Dr. Deana Stevenson Podcast Transcript outlines How This Entrepreneur Increased Her Monthly Net Revenue to $65K During A Global Pandemic
Host – Keisha Blair:
Today we’re talking to Dr. Deana Stevenson, CEO of Doc Deana Enterprises. Deana, welcome. Thank you so much for chatting with us to share your insights and expertise. It’s great to have you here.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Oh, I am so honored to be here, Keisha. Thank you so much for having me on.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Okay, great. No problem. It’s great to have you on. I just want to start with how you made the switch from physician, then school principal, to now having your own business. Can you tell us a bit about that evolution as well as some of your signature services? I think it’s just so great to see that transition, to let people know how they can actually make this type of move.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Right. It’s been a journey to say the least. It has to start back when I was a high school student. I was great in math and science. And so because I was great in math and science, my counselor automatically said, “Oh, you should really think about going to medical school.” My parents got wind of it and they were obviously pro go to medical school.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And being an only child, being a people pleaser as a young adult, I did it. And I was successful as a physician, but it wasn’t fulfilling. It took up most of my time. I did not see a future with a family and it at all and made the decision to leave medicine, and initially started teaching at a medical school and realized very quickly that I didn’t like medical students, but I love teaching.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It was really my passion. I was excited about it and got a certification as a physics, chemistry and biology teacher and became a middle school teacher and absolutely loved it. And my principal at the time saw qualities in me, leadership qualities and said, “You really should consider becoming a principal,” so I did. And that was impactful too, because not only was I then teaching students, I was teaching adults. I was supporting my teachers, supporting my assistant principal.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And I think I hit a crossroad when I became the principal in my school district that had been assigned to buildings that were low-performing. And so I literally used the skills that I learned in medicine, there was a reason, there was a method to the madness of going through medicine. I used the same strategies and processes that I used to diagnose patients, to diagnose [inaudible 00:02:51] and was successful at it, but it’s taxing. It was a really taxing job to be placed in buildings that were low-performing and expectations were low and really trying to motivate people to understand that all kids could learn.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It was a challenge, and so I quit. I quit literally without a … I didn’t really have a plan, but I knew I could not continue to do what I was doing. And I was still supporting my colleagues, so we’re back in that district. They were calling asking for advice on, “Well, how were you able to change processes and systems in your building to get the union onboard to support you?” And I kept thinking, “Wow, I’m getting all of these calls. I wonder if I could sell this really and turn it into a business,” but I doubted it because I didn’t really know of anyone that was doing what I was doing, for districts to pay me for this.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
I did some research and found a woman who had a company. It was an educational consulting business, and she was quite successful. I can’t say I interned with her, but I became an associate with her just to learn the ins and outs. And my business was birthed. The 15th of December of this year will be six years. And it’s so exciting to realize, although the path that I took was very nontraditional to say the least, it is who I am now. It is the reason I am who I am now, because all of those things that I learned, I’m now able to teach other educators how to start their educational consulting business if that’s what they want.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
I just launched a course, one of my signature courses called the Educational Consultant Lab, as well as support building principals. And so now my primary focus on the educational consulting arm of my business is going into school districts that have buildings that have been newly identified as low-performing and working one-on-one with the principal to give them the tools and the strategies that they need to not just get off the list, Keisha, but to stay off of it, to go from a low-performing school to a blue ribbon school. That’s the goal. It’s like, “No, your goal,” and so really trying to pour into principals that no, it’s bigger than just getting off the list. It’s about surpassing your most high-performing school in your district and you becoming that high-performing school.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And so that’s a mindset shift, though. As you probably know, getting people who maybe think that their students and their staff can only perform at a certain level and getting them to believe, “No, they can. I know they can. You just have to believe they can and then they will as well,” and then just giving them the support. And it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of work, but it’s so fulfilling, more fulfilling than performing surgery, which is what I was doing.
