Suzanne Chadwick
Elise, welcome to the brandbuilders Lab podcast.

Elise Daniels
Hello, thank you so much for having me.

Yeah, my pleasure. My pleasure. We chatted a little while ago when I was on your podcast, which is lovely. It's always nice to make party friends along the way.

I know I like I forget how much I love recording with other people. And I'm like, Oh, I'm not just talking to myself. This is delightful.

Suzanne Chadwick
I was thinking that too. I was just like, I've actually got a few interviews happening at the moment, which I'm batching. But I do do a lot of my own episodes. And I'm like, it is probably easier to like, have a conversation with somebody other than myself.

Elise Daniels
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's, it's a nice switch up like, look, I can, I can talk. never short of words. So I can entertain myself probably too easily by myself. But it is so nice to be able to. You just get like fun stuff always comes out when you get to bounce it off of other people, you know?

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, absolutely. So, so good. And it's funny, because like, I didn't know you before I was on your podcast. And I think sometimes because you're a business coach as well. I think sometimes people think that we all somehow know each other. And I've just like, I actually don't know.

Elise Daniels
Like the secret groups happening behind this little secret societies.

Suzanne Chadwick
Actually don't know, like a whole lot of business scope. So it was really nice to connect as well. So for my audience who don't know, you tell us a bit about you. Like, obviously, there's an accent that doesn't usually belong in Australia there. So give us a bit of background.

Elise Daniels
Absolutely. I'll try to keep it's a long winded stories. We'll try to keep this streamlined as possible. But I am originally from Canada. So I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, I moved here, oh my gosh, it's like 13 years, which is makes me feel very. It's crazy. And so I ended, I was finishing up some post grad, I had a bit of a long winded discovery of like what I really wanted to do, I did my bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy. Very, very useful degrees, don't regret them at all. And like, it just makes sense for the work I do now. So it's one of those things where it just ends up making sense when you follow those nudges and Anywho. So I was doing, I was working actually in marketing and PR when I met my now husband overseas, and I had decided I hated that. So I decided to go back to school and study holistic nutrition. I've always been very, very interested in health and always passionate about health and fitness and all of those things. So long story short, to meet my husband. Well, part, you know, some random guy at the time was very low. So one of those stories where like when you're not looking that's 100% When it happens, I remember specific conversations with some of my best friends being like, so what's going on with you? I'm like, Oh, nothing. He's Australian. It's not going anywhere. Like it's just kind of a summer romance sort of thing. And then here we are 13 years later. So I always done lots of travel through uni. And it's just one of my absolute favorite things to do in the world. And so it was very keen to come over here. He was had been overseas for a long time, like seven years. I think he was just ready to get his life together. I started to get back to it. So I came back here. Just fell in love with it. I'm I'm positive. I'm sure my family would say this. They're like once we knew she was going to Australia, we knew she was never coming back.

Suzanne Chadwick
Because it is beautiful, though it is gorgeous.

Elise Daniels
Yes, it's absolutely stunning. I do miss the mountains. But I've just always been like a summer human and like we live on the Gold Coast now by the beach, and just just everything. So came over here as a very poor backpacker was kind of just doing whatever jobs and then decided to keep pursuing the health Avenue and delved into yoga. So I kind of started my own business teaching yoga, became a pretty prominent teacher here in Brisbane, and then really kind of kicked off my first online business from there, which was a nutrition practice. And so that kind of started offline, moved it online. That was really my opera. I mean, I just did everything wrong in the best way in the sense of like, I just knew nothing about online business. I had a background in marketing and PR but it's just a different beast. And so that was just really my experiment with what am I doing? How do I get my head sorted? How do I actually commit fall in? So I worked that for a couple years while doing yoga at the same time and what I really noticed when I was working with clients was that like, of course, the food mattered, but nothing mattered. If we weren't getting to the root of the problem, like I could give you the best recommendations, I could give you the most up to date studies. But if we weren't actually figuring out what was going to change behaviour and habits, I was useless to them, basically, right. And so when I started to kind of notice that it was like, a realization I couldn't turn off in my brain. And I just wanted to follow that thread because I just saw it working so much better for my clients, where we were actually under able to get to like more of the, the mindset and the emotional and the stuff that was actually happening underneath. Underneath of physical habits that was really making the difference. And when I realized that, I just couldn't not want to follow that. And so I kind of had this realization where I was like, I love this. But this is just not the thing I'm really passionate about. So I had run that business for about three years. I always baggage and my, my, my capacity there, but I was like, actually grew to like, five 6k months, which really isn't bad at all. But it was just never, it just always felt like pulling mud up was really steep hill, like I was like, I just feel like something's off here. And when I have that realisation, I knew I had to make a change. So I literally pulled down my website, this is within like 48 hours pulled on my website, fired my clients closed down my membership, burns it to the ground, and then really sat with an in between space where I was like, what I really want to do is mindset and business coaching. By that time, I had been doing it for a while. And so a lot of people had kind of been coming to me being like, how do you do this whole thing on Facebook? What this is a long time ago, too. So I'm like, What is this? What are these groups? How are you making sale, like what is going on there? And so it just kind of follow that thread. And it was the scariest thing ever. I think that was way more scary than starting the first business because I kind of knew I'd landed on the thing. And so whilst it was really freeing, because I was like, Well, I've just done the thing that everyone's afraid of doing, which is like, failing and burning it down. So what do I have to lose it also, I was also so afraid of like people thinking I was just changing it because this was easy money. And you know, all of those things we have those fears we have. So I started a face a new Facebook group, I think I have like less than 20 people in there started to sign clients. And within like 12 weeks, we were hitting 10k months. And we've kind of only grown and scaled from there. So it's one of those things where it can sound like a lot of fast success. But it was also like four years of failure in the making. So I always like to share the full story behind that. Because it was the what has been so much of what supported me to grow. This company has just been doing it all wrong and living that firsthand, so that I can really reel my brain in and focus on the things that I really no matter. So very long winded story Sorry, guys.

