
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and learn something from it as I did If you'd like to hear more conversations like this be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode And if you have a moment I'd love it if you can leave a review it helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at conversations with Rich Bennett.com For updates giveaways and more until next time take care 

be kind and keep the conversations going.