Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Duran.
Hi Erica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a Fortune 50 Executive for about 15 years in the theme park and hospitality industry. I started trying all sorts of side businesses when I was around 30 years old (financial planning, real estate, network marketing, etc.).
One day, the politics at my resort marketing executive job got too much to bear – I walked out quietly at lunch and never returned.
I started a Profesional Orangizing business and became certified.
Social media and internet marketing was new way of finding clients; I adopted these methods early on.
Other professional organizers in my area started to notice and reach out for coaching for marketing online.
I then decided that I didn’t want to organize homes, offices, and hotels, anymore – I wanted to be able to work from anywhere.
So I became a full-time business coach online and have been traveling full-time since 2014.
A few years ago, I opened an online travel agency alongside my coaching business so that I could help my clients plan their mastermind groups, retreats, and leisure vacations.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was not a smooth road at all. There were many ups and downs in my income for the first five years. I was in a long divorce and surrounded by many deaths while trying to grow my business. I also feel like I would have stabilized my income much more quickly if I didn’t try to follow a lot of online gurus and what they said to do. My business always worked better when I did what came through intuition and seeking out coaching to bring my talent out in a stronger way – not from trying to emulate others in my space.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I own an online business coaching business and an online travel agency.
In the travel agency, I specialize in Hawaii, Disney, Celebrity, Viking, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, Ama Waterways, Globus, and Atlas.
In the online business coaching business, I help (mostly women) from the very first conception of their business and how it will be structured so that they will have a highly-profitable freedom-based business. I help them in building all their online platforms (websites, social media, videos, podcasting), pricing and packaging, marketing, sales training, etc.
The biggest thing I help people with is motivation and mindset so that my clients can earn what they desire and not have to spend all their time online and working long hours.
I also created the Paid For Your Presence™ Method and help my clients develop their own unique system within the Paid For Your Presence™ framework.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I would say to those just starting out, no matter what your budget is, to get some sort of coach or mentor in your space. It will save you a ton of time and money as well as help you to avoid costly pitfalls.
I would also say that even if you walk out of your stressful job, don’t put all that pressure on your new baby business. I would recommend getting some sort of fun-to-you job to pay for your necessities while you work on your business. Having a side job will take the pressure off and gives you more money to invest in advertising and mentorship.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ericaduran.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericaduranintl/