Suzanne Chadwick
That's so good, I think it's always good to know, like, you know, I was talking to a client earlier. And she was just like, you know, people say that you shouldn't, you know, if you've got a great brand, then you shouldn't need to really mark it and all of this. And I'm just like, I just don't even understand that. Like, we all started somewhere. We started a Facebook group with 20 people, I started a Facebook group, when I first started my business as well. And I just think you just figure it out as you go. Like, it's not like, if you sit there, people are just gonna go do like, no, no, yeah, like, you've got to get out there and start networking and start building your community, which is what we're talking about today. And, and I just think, you know, if somebody's telling you that you shouldn't be marketing, or you shouldn't be, like figuring out how to get clients and that like you should just, it should just come. It's a lie. Like, let's be honest, it's a lie. But I love the fact that we go through those iterations as well, where it's, you know, the people who I love, they're like, Yeah, overnight success, 10 years in the making. And I just think it takes those mistakes and those iterations and the learning, and then you kind of find a groove, you find a thing. And then yeah, you're like, take everything that you've learned, and you start implementing it and seeing like more results.

Elise Daniels
100% Yeah, I did. I remember doing a Google because I was like, I want some evidence that this is not a thing so I can throw that lovingly and my clients faces when they come to me, complaining about it not working. And I think even in the last year, I researched this about six months ago, so I can't remember the exact amount but like McDonald's still spends billions of dollars on advertising. That is not because nobody knows who McDonald's is. It's because they understand that an order to continue to make sales. They have to just be in front of people and be like that reminders. So like, I love what you said there, because I think that's so true. And I think it's so disempowering, because like, what are your options than if someone's like, and I think the online space has done that a little bit in general over the last couple years of like, if you're doing sales calls, or if you're getting all this, like you're, you're, something's wrong, or you're like doing it wrong, right? What options do you have, and you just like sit in hope for the best. Like, it's just as an entrepreneur, I think our biggest power is really in being willing to experiment, make some, make some, take some action, throw things out there and just really learn from the feedback of what that is, because that's always going to be our best. And former, like our businesses will always tell us what's actually true there.

Suzanne Chadwick
And I also think that the markets always changing and so we have to be agile as business owners to, you know, I always say to clients, you either pay in time, or you paid money. So you can either spend, you know, however much you want on advertising, and funnels and lead gen and all the rest of it. Otherwise, you like, show up on the regular and you like build community, Build Content, build your audience, but there's something's gotta get like, you've got to choose one of those parts, you can't just like, sit and hope that something's going to miraculously work. Like you're gonna manifest it purely by doing nothing. And not showing up. So yeah, so I so interesting, we could like totally go on a tangent on that. But we weren't gonna have another conversation all about marketing, and all the rest of it. But this month, we are talking about building community, because I just think that I'm loving all of the new platforms that are coming that are very community first, where, you know, we've kind of have this time where it's still the time of courses and all the rest of it, but we kind of want to focus on how do we build community, and then what we teach them and how we support them are really secondary to creating an incredible and engaging community. So I know that it's something that you talk about really looking at how do we go deep with our audience? How do we build an engaged following that really wants to buy from us and this is just always a topic that I am here for, because I just love being around other awesome women, and feeling supported like you're not alone, otherwise, it can feel like a really lonely journey. So I would love to know, what have been the things that you've seen, or that you've done that have really helped you to do this well?

