Known as the “profit accelerator” for helping entrepreneurs turn their business into cash machines, Allyson Byrd does not shy away from telling the raw truth about her journey to entrepreneurship.
While recognized as a key influencer in helping motivational speaker and teacher Lisa Nichols increase her revenue and double her event sales, Byrd admits that just months after starting her own business she was on food stamps and scraping pennies to make ends meet. Going back to the drawing board, she revamped her business strategy, read MBA for Dummies, and mapped out a plan for how she could more than double her monthly income.
Now, as CEO of Money Movers International, Byrd is a popularly known speaker and best-selling author who teaches other entrepreneurs how to skyrocket their company profits. In the past seven months, she’s coached more than 225 entrepreneurial leaders and has helped them generate more than $8.6 million in new revenue.
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Following her ‘Unleashed’ course in January, which provided a 5-week blueprint for helping entrepreneurs dominate their market, Byrd offers insight on how she personally turned her business around, and some of the biggest mistakes she sees other entrepreneurs make today.
BlackEnterprise.com: You’re known as the “profit accelerator” for helping entrepreneurs grow their revenue numbers. Talk about your journey to entrepreneurship and growing your own business.
Byrd: My company is called Money Movers International and I started [it] on two things: ambition and air. I started my business with a drive and a passion for something great. However, within eight months of owning my business I was on food stamps while also traveling nationally as a speaker, coach and teacher. I had inspired people, but not in a way for them to spend money with me.
So I started to look at how I could start my money conversation. A lot of people try to build their business without being a money maker. I knew I needed $5,000 to cover my monthly amount. I said if I could make $5,000 in a month I will be good, but then I said what if I can make it in a half a month. Then I said what if
I can do it in one day. Then finally I challenged myself to $5,000 an hour and then I did more than that and I did $38,000 in an hour. That’s when I created my five-week plan and took my same 30-day activities and compressed them and put them into my one week activities so that I can make more money.People pay more for what you know rather than what you do, and so we often do too much and we don’t expose people to what we know, which often helps us to accelerate our income.
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You’re responsible for helping the Lisa Nichols brand and revenue numbers grow tremendously. What advice do you have for professionals who are trying to grow their side-hustle business but still manage the demands of their day job?
I think the first thing you have to understand is a brand is based off credibility and results. A lot of people build brands based off style and skill. The thing I try to explain to those who I call ‘parallel-preneurs’ is, number one, you have to understand the results you give and not the process you take people through.
If someone says
they’re going to be a consultant–what kind and what kind of results do you want to produce? Then ask yourself who you want to produce these results for and how many people you can help. So if you say, ‘I believe I can help 10 people and make $100,000,’ then that helps you to make a price point. So now you can build a brand for people who are able to give to your $10,000 value.Do you think one of the biggest downfalls for entrepreneurs starting out is that they set unrealistic financial goals?
I think the answer to that is yes and they borrow the success of someone else without looking at the history of that person. Look at the history of Magic Johnson. Look at the history of Oprah Winfrey. She did not come out of the gate making millions. Just because you have a million dollar business you can be in a negative dollar profit. Being a million dollar business does not mean you are making a pr
You talked about being on food stamps and facing hard times financially after starting your business. What was the key thing that kept you from giving up?
Having a mentor is key as a business leader. If you have a mentor who is saying I’ve been there and I’ve done that, then they can tell you how you are going to get to the other side. Also have a coach. A mentor is someone who is advising you on the leadership of you. A coach is someone who is advising you on the execution of your ideas. And you should also have training so you can be advised on the how-to. As entrepreneurs we have to invest in ourselves at the rate we hope to return. So we have to invest in mentors, invest in coaches and invest in training.
For more information on Allyson Byrd and how you can grow your business with the help of her courses and training visit AllysonByrd.com.