106 - Building a Media Company, Pitching Effectively and Good Advertising with Ellen Yin of Cubicle to CEO

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

In this episode with Ellen, we cover her journey of pivoting her business to a media company, what it takes to land media features, pitching effectively, how to create advertising that is appealing and serves your audience and so much more! 

Ellen is the founder & podcast host of Cubicle to CEO®, a media company creating financially transparent content, events, and education empowering women entrepreneurs to pursue what's possible.

 

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www.cubicletoceo.co

www.youtube.com/cubicletoceo

Accidental Entrepreneurship

Ellen never planned to become an entrepreneur but discovered her path after leaving her corporate job. This highlights the importance of being open to new opportunities and recognizing when the current situation isn't the right fit.

  1. Embracing Fear and Taking Action:

    Fear is a natural part of making big changes, but waiting for it to disappear can hinder progress. Ellen advises embracing fear and using it as a motivator to take decisive action. She emphasizes the need to go all-in and give full attention and resources to new visions.

  2. Pivoting and Evolution:

    Entrepreneurship is a journey of constant evolution. Ellen shares how her business went through multiple transformations, from offering marketing services to selling online business courses. Recently, she made the decision to pivot again and build a media brand, demonstrating the importance of adaptability and responding to market trends.

Landing Media Features

Getting featured in the media requires persistence and a willingness to hear "no." Ellen encourages entrepreneurs to view rejection as the beginning of a conversation and an opportunity to understand what would make it a "yes." It's crucial to focus on how your story can resonate with the audience and tie it to timely and relevant topics.

Building a Media Platform

For those interested in creating their own media platform, Ellen advises considering the audience's needs and desires. Understanding what makes people feel seen, known, and understood is key to building a successful media brand. Connecting with the right individuals and publications can help amplify your message and reach a wider audience.

Ellen's journey as an accidental entrepreneur highlights the importance of being open to unexpected opportunities and embracing fear as a catalyst for growth. By constantly evolving and making calculated pivots, entrepreneurs can find new paths to success. Whether seeking media features or building a media platform, understanding the audience's needs and crafting compelling stories are essential for gaining visibility and making an impact.

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TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Danielle: Today on the podcast I have an amazing guest, Ellen Yin. Ellen is the founder and podcast host of Cubicle to CEO, which is a media company creating financially transparent content, events and education, empowering women entrepreneurs to pursue what's possible. In this episode, we cover her journey of pivoting her business to a media company, what it takes to land, media, features, tips for pitching effectively, how to create advertising that is appealing and serves your ideal audience and so much more. You are going to love this episode.

[00:00:35] Before we get started though, I don't want you to forget to get access to our free organic workshop. If you have not gotten access yet, go to businessbabescollective.com/workshop. In this training, I share how to get organic exposure for your business through the power of collaborations and within that workshop, we actually announce a very exciting, brand new strategic collaboration [00:01:00] workshop series that is exclusively included within our Mastermind.

[00:01:04] It is an in-depth training and mastermind experience on how to create and successfully execute a personalized collaboration strategy for how to grow your exposure and your revenue. And within this, you are going to get access to me, personalized coaching from me. And this, again is exclusively available for our Mastermind members. So you can learn more about our mastermind by going to businessbabescollective.com/mastermind. Get your application in.

[00:01:32] I cannot wait to learn more about you and your business and if we feel like it's a good fit and we feel like we can serve you and help you Within the Mastermind, I will book a call with you. We will talk a little bit more about what it looks like to be a part of this incredible group of powerhouse women entrepreneurs who are there to support each other, strategize with one another, and cheer each other on in this crazy entrepreneurial journey that we are all on. So I can't wait to see your [00:02:00] application come through. And let's go ahead now and get started with our episode.

[00:02:05] Welcome to the Business Babes Collective podcast. I'm your host, Danielle Wiebe. in this podcast, you'll learn tangible business tips and strategies on how to grow successfully and sustainably.

