A finance professional explains how she built her eight-figure business -
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Dominique Broadway, owner of Finances Demystified and Hero is aware of that from the start. Her thought has always been that she was an entrepreneur first, which is why the list of email addresses that she began building on the booth several years ago is now the most valuable asset she has as a creator. "Because I view my business as one that I must run in a business-like manner. I don't wish to feel dependent upon Facebook as well as Instagram as well as TikTok. I want to be able to send out an email or text message immediately and continuously engage my audience."
Continue reading to discover the strategies and mindset Dominique used to create a sustainable eight-figure knowledge business beyond social media.
If you want to see a short summary of her interview take a look at Dominique's responses to our Rapid-Fire Q & A series below!
Note: Responses are lightly edited for clarity.
Please tell us more about your story and how you started your journey in the financial industry.
At the age of my youth I was trying to understand how wealthy people made money and building wealth. It was basically the financial market or real estate. I decided that I was going to teach myself about the stock market because I didn't have enough money to start purchasing houses. It was from there that I began - I taught myself how to invest. I graduated from university and studied financial and banking. Fast forward and I had worked at a few firms like United Capital, which was bought in the merger with Goldman Sachs. The last company I was employed at I made a call to my boss and asked, "Hey, I think I want to quit and do something else." Then he said, "What are you going to do?" And I'm like "I do not know. I want to teach people about finance." It was my responsibility to determine how to do this. I had no clue. I stumbled across this booth at For Sisters Only. I contacted my friend and said, "Hey, I got the booth during an event next weekend, so I need you to make me a landing page so I can get emails. I need some advertising materials as well as a banner. Can you do it?" Then he's like "Yeah." That's why I'm running this booth and I had approximately 90 or so visitors who signed up to 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 about a year later and I'm broke. I'm dead broke. I was offered a position at an organization that teaches financial literacy which was at the time I realized I had to figure out how to stabilize my income. It was then that I decided to create my first course that was called the Finances Demystified boot camp. In the end, I was introduced to . Our first million dollar month just six months into. The company made $8.5 million that initial year and now we've generated around $13 million over the past two years.
What motivates you to take action what you do now?
What I find fascinating is that it is something that people don't often talk about, the reason which drives you, and the reason for being. When I started my company, I had no children. There was only me. I just wanted to make some money to help others, to go on trips and have food. My current passion is to help others create wealth for generations and transforming their financial paths as well as, with my children I'd like to help them teach the same. But for me, it's really about building financial confidence.
What is it that makes it so hard for people to make money in the field of creation?
It's difficult for people to make cash for a number of reasons. The first thing is I've never considered myself to be a creative person, but I believe that the creator syndrome to me can be very similar to artist syndrome. What I am referring to is that as you grow older, you'll get the message, "Oh, so and that wants to be an artist." "Oh man, they're going to end up breaking all the time." This is just the way it goes however, that's not always the case. I think that sometimes people take that mindset and think, "Oh, I'm a creator. Things are going to be somewhat more complicated for me. It's not a real commercial venture. It's just something that is what I'm currently doing." It's never been thought of that way. I've always considered my work as a company. I feel like I am a CEO at first, and after that a creator and talent later. Because of this, they [other creators] are not focused on making money; they're not putting any energy and effort into the development of the product. In addition, they aren't the research of what goods people actually prefer but they're not advertising.
If you thought of your business as more of a business and you could have the ability to begin monetizing your business more effectively. This means you need an effective marketing plan. It's about knowing what your ideal customer is. Because right now for a lot of creators, what they're doing is joining TikTok, getting on social with a bit of shaking and dancing or whatever, pointing to some stuff that nobody is purchasing anything. There's not a real appeal to action. So the people aren't sure where to go. You don't even know what you're selling.
What is the importance of build community as part of your company?
How can you convince your social media followers to join your community? What would that bridge look like?
