Hey, hey, ba fam, It's time for another Holla Back Monday Woop woop. This week, we're looking back at some of our favorite episodes from days past for memorable guests who unforgettable moment.
There's still so much to learn from the be A Vault. Take oh listen, willya hey v a Fam? I am listen. It's not so often besides Tiffany, that when I'm sitting across from someone on a virtual you know, doing the podcast, that I feel like the warm and fuzzies and I just want to like give a hug from through the computer somehow. But if Tiffany couldn't be here, I am so so glad to have Ellie d'op sharing the virtual
studio stage with me at brad Ambishen this week. If y'all have not heard of Ellie Talks Money, where have you been? Honestly? All right, I'm going to read you her little bio first, because she deserves all of the praise and all of the all of the flowers that she deserves. But I am so excited to have Ellie here because not only is she so inspiring, you're gonna hear all about how she built her business off that stimmy Check. Shout out to Biden, shout out to I
don't know the pandemic mm hmm. But she now coaches thousands and thousands of people and how to do the same thing and launch their own successful online business. So if you haven't heard of Ellie, let me tell you about my friend. Okay. Ellie is a business and strategy coach. She is a founder and CEO of Ellie Talks Money and the ell Evated Academy. She took her twelve hundred dollars stimmy check, used it to start a business and eventually turned it into a multimillion dollar company in less
than one year before turning thirty years old. And why is this not here with four children, single mama with four babis okay. And since then she has served over fifty thousand students and is committed to assisting especially women, build successful businesses so they can live the life of
their dreams. She has been featured all over the dang place, from twenty five most Influential New Voices of Money by Next Advisor to the hundred most Influential African Americans by the Root, plus Fortune, Entrepreneur news Week, all over the place, and now she's on round ambition. So we're gonna get We're gonna get put in the bio now featured on ba Okay col Cuck cool Ellie. It's so good to
it's so good to see you. I was just reflecting you and I met in person, and I wasn't that familiar with you until I met you at finn Conn earlier this year, which I don't know if I told you, but that was like my that was my re entry into like society, yeah, personal finance society.
Tell me.
Yeah. It was like my first time doing any trip by myself as a mom. And I just remember I felt like I was floating down that hall. It was like such a corporate conference type vibe, but I could have been in like Versailles, the Palace of Versailles. I just felt so damn good. I felt fancy. I drank wine in my room, but I got to talk free.
No.
I remember, because you guys were the ogs in the finance space.
You guys were the og.
Really, I think fin Con, at least in terms of like black women taking up space at fin Con, you guys definitely did it first, which I think made room for people like me to now be going because that was my first fin con too.
So I think you and I met too at the Women of Color podcast meetup, which blew my mind because like I got there really early and we got I sat down with like two other women, but by like the next ten minutes, you came in plus like one hundred, like well at least one hundred women of color. It was so amazing. But I want everyone to get to know you a little bit, So can you tell us how Ellie talks money, how elevated, how you became who you are today, because just a few years ago you
were not in the position you are now. And I just find your story so inspiring.
Thank you so much.
It's definitely been a wild ride, and I always enjoyed telling people the story because I think it's really one that, you know, makes people realize you can change your circumstance at any time.
And you know, when I started my.
Business, even just like pre rewind to starting the business right so you know, I gave birth to my twins in twenty nineteen, and maybe four or five months after that, I ended up getting laid off on my job and then I moved. I ended up also getting a divorce. Then had to move back home to my mom's house, which was not like the most fun experience. Loved my mom, but I didn't have my own room, you know, I just had to take up space in our living room essentially.
So it's me and my four babies, two of which I'm still nursing, the twins.
And I applied to I want.
To say, over fifty five jobs, if I remember, you know, I just kept applying, applying, applying.
I'm like, someone's going to your skill?
What were you working? Was it marketing?
I was as director of sales, so I was working in sales. And I worked for a financial services company, so we sold life insurance and you know, really im wealth products to senior individuals. So I was always kind of in this money space and I was doing such a good job. I had such a great job. I loved my job. But you know, layoffs happen. You can't control it. And so when I applied to all these jobs and not one of the fifty five hired me, I'm like, what is going on?
Like is it me? Is am I the problem? What is happening here?
And so it was really at that point, you know, of course, COVID started happening. My kids were at home, I was unemployed. I was doing door dash with my kids in the car to make money. And when I knew that these stimulus checks were coming, I said, this might be the opportunity that I've been with waiting for,
you know. And I felt as though that stimulus check was, you know, almost an investment or capital into this business that I wanted to start, because where was I going to get twelve hundred dollars any other way, you know. And so I took that and I decided to start my consulting company, where in my mind, I was going to take what I knew how to do sales, marketing, finance, funding and show women entrepreneurs, specifically black women and mothers, how they can use some of these same skill sets
to build their own business. And to my surprise, it was so well received, and in that first ten months we hit seven figures. So it was truly listen, it was a wild ride. It was a wild ride.
