Ellen Kay on Helping Business Owners Attract Leads
Ellen Kay was juggling a Corporate career while raising three children. Then, one day she found the nest empty and wanted to work online. Her story and our exclusive interview are below.
Thank you so much for doing this interview, Ellen! You have an interesting story I want to learn more about. So, let’s get started!
Where were you born and raised, what was childhood like, and what did your parents do for a living?
I have lived in Southeast Missouri my entire life. I love the rural setting and open spaces. I grew up on a family farm where we were assigned chores from a young age.
The work was hard and the days were long but I feel this taught me the work ethic that helped me succeed in the corporate world and now in home business.
My parents grew up on farms and continued farming together after they were married. I remember my father reading trade magazines every night to stay current on changes in the industry. He frequently would implement new techniques before others in our area.
I love a good challenge…a chance to master something new. I think I gained that trait from watching my father all those years ago.
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Was there any Entrepreneurship in the family, and what did you want to be when you grew up?
Diversity in clubs was finding its start when I was in high school. As a junior, I was one of the first two girls to join the FFA (Future Farmers of America).
I took care of my FFA project from start to finish driving tractors to prepare the ground and plant the seed, and driving the combine for harvest.
I loved farm life and thought I would stay on the farm working with my husband as my mother had done.
You went into a corporate career that lasted 26 years. Can you tell us a little bit about that, what the pros and cons of corporate life were?
After a few years of working part-time jobs, I began my 26 year career in banking. I saw many changes over those years including the introduction of personal computers and regulation.
Since I enjoyed a good challenge, I was frequently involved in the introduction of new technology or organizing functions to turn over to others to manage. The challenge was important for me to avoid getting bored.
In the corporate world, you don’t get to choose who you work with and you also are confined to a set 8 – 5 schedule.
I remember one weekend my oldest daughter was involved in a state-wide competition and I was managing a large project for the bank.
There was no way for me to change my work schedule so my husband took our daughter to the competition. She took first place in that state-wide competition and I missed it. I was so grateful that my husband was there and caught it all on video but I never forgot that weekend.
I think missing that event is my why for home business. I want to be at ALL events for my grandchildren and I want to help other moms make it to the events of their children.
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When and how did you discover network marketing, and what were the first two years like?
A friend from my banking days invited me to an opportunity meeting. She was laid off from a corporate job just a few years short of her retirement so I went to the meeting thinking I could buy some product to help her out. This was my first chance to see how much network marketing can change your life.
My personal growth in the first two years was tremendous. That growth must of have been clear in my corporate job also because I was given a large promotion which was not expected.
That promotion kept me stuck between the corporate world and my dream of being my own boss and setting my own hours for a couple years.
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What was the biggest hardship you went through during that time, and what was the best lesson learned from it?
I hear some leaders say “Burn the bridge.” I was stuck between my commitment to the corporate world and my own entrepreneurial dreams for too long. That caused me to lose focus and consistency that is required to grow a home business.
Most people start their home business journey on a part-time basis. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, who you want to help, and exactly what your life will look like once you achieve your goal. That vision is the best way to get unstuck to grow your dreams.
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When did network marketing start working for you, and what advice do you have for new network marketers?
Well, I don’t think I will ever be finished trying new things to get network marketing to work better. I decided to move my prospecting and lead generation online which has made the biggest difference for me. Especially when you are trying to be very focused and careful with your time as a part-time entrepreneur, working online helps to scale your business.
Find a mentor, someone that is making it work and follow their lead. That does not mean copy their stuff. It means study what is working for them and change it to make it your own process. Execute that plan for 90-days to see what is working and what isn’t. Tweak the plan and execute for another 90-days. It is all testing and refining.
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You mention that personal development is important to have a successful home-based business. What are the three most important tips for personal development?
My three most important personal development tips would include:
- Spend at least 30 minutes each day on personal development. Read books, listen to podcasts, attend webinars…whatever source you can find to make continuous improvement in the way you show up to the world.
- I believe Jim Rohn said you are the total of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Take an inventory of who you are spending the most time with. Whether they are virtual contacts from training you are consuming or face-to-face contacts, be sure you are spending time with people that will help you grow. Also, find a coach or mentor that can help you along your journey.
