Hala Taha

Young and Profiting Podcast 🚀 CEO & Founder 💁🏻‍♀️ YAP Media Network - #1 Business Podcast Network 🚀 The Podcast Princess 👸🏻 YAP Media - #1 Linkedin Marketing Agency 💁🏻‍♀️ LISTEN. LEARN. PROFIT 🤓💕🔥🚀

Hala Taha, known as “The Podcast Princess,” is the host of Young and Profiting (YAP) Podcast, a #1 Entrepreneurship podcast with over 30 million downloads. A Top 100 podcast globally, YAP features star-studded guests like Matthew McConaughey, Gary Vee, Alex Hormozi, Deepak Chopra, Daymond John, Mel Robbins, and countless others. The show was recognized as a 2022 Webby Honoree, and Hala graced the cover of Podcast Magazine in January 2021.

Hala is also the Founder and CEO of YAP Media, an award-winning, premier white-glove social media and podcast production agency for CEOs, celebrities, and top podcasters. With nearly 60 employees and a dozen high-profile clients, YAP Media was named the #1 LinkedIn Marketing Agency and voted Best Podcast Agency of 2022.

In 2022, Hala launched the YAP Media Network, a podcast network that helps top podcasts land sponsorship deals with major brands like LinkedIn, Airbnb, and Shopify. YAP Media is pacing to hit 8-figures in 2025, and represents some of the most popular business podcasters in the world including Jenna Kutcher, Russell Brunson, Neil Patel, and John Lee Dumas. 

Hala is well-known for her engaged following and influence on Linkedin, leading to the creation of YAP Academy. Her first two-day LinkedIn Secret Masterclass has had 9 cohorts with hundreds of new influencers following Hala’s expertise to achieve successful LinkedIn growth and monetization. The next YAP Academy Masterclass is currently in the works with a focus on podcast creation, growth and monetization.

Hala is a 2025 Real Leaders Top 50 Keynote Speaker, sharing her expertise in podcasting, LinkedIn, social media, personal branding, sales and entrepreneurship through in-person keynotes and panels such as Funnel Hacking Live 10 and IAB Upfronts.

Hala has had a knack for inventing successful products and motivating teams since a young age. She began her career in radio production while in college, working at HOT97 on The Angie Martinez Show. In her senior year of college she founded The Sorority of Hip Hop, building a community of 50 female bloggers who hosted a popular blog, events, concerts, and radio shows. When the blog boom slowed down, she got her MBA, graduating #1 in her class with a 4.0 gpa, and spent the next 6 years in various corporate marketing roles at Hewlett Packard and Disney Streaming Services.

Host of Young and Profiting Podcast

Host and Producer of #1 Education Podcast, Young and Profiting.

Pretty privilege IS real.

But it’s also a disadvantage.

I recently had a conversation with another girlboss babe, Emma Hernan, on Young and Profiting – and she totally agrees with me.

(Catch our full conversation here: https://yap.show/ehonyt)

The perks are pretty obvious…

But the curse?
 👉🏼 People underestimate you.
 👉🏼 Your success gets credited to who you “know.”
 👉🏼 Some women won’t take you seriously.
 👉🏼 Some men will, but for the wrong reasons. 🙄

Emma told me that in the beginning of her career, some people literally REFUSED to meet with her:
🗣️ “Too pretty to be serious.”
🗣️ “Why does she dress like that?”

I’ve been through that too.

It’s almost like people think the only thing you’re good for is looking good!

But here’s the TEA:

When people underestimate you based on your looks, it’s honestly a superpower. 💡

They don’t see you coming. They’re not prepared for your intelligence, your execution or your results.

And when you prove them wrong? It’s PRICELESS. 🔥

I didn’t build an 8-figure company because of how I look.

I built it because I can:
 ✅ Execute under pressure
 ✅ Deliver results
 ✅ Lead teams that perform
 ✅ Create value that lasts

Pretty privilege might open the door,

But only substance keeps you in the room. 💯

Because betting against pretty AND smart?

