Andréa Albright is on a mission to create the next movement for authors and evolve the publishing industry. She is not just a publisher, she is a Legacy Maker. Andréa’s first movement took the health and fitness industry by storm. She amassed over 10,000,000+ views on YouTube, was featured on the Women’s Health and Fitness magazine cover, and grew her health business to over 100,000 raving fans. Since then, she has become the author of 26 books, reaching tens of millions worldwide in over 40 countries. Now, she has taken her passion for helping authors find the same success by publishing books with meaning. She is recognized as The Thought Leader Publisher.
Where did the idea for Beverly Hills Publishing come from?
Andréa Albright: I’ve always been big into books and reading. I started writing my own books in 2006 and figured out how to publish and attract an audience, With this, you also need to know how to get people to actually buy your book, so I started there. I began to build long term thought leadership by creating a loyal audience that would stay with me throughout my career. I found that authors would spend so much energy writing a book, but they were left on their own to do the marketing and publicity and once their books were published, there was no one wanting to buy it. I figured out that publishers don’t know anything about marketing and supporting their authors, and this is where the idea for my company came from. I wanted to bring PR and marketing components to my business and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
Andréa Albright: I start every morning with some yoga before I look at my phone or check emails. It’s a great way to eliminate stress before the day starts and have a clear mind. Taking care of physical fitness and health is very important to me. This is the #1 tool to longevity. You have to have a way to deal with stress in a healthy way. Throughout the day to stay productive, I’ve trained myself to focus on one task or activity at a time. I also calendar block my time which helps me focus on a single task and get rid of all other distractions. I also focus on one activity that can move my business forward and move this to the front of the day to make it a priority.
One other big thing that I do to stay productive is focus every day of the week on something different. Monday is my financial day. It’s my least favorite thing to do, so I like to get it over with as soon as possible. Tuesday is for marketing and driving the business forward. Wednesday is content creation for videos and blogs. Thursdays are for strategic partnership communication and Friday focuses on catching up on work you didn’t get done.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Andréa Albright: My ideas always start with me listening to my audience. I know that there is value in what the market is seeking and searching for, which was part of why I started Beverly Hills Publishing. Outsourcing marketing is a red flag in my opinion because it’s not what your market is searching for. Listening to the market helped me create the idea of being a publisher. The public needs to be served. My company is a revolutionary approach to publishing, marketing and PR for a book in 90 days
I start with a creative brainstorm. I let myself be in an open space and ideas come to me when I’m most relaxed. Once I have the idea, I backwards build it by starting from how I want it to look in the end and then going through, step by step, what I need to do to make it happen. I’m very type A and right brained, so this to me comes naturally.
What’s one trend that excites you?
Andréa Albright: Authenticity. The authenticity movement is wonderful and oftentimes people take this for granted. However, it’s something I love. Businesses that are not authentic are being exposed and humans are having more reinforcement of looking at their authentic self. Being authentic is the first step to being a thought leader and something that I look for in all of my clients.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Andréa Albright: Having my calendar blocked off for major projects. I mentioned before that this is really helpful in being productive. Not having other people schedule meetings during certain hours during the day, so that you can work on a big project is imperative. Fill the first part of the day with making sure you move business forward, so the productivity continues throughout the week. Another habit that helps me be more productive is speed reading. I can stay on top of cutting trends and thought leaders by keeping up with new articles and books that are coming out.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Andréa Albright: Definitely to invest in yourself. Most people put all their money into expenses, but entrepreneurs look at investments and the money doesn’t disappear. It just goes into something to create more value. I wish that I had learned the value of investing earlier on. Investing in my entrepreneurial education, investing in my business, investing in learning publishing, all of this is important. I stopped investing in things that gave nothing later on in return.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Andréa Albright: When people talk about safety and security, I believe it is an illusion. It’s delusional if you believe that anything outside of you will ever give you safety and security. I look at people that chose this path of being an entrepreneur and many are unemployed now. This shift in the global economy is bringing this unemployment to light. None of this is secure, even if you think you are. I have equipped myself with the mindset that can deal with situations like a pandemic and I’m prepared for the unimaginable. For this, my business has doubled in success this year and I am thriving. I think now that people see how quickly things can change, more people will be open to this thinking. The only safety you can have is investing in yourself.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Andréa Albright: I recommend you write your own book! Write books along your journey as an entrepreneur so that people can follow your trail of thought leadership and continue to evolve. This allows anyone to jump into the conversation at whatever stage they are at. It’s an asset to your business to have your own book and will help you to gain new followers and supporters. You need to continue to grow and every time you write a book it lets you capture a time in your life and move on and forward as a visionary and entrepreneur.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Andréa Albright: Strategic partnerships have grown my business faster than anything that I could have grown on my own. Being able to find like-minded individuals is so important in growing your business. These partnerships help add more value for my brand. It creates a stronger reputation in the marketplace because you are competing on value. I always consider who I can align with to create the most value for my clients and customers. I leverage their expertise and then you don’t need to manage a team or build a new division in your company. When these resources align and you come in through a recommendation, this continues to grow your business.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
Andréa Albright: I believe that if you aren’t failing, then you’re not on the cutting edge. One failure I had was losing my first business because of a messy divorce. I built a strong brand and business, which was aligned with my ex-husband. We had 3, multi-million dollar businesses and tripled business together. After our divorce, he ended up keeping the assets, with 51% ownership. I overcame this by building my own businesses, with 100% ownership.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Andréa Albright: Every business needs to have information products in their company. Information products are books, video and audio courses, and pieces of content that’s educating your audience. You need to entertain your audience so they stay hooked. If you produce videos, e-books and so on, you create this information that will attract the right people you want. Building stronger relationships with your audience is imperative and using these informational products is how you start.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Andréa Albright: I spent $100 to have my house cleaned. It was incredible. Having a clean environment and everything deep cleaned and organized keeps your mind clear. When you respect your environment then the universe can see that you are ready to do more. When your house is clean, you feel more productive and can focus on the value of creating more for your business.
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?
Andréa Albright: I use rev.com for my transcripts. They have a live human transcriptionist that can transcribe and this helps me so much when I have client interviews. It allows me to go back and read what was talked about during calls.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Andréa Albright: I’d recommend Visionary Boss: The Next Edge Entrepreneur. The book is about tapping into your vision. People get bogged down by the running of the business that they fail and can’t keep up with it. It’s all about moving humanity forward and using your vision to make a difference. When you stay connected to the vision you won’t lose your way or be distracted by the complexity of running the business. People are attracted to visionaries and if you inspire people then they’ll want to work with you. Having these systems and solutions built in place, so nothing can ever take you out of business.
What is your favorite quote?
Andréa Albright: ‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” by Anais Mihn. I used this quote as motivation to begin to practice yoga. I struggled with weight and body image for a while, and this always stuck with me. I had this framed and read this quote constantly. I wondered what would happen if I unleashed my health and became the healthiest version of myself. This applies to building a business too. People stop out of fear of rejection and failure, but this quote kept me going.
Key Learnings:
Andréa Albright:
- More people should believe in themselves and go for their dreams because they are sacred to this world.
- If people reading this could stop self-doubt, insecurity and beating themselves up, then the energy that goes into worrying can go into creating something great.
- Embrace the journey and make that important.
- When you are aligned with your truth, then you get to be the best version of yourself.
Originally published on Ideamensch.com