It in the first ten months, you said.
First ten months.
Yes, I started it in July of twenty twenty and by April of twenty twenty one, we had crossed seven figures.
See the business choice You made was to have those babies in early twenty nineteen, because you were already out of the fog. Damn it, you were out of the fog. You had like had your brain back. I was in the fog in twenty twenty, and like the timing, like serendipity.
I mean, obviously you're great at what you do, but you can't not acknowledge that in twenty twenty, everyone will were stuck at home and so many women a special women of color right our audiences, were struggling financially, they were let oh the hours cut had to quit because they couldn't work remote and they had kids at home. So what perfect timing for someone to come and say, like,
you can actually create an online business. You know, honestly, I was one of the women who probably needed to find your work because it was only in twenty twenty one, post fog most Fouk on Newborn Stage that I launched my business, Mandy money Makers. Also I love that we both just like, let's just put our name in it. Let's just okay. Also, I was like, I can't think of anything better, but I launched that. Well, actually I
didn't even launch it right away. I just did, like free coaching to see if I was good at it. You're probably like, why but I did that?
No, girl, let me tell you.
I did free coaching too for the first probably three or four months because I needed to make sure I wasn't crazy.
I needed to make sure it.
Was exactly yes, exactly okay. So yeah, and I'm let's talk about that too, because for me, not only did it help like re established like established trust with my audience to or just like a core group of women. I think two hundred people signed up. Two hundred women signed up for a free coaching session. And I did those throughout, like maybe over the five or six month period, and it took a long time, but I was like,
I'm going to finish these. But it was so it was kind of old fashioned, like on the phone or on zoom with women asking them what their pain points were, like really getting to know the customer. And I feel like that has to be one of the strategies talk about, is like understanding what people need. And then it wasn't until I completed those free sessions I was like, I know what I'm going to do. It's going to be the Mandy money Maker Academy. It's going to be group
coaching community because these women are lonely. Yeah, talk to me about what you learned from those early months launching Elevated.
Yeah, so you know that's so important.
And I know for me, when I decided I was going to do this, I was really afraid at first to charge for anything, because you know, it's one thing going to work and being paid at a job, and it's another thing choosing a price point for the market,
you know, for customers. So I remember strategically thinking, Okay, I'm just going to do this for free so people know that it works, so I can get some testimonials, and then ultimately I'll use that to charge, which you know, my price at the time was like forty seven dollars,
you know, for an hour long coaching session. I was like, let me kind of get all this, but definitely, right, I know, right, that was definitely a key part of I think building the trust and the audience quickly, because I didn't really launch my first paid course until October or November, and it.
Was fifteen dollars. It was a fifteen dollars product, and.
Even by the time I got to that first seven figures, I think my highest price point was seventy five dollars. So I really wanted to take the time to build that trust so that I could create a product and a brand that was accessible to people. So when I did those coaching calls for free, the only thing I asked them in return is, hey, if this works for you, can you send me a quick one minute video and just telling me what worked even what didn't so I
can learn so I can grow. And those that gave positive testimonials, I use those as marketing to eventually make sales when the product had a price on it. And I think that really helped because what we also noticed in that twenty twenty twenty one period is there was a lot of people coming on the internet selling something right.
It was I mean, we.
Had the crypto, we had the for X, we had the this, everyone had a course, you know, And I was like, well, I had to make sure that people really know the real deal and I know what I'm talking about, so let me just use social proof and testimonials to kind of solidify that voice.
And it really helped.
It really helped, right, and the time that it takes to build that trust for someone who's wanting to start a business it's hard to sometimes tell them because I've had these calls too where it's like, so, what's your secret? Maybe money looks like it's doing so well right now,
you know, what's your secret? And I was like, Well, had a podcast for seven years before I launched it that helped build some trust in you know, a small but meaningful audience, and then did it for free for six months, and I did other things to make money over that period. So talk to me about, like, as you were doing the free coaching, you had that twelve hundred dollars, where were you putting that money and how soon were you actually seeing returns?
Yeah, that's such a good question.
So for me, that twelve hundred went to I upgraded my phone to at the time, I think it was a twelve iPhone, just so I could create better quality content. I paid for my LLC, I paid for some subscriptions like Canvas, Shopify, et cetera. And then the rest I kind of just set on the side. I think was maybe four or five hundred dollars that I sat on the side. And I was like, when I learned how to run ads, I'm going to use this to do it, you know, but what I can say is the business
started to make money. I think I hit my first I remember my first five hundred dollars day was October twenty third, I think of twenty twenty, which isn't a lot, but to me that was a big deal.