That's just stupid. 😉

Ever been underestimated because of how you look? Tell me about it 👇🏼

“You're so full of yourself.”

You're right. I am.

Not in the arrogant, self-absorbed way.

But in the…
👉🏼 I know my worth.
👉🏼 I’ve earned my seat.
👉🏼 I’ve done the hard work.
Kind of way.

I started a media company from scratch with a team of volunteers that’s now on track to make 8-figures this year. 

I’m a Top 10 entrepreneurship podcaster that’s interviewed some of the most powerful names in the world.

I’ve spoken in front of crowds of thousands and was named a 2025 Real Leaders Top 50 Keynote Speaker.

And I’ve done it ALL without waiting for permission. 💯

But it always wasn’t like this.

I grew up thinking that I had to make myself small so others felt more comfortable. Not anymore.

🫵🏼 If you’re not full of YOURSELF – your skills, your voice, your power… 

Then who will be?

Take up space.
Share your wins.
Be unapologetically YOU.

And if that makes some people uncomfortable…

Just let them squirm. 🤷🏻‍♀️

LinkedIn's reach has tanked this year. 📉

And 99% of creators haven't pivoted yet.

I've been posting on LinkedIn for 7 years.

Back then? This platform was gold for real connections and industry insights.

But now?

📉 Median impressions are down 65% below the 2023 peak
📉 Growth for the average creator is down 20% since Q2
📉 Median impressions are down 18% since Q3 2024

According to the The Q3 State of the LinkedIn Algorithm Report from Chris Donnelly and Will McTighe ☝🏼 

But while everyone's complaining about the algorithm shifts...

I'm doubling down on what actually works:

✅ Using powerful visuals that grab attention.
✅ Educational and actionable content that solves real problems.
✅ Sharing stories only I can tell from my experience.
✅ Writing about controversial topics to encourage conversation.
✅ Consistently learning, adapting and pushing out quality content.

LinkedIn wants to be the next creator platform.

Fine by me.

Because the creators who win? 

They're the ones who stay ahead.

When I first started Young and Profiting… 

I sacrificed EVERYTHING. 

It was ALL work and no play:
👉🏼 I was the one always saying “no” to parties.
👉🏼 I was the one skipping birthdays and girls’ nights.
👉🏼 I was the one canceling family gatherings.

And you know what?

Everyone thought I was crazy. 🤯

But I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Those sacrifices back THEN are the reason why I’m NOW running a multi-million dollar company. 

Now I can work hard and play hard - whenever I want to, in whatever I want to!

All thanks to Revolve 🤗

Revolve has been my secret weapon for every moment that matters – whether I’m crushing it on stage or celebrating with my friends and family. 

And now I’m sharing it with you 🫵🏼 

You can shop my fall faves from Revolve here: https://lnkd.in/eH4PZzDc

(Use code PROFITING for 15% OFF for your first order!)

Because when you work hard and play hard…

You deserve to look and feel amazing doing BOTH.

Hiring is HARD ‼️

But here’s my secret to finding the best candidates… 

Because if you've ever built a team, you know exactly what I mean.

I manage a team of 50+ people across 5 continents, and finding the right hires?

It’s one of the toughest (but most rewarding) parts of scaling.

You spend hours reviewing resumes…
Weeks scheduling interviews…
And even after all that, you’re crossing your fingers that they’re the right fit. 🤞🏼

That's why I LOVE what Indeed is doing for business owners:
(Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at https://lnkd.in/ekByQKcW)

✅ Smart matching connects you with candidates who actually fit the role
✅ Screening tools help you filter for skills and experience
✅ Built-in assessments save you from costly hiring mistakes

I’ve found some of my BEST employees on Indeed ‼️

And it’s not just me:
👉🏼 93% of employers agree Indeed delivers the highest quality matches
👉🏼 Indeed delivers 4x more hires than all other job sites COMBINED
👉🏼 Over 3.5 million businesses worldwide trust Indeed to find their next superstar

I’ve built my team from ZERO.

