How a finance expert built her own business that is worth eight figures
Join to the creator Challenge!
Start your business online with the assistance of highly experienced entrepreneurs. Save my space
Dominique Broadway, owner of Finances Decoded and Hero, has known this from the beginning. She has always thought of herself as an entrepreneur at heart, which is why the list of email addresses she started building at a booth several years ago is now one of her greatest assets in her role as a creator. "Because I see my business as a business and I have to run in a business-like manner. I do not would like to be dependent on Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok. I'd like to email my followers or send out a text in real time and always engage with my followers."
Keep reading to find out the tactics and the mindset Dominique utilized to establish an eight-figure business that is sustainable outside of social media.
For a quick version of the interview, read Dominique's replies to our Rapid-Fire Q & A series below!
Note: Responses were lightly edited to improve clarity.
Let us know a bit about your story and the way you came to the financial industry.
As a young person I was trying to find out how wealthy people made money and accumulating wealth. It was pretty much either the stock market or real estate. I decided I wanted to educate myself to understand the stock market because I was not able to afford the funds to go out and begin buying homes. This is where I really got to where I began teaching myself to invest. I graduated from university and studied banking and finance - fast forward, and I'd worked in a variety of firms, like United Capital, which was acquired by Goldman Sachs. The last company I worked at, I went to my supervisor and said, "Hey, I think I'd like to leave and start a new job." He said, "What are you going to do?" Then I'm like "I don't have any idea. I'm trying to help people learn about financial matters." It was my responsibility to determine the best way to accomplish that. I had no clue. The booth I was looking at was For Sisters Only. I called my good friend and said, "Hey, I got this stand at an event next weekend and I'm looking for you to create an online landing page where I can gather emails. I'm looking for promotional materials and banners. Can you do it?" He's saying "Yeah." This is why I'm having my booth. I have around 90 people who signed up to my email list - that was my very first activity to build a list. It turned out that I had around a third clients, and that's when things started.
I look up about a year or so later, and I'm dead broke. Dead broke. I was hired by an organization that teaches financial literacy in the early days, and I realized I had to determine how I could increase my income. That's when I decided to create my first course that was called the Finances Demystified Boot Camp. Eventually, I heard about . We had our first million-dollar month only six months into. The company made $8.5 million that initial year and now we've generated a little over $13 million over the past two years.
What motivates you to take action this?
I think the interesting thing is that this is something that people don't discuss all the time, is that what it is about what drives you and how your why can change. When I started my own business, there were no children. I was the only one. I simply wanted to make some money to help others, to go on trips and consume food. Today, my motivation is to assist others build wealth generationally and changing their financial trajectories And now, along with my kids, I want to teach them. But for myself, it's about building financial confidence.
Why is it difficult for individuals to earn money in the field of creation?
I think it's hard for anyone to earn income due to a variety of reasons. The first thing is I've never considered myself to be a creator. I think that sometimes the creator syndrome to me is very similar to the artist syndrome. What I am referring to is growing up you are told, "Oh, so and so wants to be the next artist." "Oh you know, they're likely to end up breaking for ever." It's just an idea however, that's not always true. Sometimes, I believe that people take that mindset and believe, "Oh, I'm a creator. The things are slightly more challenging for me. It's not a real company. This is just something that me doing." I never thought about it in that manner. I've always considered my company 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, the creators (and other artists) don't have a focus on monetization; they're not investing any effort or energy in the creation of items. Or, into finding out what their audience actually wants however they're not focused on advertising.
If you thought of your business as more of a business then you'd be able to begin to monetize it better. It is a matter of having an effective marketing plan. This means knowing what your ideal customer is. As of right now, for majority of artists, all they're doing is just joining TikTok or other platforms, joining social networks with a bit of dance or shaking, pointing to some stuff but no one is buying something. There's not a real appeal to action. So people don't even know which direction to take. The people don't know even what you sell.
What is the importance of develop a sense of community in your company?
How do you get your social media followers to become part of your community? What does that bridge look like?
It's an area that I'd certainly not claim to have mastered, getting those people from Instagram to your email list. It's one of the most difficult things, and I tell my team constantly, "I don't care how the number of followers I am able to have on Instagram but my email list should be more than." As of right now, on Facebook, I believe that I could have as many as 125,000 followers, which nowadays is not a lot. Everyone has one million followers right now. But our email list is over one quarter of one million. It's more important for me.