Five hundred dollars in a day and a whole lot. Some people that in a month or in a week listen that that's something that was what were you making a DoorDash in one day?
Yeah, and so I think it was at that point that I realized, Okay, this might be able to do something like, maybe I should really stay consistent with this and really keep going.
So, you know, I was living at my mom's house at the time.
I was on social services, so luckily I had basic needs met, you know, for me and the kids, so that I could just keep throwing myself into this business to where my first five hundred dollars day then turned into a thousand dollars you know, I made my first thousand, three thousand, you know, but it really did take time. So something I always tell business owners even now when coaching them, is it's not always going to be oh, you started today and next week you made.
Ten thousand dollars.
You know, it is going to take some consistency, and sometimes you're not going to see money made for three, four or five months. But it doesn't mean that it's not working a lot out of the time.
It just is.
Working under the surface, and it takes time to take root, and then once it sprouts, it consistently grows.
I was talking to someone who specifically wanted to meet to coach them on podcasting because they launched a podcast earlier I think like mid last year and just wanted some tips. And I'm like and I was like, I'm just going to tell you keep doing it consistency and time. But I think what's so overwhelming to people can be
how will people find me? I may have the best product, but with the internet, and I know so much of your strategy is around social media marketing, and as is mine, and that's been successful for me as well for people who are stressed about I may only have like twenty followers and they're all my friends and my family, you know, And I feel like you see people on ig who've got tens about hundreds of thousands, millions of followers, and
you feel like I can't get there. Any advice for like that audience building portion, because that can be really important to your point. The thing about Ellie and what she's talking about is like this, this is content you create, so it's technically free. It's organic, like you're building an audience organic. And then there's the paid version of that where you run ads on Facebook. And I love that you started organic first. That's also my strategy, make some money,
put the money into Facebook ads. But anyway to my question audience building for new business owners, what are your strategies and advice there?
I mean, it is such a key part of business. I think people you know, sleep on social media sometimes or they feel very intimidated by it. But it's such a great way where this free app you know, these Instagrams, these tiktoks, these youtubes, when you use them, you are literally able to bring traffic to your page, to your business and then start making money. So I think for me, some really great audience building tips that have assisted me
in building my platform and have assisted others. I'm not going to say insistency, although that is a part of it. I think what's even the.
More important, right that's stressful.
You know, that's what everybody Consistency like, yes, we get we have to be consistent. But I think even beyond that, what goes into audience building is giving free information, right, And what I mean by that is people are going to follow and maintain relationship with a content creator when they feel like they can learn something from them, whether it's learning something about skincare or health, or business or
budgeting really whatever it is. If they if they feel connected to that person, because every time they see a post it helps them in their life in some way, that's what you want to aim for. So when I'm you know, coaching my community or letting them know what they can do to build an audience, I always say you should go to these websites. There's one in particular called answer the Public dot com.
Yes right, so good, and.
So you're able to essentially put in your topic. So if it's skincare, right, you put that word in, it's going to generate you know, hundreds of questions that have been asked by people on the Internet about skincare, and so you, as the content creator, you basically want to pull out some of these questions. How do I have better skincare? How do I take care of my skin?
What is skincare all the questions, and you want to create videos essentially answering those questions, because what that is doing is creating educational content that is still a value to where the people who start to digest your content will ask themselves, Wow, you know, if I'm learning this much from them without paying, imagine what I'll learn when I actually choose to purchase a product. And I think that's how you build an audience quickly and a loyal audience,
because you're giving them the option. You're like, yes, I do have my paid products and services, but you can also hang out on my page for a little while and you'll learn something here too, And I think that's really valuable, especially you know, when we have a society where something is being sold all the time. I think it can be really refreshing and help build an audience quickly where your first objective is for you to learn and your second objective.
Is to sell.
It can be really uncomfortable. I mean it wasn't uncomfortable for me because I'm like, I got to pay the bills, but I think I wasn't working. I was basically living off my savings and I got some consulting clients for the first like six months of my business, so I could do the free coaching, but I was I really wanted to own my income in that way and I didn't want to consult anymore. And so for me, I
was like, it's got to happen for myself. But I think for people who are on the nine nine to five hustlers ninety five entrepreneurs sometimes that it can feel like you're making an income and maybe you're doing okay, but like starting to sell your service, there's a struggle there to you like figure out what do I price this at? And will people even buy this? So can you talk about and I'm not even and listen, like you and Tiffany both are a phenomenal at building successful
businesses on like relatively low ticket offerings. You know, even to this day, Tiffany she could probably charge way I know she could. She knows she could charge way more for her Patreon, but it's ten bucks a month, you know for business mentorship and you know, literature Academy I think was like twenty dollars a month anyway, So and you too, And obviously the point is to reach as
many people as possible. But talked about the selling hurdle and how people can get over doing that and being okay with making money.
