From a dull job at a call centre to feeding lemurs on Richard Branson’s island in 6 years. Now, that’s an admirable transformation, isn’t it?
Today, we are talking to Ellie Burscough, an international business and mindset coach who helps businesses reach multiple 6 figures without having the need to work 12 hours a day.
Let’s see what obstacles she has overcome on her journey to unremitting success and what lessons she has learnt throughout that fascinating ride.
- Ellie, it’s an immense pleasure to have you in “Young Entrepreneurs Talk”. Could you tell our readers why you consider yourself successful in your business?
I’ve been in business for 6 and a half years now and I consider that a success as a lot of businesses don’t last that long. There’s a huge percentage of businesses that fail within the first year and even more in the first 5 years.
I have created two successful businesses – one with my personal training business and now, my business coaching. Both of them have reached multi-six figures.
Business success comes down to staying in business and creating a business that is successful and scalable. The biggest key to success in business is when you are making money. Otherwise, you don’t really have a business. The other side of that is that it’s not just making money, but it’s a business that is scalable and allows you to have the freedom that you want and you are not a slave to your business.
I have worked really hard for that. I know it sounds a bit counter-intuitive saying that, but I did work hard on myself and also in putting things in place to create a business that runs without me at times and that gives me the lifestyle that I want.
- Competition nowadays is fierce and it streams from everywhere. How do you tackle it? Are you packed with “dirty” secrets which you’d like to share with us? 🙂
I don’t believe in competition. Yes, there are people out there that do the same thing as I do. There are many people who do the same thing as you, but when you are open, authentic, and real, you don’t have any competition. Because no one else is you.
Someone will be attracted to your business not only because of the result you deliver but also because of how you show up as a person.
And especially with coaches and mentors, you should find one who has done what you want to do and in a way fits with your morals. That’s not going to be everyone. You are not going to be attracted to everyone’s personality or message. And that’s okay. If they are not the right fit, you will find someone who is.
So, my biggest thing with that is: just be yourself, be real, be open and honest, and you will attract the right people in. Then, you will never have to worry about competition.
- Do you woo your customers or they discover you?
I do a lot of content marketing. I create a lot of free content and put things out there to give value and draw my ideal clients in, and get people to know me, like me, and trust me. Most of my clients will come in from the things I put out there – whether that’s content on Social Media or through my e-mail list, word of mouth, referrals, my blog, or different interviews that I’ve been on.
To be honest, most of them come from Facebook, referrals, and word of mouth. I do an organic content strategy and a paid, advertising strategy. It’s a mixture of the two things – me, putting the things out there, and people finding me, as well.
- You must be awfully busy. How do you hustle with the stress and deal with the droves of daily tasks?
I don’t hustle. I believe in working hard. But I also believe in balance and taking time out. I’ve done a lot of mindset work, a lot of internal work, so I am able to deal with obstacles and sabotages. I am able to look internally, meditate, and do mindset work to be able to tackle with stress and obstacles that come on the way.
I also use Google Calendar to map out my week. I am in the process of creating automation, processes and systems around every little thing in my business. The more that I can automate, the more that I can delegate. And this helps me to focus on the bigger picture.
- If you were given the chance to co-operate with a role model, who that person would be and why?
I recently had a chance to spend time on Richard Branson’s island, which was amazing and I’d love to go back next year. Basically, I spent time with 34 other entrepreneurs and Richard Branson on his island.
I believe he’s such a great role model because he’s so humble, he is a great listener, he is a very patient man, and he is just doing amazing things in the world. I love that he is such a big thinker, that he doesn’t let fear or anything hold him back. If it hasn’t been done before and he wants to do it, he will find a way to make it happen.
I think that’s amazing and I do really look up to him and the wonderful things he has done in the world. I love that he has given back so much – for instance, putting steps in place to try to end climate change and pushing the limits of what’s possible. I think that what he is doing and how much he gives back to the world is absolutely admirable.
- What led you to an entrepreneurial life and how did your business come to existence?
I started out 6 and a half years ago.
I just had my daughter and I didn’t want to go back to working in a call centre, which I did for 5 years, and making only 500-600 AUD a week.
I didn’t see the point of having a child and having to put her in full-time day care. I wanted to create a better life for myself and my family.
When my daughter was born, I was living on welfare, my partner was on a tourist visa, and he couldn’t work. We literally had nothing. We couldn’t afford a car, we couldn’t afford to eat meat. We were really struggling and had no support.
It was then when I decided to study personal training so that I could start my personal training business. This was when my daughter was only 3 months old. I used to cycle to my classes and express breast milk for her. I did that two nights a week and one Saturday morning. I was qualified within 3-6 months.
I started my first business the first week after I got out of Personal Training College. I had no idea what I was doing. It was just friends and word of mouth in the beginning. Within a few months, I actually invested in a business mentor. I took that step even when I didn’t have the money, even when it was scary because I knew I couldn’t do it by myself. I didn’t know how to run a business. I embarked upon a great journey – not only in learning about business but also about personal development, as well.
