How a finance expert built her business with eight figures -
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Dominique Broadway, owner of Finances Desystified and Hero and has been aware of this from the beginning. She's always thought that she was an entrepreneur at heart, which is the reason why her email list that she began building on an event several years ago is now one of her greatest assets as a creator. "Because I think of my company as a business that I must run in a business-like manner. I never want to feel like I'm dependent on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok. I want to be able to mail an email or text message directly and constantly talk to my fans."
Keep reading to find out the tactics and the mindset Dominique employed to build a sustainable eight-figure knowledge business beyond social media.
To get a brief rendition of this interview, take a look at Dominique's responses to our Rapid-Fire Q & A series below!
Note: The responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Please tell us more about your story and the way you came to the finance industry.
At the age of my youth, I started trying to find out how these rich people were making money and accumulating wealth. It was pretty much either the property market or the stock market. I decided that I would teach myself how to invest in the stock market because I didn't have enough money to start purchasing homes. It was from there that I to where I began teaching myself how to invest. I went to school and studied in the fields of banking and finance - fast forward to the point where I was working in a variety of firms, like United Capital, which was purchased from Goldman Sachs. At the last firm I was employed at, I went to my supervisor and said, "Hey, I think I'd like to leave and do something else." And he's like, "What are you going to do?" Then I'm like "I do not know. I want to teach people about finances." It was my responsibility to determine what I could do to achieve it. I had no clue. I stumbled across this booth at For Sisters Only. I called my dear acquaintance and asked, "Hey, I got this booth at an event coming up next week So I'm in need of you to create an online landing page where I can gather emails. I need some advertising materials as well as a banner. Can you do it?" He's saying "Yeah." This is why I'm having this booth and I had approximately 90 or so visitors who joined my list of email addresses - this was my very first activity to build a list. I ended up making about a third of them clients, and that's when the process began.
I look up one year or so later, and I'm dead broke. Broken and dead. I was offered a position at the nonprofit organization for financial literacy, which was at the time I realized that I needed to determine how I could increase my income. That's when I decided to start my first program, which was the Finances Demystified Boot Camp. In the end, I was introduced to . We had our first million-dollar month only six months later. The company made $8.5 million in that first year. We've now earned around $13 million in the last two years.
What drives you to do what you do now?
The interesting part is that it is not something people talk about all the time which drives you, and the reasons for doing it can be changed. When I started my company, I had no children. There was only me. I was just trying to earn some money to help others, in order to travel and eat. Today, my motivation is to assist others create wealth for generations as well as changing their financial trajectory as well as, with my kids 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 difficult for individuals to make a living by being a creator?
I believe it is difficult for anyone to earn money for numerous reasons. First, I've never thought of myself as be a creative person, but I believe that I experience the "creator" syndrome. It is quite similar to artist syndrome. What I am referring to is growing up you get the message, "Oh, so and so wants to be an artist." "Oh man, they're going to end up breaking all the time." It's just an idea, and that's not an actual fact. It's true that some people adopt that attitude and believe, "Oh, I'm a creator. The things are slightly more challenging for me. There's no real commercial venture. This is just something that is what I'm currently doing." I've never considered it this way. It's always been my thought to think of my company as a company. I feel like I am a chief executive first, then a creator and a talent second. This is why the creators (and other artists) do not focus on the monetization aspect; they're spending any time or effort into creating the product. Or, into figuring out what products the customers actually want, and they're not advertising.
So I think if you considered your company as a type of business and you could be able to begin to monetize it better. It is a matter of having a marketing strategy. It's about knowing the people you want to reach. Since right now, for a majority of artists, all they're doing is merely getting on TikTok or other platforms, joining social networks, doing a little shaking and dancing or whatever, pointing to some stuff that nobody is purchasing something. There's not a real call to action, so people don't even know which direction to take. You don't even know the products you offer.
How important is it to create a community for your business?
What can you do to get your social media followers to sign up to your social media community? What would that bridge look to you?
