Chioma Isiadinso Podcast Transcript outlines How This Entrepreneur Helps Young Professionals Get into the Best MBA Programs (e.g. Harvard Business School) – and Is Achieving Success At It.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Hi, Chioma. Welcome and thanks for agreeing to chat with us today.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Hi, Keisha. Thank you for having me.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay, great. So I just wanted to start with your personal journey in terms of the business you have now, Expartus, plus a bit about how that got started and your journey.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Sure, absolutely. So, gosh, it’s been a fascinating process. I started Expartus over 10 years ago. I had studied Psychology in college and I knew that I enjoyed helping people, and so I did my masters right after. And I had worked in the admissions world. So I worked at Carnegie Mellon University for five years, and then I worked for Harvard Business School admissions for two years. And, after that point, we had moved. My husband, at the time, and I had moved to New York from Boston. And I was reflecting on what my next step was going to be, whether I should take a job working in the same industry or do something different. My heart just kept calling me back to serving, serving young people, helping them figure out their educational dreams. So ultimately I started my company, Expartus, at that time, and it’s been a fascinating journey ever since.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay, great. And it sounds like it’s actually a passion for you, and I wanted to ask you about that. I can hear the passion in your voice. Why is it such a passion for you in terms of helping people get into the programs of their dreams?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Oh gosh, Keisha. I mean, it comes from a very personal place. My late dad was the son of petty farmers in a small village in Africa, and education transformed his life. He had access to a scholarship where he went to Cambridge University and did his PhD, and that changed the trajectory of his life, the trajectory of my family’s life, and where we are today. So I have seen how transformational education can be, and so it was only a natural thing for me to want to empower as many young people to identify A, what their passion is, and then B, help them use education as a natural bridge towards accessing a phenomenal career and a life of meaning.
Host – Keisha Blair:
That sounds amazing. Can you tell us about your main, or your signature, programs in terms of your service offering for your business, and how you’ve had to adapt for COVID?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Right. Well, so the journey of Expartus for the first several years was primarily helping young professionals to get into the best business schools. From day one, we were a virtual company, so our clients are in all corners of the US and all around the world. And so, from that standpoint, we’ve been very blessed. We do have special programs that we run, where we do workshops and seminars and intensive training to help people figure out their personal brand, differentiate themselves and put together a successful application.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And more recently, I’ve expanded Expartus into helping professionals, really, who want to not necessarily do their life work through education, but through empowering themselves so that they can feel confident and begin to live the lives that they know they were meant to live. And so we’ve expanded our services tool, so reach those who don’t necessarily want to go get an MBA or a college degree, but have already done it, but still need help. So all of this, it’s done completely virtual, and that’s been a blessing in a sense, given what has happened with COVID, to be able to still deliver quality service to our clients.
Host – Keisha Blair:
For sure. And so has that been one change that COVID brought on, or was that happening before?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So the system we had was a structured program that is virtual. So we had that in place before COVID hit. So when COVID hit, I mean, we’ve dialed back from the face-to-face events that we’ve done. And so we’ve [crosstalk 00:05:33] more on virtual offerings, and the coaching that we do had now focused more on the virtual side, and that’s obviously a result of COVID.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay. And it sounds like you’re running a successful business. Can you tell us a bit more of what the startup costs were like, as well as what your monthly net revenue looks like now?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Sure. So in the early days when I started the business, it was just me. I didn’t bring on consultants. And from day one, I’ve had a home office, so that’s been an incredible blessing that I could run a business from home. And the startup cost was really minuscule, to be talking about signing up for an LLC, and some of them were logistical things, getting a website up. So, those were nominal fees. However, as we’ve grown as a company, I’ve brought on a select group of consultants who have been with me. Many of them have been with me for over 10 years. We have six consultants who take on clients and they do this on a consultancy basis. And the revenue on the monthly basis on average is anywhere between $50,000 to $80,000, depending on the month.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay. And so is that your monthly net revenue?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
The net is about half of that.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay. So maybe around 30 to-
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