Elise Daniels
Great question. So it's so interesting, because I think, you know, there's so many like micro tactics and strategies we can use to create community. And we could talk about that. But I think what's more important is like, what actually makes any of those things work, right. Because ultimately, any platform works, you can grow community on Facebook groups, you could grow community on Instagram, you could grow community on LinkedIn, you could do it through, there's just like, tick tock, and there's just a million channels, email all of those places. So I always like to kind of start there, because I think it's so easy to get sucked into different things and think that like, well, this is the new thing, I need to do that and what I see to be so true, like the things that that has served me so well, and I see this work so well for my clients. And, you know, it's someone who has been able to grow a large company with a very small following. What I think is so important is like the depth we're willing to bring to any of those platforms. And I think this is just so true, especially now and I'll talk a little bit more about what I mean. But I think, you know, especially the current climate, we're in a bit of an age where there's just so much going on. And we're very overwhelmed and overstimulated as humans in general, right, which just simply means that our attention spans are even shorter. Like when I look at strategies that I would use or advise, like four years ago, they're very different to what is working now in the sense of like, you know, I think longer videos did really, really well, even a couple years ago, but now it's like, we've got like, three seconds to capture someone's attention. So if we're not doing that super effectively, then it's we're going to lose people and it's people aren't going to get a chance to go deeper. So I always like to think of this as like a two fold thing is like, thinking about the building of the community is like there's the attraction point where we have to get visible in front of the people and make it land pretty darn quickly, who we are, what we're about and what that means for whoever is consuming. We're not making it about our humans. We've lost them immediately. Like, we're all it's just our brains. We're all very innately selfish humans, where we're just looking for how does this solve my problem? Does this help me just like, that's just the filter our brains are unconsciously running on. So just thinking about that with your front end of the marketing is so important. And then remembering to that, like, the second layer is like depth. And I think that can look at like a whole bunch of different pieces. But the kind of intangible piece about this, that I just see to make the most impact. And I think, sometimes I shy away from talking about this, because it's hard to make it tangible. But we're gonna do that today is like, really being willing to show up and share your heart is, who you are and what you're about. And that can sound really delightful and lovely. But I think that's like the hardest and the most vulnerable stuff that we'll ever do in business because it's vulnerable. And it's easy to really get caught up in what should I be doing versus like, what really matters? What what do I believe? And what am I people really need to hear? And the more attention you can really pay to like, how do I really answer that question in a way that's going to make it make sense for where my people are at? I think that's really when we hear like a magnetic message that's like, where I always just think in Venn diagrams, this is just how my brain works. Like, that's where like, the overlap is between like, who you are, what you're about what problems you solve, and the awareness and the the stage of everything that your humans are at. And when you can kind of really then nail that piece and be willing to actually say what's true from who you really are. And what I mean from that is like, you know, I've been doing a lot of experimenting with reels, which I always swore I would never do. I didn't love that and jump on the bandwagon at the beginning was because like, I'm not really like a point and dance kind of human what I mean, I'm weird, I'm very, like, silly, and like all of those things apply. But I didn't really like now that it's like a lot wider in the sense of like, you can talk you can do this, it's less of like do a trending audio with the voiceover sort of thing. I was like, Oh, this, this is this is cool. This is me, like I can definitely show up in this. And what I've seen with myself, and what I've seen with clients lately is when we really just embody our own personality, and then leverage the tactic around that, that's when it really lands. And it is kind of like that intangibility of like, you can just get the vibe of like, who's actually showing up pretty authentically because it just hits and it it, it just hits in a different way. Like, it feels a little bit intangible. But I think you can when you think about the people you follow and the content you consume, I'm willing to bet that like they just resonate with you in a different way, whether it's like something you recognize in yourself, or it's thought provoking in a different way, or there's just different characteristics that are probably going to resonate with you in a different way. And so it's kind of where that like that Venn diagram, again, comes back to of like, the more you can really be willing to show up as you and be smart about the strategy. But also be willing to do the kind of inner works where you can show up and really not care how people are going to judge you what they're going to think about it the haters, you're probably going to get, the more you're really going to stand out to your right foot people and the more momentum you're gonna get, because especially right now, people that are just in a lot of mistrust in the online space, which I think makes sense. I think in any industry, when you have a big boom. When you don't have a regulated industry, there's going to be mistrust, like I always think about the online space compared to real estate in a way is where like, when it's like a seller's market, you get an influx of agents that come in. And the ones that stick around are the ones that are still there when it's more of a buyers market, because they're the ones who are like willing to actually go to that extra mile and like really build those connections and are going to create resales because of how they treat their humans and all of that. But I think that it's like legitimate that people have a bit of a mistrust, so we just have to be really willing, like I think so often. I see people that get really frustrated with like, I know I'm good at what I do. Why don't these people just know it? Like just Yeah, buy my damn thing. It's good. You know me.

