Women entrepreneurs have become very powerful in the world of business. Natalie Elizabeth Ellis, also known as Boss Babe, is the face of an entire generation of ambitious women entrepreneurs. Before age 26, she had successfully started several businesses and turned them into multi-million-dollar enterprises. She managed to build this empire using social media and has some advice for upcoming entrepreneurs in the space.
Starting Online Entrepreneurship Early
Ellis has always been an entrepreneur, even from her earliest years. She started her first online business at the age of 13, and from there, she expanded into more online businesses, doing what she knew was working.
She was also responsible for starting enterprise classes at her school, which carried over into an entrepreneurship course at the university. Today, the entrepreneur society she founded is one of the largest in the entire United Kingdom.
Finding An Instagram Marketing Niche
Ellis’ first success came from marketing a superfood product that she manufactured. After less than a year after launch, Oh My Glow was sold to over sixty countries and over 200 stores throughout the UK.
Instagram was how Ellis managed to get so much traction behind her product. She didn’t have a budget for paid ads or qualified leads, so it was all about getting the content in front of the right people. And that took her doing a lot of social media marketing.
The Birth of Boss Babe
According to Ellis, Boss Babe wasn’t her account at the start. It was just someone doing inspirational quotes on Instagram. However, once Ellis saw it, she immediately realized the potential of something like this, especially given her circle.
She quickly reached out to the girl running the account and told her that it had the potential for huge returns. Although Ellis admits that she didn’t really think too hard about the business aspect, she just loved the idea of quotes to inspire people.
Turning Boss Babe Into a Seven-Figure Business
How do you go from having quotes on Instagram to a seven-figure business? Ellis admits that she stumbled onto the secret while helping to run the account. She was obsessed with the idea of assisting women to believe in themselves so they can achieve what they want to.
From that obsession, she realized she had a lot of information she could share with others. She realized how powerful the quotes the account shared were, holding people accountable and encouraging them to do what they wanted to. From there it ws a matter of incorporating the academy into it – letting people access training to become a boss babe.
Challenge of Scaling Quickly
When Boss Babe exploded in popularity, and Ellis had to expand her business, she quickly realized that her biggest problem would be recruiting good help. She notes that founders shouldn’t just jump to the first person they think of when they need help but be more discerning about who they hire.
She says that she made mistakes in the past, putting the wrong set of responsibilities on the wrong people, but luckily, it wasn’t disastrous, and she learned from her mistakes. Having patience amidst the storm of expansion and growth is crucial to finding the right people to fit your roles.
Be Gentle With Yourself
Ellis says that one of the biggest things new founders need to work through is that the business will eventually reach a point where it runs itself. This happens in all well-planned companies, and it’s not something a founder should be afraid of.
Ellis jokingly says that it’s deeply ingrained in the founder’s psyche that if they leave the business for any length, it’ll collapse and burn down. It takes a lot of understanding to realize that the company is almost automated, and taking a day or a weekend off won’t destroy it.
Brainstorm Within Limits
Ellis and her partner have a lot of ideas, but not all of them are doable. She says that many business owners brainstorm ideas but leave them in a state of limbo without any deadline dates to get them moving on it.
With Boss Babe, both Ellis and her partner set a deadline of one year. How far could they progress with this idea after a single year, and is it worth their time and effort for the returns they’d get from it? The decision to keep or throw out an idea is based on this consideration.
Self-Belief and Confidence Goes a Long Way
Being confident in yourself is the core message that Boss Babe offers to its subscribers. Ellis firmly believes that it’s something entrepreneurs, particularly female ones, need to remember as they grind their way to success.
In the beginning, when things are slow and you’re on the verge of giving up, it’s all about keeping an eye on the potential of your idea. Ellis suggests that self-belief and confidence are all an entrepreneur needs to lean on to get through the early part of their business journey.
Don’t Underestimate What You Already Know
Ellis is a firm believer in not underestimating yourself. Many times, she’s had people from her academy ask her how to do certain things, and it frustrates her that they underestimate themselves so much. She tells them they already know what they need to do, but they just aren’t doing it.
She puts this down to procrastination. If they think they need to know more, they avoid putting what they already know into practice and succeeding. Ellis notes that there’s nothing more impactful for an entrepreneur than seeing what they do succeed.
Inspiring a Generation of Entrepreneurs
Ellis says that looking at others for inspiration is better than envying what others have. If they can do it, so can you. Instead of worrying about and envying what other entrepreneurs have done, she suggests founders look at what they did well and learn from their experience. The academy she runs offers a lot of advice to new entrepreneurs, and she continues to be a force for positive change on IG to this day. She embodies the idea that success occurs when you get out of your own way and let it happen.