I chose that particular business not only because I had my daughter. I actually lost 29 kgs (64 lbs) in 7 months and I wanted to find a mum’s boot camp with babysitting included, so I could meet awesome mums and also lose weight. And I couldn’t find it.
So, I ended up losing the weight myself and I wanted to fill that gap in the market because of the journey I went through. I decided to start a business, which was called “Power Mums”. It had mum’s boot camp with babysitting included and it filled the gap in the market and the journey that I had just been on.
- Do you have a piquant Australian formula for securing success?
I firmly believe it is a mixture of working on yourself and having a clear strategy. You need to know the bigger picture and vision, and you need to break that vision down into small action steps to be able to start moving forward.
You really need to learn about marketing & sales and have that strategy in place. Then, you have to just stick to it. Keep it as simple as possible, stay on track, be consistent. And you will get there.
The other side of the strategy is the mindset. You can be armed with all the strategies in the world, but if you do not have the right mindset, you are not going to take action. All those limiting beliefs will hinder your way.
You need to go through your own personal development journey and work on yourself so that you can keep going when things get tough and really learn about yourself in the process, as well.
Business is the greatest personal development journey.
- Next to your busy business life, how do you let off steam?
I have two young kids – a 7-year old and a 4-year old. At the moment of this interview, I am in Vietnam, just having a rest after lunch. We’ve been travelling through Southeast Asia for the last month.
Besides travelling, I love music and going to concerts. I love reading, I love spending time with my family, and I love taking time for myself. I go to massages, I get my nails done. I love to exercise, going for bushwalks.
I also love trying new things like zip lining and recently, I swam with stingrays, and I fed lemurs on Richard Branson’s island. I always love stepping out my comfort zone and I think life is all about creating amazing experiences for yourself.
You really need to have a life outside of your business.
- Up until now, have you had any regrets? If yes, what are they and what did you learn from them?
I don’t believe in having regrets in life.
Yes, I’ve made mistakes and I have done things that have been destructive in the past towards me and others. I don’t regret them because they are part of the journey.
On the other side of that struggle and those obstacles, is growth and the deepest sense of knowing who you are. These things show up in our life to learn the lessons and help us to grow.
A big lesson last year, was when I was destructive in my relationship with my partner. What I learnt from that is:
You can’t blame anyone else for anything, you can’t say that someone else is doing anything wrong.
You have to take 100% responsibility for your own actions and inactions. In a relationship, you have to not only both work together but you also need to work on yourselves individually, as well. Through that process, I realised that I have unconditional love for and from my partner and we are stronger than ever now.
Last year, I felt we were growing apart, and now, we grow stronger every single day. I realised that we weren’t growing apart. It was just a lack of communication and I felt like he needed to be super motivated and inspired, as well as do all the things I was doing.
Now, I realise I don’t want him to be doing all the things I do because I just love him the way he is. And he loves me the way I am. We get on really well. We have a lot of differences, but we use them to our benefit.
- What’s your message to aspiring, young entrepreneurs?
Here are some of the key things:
- Work on your mindset.
- Work on yourself, build your self-awareness.
- Surround yourself with positive, like-minded people, people who are ahead of where you are.
- But also surround yourself with people who are not even in the same field that you are in. They don’t have to be in business, they don’t have to be more successful than you to be amazing people, to learn something from, and to create wonderful connections with.
However, if you do want to succeed, you need to spend time with people that are further ahead of where you are because it shows you what’s possible.
Don’t put these people up on a pedestal, don’t think that they are any better than you or put yourself down because someone else is further ahead than you.
Use them as role models and look for the things you actually have in common with them. Because if you like someone like Richard Branson, Gary V, or Tony Robbins, and you might want to look at one of those, search for the traits that you love in them. They are actually traits you have in yourself.
Even if you are not at where they are at, or even if you never get there, you have these traits within you in some shape or form.
I believe it’s really disempowering to put people up on a pedestal. Rather, it’s really empowering to use these people as role models and see what’s possible.
Get started, make it simple, be consistent, and don’t stop. The only way you can fail is if you stop.
Go find mentors, coaches, and people that can help you through your journey, have that strategy in place, know what your action steps are and just take that consistent action.
Now, that’ some solid advice, my dear readers. Get started and don’t stop. Do look back to see how much you have gained, but never ever stop.
If you are struggling, find yourself a mentor or a business coach. Someone like Ellie Burscough. She can help you grow your business to multiple 6 figures. Check out her website, where she has a free eBook + trainings.
Get in touch with Ellie Burscough on Facebook and Instagram, listen to her podcasts, and join her free Facebook group.
Let’s get your business to where you want it to be.
Check out the previous interviews with young entrepreneurs here.