A finance professional explains how she built her business on eight figures
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Dominique Broadway, owner of Finances Decoded and Hero is aware of this from the beginning. Her thought has always been of herself as an entrepreneur first, which is why the email list that she began building on an event some time ago has grown into one of her greatest assets in her role as a creator. "Because I think of my company as a business, I need to operate it as such. I never would like to be dependent upon Facebook and Instagram or TikTok. I would like to be able to send out an email or text message immediately and continuously engage my audience."
Keep reading to find out the tactics and the mindset Dominique utilized to establish an efficient and sustainable knowledge-based business of eight figures independent of social media.
For a quick version of the interview check out Dominique's answers to our Rapid-Fire Q & A series below!
Note: The responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Tell us a little bit about how you started your journey in the finance industry.
As a young person, I started trying to understand how wealthy people made money and accumulating wealth. It was basically the stock market or real estate. I decided that I would teach myself about the market, as I didn't have enough money to go out and begin purchasing houses. It was from there that I started - I started teaching myself to invest. I graduated from school and studied in the fields of finance and banking. Fast forward to the point where I was working for a number of companies, like United Capital, which was purchased from Goldman Sachs. At the last firm that I worked for I went to my boss and asked, "Hey, I think I want to quit and start a new job." And he's like, "What are you going to do?" And I'm like "I don't know. I want to teach people about finances." I needed to find out what I could do to achieve that. I had no clue. The booth I was looking at was For Sisters Only. I called my good acquaintance and asked, "Hey, I got this stand at an event next weekend, so I need you to make me a landing page so I can get emails. I'm in need of promotional materials and banners. Can you do it?" He's saying "Yeah." So, I have the booth, and there were about 90 or so people that signed up for my email list - that was my very first activity to build a list. I ended up making around a third customers, which is when things started.
I look up one year or so later, and I'm dead broke. I'm dead broke. I got a job at an organization that teaches financial literacy which was at the time I was forced to find a way to stabilize my income. It was then that I decided to develop my first class, which was the Finances Demystified course. In the end, I was introduced to . We had our first million dollar month just six months in. The company made $8.5 million during that first year, and we've now made around $13 million over the past two years.
What motivates you to take action this?
What I find fascinating is that this is something people do not often talk about, the reason which drives you, and the reason for being. When I started my own business, there were no kids. There was only me. I simply wanted to make some money to help others, so I could go on trips and consume food. My current passion is to help others build wealth generationally and changing their financial trajectories, and now with my kids I'd like to educate them. But for me, it's all about building financial confidence.
What is it that makes it such a challenge for anyone to earn money in the field of creation?
I believe it is difficult for anyone to earn income due to a variety of reasons. First, I've never thought of myself as be a creator, and I'm of the opinion that at times my experience with the "creator syndrome" is quite similar to artist syndrome. What I'm referring to is when you're growing up, you are told, "Oh, so and so wants to be an artist." "Oh the man, they're going to break forever." It's just a thing but that's not an actual fact. I think that sometimes people adopt that attitude and say, "Oh, I'm a creator. Things are going to be slightly more challenging for me. It's not a real commercial venture. This is just something that me doing." It's never been thought of this way. I've always considered my work as a business. I feel like I'm a CEO at first, and then a creator and a talented person second. And because of that, other creators don't have a focus on monetization; they're not investing any effort or energy into the development of the items. Or, into the research of what goods people actually prefer, and they're not marketing.
If you think of your venture as a type of business then you'd be able to start monetizing the business better. It is a matter of having the right marketing strategy. It's about knowing what your ideal customer is. Because right now for a many creators, what they're doing is joining TikTok or other platforms, joining social networks, doing a little dance or shaking, pointing to some stuff but no one is buying something. It's true that there's no demand for action, and the people aren't sure which direction to take. The people don't know even what you sell.
How crucial is it to create a community for your business?
How do you get your social media followers to sign up to your social media community? What will that bridge appear to you?