I know, and you know what I feel like this is so I feel like it's even more of a burden and a challenge for women entrepreneurs, and especially black women entrepreneurs, for us to name our price and to be comfortable and confident to say like, this is what I'm going to charge, you know, and that's that's what it's going to be. It's still something that I face. You know, I always get a little uncomfortable raising my prices or changing my prices because I want people to
be able to get it. But I also got these full kids and a team of people, so we're always in that balance. But I think for me, what was really helpful, and you know what I often tell other people to do is in that beginning phase when you're coming up with your price, I think I always say, start somewhere between fifteen and thirty dollars in terms of a digital product. Now, your time is a different price offering.
I think you can build that as you get more confident in your coaching, but starting in that range is comfortable enough to where you could compare that to a dollar a day. You could compare that to you know, to payments of a Netflix subscription. You know, something that is not going to be a burden on your audience, but as well allows you to test out your confidence of putting a price tag on your value, putting a price tag on your knowledge, and then you can really.
Be example, real quick of what a digital product at that price point could be.
Yes, I would say that a digital product at that price point can be an ebook.
And these can be simply thirty forty pages.
You know. The great thing about an ebook is you can make it in less than one hour. So you can download an app like Otter and it's a voice transcription. Oh my gosh, see that's with Otter. It's the best. It is the best. I think it takes the intimidation out of it.
And you know, it's.
A voice transcription app, so you speak into it on whatever it is that you want to educate people on. So ten ways to save ten thousand dollars, whatever the case might be. And it's going to take that and create a twenty or thirty page ebook and boom, that's your first digital product that you could do.
Edit it because outer bot ain't perfect, Okay, and make sure you edit people off. Yes, edit them, but it's good. I agree. I usually draft emails for my newsletter in order. First. Oh, I will just casually while I'm walking. Yeah, because I'll just be like, what do I want to say? No, and I'll just like fire up some ideas and then when I get home, I've got something to start with.
You have something to start with now.
I do like that because for me, it is easier to talk than to just sit down and write.
You know, let's these nails, girl. You know, we can't be hate getting and I love that. We got like a matching manny.
We really do the shape and everything.
Yes, and uh, I just hate getting them done. So I'm like, I'll try to go as long as I can, but they'd be so long and I'm like a click click, It's my Atlanta Roots desk with the long nails. Right. No, really, but yes is one example. Yeah, sure, I mean. My my product like that is a forty seven dollars Negotiation Scripts book, which is basically, yeah, it's like nineteen scripts to negotiate put the words in. Because that's what I
get asked all the time. That's why I have my transcription tool because on my coaching calls, people will literally slow down, let me write that down, and I'm like, don't worry, it's going to be transcribed. You can just read this back to your boss anyway. So that was my first or actually not my first, but that like mini product to get people who may not be ready for them more expensive option, Yes, give them something that
they could use. If it works for them, you build trust, they get excited, and then down the line they may be ready to invest more.
Right exactly.
And that's another great pricing strategy is you know, starting with a lower ticket, but then you create different entry levels. I think it's perfectly fine to have something under fifty bucks. Then you have your mid tier where maybe that's going to be two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, and then for those who are ready, you have your higher end where those who want to invest four or five figures
they have the opportunity to do that. So I think, you know, in terms of getting comfortable with your pricing, I always want entrepreneurs to know it's not a.
One price fits all.
You know, you don't have to have one price forever and then you can never change it. No, you just start with what feels comfortable at that time, and then into your second year of business, you'll probably have more.
Confidence, more knowledge.
Now you're able to introduce a second tier price level while you still have your entry one available. And I think that's a really, you know, great way why entrepreneurs should be using funnels essentially in their business, where people can enter at that lower price point and then have the opportunity to be upsold into something that is valid for them that they need.
Ooh, funnels. Okay, now, I love I can talk about funnels all day long. So let's take a quick break, though. Let me get a slip in my water because it's partial already. All right, be a fan. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to come back with our guest today, Ellie Job, who is a business and strategy coach, and she is going to blow our minds.