Host – Keisha Blair:
No, and it sounds like you’re so passionate about this, Deana. It sounds like your purpose and calling. What makes this your passion?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It’s really the end product. Knowing that the people that I work with, and I’m talking about the school district work now, and the people that I work with are in a position that they’re feeling like they’ve made probably one of the biggest mistakes of their career in the sense that when you get the notification that your school is low-performing, the only person’s name on that report is the principal’s name. And so it’s like you’ve been branded as you’re the low performer, not really your school because you internalize it.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And to see the transformation in these individuals who literally are walking into meetings with tails between their legs, they’re just feeling so defeated and then realizing, “No, it’s not me. This is a system issue and I’m going to put some systems in place to not just perform at an average level, but at an above average level,” and to see their transformation, that’s like oxygen to me, because I think we’re so often we get caught up in labels. We get caught up in, “You’re never going to be good at this,” or, “You can’t be good at this,” or, “This group of people will never be able to get past a certain level or whatever,” you start to believe it after awhile when you’re constantly being bombarded with this.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
My passion is to like, yes, okay, your school is low-performing. Absolutely it is. But it’s not you. It’s not about you. It’s about me being able to look in, look at your data, look at the lack of systems that you may have or tweak those systems and give them some encouragement. That’s exciting to me. And the other arm is too, when I’m working with educators and they realize that they really have an expertise in something … Typically when I meet with a coaching client for the first time, I ask them, “Well, what’s your expertise?” “What? I’m not an expert, Dr. Deana. I do this thing that I’ve been doing for the past 20 years for five days a week for 180 days out of the year, but I’m not an expert, am I?” When I read them the definition of what an expert is, I’m like, “You’re darn right you’re an expert at it. You’ve taken it for granted.”
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And so getting them to see these skills that they have and how they can solve a problem with these skills and that people would actually pay them to solve this problem if they could come up with a marketable solution, let them know that, “I know this is where you are, but I can take you through these steps to get you here and I’m going to walk with you side by side to do it,” people pay for that because we live in a society where it’s so much … I’d rather pay you to help me than me to try to do the research on my own to get it done.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And so those two areas are both … They’re transformative, I guess you’d say, because I’m seeing someone who may feel defeated or may feel like, “Oh, I don’t have a skill,” and then to be able to transform them into a situation where they’re like, “Wow. I have my first contract.” I mean, I got an email the other day from a client. I got my first contract. Look, look how much you’re paying me to do what I do every day.” I’m like, “That’s great.”
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yeah, yeah, no, and I want to just … because I know that we’re in a pandemic, people are scared, but your story in terms of your business is so profound because right now you’re currently on track to earn, what 500 [inaudible 00:10:41] contracts?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Yes.
Host – Keisha Blair:
And over this year in a pandemic.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Yes.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Tell us more about that. You’re on track to earn 500K, but your monthly net revenue, so is that around 65K now?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Yeah. I just counted up all my invoices for November and it’s at 72K [inaudible 00:11:04]. I have my invoices up on my wall. I printed them out. My husband’s like, “This is really crazy.” And the thing about it is that it all happened, 350K of it happened between April and August of this year, because I said, “I got to start practicing what I’m preaching.” I’m coaching people on how to use their skills to solve a problem, have a marketable solution. And I’m thinking there are newly identified schools. I live in the state of New York that have been placed on the list, the ESSA accountability list, which is Every Student Succeeds Act, and I’m like, “I’m sure they probably are so intertwined with COVID-19 guidelines and whether their schools are going to be hybrid or remote. I need to do some research on who are the newly identified schools in the state of New York.”
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And what I did was I just did some research. I went on the list of schools. It’s on the New York State Education website. It’s not like it’s something that I had to really do a whole bunch of research in. But then what I did was I identified those schools who were newly identified within an hour of driving from my home, because I knew I didn’t want to get on a plane. I knew I didn’t want to have to go too far. I didn’t want to have to stay in a hotel. And I found seven schools within an hour drive of my home that had been newly identified. And I literally just contacted them, let them know that I was going to do all the heavy lifting for them. Many of them, Keisha, didn’t even know they were on the list because they had gotten so many emails related to school closure and what they needed to do to support their stakeholders that that email that they got from state, that was just lost, and so they had no clue.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And after talking with them and letting them know the work that I had done, giving them some people that they could contact to make sure, I wanted them to know that I was a real person and that I had done this work before. Out of the seven, four of those schools contracted me. And that’s where the 350K came from just because I knew there was a problem, I knew I could solve the problem, so at this point it was just a matter of me giving them the information to say yes. And that was basically it, using the information that I share with my own coaching clients to say, “Wait a minute, I’m sitting here coaching you. I need to use some of that information myself,” and it panned out. I have to say, though, I am a little upset that the other three did not contract with me, but they never even replied.
