Leaving Corporate America and Managing Your Own Business | Terrie Chantel

Today’s episode features Terrie Chantel from TerrieChantel.com .

Terrie is a successful speaker and business coach.

She teaches teach business owners how to monetize their skills, uplevel their personal brand, create profitable offers, and convert followers into buyers.

Being an entrepreneur wasn’t always comfortable for Terrie.

Check out how that changed for her and how she’s helping others do the same.

Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about this awesome episode!

Episode Summary

Terrie’s Background

Terrie graduated high school at age 16 and college at age 20
Both of her parents were “workaholics”
This made Terrie believe that “amount of work = financial benefit”
At 17, her uncle wanted her to co-sign on a car to build her credit
That gesture changed her life
At age 22 she went on to buy a house and really understood money

Passing Down Money Lessons

Terrie has three boys, ages 10, 15, 17
Her #1 tool she uses is to “paint a millionaire vision in their mind”
This is the act of making wealth achievable in their mind
She also gets them to use her debit card to pay bills online
Just getting them involved in finances and eliminating the taboo
Now her 17-year-old is already an entrepreneur

Bondage vs Freedom

Her uncle was like her dad and went towards the plan he set out
She graduates college and goes directly into corporate
Terrie stayed there for 10 years
5 years into that career, she started moving into management
The pressure was increasing, work was coming home, and the money didn’t seem worth it
That’s not what she envisioned
It felt more like bondage than freedom

Seeing a New Way

She didn’t have other peers she could turn to who felt this way
Terrie was always the girl, the youngest, and often the only black person
Being surrounded by all these 6-figure earners, Terrie saw how high earners spent money
But everyone worked themselves to death and just watched their vacation pile up
Simply put, Terrie had no idea there was another option
So Terrie started her own side-hustle
Through this, she begins to meet other entrepreneurs
Then she did realize there was another way

Can’t Let Go of Stability

Terrie gets laid off around the holidays and gets pregnant with her second child
So she really starts taking her side hustle serious
In her first month, she had 100 clients through a lot of hustle
She would even set quotas for handing out business cards
But even with all that success, she still went back to corporate work
It just felt too secure
Terrie did keep the business going by hiring and training someone
She admits not everyone is driven to be an entrepreneur
But if you have that passion, you have to follow it

Tips for Starting that New Business

She says some people jump to marketing too fast
To help others you need to be financially stable yourself
She focused mainly on customer service and building a solid product
Once those frameworks are set, then you can focus on other things like marketing
If you can’t consistently hit the number you need for bills, that’s a bad sign
This means it’s time to take a pause and look at your processes
She likes to look at it in three-month chunks
Terrie says you should be seeing a consistent profitability to know your frameworks are set

Valuing Yourself

Then we talk about valuing yourself
This includes charging a premium for your services
Stop focusing on yourself and think about the client
Think about how you’re going to change their life
Then you’ll see just how much you’re really worth

Key Takeaways

Security is addicting: Terrie had trouble walking away from her normal W-2 job. It’s a valid feeling!
Don’t Jump To Marketing: Solidify your product offering and take care of your clients, let marketing come later.

Call to Action

Get creative with that work ethic. Terrie showed how far she was willing to go to get her business off the ground. That type of effort makes a difference as an entrepreneur or at your W-2.

Join the Community

We’d love to hear your comments and questions about this week’s episode. Here are some of the best ways to stay in touch and get involved in The FI Show community!

Sign up for our exclusive newsletter
Join our Facebook Group
Leave us a voicemail
Send an email to contact [at] TheFIshow [dot] com

If you like what you hear, please leave a rating/review!

The FI show on iTunes

The FI show on Android

Check out our Partners

We’ve all heard of LinkedIn, but have any of you managers or small business owners used the platform to hire new talent? LinkedIn Jobs uses its state-of-the-art technology to put your listing in front of qualified candidates. When you’re ready to make that next hire, visit LinkedIn.com/FiShow to get $50 off your first job listing.

Terrie’s Information

Website: TerrieChantel.com
Instagram: @TerrieChantel

Learn More About Your Hosts

Fly to FI (Cody’s Blog)

Saving-Sherpa (Justin’s blog)