August 1, 2021
Single Mom of 4 Turned Her $1,200 Stimulus Into a $2 Million Coaching Business In Less Than a Year
When business coach and millennial mom Ellie Diop received her $1,200 stimulus check last year, she started her coaching business.
Ellie knew it was time to invest in herself after getting laid off from her six-figure job and going through a divorce. The 28-year-old moved in with her mom and purchased the essentials for her online business.
A year later, she has accumulated 230,000 followers on her “Ellie Talks Money” Instagram page. By sharing her business and money knowledge, Ellie has been able to generate over $2 million in revenue, Business Insider reports. These numbers are defying statistics, exceeding the $24,000 average revenue numbers found in the 2019 State of Black Women-Owned Business report.
“I leveraged my experience in the corporate world to get started,” Ellie told Business Insider. “I spent 45 days scrolling through Instagram every day, researching, following hashtags, before making my first post. It is important to look at who is having success in the field, analyze what they are doing that is working, and identify which needs they are not meeting.”
Ellie’s researched helped her to find her place in the social media space.
“I saw a lot of unanswered questions,” Diop said. “So many business coaches were either men or single women without kids or women in a relationship without kids. I did not see anyone who could offer my point of view, so I decided to become that person.”
From Stimulus Check to $2 Million Coaching Business
The 2020 global pandemic presented a time of uncertainty for everyone around the world. With unemployment rates rising to record highs and mandatory shutdowns hurting the revenue of small business owners, Ellie knew that she had to leverage the digital space to provide for her family.
As soon as she received her stimulus check, Ellie purchased graphic design tools, good lighting, and a website. She secured her essentials for less than $500 and built her own website to save money. Then, she committed to transforming her knowledge into courses. Within 10 months, she reached the seven-figure mark.
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“The only difference between where you are now and where you want to be is information and execution,” Ellie shared on Instagram. “Information changes situations but only when applied.”
Ellie has reached the $2 million mark in her business by managing her sources of income. She’s earning five streams of income from business coaching, courses, rental properties, life insurance, and speaking engagements. She’s looking to add more income sources to her portfolio.
“I remember that my first weekly payout from my business sales was $74.09,” Ellie posted on Instagram. “Now I see that number with some more zeros behind it. Don’t give up!”
Ellie says that she leveraged business credit, email marketing, and exclusive offers to scale her business.
She adds, “In order to build a 7-Figure business you have to make sure you start with a 7-Figure foundation. That’s my strategy! When we start strong, we build stronger and faster.”