Host – Keisha Blair:
But you know what? You’re doing great. And I want to just go back a bit to mindset, because you mentioned that earlier when you just started talking and it’s so important because there’s so many people who might be listening who might be thinking, “Wow, that’s so great, but I don’t necessarily have the confidence,” or “I’ve had so many people giving me negative messages, the naysayers.” In my book, Holistic Wealth, in chapter two, I talk about the naysayers who tell you you can’t and you shouldn’t and give you all the reasons why you can. And I know earlier in your entrepreneurial journey, I think it was maybe 19 months after you quit being a school principal, you had a setback.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
I started researching my skillset and what I could do and that’s when I came across the woman who I became an associate with for a little bit of time, and that was the pick-me-up. However, those voices didn’t stop. That unsolicited advice didn’t stop because it wasn’t like I was successful immediately in what I was doing. But what I learned to do was take those people who were making me feel like I was a failure and I literally had to cut them off. I had to disassociate myself with them. I took some time off of social media because as positive as social media can be, we all know that there are some negative undercurrents to it, and then a lot of reading, a lot of self-help books. There weren’t podcasts back then that I was really tuned into, but just a lot of personal growth development books and videos and YouTube, really pouring in more positive so that I could combat the negative.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It’s a choice, though. At the end of the day, I realize it is a choice. I could either allow that negativity and that low self-worth to harness something in me that maybe I didn’t want to see in the future, or I could do something about it. I mean, I don’t remember who said it, but this is the truth. The man who thinks he can can’t. The man who thinks he can can. It’s a choice. And so you have to choose your hard because life’s not easy. And we know that, but there’s so many things that you can do to fuel positivity. There’s so many things that you could do to fuel your choices, to make the right decisions.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And it’s a day-to-day struggle. I still suffer from what has been termed imposter syndrome. When I invoiced that 72,000 for November, I think I had to print it out just so that I could remind myself, “Girl, you did this. You did this. You’re doing this [crosstalk 00:17:14] global pandemic.” During a global pandemic, just invoiced $72,000. That’s something to pat myself on the back with. But we as women, we often don’t want to do that. We don’t want to boast about it, no?
Host – Keisha Blair:
No, that’s very true. And it’s amazing that you’re having that success. And one of the things that I want to ask you is in terms of your marketing and your lead acquisition, where do you find most of your clients and what methods do you use to get clients onboard?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Well, just social media is actually new to me as far as getting clients. As I said, in June … I don’t even think I mentioned this … in June is when I officially launched my signature course, The Educational Consultant Lab. Prior to that, getting coaching clients was really just word-of-mouth. Because I’m a former principal. And because I work in buildings, there are a lot of times where I’ll meet people who want to be coached outside of their district. And so they want someone that they can have conversations with that are authentic that are not going to be reported back to their district office. And so that was originally how I got most of my coaching clients.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
But now I do use email marketing. I don’t offer free coaching only because I’m a firm believer that if you offer free coaching, I’m not sure if people will take the advice you give seriously and there’s not a lot of teeth to it, but I do offer some e-books. And so I built up a list, a list of emails that I send out about a couple times a week to people with some of my other products that are maybe low ticket products so I’m able to keep them engaged that way. I offer free webinars on how to turn your skillset into an educational consulting business. And so I use that, but all of that is new. I am just starting out learning, because I’m a [inaudible 00:19:38] learner, learning how to use Facebook and Instagram ads to target my target audience more effectively.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It was literally just word-of-mouth, Keisha, being in schools … I’m in a lot of school districts … and talking to principals and assistant principals. And I do let them know. I will mention, “Well, my coaching client,” and they’re like, “Oh, wait a minute. I could hire you outside of here?” “Oh, absolutely you can.” And so that’s usually how it works. And then they’ll refer someone to me, a friend of theirs maybe from another district. And so that’s how I’ve been able to build a pretty sizable coaching client list for that. And that’s one-to-one coaching.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
And I just think with the kind of coaching that I do, I don’t feel comfortable with the group coaching concept because I feel like every principal has their own individual needs and I want them to be as transparent as possible with me. There are people who are asking for group coaching, but I don’t know. The conversations that we have, I just feel like they won’t be as transparent if we were in a group setting.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Right. Yeah, no, for sure. And in terms of the startup costs, what were those like in terms of launching the business?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
It was minimal, and so I think that’s another thing that surprises people because your intellectual property, you don’t have to buy that. You have that. It’s literally just coming up with a business name. I make sure that all of my clients secure a domain, even if they’re not going to start a website yet for two reasons. Number one, when you get a domain, you can also get an email attached to that. And to me, if you’re sending out literature, like a one-page business plan or something to school districts or to whoever you’re marketing to, you want them to know that you’re not using your Gmail account, you’re not using your Yahoo account or whatever. You’re using whatever your business is. And so that’s just a Deanaism, but that doesn’t cost a lot of money.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
