Visibility Vixen Michelle Lewis wears several different hats. She is an “Amazon best-selling author, podcast host and founder of The Celebrity CEO Method.” Online, she teaches CEOs important lessons on “how to skyrocket their visibility, launch their unique show strategy and start landing press for their brand.”
As a Visibility Vixen, Michelle Lewis applies tried-and-true Hollywood techniques on her PR services, which helps attract press to any brand. Her work has led to her being featured on several outlets, including Entrepreneur On Fire, TEDx Tarrytown, The Huffington Post, Medium, and Buzzfeed.
Before Visibility Vixen, Michelle Lewis came from a film and television background. She had worked in several shows like “Paycheck,” “Pretty Little Liars,” and “Chuck,” whether in front or behind the camera.
Michelle Lewis and her work at Visibility Vixen has also led to many features on podcasts. She has appeared on Summit Host Hangout, The Angie Lee Show, The Productive Life Podcast, Cubicle to CEO, LIT Podcast, Freedom Driven Success, Marketing for Your Boring Business, I Am CEO, and Online Business Clinic.
Visibility Vixen Michelle Lewis also offers courses to students who want to know how to “set up their systems, perfect their branding, and get on camera for video and live streaming to grow their business.”
Check out more interviews with visibility experts here.
I think it’s totally normal to think about giving up every day the first year, or even two years of your business. Michelle Lewis, Visibility Vixen
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Michelle Lewis: Absolutely! I actually started my career working on films and tv shows before moving my business online. But once I had a script idea taken from me by a major studio, I realized I wanted something that was mine. That couldn’t be taken so easily. So that led me to the online space. What started as helping people get more confident on camera and livestreaming morphed over the years to using my film background to teach important visibility elements like color psychology, brand videos and other online strategies.
Jerome Knyszewski: What was the “Aha Moment” that led to the idea for your current company? Can you share that story with us?
Michelle Lewis: It was at a coffee shop in the spring of 2016. A friend of mine knew what I was going through and asked, “why don’t you teach people how to make videos?”. I thought she was nuts! Didn’t everyone know how to do that? But it was the idea that stuck in my head and led me to where I’m at.
Jerome Knyszewski: Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?
Michelle Lewis: I think it’s totally normal to think about giving up every day the first year, or even two years of your business. There’s no one-size-fits all plan, is there? So much experimentation, failure, frustration, comparisonitis. But here’s the thing…most people DO give up. Most brilliant ideas stay unknown because the work is too hard. Persistence, grit and determination don’t come easily. For me, I think it was the years of health issues I dealt with that put that grit in me and kept me from throwing in the towel. And I’m honestly very grateful for that internal iron.
Early on, I learned to stop listening to all of the coaches and gurus out there. I put my head down and kept trying.
Jerome Knyszewski: So, how are things going today? How did your grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?
Michelle Lewis: Early on, I learned to stop listening to all of the coaches and gurus out there. I put my head down and kept trying. What could I do that no one else was doing? Well, I knew how to use color psychology in set design. Why not apply that to my brand? And when it worked, I was able to book Entrepreneur On Fire and TEDx using that concept. I applied to opportunities most people wait to feel qualified for. But I figured, why not? I think that’s what led to my growth and success the most. I just keep trying.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your experience, which aspect of running a company tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?
Michelle Lewis: I think publicity management. It’s entirely possible to have your team monitor, apply and secure podcasts, stages and publications for your brand. Usually, however, there’s so much going on with other aspects of the business, this credibility-builder gets overlooked and lost for years and years. I always emphasize building this with my clients and students so they can build their name in their industry much faster.
Instead of putting your heart and soul into a course with a hefty price tag, create something that’s a no-brainer that will easily build your audience. Michelle Lewis
Jerome Knyszewski: Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company”? Please share a story or an example for each.
Michelle Lewis:
- Get your systems in place. I spent way too much time trying to link multiple softwares together and it led to too many headaches and wasted time. Once I found an all-in-one to run the payments, funnels, website and list for my business — life got a lot simpler. Now I can do pretty much everything with Kajabi, Gsuite, Wave and Canva.
- Get your url’s and trademarks. Not enough business owners do proper research before launching products and names. I remember calling myself a visibility coach in the beginning and getting hit with a cease and desist because someone had trademarked that name. A few years later, I had to send one to a brand because they had used my business name for their product. I’ve really learned to check a name I want with a domain host as well as the USPTO before moving forward with it and advise my students to do the same.
- Start with a clear, low cost product. Instead of putting your heart and soul into a course with a hefty price tag, create something that’s a no-brainer that will easily build your audience. I wish I would have done that in the beginning instead of dealing with the frustration of zero sales for too long. Build a list of buyers who loved your low-cost product so then it’s easier to sell them into your higher-cost products when you have them available {and the cash flow to make it easy}.
- Know the process before you hire. There’s nothing worse than hiring a VA, social media manager, ads manager or designer to do something for you and having it not turn out as expected. I’ve found that putting a little effort into understanding the process I want outsourced makes me a much better boss. So, if you want someone to manage your Pinterest, for example, take a short course on it so you know the work required. For me, I’m able to keep an eye on their posting, engagement and know the warning signs if a job isn’t being done correctly. It’s been an invaluable asset.
- Manage your finances. When I first got started, I didn’t have any credit cards or help. So I had to be highly aware of every dollar going in and coming out. The great lesson in that was not getting over leveraged. To start, keep a running tally of the sales you’re making and the expenses you’re spending on a white board in your office. This will help you manage your cash flow well and only invest in the next hire or expense when you’re ready for it financially.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Michelle Lewis: I’m very easy to find. Here’s my website and my Instagram. You can also find me on Clubhouse: @visibilityvixen
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
