I love the power and reassurance of a good pivot story! Your career path is rooted in that of Brand development and consulting but you’ve worked for company’s including U.S. House of Representatives, the UNCF, Google and the San Antonio Spurs and have been featured in publications such as Yahoo, Sheen and Voyage Dallas. You’ve shared that you began your business “Kendra Scale My Business” out of boredom, what was this boredom rooted in and how did you know it was time to move on it?

I actually started my first business, IASA Consulting, out of boredom. I was bored at work and tired of the routine. I’m a person who needs to mix it up or I’m over it. I knew that it was time for me to leave the Spurs when I literally couldn’t focus anymore. I would come to work and either stare at the screen or set up outside meetings so I could leave the arena. There was really no point in staying, but I needed some stability. One Monday, I walked in and knew it was over. I went to a meeting, left the meeting, packed up my desk, wrote my letter of resignation, and dipped. By Wednesday I had my first client to the tune of $10K. It was time!

Financial freedom seems to be the ultimate goal for so many of us, and with the daily influx of all the information we digest on social media – it seems as if everyone is selling a product or service. How does someone find their niche and purpose amongst all the noise?

I think there are three steps to standing out online:

1) Find Your Purpose Before You Get Online. While a lot of people have found themselves on the internet, I think it’s a best practice to know who you are, what you’re doing, and who you’re doing it for BEFORE you get online.  I recommend tapping into your relationship with God. It’s impossible to find the purpose of a creation without consulting its Creator. 

 2) Be Authentic. Your tribe will find you. No matter what industry I have worked in, I have always been able to find my people by being myself. While it can be easy to copy others, finding and using your true authentic voice will pay dividends. People follow me online because they know I will keep it 100. 3) Help the People. While there are literally hundreds of thousands of consultants in the world, I’ve been able to stand out because I genuinely help people with pleasure. Be DM-friendly and stop charging for SIMPLE questions. I usually answer one question in the DMs and then direct them to either a freebie or a course I’ve created. People support those who support them. 

3)    “Scaling” has definitely been one of those nuanced terms we’ve been hearing lately as more and more businesses seem to blossom. Does every single business have the ability to be scaled and does scaling have attributes that will benefit all businesses or is this case by case?

I believe that there are some businesses that scale easier than others. Traditional scaling is just taking the business model and amplifying it without incurring any large costs and additional overhead.  A great example of a scalable business is YouTube. If a YouTuber makes the initial financial investment in the best equipment, they can churn out as much content on as many platforms as possible. The more they put out, the more of a chance they have to scale. If a video blows up overnight, their channel will grow and the revenue will increase, but their overhead is basically the same. In contrast, if you provide a service, you may be able to scale, but it won’t be at the same rate as a creator.  Any business that wants to scale needs three things: the right systems, the right people in the right place, and a good cash flow. 

Your business being faith-based and spiritually rooted (including your own posts on social media) is something that stands out from many consulting companies tremendously. Why was this important to include in your business core values?

I can’t fake the funk lol. God is the foundation of my entire life, so I couldn’t leave Him out of my plans. God is my boss. We have regular staff meetings and He is constantly pouring our ideas and vision over the business. I think it’s important to be real and anyone who wants to work with me needs to know that God is my compass out the gate. I bring Him into every meeting and every business that I consult in one way or another.

To so many people who may be the first in their family to dare to dream outside of a normal corporate setting, the idea of entrepreneurship may seem overwhelmingly unattainable due to not having tangible examples of what that looks like. What advice do you have for people who have the desire to go into business for themselves but traditionally do not come from a family of entrepreneurs?

Get a mentor – immediately. If you haven’t seen it for yourself, you need to talk to someone who has done it.  I believe that you should find someone like you – in your industry and even your race and gender if you can. Without mentorship, I would have never made it out the hood. Find someone that you can relate to and shoot your shot. Asking them for help directly is the best way to secure someone fast. They may have a paid mentorship program or they may be willing to take a chance on you. Either way, take hold of the opportunity and don’t ruin it. As much as you need a good mentor, you need to be a good mentee – so show up to meetings on time, ask thoughtful questions, come open-minded, and always ask for ways to serve them. 

What was the thought process with creating the Millionaire project, and what was your primary goal with it?

The Millionaire Project came to me in March 2020 just before the pandemic hit. I was sitting in my Airbnb in Toronto and I heard God say that I would dedicate my career to equipping women to be millionaires. At this time, I was still 4 months away from hitting $1M in my own business, but I trusted His voice. The primary purpose is to give faith-based women the tools they need to make millions and create generational wealth. It’s not just about business as I have found that getting our spiritual lives intact helps to set the pace of everything in the natural.

What is your go-to mantra or affirmation and song you play to either start your day or give you a pick me up when needed?

 Nothing like a good playlist, or quote to remind us who we are! I’ve lived by this Jim Rohn quote since about 2008. It says, “Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.” Whew! It’s just a constant reminder to stop living for the applause – just live! 

When I need a musical pick me up, I’m listening to anything by Rick Ross, Jay-Z, or Drake. My tried and true gospel is Tye Tribbett’s “He Turned It”.

Having a career spanning about a decade now, what remains your why?

Above all else, I desire to please God with my whole life. My secondary why is the legacy I will leave for my unborn children. They will never suffer in the ways I did. Call them trust fund babies! lol

More on Kendra Hill:

The 33-year-old CEO of Kendra, Scale My Business – a consulting firm based in Atlanta that specializes in supporting creators and multimillion-dollar businesses in continuing to grow in revenue, people reached, and brand visibility – has reinvented the management consultant model. As a result of this, her presence has grown across the globe as clients from around the world reach out to utilize her services.  Notable clients include Marriott International, JustFab, The UNCF, Trojan, and Revel Casino Hotel.  

 

As a thought leader in brand and business management, Kendra has taken the consulting world by storm, and many people are asking the same question. “How?”. Kendra has easy, affordable and extremely applicable ways of showing the novice entrepreneur to CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies just how to increase their profits in a small amount of time.

 

We know there are plenty of consultants out there, but what sets Kendra apart is her non-traditional approach to everything she does. With almost a decade of entrepreneurial experience, she has learned that the key to generating revenue is treating each client’s business as her own in an incredibly unique way.

CONNECT WITH KENDRA @iamkendrayhill