[00:02:18] We'll also interview seasoned entrepreneurs so you can listen in on their stories and see behind the scenes of what it took to grow and scale their businesses. Let's dive in as we discuss the wild, exciting, crazy challenging, rollercoaster ride of entrepreneurship.

[00:02:35] Welcome, Ellen to the Business Babes Collective podcast. I am so excited to have you here today.

[00:02:40] Ellen: Danielle. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

[00:02:43] Danielle: Can you start off by just sharing a little bit more of your story? How did you become an entrepreneur? why did you become an entrepreneur? And tell us all the things.

[00:02:52] Ellen: The how and why were not well finessed, I'll tell you that/ I , I consider myself an accidental entrepreneur. I know there are a lot [00:03:00] of people out there that can probably relate to that sentiment. I, so I was 23 and I quit my corporate job a couple days before Christmas at the end of 2017. So this was about five years ago. And I had no intention of leaving that job to become an entrepreneur, but I just knew that the role that I was in wasn't the right fit for me.

[00:03:22] So I was open to whatever was next. And while I was applying for new roles in marketing, because I did work in in marketing, In my corporate career, I ended up reconnecting with a colleague at the company I had left, and him and his wife, they own this family coffee stand business, and my fiance had told them, Hey, Ellen knows a thing or two about Instagram marketing, you should talk to her.

[00:03:45] So I ended up pitching them it, and they became my first client. It was a $300 freelance project. Nothing life-changing, but for me it really was because it opened my mind to this entirely new path that I had never considered, [00:04:00] which was going out on my own as a freelance marketer and building up my clientele that way.

[00:04:05] So I decided that day to stop sending out resumes. I signed them as my first client. We quickly built that into a six figure agency within our first 12 months, and then in the last, almost five years now, like I said, we've gone through so many different evolutions. In late 2019, for example, we pivoted our service-based business and went from primarily done-for-you marketing services to primarily selling and teaching, uh, through online business courses.

[00:04:37] And so I really stepped into that role of educator and coach. And then more recently, in the Spring of this year, we have decided to pivot, once again, our third evolution of the company and really step full force into our vision of building cubicle to CEO into a full-fledged media brand and media platform.

[00:04:56] And so that has also come with a lot of learning [00:05:00] curves since it's a entirely different business model than what we're used to. So I'm happy to dive deeper into any of those areas.

[00:05:06] Danielle: So amazing.

[00:05:07] Ellen: But that's the journey.

[00:05:07] Danielle: Oh, I love that. I love that so much because I think a lot of people can relate to that, just so many different pivots and changes in their business as they evolve as an entrepreneur, as a person, and as their business evolves, and how their clients and everything evolves. And then also what you're building long term.

[00:05:24] And so I'm curious about the most recent pivot and what fears came up for you as far as pivoting that? Because I feel like a lot of people want to maybe make a change or they're like, oh, the way I'm running my business now isn't really working how I want it to, and they're wanting to make a change, they're wanting to make a pivot and they see other people doing it, but for them, they're like, oh, but I can't because X, Y, Z. So I would love to hear like, did that kind of scare you to, to really jump in and, and make this change?

[00:05:56] Ellen: Oh, for sure. I think, I mean, I really [00:06:00] don't know anyone that's made a big change in their lives and not felt some form of fear. I think the mistake most people make is that they wait for the fear to go away before they take action. And the truth is, the fear really never leaves you, right? It it's really something that you have to kind of accept as, Hey, it's along for the ride and we're gonna see what we can, how far we can go with it, you know?

[00:06:21] So for me, I, I did, my main concern really was that, you know, we had really established ourselves in the course, in business education space. And that's not to say we've done away with our educational products, but my signature program, which is the same name as my media brand Cubicle to CEO, we, that we actually launched that program in early 2019. So that was my very first online program ever, and it had become our primary revenue generator over the last three years. And so I knew that, in order for me to have the focus and the resources and [00:07:00] the, and the attention that I wanted and needed to build the media business, I needed to close this chapter.

