Kelly Roach: Scale Your Business Without Sacrificing Your Life | Entrepreneurship | YAPClassic

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast

Kelly Roach shares her journey from growing up in poverty and being an NFL cheerleader to building multiple eight- and nine-figure businesse

Key takeaways

• Financial freedom is a controllable goal achievable through skill-building and intentional decisions.
• Integrity and genuine human connection are powerful competitive advantages in modern business.

Main topics

• Entrepreneurial mindset and overcoming adversity
• Balancing business growth with family life

Notable quotes

"I don't ever want to feel that again. And I think that was such a catalyst for me." – Kelly Roach on her low point in the lunch line.

Conclusion

Kelly Roach's story demonstrates that true entrepreneurial success is not measured

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) What's up, Yap fam? Today, we're unlocking the archives of Young and Profiting for a Yap classic that feels even more relevant today than when we first recorded it. My guest today is Kelly Roach, a bestselling author, business strategist, and powerhouse entrepreneur who went from Fortune 500 sales leader to building multiple eight and nine figure companies. Now, Kelly broke down all of her amazing marketing and business insights. She is a guru when it comes to business. But what made this conversation so special for me was her take on building success without sacrificing your family, values, or identity. She explained why integrity is becoming one of the biggest advantages in business and why genuine human connection still wins in a world obsessed with over-automation and shortcuts. So yeah, fam, sit back, relax, and enjoy this conversation with the incredible business and marketing expert, Kelly Roach. Speaker 1 (0:52) Young and Profitors, welcome back to the show. Speaker 2 (0:55) And today I have the honor of interviewing one of my all-time favorite entrepreneurs and marketers, and that's Kelly Roach. Kelly Roach is one of my role models. I interviewed her back in episode number 155, and she's back again today on the podcast to give more general entrepreneurship advice. If you haven't heard of Kelly, she's an author, a speaker, a podcaster, and an amazing entrepreneur. She's built over... eight different multimillion dollar businesses. She's one of the most accomplished and successful online entrepreneurs in the world. in the entire world's history, in fact. And she's just absolutely an incredible entrepreneur. So I know today is gonna be jam-packed with amazing information. She last came on for episode number 155, where we talked about her conviction marketing framework. Now, this is a conversation that I constantly go back to for my own business. So if you want her 101 on conviction marketing, I highly recommend that all entrepreneurs go check out episode number 155, our first interview together. And like I mentioned before, today's conversation is gonna be- more general entrepreneurship advice from Kelly. We're going to talk about how to create a business that is prioritizing your family, how to pick the right spouse if you want to be an entrepreneur. We're going to talk about sales, how the market is shifting, and then also we'll touch on her live launch method. So without further ado, Kelly, welcome to Young and Profiting Podcast. So excited to be here. Thanks. I'm very excited for this conversation. So the last time I had you on was actually two years ago. And I couldn't believe it because I feel like that conversation was just yesterday because I'm constantly reflecting back on everything you taught about conviction marketing. And I just want to say that there's very few entrepreneurs and marketers that I truly look up to. And you are one of them. Thank you for being on the show, and I can't wait to hear all the gold that's going to come out of your mouth today. Speaker 1 (2:43) Thank you. I appreciate that so much. Yeah, I remember that conversation. I feel like we've had just so many—our interactions have been so beautiful, and there's just so many synergies between the way that you teach and the way that I teach and what we do and the overlap. So I'm excited to be here today. Speaker 2 (3:01) Yeah, and I've got to pick your— brain on so many different topics related to selling and launching and starting a family-focused business and all this great stuff that we didn't get a chance to talk about last time. Speaker 1 (3:12) And so Speaker 2 (3:13) before we did that, for anybody who missed the conversation and didn't get your backstory, I did want to touch on that. So I know that you actually didn't grow up wealthy, right? There's a lot of kids in your family. You guys grew up on the poverty line. So talk to us about that. Talk to us about the hustle that instilled in you over the years. Speaker 1 (3:32) Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, in my first book, I wrote about a story called Naked in the Lunch Line. And it was the story of, you know, how I was on the free lunch line and all of the cafeteria helpers knew that. But one day there was a volunteer there that didn't know that. And this was back in the day when you turned in an envelope and mine was empty every day. And she ripped it open and it was like in front of everyone in the line. And I just like completely panicked. And that was probably like my low point of just like. like embarrassment and feeling really like naked, right, in that moment. And I think that was a defining moment of my life because I was like, yeah, I don't ever want to feel that again. And I think that that was such a catalyst for me to say, it doesn't need to be like this. It's not going to be like this for me. And I'm going to find a way. And, you know, one of the things that I've said since a really young age is like, there's a lot of things that happen in your life that are controllables and there's things that are uncontrollables, right? Being financially free, that's a controllable. That's something where you can utilize your God-given brain, your talent, your energy. You can learn the skills that are required to build financial freedom. And we're all invited to do that. And so that kind of set me on a journey. So many different jobs in college, five different jobs while I was working, you know, paying my way through college, starting in a Fortune 500, working my way out to the top of the corporate ladder really quickly, and then, you know, building my businesses online. And, you know, I think that it's such an important thing for us all to remember that every experience that we have in our life is an invitation and an opportunity to say, do I want more of this or do I want something different? And then to do something about it. it. If you want more of it, then ask yourself, how did this happen? Why did this happen? How do I take this and grow it exponentially? And if it's an experience that you didn't like, that you don't ever want to have again, well, then that's why we have free will and we're given