Suzanne Chadwick
I love it. And something that I'm loving at the moment that I heard a while ago, and it's kind of everywhere now. But the whole thing of you are the niche. Yeah, I'm just like, I love that. Like, as somebody who talks a lot about personal branding, I do think that that's an amazing way to, I think it's a great way to build your audience, because it does come back to you being authentically you. And you know, there are people who I love where they talk about business, but they also show their dog and they talk about makeup, and I see a bit of their life. And then they, you know, tell me what's happening in their business. And it could be the successes as well as if fails. And I'm just like, I'm so here for it all. Like, I'm here for it all. I'm showing up, like whether you're talking about your dog, or you're talking about revenue, like tell me it almost doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. And I I think that sometimes, you know, one thing, we went to a Tony Robbins event A little while ago. And one thing that he was saying is be the inspiration, not the information. And I'm just like, I think we have been through a period where it's like, three things that you need to do in order to grow your brand, or, you know, here's three tips and very educational, which I think is still important. But I'm like, inspire me, and then I'll listen to it's kind of like a listen to what you have to say. But it keeps me coming back. Because there's more than just like, three tips. Do X?

Elise Daniels
Absolutely. Yeah, I agree fully. And I think it's, I think that's hard sometimes because I think we're, that's like not the easy answer our brains want. They're like, No, just fucking tell me what to do. This isn't the hard basket. And I get that. But I also think that this is actually what creates so much more ease long term in your business, when you get to just show up and actually share what you're thinking and really show your perspective on things and just say the thing, you really want to save your people that maybe you're shying away from saying because you're worried of how that will be received or Yatta, yatta yatta. You know, I use this example a lot. When I first started, I was so transparent. I was like, so I just burnt my business down. Here's why you should hire me as a business. And I was just very transparent about it. I was like, This is why I did it. Here's why I'm doing this, here's why I still think I can really help you. Here's the opportunity to jump in when I do have quite a lot of coaching experience and blah, blah, blah. And I just know it to be true that that is so the reason why I was actually able to sign clients really quickly. But it's very counterintuitive, because what we would think is like, well, I have to look like I've got all of my I've got everything together and that I absolutely endless. Not that I didn't know what I was doing. Course I did. But I was kind of willing to kind of carry them with me and take them along the journey and be really open about like, let's see what happens, like, Come follow me to see how we go here. But I think that was like, I see so many people really afraid to almost embody that because I think we see bigger names in the industry, whatever industry you're in, and you see how their marketing should and does look very different to your marketing, because there's different value ads at different stages. So I think that's such a good thing to keep in mind too. Because the mental conversations I have in the back end of like, well, I don't have like huge results to share, or I haven't created x y Z. And I'm like he just does not matter because the majority of the people you're likely serving arch are, you know, a couple steps at least behind you and like they like they need you to get to that next step. And of course, you can help them. So I think that's always so helpful to keep in mind too is that like, we don't need to put ourselves on pedestals, we don't have to look like we've got it all together. I certainly don't. And I think that's so much more relatable these days, too. I think a lot of people are very sick of that kind of vibe of like having it all together and putting on the perfect picture. And that's what makes humans ultimately purchase from you is that they feel interest and they feel in connection. And of course, we're running on the premise that you've got a great offer, that you know what you're doing that you can absolutely help people. But like, I'm sure everyone listening has that even if you're doubting yourself, you, you probably have that and that's a very solvable thing to get behind. But what's really going to make you stand out and kind of create your own Blue Ocean strategy is like really being willing to kind of show up and share from the unique perspective that you have.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, and I think that and I think when you do that, then it's hard for anybody else to compete because your stories or your stories, your fails or your fails your way of interacting with your audience. Dance in your own unique way is yours. Like, I think that that's one thing that people don't sometimes think about or get is like, share your story share what happened, like connect in a deeper way. Because if you just regurgitate what everybody else is talking about, then you really just don't stand out you blend in. And then there's really no reason why they would pick you why they would choose you why they would work with you. So I just think, you know, I said to a client the other day, like, really lean into it, like you're weird. Like, whatever it is that makes whatever it is. It's like super quirky. Yeah, I'm like, lean in hard, because we love that. And I think that, and I think that when you are your true self as well, and you attract people, that's when you do find a like minded community, like a values aligned community, where it's like, we can all be weird together, we can all talk about our failures and our successes. Like we're not what yeah, like you said, we're not all on pedestals. Were all kind of in it together, down in, like working hard and making it happen and having the ups and downs. You know, and I've been talking a lot about the roller coaster, I'm just like, you can like, you've got to be okay to ride the lows. Yeah. But when you're with other people who support you, and like, I'm either down there with you, or I'm not, but I can pull you up. I think that that is something that's so valuable.