[00:07:06] And that was really scary. Not only because we'd been able to help so many amazing service providers and coaches have amazing results in this program and make their first $10,000 month, but also because, like I said, it's our primary revenue generator and so

[00:07:22] Danielle: mm-hmm.

[00:07:22] Ellen: basically turning off the faucet on your, on your cash cow is kind of like, okay, so what next then? Like, how are we gonna keep the business funded? So that was my biggest fear, but luckily I had in, I guess my toolkit, the experience of having done something similar before, when I pivoted from services to education, I actually let go of all of my paying clients so that I would force myself to actually have the time and space to get my evergreen funnel up and get the course going.

[00:07:55] So I guess all this to say, I'm kind of an all in person. I've realized [00:08:00] this about myself, that if I have a new vision, I have to give myself the actual space and a little bit of the fear to like get my butt going, you know?

[00:08:08] Danielle: Mm-hmm.

[00:08:08] Ellen: Otherwise, if I have that safety net, it's really easy for me to just fall back into what's comfortable and go, okay, well, I'll just Slowly, you know, build this on the side instead of being like, no, let me give this all of my creative attention and resources and see what we can do with it.

[00:08:23] Danielle: Hmm. That's so good. I love that. And I think, regardless of whether you make that like conscious deci decision or not, like sometimes just circumstances force you to make that change. And I know for us, that was the case obviously when Covid happened, our main revenue was events. And so for us it was like we were forced.

[00:08:43] Like we didn't really have a choice. We were like, okay, well I guess we have to pivot into like everything online now. And so I think that's really great to just have that mindset. And I think as a, as an entrepreneur, as an, and as you grow, kind of have to build up that mindset of going all in on [00:09:00] your idea, on, on your vision, and as you've seen in your own business, like that really pays off when you can actually have that all in mentality because then you just, you do everything to make sure that it's gonna happen rather than, oh, I kind of have this fallback and so I'm not gonna put my all into it because I have this, like you said, this safety net that I can,

[00:09:24] Ellen: yeah,

[00:09:24] Danielle: I can rely on. And so I love that so much. I would love to ask you a little bit more about media and about really kind of getting exposure for your business.

[00:09:33] And I know a lot of my audience is interested in this, but they don't really know where to start, because they feel like they need to almost like, prove themselves first before they start getting these opportunities. And it almost feels like it's never gonna come because they're, they're kind of trying to build their brand, build their audience, and it's like, well, how can I get these opportunities before I have that? So, I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this.

[00:09:58] Ellen: Yeah. Well, I, I wanna [00:10:00] make sure I answer this question in the most beneficial way to your listeners.

[00:10:02] Danielle: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:03] Ellen: Are, are they more interested in landing media features on other people's media platforms, or are they interested in creating their own media platform and then monetizing that through paid partnerships, brand deals, et cetera?

[00:10:17] Danielle: We definitely have both in our audience, so

[00:10:20] Ellen: Okay.

[00:10:20] Danielle: Maybe, maybe you could speak to both, that would be super helpful.

[00:10:23] Ellen: Yeah, of course. I'm happy to. So let's start with the first one, which is Landing media feature. This is one of those goals where you have to get really comfortable with hearing No, because, really, you have to kind of put yourself in the position of just like any, any journalist or any publicist, right? Anytime you're making an ask, which is essentially what you're doing over and over, you're, you're learning how to pitch yourself and how to tell your story to someone to get them to engage and say, okay, this is a story worth sharing with the people in my audience or on my platform, whether that's an individual that you [00:11:00] are pitching to get on their podcast, or whether you're pitching an institution like, I don't know, the New York Times, right.

[00:11:06] And so I think getting comfortable with the no is really important first. In fact, I was just on a mastermind call yesterday with my friend Celina Sue, and one of the themes that we talked about was let's all challenge ourselves to go out there and get 100 no's.

