Meet Mandi Monday

We were lucky to catch up with Mandi Monday recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mandi , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

I remember my father’s second wife. I remember how my father would bring my younger brother and I to his house to get to know her family, her kids. I remember one morning, I was pouring cereal for me and my younger brother and she walked over and ripped the box out of my hands and told me that the cereal was not for us. I remember how that made me feel and the anger I felt because she made my brother and I felt like we were outcasts.
I remember having an ex who also did not share. He did not like to extend hospitality unless it was asked of him. I thought it was very cowardly, and selfish.
I have a girlfriends who are the opposite, not to mention my bonus mom as well. They are the kind of friends and family who treat my family as if it were their own. They have extended a humble hand. They have never made me feel unwelcome, or have treated me differently because of circumstances or indifferences.
I would never want to make someone feel like they’re not wanted, or welcome. It’s an unpleasant feeling.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I wear many different hats at the moment! I work as an accounts receivable manager for a family member, and on the weekends I help out a local family (that I have known for years) at their restaurant. I am also helping my best friend, Chelsko, build her accounting side of her business that she has started with Kate Muhollhand. It’s called Live Viva, and it is a hollistic program that I believe in.
Music is more of a hobby, but it is the one hobby that has landed me in places I never thought I would be in. I have already been to a handful of studios, I have helped write a plethora of songs. I have learned how to write and how to record myself as well. The bank of songs I am sitting on right now is WILD. It is just a matter of being connected to the right people.
Music is a healing journey for me. There is chaos and madness in the writing. In the singing. But the art that comes out of it, the story telling? All of the different moving parts that work together to make it so, that is the magic of it all.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I feel like I can’t even answer this. I landed in music because I am genuinely interested in it. Maybe having a musical household had something to do with it, maybe being really good in English class had something to do with it?
I believe that music is mostly impacted by environmental factors than anything else. Where you come from, what sounds influence you, the pain you have experienced, the journey your life has been, I think those play major roles in music and the outcome of it.
More than anything, I suppose it is the drive behind it. You have to have ambition, and you have to be stubborn. You must be demand to be heard. Thick- skinned too because people will tell you it cannot be done, or that you’re crazy. You have to believe in yourself more than anyone else.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I have said it before and I will say it again. I do not think I would believe in myself the way that I do if it was not for my friend Chelsko. Not only has she been in the industry for over a decade but she has shown me how to do my warm ups. She sits with me in the studio and writes alongside me. She treats me as an equal even though I am just starting out. She has encouraged me time and time again to stand in front of a mic and to sing my heart out when I want to do nothing but shy away from it.
She has shown me the business aspect of making contracts and signing deals ,and she has also shown me how to decipher the people who will be helpful in this journey and who is simply there to use you. I owe it to her for helping me learn how to use my voice and speak up for myself in the space.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mandimonday
• Facebook: Mandi Monday
• Youtube: Mandi Monday
• Other: Spotify! Apple Music!
  Mandi Monday on both