We recently connected with Bridget James Ling and have shared our conversation below.

Bridget James, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

When I started my company in 2021, I didn’t have any money. I was in thousands of dollars of student loan debt. I was living in New York City, had just quit my job, but I knew that God had a bigger calling on my life.

When I started the company, I began using my free Instagram account and connecting with real women behind the screen. I began by hosting weekly sessions and then offering my services at the end of the session, and people would buy them. I didn’t really know that I was “selling”; I just knew that I wanted to make a bigger impact in people’s lives. I wanted to help other women go for more and find out what they were really capable of.

When I started making money online, I saw a lot of people doing the old way of business, which was “churn and burn.” A lot of “tactics,” and it never landed with me. I would just go live on Instagram, talk to people, help them, and then offer my paid services—and it worked. I started pioneering what is now known as building a “movement” instead of building an online coaching business.

The movement way is about bringing people together toward a shared vision & identity, versus just selling your one-off coaching to one person at a time. A movement is ALIVE. It has a soul of its own. Movements are more sellable than a regular online business that only revolves around you.

What I started to do from the beginning was give other people the microphone in my company. Through featuring members, building a community, and having people come together for a mission that was bigger than just “build a business,” the company started growing rapidly.

Women started flooding into my work in a different way. I didn’t attract business owners that wanted just one-off transactions; I started attracting business owners who knew they had a bigger calling in their life and wanted to be known for something. They wanted to be the Michelangelo or the Taylor Swift of their industry, not just another artist.

Not everyone is meant to be a movement maker, but for those who are, they know it in their heart. They deeply value human connection, bringing people together, creating opportunities for women, and leading.

This is how many of my clients, who have been with me for years, have gone on to create their own movements—ones that are changing so many lives around the world using their own methods, being known for something, being able to articulate their work, and getting it into the hands of those who need it. I’ve watched women go from $0 to their first million in record-breaking time because of this work.

Bridget James, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Freedom Queen is a multi million dollar company that mentors women to grow their own trademarked companies around the world. We work with leaders who sell a service, mentorship, or coaching in their industry. It’s for the women who are pioneers, they’re creating movements, and they have a unique body of work. Many of our clients desire support with expanding their income, reaching a client base around the world, becoming best selling authors, speaking on stages, and leading their own multi million dollar companies. I’m most proud of the success rates from the Women of Freedom Queen. I’ve mentored thousands of women and have helped many of them build their own million dollar movements.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

During my 4th year of business, I planned “the event of the century.” This was an event that 400 people were attending. I invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to lead an industry-altering event, and the most unexpected, worst thing could’ve happened….

I had spent an entire year building out the event, selling tickets, scaling the company, leading my team, all while prepping for the 400-person event known as “Freedom Queen Live.” Three days before the event, I woke up to a call and received information that, due to a hurricane, we might need to change, reschedule, or postpone the event.

I had hundreds of women flying in from all around the world to attend, countless problems arising, and we even had a moment where there was potential to lose the entire event—everything that we had already built.

It was a moment I’ll never forget. I had to postpone the event to a later date, communicate this to hundreds of women around the world, navigate upset individuals, evacuate the state, and get back to work on building out the new Freedom Queen Live event that I had postponed.

In this moment, it was one of the biggest challenges I’d experienced in business, but at the same time, I knew it was going to be the biggest turning point in my entire career.

I used the deep pain, frustration, and challenge as a way to catapult myself, my clients, and my company to another level. I went into solution mode. I hired a new team, let go of some people, and had daily difficult conversations. I faced every problem head-on. I took time for myself to rest and heal, and on the other side of this, I got to host “the event of the century.”

The new dates turned out to be the BEST thing that ever happened to me. I did a million-dollar MONTH in my business, whereas previously it had taken me a year—or even six months—to reach that milestone. What this showed me was that the challenge IS the way.

Just when you think you’re going through what could be the absolute WORST thing, it actually turns out to be the best. And sometimes you don’t realize that in the moment. It’s difficult; all you can see is the storm. But I promise you, if you keep your eyes on the light, remind yourself that it’s happening for you, and continue to move forward, you WILL come out on TOP and even better than you were before.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built a company that makes, on average, $300K to $400K in cash a month, all using my organic social media following. I don’t run ads or do sales calls, and the number one thing that has allowed me to scale this business is building it through the lens of building a Movement. What most people do is use social media like it’s a transactional machine. This leads them to attract the wrong customers, a churn-and-burn business model, and typically makes them unfulfilled. When you build a business the old way of building coaching businesses, people usually burn out and quit. However, when you build through the lens of leading a movement—which is a group of people coming together toward one shared vision and identity—you will always have a scalable business. Because rather than trying to go viral in numbers, you’re going viral in people’s souls.

To make a powerful movement, you must start with a unique message. This is what makes you stand out in the marketplace. You want to have a movement that is known for something. If you’re not known for something, you’ll blend in with the rest of the people on the internet and have to work harder. However, if your movement is known for a specific outcome or vehicle, then you will immediately gain authority in the marketplace because, rather than trying to compete with others, you’re operating in a category of one. The more specific you become about who you’re for and what you’re doing with your movement (or for the people you serve), the more money you’ll make.

For example, I’m not just a business coach for any type of business. If I were, that would blend in with everyone else who is, and I’d end up making the same amount as them. Instead, I lead a movement called Freedom Queen, which mentors powerful women on how to create their own movements, sell high-ticket offers, and scale to multiple millions. There’s a difference in who I’m targeting and how I mentor. When you have a movement, you’re able to more easily MOVE people because someone who is unique will always be magnetic.

If you’re just starting to build your business on social media, stop focusing solely on metrics and start with the person behind the screen. At the end of the day, social media is just other humans sitting on their phones behind a screen, and they want to feel seen and heard. They want to open up their phone, learn, get a good feeling, and feel like someone understands them. This is how I’ve always built my business—not so much focusing on the metrics, but more focusing on the people. The one woman behind the screen who needs to hear my voice today, who wants to hear what you have to say, and whose life is completely changed by your one post.

I recommend that you’re consistent with your content, do one nurturing event a week (if you’re just starting), and get to know the PEOPLE behind the screen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.freedomqueen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgetjamesling/

Image Credits

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