And here’s what I know for sure:

Your business is only as strong as the people you hire. 🔥

Stop letting the hiring process drain your energy.

Start building the team that’ll take you to the next level with Indeed ☝🏼

Kim Perell: 5 Execution Traits That Transform Ideas Into a $100M Business

📈 Success isn’t about luck… it’s about EXECUTION ‼️

This week on YAP, I sat down with award-winning entrepreneur and angel investor, Kim Perell, who built a $100 million business from scratch and now helps founders do the same! 💰

During the interview, Kim broke down her FIVE traits of execution 👇🏼
1️⃣ Vision
2️⃣ Passion
3️⃣ Action
4️⃣ Resilience
5️⃣ Relationships

She explains that these are the traits that separate dreamers from doers, and Kim made it clear that when you master these, you can massively increase your odds of winning in business and in life. 

If you’re building a business and need a sign to finally start… 

Watch the full episode whenever you want on Youtube: https://lnkd.in/e6AfJ2ze

Dean Graziosi: Golden Age Is Here! How First-Time Entrepreneurs Are Winnin

🧠 You think it’s too risky to start a business? Think again! 🤔

This week on YAPClassic, I’m joined by New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur, Dean Graziosi, where he reveals how AI and technology have made entrepreneurship more accessible to any entrepreneur than ever before! 💯

After nearly three decades of building and scaling businesses, Dean shares with us how anyone can turn their knowledge, skill, or passion into a profitable and scalable business…

NO massive capital. NO fancy degree required. JUST YOU! 🫵🏼

So if you’ve been waiting for the right time to launch your business… this is your sign!

Watch the full episode whenever you want on Youtube: https://lnkd.in/eYabjabs

SECURE YOUR SPOT NOW: https://lnkd.in/esvhAteX

View event: Finding Your Working Genius to End Career Burnout with Patrick Lencioni

Finding Your Working Genius to End Career Burnout with Patrick Lencioni

Michelle Tillis Lederman, CSP, SCC, Leadership Speaker

The Connector's Advantage and The 11 Laws of Likability  

The Connector's Advantage: 7 Mindsets to Grow Your Influence and Impact explains:
    - Why relationships and connecting are critical to your results, success, and even happiness.
    - Connectors have a way of thinking and acting that enables stronger relationships.
    - How ANYONE can infuse these mindsets and behaviors into their interactions and see the impact.

My book, The 11 Laws of Likability:  Relationship Networking... Because People Do Business With People They Like, is for anyone and everyone who understands the value of their network.  

Nail The Interview, Land The Job: A Step-by-Step Guide for What to Do Before, During and After the Interview, reveals exactly what you need to do to shine during the interview process and set yourself apart from the crowd.

Heroes Get Hired: How To Use Your Military Experience To Master The Job Interview is my second book and JUST FOR VETERANS and their spouses. They served and now I am proud to serve them by providing a FREE resource to help transition into the civilian workforce.

I do live and virtual speaking engagements keynote topics include:

1.	THE RELATIONSHIP DRIVEN LEADER: Because People Do Business With People They Like 
2.	HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT: Influencing Others into Action  
3.	GET KNOW, GET CONNECTED, GET AHEAD: Relationship Networking 
4.	YOU -- THE BRAND: Determine and Drive How Others See You
5.	BOOST YOUR LIKABILITY: Boost Your Business
6.	THE LOST ART OF CONVERSATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Breakout Sessions are live and can be on any training topic. My most popular programs are:

 - Presenting Powerfully
 - Ask, Elaborate, Empower, Collaborate:  A Four Steps Process To Any Workplace Conversation
 - Communicate And Collaborate With Anyone
 - Moving From Conflict To Collaboration
 - Negotiating Know How
 - Powerful and Productive Performance Conversations

