LeaderImpact Podcast
LeaderImpact Podcast
Ep. 96 - Monica Richmond - Cold Calls and Warm Faith
A revolution, a cross-continental leap, and a career built one cold call at a time—Monica Richmond’s story shows how resilience and faith can turn uncertainty into lasting impact.
We dive into the disciplines that sustained her success: integrity as a daily operating system, financial stewardship as a strategy for freedom, and generosity as a source of joy. She also unpacks the reality of cold calling and rejection, why “failing forward” is a skill, and how mentors and peers reduce the loneliness that often shadows independent work.
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Welcome to the Leader Impact Podcast. We are a community of leaders with a network in over 350 cities around the world dedicated to optimizing our personal, professional, and spiritual lives to have impact. This show is where we have a chance to listen and engage with leaders who are living this out. We love talking with leaders, so if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions to make this show even better, please let us know. The best way to stay connected in Canada is through our newsletter at Leaderimpact.ca or on social at LeaderImpact. And if you're listening from outside of Canada, check out our website at leaderimpact.com. I'm your host, Lisa Peters, and our guest today is Monica Richmond. Monica is the proud daughter of Hungarian immigrants who fled Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, seeking freedom from Soviet occupation. Growing up in a Hungarian household, Monica was deeply influenced by her parents' resilience, determination, and courage. Her frequent trips back to Hungary allowed her to stay connected to her heritage while fostering a global perspective. Her parents instilled in her the values of independence, hard work, and perseverance, the qualities that would shape her life and career. In 1998, Monica embarked on a groundbreaking journey in the financial credit card payment processing industry. That year she founded her own corporation, a decision that marked the beginning of a remarkable 27-year career. Over the years, Monica has built and managed multiple client portfolios, representing over 250 million annually in transaction processing. Monica attributes her business growth and resilience to her commitment to biblical principles in business and generosity, financial stewardship, and unwavering determination never to give up. Losing my voice, Monica. Welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you. In your bio, I I'm not where you reside, people would love to know.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. I I live currently in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us here today. I'm excited to hear more. Just being raised in Hungary, in Hung in Hungary, having that and keep going back. And so I'm excited to begin. So I'm I'm just going to start. We want to hear about a little bit about your journey. And really we want to, you know, pack it down to those pivotal moments because you know, we know that those are turning points in our lives, and we'd love to hear more about yours.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Well, thank you for having me. It's an honor to be on here with you. Thanks for asking. So, yes, for sure. Should I should I answer a little bit? Okay. Well, basically, I do have a Hungarian history, a very strong one. My parents did uh escape in 1956 with the Russian Revolution when the uh Soviets occupied Hungary. There was a revolution in 56 of the youth in Budapest, and many, many thousands were able to escape at that time, and my parents were one of them. So I was very grateful for that because I was born here in 64 and went back many times to visit my family, and all of my family reside there even today. Yes, and so I have credited my my parents many times because of their courageous, courageousness to escape a country. Um, you know, a lot of us we don't even we can't even conceive of that. I can't even conceive of that. And uh so I'm really grateful for and I'm proud of them for having done that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And would you ever do you have something in your life, like I mean, that is so big and that is a pivotal moment in your parents' life? Like, do you have something that you would even consider? I mean, and it it's tough, right? Because that's big.
SPEAKER_01:That's big.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Is there anything in your life that has been pivotal in your career that you look back? I mean, in 19, was it 1998, you embarked on a groundbreaking journey? Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Definitely. Yeah. Well, you know, I think for me, uh, what was the most pivotal is losing my parents uh in in the mid-90s. And um, you know, I I did not marry until later in life. I actually stayed single until I was 50. It was a big part of my story. So my first marriage was when I was 50. Um, but when I lost my parents within three years of each other, that left me alone in the United States. And that was 1992 and 1995. And, you know, I kind of had a choice. I was probably the biggest pivotal moment of my life. I had a choice of what was gonna happen to me at that moment. You know, uh the world got very big, much bigger than me. You know, I ended up alone in the United States, a country, um, and because my family was all back in the United States, and that is when the most the biggest pivotal time for me began. And in my career, my career started in 1998.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So, you know, I was just, you know, I don't have a college degree. Uh, I don't, I didn't have that opportunity, you know. I um really the success that I have, I have to say I have to give, you know, the credit to my God for that, and we can talk about that a whole lot more throughout. Um, you know, but it was it was uh a time where I feel like he caught me and he headed me and pointed me in the right direction, and I just chose to go that way, you know.
SPEAKER_00:So when when this happens and you're alone in the country and your family is other families back in Hungary, who do you who did you surround yourself with at that point that continued to uplift you? Yeah, like who were those people? Because it the world is lonely and leadership can be lonely.