I think maybe a couple of hundred dollars to really get up and running because you got to get a [inaudible 00:22:12] number. I want them to at least identify who a business attorney might be, but not put them on retainer or anything, but just to have them. There’s a list of about 15 to 20 items that I have them kind of establish. Probably the most expensive thing is registering their business with their state, the department of state, whatever state they live in. New York state’s probably the highest. I think it was like $400. But most of my clients aren’t even within New York state.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
But it’s $500 maybe maximum, Keisha. It doesn’t cost a lot because you don’t need an office. I work from my home office. You don’t have to go to a bank and take out a loan because there’s no overhead. As I said, your intellectual property is priceless, but you don’t have to pay for that because you’ve paid for that over the years with school and then just investing in hopefully whatever professional development that your district offers. And that’s another thing I tell my clients. Don’t quit your job. Don’t do like I did. It worked for me, but while you’re there, you sign up for every professional development opportunity that the district affords you because it’s free. And that information that you’re going to gain, you can then use it for future future clients or future products or services that you’re going to offer to your ideal client.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yeah, no, for sure. All good advice. And I wanted to ask you in terms of, for people listening or people thinking about using their passion or their skills as a part of the passion economy to launch out, what’s one key to success that you can give that others can emulate? If you were to think of one key to success, what would that be?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Consistent messaging to me is a key. You already have a skillset. You have that skillset. What I would suggest is identifying what problem does that skillset solve, and then creating a message to whoever your target audience is that, “When you work with me, when you receive, whether it’s a product or a service, this is how your life is going to change after receiving my product or service.” That in and of itself, that gets your target audience, it gets them intrigued. “Wow, this person knows me. This person understands where I am and they’re telling me that they can change my life by using this product.” I mean, you think about it, anything that you purchase, you purchase it because you have a problem and you understand or you believe that this product is going to help you. It’s going to solve your problem. And so that consistent messaging is what is the key to a successful business.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yeah, no, I fully agree. That transformation and selling how you can transform that person’s life is the best route to go. And so just in closing, just because I know that you’re big on mentorship and in my book, Holistic Wealth, I have an entire chapter on mentorship. I feel the same way about it. After my husband died, I had two young sons without a father. And the first thing that came to me was male role models and mentorship. From your experience, can you tell us why it’s so important for a career or business and what you’ve seen in your experience?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Oh, for mentorship?
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yep.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Okay. I’m sorry. Oh my goodness, because you can’t do this alone. You cannot absolutely do this alone. You need to be able to have … and when I think of mentorship, I think a lot of people think of just one individual. You need a group of strong people to be able to bounce ideas off of. And I’ve been blessed to have a group of women in my circle that I trust and that will tell me the truth, that will tell me, “I don’t think that’s a great idea. You need really” … that have gone ahead and they’ve done the same things that I’ve done or they’ve done it better. And I trust them.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
If you are thinking about going into business, you may be a solopreneur in the sense that it’s just you, but you need to have a circle of women or men in your corner that you can contact that are not going to always tell you what you want to hear. I think we as women, mature women, as we grew older, we’re so independent. And I get that. We know what we want, and we’re going to go after it, but you cannot forget that you got to have people around you that you can trust with your ideas, with your visions. I don’t know. It’s just like fuel, you know what I mean? You need that. And if not, you’ll easily burn out. It is what really keeps your candle burning. It really does. And so it’s so important.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
We all want to wear the S on our chest as we’re super women, and we are, but there’s some people that are holding that S on behind the scenes for me. And I know my success is not just because of me. It is because of the women who have poured into my life and continue to grow to tell me, “You were wrong on that one, girl. You need to do something different,” or, “You need to work harder because you’re not living up to your capacity.” And so it’s so important. Absolutely, it is.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Yeah, no, very much so. And I want to thank you for sharing your wisdom and your lessons learned and your successes with us today. It’s been really inspiring, Deana. Thank you so much.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
You’re welcome. I cannot wait to read your book, Keisha.
Host – Keisha Blair:
I’m hoping you love it. I think you will. I’m sure you will. So many of the things that we’ve spoken about here today are in that book and these deep messages are messages that we share in common and things that we believe in passionately. Yeah. I can’t wait for you to read it. Thanks again, Deana. And where can people find you just to give your website and social media information?
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
Absolutely. You can go to Doc Deana Enterprises, D-O-C-D-E-A-N-A Enterprises, all plural, dot com, and that is also my handle on Instagram. That’s primarily where I am now. It’s just Doc Deana Enterprises. Look for it. There’s a contact link on both of those mediums. If you want to connect, I would love to chat with you.
Host – Keisha Blair:
Great. Sounds amazing. Once again, this was so inspiring. Thank you, Deana.
Interviewee – Deana Stevenson:
You’re welcome. Thank you, Keisha.
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