30K to 50K, yeah.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay, 30 to 50 K. Okay, great. And so the startup cost to you, really minimal. And so in terms of getting up the website, starting up an LLC, around how much would you say that was? Just to give us an idea of, if people are thinking about doing this, what would you say from your end, in terms of an estimate, what did you think that looked like, if you can remember what those costs were?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Yeah. So when you’re starting out, the reality is that you have a shoe-string budget, and so you’re trying to do things. You want to do it at a quality level, but you will prioritize where you’re spending every dollar. So the startup costs was, I’d say, under $2,000. And even from the very beginning, I wanted to protect for trademark copyright purposes. I wanted to protect the name, Expartus, for example, is a name that I created. I created also a system, a proprietary system, that I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t… What’s the word? Somebody couldn’t just duplicate it. And so I had to hire a trademark copyright attorney to help me do that.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So if I just look at just the regular startup, so the LLC, getting an accountant, things like that, I would say the cost was under 2000. If I factor in, a few years later, within a couple of years, I made sure I protected my assets. And with that, you’re looking at an additional $3,000, $4,000. So it wasn’t really cost prohibitive. It’s actually an amazing business to be in because you can start from day one and you can be net profit positive.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yes. Exactly. For sure. And so it leads me to the next question about, when you started, how you began to gain clients? Was it word of mouth? Was it marketing? What strategies did you put in place to build to this point?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Right. So with regards to the market, and I was very fortunate in the sense that because I had the expertise, I had worked for two amazing institutions, Carnegie Mellon and Harvard University, I had the credential to identify what I was selling or communicating. I knew what it took to get into these top schools, because I had been the director of admissions at one of the schools, at Carnegie Mellon, and I had been on the admissions board at the business school at Harvard.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So, from day one, having credibility is important for business. So if you have experience that you can draw from, then your clients are going to buy into what it is that you have to offer or teach, because they know that you know what you’re talking about. So, for me, it was word of mouth, actually. I did zero marketing, probably the first five years of the business.
Host – Keisha Blair:
[inaudible 00:11:04].
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Yes, clients found me and I was actually turning away clients because, at that time, the very early days, it was just me and I couldn’t clone myself, unfortunately, so I just had my pricing at a premium level and I took on a set number of clients. And once I was booked, I was booked. And then, ultimately, I had to make a decision to expand and take on more consultants.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay. Sounds good. And tell me, because I have a son who is probably heading off to university in a few years… I know that your business, you don’t take on everybody and you focus on personal branding and a personal narrative and students really differentiating themselves in the application process. Can you tell us more about that?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Absolutely. So one of the things that I think is an incredibly powerful, so what I call your superpower, is what I tell my clients is the important role of doing self-reflection and figuring out your story and your journey. We all have our unique stories and our unique journeys.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
What I’ve found with applicants a lot is that there’s a tendency to look outward, looking at, “Oh, this is what Harvard is looking for. This is what Stanford wants or McGill wants,” or this school or that school, instead of looking inwards and saying, “Who am I? What have I accomplished? Why do I do the activities that I engage in? What is it about it?”
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And so I should probably point out, Keisha, that my background is psychology in terms of my education. And so I approach things, not from a therapeutic mindset necessarily, but from a more about empowering people to become more self-aware, so that they can ultimately show up in their lives in a powerful, authentic way.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So in working with young people and parents, it’s not about let’s create creative cookie cutter [inaudible 00:13:34] of a particular school, but rather let’s get to know your child, and help them develop that self-awareness that they’re going to rely on. And then, from that, identify what are the footprints that they’ve left behind in their lives, whether it’s their club activities, the things they do with their cousins, friends. How do they show up as people? And helping them get that clarity is how they discover what their personal brand is.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And that is something that our clients tell us that has been incredibly life-transforming for them. So it’s not just getting into a school, it’s about having clarity about your core values, your passion, what your skill sets are, and how you move through the world, so that you live and engage and interact with people in a very authentic, consistent way.
Host – Keisha Blair:
For sure. I think I’ve mentioned to you that I did an executive leadership program at Harvard, and I talked about it in my book, Holistic Wealth, quite a bit because my professor, he taught us something similar, a similar story that you’re mentioning about bringing forward your story of self. And we went from several case studies of public narrative and stories ourselves. And it’s amazing.