SPEAKER_01:Very, very, very so at that time I moved from New Jersey, because that's Rose From to Atlanta by myself. And um, you know, that is actually the turning point of my faith story when I moved here in 1995, I guess. Um, and I started to have really good community. God put amazing people around me. Um, and and that was through my church, you know, at that time, and I just met fantastic friends and they just started surrounding me. So it was there is a scripture in the Bible that says, you know, God puts the lonely in families, and that's exactly what happened to me. So um I look back now, and uh those people that I was surrounded with were strong, very strong believers, and they were very strong in their careers. And um, you know, they just burdened me up. That they just they provided what I needed and surrounded me with with we are so made for community. We are so not made for uh living a life alone and on an island. You know, we are definitely made for community, even if we don't know we're made for community. So um, you know, I'm just you know, that is my story. I just felt like I just kind of allowed myself to be surrounded by people, and it helped.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, great. Thank you for sharing the power of community, the power of showing up people on both sides. People will show up for you, show up for others. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Uh I want to talk a little bit more about principles of success. Um, if you have one and tell us a story that illustrates this.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh, there's so many principles of success. I mean, they're really just not as one. It's that was a hard question. I thought, hmm, okay. Um well, I think integrity is a very large principle of success. I feel like um I feel like, you know, through the years of a career working with people, um, you know, even in personal relationships, I I feel like growing emotionally, um, along with spiritually, along with business, um, along with understanding um how to navigate this broken world really, is integrity. And um, you know, for me personally, I felt I feel like through the years and still today, because I still manage my portfolios with customers and I care for them. And um, you know, I I really watch and make sure that the companies that I represent don't gouge them, you know. Um, I'm doing things in the background that they don't even know I'm doing. You know, they don't know how uh, you know, I watch their accounts and I watch and make sure that they are um, you know, being treated fairly, being treated well. And uh I think that that line of integrity can go through so many areas of your life, and I feel like that's probably the largest principle, well, you know, one of the largest principles, you know, I feel like that I have grown in through the years. Because I feel like God honors that, you know, when you honor truthfulness, really, in the way that you work.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Have you have you ever had a worst-case scenario where you've had to pull and like something bad happens, something bad was gonna happen, you didn't trust you something in your heart was saying something's wrong.
SPEAKER_01:Many, many, many, many, many, many times like that, yes. Um and and you know, honesty with um with my customers have been like one of my largest things too. So uh, and that's they follow me everywhere because of that. Yeah, you know, they realize that if there is honesty, you know, with me, they can trust me. They don't even they don't even pay attention to competitors. I mean, there I have customers that have been with me for 20 years. Wow. You know, and they just they're not paying attention to competitors because they know that I will have their back. And that is so important, you know, such an important principle, for sure. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Too many times we get caught up in the the goal of more money, more more you know, but take care of the ones you have, yes, and you will you will grow.
SPEAKER_01:Even if it's at a little bit of a loss to yourself, and that that's the thing. I I think that you know, if if you if you make sure that you are caring for your customers, and and not even customers, just anybody you work with. I mean, you can take this and apply this to any section of business that you're in. And even if you know that there might be a little bit of loss to yourself, but if it's the right thing to do for them, you you know, it will be made up a hundredfold in your own life. You know, it's just called sacrifice, you know, which which we are able to do. So, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Good comment. All right. Well, uh, our next question talks about our our failures, and I think many of us know we learn more from our failures and mistakes than our own successes. So if you have one, you could share and a story that illustrates it.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Um, you know, I think that the failure, I would say, uh, you know, I don't even know if I call it a failure. You know, I love the term failing forward. Um, you know, failing forward to me is is how you make it work. I I feel like not being scared of being making mistakes, making mistakes, going forth, taking chances, you know, things like that is is you know the key, I feel like, to growth. And um, you know, and I think for me, myself, um, you know, I I built my business on cold calling. I mean, straight cold calling. And I made so many mistakes, you know, through that time. And I had a lot of failure. I mean, a lot of failure, rejection, you know, I I would say that, you know, learning from all those mistakes on how I communicated made me better, you know, and the whole thing was not quitting, um, because it it's really that. It's like if if you go forth on a certain path and you constantly are falling, well that, and you know that that's a path that God has you on. You you don't you don't sit down, you know, you don't you don't quit. You you just keep going, you learn what you just, you know, what what you m made a mistake, okay, don't don't do it like this, don't do it like that, you know, don't beat yourself up in it, yeah, and just keep moving forward, you know, because eventually things break through, you know, with persistence. So that's a big one for me. If that, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That's awesome. Sometimes we s we we sit in the suck. Yes, yes, well in it. Yeah, yes. Yeah. Cold calling is so hard.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh. Did it for 30 years. I mean, you know. Yeah. Still today. I mean, you know, and I feel like, you know, a lot of times, uh, well, it it is one thing a thing that is has a paper wall in front of you of fear. Cold calling is that that's really what it is. Like every day you have to just kind of break through, you know, and you know, and I don't even do it every day. I mean, yeah, I don't do it every day anymore, but I used to when I had to pay my bills and make a sale and eat, make a sale and eat, you know. Um, but it is a paper wall of fear that holds a lot of people back from doing things that are that they're called to do, really.