[00:11:20] And to me,

[00:11:21] Danielle: oh Good.

[00:11:22] Ellen: Right?

[00:11:22] Danielle: I love, I love that. ,That's like you are speaking my language right now. Cause I'm like, people are so afraid of hearing No, but everyone that has accomplished anything of significance has heard at least a hundred no's, you know?

[00:11:36] Ellen: A thousand percent.

[00:11:37] Danielle: Yeah.

[00:11:38] Ellen: So i, I think really too, and my, uh, I don't know if you listened to Julie Solomon's podcast, um, the Influencer podcast.

[00:11:46] Danielle: I have, yeah.

[00:11:46] Ellen: So, Julie's a friend and, and she, something that she said to me that I always really resonated with is, you know, no is just the beginning of the conversation. Like, if you can get over that fear and realize, okay, if I can just get [00:12:00] that no, then the conversation has now started. It's not actually ended, you know, contrary to what most people think. It's the beginning of a conversation where you can then go back and say, okay, but what would make this a yes? Right? And so, That's number one.

[00:12:13] Number two though, is really to think about things, not from how do I get featured or how do I get spotlighted on other people's platforms or in the media, but rather what is an element of my story that can make other people feel seen and known and understood, and how can I make sure I connect with the right person to get that story out there.

[00:12:35] So really thinking about what is already relevant and timely in the news cycle. So I'll give you a tangible example of this. Uh, early in the pandemic, Oregon went through, and this is where I live in Oregon, uh, our state economy went through a giant job loss and it was being reported everywhere, right?

[00:12:55] The Oregonians like one of the biggest papers in our state. And you know, they had a whole article with, you [00:13:00] know, very alarming stat about the thousands of jobs that had basically, you know, people had just been let go overnight. Because of this timely topic, I thought to myself, oh, this is interesting because, at this time when a lot of companies are letting people go, I actually just went out and intentionally changed a lot of my part-time contractor jobs all over the country into three local full-time employee positions here in Oregon.

[00:13:24] And I thought this is an interesting intersection between what's already relevant in the news and what I'm actually doing in my business. So I basically pitched this story to a couple local papers and magazines about why hiring local is actually an advantage and why I decided to make this step in my own business.

[00:13:42] And we had a local paper run it on the front page. And then I had another feature in the alumni magazine for my university that I graduated from. And again, that opportunity was huge for us to get our, our business and our name out there. But I [00:14:00] didn't approach it from the perspective of , here's a story about me and, and why it's, you know, why you guys should care.

[00:14:06] You have to always think about it from the other person's perspective and like, why would the readers or the listeners of this publication care about what you have to say? How does it tie to their lives and their needs and their, you know, desires?

[00:14:20] Danielle: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I love that so much. That is such a cool story.

[00:14:24] I, I love the ex, the tangible example because yeah, I encourage people that are listening, like, what opportunities can you maybe look for? Or just being aware of what the conversation is, whether it be in your local city or in a community that you're a part of, and how could you maybe have a fresh perspective?

[00:14:43] Cuz yours was like a very fresh, encouraging perspective, and obviously as we know, a lot of the news is like doom and gloom and like that's why I have, I have trouble actually watching the news or paying attention, but being, paying attention to that so [00:15:00] that you can actually bring in a, a more positive, uplifting perspective to things.

[00:15:04] And I think that's so cool, and I love that you took that opportunity and that is something that not only was a good opportunity for you, but like you said, Provided value and also provided encouragement for people reading, right? So I think that's such an important thing, is how can you provide value?