It's an area that I'd doubt say we've done well in bringing these people on Instagram into your email list. The most important thing is that I remind my staff all the time, "I don't care how the number of followers I am able to have on my social media but my email list should be more than." So right now on my social media, I'm thinking I may have 125,000 followers. This is an insignificant amount. Everybody has a million followers, however our email list is over one quarter of one million. It's more important for me.
How do you reach them? Use different calls to actions. You have various intentional activities that draw them in. For instance, I'm thinking, "Hey, we need to have at least one IG daily story that invites people to attend our masterclass." Or bring them into the community of text messages. Sometimes, we'll even offer activities where I'll add some thousand dollars onto the Starbucks card. Like, "Hey guys, there's no cost coffee. Just text in to receive the code." A link within your bio, which leads people to my landing pages, or leads them to my text number is the way to bridge the gap. Most people do not offer their audiences a way to enter the other house. They're inside this [social media] house. But I'd like you to come to this house, come to this celebration too. This to me is the most efficient approach to achieve it. This may sound easy, but you must provide them with an opportunity to act however, most don't take action like that.
Why is having your email list be bigger than your following so important?
The reason why my goal is to always have more email addresses than my following is that I would like to control the information. I am obsessed with making sure I have control of my people and my information. I would like to have every single piece of information including the demographics, and the number of my contacts. If one of these platforms close down or decide to go out of business or whatever, I'll still have the contacts. I always think about MySpace. Some of my friends founded their entire companies on MySpace but then a sudden MySpace has gone away, and the business they had was disappearing. Since I view my company as a business it is imperative that I run in a business manner. I never want to be dependent on Facebook as well as Instagram and TikTok. I'd like to send out an email or even text direct and speak to my audience. That's why I'm focusing on building my email list but now my main focus is text.
What advice would you give smaller creators who use social media in order to communicate with their audience?
What I'd say to those who are solely using social networks is to get off of them. Social media is fantastic but it's not the sole lead source or lead magnet. When you think about your company, think about it as an individual heart. It's always the heart, it's what I'm trying my best to draw everyone to. I think about all the blood that's flowing. Where does it come from? The source of the issue isn't the same place. If leads are coming from one location, you're dying. If you're only getting leads from one source this won't work. Focus on getting people in your network. There is no ownership of the individuals using social media. It is your responsibility to bring the people into your own [businessworld in order to make money from the platform because it's extremely, difficult to make money on social media platforms. It's a creative process however, you're more than a creator. You are an entrepreneur.
A lot of creators believe that brand and affiliate partnerships are the only means to earn cash. Where would you tell the creators to begin in terms of the monetization vehicle?
Brand deals and affiliates are my source of income part-time for me however, what I like about my business is, it's not just a once-off hit. It's still a good thing, particularly because we've shifted to the membership site, the focus is now MRR which is a term used to describe monthly recurring revenue. I want money to come through even if I think that I'd like to get up early and go to the beach. Through affiliates and brand deals usually, they're only going to be around for a short time. Every month, you've got to work it out and again. So put more energy and focus into creating something that's going to pay you consistently and create steady income streams for your business.
What is the role of aiding you in retaining control of your destiny as a creator?
is really the heart of the company. It seems like everything sort of flows through there. In terms of being at the helm of my own destiny I'm thinking it's the central hub. I'm able gain a better understanding of how my business is running through the use of analytics. I'm able see how my list of email addresses is expanding. And for me, when I'm thinking about my destiny We all wish to feel in control. We're not in control, but we want to feel like we have a little bit of control. This is it to me. I can log onto the website and know exactly what's happening. I'm able see how my company is performing the month of this, or even last month. For myself, it allows me to feel a little bit of control in an uncertain world. I'm confident that I'm taking control of my life.
The message: Own your audience
Social media platforms are the ones calling the shots. However, you can still control your business's destiny through taking the necessary steps to make sure you own your audience beyond social media.
If you're feeling that the old-fashioned creator economy isn't working for you, sign up for the Creator Challenge, and launch your venture with the assistance of entrepreneurs and creators who are using to make today's creator economy function for them.
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