SPEAKER_00:Did you ever surround yourself that did you have a coach at the time when you were going through the cold calling? Because I mean it's you gotta call someone and just someone needs to pump you up.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. And when you're in sales and you're an independent contractor like myself, it's a lonely world out there. There's no that, you know, if you have a team that's awesome. If you don't have a team, you're by yourself. Um, you know, I always made sure that I had at least, you know, uh people that that I would trusted that I worked with either they were co-workers that that did the same thing as I did, or somebody further along. I think it is so vital to have somebody that's further along in your career and spiritually and every way that can that can be there as a mentor for sure. And so, yes, I had a lot of that through the years. For sure, I leaned a lot on them. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, that definitely leads into my next question about at Leader Impact. We want to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually for increasing impact. So, um, and we're talking about teams, and that's that's one of the things I love about uh leader impact is having a team of people to surround myself. But I'm wondering if you're willing to share an example of how the spiritual makes a practical difference in your life as well.
SPEAKER_01:Oh gosh, yes. Um, I mean, gosh, I think the integration of your spiritual walk into the practical every single day is the key to a life fully lived in your purpose. Um, I think that eventually, I think people grow in it. I grew in it, you know, I didn't quite get that, you know, uh at first, but I think that as you grow in your life, you know, you grow older, um, you have children, get married, stepkids, so much, so many blended family. I'm in a blended family. So, you know, um it is it is it is vital to have a spiritual relationship uh with your savior, uh with your God, to help you make decisions that need to be made, you know, lead you in the right direction uh when you don't know which way to go. I mean, that's uh promises in the the word all through it. And so um and he he shows up. He totally shows up, and that's that's that's been beautiful. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can't live without it.
SPEAKER_00:How do you I and I and I'm I ask this because I'm just taking a a course, and it's people from across Canada, we've signed up, we go at noon, hearing God. How do you know? Um, because you say, you know, every day, and you grew into it, and I I feel like every day I'm in the word. And what I mean by that is I I I take this scripture, I'm I'm diving in, I'm like, what does this mean for me, my leadership? But for you, how are you hearing God when you're in a situation and you know, failure? And it's like, but how do you hear God?
SPEAKER_01:Um, well, I pull myself aside, uh, for sure. And uh prayer is the number one thing. Uh, I think the communication and a relationship with God is the number one thing, cultivating as you as you just mentioned, you do, um, spending time. I think his love line, I believe his love language is quality time. Um and um so I spent a lot of time, you know, just definitely pulling aside and you know, getting away from this, if you can see it. Oh no, she's right here. Yeah, getting away from that, shutting that down, quieting yourself, um, you know, surrendering, you know, your own desires, your own thoughts, um, trusting him in all of your ways, meaning not on your own understanding, allowing him to straighten your path. Yeah, boy, that is a big thing, and and that takes practice. And then he talks in different ways through different seasons of our lives. So we might have heard him one way for many years, and then all of a sudden he wants you to grow in another area and he starts talking to you in some other way. Yeah, and you have to really trust him again, you know, to hear him in a new way. Yeah, but he's always talking and he's always speaking to us because he lives in us. And um, it's a matter of us just quieting our own minds and connecting with him.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:100%.
SPEAKER_00:I I think my biggest question was I don't know if I've ever heard an audible voice, right? And not everyone does.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You know, you'll hear it through, you know, going to church. Uh you might hear it. You might hear it through a um uh the this the sermon that is being shared. You might hear it through there's so many ways that God speaks to you. And I think we think, or or people who may not have faith, think, but I don't hear him. I don't know. Um and I I think uh one of the things I think is uh um God's God's not the person that says you're not good enough. That's the other one.
SPEAKER_01:That's exactly right.