[00:15:23] How can you change the conversation depending on kind of what industry? So I love that so much. And a follow-up question to that would be, As far as looking for those opportunities, obviously there's like the traditional route of, of media and everything like that, and then there's kind of non-traditional, so whether that be like blogs or other people within your industry that maybe have platforms. I would love to hear your perspective on this cuz we're really passionate about collaborations as a community, so I would love to hear your perspective on that. And how do you go about building some of those relationships and potential partnerships? [00:16:00]

[00:16:00] Ellen: So I'm sure you'll be able to relate to this, Danielle, because you're a podcaster like I am. Podcasting has honestly been one of the greatest, if not the absolute greatest networking tool I've ever had in my business.

[00:16:12] And granted, we have our own show, right? But even if you don't have a podcast, guesting on other people's podcasts is one of the greatest ways to meet people and really form a deeper connection because it's long form content. You're typically sitting with someone for anywhere from 30 to sometimes up to an hour and a half, and that time that you spend together, you really get to know the person on the other side of the screen, or even ideally in person. And the content that you're creating is really time leveraged because podcasting is one of the most evergreen forms of content where even episodes that were recorded years ago, people may still be finding today and going back through and binging a show and listening to all the old episodes.

[00:16:54] So I, I really feel like podcasting is the new wave of media [00:17:00] and audio is only continuing to grow as a media channel. So my biggest suggestion, if you're wanting to guest on other people's podcasts is again, to make sure that the pitch is really centered around the host and the show and their listeners and how you can be of support to them, not how your story is something that needs to be featured. Right?

[00:17:21] We get hundreds and hundreds of podcast pitches every single year, and most of the pitches all follow the same format. They're really terrible. It's always like great guest suggestion for Cubicle the CEO podcast. And then it's like, oh, this person has won all these awards and like they've made this much money and here are some of the topics they can talk about and would you like to have them on your show?

[00:17:43] And I'm like, this really has absolutely nothing to do with my listeners. Like why do my listeners need to hear from you, right? Like, what is the benefit that you're providing there? Or how does this support our show by having you on? So that's the perspective I would go in with is thinking about, [00:18:00] okay, how do I highlight how I'm going to use my platforms, whether it's your social following, your email list, your in-person network to share out that person's podcast if, if they choose to have you on as guest, thinking about the topics that you are presenting to them, doing the host homework for them by coming up with the interview questions and making sure they're really juicy and making sure there's something that hasn't already been covered on the show.

[00:18:24] And then most importantly, showing that you actually care and support, you know, the host and their listeners. So, one of the easiest things you can do, i, I always wanna share this tip out because so few people do it. Like I can literally count on one hand how many times this has, this has happened to us, but it makes such a huge difference is, before you pitch a show, go listen to at least an episode of the show.

[00:18:46] Leave them a five star rating and review. Screenshot that review and attach it to your pitch. And you can even make your subject line something like left your show a five star review. That's probably gonna get a lot more opens than something like great guest [00:19:00] suggestion, right? Or whatever it is. And it shows that you actually took the time out of your day to invest and give back to this show.

[00:19:08] For you even made an ask and I think leading with generous action is such an important thing. Anytime you are pitching someone, whether it's for media, for a brand, partnership, whatever it may be, so that's my number one tip and I even like wrote up an, I feel so passionate about this. Danielle, you'll probably tell, I'm like on my soapbox.

[00:19:25] Danielle: Yes. I feel I love it so much.

[00:19:27] Ellen: I feel so passionate about this topic that I literally created like a line by line. Perfect podcast pitch template about how to exactly like use this email to send yourself out for pitches, because I really feel like there's just so many bad pitches out there.

[00:19:42] I wanna

[00:19:43] Danielle: mm-hmm.

[00:19:43] Ellen: be part of that change. So anyway.

[00:19:45] Danielle: Well, the funny thing is, I don't know if you know this, but I actually. Purchased that from you cuz I was like, I need to, I need to learn this because

[00:19:52] Ellen: Oh my gosh.

[00:19:52] Danielle: And it's so funny cuz it's exactly what I like. I love that you said the, the review because that has been the biggest [00:20:00] thing that I actually started doing this before because some, I think someone pitched me with that and I was like, wow, this is really different.

