Ellie Diop, founder of Ellie Talks Money
Britain is headed for recession – a recession that could be long and severe. Often, the failures are accompanied by company dissolutions and job losses, with leaders who may suddenly leave. work
Most leaders in this situation will decide to regroup, dust off their resumes and apply for other jobs. Some, however, will see using it as an opportunity to change their lives and possibly start their own business.
So, what should leaders know about starting a business in a recession? Ellie Diop, American entrepreneur and strategist, founded Ellie Talks Money, is in a good position to offer some information.
After losing his corporate job during the pandemic, he used his $1,200 incentive check to build a multi-million dollar online education business in just one year. Today, his online school, Ellievated Academy, has more than 50,000 students and Diop is committed to helping other people overcome their circumstances to build their own successful businesses.
Here are his four practical strategies for success:
Guideline 1: Record initial costs
“Choose a business that will allow you to keep your initial investment as low as possible,” said Diop. “When I launched my business, Ellie Talks Money, I bought a flashlight, an upgraded iPhone, a website and a Canva Pro membership.”
He continued: “In total, I got less than $600. I shared educational content for free on Instagram and spent another $600 over a few months to promote my content on other social media pages.
If you are thinking of starting an e-commerce business at a low cost, Diop’s advice is to first identify the product you want to sell. Use the TikTok #MadeMeBuyIt hashtag and find the most liked photos and the top five products trending online in the last three months. Then you can create a Shopify account. That step will connect you directly with sellers such as Alibaba and AliExpress, which will allow you to create a product without buying data up front (the so-called “dropshipping”).
You can create cheap products, list them on your Shopify store and pay a commission to sell them to your customers. Your customers will receive the products directly from the retailer after placing an order.
Another option recommended by Diop – which many leaders will be interested in – is to start a consulting business. Identify a brand or topics that can be used using social media such as Instagram or Linkedin. These platforms will also help you find people who need help in your specific area. Then you can prove your skills and achievements to your customers, so they understand the value you can bring.
Diop also recommends starting a low-cost business based on digital products. Some of the digital products that can be sold include printables (digital downloads), workbooks, templates, recipes, courses, eBooks and subscriptions.
Strategy 2: Build community by creating content
“Short videos of 60 seconds or less can help build a community on platforms like Instagram and TikTok,” Diop advises. “You can use those videos to educate your audience on a specific topic or industry, while still entertaining and inspiring.”
To build a following, aim to release three to four pieces of short content per day. As you follow this process, you’ll know what’s working by monitoring your audience’s engagement through likes, comments, and messages. right your posts generate.
An important strategy to increase growth is to encourage people to leave comments or direct messages. “It’s also worth giving your audience a free offer to lead them to your email list so you can continue to engage with them there,” Diop added.
Strategy 3: Increase trust by providing positive feedback
“Putting your customer first and achieving results for your customer should be your priority,” Diop said. “So, think about things like the quality of your offerings and how well your customer will be able to find your services or products. Building a simple brand while waiting and answering their questions is important a lot.”
Diop uses the Thinkific platform to improve the quality of its clients’ education. He found that Thinkific Communities (an online learning environment that allows teachers to interact directly with their audience) allowed him to connect with his community in an easy way. It also gives its customers easy access to its products.
Plan 4: Get your expenses in order to qualify for financing
Lack of access to capital is one of the reasons why many businesses fail in the first five years. “Building a strategy that gives you access to capital from the first days of your business is important,” said Diop. “While funding may not be a requirement to begin with, scale will be required.”
As you expand your team, add new products and services, and develop new marketing strategies, it’s important to have access to corporate sales, donations and loan “To be eligible for those financing opportunities, it is very important to maintain business expenses,” advises Diop. “Some of the important things you should do right away include opening a business account, keeping good financial records, and keeping personal money separate from business money. You also want to control your spending. to ensure that you are running a profitable business.”