Elise Daniels
Even just a normalization of it. Do you know what I mean? Like when I joined a mastermind quite a few years ago, when I'm still in it. And almost everyone in there was making more money than me by a fair bit at the time. And I was like, Oh, we're also having the same problem. Oh, this happens to everyone. Oh, this doesn't mean I'm like shitty at what I do, or like, I'm doing something wrong, or like, it's just the normalization of it. And I think especially in entrepreneurship, small business, like, we just don't get to see that the way we would if we were in a bigger if we were working for someone because you just don't work with people. Right? So you just don't get to see those aspects of it. So yeah, I couldn't agree more. And it it also, I think it's it's also so cool to see how like, there's just no, like, our brains are so good at convincing us there's a magic way. Like there's one right way to build community, or there's one right way to make sales. And it's there's fundamental principles that are important in business. Absolutely. But the magic is really in figuring out what's your kind of flavor of that? Or like, what really resonates with you and makes it resonate with your audience? Or how do you naturally build up relationships? And how do we channel that into your social media strategy or your marketing strategy? And that's where we get to actually enjoy the business and the growth of it, because we're just doing what we think we should do. And it just is not working for us. Like, we can try, you can put all of the men power into that. And it's just not gonna work, because you're just not going to see it through.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And something that you just said before, so you've been in a mastermind for quite a while now, with the communities that you've been in, or that you have as well, what do you think creates longevity, because we were talking about the fact that it's so noisy out there, there's so many different communities and options and coaches and support and courses and all the rest of it? I think that that noise makes it quite difficult for people to sometimes know where the best place is for them as well. But the ones that you're in, that you've loved and that you've stayed in, what is it about them that has created that for you?