It's an area that I'd doubt say we've done well in bringing the people you follow on Instagram into your email list. One of the biggest things is that I remind my team all the time, "I don't care how the number of followers I am able to have on Instagram but my email list must be larger than." So right now on my social media, I'm thinking I may have 125,000 followers. That's quite a bit. There are millions of followers, however our list of email subscribers is more than a quarter of a million. It's more important for me.
So how do you get them there? 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 story a day that invites people to attend the masterclass." Also, get them into the texting community. Sometimes, we'll even offer things where I'll put a few thousand dollars on the Starbucks card. Like, "Hey guys, there's no cost coffee. Just text in to receive the code." A link within your bio that leads them directly to the landing page, or leads them to my text number is the way to bridge your audience. But most people don't give their followers a means to access another house. They're part of this social media] house, but I'm asking for you to join me in the house and join this event also. And that to me was the most effective approach to achieve it. Although it sounds easy, you must provide them with an opportunity to act but the majority of people do not make that happen.
Why should your email list be bigger than those you are following?
My reason for aiming is to always have an email database that is larger than my following is that I want to own all the data. I am obsessed with making certain that I control all of my people and my information. I'd like to control every single piece of information including such as demographics, as well as telephone numbers. If any of these platforms close down or decide to cease operations or anything else, I'll be able to access the contacts. I always think about MySpace. Some of my friends built their entire businesses on MySpace but then an instant MySpace has gone away, and their company is also disappearing. As I see my business as a business it is imperative that I run it as such. It is not my intention to ever think that I'm dependent on Facebook as well as Instagram or TikTok. I'd like to mail an email or send out a text in person and engage with my readers. That's why I'm focusing on building my email lists but now my main goal is the text.
What would you suggest to the smaller-scale artists making use of social media for connecting with their fans?
What I would tell people who only use social platforms is to stop. Social media is wonderful, but it can't be the sole lead source or lead magnet. If you are thinking about your business, think about it literally as an individual heart. The one I often refer to is the heart. It's the place I'm trying my best to draw everybody into. It's a thought that comes to mind about the blood that's flowing. What's the source? It can't be coming from only one location. If leads are coming from one place, you're dying. If you're only getting leads from one source It's unlikely to work. Concentrate on bringing people to join your world. It's not your responsibility to control the users who use social media sites. You must bring these people into your own [businessworld so that you can monetize these people because it's difficult to make money on social media platforms. It's a creative process however, you're more than being a creator. You are an entrepreneur.
Many creators think brand and affiliate partnerships is the best way to make profits. Where would you tell them to start in terms of the vehicle for monetization?
Brand deals and affiliates are my source of income part-time for me, but what I love about my business is, it's not just a once-off hit. In fact, because we've shifted to a membership-based community our current focus is MRR (or monthly recurring revenue). I want money to come through even if I think I'd rather wake up early and go to the beach. With brand deals and affiliates, most of the time they're only going to last for a few days. And then every month, you've got to work it out and again. So put more energy and energy into creating something that's going to pay you regularly and generate regular income streams for your business.
What are the roles that it plays in aiding you in retaining control of the direction you take as Creator?
is really the heart of the company. I feel like everything kind flowed through the place. In terms of being at the helm of my own destiny, I think it becomes the central hub. I can get a clear idea of how my business is doing through analytics. I'm able see how my list of email addresses is expanding. For me, as I'm contemplating my life's path We all wish to be in control. There's no way to control our destiny and yet we'd like to feel like we have some degree of control. It's like that to me. I'm able log on to the platform and I can know exactly what's happening. I'm able to see what the company is performing this month, or this month, or last month. So 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 in control of my destiny.
The takeaway Be aware of who you are speaking to
Social media platforms are the ones calling the shots, but you can still control your destiny as an entrepreneur by making sure you own your audience in a way that isn't social media-related.
If you're feeling that the conventional economic model of the creator isn't serving you, take part in the Creator Challenge, and launch your company with the help of creators and entrepreneurs who have made today's creator economy function for them.
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