Making Something From Nothing: LaTisha Styles Of You’ve Got Clients On How To Go From Idea To Launch
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
You Don’t Have To Be Perfect — The very first time I started my business I wanted things to be perfect. I went through the entire process of creating a course, from scripting to recording, and then opening the cart but no one was buying the course. And I learned along the way that it’s okay to be imperfect and just dust it off when you fall, get up and learn from every experience.
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing LaTisha Styles.
LaTisha Styles is an Online Marketing Certified Professional® and the Founder & CEO of You’ve Got Clients® a marketing consulting agency helping coaches create and fill their coaching programs with high-ticket clients. LaTisha is also a Psych-K® Facilitator who helps entrepreneurs shift subconscious blocks to establish the beliefs that form the foundation of their dream as well as shift any limiting beliefs or subconscious blocks standing in the way of that dream.
Before the business, the success, and the income, LaTisha always knew what she exactly wanted for her life. She had cultivated what she calls the “stubborn belief” in manifestation — the concept that you can create the life of your dreams by directing your thoughts. This belief led her to build a business that has generated a million dollars in revenue.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
In my early childhood, I can remember that I always had an entrepreneurial spirit because my parents have always taught us to do business in our own little way. Especially my dad. He has been one of the biggest influences on my entrepreneurial journey. I remember him taking me and my sister to a local Sam’s club which is a big box warehouse filled with wholesale goods. He bought us candies, gums, and a couple of other things to start off our first round of inventory. When we got home my dad explained to us how we are going to make a profit out of these candies. He explained the prices, how much we should sell each candy for in order to buy the next round of inventory, and how profit is calculated. It was the first time I learned about business, understanding that there’s a cost to doing business, and making sure that you stay ahead of that.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world.” The first time I read this quote, it helped me understand how one person can have an impact on many people. That’s what really carried me through my life because that’s one of my goals, to be impactful to as many people as possible.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
One of my favorite movies is The Matrix. I have watched this movie and the entire trilogy several times. The reason that this had such a big impact on me is that the movie is filled with a lot of metaphors and allegories. In the movie, they refer to the Matrix as “the world that’s been pulled over your eyes.” It’s a movie about self-discovery and understanding that what you see might not necessarily be true and it’s important to look beneath the surface. Especially in the first movie of the trilogy, there was a scene where the main character Neo came to a realization that in order for him to become the One, he actually had to choose it. It was like watching someone come to a realization of themselves and learning what that journey is about. And that’s exactly what I share with my clients as well. I tell them they should “Assume the Throne”. Similar to the way a monarch ascends, you might not feel ready; but at some point, you have to choose: this is who I am, this is how I want to show up, this is who I’m called to impact, and I am here for a reason. I think stepping into that energy is something that all leaders have to do at some point.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
I often find that the biggest thing holding people back from translating their idea into an actual business is simply the mindset that the idea has to be perfect, or they have to be successful on their very first attempt. Sometimes we just have to try our ideas out and we have to understand that failure will be part of the process. From my experience, I had to get good at failing. I call it “failing forward”. Failure is not a negative thing. It’s just part of the process. I always try to slow things down and evaluate where I am and what didn’t work. I can then reconfigure my approach and do things a little bit differently in my next step.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
I always say there’s nothing new under the sun, so even if you think you have a new idea or if you think that someone else has already come up with the idea. I suggest, just get over it and just execute and execute better than the others who might have the same idea as you. Take the rideshare industry for example. There are many players; Uber, Lyft, Grab, Flywheel, and many others. There are multiple companies with a similar idea and ultimately success comes down to execution, not just who will execute first, but who will execute best.
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
I can share the process of turning my idea of a book into a physical product. I had an idea of a book that I wanted to write and I just needed help to pull those ideas together in a way that is clear and concise. So I hired a ghostwriter and together with my legal team, we filed a trademark for the topic so I can also create spin-off content, workshops, additional programs, and other products and services based on the idea of the book that I wanted to write. As far as manufacturing, I contacted a friend who had also written a book and asked them for a referral to their book printer. As far as finding a retailer, I decided to distribute it myself. These days you have the entire world at your fingertips because of the internet, and so I decided to sell it on my own website. But there’s also an easy option where you can sell your book to an online retailer like Amazon.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why?
