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

Hi Ilka, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

THE SHIFT IS ALREADY IN MOTION. YOU’RE EITHER LEADING IT OR WATCHING IT HAPPEN.
I didn’t wait for permission. I didn’t ask if the world was ready.
I built Worldwide HER because the future of global influence demands a new infrastructure.

Women aren’t just building businesses. They’re shifting markets.
They aren’t just gaining leadership positions. They’re rewriting the blueprint.
They aren’t waiting for opportunities. They’re creating them in real time.

But here’s what’s been missing—synchronization.

Global movements don’t happen by accident. They happen when the right people move with precision, power, and alignment.
That’s what I built.

WHY WORLDWIDE HER EXISTS
Not because women need another “network.” Not because they need another motivational moment.

Because when powerful women move at the same time, the entire landscape shifts.

I created Worldwide HER because global-scale execution requires a different level of thinking, access, and infrastructure.

This isn’t about visibility. It’s about velocity.
This isn’t about seats at the table. It’s about owning the entire area of gifts and genius.
This isn’t about slow growth. It’s about acceleration at scale.

For too long, women have moved individually, at different paces, in different spaces.
Now? We move together.

THIS ISN’T A MOMENT. IT’S A MECHANISM.
I’m not here to “empower.” I’m here to activate.
To create the structure where high-caliber women don’t just step into their next level—they move the global economy, influence, and power structure simultaneously.

I built Worldwide HER for the woman who commands her space.
The one who isn’t looking for permission. The one who knows that alignment is the new currency and synchronized movement is the real power.

This is not just an idea.
This is the new global infrastructure.

The shift is already happening. The only question is—are you moving with it?

Ilka, 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?

WHEN THE GROUND STARTS SHIFTING, YOU MOVE WITH IT—OR YOU GET LEFT BEHIND.
I don’t just create businesses. I create movements.
I don’t just build programs. I build systems that shift lives.

I am Ilka Torres Murray—

Founder & Owner of Own Your Shift®
Founder & Creator of Worldwide HER
Founder of WomanAlive Global (Philanthropic Arm)
Real Estate Investor
Ministry Leader for Over Two Decades
Everything I create has one mission: to move people from limitation to full execution, from hesitation to domination, from surviving to scaling.

HOW I GOT INTO THIS SPACE
My husband and I started a ministry over two decades ago. Through ministry, community leadership, and strategic partnerships with local and federal government agencies, I curated programs specifically designed to equip, empower, and activate women.

But I saw the gap—faith alone wasn’t enough. Inspiration wasn’t enough.

Women needed real systems, real execution strategies, and real infrastructure to move at their highest level—whether they were just starting, needing a shift, or scaling.

So I built the bridge.

Through my education and training, I integrated faith, practical strategy, and business systems so women could have a clear, executable roadmap for success. But what took everything to another level? My ability to merge revelation with strategy, creative vision with execution, and deep transformation with high-level systems.

I created in-person events, online experiences, and movement-based programs that didn’t just inspire—but activated immediate movement. That’s the foundation of everything I build.

WHAT I CREATE & WHO I WORK WITH
I don’t do surface-level.
I don’t do slow.
I don’t do small.

I create elite-level transformation through high-impact programs, frameworks, and movement-based ecosystems.

🚀 My Signature Programs & Platforms:

Worldwide HER University – A high-level platform for women ready to move with precision, power, and execution.
Sweet But Savage Marriage – A real, unapologetic, transformative approach to building a marriage that thrives in purpose and power.
Capstone Faith Activation Program – Designed for those ready to fully activate their faith, gifts, and calling in a way that produces results.
Own Your Shift® Courses – Where faith meets execution, and personal transformation meets strategic elevation.
Children’s Book: Adventure Dave – A creative, faith-driven children’s series built to spark purpose in the next generation.
I work with leaders, executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performance individuals who are done waiting. They’re ready to shift, scale, and build with impact.

If you’re looking for slow, safe, and comfortable, I’m not for you.
If you’re looking for disruption, acceleration, and mastery-level execution—this is where you belong.

WHAT SETS ME APART?
I don’t just teach people how to play the game.
I show them how to break the system and build their own.

I don’t do theory—I do results. Strategy without execution is just talk. Everything I build creates immediate, high-impact movement.
I create acceleration. If you work with me, expect your mindset, strategy, and execution speed to shift permanently.
I merge faith, business, and high-level systems. You don’t have to choose between purpose and success. I show people how to align both for unstoppable impact.
WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF
Not the titles. Not the accolades. But the real, measurable, unstoppable shifts I’ve created in the lives of those I lead.

Watching women move from stagnation to full execution.
Seeing leaders own their voice, their position, and their influence.
Building programs that don’t just inform, but transform.
Worldwide HER exists because movement at scale requires structure.
Own Your Shift® exists because transformation requires execution.
Capstone exists because faith should be activated, not just believed in.

This is not just an idea.
This is the new global infrastructure.

The shift is already happening. The only question is—are you moving with it?

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I BUILT FROM NOTHING—NOW I BUILD GLOBAL MOVEMENTS
At first? It looked like I built it myself. Because I did.

No fancy agency, no expert team—just me, Google, and a whole lot of trial and error.

I remember someone once asked me, “Where are the balloons, the food, the decorations? It’s for women!”

At the time, I was annoyed. Now? I laugh.

I didn’t have money for balloons—even if I blew them up myself. I wasn’t focused on decorations. I was focused on impact.

And when I started? There was no fancy social media presence.
No Instagram promotions, no viral TikToks, no Facebook ads. Just footwork and hustle.

We were:
Creating flyers and handing them out at the mall.
Placing them on car windshields.
Asking people—nonstop—to show up, to bring someone, to support.