We're going to talk all about the sales funnel and how you can learn to master the funnels for your online business, because we know you guys are secret entrepreneurs, right, Okay, quick break, get a little sippy sip of water, be right back. All right, va, fam, I am back with our guest today. My guest today the beautiful, the talent,
and the lovely l Egope Ellie. Okay, let's talk about these funnels, girl, because this is like marketing e lingo that I learned through my professional career because I pivoted from journalism into marketing and I remember the learning curve of these these like funnel terms and RPV and SEO and all this stuff. So, but the funnel is essential to like building a strategically like well rounded online business.
So in as few words as possible, the least amount of jargon, let's let's tell BA fam what funnel is and how.
They Okay, I like that, So to keep it super simple, a funnel is essentially a customer sales journey for your customer. So what the funnel allows you to do is, let's think of it as a grocery store. So you know, when you go to the grocery store and you want to buy milk, milk or eggs. Right, typically I don't know what your grocery store looks like, but typically those things are going to be at the back of the store.
So you've got to go all the way to the back to get your milk, your eggs, your bread, whatever, and guess what. On your way up to the register, you're getting up sold all these different things.
Especially if you go to Target. That's why I don't go to Target, because they played for Sophora. Oh my god.
The line at Sephora is the money you gotta put your blinders on.
You gotta put the blinders on put exactly.
That is a version of a funnel because you have the one thing you came in for, but the other products are being presented to you and you're like, ooh, you know what, I probably do need that.
This looks really good too, I probably need that. And by the.
Time you actually go to check out, you've now added maybe two or three a day related products or services to your original order. So essentially, what it does is for you as the business owner, it allows you to take one customer and present them with two to three different related offers at the same time without you having to sell two or three different things in your pitch. Right, So they're already mind made up that they want to
buy the forty seven dollars product. Now before they left, they're like, well, you know what, I added on these two things too, because they feel like they're related to me and that's really beneficial on both ends. Now your customer has more of more value and you also tripled your order, which is great. Now the way that you guys can really use this in your business, especially even
if you have a smaller audience. You know, when we talk about creating your content, building from there and et cetera. I always tell people, even if you are creating really great free content, it's okay to have a call to action.
Tell people to.
Go and sign up for your You can have a free funnel, you can have a paid funnel.
So if you start with a free funnel.
Go and download my free workbook, Go and sign up for my free masterclass. So they're coming in to get the free thing, and before they leave in the funnel, you're presenting them with a twenty seven dollars bundle, a forty seven dollars up sell, one hundred dollars up sell, and you're.
Given to think about like the grocery store, Analogy cost goes free samples, Trader Joe's is free samples. You're going to come for a little snacky snack and maybe on the way out you end up with twenty four bagels that you can not eat at all because you're a one person. But anyways, why yeah, I mean when you talk about people going into the grocery store, that's like warm traffic to even find out the grocery store exists.
So your business is the grocery store in this analogy, right, let me let me metaphor piggyback or another piggyback to even find out that you're business exists and that it's a place that they want to be. That's where I feel like the cold, like the freebie can get them acquainted, you know, and it's something free, so they haven't like gone into the story yet, but they're like, let me see what she's working with, you know. Or you post something online and to your point the call to action,
download this freebie. Why wouldn't you? I just gave you some Yeah, and then you start to build. That's like the first step that was in my marketing career. I started with the organic content. The organic leads like getting people just in the parking lot of the store to find a little bit about it, you know. And then you then you let time, you know, you keep they keep seeing you build that trust, they turn warmer towards you, and they're ready to take a step inside, you know,
and more time. Y'all sorry about that, but I.
Think that's really key. So when I think about like non negotiables, for example, that a new or even an existing entrepreneur needs to have and they're onl business, I think one non negotiable is content. Right, It's a part of the business.
I know. I have a lot of people tell me I don't like being on camera. I don't want to create content. I don't want to do it.
I'm like, listen, let's get creative. Are you going to use a what are you going to use? Because you got to make the content. Okay, it's a non negotiable because that is your way to get people, like you said in the parking lot. I think the next non negotiable is definitely either a free lead magnet or a very low ticket lead magnet, so somewhere between zero dollars and forty.
Seven in terms of you're gonna.
Come hang out with me, let me show you what I have to offer so then you can see what's really inside the store. That's your second non negotiable. I would say that the third is probably a nurture sequence. You know, something I've learned throughout this business journey is how important email marketing and text message marketing are.
I think we focus a lot on the.
Which is very important, But once you actually have their email and now you're able to talk to them in a different way, you know, you're really able to access them. You're able to kind of have longer form storytelling, and that will turn someone who came into your funnel off of a free offer, It'll turn them into a buyer because you wrote a really amazing email or really amazing text.
So I think those are really three key things that if a business owner has them specifically for online, it's going to help them grow and really get to that next income milestone.