- Get Your Hands Dirty And Do The Work — When I was starting out with my company I was literally getting my hands dirty and doing all the work. I don’t think I realized how difficult it is to find a talent to help me propel my business forward. So at first, I have to do all the work and slowly build a team to help ease up my workload along the way.
- You Don’t Have To Be Perfect — The very first time I started my business I wanted things to be perfect. I went through the entire process of creating a course, from scripting to recording, and then opening the cart but no one was buying the course. And I learned along the way that it’s okay to be imperfect and just dust it off when you fall, get up and learn from every experience.
- Get A Mentor — I quit my corporate job to take on my business full-time and I had a really hard time. I had to go back to work full-time because I couldn’t make things work for my business. So the next time I quit my job, I hired a mentor. I realized that you need someone to guide you. Someone who’s been there already and can show you where to step, how to do things, and what pitfalls to avoid.
- There’s No “There” To Get To — I always had a vision in my head that once I get “there” I’ll be truly happy and successful. “There” is that proverbial carrot leading you towards the next success you desire. But once I do get “there”, I know I will still have another “there” to get to. I had to realize that there’s no ultimate destination and it’s just a matter of continuing on your journey, enjoying every moment, and making the most out of every experience along the way.
- You’re Not Going To Be The Only One With Your Idea — I wish I had known that you’re not going to be the only one with your idea, and it’s just a matter of becoming the biggest and brightest in the marketplace to establish your spot. Make as big of a splash as possible so that when someone thinks of a certain word, they think of your business. I started out playing small because I didn’t want to offend or outshine friends who were doing something similar. I didn’t understand or realize that there are no feelings in business and I’m not taking something away from them by achieving my goals or reaching something bigger.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
If you have an idea for a product that you would like to invent, the first few steps I would recommend is to create something physical or tangible out of that idea. Create a drawing, start recording, or whatever you have to do to take that idea and turn it into something that is tangible in the real world.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
It’s generally helpful to hire someone that knows better than you. I would recommend that you first try to find some helpful resources within your community or even in the Small Business Association. Seek out resources that have already been made available for you before hiring someone in particular. And until you know exactly what questions you want to ask, wait to hire someone. Because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you might just waste your time, money, and you might even get taken advantage of. So make sure you are an informed buyer, no matter what you are purchasing.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
I am a fan of bootstrapping. I bootstrapped my business. Anytime you have other people’s money involved in your business, your decisions might get influenced by other people’s opinions. It might hinder the liberty of your creativity and get in the way of fully implementing your idea. So if you have the capacity to bootstrap your business, I would definitely recommend it over venture capital.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I have used my success to be an example that it’s possible for a Black woman to be successful in business. I wanted to prove the stereotypical norm wrong that someone like me could not have a successful business and could not have the income that I have now with my business. I truly believe in the quote “change starts at home”. I truly believe that the best thing that you can do to help the world at large is to improve your own situation first so that you can set an example to others and be that someone who can inspire generations.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be what I’m doing now, which is teaching women and minorities that you can absolutely charge more for your services. Stop charging what you think you are worth but instead charge what your services are worth. You have so much to offer and this is what I teach my clients, to have confidence in themselves and realize that what they do to help their clients goes above and beyond just coaching; it also creates transformation in their client’s lives. Therefore the pricing should reflect the outcome of that service.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
I would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with Issa Rae. I really admire what she’s accomplished, how far she’s come, and her discipline. Also with her being in the entertainment industry and seeing how she’s been able to maneuver it, I would love to ask how she creates contracts and handles negotiations. I would love to talk to her about these experiences and her ability to build a team, to connect with people, and how she has navigated her success from where she started and how far she’s come.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Making Something From Nothing: LaTisha Styles Of You’ve Got Clients On How To Go From Idea To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
