We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Faith Ellis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Faith below.

Faith, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?

In order to be successful, I believe it requires persistence. Success looks different for each individual and honestly, for each business. I have started a couple of different businesses and while they may not pull in enough yet to allow me to quit my day job, continuing to be persistent is finally paying off in terms of some kind of financial profits as well as a more extensive and ever-growing audience. The bigger your audience, the bigger your opportunities!

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 am a North Carolina native, kettlebell coach, date curator, and social media manager. I started in the fitness industry about 8 years ago and have loved it since! I got certified as a personal trainer, but the 1:1 and designing individual programs wasn’t my passion. About 3 years ago, I found and fell for kettlebells. I have made that my niche and offer virtual group classes on Domumgym.com with plans to grow into Live classes and local pop-ups. The brand of FEE Fitness is growing and branching into a blog, a boutique, and even online fitness guides.

In addition, this past summer I started a localized business where I travel and discover places within North Carolina that make for great date ideas! Southern Dates offers local and at-home date night ideas and ways for couples to grow in intimacy.

I already had the social media and creative skills necessary for that side of running a business. I’ve worked in writing and social media for years and that just comes with being an entrepreneur. You absolutely must utilize social media marketing for your business, it’s basically free advertising and growth opportunities!

While I am not fully working for myself, I am constantly learning from a business and industry-specific standpoint. I think when people start a business, if it doesn’t take off in the first couple of months, they give up. The truth is, it can take years for a successful business to gain ground. What will set you apart is your tenacity to stick it out, be willing to shift your business from what isn’t working into what is or what might, and don’t give up.

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

We all know our business and brand need to be on social media, but every platform is so saturated. You have to do something that stands out but I strongly suggest you not deviate from who you are, be original, and be you.

It’s important to keep up with trends and to act on those trends as you build your presence so that you have a higher chance of being seen. You need to connect with people and show them you are a real person. I highly recommend taking 30 minutes to an hour once in the morning and once in the evening to dedicate to posting content and engaging with others online.

Even if it seems as though you aren’t growing, stick with it. I also do not suggest you having to be on every single platform, but I would say be on 3 that fit your brand and your content and create a little something different for each of those platforms to encourage folks to follow you on all of them.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Honestly, it’s been anything localized. I take advantage of our town’s Facebook Groups and my neighborhoods on Nextdoor, as well as my local Chamber of Commerce. If I have a new product, a new class or a fitness program coming up, I will post it on the social media channels and groups.

I am a member of 2 of my local chambers. One I really like because they have multiple free events and even classes to help with entrepreneurs’ skills. By attending these events, I network with others and spread the word about my business. It can be scary the first time you go, but I have even ended up making friends!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.faithengenellis.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/_faithellis
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southerndatesco
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FaithEllis/featured
• Other: Southern Dates: www.southerndates.co