Elise Daniels
Yeah, good question. So I've literally been with the same coach since I started my business. So that's like five years. So I mean, she's amazing at what she does, don't get me wrong. But I also think the reason why that's helped me so much is because I've just stuck with it. And like, I'd let this not like She's incredible. The Mastermind I'm in is with her and a whole bunch of other women in the online space that are six and seven, mostly seven figure business owners and they're all incredible, but it's also just because like, I learned the hard way in my first business that there's no magic secret at all, like I'm not missing anything. And I think it's the easiest thing. I think this is the hardest thing about online business because in physical businesses, you're just not seeing all of your competition in front of your face 24/7 thinking at all right, like I a lot of my friends on yoga studios, and it's it's so fascinating to have work like Some of them have been my clients. And it's so fascinating because like the online space just adds some different challenges in the sense of like, it's just not like you just your mind is just, it's never been more, I think mindset is everything in business to be on us good 90.9% of everything in business, but in an online space, especially because it's just, you're in a space where you're getting also marketed to 24/7. So if you're not logged in, and you're not focused, and you're not in trust of yourself, the easiest thing in the world is to get carried away with the noise and the distractions. And so it was just such a good. Like, that's just been something that's been easy for me not to get distracted by, because I did that so much in my first business. And I saw how like, I invested a lot of my first business too, but I didn't ever see the ROI. A lot of the reasons because I wasn't investing in the right things at the right time. And a lot of that was just due to me not. I think a big part of it is not having holistic support, meaning like, I think it's really easy to go and solve surface level or one sided issues in our business. Like, for example, it's like, okay, I'm not getting, I'm not making the money I want, okay, I've our brain decides, and this could be the right thing, I don't know. But our brain decides it's because we're not getting enough traffic, or we decide, it's because we don't have a funnel, or we decide because we don't have very good sales skills, or we decide that it's like, it's just so easy to solve a lot of the wrong problems. And what I am always a big advocate for for myself, and also, for my clients. And like I I've run a mastermind for the last four years, and I just won't let people in, if we're not clear on what the problem is to solve, and if they're not clear on it, and if I don't think this is actually going to solve the problem, because they think that is what just sends us on goose chases for ages, and then really breaks down trust in ourselves to be able to see that. So I personally think that as an entrepreneur in the online space, having someone to help you look at your business and to and help you to learn how do I look at my business, as the CEO, so that I can really diagnose what's going on, so I can really learn what's working and what isn't working so I can understand deeper what my magic and skills are? And how do I leverage that into different avenues of my, you know, visibility of my marketing of my sales of like, all of the components that really matter to build a sustainable business. So that's always been the thing that I've sought support in is like, I want more so mentorship of like, okay, like, how do I learn from people that have just done what I want to do, who are trusted advisors where I can bring things to and have support to help me work through the data, understand different things, try and diagnose the right problem. And also just like, help me see my own shit that I can't see, right? Because we all have patterns that like, our, our brains are just so excellent at keeping us safe and safe is the opposite of growth. Right? So yeah, long winded answer. But I love that question so much in the sense of like, sum it up, I just stay in places that are supporting me, I don't chase shiny things. I don't try to solve for random problems. I'm always making sure that if I switch something, it's because I can clearly see what's not working and why. And I only make changes from that place.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, and I think that that's such an important thing as well, because it's so easy for us to jump. Yes. It's like, oh, what's like, what's next, I think is a really interesting question, too. It's like, oh, well, you know, what else could I do? What else could I do? And I think sometimes when we shift and we change a lot, it kind of breaks momentum, you kind of got to start again, with telling people what's happened in your business. Like there's no continuity as well. And I think that I think that communities and like we were talking about safe spaces, yeah, they take time. And I think sometimes we think that things should shift and change. Like if I'm working with somebody, and I haven't, you know, added another six figures to my business in three weeks. Like, obviously, this is not working. And I just and I think that that's really important. I think that, you know, having continuity, building the trust having longevity, like you said, when you feel supported, then you stay. It's not like shiny object syndrome. And I think that in order to be in a community, where you build those relationships, you've kind of got to invest as well, like, you've got to invest the time to be a great community member. Like, I think there's one thing about us building great communities, and being the leader of a community. But I also want to say, like, what kind of like, if you're not getting what you want out of a community? Are you being a great community member

Elise Daniels
1,000,000%, I kind of give a similar lecture at the beginning of every cohort of my mastermind, because what I have seen after running it for four years, and having hundreds of women come through is like the ones who show up the most get the most, it makes sense, right? It's like, and, and I'm very grateful in that, like, we have outrageous amounts of participation in the groups, but I also think it's because I'm pretty picky about who I am. And I don't just open it up to everyone. But I agree, it's like, and I have to remind myself of that all the time. I'm like, I'm being Slack. So let me go and make sure I'm showing up for the women who I care about in the mastermind I'm in if there's something that I want, how can I serve, and help everyone else? Like, it's just, it's just such like that, the energy exchange to write. And I think, too, it's so like, helpful to remember that, like, you know, they're most things that we think we need to learn, we can literally just Google, like, there's, there's not a lot, that's that complicated that you couldn't go and figure it out. The challenge is often diagnosing the right thing to change, and making sure that we're making decisions from like a neutral place, rather than being like triggered or having a reaction or being like, you know, making a decision from a place of fear versus something else. And that's what's hard. So I try to remind myself to and I see that with clients, as well as like, when they really feel empowered in the sense of like, well. And like, I'm not saying don't invest in knowledge, I think you absolutely can. But I also think that like, we have to really be mindful about like, okay, is this actually a knowledge gap issue? Or is it like a trust thing? Is this like a? Is this something I really need to go and do over here? Could I just probably figure that out here, like, you know, and it's, again, it's hard, because we're constantly being sold that like this is, this is why you're not getting what you want, or like, here's the missing piece, and all of that. So I think it's so helpful to almost like, have a meta perspective when you are on social media to and be like, observe, like everyone's marketing, there's nothing wrong with that. That's important as a business owner, but remembering what that is, rather than, like getting swept into it is so helpful there too. And it makes for great, like you want to be a conscious consumer, and from a purchasing place, and also from like, a, what are we putting into our brains kind of plays to right?

