Last Updated on November 19, 2020
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About Allison Baggerly
Hi there! I’m Allison. I’m a wife, mom, business owner, and former elementary school teacher. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would own a business one day. But I think we can all agree that life doesn’t go as planned! I went to college to become an elementary teacher and taught 3rd-5th grade for 10 years.
When my husband and I became pregnant with our first child 9 years ago, we realized that we didn’t have enough money each month to make daycare payments. We were two young teachers who were burdened with student loan debt and car debt. Together we had over $111K worth of debt and our minimum payments were more than our mortgage. We knew right then that something had to change.
Over the next 4.5 years, we paid off our debt (excluding our mortgage) while growing our young family. During the process, I became passionate about personal finances. Starting my business allowed me to combine my talent and skillset of teaching with my love for personal finances and budgeting. After 10 full years of teaching, I was able to leave my teaching job and work in my business full-time!
About Inspired Budget
I started Inspired Budget because I wanted to help women who were in my same shoes years earlier. I wanted to be able to teach women that they can live on a budget and pay off debt. I wanted to share tools and resources to help these women who don’t make a fortune be able to save for retirement. There are women out there that aren’t confident when it comes to their money. They hand it off to their husbands or simply don’t face their money problems at all. These are the women I want to help. My goal is to help women build a strong foundation with their money so that they can approach their finances with confidence.
I started my business by writing articles that would help others. Then, I created printables and resources for women to use in their life. As my business grew, so did the services that I offered!
Contents
How Did You Get Your First Several Customers Or Users? How Many Users Or Customers Do You Have Now?
My first customers came from Instagram! I grew a following on Instagram and genuinely connected with my followers. I showed them budgeting in action and came with the heart of a teacher. I answered questions and motivated women when they felt down. In a world where men teach about money, I was an empathetic and energetic woman offering advice, motivation, and tools that actually work!
I’ve sold thousands of printables! I also have had over 600 women join my Inspired Budget Inner Circle. This is a membership where I offer weekly lessons, live Q&As, and a step by step plan for women who want to budget and pay off debt.
How Does Your Company Grow And Acquire New Customers?
Instagram and SEO help me grow and acquire new customers daily. I also run Facebook ads periodically to free content.
What Actionable Tips And Tricks Do You Have For New Founders Who Are Looking To Get Their First Thousand Users Or Dollars?
Go to where your people are and speak directly to them! People will buy from you when they trust you, so do the work to be a trusted source. Connect with others, provide valuable content for free, and then offer your product for sale. Selling takes time and it works through connection and stories! Your customers are likely buying a transformation, so show that transformation every single day!
What Is Something You’ve Learned That Would Not Be Obvious To Somebody Who Hasn’t Worked In Your Space Before?
.Having a customer journey is key when it comes to guiding your potential customers through your business and what you can offer them. I didn’t do this until way too late in my business! Where do you want your customer to start and what can you offer them each step of the way to help them reach their ultimate goal? Map it out on a piece of paper, but be willing to be flexible along the way.
What’s The Craziest Thing That’s Happened To You (Good Or Bad) On Your Founder Journey?
Quitting my teaching job might have been the craziest thing I’ve done! I left a secure job where I had a monthly salary to work on my business full-time. Even though I had already started out-earning my teaching income, it was still a leap of faith. Being an entrepreneur has many ups and downs. I was terrified of those “down” moments, but I knew that what I could build on my own would help many more people than when I was in the classroom.
What Are Your Favorite Books?
Work Less, Make More by James Schramko and Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller.
Work Less, Make More taught me how to spend my time wisely inside my business. My goal is to scale my business without doubling my time spent on it. I want to still have great boundaries so that my family can have more of me!
Building A Story Brand helped me understand how to better connect with my audience. I learned the power of using stories to help others see the transformation that I can help them create.
Anything You’d Like To Plug?
If you’re new to budgeting, then my free 6 Day Budgeting Course is a must! I’ll help you learn how to budget and save money without the stress that comes with writing a complicated budget. You’ll get everything you need to get yourself organized and finally feel in control of your money again. https://inspiredbudget.com/free-course
Recommended posts:
- Starting A Production Company With Joy Cheriel Brown
- Growing A Successful Blog With Harry Niotis (aka Xaric)
- Building A 2-Sided Marketplace With David Ciccarelli
Book summaries, notes, interviews, and more!
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