What a financial expert did to build her eight-figure business -
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Dominique Broadway, owner of Finances Decoded and Hero is aware of this since the very beginning. Her thought has always been that she was an entrepreneur, and that is why the list of email addresses she created at a booth several years ago is now one of her biggest assets as an entrepreneur. "Because I view my business as a business and I have to run it in that way. I do not would like to be dependent upon Facebook as well as Instagram or TikTok. I would like to be able to mail an email or text message directly and constantly talk to my fans."
Keep reading to find out the methods and mentality Dominique employed to build a sustainable eight-figure knowledge business independent of social media.
To get a brief summary of her interview check out Dominique's answers to our Rapid-Fire Q & A series below!
Note: The responses are lightly edited for clarity.
Please tell us more about the story behind you and how you started your journey in the financial industry.
As a young person I was trying to understand how wealthy people made fortunes and building wealth. The answer was either the stock market or real estate. I decided that I was going to teach myself how to invest in the stock market because I wasn't able to come up with enough funds to just go and start purchasing homes. This is where I really got to where I began teaching myself to invest. I attended college and majored in financial and banking. Fast forward and I had worked in a variety of firms, such as United Capital, which was acquired in the merger with Goldman Sachs. The last company that I worked for I went to my boss and asked, "Hey, I think I want to quit to do something different." He said, "What are you going to do?" and I'm thinking "I don't have any idea. I'm trying to help people learn about finance." I needed to find out the best way to accomplish it. I had no clue. I got this booth at For Sisters Only. I called my good acquaintance and asked, "Hey, I got the booth during the next event and I'm looking for you to make me a landing page so I can gather emails. I need some advertising materials as well as a banner. Can you do it?" And he's like "Yeah." That's why I'm running this booth and I had about 90 or so people that signed up for my email list - that was my first list-building activity. It turned out that I had about a third of them clientsand that's how things started.
I go back to a year and a half or so later, and I'm dead broke. I'm dead broke. I was offered a position at the nonprofit organization for financial literacy, and at the time, I was forced to find a way to stabilize my income. This is when I made the decision to develop my first class that was called the Finances Demystified course. Eventually, I heard about . The first million dollar month just six months in. We did about $8.5 million during that first year. We've now earned a little over $13 million in the last two years.
What motivates you to take action what you do now?
The interesting part is that this is not something people discuss all the time, is that what it is about what drives you and how your why can change. When I began my company, I had no kids. It was just me. I simply wanted to make cash and assist others so I could travel and consume food. Today, my motivation is to assist other people create generational wealth and changing their financial trajectories as well as, with my kids I'd like to educate my children to be financially confident. For me, it's all about providing financial confidence.
Why do you think it's difficult for individuals to make money in the field of creation?
I believe it is difficult for people to make income due to a variety of reasons. First, I've never thought of myself as be a creative person, but I believe that I experience the "creator" syndrome. It is very similar to the artist syndrome. What I mean by that is that as you grow older, you'll are told, "Oh, so and so wants to be an artist." "Oh man, they're going to break all the time." This is just the way it goes but that's not the case. I think that sometimes people get that mentality and believe, "Oh, I'm a creator. It's going to be somewhat more complicated for me. It's not a real business. It's simply something is what I'm currently doing." It's never been thought of this way. It's always been my thought to think of my work as a business. I feel like that I'm the CEO first and later a creator, and a talent second. And because of that, they [other creators] are not focused on the monetization aspect; they're putting any energy and effort into the development of the product. In addition, they aren't figuring out what products their audience actually wants however they're not focused on advertising.
If you considered your company as a more business-like entity, you would be able to start monetizing the business better. That means having the right marketing strategy. That means understanding the people you want to reach. Because right now for a many creators, what they're doing is just joining TikTok and other social media sites and doing some shaking and dancing or whatever, pointing to some stuff but no one is buying something. There's not a real demand for action, and users don't know which direction to take. You don't even know what you sell.
How crucial is it to develop a sense of community in your business?
What can you do to get your social media followers to sign up to your social media community? What does that bridge look to you?
