Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in content creation but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Courtney Elmer, Founder, and CEO of The EffortLESS Life, located in New Orleans, LA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
As a Forbes-featured business system and podcasting expert, one of the things we're known for is helping today's online leaders streamline their business systems and leverage their message through podcasting so they can drive traffic and sales to their business on autopilot and be seen as a respected thought leader in their niche.
Growing a successful business and running it like a real visionary entrepreneur is HARD. There's an overload of information out there, and your time, energy, and effort are limited resources. What most entrepreneurs don't realize (until it's too late) is that you can't rely on these limited resources to build your business because you'll inevitably cap your income, influence, and impact.
That's why here at the EffortLESS Life®, helping you learn how to build a business that can run without you so you can be seen as an authority in your niche, drive traffic to your business on autopilot, and thrive in your zone of genius as a true visionary leader is our zone of genius.
Because you didn't get into business just to create another J-O-B for yourself... you got into business to make a real impact in the world. Through our globally-ranked podcast (Systems Made Simple) and world-class online coaching programs, we teach business owners how to streamline their business, build rockstar teams, and increase traffic and sales without spending more time on marketing, so they can scale to the $1MM milestone and thrive in their zone of genius as the visionary leader of their company.
Tell us about yourself
Overcoming cancer at 25 was NOT how I envisioned starting a business. But I remember that day like yesterday because it was the moment the entire trajectory of my life changed for the better. In that instant, I knew I couldn't keep working at the pace I was working, burning the candle at both ends and expecting to "one day" be successful enough to take my foot off the gas. I knew I could no longer keep the old employee mentality that had served me in my old job where I worked 9-to-5-and-then-some, wearing all the hats because it was what was required.
I needed to step out as the visionary leader of my business and of my brand, which meant changing my work habits and my mindset from employee "in" my business to the owner of my business. Why? Because this time, my health —my life— was on the line. The future success of my business depended on it.
Maybe it sounds crazy to hear that I'm grateful for getting diagnosed with cancer, but it's the truth. Without it, I wouldn't have learned the lessons I needed to learn that have brought me to where I am today: specifically, that in order for your business to thrive, YOU need to be thriving first. A business on its own is nothing without the human behind it. You can't expect your business to grow and thrive if you, the leader of that business, are not growing and thriving too.
That's how The EffortLESS Life® was born, and that's why we teach overworked visionary entrepreneurs how to streamline their workflows and get the right systems, structure, and support in place to scale to seven figures and create the greater influence, income, and impact they deserve — without sacrificing their health or sanity in the process.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I love this question, and I have to warn you — my answer is pretty unconventional. Because despite having had the privilege of interviewing industry greats, including Jordan Harbinger, Gay Hendricks, John Lee Dumas, Grant Baldwin, Kate Northrup, Hal Elrod, and many others, as well as having my expertise on systems and podcasting sought by leaders and teams for Forbes, Fast Company, PopSugar, Kajabi, and dozens more, my greatest accomplishment is the great gift of being able to show my 5-year old son what's possible when you wake up every day and work intentionally toward your dreams.
My son was the reason I started my business over six years ago, and he's the reason I keep going even when it feels impossible. I want him to see what a privilege it is to GET to choose your path in life and to approach life's challenges with the unwavering belief that "I CAN DO HARD THINGS."
I hope that one day when he's older, he'll pursue his biggest, scariest, and most audacious dreams, urged on by the simple, humble realization that "If mom could do it, heck — I can too."
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Honestly? Making room on your calendar for life to happen and navigating the unexpected curveballs it often throws your way. No matter where you are on your journey, and no matter how successful you are, there will always be problems to deal with. There's no need to go looking to self-help books for advice on how to become a better version of yourself — the opportunity for you to become who you are meant to be is hidden within how you approach the challenges you face every single day.
Whenever life gives you lemons, you have two choices:
1. Be resentful.
2. Be resilient.
Always remember: no matter how hard life gets, you ALWAYS have a choice. The path you choose will determine your ability to find meaning and fulfillment, both in life's joys as well as its tribulations.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
1, 2, and 3: Put a reliable mechanism in place ASAP for generating consistent, high-quality leads into your business with low cost and effort. I can't emphasize this enough: if you want consistent sales, you need consistent leads.
The problem is most people start a business and think that they need to establish a social media presence and grow an email list as quickly as possible. These things are good, but they take time (while meanwhile, your bank account suffers).
There are several reliable marketing systems you could install to generate leads on autopilot, but the majority of them are either high cost or high effort.
This is why we're huge fans of podcasting: because, unlike social media, where you continually invest your valuable time creating content that gets forgotten in the blink of an eye, with a podcast, you are building an asset for your business with a library of evergreen content that will be out there working for you 24/7 as your virtual salesperson and referral partner for years to come.
Think about it: assuming you listen to podcasts, has there ever been a time when you stumbled on a show that you fell in love with? Did you go back to episode one and start binging, even if those episodes were years old? Did you feel more connected to the host by the end of an episode because of the depth of the value they delivered? Did you begin to trust that host's advice? Were you curious to learn more about what it might look like to work with the host, assuming they were offering some sort of program or service for you to go deeper?
Now imagine… YOU are the host of a top-ranked podcast. Your show is positioned to help you find the listeners out there who need what you have to offer, and you know how to grab their attention with your content. They are tuning in week after week and developing their relationship with you simply by listening to you share your helpful knowledge. How would it impact your business if you had an audience full of eager listeners like this? Pretty cool to think about, right?
We're passionate about podcasting (in case you can't tell!), and this is why we teach our clients how to leverage this incredibly powerful platform too — it's been one of the most effective strategies for turning cold leads into customers and growing our client base organically.
But regardless of what medium you choose, don't be swayed by the influencers who imply that you need a massive following on social media and a huge email list to be successful. All you need is a reliable, evergreen platform where you can publish your thought-leader content consistently and build a library of thought-leader content over time. The best options for this are blogs, books, email articles, and podcasting. Or better yet, learn how to leverage a podcast to grow your email list and provide SEO-rich content for your blog, as well as help you develop content for your first (or next) book ;)
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.theeffortlesslife.co/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtneyelmerpage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecourtneyelmer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/courtneyelmer_
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyelmer/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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