We were lucky to catch up with Zuri Broom recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zuri, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

I would trust myself more and show up for myself. Had I shown up for myself in my business & got out of my head, I would have streamlined my path to success with less stress AND spent a lot less money in the process. Earlier this year, I hit my one year anniversary in business and reflected on what my journey has been like with this “pick & stick” business because I had tried so many others before not realizing I was rushing my growth and failed to look at the lessons screaming in my face. I operated in a way that reflected my lack of confidence and reflected how I, myself, didn’t believe in myself as the expert…as the authority in the space I carved out in my industry. After finishing my bachelors in business with a ton of supplemental specializations like entrepreneurship & international business, I continued spending money on programs, courses, & other materials. And trust me, this wasn’t one of those “skill enhancing” sessions because after every single purchase, I told myself: “I knew this already! Why didn’t I just trust myself and now I’m stuck in a payment plan for something that’s no longer of use to me”. It was one of those “Ehhh I’m not sure of myself yet so let me buy this just in case I’m missing out on something” sessions—one that screamed I had no trust in myself and assumed my audience’s opinion of me. Realizing this reflection, I promised to show up for ME. Not for anyone else and I had to work through alot of mindset issues that I never realized stemmed from experiences in my life & childhood. I had to believe in myself & the transformations I was bringing clients. I had to believe that people chose to work with me for ME and not for the next operations expert. At the end of the day, the faster you realize that it’s not about you personally and that it’s about being the vessel for growth & success in your client’s business and the peace of mind for your client’s pain point, the fastest AND easier it will be to show up & show out for your business and clients.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a single mom and business owner of my brand, By Zuri Alexxi. In my business, I serve as a certified online business manager (OBM) & operations consultant and I help entrepreneurs fortify their operations with lean systems & processes so they can scale with ease. I offer a variety of ways to work with me; OBM Retainer clients who need in-house operational support in a longer-term contract, VIP Days for those needing big results in a 7-hours turnaround (perfect for the modern-day entrepreneur that’s aware that time is money, and consultation services for small business, startups, and growing corporate businesses.

My journey with this business has come with many ups, downs, pivots, and shifts as I not only grew as mother to my 2 year old, but also as a business owner fully embodying my CEO status. The main driver behind my business is my son. As a mom, I want to cultivate the environment he needs to thrive and to show him that despite the odds & horrible things going on in the world, you can still create paradise on earth. Remembering this “why” has gotten me so far on my bad days. I want time to make the memories and financial freedom to create those memories in the most adventurous ways as possible.

You have to maintain a level of creativity to grow and my mission has always been to position entrepreneurs to achieve wealth + stability by helping them establish lean operations in their business so they can have more time for the things they love. I don’t just apply a one-size-fits-all methodology behind what I do. Everything is tailored and shaped for YOU & YOUR BUSINESS. I want dreamers to apply pressure.

I give streamlined operations a whole new meaning for business owners, but I also lead with a human-first approach that many operations coordinators fail to do. In doing this, I think about the objective full-circle and from every potential angle to ensure we are optimized and streamlined to achieve the best. And this has allowed me to create high-quality results and systems that are flexible to change.

I’m most proud of life-changing growth, the peace of mind, the freedom, and the time I can give my clients. There have been times where I have woken up to messages from my clients expressing how excited they are finally to dream big without the fear because they know I have their best interest in mind and nurturing their businesses as if they are my own. And messages like this remind me exactly why I do what I do.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My journey has been the farthest away from easy. To paint the picture, I was in my sophomore year of college, just moved back home with my parents because I was pregnant with my son. At the time, I had decided to be a blogger to share my knowledge on business and my lifestyle as a single mom balancing 21 credit hour semesters in college. When I gave birth, I had no income coming in at the time but seeing my son’s newborn made something click for me—I needed to be in control of my finances & my time so I could spend every second of every opportunity with my son. Later, I found that the help & support I had been providing friends, family, and strangers in doctor’s office waiting rooms for free could be packaged into services I could sell to people and this immediately became a game changer. But little did I know that it would be one of the the HARDEST journeys I ever experienced.

My pregnancy brought many complications near the end of my term as I was visiting the hospital more, finals were due, & building a business out of nothing—stress was at an all time high. Fast forward to my first year in business, I was a new mom & it was up to me to bring income into my little household of 2, I still was finishing my bachelors, and I was running a business….and if that wasn’t enough, I added a 9-5 to help fund my business and pay for daycare & other expenses.

And with all of this going on, I qualified for no state help because I made about $200 over the state limit for qualifying for assistance such as food stamps, daycare, etc BUT not enough to live comfortably rather than paycheck to paycheck. I felt like everything was stacked up against me and almost grew to hate being an entrepreneur because I couldn’t understand why everyone else could achieve this wealth + stability and not me. But despite the odds, I continued to push through the hard days, engaging with my audience, and using my night owl sleep schedule as the opportunity to get stuff done and before I knew it, now 16 months into running my business and I can leave my 9-5 to become a full-time business owner that allows me to impact the lives of many while still being present for my son whenever he needs me.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

You will make the most money and achieve the most growth being a specialist rather than a generalist. When you choose to focus on feeding the masses with mediocre services versus mastering a specific skill to leverage your growth and presence in the industry, you’re on a fast train to burnout. Being in your zone of genius will get your further than trying to be the jack of all trades. Not to say you can’t pursue a variety of different things, but be known for something first and then branch out from there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://byzurialexxi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byzurialexxi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zuri.broom
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zuri-broom
• Other: Pinterest: https://pin.it/2VRGzhe

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