This is something I'd certainly not claim to have mastered, getting those people from Instagram into your email list. The most important thing is that I remind my team all the time, "I don't care how many followers I have on my social media the email list I have must be larger than that." As of right now, on my social media, I'm thinking I may have 125,000 followers. This is not a lot. Everyone has one million followers right now. But our email list is over half one million. It's more important for me.
What is the best way to get them there? There are a variety of calls and actions. There are various activities that draw them in. So I'm like, "Hey, we need to post at least one IG daily story that encourages people to join our masterclass." Also, invite them to join the texting community. There are even events where I'll place some thousand dollars onto the Starbucks card. For instance, "Hey guys, there's no cost coffee. Just text in and you get the discount code." Having that little link in your bio which directs them into my website or leads them to my text number is the way to bridge it. Most people do not offer their users a method to enter the second house. They're in this [social media] house. But I'd like you to come to the house and join this party also. This to me is the most efficient way to do it. It sounds simple, but it is important to provide people with a place to take action but the majority of people do not make that happen.
What makes having your list of email addresses be larger than the ones you follow?
My reason for aiming is to always have more email addresses as compared to my own is because I'd like to have control over all the data. My main concern is making sure I have control of my people and my data. I would like to have every single piece of information including the demographicsand phone numbers. If any of these other platforms shut down or decide they want to go out of business or something else, I'll be able to access my contacts. I always think about MySpace. There were some people who founded their entire companies through MySpace only to find that all of a sudden MySpace was gone and their business is disappearing. Because I think of my business as one, I need to operate it as such. I don't want to feel like I'm dependent upon Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok. I want to be able to send out an email or text message directly and talk to my readers. That's why I'm working on creating my email database, and now the big priority is on text.
How would you advise small-scale creators who are making use of social media for connecting with their audience?
The advice I'd give those who are solely using social platforms is to stop. Social media is wonderful, but it can't be your only lead stream or lead magnet. When thinking about your business, you should think about it in terms of a heart. It's always the heart. It's the place I'm trying to get everybody into. I think about all the blood that's flowing. What's the source? The source of the issue isn't the same place. If it's coming from one location it's dead. If you're getting leads from one place this won't succeed. Concentrate on bringing people to join your world. You don't own the people on social media platforms. You have to get the people into your own [business] universe so that you can monetize them because it's very, very hard to monetize on social media platforms. Your job is to create But you're not only a creator. You are an entrepreneur.
Many creators think brand or affiliate agreements are the only way to make money. Where would you tell them to start in terms of the vehicle for monetization?
Affiliates and brand deals are part-time income for me, but what I love about my company is that it's not one-time-hit. Even now, especially since we've switched to this membership community, our new focus now is MRR or monthly reoccurring revenue. I'd like money to flow in even if I decide that I'd like to get up early and go to the beach. When it comes to affiliate deals and brand partnerships usually, they're going to only be around for a short time. Every month, you've got to come up with a solution again and again. Therefore, put your energy and energy into creating something that's going to pay you consistently and create regular revenues for your company.
What are the roles that it plays in helping you maintain control over your destiny as an artist?
is really the heart of business. Everything kind is flowing through it. And as far as being the one in charge of my life, I think it becomes the central hub. I'm able to get a clear idea of how the business is doing through analytics. I'm able to see how my list of email addresses is expanding. And for me, when I'm contemplating my life's path We all wish to be in control. It's not like we're in charge and yet we'd like to feel like we have a little bit of control. This is this is what I'm feeling. I can log onto the site and know exactly what's happening. I'm able see how my company's doing the month of this, or even last month. For me, that provides me with a some control in this unpredictable world. It allows me to be in a position to feel as though I'm navigating my own destiny.
The takeaway Take control of your audience
Social media platforms are the ones calling the shots. However, you still have control over your business's destiny through taking the necessary steps to make sure you own your audience beyond social media.
If you think the conventional economic model of the creator isn't serving you, join the Creator Challenge, and launch your business with the guidance of the entrepreneurs and creators that are making today's economy for creators be more effective for their businesses.
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