We were lucky to catch up with Elle Collins recently and have shared our conversation below.

Elle , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Becoming an entrepreneur with NO income, savings, or connections has to be the biggest financial risk one could ever take.

Here my husband (Mounir Collins AKA Mo) & I were at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic crisis…Unemployed, Stuck, & Stressed out. We had both been laid off by our jobs trying to figure out how we were going to survive with our then two-year-old. Right before the pandemic had struck, I started working at a marketing agency assisting the owner and learning the ends & outs of digital marketing. Mo & I both had prior experience assisting businesses with their social media as well as promotions/advertisements. I knew I personally had a special touch when it came to helping companies bring in sales & attract audiences because of my unique approach to marketing. My growing 20,000,000 Local Guide- Google following & business success rate, proved I was a natural. Mo had an undeniable talent for creating online content art & understanding the flow of algorithms.

Next thing we knew we would be taking the stimulus checks we received & launching our own firm.

Beck & Call Marketing Agency was given life in October 2020. I wish I could say it was as simple as designing the logo, obtaining an LLC, & then raking in the dough. It wasn’t. In fact, it was the hardest time of our lives & we struggled silently while continuing to manifest our dream into a reality. We were half a year behind on rent, donated plasma, worked Instacart, & found odd jobs to keep us from going back to work. Eventually, we had everything we needed in order to start promoting our business to pull in clients.

We had many obstacles to jump through before gaining the trust of businesses in our area. Being a Young, Black, & New business gave people little hope that we could actually pull this off. Nonetheless, we kept our faith & overcame all odds. Here we are today with 15 clients, two of which are corporate. We also launched a second business, Mo’elle Photography accompanied by our five-year-old Markel Amir, one of the youngest published photographers in the US. Very proud of our successes & still have so much more up our sleeves. We will continue putting it all on the line because without risk there is no reward.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Beck & Call Marketing Agency is rare because we have created a one-stop shop. What started with just Mo & I, is now housing 6 more highly extraordinary individuals with hand-picked skills to cover all marketing needs. We like to think of our group as the Avengers of Digital Marketing. Not one employee is more vital to our company than the next. By building a team, where each person has a purpose for Beck & Call’s success, we will grow with intent. Our clients know that when bringing a task to our attention it will be handed off to the most qualified person on the team.

Mo & I both knew we never wanted to clock in on someone else’s dream, ever again. Working a 9-5 was no longer an option. We woke up every day with the intention of being our own bosses. Two years later we are here making our own lanes while setting the example for those to come. Our Endgame is to empower young individuals like ourselves to set what they may think are unattainable goals & completely surpass them.

Our brand survives on the thought that your mind is your greatest asset. You will only attract what you believe you deserve.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

We have learned the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is by staying consistent with your content plan as well as researching the audience you attract.

Before realizing who our target audience was we were shooting our shot at any business that came our way. We were Adam Levine’ing our way into every small business’s inbox. Going into it with the theory that if you keep spamming the internet with your services eventually someone will bite. NO, STOP THAT! It does more harm than good. You are wasting precious energy, as well as AD spend on individuals who are hitting “Hide AD” because they can’t relate to your material. And do you know what happens after that occurs too many times? You get shadowbanned, stuck in a corner where now nobody can see you. We don’t want that!

Research your audience, pinpoint their interest, funnel them, capture them. & BAM you got a sell!

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Being that my business partner/cofounder is my spouse, it makes things 10x more challenging. BUT because we already have trust, I believe it takes us 3 steps ahead of many other partners in business. We share the same core beliefs & visions for our brand. We have learned that in regards to working alongside one another we have to leave personal feelings out of the office. When we are experiencing frustrations, we remind ourselves that the success of our business is the most important thing. That being said, when managing our team we make sure to never let our personal life cross into the functions of our office. Your staff shouldn’t feel they are in the crossfire of two feuding partners. Finalize decisions together before bringing them to your team. They will respect you more & it will keep an inviting work environment.

Another great tip we picked up for creating a progressing work culture is to always make our employees feel heard, seen, & valued. We live by the 4 A’s- Approachable, Accountable, Appreciative, Available.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beckandcallmarketing.com & www.moellephotography.com
• Instagram: @beckandcallmarketingagency & @Moelleshots
• Facebook: Mo’elle Photography & Video
• Other: Email: [email protected] [email protected]

Image Credits
Photographer: Mo’elle Photography & Video IG: @moelleshots