[00:20:06] And this is like, Really stands out because like you said, it's, it's showing them that you have done your homework and showing them that you admire them and that you're willing to support them even if you're not gonna get anything in return.

[00:20:21] Ellen: Yes.

[00:20:21] Danielle: And I think that's the biggest thing is setting your expectations of I'm gonna be generous and I'm going to support this person, even if nothing ever happens. I'm just gonna put that out there. And I think that that always pays off. We always just expect that we're gonna get something right away if we do something nice for someone. And that feeling really is not like a nice feeling , like, so if someone can,

[00:20:44] Ellen: Yes!

[00:20:44] Danielle: Can feel that from you of like, oh, this person is only connecting with me, or someone's only supporting me so that they can get something back. But if you're truly just supporting them and just saying like, Hey, left your review and like regardless, like your, your show was awesome, [00:21:00] like this is what I can provide.

[00:21:01] But leaving it on like a really good note because you never know what could potentially happen in the future. And even if not, you just wanna have that positive influence because, also, you don't know who those people are connected to as well, right?

[00:21:14] Ellen: Yeah.

[00:21:15] Danielle: And so you want people speaking positive about you to other people too. I love that you shared the structure of that, and I think it's so, so important because, because a lot of people and, and it's not that they're trying to be like all about themselves. But they just have never really pitched before, so they don't really know. And maybe those are the only pitches that they've seen, you know, come in their inbox too.

[00:21:36] So they're like, oh, I guess this is how I pitch.

[00:21:38] Ellen: So true. It's like the, it, it's a perpetuating problem, right? Which is

[00:21:42] Danielle: exactly!

[00:21:42] Ellen: Which is exactly why, you know, we can be part of perpetuating the solution. So, yes, thank you. By the way, I, I didn't know that you had uh, perfect podcast pitch template, but I appreciate that so much and I hope that you're seeing greater success with using it. So

[00:21:57] Danielle: mm-hmm.

[00:21:57] Ellen: thank you for supporting us in that way.

[00:21:59] Danielle: One, one of the [00:22:00] biggest things was like the research and the questions and giving example questions. I think that's so key. And I think the other thing is, yeah, making it easy for the other person because I think so often cuz we get, we get pitches all the time too, and I, when we used to do our live events, we would get so many pitches and they were always also very vague.

[00:22:19] It would be like, Hey, we know that you have this community within Vancouver and like, we're really, like, we're really wanting to reach these people too, and um, how we would love to work with you. We would love to collaborate. And then they would just kind of end it there and so we'd be like, okay, like, I don't know, I don't know what you want from me. And then it feels kind of a little bit icky because you're like, what are you asking of me? And I'm kind of nervous to respond because if I respond, I don't know what you're gonna ask back.

[00:22:49] If I say, Hey, sure, yeah, let's maybe collaborate. What did you have in mind? Then all of a sudden it's like they're asking this big ask. So being like really clear and concise too about [00:23:00] what you're asking for.

[00:23:02] Ellen: That's such a good takeaway. Yes. Like being specific with your ask. That is such an underrated strategy, but it, it goes so far when you can save someone, like you said, that that extra brain fatigue, it's like anytime, really even beyond pitches, even in your marketing for your products on your own website, anytime you can reduce the friction or reduce the amount of time someone has to sit there and really try to think and understand what you're asking of them, you're going to have better results.

[00:23:32] So, Always be more concise, more clear, more specific about the ask to reduce the amount of back and forth that someone else has to pour emotional labor, time labor into pulling that answer out of you. Right?

[00:23:46] Danielle: Yeah. So good. So good. I love that. Okay, let's, let's pivot and talk about the other side of things.

[00:23:52] Ellen: Yeah.