What is the best way to make them arrive? There are a variety of calls and actions. There are various activities that draw them in. For instance, I'm thinking, "Hey, we need to have at least one IG daily story that encourages people to join this masterclass." Or get them into the text community. Sometimes, we'll even offer things where I'll put the sum of a few thousand dollars in the Starbucks card, like, "Hey guys, there's no cost coffee. Just text into the number and you'll receive the discount code." Having that little link in your bio that leads them to my landing pages, or connects them with my contact number--that's literally how you bridge it. However, most don't offer their audiences a way to enter the other house. They're in this [social media] house. But I'd like you to come to this party, and to this party too. This to me is the most efficient method to accomplish it. Although it sounds easy, you have to give people a place to take action but the majority of people do not do that.
What makes having your email list be bigger than your following so important?
The reason why my goal is always to have a bigger email list than my following is that I want to own the information. I am obsessed with making sure I have control of my people and my information. I'd like to control every single piece of information including such as demographics, as well as number of my contacts. If any of these platforms close down or decide to shut down or whatever, I'll still be able to access the contacts. I always think about MySpace. There were some people who founded their entire companies using MySpace and then all of suddenly MySpace has gone away, and their business is gone. Since I view my company as a business it is imperative that I run the way it is. I never want to feel like I'm dependent upon Facebook as well as Instagram and TikTok. I'd like to be able to mail an email or even text in person and engage with my audience. So that's the reason I'm focused on building my email lists but now my main goal is the text.
How would you advise small-scale creators who are who use social media in order to communicate with their audience?
The advice I'd give creators that are only using social platforms is to stop. Social media is fantastic, but it can't be the sole lead source or lead source. If you are thinking about your business, think about it as the heart. The one I often refer to is the heart. It's the place I'm trying to bring everyone to. It's a thought that comes to mind about the blood flow. Where does it come from? The source of the issue isn't the same place. If leads are coming from one spot, you're dying. If leads are only coming from one source It's unlikely to succeed. Concentrate on bringing people to join your world. You don't own the people who use social media sites. You must bring these individuals into your [business] universe so that you can monetize these people because it's difficult to make money on these [social] platforms. Your job is to create, but you're not just being a creator. You are an entrepreneur.
Some creators believe that brands and affiliate deals are the only means to make profits. Where would you tell that they should start from the perspective of the vehicle for monetization?
Brand deals and affiliates can be an income source for me that is part-time however, what I like about my business is, it's not a one-time hit. It's still a good thing, particularly as we've moved to this membership community, the focus is now MRR or monthly reoccurring revenue. I want money to come through even if I think that I'd like to get up to go to the beach. When it comes to affiliate deals and brand partnerships typically, they're just going to last for a few days. Then, every month, you'll have to figure it out again and again. Put more effort and energy into creating an item that pays you consistently and create steady income streams for your business.
What is the role of keeping you in control of the direction you take as Creator?
It is actually the center of our business. Everything kind flowed through the place. As far as feeling the one in charge of my life I'm thinking it's an important central point. I'm able to have a good idea of how my business is doing through analytics. I'm able see how my list of email addresses is expanding. In my case, when I think about my future everyone wants to be in control. There's no way to control our destiny and yet we'd like to believe that we're in control. some control. And I feel like is it to me. I'm able log on to the site and see exactly what's going on. I can see how the company's doing the month of this, or even this month, or last month. For myself, it provides me with a some control in this uncontrollable world, to be in a position to feel as though I'm taking control of my life.
The message Be aware of who you are speaking to
Social media platforms can call the shots. But you can still control your destiny as an entrepreneur by making sure you have your own audience, outside of social media.
If you think the old-fashioned creation economy isn't working for you, join the Creator Challenge, and launch your venture with the assistance of the entrepreneurs and creators who have made the current economy of creators be more effective for their businesses.
Join the Creator Challenge!
Begin your own online business by enlisting the assistance of experienced entrepreneurs. Keep my place
Learn from these Heroes on how they're impacted by the dark sides of the creation economy: