DONE IS BETTER THAN PERFECT
1. Could you tell us a bit about you?
Hey everyone. I’m Charelle! I’m 30, I live in London and I’m a Marketing Strategist, Blogger, Podcaster and Book Club Founder.
As a multi-passionate person, I have found ways to express my love of marketing, business, personal development, books and female empowerment through a number of different platforms and roles.
2. How did you get into what you’re currently doing?
From a young age, I have been interested in business and I was drawn to marketing because it is the perfect combination of art and science. I get to totally geek out over statistics whilst being creative at the same time.
In 2015, I had a wonderful job as a Marketing Manager working on West End productions. After years of hard work, I felt like I had “made it” but as an ambitious person I wanted more and as I tried to work out what “more” was I started to read more books. One of the first books I picked up was Lean In. It led to me joining a Lean In Circle and experience first-hand what happens when women support women.
That experience led to me launching PropelHer with the mission to help ambitious women fulfil their true potential. What started out simply as a physical book club in London quickly turned into a growing online community. Without realising it, I had become a community leader and was responsible for making content for a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Group, Blog, YouTube Channel and weekly #MotivationalMonday emails.
I loved helping women to dream bigger and achieve those dreams. The PropelHer community was a mixture of employees and entrepreneurs, which was the intention (I was fed up with London events that always separated entrepreneurs and employees). However, I realised that my knowledge of marketing combined with my personal experience of growing PropelHer, by myself, made me perfect to support other Solopreneurs. For years, I had been working with independent artists on a 1:1 basis but hadn’t really considered how I could be supporting entrepreneurs in different industries.
I was particularly drawn to people who were promoting a service-based business so a mixture of coaches, consultants, advisors etc. I love working with smart people who challenge me and it pains me to see people who are great at what they do, but they don’t have the right marketing to get themselves out there.
Now I work 1:1 to help people create a personalised marketing strategy that will promote their business in the right way, but also take into consideration the type of person they are and the type of content they are confident creating.
3. What limiting belief was holding you back and how did you overcome it, or working towards overcoming it?
A major limiting belief I had for years was “I’m not original enough”. As I said I was interested in business for a young age but had convinced myself that I wasn’t original enough. This resulted in me thinking for years that I needed a business partner so they could have the original ideas and I would bring the business to life. Then I realised my strengths around marketing, planning and numbers meant I would be great at supporting the more business owners who don’t naturally excel in those areas. Rather than having to find a business partner and being the brains behind one business, I could focus on what I’m great at, and lots of people aren’t, and use those skills to support thousands of business owners to grow successful brands and businesses.
4. What was the biggest mindset shift you’ve had so far regarding your business?
That people won’t pay X for my services. When it comes to mindset shifts that business owners make, money is often mentioned. I started my career in the performing arts, which is an industry that is filled with people who make very little money. I viewed money from that perspective, combined with coming from working class background, and ultimately everything felt expensive. And trust me, if you think something is too expensive you can’t sell it.
After actively working on my money mindset, I began to realise that what is expensive to someone is cheap to someone else. When you are selling, you have to focus on the value you are providing and let the individual assess whether they feel it is a fair price to pay. Now I find it as easy to sell a £200 ticket for PropelHer’s Book Club as I do a £2,000 1:1 marketing programme with me.
5. What’s your proudest moment so far?
Completing my Professional Diploma in Marketing. With no formal training in marketing, I suffered from Imposter Syndrome in my marketing career. Even though I was getting great results and smashing my targets I had that niggling feeling that I was going to get caught out. At the time, I had no idea what Imposter Syndrome was and only now looking back I realised that was what I was suffering from. With no knowledge of Imposter Syndrome, I decided to get rid of that feeling I should train “properly”. When it came to deciding what to do I went for the highest level qualification I could take over the shortest time period possible. It was super tough. I was in lessons with other people who had studied marketing, as well as worked in major businesses, for years. At times, I thought I had maybe set myself an impossible challenge, especially when after the Christmas break I returned to classes and realised how many people had decided to take a break and complete the course over a longer period. As a result, when my results finally turned up and I had passed everything first-time I was so proud. The icing on the cake was that I got to graduate again.
6. What has been your biggest business lesson?
Done is better than perfect! When you are building a business, it is likely that you will have to do so many things outside of your current sphere of knowledge or experience. It is easy to look at the leaders in your field and judge yourself by that standard, but that isn’t helpful.
For me my background in marketing was in some ways was a hindrance in the beginning. I was used to running marketing campaigns that had a budget of hundreds of thousands of pounds and a whole team to deliver. I couldn’t deliver to that standard when it was just me and a limited set of tools.
I started a YouTube channel with an iPhone and praying for a sunny Saturday so I could have some natural light. I started the Free and Figuring It Out podcast with a microphone that was less than £100 and sitting in a cupboard. Both I edit myself, using the software on my MacBook.
Is it perfect? No
Could the production values be better? Yes
Am I creating content that is valuable and helpful? Yes
At the end of the day, everyone starts at the beginning and people will forgive you for less than perfect production values if what you are providing is valuable.
And always remember that you can improve and in fact, not being perfect in the beginning allows you to show the transformation. If you have any doubt go to your favourite YouTuber and then sort their videos by Date Added (Oldest). This will show you their first ever video. I did this with Marie Forleo as I think the production value of her videos today are great, but let’s just stay she certainly didn’t start out that way.
7. How important has goal setting been to you personally and in your business?
Goal setting has been mega-important for me personally and professionally. I have been setting goals since a teenager and believe that a lot of what I have achieved to date is because I have been so intentional from a young age. I find that setting long-term goals helps you to make better decisions as you know what your bigger aims for life are.
Whilst I have been setting goals for over 15 years, I definitely have taken it even more seriously in recent years. Ever since reading Get Rich, Lucky B*tch by Denise Duffield-Thomas I have been writing my goals out every morning (as part of my morning routine). I know some people find it extreme, but it definitely helps me to keep my goals top of mind, which helps me achieve them.
Goal setting and achieving is a major part of the content I create for PropelHer. In addition to setting goals, it is equally as important to set up the right system to monitor them. I’m so passionate about the topic of goalsetting that I have a free #GoalDigger Guide. You can grab a copy at http://www.propelher.co.uk/goaldiggerguide/
8. What does self-care mean to you?
It embarrasses me to say it but for a long time self-care has been very low on my agenda. With a full-time job and multiple side-hustles, it is easy for me to work 24-7 and not make the necessary time for myself. However, that changed after I had an operation on my knee, which resulted in me being homebound. It was a massive wake-up call to me that my body is precious and I need to look after it. Now I try to make sure that I get enough sleep, I eat semi-healthy and that I exercise regularly.
9. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to someone trying to change their life?
Create a morning routine. Two books that I love are The Compound Effect and The Miracle Morning and a morning routine allows you to implement the key lesson from both books.
The Compound Effect talks about the impact of doing something every day to move you forward. Most people think success is achieved in a big moment, but really it is achieved my consistency and that consistency creates momentum. I loved this idea and for me the simplest way of ensuring I did something every day was to have it as part of my morning routine!
For years, I felt like I should be practising a morning routine, but I struggled to stick with it until I read and practised The Miracle Morning. After a few months of practising The Miracle Morning I altered my morning routine to suit my life, but if you don’t have a morning routine then The Miracle Morning is a great place to start.
Website: https://www.charellegriffith.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charellegriffith/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charellegriff
Twitter:https://www.twitter.com/charellegriff
PropelHer: https://www.propelher.co.uk