SPEAKER_00:God loves you. Yes, God speaks good words, like good ones.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yes, yeah, and peace is a big one.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Uh and you know, and understanding the principles of the Bible, you know, I mean, he talks that way. I mean, so you know, definitely reading the word has been a big thing in my life and understanding stewardship. And things that I'm I I are important to me are financial stewardship. So I've studied that. And Proverbs, you know, I've studied it. And I mean, the Bible is the voice of God, one of the voices, but a big voice of God for us. So, you know, once we learn those principles and the way that he speaks about those things, we know that's part of his talking, you know, and and peace, he is a God of peace, his wisdom comes through peace. So, you know, do we have peace about this decision? I mean, I have literally written, written like one column about a tough decision, one of the of this way, and then a column going that way. You know what I mean? Like two two different decisions in the problem. And praying over those decisions and praying over those columns, saying, Okay, where am I having peace? Follow your peace. Yeah, you know, it's Colossians 3, 10, I believe. Follow your peace, you know, and and and he he he's very faithful in that. So there's so many different ways. You're right, very different ways.
SPEAKER_00:I find that um sometimes when I can't quiet myself, I write. And I just I keep writing until I hear something. Yes, and I feel good. I I I don't know. I I might my I struggle for the quiet time. So if I if I write it, we all do. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:So that's so good. Journaling is so good. It's so good for somebody, yes.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, thanks for sharing that. I I just I'd love to talk about it and see how other people. Yeah, it makes me feel so good. So um at Leader Impact, we're about leaders having a lasting impact. So as you continue to move through your journey, and it sounds absolutely beautiful, um, have you considered what you want your faith legacy to be when you leave this world?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, definitely. Um, yes, I uh, you know, my biggest thing is I would love to be known for my generosity and for wisdom and integrity. Um, those three things, you know, um the generosity of heart, generosity of time, generosity of finances, a generous person, you know, um, wisdom, and that wisdom comes through the word of God for sure. Um, just growing in the word of God, um, aligning your life with these principles makes you wise. Um, you know, determining who you hang around. That's you know makes you wise. And then integrity we already talked about. So those those are really the legacy that I would really like to leave. Somebody asked me this question just two weeks ago, and I had an opportunity to really think through it. Yeah, and that is definitely the three top things I feel like.
SPEAKER_00:Well, just listening to you and spending this last you know 20 minutes with you, I you're living this right now. So it's not, you know, it's so beautiful because it's not something I hope to leave. I'm living it.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's what we want.
SPEAKER_00:And I think that's an important question is yes, great, when you leave, I want people to do that, but are you living it? That's right. And just that's exactly right. You know, you talked about integrity, talked about surrounding ourselves. So awesome. So what brings you the greatest joy? That is my final question for you.
SPEAKER_01:Oh my gosh. I think generosity, honestly. I feel I really do feel like that. I feel like when when you hear from God to meet it, uh when you hear from God about something, meaning like when you're feeling let. Um like when you see a need and you can meet that need, and you know that it was God, because the joy comes when you're obedient. And the joy fills your heart and your spirit and your soul. And that's I think my greatest joy. I mean, honestly. Um, I love, I love, I love listening. Uh, I love being generous, and I make a point of it, um, growing growing in it, because I feel like it's someplace that people can grow, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow into generosity. I feel like there's a capacity that you know that can just build as we go. And um, and that I feel like is probably the thing that brings me the most joy, honestly. And that and a beach, you know. But you know.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I love it. Laura, thank you for spending this time with me. I know that you it was uh it's sometimes we are so busy, so I just so appreciate that you take a little bit of time on your day to share with us and our listeners.
SPEAKER_01:Wow, it was a pleasure meeting you. It was an honor meeting you, really. Thank you for asking me. Oh, well.
SPEAKER_00:I I show up here because I just I want to hear the stories and I just want to share them. And it just makes me feel so good. So I I hope people walk away with you know more understanding of their faith. And that is it is a daily intention to, you know, daily go to the Bible, daily surround yourself, daily act with integrity. Um if people want to find you, if they want to engage with you, what would be the best way?
SPEAKER_01:Um, they can definitely go to LinkedIn and it's under Monica Richmond, and it's Richmond, uh, like the you know, the city, Richmond with an O. Um, yeah, you're welcome to go to LinkedIn and message me, you know, and I'll check and yeah, no problem. Anytime.
unknown:All right.
SPEAKER_00:Well, thank you again for joining us, Monica.
SPEAKER_01:All right, thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00:All right. Well, if you're part of Leader Impact, you can always discuss or share this podcast with your group. And if you are not yet part of Leader Impact and would love to find out more about us and grow your leadership, find our podcast page on our website at LeaderImpact.ca. You can also check out groups available in Canada at LeaderImpact.ca, or if you're listening from anywhere else in the world, check out LeaderImpact.com or get in touch with us by email. Info at LeaderImpact.ca and we will connect you. And if you like this podcast, please leave us a comment, give us a rating, or a review. This will help other global leaders find our podcast. Thank you for engaging with us, and remember, impact starts with you.