Yeah, that's the lie. I feel like, you think you leave corporate America and all the emails, but you want to start an online business, you better be good at writing some emails. Like even me, I'm a writer and I love writing, but I'm just like, God, my nurture sequence, I think I need more emails. I know, I mean, and it's not meant to be like I don't know. I'm sure that there's like super strategic write this kind of email and that kind of email, but I just
try to bring that delivering value. So I have a weekly email that I send on Sundays and just show up in their inbox every Sunday night with a tip for the week, you know, and use that as a way to continue building that trust. Right, So, what are some types of successful online businesses you've seen your elevated members create in the past couple of years since you launched Wow.
So I definitely think so, you know, one huge part of the academy is I teach women how to get funding for their business. So on the funding side of things, we've helped We've helped women secure over seven millions so far in funding. So some women have gotten one hundred thousand, some have gotten twenty five thousand, some have gotten three hundred and fifty thousand.
So we really try to keep a good eye on the.
Numbers and the data so we can see how these courses are translating into really applied knowledge. But I think some of my favorite success stories if you will or you know what they've been to do. We have one student who's opened up a daycare and it's thriving.
She used her business funding.
To the order that I know, which is amazing.
Right, Not all are online, so that was successful.
Another opened up actually a trash business, which was new to me, but she used her business funding to purchase essentially like a trash truck and now gets government contracts for her neighborhood as you know, a trash collector company, which is amazing.
I know, it's like a six fo year business.
How cool, right. Another has used it for a restaurant. And on the online space specifically, I have students who have now created six figure businesses, teaching people how to invest in real estate, teaching people how to do Airbnb, teaching people as well how to get SBA loans. So a lot of our online success stories, they really have
followed a similar roadmap to me. You know, here's how you're going to create digital product, here's how you're going to market it, here's how you're going to get people in your funnel and convert them. And I'm really proud because they've been able to do it with less than ten thousand followers, you know, And I think there's a misconception that you need to have hundreds of thousands in order to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, but.
You really don't. You really don't.
You can have a solid five thousand people and a well priced product and a marketing strategy and still become a six figure business.
Amen to that, right? And I mean also, I remember I talked to someone who had one hundred thousand followers, but she went viral one time, like the week before and like blew up and everyone started following her. But she wasn't ready, Like she didn't have a funnel, she didn't have a nurture journey for her customers. She didn't even have a paid product. So and not that she's lost out on the opportunity, but now she's scrambling to
catch up. So I spent the first year of my business focused so heavily on building audience, building trust, giving away free content and the background creating a paid product, so that when I was ready, like as I was building my audience, and I'm using the same strategy now because I'm I'm working on a book. I got any Mama, I just signed with a literary agent and I'm very excited. But same thing, like when you're trying to get a book deal, they want to know what kind of platform
you have. And so I like two years ago, when I knew I wanted to write, I'm like, I'm gonna start building the audience and then continue so that by the time I'm ready to sell a book, like I'm there and I've got you know, so that that slow burn, like the building of trust. You want to build the audience, I feel like organically that way, but then be ready
for them or like have a thing have those CTAs. Yeah, what kind of mistakes and you see online entrepreneurs making earlier and at any stage in business really like anything like what pees that you see?
Girl?
Even me, sometimes I'm still making some of these mistakes, but I definitely think some of the bigger ones are and they're very simple, but I think some of the very ones are, like you said, not having a link to something in their bio, right, even if it's just a free workbook, not having something because when people come to check out your page, they're going to click some links.
They want to know what's going on. And I think.
People often believe they need to have a whole, beautiful website in order to be like a fully launched business.
Yeah, no, it's such a trip.
A girl just go to five listening.
And you're waiting to launch because you ain't got the perfect three thousand dollars web design. Yet stop it.
Don't stop that, don't need it, you probably will never need it.
It's really a choice.
If you want to have a beautiful website, sure, but you don't need it to start, and you really don't need it to start making money. You know, you can have a great landing page that someone on five or can make you, or a simple click funnels that's someone on fiber can make you for a hundred bucks and you will be ready to go. So I think that's you know, a mistake is not having something for people to click, and then as well wanting to have it perfect before.
Just putting it out there. Just drop the thing.
People are going to. Those who are for you are for you, and those who are not are not. But don't hold it because you want it to be perfect. First done is always better than perfect, and people are going to respond to what you provide, whether it's perfect or not. I would say a third mistake, especially in this online space, and this is one that I made,
it's probably not delegating sooner. I think it's really easy for us to take on all the work and you know, for me, like just be on this island and it's really hard, and it doesn't mean you have to hire a full time person. But I know my first hire was, you know, five hours a week a virtual assist. I think it was like ten or fifteen dollars an hour, which is important because you've got to be able to outsource some repetitive tasks so that.