[00:23:52] Danielle: So obviously you guys have, have created this media brand, which is incredible, and you also have done a lot of media, so you've [00:24:00] been on both sides of the equation, which is really cool. Tell us a little bit more about being a media company, whether that be like, if someone is looking to kind of create a platform, create a community where maybe they're looking to get into brand partnerships, that sort of thing, to monetize. First of all, can you explain a little bit more about that business model for people who are not super clear about how media companies really work?

[00:24:27] Ellen: Yeah, absolutely. I'm happy to do that. I think sometimes it's easiest to go macro and use an example of a well-known media company and then kind of narrow down to like our, our new age digital type of media companies, right? So I want you to think about something very traditional, like, okay, let's just use, I don't know, growing up, you know, we all probably read magazines like 17 and Cosmo and Vogue or whatever it may be, right?

[00:24:54] So think about like, let's, let's take, you know, Vogue Magazine for example. When you open up that [00:25:00] magazine, not every single page in that magazine is editorial content, right? Some of it is like full page ads. I don't know if you remember Danielle, like those perfume ads, those were my favorites.

[00:25:09] Danielle: yes.

[00:25:10] Ellen: Always get to sniff all the different scents.

[00:25:11] Danielle: Oh my gosh. And then some of them would have like, three in them.

[00:25:14] Ellen: Yeah.

[00:25:14] Danielle: And you're like, oh my gosh, this is the best magazine ever.

[00:25:17] Ellen: I know. As a middle schooler, I'd be like, okay, this is like my perfume collection. All these little strips of paper.

[00:25:22] Danielle: You're just like putting it on your,

[00:25:23] Ellen: yeah.

[00:25:23] Danielle: On your wrists and on your, yeah.

[00:25:26] Ellen: Yeah. Oh my goodness. So fun.

[00:25:28] Danielle: It's funny.

[00:25:28] Ellen: Good times. Um, so anyways. If you think about a traditional media company like Vogue, right? Um, they make money by advertisers buying space on their platform, and they have many different mediums, right? They have their website, they have the magazine, they have other, you know, tangible assets, but their biggest one is the magazine.

[00:25:48] So people are paying for a full page ad, or a branded content story piece in their magazine. So if you take that same idea and you extrapolate it now to [00:26:00] a digital company like ours, a digital media company, we have different media channels that brands can buy space on to get in front of our audiences.

[00:26:10] So our main ones are our podcast Cubicle the CEO, our email newsletter, our other social assets, right? And then of course our live in-person and virtual events doing branded events. And so when a brand partner is selling a service or a product that would be of benefit to our community of women entrepreneurs, we're looking at, okay, how can we get your message and your product and your service in front of our audience in a way that is of value to the person on the other end, right?

[00:26:42] Because nobody likes to just receive a straight advertisement. You wanna really get creative about how can you create content that, yes, shares their message or their service of their product, but also provides service to the person consuming the content where they want to come back for more.

[00:26:59] So [00:27:00] that is, The model of a media, media company in a nutshell. Does that help?

[00:27:04] Danielle: I love, Oh yeah, absolutely. And I, and I love that that's like a big focus for you is like, yeah, how do we share someone's story or share about someone's business or products in a way that's like going to engage them just as much as something that maybe was just something that you were sharing, like an educational piece of content, whatever that might be. Right?

[00:27:25] Ellen: Right.

[00:27:25] Danielle: How can you make it actually really interesting? Cause you know, we've always, we've all seen those magazines where like so much of the magazine is just ads and sometimes you can, you can tell, and you're kind of like, like, oh, it's so annoying. And then sometimes you can't really tell because the ad itself is either educational or entertaining or something that you would wanna read or look at anyways, so yeah, I love that. And I think, go ahead.

[00:27:50] Ellen: Oh, sorry. Sorry. I was just gonna say a real life example of that right, is like, People who aren't even sports fans who tune in every year to the Super Bowl commercials purely [00:28:00] because they know the entertainment value of those commercials are so high quality.

