Meet Nicole Behnam of Beyond The Interview in Brentwood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Behnam.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nicole. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always been observant and curious. I knew that I knew nothing from a very young age, so I always sought out the people who were knowledgeable and wise and reflective. I wanted the answers and the answers are endless if you have enough curiosity.

When I was 16, a man named Jeff Hall (former VP of the Los Angeles Times), hired me to write as an intern for his local newsmagazines. It changed my life because I developed the confidence to interview people and see myself as a true journalist at a very young age. He wrote my recommendations to all the journalism schools I applied to. I was accepted to all of them.

I attended USC, but right away, everyone told me there was no money in journalism so I switched my major to PR. Still, I wrote for the Jewish Journal and L.A. Business Journal, among other outlets. I tried to start a PR firm, failed, then freelanced as a writer, after which I tried to become a TV host. I wrote stories and conducted red carpet interviews for The Hollywood Reporter from 2014 – 2015. In 2016, I went into digital marketing as a copywriter for small businesses. It made pretty good money, but I missed interviewing people.

About a year ago, I met my business partner Mariella Rudi, who also happened to work as an editor for Jeff’s local newsmagazines at one point, and together we launched Beyond The Interview 5 months later.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always smooth. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Is any metaphorical road ever really smooth?

Early on in my career, I constantly doubted myself because I listened to other people and accepted their opinions of how “difficult” this industry was, even though most of them were projecting their own fears onto me.

I also thought, I would only be able to interview notable people if I was a staff writer or editor for a major news outlet. That mentality stopped me from going off on my own for a long time, thinking that I was a mere cog in the wheel until I discovered people like Gary Vaynerchuk and Neil Strauss and Brene Brown, whose experiences and insights are continuing to empower me.

With Beyond The Interview, Mari and I struggled to find our voice. We both had very similar visions, but different approaches. There were a lot of questions on both ends. Going in, we had a list of people that we wanted to interview, and there were about 40 people on it. We didn’t know who to interview first or how to prioritize. It was confusing for months until we finally “understood” our own brand.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Beyond The Interview story. Tell us more about the business. What sets you apart from others?
Beyond The Interview is an online magazine dedicated to interviewing and featuring people who are either experts in their fields, like doctors, researchers, filmmakers, lawyers, etc. But we also interview people who we believe are experts through experience. A good example of that is a meth addict who went to rehab, relapsed several times and finally quit cold turkey and started his own company. That person probably has a lot more insight than the psychiatrist who evaluated him, even though the psychiatrist is the “industry expert.”

What sets us apart is that we make stories interesting. We know that people are distracted by their devices and television sets and computers. We pick apart the information and deliver powerful insights to our readers, and we make it simple and easy to understand.

On a personal level, I am fascinated by various industries. I interview entertainers, researchers, physicians, and people in the self-help industry. I like covering social issues, and I love getting to know people on a human level. I give people the microphone, metaphorically, and I help give their stories context so others can learn from their reflections and insights.

You don’t have to be a celebrity to matter anymore or to get people to listen. That’s the beauty of the proliferation of social media. You can tell your truth and talk about your challenges, and there will be people who will relate, who want to engage with you about the common denominators between your story and theirs.

In 10 years, everyone is going to be a storyteller in some way or another. Every company will have a blog, and every person will probably have a wiki page. The beauty of having a digital footprint is that you can control it. You can live your life, be reflective, teach people the lessons that life taught you or you can do nothing with what life has thrown at you. But I’m hoping everybody takes the opportunity to pass on what they’ve learned. It’s therapeutic, at the very least. I’m here, my business partner Mari is here and Beyond The Interview is here to ask the questions that draw out the lessons from other people’s lives.

Every time I feel like I’ve gained deep insights to share with other people, I’m proud. When someone is comfortable being vulnerable with me, I’m proud. A lot of people have their guard up and I’ve been lucky to be able to exercise my communication skills and get them to open up through the work that I do.

Most people tend to get impressed by the celebrity factor, meaning, when we interview a celebrity, they consider it a huge accomplishment, but that’s only fun if the celebrity is knowledgeable, passionate about particular social issues or vulnerable in terms of sharing their life experiences with us.

For Beyond The Interview, my proudest moment was when our Women’s March sign went viral. We made a list of “women we wouldn’t mess with” and posted it on our Instagram page. Minutes later, several of the celebrities whose names were on the sign had reposted it and tagged us. We received so many followers, including Meghan McCain from The View and Wendy Williams, who also featured our sign on her television show.

We haven’t been around that long, but these little achievements turned out to be huge stepping stones for us because they created more opportunities.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
While I had good fortune with jobs, I also faced a lot of rejection, which I thought was bad luck at the time. Looking back, what I considered to be bad luck turned out to be good luck for me. I would have never ever started Beyond The Interview if I was securely employed by one of the magazines or newspapers I applied to years ago. I also would have never thought to collaborate with Mari or channel my own creativity the way that I have.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beyondtheinterview.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicccb/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.behnam
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolebehnam?lang=en

Image Credit:
CJ Johnson Jr., Julie Winegard

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