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

Hi Elise Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

There I was having a virtual coffee chat with a puppet. I was ecstatic. I mean how many people show up to a networking event and find themselves face to face with a puppet? What an amazing way to make sure no one ever forgets you!

Let me take you back to the beginning and paint the scene…

It was December of 2022 and I knew it was time to jump on the bandwagon and pick a focus word for 2023. What was even more challenging was that I knew this year I would be leaning into my weaknesses instead of my strengths, for the first time in my 7 year old business. It was scary. I was nervous. But, I chose my word. It was “connection”.

I knew that this was the year I would have to overcome my somewhat introverted tendencies (which I had never realized I had until 2022) and focus on connecting with others so that we could grow our businesses together.

I had seen the evidence all around me. Groups of amazing women building their businesses together helped them to grow so much faster. Each woman brought different connections and clients into the mix which meant that together they had a vast network of people to help. It also meant they had built in friends who wanted to help them grow and would offer advice and support when they needed it.

We all know the saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. JFK knew the secret and I was going to dive in and see if it was true.

So I started attending online networking groups (still not ready to show up somewhere in person), I started joining Facebook groups focused around connection. I started leaning into something I wasn’t really sure I wanted to do. There were bumps. I got in trouble in a few groups for not posting the “right” things. I got overwhelmed and crashed after too much people-ing time and time again.

But then it happened. My prayers were answered when I was invited to a networking event and then impossibly was allowed to join a mastermind that wasn’t accepting members. In that mastermind I was taught HOW to connect. I was given the tools to do it. I was surrounded by other women who were struggling to do exactly the same thing.

I started doing what they said. WE ALL started doing what we were taught TOGETHER. The changes were immediate. The first month I paid for the mastermind with revenue from the connections I started to build. When I crashed, someone was there to encourage me to keep going. I was no longer doing this business thing alone. But, I still had full control of my business.

One of the big changes I made was that I started doing coffee chats. Up to this point I had honestly thought it was a waste of time. But from those coffee chats I connected with people who wanted help. I connected with people who could help me. I grew my business and I started to believe I could do this “connection” thing after all.

That’s what led me to the meeting with the Paige the Puppet.

She needed help with her YouTube channel, which is my expertise. So, I offered a free 15-minute coffee chat. It was in the middle of a crazy day for me. I had already taught a 2 hour web class, had a q&a session with members of my group coaching program, met-up with new people in several other coffee chats, and had attended a few speed networking meet-ups. I was really already at my people-ing limit.

But when she showed up, I couldn’t stop smiling.

It reminded me why I do what I do. I LOVE the thrill of going into a chat/meeting/call with no clue what is going to happen. I LOVE the challenge of figuring out a solution to new questions that I had never anticipated. I LOVE that I never quite know what is going to happen next and that whatever it is I’ll be able to handle it.

Paige the Puppet was the reminder that I was going in the right direction.

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 started my business life 7 years ago as a maker. It all started with fabric binder covers for my elementary school daughter and then spiraled into bags, hats, jewelry, and scrapbooks. Like many creatives I was multi-passionate and found it difficult to focus on just one creative outlet.

But I had something that many of my fellow makers lacked, an innate skill with technology. After they recognized the ease with which I understood the technology that is a necessity, they pushed me to start teaching them how to use it. I discovered a patience I didn’t know I possessed and a skill with simplifying the most complicated tech to the point that anyone could grow their business with it.

That is how I started the journey to become an ecommerce business mentor. Over the years I discovered new and different ideas and continuously pushed my clients to incorporate them into their businesses. I found excitement in the constant discovery and changing environment of the online world and was proud to be the one to translate it to the creatives that I so adored.

I wanted to bring my message and systems to more makers, so that they too could grow their businesses. But for years I struggled with YouTube. I just couldn’t seem to reach (and help) those multi-passionate creatives share their messages and bring beauty to the world.

But that all changed when TikTok emerged. Many of my clients were curious about this new social media platform and asked me to investigate. As I started playing and experimenting with TikTok, I recognized a connection between this fun, silly platform and YouTube. I started publishing my TikTok videos to YouTube Shorts and discovered the 2 part system that continues to grow my YouTube channel (and more importantly my website traffic) to this day.

As I shared this new content strategy with my fellow entrepreneurs, they once again requested that I share my discovery. The problem was that the strategy appealed to more than just the ecommerce creatives I had been working with for the past 7 years. So at the request of a close friend, I expanded my business into a completely different area. I became a YouTube Strategist and started helping all entrepreneurs understand YouTube SEO and utilize the Double Trouble method of content creation.

What I found was that focusing on just one type of content no longer works. There are 2 essential pieces to creating a content strategy that will bring you clients who come to you again and again. First, you must create viral content that will put you in front of a constant stream of new people. We all know that without traffic a business dies. Second, you must prove to them that you know what you are talking about, or they will simply move on to the next video. But when you have answers to all their burning questions you establish yourself as an expert they can trust to come to again and again for answers.

Now I have the privilege of working with creatives in all industries, which gives me a very unique perspective. I often find that strategies that work well in one industry have a very similar counterpart in another industry. With my wide client base I get to share strategies with my clients that they may never have considered otherwise.

I am certain their are more twists and turns in the future and I look forward to conquering them with creative and innovative strategies so that we can all live our dreams together.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

As a perfectionistic, introvert I have a fiercely independent streak. I’ve learned over the years that it’s faster and more efficient to just do everything myself.

But, there comes a point where there simply aren’t enough hours in the day and you come to the realization that you NEED help if you want to continue your business.

That’s when I started hiring virtual assistants to help with video editing and other repetitive tasks. Slowly I began trusting people more and more. Now I have a team of 4 supporting all aspects of my business. It’s still not easy, but it had to be done so that I could live the life I want.

But the journey still isn’t over, the next step is to connect with other business owners and make friendships and collaborations so that we can grow our businesses together.

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

Building your social media following is a step-by-step process. I tell all my clients to just do it one step at a time.

As a big proponent of batching, I recommend starting with focusing on just one post a week. In other words, come up with 52 pieces of content and schedule them in a social media scheduler (my favorite is Metricool).

Then focus on a second piece of content and get that created and scheduled. It’s amazing how quickly batching can fill up all 365 days of the year by focusing on just one day at a time.

Then comes video creation. Video is the secret sauce of social media and after you’ve created evergreen content for an entire year you are ready to conquer it. I recommend a simple 2 step strategy for video that takes just 15 minutes a day.

First you need to use disposable viral content so that you can get NEW eyes on your content every day. All short form vertical video formats are shown to more people than standard posting (YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Pinterest, etc). So by using this content you reach more NEW people.

Second, you need to create FAQ videos that answer your audience’s most burning questions to establish yourself as an expert. These videos also work across platforms. Their value is in showing your audience that you have answers to all their questions which means they’ll want to come back to you again and again. This means they’ll follow you on social and you’ll be able to continuously give them new content.

When you use these two pieces of video content and repurpose them across platforms you will be getting more bang for your time buck!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://myscheduledbiz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myscheduledbiz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MSBizers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/my-scheduled-biz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/myscheduledbiz/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@myscheduledbiz
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@myscheduledbiz