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, absolutely. And I think just with that, as well, I think that sometimes we come into spaces, and we go through, say, the content, or we go through the program, or we go through the coaching or whatever. And when we don't contribute like a we're looking at, what do I get? Not what do I give, but also, we skim over things. And what I mean by that is, it's like, this doesn't work. But I actually haven't done the work. But what else could I but I feel like that thing over anything else to it probably work better for me, even though I haven't done the work. So I think also being in a community where you've got others who not call you out, but like, hold you accountable. Like hold you accountable for the work and the goals you have for yourself, and how you're showing up. I think that's also something I look for in a community as well. It's like, I kind of don't want to be around people who, uh, yes, people who are like, Oh, no, you're just wonderful, and everything's great and nothing's wrong. And no, it's definitely not you kind of feel like it's definitely not you. I don't mean it's, you know, you know, I'm not saying you need to, like be in a group that are, you know, that are having a go at you and stuff like that. But I think being in that trusted environment. It's kind of like, Am I doing the work? Am I showing up and doing the work? Am I committing to my goals? Am I committing to the others? Yeah, I just think it's a really interesting, I think that there's kind of building your community and then being in the community as a giver, and also, you know, as a learner or a participant, I think there's different angles to think about it.

Elise Daniels
Oh, 100% Couldn't agree more. I love that you brought that up because I think that's like, I think that's like if there was a secret, like creating secretly that would Be it is like, but like, are, are we actually there's just, you know, for a very simple example, I think a lot of people are like, Okay, I've been showing up consistently on social media. Where's where's my dollars? Like, where are the clients? Why isn't it coming in? And it's like, they're, you know, there's a reason there's a big difference between posting and actually converting. And that's not like a three step process. If it was, everyone would be making a ton of money, right? And I think it's hard because our brains like just automatically go for that. They're like, just tell me what to do. Just give me the steps just do the things. And it's, it's, you know, it's entrepreneurship and business. So it's like, experimentation is required, because there's fundamentally things that work. And then there's like, your ability to build up the skills in doing that, you know, like, I have been creating content on an online marketing for oh my gosh, like seven years, I'm still working that I'm still seeing how it how do I get better at this, I'm still adapting to different changes. You know, I'm over here. dancin like an idiot on on reels and playing with like, Okay, how do I leverage this in a different way? So I just think it is the most undervalued asset to really have a beginner's mindset in everything that you're doing and get really curious around like, Okay, well, if I feel like I'm doing it, and it's not working, can I get curious to see why that is? Because that's really going to give you the answer. And I think then that feels so much easier to then know how to solve for the right problem and what's going on. I think, so often, I was reading through feedback forums recently, because we just entered a cohort of the mastermind. And so I was like, This is hilarious. I'm like, I think this like this is great feedback. But like, also funny, and so much of it is like, I appreciate that Elise doesn't just tell me what I want to hear. And I appreciate that. Elise says the hard thing. I'm like, I just sound like a bitch. But

Suzanne Chadwick
the honesty is important. It

Elise Daniels
and like, of course, I deliver that in a nice way. But like, I'm just like, I'm just not going to Yes, like, it just does not serve my humans in any way, shape, or form, just to agree with whatever is coming up, not that I don't agree with things, but you get what I'm saying. But I think like, that's the easier thing to do. Honestly, it's a lot more uncomfortable, to be annoying, and to say the uncomfortable thing, and to lovingly reflect some stuff that our brains probably don't want to hear and feel very annoying. And I think it's like, that's the whole point of the job in a lot of ways. So I think, you know, that was a big shift for me as a as someone who was looking for support and, and definitely, when I started this business was like, Okay, I like, I just, like, need another brain, I need another human to help me navigate this a little bit and just show me directions as to how do I follow the path? And not, you know, how do I make the most out of this, and that was transformational for me. Like, that helped me so much with being able to really be a sponge in the right way. And like, soak up what I could and, and also then build up a lot of trust in myself, because I think what we can do, and that example you gave is like then we're just screwed, because we're just constantly searching for some magic thing outside of ourselves. Yeah. And like, there will be an endless amount of things being sold to you. And it's just a hard way to run a business. And it's really hard then to really trust yourself as a business owner and a CEO, too.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, absolutely. So go ahead. So just to wrap up, I'd love to ask you when it comes to building your community, like where are the places what's working well for you, as far as spaces where you're, like, finding new people who are coming into your world and wanting to find out more about you, like what's been working well for you.

