We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shelly Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shelly below.

Shelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

I have had the most challenging trouble keeping coaches. See, everyone needs help from time to time. When I started my business, I did not know about finding my audience or branding. So this year, I took the time to learn by hiring a coach. Well, my first coach quit on me. Her reason was that she was going to work with active clients. Now I have two pre-existing illnesses. I had to reschedule twice. In the other sessions, I was there and present in living color. Nor was there a contract stating that you had to attend every session. So that ended abruptly.

Then I found another coach. Now I had been following her a while. She would share nuggets of unsought advice with me via email or phone. So I thought she seems to care. Let me give her a chance. So the sessions began. I made 2 payments. I missed 2 sessions because I had college tests to take. I am currently pursuing an MBA. Now I needed one week to make my next payment because that is when my check came. She agreed with that. Then she texted me and wanted to talk on Monday. I called her and she started saying that she was not going to work for free. Her course was on Teachable. I had no plans of logging in due to nonpayment. I was going to wait until I got paid. I told her she could lock the course if she did not trust me. Then she had the nerve to say that if I could not pay now that it would continue to happen. Life and emergencies occur in my life. I was always taught to take care of home first. So her ultimatum was to get on the phone and started asking people. She gave me until midnight. Now I thought about this. Why would I borrow from others just to put myself in a hole? She texted me around 6 pm and asked how things were going. I emailed her and told her to please remove me from the program. Later I found out that she unfriended me on Facebook. Then 2 weeks later she comes sending me a text telling me how she just did a masterclass and how I would have enjoyed it. Then another time she texted me and told me that she had a client for me. I texted back: Thank you for thinking of me. Please send me the client’s info. She texted: Do you have a $200 bonus referral program. I told her that I have not implemented a referral program yet. Needless to say, she never gave me the client info. At this point, I will ignore and block all messages. I don’t know what her motive is. So those are my crazy coach stories.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I help aspiring Christian writers profit from their testimony by self-publishing books that uplift and encourage – without all the guesswork! Let me help you go from aspiring writer to published and profitable author. I began this business in 2015. I have self-published 2 books and I am almost finished with my 3rd one. I have helped around 20 clients to write and self-publish their books.

I offer coaching sessions. I am getting ready to offer writing and self-publishing courses. Writing is my passion. I feel that we all have a story that can help someone to overcome.

My clients know that I am a Christian and that I will treat their books like my own. They trust me to get the job done right.

I get very excited when the author holds their book for the very first time. It is an experience that I love to see.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There was a time when I wanted to give up. I was doing my first virtual book tour. I posted about it on social media and sent out invites. The day of the event only one person showed up and she was a stranger. She stayed for 5 minutes and then she went to other virtual rooms. I thanked her for showing up. Got off my laptop and went to my room and cried. I told God I am done.

Later that day, a friend reached out and asked how did it go. I told her via FB messenger that I quit. No one cared about me nor wanted to support me. She responded back but I would not answer. She texted, I responded that I did not want to talk. So she called me. She told me “No you are not giving up. Go ahead and cry. Do whatever it takes to accept this rejection. Then you get back up and keep going.”

Later another person asked how it went and I told him the same thing. He said, ” No queen. Do not quit.”

Then my mother called. She could not attend due to a previous engagement. I told her that I quit. I told her that no one ever supports me. She gave me some encouragement.

Those 3 people gave me the courage to keep going. They cared when no one else did.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned that just because Shelly Lee wrote a book did not mean that everyone would buy my book. I had to learn that everyone was not going to support me. That is why it is so important to find and know your readers. Your readers are the ones that will purchase your books. Your audience will buy your courses. Everyone is not interested in what you have. I had to learn that everyone who shows interest is not genuinely interested. They are just nosey or just waiting to see you fail.

So I have been working on finding my audience. It has not been easy, but I am on the right path. I am not quitting. God gave me the gift of writing, and I intend to keep using it to encourage others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.payhip.com/penpaperpublish
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shellyleebooks
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorshellylee
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1205313446583886