the opportunity to go out and make new decisions, different decisions to make life different, right? So I do know Speaker 2 (5:37) something really unique in your story is that you actually were an NFL cheerleader. I was. Speaker 1 (5:43) And you're like a very like, even now, like, like you're super attractive. You're very fit. Speaker 2 (5:47) And a lot of women actually would have just like kind of leaned into that and not strive for much more. But you actually went off and quit and got a sales position entry level in a Fortune 500 company. When I think a lot of girls in your position would have just stayed on that cheerleader Speaker 1 (6:02) track. So why did you do that? Yeah, 100%. I mean, my defining moment was when I was—so I was the youngest girl on the NFL team. I cheered in college. It was one of my, like, five jobs that I had during school. And I loved it. I loved performing. I loved being on the team. I loved everything about it. People were always like, oh, were the girls so catty? No, actually, there were scientists and teachers and real estate agents and all these amazing women. And I loved that experience. But my— My first year, I was so excited. They used to do a swimsuit calendar on a tropical island for years and years and years. And it was this huge PR event. And this is where everyone got all the opportunities for modeling and talent agencies and performing and all these things. Well, they make the announcement like the first year that I'm on, we're not doing that anymore. Now we're doing a lingerie calendar. And I was like, oh, hell no. So I actually went to them and I was like, sorry, like, I'm not doing it. And I just was like, damn, you know, like, I'm really going to miss out on all of these opportunities because I was a performer. I was a competitive dancer, competitive cheerleader. I definitely was like progressing on that track. But I was like, I'm not. doing that. Like, I want to get married. I want to have kids someday. I want to be able to look my daughter in the eyes and be like, this is the choice that I made in that defining moment. And that was when I really decided, like, no, like, my life is going to be about using my brains, not my body. And that's when I really got serious about saying, like, okay, I'm going to really go deep into the world of business because that's not how I'm going to make my name. That's not how I'm going to create my career, you know? I Speaker 2 (7:41) love that. Speaker 1 (7:42) I love Speaker 2 (7:42) that so much. And so you ended up going into sales in a Fortune 500 company, and then you quickly became like a VP and kind of jumped over Speaker 1 (7:50) people twice your age. Why do you Speaker 2 (7:52) think you were so naturally good at sales? Or Speaker 1 (7:55) why were you good at sales? Speaker 1 (7:57) I think because I always focused more on listening. So my approach to sales, and I've now taught thousands and thousands of people the same approach, is really about understanding. what someone's needs are, and how you can provide a solution for them that can make a difference in their life. And I think there's like so many different ways of learning sales, so many different ways of doing sales. So many people, especially in online marketing, think that it's all about the pitch or it's about the hook or it's about this, it's about that. And to me, it's a transfer of inspiration. And it's... Speaker 1 (8:37) sharing an effective invitation for someone to change their life. And I think if that's the energy that you carry, it makes a huge difference. Now, that said, I also was the hardest working person. So let's just be really honest. I was the first one in, I was the last one out every day. So that's okay, right? Like a lot of it was just simple discipline, grit, consistency over time, all of that. But from the standpoint of... sales effectiveness. I think it was definitely a focus on listening and making a difference and actually being of service. And I think that that's one of those things that... Whenever those are your intentions, you can pretty much guarantee that even if you don't win in that moment, you're going to win big down the road. So I think that's just a great life principle in anything that we do, right? Speaker 2 (9:22) And I have to say, I have to assume that you also having all these unique experiences, being a performer, being a dancer, being a woman, I feel like all of those, you probably figured out how to use that to your advantage. Yeah. Oh, Speaker 1 (9:36) for sure. For sure. Yeah. I mean, and that's the thing, right? It's like, People always say like, oh, you know, I did this job or I worked for this company and I hated it, or they don't use their past experience when they're building their entrepreneurial companies. And I always say to people, like, every experience that you've had in your life is something that is a connection point for people that are searching for you. They're searching for what you do and what you teach. Plus someone that also either has this life experience, this business experience, this life pathway, you know, whatever it is. And that's why it's so important to not assume that your business starts the day that you started your business. Your business started with every life experience that you had leading you up to why you created that business to begin with. And then that's your opportunity to really give depth to the relationship that you're building with the market that you're serving. Right? Totally. So... Speaker 2 (10:35) Last time we talked, we went really deep into like your side hustle, how you built it. I don't want to cover that because there's so much other material to cover. But can you just give us like high level, like talk to us about how much you've done with your business since you've like, you know, you took it from side hustle to then launching it. Like brag a little bit so people understand like how big your business is. Yeah, well, I'll just give like a little bit of a trajectory. So yeah, I was a Speaker 1 (10:59) senior vice president in a Fortune 500 company. I started my business as a side hustle. Did it on the side for over five years, actually. Built my business to a million dollars while I was working full time. joined entrepreneurship full-time within like two years, took my business to eight figures. And then over the last couple of years, I actually built out a portfolio. Now I have six companies, several of them million and multimillion dollar companies. And obviously I still have my first business and I love that business. That's the business advisory. That's like my crown jewel that we keep growing and refining. And, you know, now I have all these other subsidiaries and kind of satellite businesses that I've been building. And it's just been really cool, really fun, enjoying the journey. I don't recommend that most people have six companies, but for me, I love leadership. My whole background is in leading people. So I have teams in each of these companies and I have leadership and I have really strong staff and I've been