Elise Daniels
Yeah, love that. So, we I still have my Facebook group. So like five years later, that's still a really big part of my community and where people go a lot deeper and dive into you have just so many free trainings over the years, but a lot of spin on email and also on Instagram. So I'm an advocate of talking to my humans crazy, crazy concept rising. But like I I've really done this from day one is like I actually really want to like get to know who I'm connecting with in the sense of like, I will personally reach out to people I will engage with the people that are engaging with me. I We'll ask random questions usually about their dog or about whatever. And, and so a lot of a connection I build up is in Instagram, DMS, and then also in the email list and stories too. So that's been a really big place of like, having conversations going a little bit deeper. And then from there, a lot of people come into, we have a really good freebie. It's called strategic scaling stories, where it's just case studies of some of my clients and how exactly what we've done, how they've shifted their businesses, what they thought the problem was how we diagnose the real problem, and how we sold for that. And that's been a really big piece that has supported so many humans and just creates a little bit of more behind the scenes insider of like, what actually happens, what the heck is a business coach? What does that actually mean for you? Is this a real thing like what actually goes on behind the scenes? So that's why we do specifically I think, a lot of my clients do that on Instagram, a lot of them have great results with like, doing very simple funnels through like free offers and nurturing behind the scenes and either email list, summers really killing it with Facebook groups still. So it kind of just depends on I always go by what do you actually enjoy? How do you naturally like to build up relationships, I'm much more of like a one on one kind of human like, if I was at a party, I would definitely be in a corner. Probably. This literally happened a couple of weeks ago, party of work party for my partner. And so I knew no one. And sure enough, within 10 minutes, I've made a best friend, we've literally had a million deep and meaningful conversations by the end of the night. And now like we're we catch up and we're friends. So like that's just like my natural personality is I usually go deep with one or two people. And that's just how I work. So I just leveraged that within marketing, because that's just what feels natural to me. So I always really kind of advocate for that, too, is like, great if you're, you know, some of my clients are like the opposite. They're like, I'm grabbing the mic and dancing on the tables. And I'm talking to everyone like, Great, how do we channel that in a way that really makes sense for you? Because I think the more you can just leverage your own natural gifts there. And the way you connect, the easier it gets to like find your way of connecting with your humans on social media.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, I love that. And such a great place to wrap. I just think it is about leaning into, you know, we started we started the podcast with being authentically you. And we're ending the podcast with being authentically you. Like, lean into what you love, lean into, you know, where you shine and where you connect with people on a deeper level. Because I think we're in such a busy, hectic, loud world, that people just want to be seen and heard. And I think that if you can find a way to build your community where you see and you hear, I think people feel so much more valued when that happens. And that's where the stickiness comes from.

Elise Daniels
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I think it's, it's also just really being willing to go first. Like, I remember when I first started my Facebook group, I messaged every single human who joined personally and I was like, how, how can I help you? Like what's going on? Like, do you want a free call? What's the biggest challenge right? Now let's solve it. Like, I just went in really hard with like, I'm gonna get these, I'm gonna help my people make money without even paying me and like, how do I just leave with that? And a strategy just built by default from that. And I think that always works. Quite honestly. Like, do you want to be intentional about what you're doing? Of course, we still want to be strategic and intentional within that. But I think the more you can really be like, the more I'm willing to do things. It's almost like the least the not the less I have to do but like, it just flows so much easier. And I think people really feel that.

Suzanne Chadwick
Yeah, absolutely. So so good. I like thank you so much. Now for my listeners. Where can they find you? Where's the best places? We'll have all your links in the show notes as well. Yeah,

Elise Daniels
Definitely. Come on by to Instagram. Since we've been talking about that. I'm Elise underscore, Danielle underscore would love for you to listen to the things we didn't do podcast. That's where I have incredible humans on like suits here. And we just I really love sharing like what isn't required, and also what is and have a bit of a different conversation around how simple it actually can be if we're willing to really go deep with the right things. And then I have the Facebook group The Purpose Driven badass entrepreneurs, which is have a bunch of fun and where I do live trainings in there too.

Suzanne Chadwick
Amazing. I love it. Well, we will have all the links to those in the show notes. Thanks for hanging out. Thank

Elise Daniels
you so much for having me. This has been such a great convo. I hope everyone enjoys it and feel free to message me any takeaways I'm here for I love chatting and hearing feedback.

Suzanne Chadwick
So so good. Thanks. Lovely. Thank you