When I first heard about Kimra Luna, I had heard of my fair share of rags to riches stories, but few were as inspiring as hers -- she not only went from welfare to almost millionaire in three years, but she was also able to retire her husband before 30.
I am honored to be introducing Kimra, a personal branding and social media strategist, and the Founder of Be True Brand You, a one-stop-shop course for entrepreneurs who want to launch their brands online.
What motivated you to want to retire your husband?
My husband worked 10 hour days as a Fedex driver, which is hard labor, and I felt like my husband deserved to be with his kids.
I did not want him to miss things that were going on and I just wanted him to be able to be in my life more.
How did you start your business?
When I first started out online, I was a blogger, and I did very well in the health and fitness blogging arena.
That was when I discovered the power of social media.
Then I became very popular on Pinterest, and I started teaching people how to use Pinterest, and that's when I discovered I really enjoyed the teaching aspect of online business.
I created my own brand, KimraLuna.com, and I wanted to teach people.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs with spouses?
Make sure your spouse understands your vision.
Do your best to get them clear on it so that they can be supportive while you're on your path.
What does your husband do on a day-to-day basis with your business?
He's actually the CFO of our business.
He helps make sure we're budgeting everything, making sure I have money set aside for launches, and be able to invest things back into the business.
He also helps with the technical aspects of business and with my website as well.
What were the most important ingredients to your success?
Loving what I do is the most important ingredient because I wake up completely motivated to do what I do every single day.
Do you think this is naturally born or something that can be cultivated?
You have to love what you do, or you will not succeed, period. Mic drop. [laughs]
You can't just be in it just to make some money, you have to do something that you love.
What's it like running a business with your kids?
It can be a struggle, some days if you have work to do, and they are distracting you -- maybe they have a cold, or they're kind of pulling you in directions, also that's why I have a nanny [laughs].
It can be a bit of a struggle, you have appointments, kids pulling at you, but it makes it worth it because that's who I'm doing it for -- I'm doing my business so my kids can have a better life.
What do you think separates successful entrepreneurs from unsuccessful ones?
Time is probably the biggest factor.
Time and being consistent, because of the times when you see somebody else have a lot of success, it's usually because they have been hustling longer.
What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs starting their business?
Don't worry about being perfect.
Get yourself out there, hustle your butt off, and get in front of people.
You can't help anybody if you are hiding.
What were the major milestones in your business?
Retiring my husband after I made my first $10,000 in six weeks, he was able to quit his job so that was a big one.
In my first launch, I made $62,000 from my launch of my digital program "Be True Brand You", and my second launch was a $750,000 launch, so those are pretty much the biggest milestones.
How were you able to be successful in such a short amount of time?
I had success offline first I started as an entrepreneur when I was 18 years old.
I had my own booking agency, and did event planning, so I was always entrepreneurial.
I knew how I had to hustle online; once I learned the leverage of being online, I became obsessed.
I've applied everything I learned, all by trial and error -- what works and what doesn't -- so when I launched my Kimra Luna brand, I already had a total game plan of what I was doing and just kept on doing it.
What does a typical day for you look like?
Every day is completely different.
Somedays I don't do anything, other days I am able to work from the second I wake up til when I go to sleep at night.
Because I have kids, I do have two full-time assistants who also help me run my business, so it kinda just depends on the week.
Sometimes I have a lot of interviews, sometimes I have a webinar, sometimes I spend a whole day for my Facebook ads or email so it really varies.
Can you tell us about your freedom hackers community?
Freedom hackers is a Facebook community of 15,000+ online entrepreneurs who looking to find freedom online promoting their passions. It's a great support group of people looking to learn and help each other grow.
Can you tell us about your program "Be True Brand You?"
Be True Brand You is a 12-week program that goes through everything that you need to know about online business, from branding basics to building a website, to Facebook ads, to promoting webinars, to creating a digital program. A lot of my students say after they bought my program they never have to buy another one.
How can we get in contact with you?
You can reach me at www.KimraLuna.com, and then if you'd like to join my Freedom Hackers community you can visit www.kimraluna.com/freedomhackers.