Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michelle Montero. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

I did not actually go on vacations, for the most part, however, this year will be the first year in almost 10 years that I do take a vacation. I’ve been working for as long as I remember – it actually all started back in my senior year of high school. I started working as an alarm dispatcher for medical, fire, and burglar alarms in the corporate world. I stayed in corporate until 2019 when I took a dive to start my own business from home.

I’ve gotten to a point where I can comfortably take a week or so off to relax with my friends and family. As a matter of fact, my best friend and I are planning a birthday week for my 26th birthday in August and I am SO excited! We plan on going to a paint and sip art class, followed by a day at the beach the next day and an escape to a spa! Possibly some more activities for the rest of the week but there’s still time to keep planning the birthday festivities. Maybe a barbecue by the lake with my family or a trip to the zoo with my son. It’s good to say I’ll finally be able to make vacations a norm in my life!

For entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation, I would highly recommend having a specific time every day where you disconnect from all of your work and honor that time. It can be 6 pm every day to enjoy dinner with your family or it can be 7 pm every day plus not working on Sundays to give that day to your own needs and self-care. Definitely take a look within and think about what your needs are and how you can meet them. There’s nothing wrong with having a staycation!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Michelle Montero, digital marketing expert, and work-from-home mom. I actually started my business at the best point in my life – everything literally fell into place so gracefully. I was on the verge of being laid off when I started figuring out how to start my online business. All I knew was that I wanted the ability to work from the comfort of my home so that one day I could create a family and be able to provide while spending time with my family. You can say I’m incredibly family-oriented and that my family is what drives me.

I dipped my toes in affiliate marketing for a couple of months and while that went well, I really wanted to have my own business and so I used what I learned to start my digital marketing business. Within my first month, I had 3-5 clients and by my 6th month, I had already closed a 3-month retainer and projected a 4-figure income which was HUGE being that I wasn’t really making that much at my corporate job and I was just very unhappy.

Essentially I provide digital marketing and tech services such as email marketing (automation and funnel creation) and social media marketing for online service providers. I help course creators, coaches, and other online service providers show up for their audiences on social media platforms. A lot of times my clients either find marketing daunting or don’t have the time to market themselves and that’s where I come in. I tend to be flexible and find creative ways that resonate with my client’s business type and put a ton of effort into finding outside-of-the-box strategies and ideas that really compliment my clients from business goals and personal life/priorities to personality.

I recently started to add to my team which I’m really proud of myself for doing because a lot of times as a business owner it’s hard to let go of the reigns and give control of your business to outside sources. Luckily I have a fantastic team, my graphic designer, and my social media manager who help me so I can focus on the areas where I truly shine. This has opened up my time to doing something that I’m passionate about which is going back to exploring my creative side through different art mediums. Adding to my team has allowed me to go back to being an artist and I’m currently teaching myself how to paint!

Most importantly, I believe in providing top-notch services and my clients love that I do what I can to go above and beyond for them and their businesses. It’s one thing when you have a service provider who helps you, and it’s an entirely different ballpark when you have a service provider who believes in you and your business!

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

So like I mentioned before, I started my business just as I was on the verge of being laid off from my corporate job. This was just months before the country shut down due to COVID. During this time I was feeling really nervous and scared. I wasn’t sure where I was really going and I was in a really dark place. In my desperation, I took a leap of faith and invested my last $50 to hire my business coach at the time. I took everything she told me and started applying it to my business and to my life, working from my super old and practically dying iPhone 5.

While I put my DMO (daily method of operation) into action, I was still applying to different corporate jobs to make ends meet while I launched my business. When I tell you I filled out over 50 job applications and didn’t get a single call back or interview with my level of experience I am NOT joking! That being said, I decided to take another leap and apply for the unemployment benefits that were being extended to gig workers, because I was also a gig worker on the side and figured it would be worth the shot.

Lo and behold, my unemployment benefits were approved and I used those funds to invest in a laptop. I was finally able to work even FASTER and more efficiently! I did everything I could for those next few months to work smarter, not harder, and take advantage of the huge blessing that was the Pandemic Unemployment benefits. In no time, I was able to replace my unemployment with earned income from providing marketing services to a handful of business service providers, including my business coach.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Collaborations are one of the main ingredients to how I built my audience on social media. Earlier I mentioned working smarter not harder, and part of that is collaborating with other businesses whose audiences were similar to the audience that I was seeking for my business. My first collaboration ever was for a podcast with a public figure, Erica Latrice. She really opened the door to a whole new world for me.

My business coach knows very well that I really was more of a behind-the-scenes type of gal so it was extremely nerve-wracking for me to show up on camera. With her coaching, I started to slowly show up by doing Facebook Lives, and eventually live women’s panels with Ashley Ingram from The TUF Woman Table where we spoke about very taboo topics.

One thing I will say for anyone starting to build a social media presence is to try different strategies and put yourself out there! Sometimes the things outside of your comfort zone are the ones that will really push you to your best potential. If it wasn’t for Yolanda Kennerly for pushing me to do more, I probably wouldn’t have grown and skyrocketed my business as quickly as I did.

Another thing is to surround yourself with people who want more just as much as you do – and I don’t mean in an uncomfortable, competitive way. I mean in a way that is mutually nurturing for everyone. Find entrepreneur-minded friends. Go to business seminars, and connect with others who have similar interests and goals as you do! We all know the saying about the 4 bums so surround yourself with as many people successful, business-driven, and entrepreneurial people who spark you with drive and motivation!

Contact Info:

• Website: michellemontero.us
• Instagram: instagram.com/michellemonteromarketing
• Facebook: facebook.com/michellemonteromarketing
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-montero-b6947a1a2/