Host – Keisha Blair:
It really is a process of self-reflection and it really helps you to hone in on your passions, which I talk a lot about in Holistic Wealth as well. And that we’re seeing that crashing economy actually accelerate during COVID-19 as well, so I think it’s a very important point, especially for students and young people who are just starting out. It’s very practical to do it at that point, rather than when you’ve basically finished 20 years in a career, and then you’re like, “Whoa, what’s my story [inaudible 00:15:52]?” So very important point. And so, do you find that a lot of parents come to you for help for their kids?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Yes. It’s very interesting to me in terms of how parents sometimes approach it. And I’m a parent, I have a couple of kids, and so I sometimes find myself falling into the same trap that I have to watch out for. Parents want the best for their kids. As you know, you’re a mom of three kids, and you will sacrifice everything for these kids. I mean, we show up in our lives the way we do, because we want to inspire them. You have an incredible story that I’m enjoying. I just got your book. So I’m enjoying reading it.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Oh, are you?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And we can talk offline, but it’s been just really an eye-opener for me and confirmation for a lot of things.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
But, as parents, we show up for our kids and we want to show them that they can really weather anything and they can be anything that they strive to achieve, or they can do that. However, what happens sometimes with parents is that, with some parents that I’ve encountered, is that sometimes some parents don’t know their kids. I mean, they have an image of what they think that the children should be, or how they should be, but they’re not really listening to their kids.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So, there are times when I actually have to put on a therapist hat of sorts, and I have to run intervention between the child and the parent because sometimes the goals are actually not aligned because mom and dad might have a completely different set of expectations for a child, and then the child has a different set of expectations.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And what I tell the parents, and this comes from 20 plus years in the education and coaching industry, is that the last thing we want is to push your child and actually get them to achieve your objective, and then getting to that dream school and they burn out and they actually drop out of school. And that happens.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And so it becomes very important to really figure out fit. And so a lot of the work we do is understanding where a child would thrive because fit is what’s going to… I tell parents your child’s going to do amazing stuff. A school does not make a child. A child makes of themselves what they make of themselves, regardless of where they go to school.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
So it becomes extremely important that we find the right environment where a student can be nurtured and stretched and grow, so that they can emerge into that amazing human that they’re meant to be. So sometimes it takes a little bit of coaching parents to dial back or to get to know your child, so that your goals are aligned as opposed to some parents wanting to live through their children, for example.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yes. And there was that famous story that was in the news… Was it last year? With Harvard too, when some celebrity parents who paid thousands of dollars to get their kids in, and it didn’t even seem like the kids were really interested once they got in.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
It was so interesting to see that in the news, and how society responded to that. I mean, what I found fascinating about this is how incredibly pervasive this is and how what we saw in the news is actually just more of the tip of the iceberg really, compared to what really is happening.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yes. I can imagine. It leads me to another thought, which is, you’re in the industry, so you know when parents approach you, but it seems like parents, as you said, parents will do anything for their kids, but it seems like some will pay top dollar to ensure that their kids get into one of these schools, the Harvards and the Yales and these elite institutions. And so are you finding that, with your services, that that’s the case, that parents are willing to [inaudible 00:20:35] out just to ensure that their kid gets into a particular school?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Right. So with Expartus, for us, I mean, this is my industry, this is my profession, and so it’s not just about my business. It’s about maintaining the integrity of the industry and maintaining the integrity of the process. So I make it very clear that we are above board and we don’t get your child into Stanford, we don’t get your child into Columbia, that’s not how it works.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
What we do is we get to know your child, then we provide really focused coaching to help your child become more self-aware, [inaudible 00:21:23] them with really practical tools that they’re going to use throughout their lives. And we also help them figure out what their core unique advantage in their life story and their experiences, what those things are, from an admissions’ vantage point.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And then we help them to present that story in a way that gets the mind share. It captures the attention of the admissions board. So those are very tangible things and value that we provide. But we will not do anything around crossing the line or helping a student present inaccurate information about who they are.
Host – Keisha Blair:
For sure.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
And I tell parents it’s never worth it because it makes things… A, it comes back to bite you. B, what are you teaching your child? I mean, those kids are, unfortunately from those examples that we saw in the media, those kids, their lives are devastated because what you’ve done as a parent, when you engage in falsehoods, or things like that, is you’ve communicated to your child that they’re not good enough. Kids already have enough burden that they carry. And so if they’re getting into a school that they know they didn’t deserve to get in because of some shenanigans done behind the scene, then it’s you’ve set that child up in life to always believe that they are not adequate enough. They weren’t incredible, an incredibly horrible burden to put on your child.
Host – Keisha Blair:
[inaudible 00:23:15].