You can stay in your genius mode, which.
Is creating the content, creating the offer, you know, coming up with how to grow this business, and someone else can handle customer service femails or fix whatever system is broken. You know, I think that's a really key thing that more of us should do a little sooner so we can avoid burnout as well.
Thanks for bringing up burnout, because I really want to talk to you about, like even just the fact that you, you know, reached your seven figure moment so soon. I haven't gotten there yet, but you know, don't you will, of course manifest. I know in some of your posts you're like comments if you're going to be a millionaire. I'm like met me commenting, but you are like you and I and I commend you for this too, Like you still strike me as a woman who's leading a
full and complete life and taking care of herself. I may congratulations, you know you just got married, newlywed to a beautiful man. Congratulations. When was that? Wow?
That was in December of twenty twenty two, girls, so just about we're in the third was this our third month?
Yeah?
Amazing? And you have your you know children, How do you for any woman out there and who is a caretaker has that full life and we don't want to grind like the whole hustle culture. I'm so glad it's going away, you know. And TIF and I talk about that a lot. So how have you found a version of entrepreneurship success while also maintaining Ellie and you know what you deserve?
I love that.
I think, you know, it's so important and I feel like I'm better at it now, which I'm which I'm really proud of because now I'm okay with asking for help. You know, I can say I avoided, probably for the first year and a half, like having a nanny or having anyone to help me with the kids, because I felt this mom guilt that if I spend more time away from my kids, they're gonna, like, you know, have
these memories that their mom was never around. I mean, we just throw ourselves into this cycle and just put all this weight on us, on ourselves as mothers. And I realized, you know what, I have the ability to get some help. So I'm going to get some help, which is going to allow me to be a better mother, which is going to allow me to also be a better business woman.
And it's okay for someone my nanny who loves the kids to pick.
Them up from school, bring them home, hang out with them for a couple hours while I finish work. I can still be fulfilled with my kids, and they're gonna still see me as their mom.
You know.
I used to.
Always think that they would think their nanny was their mom. Girl. We just throw ourselves into these horror stories, you know.
But I really realized asking for help isn't weak, asking for help is wise. You know. That has helped me a lot to maintain balance. And you know, as long as it took me to hire my first person, now I realize the ability to bring people on allows me to be more of a blessing because now I have people that I'm you know, helping every month as in
my team. But then also it allows me to better serve and more fully serve all the potential new customers that are out there, So I think that was another step that allowed me to then travel more.
You know, had I not had.
A team, I wouldn't have been able to go to duck Car, Senegal in twenty twenty one, which is where I ended up meeting the man who is now my husband.
Wait, y'all met the same year you got wait, a year before you got twenty twenty one.
Basically it was a year. So we met okay January of twenty twenty two, on his birthday, and he proposed September October of twenty twenty two, and.
We got married during that uf fin Cohn, were you engaged at in Connor after what was been hide after September seven?
Yeah?
I think it was right after.
Because I feel like I might have asked you about that. But okay, I mean that's so you met him in Senegal. So are y'all doing mind me asking? Like, are y'all doing long distance distance? Man?
Yes, girl, we are doing long distance.
So he's from Senegal, but all his family lives in France, so he goes back and forth between Dakhara and Paris, and none of them have ever been to the US, like they just lived their whole life in.
Europe, which is like, oh, you know it's different.
I'm yeah now, because you know, they were like, we don't want to go to the US, like, yeah, I got too much.
I'm like, oh, we value our lives, so we're gonna stay here now.
That's exactly. So, you know, that was definitely new.
But I often think about I was comfortable to take that trip with just some friends. You know, I didn't think I was going to go and meet a man. It was just me and my friends hang out. That was their first time in Senegal, and I realized I was able to do that because I felt comfortable with allowing other people to be in charge, you know, and realizing that I don't have to be all the time in my business in order for my business to work.
And you know, I think overall, what I really want to represent with my brand and for black women and mothers is.
That you can have it all.
You know, you can have the successful business, the seven figures, the eight figures, whatever you want. You can be a great mom to your kids. You can show up for basketball games, you can show up for ballet classes. And if you want to get remarried or you want to have a successful relationship, you can do that too, And so I feel like if I'm going to champion women to know that they can have this, then I have to make sure that I'm showing that it's possible, you know.
And let me say this, there are definitely nights where it's very hard. I don't feel well. I don't see how I'm going to keep balancing. Sometimes one area is spilling over to the other. So it's never perfect. But every day I remind myself that it's okay for me to sometimes have to retreat and allow my help, the help that I have in place to carry me so that I can take care of myself. So that's a
daily it's a daily reminder. I don't want anyone to think it's perfect, but with consistent efforts and reminding yourself that it's okay to not be a super woman all the time, it is okay to just say today it's too hard, I need it. We'll start again tomorrow. That's okay. That is really okay.