It's an area that I'd definitely not say we've mastered--getting those people from Instagram on your list of email addresses. One of the biggest things that I say to my team all the time, "I don't care how many followers I have on social the email list I have should be more than that." As of right now, on social, I think I might have 125,000 or more followers. That's an insignificant amount. Everyone has one million followers, however our email list is over half one million. This is more important to me.
How do you get them there? You use various calls to actions. There are a variety of intentional actions which bring them to. Therefore, I'm saying, "Hey, we need to post at least one IG daily story that encourages people to join the masterclass." Or invite them to join the texting community. We will even do little activities where I'll add some thousand dollars onto the Starbucks card, like, "Hey guys, there's free coffee, just text in to receive the code." The little hyperlink in your bio which directs them to my landing pages, or leads them to my text number is the way to bridge the gap. But most people don't give their users a method to access the other house. They're part of this social media] house, but I'm asking for you to join me in the house and join this celebration as well. And that to me is the most efficient way to do it. This may sound easy, but you must provide them with a place to take action but the majority of people do not do that.
Why is having an email list that is bigger than those you are following?
The reason I aim is always to build a bigger email list than the one I have is because I would like to control the information. I am obsessed with making sure I have control of my contacts and information. I want to own all of the information, such as demographics, as well as telephone numbers. In the event that 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. There were some people who created their entire business on MySpace and then all of an instant MySpace has gone away, and the business they had was gone. As I see my business as one it is imperative that I run in a business manner. I never want to be dependent on Facebook as well as Instagram as well as TikTok. I'd like to mail an email or even text directly and talk to my audience. So that's the reason I'm working on creating my email lists but now my main goal is text.
What advice would you give small-scale creators who are using social media to connect to their followers?
The advice I'd give creators that are only using social networks is to get off of them. Social media is wonderful however it shouldn't be your only lead stream or lead generator. When you think about your business, you should think about it in terms of a heart. I always say is the heart. It's the place I'm trying to bring everyone into. When I think of all the blood flowing. What's the source? It can't be coming from only one location. If it's only coming from one location then you're dead. If leads are only coming from one source, it's not going to work. Focus on getting people to join your world. It's not your responsibility to control the users on social media platforms. You must bring these individuals into your [business] universe in order to make money from the platform because it's extremely, challenging to make money from these [social] platforms. It's a creative process, but you're not just an artist. You are an entrepreneur.
Some creators believe that brands and affiliate deals is the best way to earn profits. Where would you tell the creators to begin in terms of the monetization vehicle?
Affiliates and brand deals are my source of income part-time for me however, what I like about my company is that it's not just a once-off hit. In fact, since we've switched to the membership site, the focus is now MRR (or monthly recurring revenue). I want money to come into my account even when I decide that I want to wake up early and go to the beach. When it comes to affiliate deals and brand partnerships typically, they're only going to be around for a short time. Every month, you've got to work it out and again. Therefore, put your energy and focus into creating something that's going to pay you regularly and generate more consistent revenues for your company.
What role does play in helping you maintain control over your life as an artist?
It is actually the center of the company. It seems like everything sort is flowing through it. In terms of being the one in charge of my life, I think it becomes an important central point. I can have a good idea of how the business is performing through analysis. I'm able see how my email list is growing. And for me, when I think about my future We all wish to be at the helm. There's no way to control our destiny, but we want to feel as though we've got some degree of control. This is this to me. I can log onto the website and see exactly what's going on. I can see how the company's doing in the current month or even the previous month. For me, that provides me with a piece of control in the uncertain world. I'm able to feel like I'm in control of my destiny.
The lesson Be aware of who you are speaking to
Social media platforms are the ones calling the shots. However, you are still in control of your own destiny as an entrepreneur by taking steps to ensure you own your audience in a way that isn't social media-related.
If you're feeling that the old-fashioned creator economy isn't working for you, take part in the Creator Challenge, and launch your business with the guidance of the entrepreneurs and creators that are making the current economy of creators work for them.
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