We were lucky to catch up with Ilissa Goman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ilissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was inspired to start ILISSA & Co. after witnessing the power of true authenticity in my previous businesses and relationships. I worked for years helping entrepreneurs with their businesses but had a hard time charging my own worth or owning my true talents and superpowers. I went on a big healing journey, starting in 2016, and so much has changed since then.
I was able to develop my SELFF method and have now gone on to add a certification in HeartHealing™ to my work; taking us from working with clients on the surface level to diving in so much deeper. My team handles the implementation work with our clients, building the brands that I have dreamt up alongside my clients.
Ilissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have been through a lot of trauma in my life, I chronicled a lot of it in my book, “Now Leaving Numb.” When writing the book I was inspired to dig in deeper with clients and that is when I signed on to study for my certification in HeartHealing™. In my life I have owned a variety of businesses, from a brick and mortar store to various service businesses. I didn’t hit my version of success until I did the healing work and found my real self. I then created ILISSA & Co., a one stop shop to dig in deep and then create.
So many of our clients were coming to us with what we dubbed ‘Franken-businesses”. They had worked with so many other people that their view points were really washed away and they were stuck in all the “should’s and supposed to’s”that other people wanted for them. Because of the variety of people with their hands in the pot, all the pieces also weren’t cohesive; a funnel built by one person, website by another, overall branding by a third.
With ILISSA & Co., we have a whole team of implementors. You work with myself on that initial healing and strategy, we sometimes even incorporate your Human Design (a really fun thing to learn about!) and then you are able to have the team build everything for you. Our team handles everything from social media management, website development, branding + identity, virtual assistance services, photography and more!
Have you ever had to pivot?
One of my first businesses was a brick and mortar baby products retail shop. I had worked so hard for years to make it a reality and finally had the opportunity to launch it as a small pop-up shop inside of another business, using all my credit limit and a prayer. It went pretty well in that space, so I decided to look for my own space. At the same time I was earning my infant and child sleep coach certification, through the Family Sleep Institute.
I found a small shop that would work perfectly. Around the very same time I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. While pregnant, I was incredibly sick. I worked almost every day at the shop, I didn’t have a budget for employees. I offered the products for sale, classes in store and I became certified as a child passenger safety tech to get people into the store by offering free car seat checks.
When she was born, I had about 10days off and then took her to the store with me. When she was about 3m old, it was time to renew the lease. I knew it couldn’t continue how it was, so I made the decision to pivot the products online and go full in as a sleep coach which was all online services.
11 years later and I still run the sleep coaching business to this day, almost entirely on referrals. While trying to figure out the logistics of that business. I had to learn all the skills that run ILISSA & Co. today.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I grew all my businesses with almost $0 to start. I have no college education, I’ve been completely self-taught and took all the free classes I could to learn what I needed to. When I started to really make money, I always dumped most of it back into my businesses. I drove hand-me-down cars and we did what we needed to do to get by. The skills I learned from not just being handed money are what taught me everything I needed to learn to run a successful business and to help others innovate in their own ideas.
We now have a Girl at the Gas Station initiative with ILISSA & Co. I worked at a gas station right out of high school, it was my only “real” job. I worked so hard and it never seemed to make a difference, I knew I was meant for more. The GGS initiative will be growing this year to provide low-cost business education and development to those who need it. We hope to grow it much larger in the future to have as much impact as possible. I want those girls who think they don’t have a chance to know how much magic they are full of, that they can make anything they want happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ilissaandco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilissaandco
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilissaandco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilissa-goman/
Image Credits
Yellow Shirt photographs of Ilissa are by Hannah Rosie Photography and Beach Photo by Ashley Rita Photography