Absolutely, It's it's more difficult when you get in you get stuck thinking this is how it's always going to be right. I mean, that's the trap. And yeah, thanks for acknowledging that too. I tried so hard not to use the B word balance when I was asking you that question, because it doesn't really exist. And I and I feel like it's it's the same about like I don't know physical health, Like there's some years where I'm killing it and there's some you know, years when it's off.
And it's just like life is long if you're lucky, and you can have moments where it's shifting a little bit in this direction in that direction, and your kids. You know, our kids are going to grow up and they're not going to need us as much. And sometimes I fantasize about my forties and fifties, like who am I going to be? What I think to like I don't have to make it virtual and buttered pasta for dinner, like like how much will I do?
Ah?
Well, I could just talk to you forever.
But I know I wish we could just keep talking.
But I think one thing I wanted to add is, like a recent shift that I've made in terms of how I like talk to myself about my life and my business is I usually would say, oh, I have to get up, or I have to do this, or I have to go to this.
Meeting, or I have to create this content, or I have to eat.
This salad, and you know, just really as recently as January, I'm like, you know what, that doesn't make me feel good when I say that. It makes me feel like it's an obligation. It makes me feel like it's weight. And so I've just started saying, I get to I get to do this, I get to create content, I get to get up and talk to my team, I get to get on this.
Peloton, you know, even a lot I want to. I get to eat this salad, you know. And it's helped to it's.
Helped me to remember that even on days where it's hard, I am still a you know, an advocate for myself in my own journey that I don't have to make myself feel bad or force myself to do things because of any outside standards. I get to do these things because this is the life that I'm actively designing. And I think, you know, I hope that that can help anyone who's listening. You know, you are ultimately the controller of how this whole story goes.
You know, you really are, and you.
Can say this is what it's going to be today, and this is also what it's not going to be today. And if that means eating a cupcake, that's okay. You get to eat the cupcake and you tomorrow you'll figure it out and you'll do what you have to do. You know, I think just giving ourself a little bit more grace, just a little.
Bit oh so much grace. It's just there's no grace and grit have to go hand in hand. Thank you totally. I mean, it's about to be two pm on my coast. I know you're on the left coast, but this is my nap hour. So we're gonna wrap this up because my.
Love that girl.
Now, now I pick up homeboy. Homeboy gets picked up at four thirty five o'clock. And if I get a hour and a half two hour nap, and then I can stare at the ceiling for an additional half hour and then pull myself out of bed and go pick him up and have the energy for him and for y'all, because like this drains me as an introvert. My work is very draining and I can't sparkle and shine for the women that I care so deeply about. You probably feel the same way. If I do not take these rests.
You know, it takes a lot out of you.
So I'm just take a napka.
Also, growing a human being is hard work, Ellie. Where do you want people to go? We didn't even mention the conference. Dammit in June. Quickly talk about your conference. Okay, we have an elevated academy, which y'all got to check out if you are wanting to launch an online business. Naturally, yes, but the special conference coming up this summer. Talk to me about that.
Very exciting.
So I finally decided to do my first conference. This is called the Legacy Builders Conference, and it's really all about all the things that I care about in my brain that we care about the academy with the.
Legacy Builders Conference, It's.
Going to be in Atlanta on June third and fourth, and we really want people Saturday Sunday.
Oh third and fourth.
I was like, you guys said thirty fourth. Okay, girl, that would be the idea to that too. If I've talked about you got thirty four days.
It's trying to build trust here, Ellie and not help them think me crazy. Okay, third, a week after I had my baby. I'm going to miss it but so exciting. Okay, so what can yeah conference?
They can expect to learn all about ways that they can increase their financial excellence. We'll be talking about money management strategies for business owners, how they can invest to actually build wealth, and you know how they can also pour into their network and actively learn how to network better so that they are able to get in touch with people that can help them to get to that
next level. I think that's very important for entrepreneurs of color to realize you don't have to do it all alone. You can actually meet someone who can make that connection for you. So it's a two day conference and the focus is on building wealth now and securing it for your legacy.
So I'm really excited.
I got to be like all the feelings, nervous, anxious, excited. I wish you all of us. This sounds phenomenal. I love that you're doing it in my hometown, Atlanta. Shout out to the atl Thank you for blessing us with your presence, Ellie and some of your sparkle and shine. I don't take a minute of your time for granted. Thanks for joining us on Brown Ambition