ASK. ASK. ASK.
Ask people to help.
Ask people to bring people.
Ask people to support your vision.

Because if you’re not bold enough to ask, you’re not ready to build.

HOW I FUNDED MY BUSINESS & HOW YOU CAN TOO
I didn’t start with investors, grants, or a big financial backing.
I started with a vision, a phone call, and a bold ask.

A lot of people think you need the perfect setup, the polished website, the curated space to launch your business. But here’s the real question:

Can you impact someone through a conversation?
Can you gather five people in a coffee shop and shift their mindset?
Can you get on the phone and move someone to invest in your idea—just because of how much you believe in it?

Because if you can do that? You already have what you need to start.

I asked the people around me to seed into my vision. Not just in belief, but financially. I shared what I was building, I asked them to buy into the movement before it even had a name.

And when I say I built with what I had?
That sometimes meant I built with nothing.

No fancy marketing—just impact.
No perfect platform—just the ability to get people in a room and shift them.
No big-stage opportunities—just small, intimate spaces where my voice could move people.

That’s how you start. That’s how you prove your concept before the world even sees it.

FUNDING YOUR VISION—THE MULTIPLE WAYS TO GET STARTED
There are multiple ways to fund your vision. You just have to be bold enough to ask, disciplined enough to reinvest, and strategic enough to scale.

1. ASK & ACTIVATE YOUR CIRCLE – You’ll be shocked at how many people are willing to support you if you just ask. Ask people to seed into your vision, buy your book, invest in your course, or simply donate to what you’re building.

2. BOOTSTRAP & SELF-FINANCE – Use your own revenue to reinvest. I built my business this way—one product at a time. Once one product made money, I took a percentage of that revenue and used it to expand into the next one.

3. APPLY FOR FUNDING & GRANTS – There are grants, pitch competitions, and investment groups looking for people like you. If you believe in your vision, put it in front of people who have the resources to help you scale.

4. ONLINE CAMPAIGNS & PRE-SALES – Crowdfunding, pre-launch campaigns, and affiliate marketing can create early momentum. Before you even launch, sell the vision first.

5. REFINE WHAT’S WORKING, PULL WHAT’S NOT – Not everything will hit the way you think it will. If a product isn’t working, that doesn’t mean it’s a failure—it just might not be the right time. Know when to pivot, when to refine, and when to pull back to reintroduce later.

THE REALITY OF BUILDING YOUR OWN PLATFORM
A lot of people overcomplicate the process.

You think you need a custom-coded site, a perfect marketing team, or the best branding experts.
No—you need to commit and be consistent.

Get your website online. Use templates from Wix, Canva, Shopify, Kajabi—whatever works.
Market with what you have. There are so many apps and pre-made templates that make it easier than ever.
Get searchable. Teach yourself SEO, content marketing, and visibility strategies.

If I can go from DIY to digital dominance, so can you.

THE TWO KEYS TO GROWTH: PRAYER & CONSISTENCY
Google will give you knowledge. But God gives you strategy.

Pray for clarity, pray for insight, pray for execution. Because God doesn’t give you a vision for it to sit in your head—He gives it to you so it can impact people.

People will come.
But you have to build first.
You have to move first.
You have to stay consistent when no one’s watching, when no one’s buying, when no one’s clapping.

That’s how I built this.
That’s how you build yours.

Master what you have now—so when more comes, you’re already ready for it.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

WHEN I SHOOK UP THE FAITH-BASED SPACE & TOOK A RISK ON BOLD MARKETING—AND IT PAID OFF
Everyone online was talking about transformation, growth, and mindset shifts. And in the faith-based community? It was the usual: “Just pray, and God will take care of it.”

And listen—I believe that 1000%. But what about after the altar call?

What about the women who needed strategy? Who needed a plan? Who needed real, executable steps to move?

I had built an incredible, creative program for women who weren’t just looking for a breakthrough moment—but a breakthrough system. A way to actually shift, start, survive, and scale.

I took a risk.

I changed everything about how I presented myself and my brand.
I stepped outside of what was “expected” and went all-in on what I knew worked.
I gave them something they had never seen from me before—and some people couldn’t handle it.

THE MARKETING THAT SHOCKED MY AUDIENCE
I wore a corset in my promo shots—one that looked almost see-through but wasn’t.
I went platinum blonde instead of my usual dark brown.
I used a play on words—“Own Your Shift®”—and let people decide what they thought it meant.
I went bold, blunt, and disruptive in my messaging.

Most people? They would have softened the message, played it safe, watered it down.

But I knew that if I wanted this to really impact women globally, I had to break out of the box people had put me in.

And here’s where it got crazy:

The DMs flooded in. The calls came nonstop.
Some people were OUTRAGED.
Some unfollowed me, dismissed me, judged me, or “couldn’t believe I was doing this.”

But guess what?

Even more people stayed.
Even more new people found me, followed me, and joined the movement.
Even more women saw what I was saying and realized—this was what they were missing.

THE LESSON?
Don’t be afraid to disrupt the space you’re in.
If you believe in what you’re building, go all-in—even if it’s not your usual style.
Some people will walk away, but the right people will show up.

I could have played it safe. I could have toned it down.

Instead? I shifted.

And I built a movement that wasn’t just faith-based—but faith-activated.

So if you feel like your next move is outside the norm—make it anyway.
If you feel like shifting might shock people, do it anyway.
If you know your vision is bigger than people’s opinions, run with it anyway.

Because safe doesn’t shift the world. But bold, unapologetic execution does.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.worldwideher.com
• Twitter: @ilkatmurray
• Youtube: @ilkamurray
• Other: www.worldwideher.com/capstone
  www.worldwideher.com/sweet

Image Credits

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