- Limit your time with negative people. It is our human nature to emulate those we spend time with so if you are spending too much time with negative people, you will also be negative. You may not be able to eliminate negative people from your life but you can limit the time you spend with them.
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I love your blog! How old is it, how many posts are on it, and what is your daily traffic like?
Thank you! My blog is about 2 years old and has about 70 posts. My first exposure to blogging was in Tanya Aliza’s Ultimate Branding Blueprint which is a membership site with continuous support and training. Tanya is a great trainer and mentor!
I recently attended some training by Norbert Orlewicz about using pillar posts within your blog. Norbert’s training has encouraged me to revisit some of my most popular blog posts to update and refine some of the content. I am already noticing a difference in the traffic to my blog based on this simple suggestion.
I have focused on driving traffic to my blog from social media and it will vary from day to day. In September of this year, I made one small tweak to my messaging on Twitter which increased monthly pageviews from 8 to 1,188. It is all about testing and refining everything you do.
You have a lot of great videos on YouTube. How has video helped your online business, and do you recommend that every marketer do video?
I feel video helps to increase the Know-Like-Trust factor when prospecting online. Video is the only way to virtually meet your prospect and create a relationship before you even have a chance to meet in person. I love it when I call a lead and they treat me like a celebrity because they saw me in a video they found on social media.
One of my mentors, Ray Higdon, credits much of his success to video and even built a course around it. (The 3-Minute Expert) Based on Ray’s course, I incorporated video into many of my blog posts. The blog posts are shared on social media as well as sharing the video separately driving traffic to my blog.
I am also a member of Mark Harbert’s Video Marketers Insiders group which is on-going support and training on making video a part of your marketing strategy.
I have several mentors which allows me to learn different techniques and strategies that can be meshed together to formulate my own approach to marketing.
Can you explain what the “slight edge advantage” is?
The Slight Edge Advantage is based on Jeff Olson’s book entitled “The Slight Edge.” Taking the little steps each day to move forward in your life. Little steps that will improve your business, family life, relationship, health, spiritual life, all areas of your life.
These are small efforts that are very easy to complete each day…but they are also easy not to do. It takes a conscious effort to move forward each and every day that over time will add up to a big success.
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What is your favorite way to generate leads these days, and can you tell us a little about the technique you use?
I am on several social media platforms but I my favorite right now is Twitter. It took time to get is all set up but Twitter is a big source of leads and blog traffic right now.
Much of this routine is on autopilot with Social Jukebox sending tweets throughout the day. The tweets include blog posts, inspirational quotes, videos, trainings and giveaways.
Since it is automated, there is content in the feed at all times. New tweets are added to Social Jukebox as new content is created. Maintenance is quick and easy after the initial setup is complete.
I use Statusbrew to find new followers which takes about 30 minutes each day. Statusbrew also sends out automated welcome messages and welcome tweets.
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What is your favorite book right now and why?
That is a tough question…there are so many good books out there. A book that I would like to re-read soon is The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone.
So many people are looking for success. So few people are willing to work for it. The 10X Rule helps to prepare a mindset for success beginning with setting goals that are 10 times larger and then working 10 times harder to achieve those goals. There is room for many to succeed but those that succeed must be willing to work for it.
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What are your goals for 2017?
I have many goals for 2017 but a wise man once told me that it is difficult to maintain focus on more than three big goals at a time. Taking Peewee’s advice, I will be focusing on these areas:
- I will increase the number of leads coming in each day which will grow my business and team.
- I will improve my health by exercising more and eating better.
- I will start planning my schedule in advance to ensure adequate time for all areas of my life.
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What is your favorite quote and why?
If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. – Henry Ford
Our minds are so powerful. If you tell yourself something won’t work, your actions will follow to make sure it doesn’t.
That is why continuous personal development, regardless of your profession, is so important. We have to move from “Can I do this?” to “How can I do this?”
Mind shifts like this only come from understanding that all things are possible, we just have to find a way to make it work.
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Thank you so much for this interview, Ellen!
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