Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Malaun Rice. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Malaun, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
My background is in Marketing. I worked in advertising, entertainment and for the federal government. My goal was to be a Vice President of a big corporation. You could have never paid me to believe then I would be where I am now. Going through my healing process led me to pursuing being a life coach. I felt like if I had a “me” earlier in my life, maybe my story would be different. So, I started paying attention to Iyanla Vanzant and I attended one of Tony Robbins events. I felt for the first time I had purpose! I applied for an LLC and began training with Lisa Nichols and Iyanla Vanzant over a 3 year span. The number one thing I learned was my degrees in marketing were useful BUT they don’t teach you to be a business owner in college. They teach you to work for them! Marketing for a corporate client and marketing for yourself is two TOTALLY different beasts. I had to figure out who my client really was, although I feel everyone needs what I have. I had to figure out what to post on social media, what events to plan, building systems and marketing funnels and budgeting for the “thing” I needed next. It is ALOT! Owning a business is NOT for the weary and faint of heart. It takes consistency (which I lack at times, I am not perfect!) and passion! As a business owner you are always learning.
Malaun, 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?
I got into the industry of life coaching because I have a true desire to help people heal from traumas. I AM NOT A THERAPIST! I am a woman who has healed (and still healing!) from my past traumas and learned how to manage my emotions. I had to unlearn alot of things…alot! What I do with my clients is coach them to discover the best version of themselves by teaching them things I learned. I am also a speaker so I tell my story very honest and transparent. I want people to know that life is on the other side of pain. You don’t have to carry that pain with you forever. What makes me happy is seeing them fight past the shame, guilt or embarrassment and finding out who they were prior to this life shattering event stopping their life.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I am not a super fan of social media because I see some of the negativity! However, I understand the power of it. What I learned is to build organically. Sure, you can hire a company to get you 5k followers but if it doesn’t bring you money, what’s the point? Post things that match your brand and theme. Post pictures of you occassionally having fun, people want to know that you are human. Lastly, be consistent!
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
Make sure you hire people that believe in your product. The worst thing ever is having someone on your team that cannot represent you properly when you are not around. Make sure as a leader that you are in tune with the strengths of the people you hire. This will allow your company to grow stronger and keep your team happy doing something they thrive in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mdriveinc.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/malaunrice
- Facebook: facebook.com/msrice22