Connection Creator, Author and Speaker - CSP

Executive Essentials LLC

At Executive Essentials we provide custom-designed training programs in Communication, Leadership & Team Building. All people need to communicate with Confidence, Clarity and Connection.  Course include:
    
Building Relationships: The Natural Networker
Communicate with Emotional Intelligence
Communication Coaching
Confident Public Speaking
Conflict Resolution
Develop Your Presence & Personal Brand  
Effective Business Writing
Effective Delegation  & Motivation
Flexing Your Communication Style
Giving Results-Oriented Feedback
Leading Virtual Teams
Managing Chaos: Increasing Your Productivity
Negotiation Know How
Presentation Design & Communication Strategy
Situational Leadership
Smart Email Strategies
Team Building
Team Leadership
The Art of Influence
The New Manager – What you need to know
Time & Priority Management
Tools for Effective Project Management

CEO & Founder

TEDxMahwah

Volunteer TEDx coach for 4 speakers in the 2024 event.

TEDx Coach

Global Gurus

Named as one of the top 30 Communications Professionals in the world by Global Gurus in 2023 and 2024.

World's Top 30 Communication Professionals

Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching®

In 2016, Marshall Goldsmith, the world's #1 Executive Coach, launched his 100 Coaches project to mentor the next generation of top executive coaches for the world. Out of more than 16,000 applications, he selected 100. The group includes leading academics, best-selling authors, corporate executives, and top executive coaches.

Developed by Marshall Goldsmith, Stakeholder Centered Coaching® has worked for over two decades with thousands of leaders to improve their leadership behavior by utilizing their stakeholders to work with them in the rhythm of everyday work.

The Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach Certification is a disciplined practice that helps coaches learn and apply a proven process for leaders to use for effective behavior change. The methodology has a remarkable track record of success as measured by those who work with the leader and assess the level of improvement through our mini-survey tool.

The mini-survey is a confidential online assessment where stakeholders identified, recruited and involved in the process from the beginning provide their anonymous perception of the level of positive change in behavior demonstrated by the leader.

Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches - Certified SCC Coach

State of NY Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Working with department chiefs on leadership, executive presence, conflict resolution, and board communications.

Executive Leadership Coach and Consultant

World Business & Executive Coach Summit (WBECS)

After years of being a partner for this fantastic coaching educational program, they have asked me to be a speaker! Looking forward to being part of the main summit in 2021.

Speaker and Partner at World Business & Executive Coach Summit

LEADERSHIP USA, INC.

Did you know $11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover? Employee disengagement costs more than $500 billion per year. On top of that, 56% of employers report difficulty retaining top talent.  And the #1 reason employees leave… their boss.

Are you a leader people want to work for? Creating a strong, engaged team translates into a more positive work environment, lower turnover, and greater productivity and collaboration. It also has a direct effect on your organization’s bottom line.

Connected Leadership will help you develop the skills you need to connect with your employees. Through this dynamic, highly interactive workshop, you will learn how to build stronger relationships that increase your value, influence, and impact. You will leave with increased clarity on your leadership brand, new tools and skills, and greater confidence to engage your team and expand your influence.

•	Determine and drive what people say about you behind your back
•	Know how to nurture your network and increase your influence
•	Uncover the micro actions that lead to building and breaking trust


LEADERSHIP USA is a membership organization that offers high-quality leadership development education for leaders of our member companies, via a monthly live seminar with world-class instructors, who present on diverse topics. We function as an outsourced training resource for small-to-medium-sized companies and as a supplement to established leadership programs within larger corporations. Companies including Geico, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, Wipro/WIN US, as well as associations and small businesses consider Liz their go-to resource for their boards and leadership teams.