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Rather than helping your child emerge into a place of authenticity to say, “This is who I am. You are an amazing person.” I have two kids. One is very nerdy, like in terms of math, computers, things come very easily for him. That’s my son, and my daughter is very creative and has this photographic memory, and sometimes I see her having this thought like, “I’m not as smart as my brother.” And I explain to her, everyone has their unique strengths, everyone has their superpower, your cape, and I want you to really tune into your cape. And that’s what I do with our clients as well. Instead of trying to create this imaginary, perfect human or perfect student, it’s about, let’s look at who you are, and let’s embrace who you are, and if there are things that you can work on, of course, we’re going to work on that. But authenticity is really important, especially in this day and age, and honesty.
Host – Keisha Blair:
For sure. I completely agree. And so I just wanted to ask you too, in terms of the business aspect, can you identify one key to success that others can emulate? So regardless of what product or service they’re in, what would you say is the one key to success that you would leave with others who are starting a business, who are looking to possible industries that they might go in? What would be that one key to success?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
That’s a great question, Keisha. One thing I will say is a lot of times I ask people if you had a magic wand and you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to do things because that’s what prevents people from taking action is worrying about all the details and the steps in between. And so what I say to people is give yourself permission to imagine, and if you were to look at something you do naturally, that comes so naturally to you, that you can almost do it in your sleep, it’s almost compelling, you can’t help it, you find yourself always going back to that thing. Maybe you’re always organizing. Everyone in your family knows that about you.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
What I say is that if you can pay attention and find that thing, and I like to keep things very simple, and if you can put every ounce of energy you have into developing or cultivating that one thing, you will be successful. You can’t help but be successful. It doesn’t mean that you don’t need resources. It doesn’t mean that you don’t need coaches, mentors, people, fun, things like that. Those things will come. What’s important is actually like getting into a head space, a mindset to say, “I want to show up in my life and make an impact.” That commitment, that desire, that hunger, that passion, I actually think it’s more powerful than how slick and thorough your business plan is.
Host – Keisha Blair:
For sure. [inaudible 00:27:07] like your website is, because a lot of people, they put so much resources and that’s why I asked about the startup costs and [inaudible 00:27:17] because, as you said, so many people put up barriers, and think, “Oh, I need the slick website, and I need the marketing materials, and I need to look like I’m successful from day one.” And it presents a barrier because it becomes so overwhelming.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Yes. And it prevents you from taking action because, you just said it, you hit the nail on the head, the overwhelm can be a lot. It’s good when you are an entrepreneur, but a very lonely business if not intentionally connecting with others.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
The biggest thing I’ve learned in the 20 years of being an entrepreneur is that it boils down to you have to have that belief, that something. And I tell people, you don’t have to figure out the something yet. It’s just that you have to have, A, the desire, and then the belief that you have something, you, that was deposited in you, that you are meant to bring to the world. The world needs that desperately.
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
It’s not about you. It’s you failing to show up, to bring that to the world, is incredible disservice. It changes the mindset because it almost approaches it from a… Of course, it’s a given. You can do this. The pieces of the how will line up and they’re growing and iterating, and all of that, and expanding and connecting with people and growing, refining. But the hardest part I’ve found, Keisha, is getting started.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yes. [inaudible 00:29:13].
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Following your dreams are… So many people die with their dreams not actualized.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yes. And those are such powerful words, Chioma, very powerful, because as you were speaking, I was thinking about my story and about the book, Holistic Wealth. And you know my story, and my husband died very suddenly and tragically, and it took me some time to think about what my mission was and how to help to inspire others. But you’re exactly right. That’s our unique contribution. It’s based on our story of self, and our individual uniqueness. And thank you so much for sharing your journey and for those inspiring words. And where can people find you, your website and social media?
Interviewee – Chioma Isiadinso:
Yes. So we are on expartus.com, is the company website. That’s the easiest way to connect with us and I’m accessible via email, chiomaexpartus.com. I mean, just drop me a line. I love hearing from people and just hearing about their students or young professionals or seasoned professionals who are looking to start a passion business. I mean, that’s really my heart, and I love hearing from those who are going after their dreams, so chiomaexpartus.com. [crosstalk 00:30:50].
Host – Keisha Blair:
Absolutely. Okay, wonderful. Okay, great. Thank you so much again. It was great chatting with you.
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