[00:28:04] Or I'm, I'm like binging Welcome to Wrexham right now, which is the football or soccer club that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElheny bought in in Wales because I was, I was such a fan of Ted Lasso, and this is like a real life version of that. And so

[00:28:19] Danielle: I love Ted Lasso. Okay. I'm gonna have to check that out. Okay.

[00:28:21] Ellen: Oh my gosh. Yeah. You have to watch it, but, you know, it, it just brought to mind how, you know, like Ryan Reynolds, he has really expanded beyond his work as an actor to own multiple businesses, and he's, his businesses are all very well known for their excellent advertising, like Aviation Gin.

[00:28:38] Danielle: Mm-hmm.

[00:28:38] Ellen: he, he's just, Well known for being creative with his ads. So all this to say, advertisements don't have to always be a bad experience for the end user. They can actually be helpful, educational, entertaining, as you said, but you have to be very intentional with the content that you create around it.

[00:28:55] Danielle: Hmm. So, so good. I love that. Well, I just [00:29:00] absolutely love everything you do.

[00:29:01] I really enjoy your podcast. It's so great, by the way. If people have not tuned in to Cubicle to CEO, you have to go check it out. But I wanna an end with a question of what are you most proud of, of your entrepreneurial journey thus far? Cuz you've, you've accomplished a lot. Um, and how long, how long have you been in this entrepreneurial space by the way?

[00:29:18] Ellen: So almost five years. It'll be five years. Um, in January, 2023. I know a lot has happened. Right? We,

[00:29:26] Danielle: Yes, I'm like, wow, that seems like a whirlwind of a five years. That's great.

[00:29:30] Ellen: Yeah. It, it's, it's definitely been a wild and very, you know, gratifying adventure. I would say, it's hard to pick just one thing, but I kind of think it wraps up nicely with what we started the conversation with it, which is being willing to take those bigger risks when you don't have A through Z steps lined up and the assurance that okay, everything's already planned, and it's a guarantee that it's going to work out because the truth is, if [00:30:00] you're listening to this, if you're an entrepreneur, if you identify as someone who likes to create things, there is always going to be inherent risk in this challenge of solving problems in new ways or creating something from the ground up, right?

[00:30:14] So I think the sooner you learn to accept that it's not always going to be perfect, and that data is the best way to make better decisions, and you can't get data without putting things out there and actually seeing what happens, not just what hypothetically happens in your head. Um, that's what I'm most proud of, is just being able to, even if it doesn't make sense on paper, even when it didn't make sense to let go of all my clients for my six figure agency. Even when it didn't make sense to close down my biggest revenue generator in my signature program, when my intuition has led me to say, this is the next step you need to take to evolve your vision, I've always listened to it, even when it didn't make sense on paper. And that level of trust in myself I think is [00:31:00] something I'm proud of.

[00:31:00] Danielle: I love that so much. I feel like we need to like rewind that, play that again for whoever needs it. I love that so much. Can you tell us, Ellen, how we can connect with you, how we can find you online and be a part of everything that you're doing?

[00:31:16] Ellen: Thank you so much for asking, so you can find me personally on Instagram @missellenyin. If you wanna connect with my company @cubicletoceo on Instagram and TikTok, we're just getting started in the TikTok space, so we'd love to have you come along on that experiment. Um, and then of course, the podcast. If you're listening to Danielle's podcast, you can just search cubicle, the CEO, wherever you're listening and subscribe there.

[00:31:41] Danielle: Love that so much. Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast, Ellen. Thanks so much for bringing your value and tips and your, your journey and your story. So grateful to have you.

[00:31:49] Ellen: It was my pleasure. Thanks.

[00:31:55] If you love this episode, make sure you screenshot, post and tag us on [00:32:00] Instagram @businessbabesco. Want to know when the next episode goes live? Subscribe on your podcast app and while you're there, leave us a review. Until next time, keep dreaming big, setting goals and taking action.

Danielle Wiebe