We were lucky to catch up with Tammy Durden recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tammy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

I always knew that if I had enough work to share I would share it with other disabled professionals so they could work from home as well. I did not start out trying to set up a business, yet there I was getting client referrals for my virtual assistant business. It was not as easy as that and at one point I nearly gave up and stopped altogether! Yet as I continued to plug away and build the business one client at a time, I soon realized I needed more help.

My first step was to work with the Division of Blind and Visually Impaired (part of our DARS in Virginia). They were able to help me speak with the right disabled persons who wanted to work from home. From there I contracted a couple of people to begin working from their homes to help me with clients. This is how I built my VA Agency.

My next step was learning from my mistakes. I not only contracted with disabled (mostly) but also other freelancers. One thing I learned early on in scaling my business is that I wanted to work with those who did not like marketing their own services and trying to build their own business. The reason was that I often Mentored at least one to two new VAs every year and if I also contracted them to begin working with me what I found happened was that they began growing their business (from many of the lessons and skills I taught them) and soon would drop doing work with me. It paid more for them to work directly with their clients and I couldn’t blame them for wanting to make more, however, it left me needing people.

One step I took was to put processes and systems into place. So when someone did leave the team, no matter who I had to replace, our clients did not see a disruption in services. In fact, one of the highest compliments I received from a client was that my processes were so seamless when a new team member was onboarded they never saw any change in services from us. This also saved my business several years ago. As we grew and took courses (my team and I) we transitioned into a small Digital Marketing Agency. Five years ago I went into the hospital, nothing too serious. Just over 24 hours after being admitted I suddenly coded and went into respiratory arrest and nearly died. Thankfully I recovered but it took nearly a full month before I could be up to full speed again in the business. Had my awesome team not been in place and completely taken over for me because we had systems and processes in place, I would not have had a business to come back to at all.

The last thing I will say about scaling your business is to pick quality character over skill when selecting team members. You can teach skills but by the time they come to you, it is very difficult to build character. There is a system to scaling and it should be done a step at a time. It is, of course, much easier if you have someone alongside you to help.

After building both agencies, I was also mentoring, teaching online, and coaching on the side. At the end of 2020, I exited the agency so I could focus on business coaching and helping others build, grow, and scale their dream businesses. It was the next step in my business journey and love where I am today.

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

I am Tammy Durden, a business coach, mentor, speaker, and online instructor. I began doing business coaching alongside building my digital marketing agency because I was beginning to get requests. It came out of a large online learning community I was a Mentor and Instructor with at the time in the group. It seemed like a natural fit.

As a disabled professional, I love to help other disabled professionals succeed online. Although I work with all kinds of women, many do come to me because they know I know what it is like to try to build a business while suffering from a chronic illness like Multiple Sclerosis and Lupus. I often work from bed and I give others permission to do the same.

I work with women online service providers and agency owners to help them grow and scale their businesses. I tell them that virtual hand-holding is included. I offer step-by-step help in getting you set up, then processes to analyze where you are and if we can increase your revenue, as well as, build an agency if that is where you are headed. I offer a 3 and 6 Month 1-on-1 Business Coaching Program. I also offer Mastermind Group Coaching programs that give a very affordable way to get help from me and other like-minded colleagues.

I am married to the love of my life. We have been married for over 37 years (together for over 40 now). We have 3 grown miracle children, as we were told we could not have any (God knows better, doesn’t He?). Two of our adult children have married so we have a wonderful daughter-in-love and a son-in-love. They have given us 5 amazing grandchildren thus far. We live in Virginia where we are very involved in ministry as my husband is the Pastor of our local church (we have been in ministry for over 25 years).

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to pivot my business twice. Once from a VA Agency into a small Digital Marketing Agency because clients began to need those services so we learned the skills. The second pivot this, at the end of 2020, I exited the agency so I could focus on business coaching and helping others build, grow, and scale their dream businesses. It was also necessary for my health as I have MS, Lupus, plus a few others. This was the next natural step in my business journey and love where I am today.

It was not an easy decision as I had clients and team members that I couldn’t just drop. Therefore, I worked with a colleague I knew could take care of them all. She and I decided to transition all clients and team members over to her management and business. Those processes in place helped so much along with a great team that knew how to work on all of our current clients. So the transition was not without its challenges it did work.

The first thing I did was to approach my colleague with the offer including a percentage for myself as a referral partner. After we discussed it at length and how it could work, I moved to the next step.

Next, I prepared an email and explained, in an upbeat tone, about my exciting next step in this entrepreneurial journey. I explained that I was not just letting them go but who I was sending them to as well as our (her’s and mine) willingness to meet with everyone. We offered time slots that they could sign up for to meet both myself and my colleague. This worked very well most every client. I will not say it was 100% but nearly because it was 90% effective in making sure everyone was satisfied and happy (there is always that 1 client, right?).

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients for me has been SEO blogging, email marketing, strategic partnerships, and social media.

SEO Blogging is great to begin to rank with SEO on Google and other search engines. Create titles that answer questions your prospective clients might ask you. Use YoastSEO Plugin to help you populate the keywords and your meta descriptions.

Email marketing is great because they are a warm audience already following you and interested in skills or services. Make sure you have a good free offer so they are willing to give you their email address (real one). Remember to thank them as well as send a warm welcome. One thing I remember hearing long ago was to give your email lists something extra every so often as they were kind enough to allow you into their inbox. Whether that is another free offer, money off a special offer, or some great advice you don’t give anyone else, make them feel special.

Strategic partnerships or even referrals can be a wonderful resource for new clients. This can work in a number of ways, but the best way is to approach someone (or a small company) that does not offer the same services you do but offers complimentary services. For instance, if you offer social media management, then partnering with someone who offers content creation may be a great partner. It can work in a number of ways. You can simply set it up so that you will always refer those needs to her/him and they do the same for you. Another option is that you can ask for a fee, usually a percentage of the package every month that the person you refer to them pays. You can also be creative in it by offering your services to them if they will give their services back to you. There are so many ways to set this one up so be creative and see what works best for you and your prospective partners. Start reaching out and approaching those possible partners now.

Social media is also a great way to attract clients. You must be consistent with your content to gain regular followers. Post helpful tips, quotes, and questions. Post on your profile (turn it into a professional one on Facebook) and also post in groups with questions and offers (if allowed).

Be vigilant in all of these. Clients will not pour in but they will come one by one if you are consistent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fearlessbusinessboss.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/fearlessbusinessboss
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FearlessBusinessBoss
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammydurden/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fearlessbizboss
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fearlessbusinessboss
• Other: FB Profile: https://www.facebook.com/tammydurden4