In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Ellen Violette, founder and CEO of Create a Splash Marketing. Ellen shares a personal story about leaving graduate school, discovering songwriting, and being told her lyrics were too reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, which motivated her to prove doubters wrong. She emphasizes the importance of conducting market research before writing a book, advising creators to wear a "marketing hat" first to ensure there is demand. Drawing on 14 years in the industry, she recommends hiring a coach when you feel stuck, stressing the need to find a coach aligned with your specific goals. Ellen offers empowerment advice to her younger self, urging proactive pursuit of goals rather than waiting for external validation. She identifies clarity about what you truly want as the key to happiness. When asked about influential books, she cites Perry Marshall’s 80/20 Sales and Marketing, highlighting the principle of focusing on the 20% of activities that generate 80% of profits. Her favorite quote is Winston Churchill’s “When you’re going through hell, keep going,” which she uses as a resilience mantra during challenging entrepreneurial periods. Finally, she directs listeners to her Facebook group (booksbusinessabundance) for further community engagement. The episode is sponsored by Authors Unite and recorded via Anchor.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Ellen Violet with us. She is the founder and CEO of Create a Splash Marketing. So welcome to the show, Ellen.
Thank you for having me.
Of course, thanks for joining us. Um, we'll dive in. The first question I have for you, Ellen, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, what happened to me was that I was in, uh, well, I was in graduate school and I hated it, so I quit. And I was in therapy and I got into, um, I was writing basically. And my therapist said, have you ever thought about songwriting? And I said no, because I come from a professional family. And she said, well, you should check it out. So I did. And they had an extension program at UCLA. And I had a teacher who was well known in the industry. And what happened was, was that I was very influenced by Joni Mitchell. And so my lyrics were patterned after hers. And, but, well, and I don't want to say his name, but anyway, but what the, uh, what the teacher said to me was, you're never going to make it in this business because your lyrics are too Joni Mitchell-ish. And I was like, seriously? To me, that's a compliment. But what he really meant was that not the artist, you have to learn to write in a way that a lot of artists could, could actually do it. And so the lesson for me was that when he said I couldn't do it, it made me want to do it more.
Yeah.
So when someone tells you you can't do something, prove them wrong.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I think the most important thing to know, because most people in my industry don't talk about this, is you should always do the research first before you write a book. I mean, actually, you should do it for everything. You should make sure that there's a market before you create a product, but definitely with a book. And I see too many people in this industry say, oh, you know, find your, your best writing spot. And create an outline and do a brain dump, but there's no point in doing all that if nobody's ever going to read it because they aren't interested. So make sure that you do that first, put on your marketing hat before your writing hat, and if you can't write, talk it. But it's just not that hard to write a book. People make it way harder than it is.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, not necessarily industry-specific?
Mm-hmm. I have found for myself, I've been in this industry now 14 years, and I have found when I look back on what I've done and the things that I regret the most, or where I bought something that I wanted to learn, and at some point I got stuck and I didn't take the next step to find somebody to help me to power through it. So what I would say is when you get stuck, hire the coach, especially if you're in a program and you need more individual help, hire the coach. Otherwise, you can waste years not getting what you're trying to do. And the only caveat to that, I would say, is make sure they understand what your goal is and that they are going to help you get there and find the right coach so that it's somebody who's doing what you want to do and not just somebody who wants to fit you into their mold. But the biggest thing is just get the coach, spend the money, Get through it. You will get it back in spades over time.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
That you can be, do, have anything you want. You are enough, but you have to go after what you want. You can't wait for anyone to give it to you, no matter how smart you are, no matter how smart you are or how good you are in school. It just doesn't work that way in the real world. And I'm a product of the '50s, and in those days, girls especially were encouraged to have things given to them and just work hard, get good grades, and somehow it's all going to work out. No, it doesn't work that way.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Getting clear on what you want without a doubt because you can't pursue it until you know what it is. Sometimes you think you want something and then you try it and you find out you don't want it, or as you get older, what you want changes. So just always check back in with yourself and get clarity.
I'm excited for your answer on this next one. What is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
You know, I really had to think about this one because I know when I read— there's a book that I read called The Success Principle, and when I read it, I thought it was the best book ever, but I don't have a copy of it with me where I am. And so I don't know what that would be. So I picked the 80/20 Sales and Marketing book by Perry Marshall. And for that one, it's to focus on the 20% that makes you 80% of your profits.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is— I'm having trouble talking today. I don't know what's going on. Sorry. When you're going through hell, just keep going. Winston Churchill. And the reason that's my favorite quote is because when I got on the internet in 2004, everybody was acting like it was so easy to be an entrepreneur, it was so easy to make money. And I've been in the music business for 20 years. I'm a Grammy-nominated songwriter. I come from playing with words and hooks and that sort of thing, but the whole internet thing was totally new. And I didn't understand the journey of an entrepreneur. So when I started, it was actually really easy. It was a good time to get in. People were throwing money at me. My workshops did really well. I was making a six-figure income. But then the recession hit and then it got hard and a lot of people quit. And there are a lot of times where, especially with the technology, I was just going through it today where I'm trying to get something on my site and I'm just having a hard time getting it done. And I can get really frustrated. And I know when people get frustrated, you know, they want to give up. So that's why I always say when you're going through hell, just keep going, because there have been times in my business that were absolute hell and I just keep going and that keeps me going.
Yes. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where's the best place for people to find you online?
Okay. I will tell you that in a second. I just want to say about going through hell, You know, I love what I do. It's not like the whole thing is hell. I just want to make that clear.
Oh yeah, no, of course.
And then people can find me in our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/booksbusinessabundance.
Perfect. Thank you again for joining us. We really appreciate it.
Thank you for having me. This is fun. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor.
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