Speaker and Featured Faculty

I speak every summer at the FIDS conference. Topics include Relationship Networking, The Relationship Driven Leader and You The Brand. I have spoke for the last 3 years and continue to be invited back.

Breakout Speaker

The Relationship Driven Leader

The book The 11 Laws of Likability is now a two-day program! In partnership with Rutgers Executive & Professional Education The Relationship Driven leader is HRCI certified and eligible for CPE and CEU credit.

Program Overview:
Your ability to create meaningful and lasting relationships will directly impact your success regardless of your role – from corporate executive to company employee to business owner.  Knowing and applying the drivers of likability will help you become a more desirable and effective employee, teammate, and a leader whom people want to follow. You’ll be able to manage with less conflict, shorten the sales cycle, and increase productivity, morale and loyalty. Be at the forefront in people’s minds for new opportunities and someone they want to say ‘yes’ to!  

Program Benefits
•	Discover what to do before, during, and after an interaction to create lasting connections
•	Identify your unique attributes and create a brand that boosts your visibility and impact
•	Uncover people’s preferences to improve collaboration, increase your influence, and lead with confidence
•	Improve productivity, engagement, and retention through reduced employee conflict and increased loyalty
•	Influence a buyer’s perception of your product through their perception of you
•	Allow relationships to close the deal, not price
•	Learn simple ways to add value to your network and stay top of mind

Register at http://www.11lawsoflikability.com/the-course/

Connected Leadership  

I truly believe that communication and connection is the foundation of everything. When asked how I explain what I do to my then 10 year old I answered, "I help people work better together." 

Leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution and everything else that leads to our professional success is founded in our ability to communicate. But moreover, our ability to CONNECT.

For organizations I enable them engage, grow, and retain their greatest asset - their people. I help individuals communicate with clarity, confidence, and connection. The last one is as important as the rest since real relationships lead to real results. That is the theory behind my books The Connector's Advantage: 7 Mindsets to Grow Your Influence and Impact and The 11 Laws Of Likability: Relationship Networking…Because People Do Business With People They Like.

In 2025, I will launch a self-paced version of The Connected Leader Course! Finally, I can serve the individual who needs coaching and community to elevate in their impact. Learn more at --> https://www.connectedleaderclub.com/.

I will still continue to work on creating Connected Leaders and Connected Cultures and spread the message of my book, The Connector’s Advantage. I will continue to run the Connect program for the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches. Perhaps I will finally do a Tedx this year.

Through Executive Essentials (a certified WBE) I work with corporate HR and L&D teams to develop custom solutions. 

Want results?  Want a customized training or coaching program?  Email us —>Training@ExecutiveEssentials.org

Programs include:
•	Managing For Excellence 
•	Connected Leadership
•	Collaborative Communications 
•	Powerful Public Speaking 
•	Networking & Relationship Building  

Looking for a keynote speaker on leadership, networking or personal advancement? I can customize a talk for your audience. Email us —> Speaking@MichelleTillisLederman.com.

You may have seen me on TV or heard me on the radio including:
•	Fox 5
•	CBS
•	NPR
•	Gayle King
•	Martha Stewart Living
•	New York Times
•	Wall Street Journal
•	Real Simple 
•	US News & World Report 
•	USA Today 

I work across industries.  View a full list of our clients —>  www.michelletillislederman.com/clients

People call me for many reasons: keynotes, breakout sessions, customized training and executive coaching. 

Want a trainer, or coach to escalate team performance?  —> Michelle@ExecutiveEssentials.org

Michelle Tillis Lederman, CSP, SCC, Leadership Speaker 

Creating Connected Leaders And Cultures Where Relationships Drive Success. Likability and Communications Author. Forbes Top 25 Networking Expert. MG100 Coach. TEDx Coach.

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Hala Taha

Michelle Tillis Lederman, CSP, SCC, Leadership Speaker

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The Battle

Hala Taha

Michelle Tillis Lederman, CSP, SCC, Leadership Speaker

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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