December 26, 2024 • 30 mins
Season Four of Structuring Chaotic Minds is all about celebrating educators who venture into new spaces—and still make a difference. In this premiere, host Melissa Franklin sits down with Stacy Eleczko, a former teacher turned website and sales copywriter with a passion for strategic brand messaging (and no shady marketing!). Through her deep dive approach, Stacy helps purpose-driven businesses stand out, connecting them with their ideal clients by defining a unique brand story and crafting copy that’s both relatable and compelling.
What sets Stacy apart? She loves working with “good people doing good things,” bringing clarity, authenticity, and genuine impact to every collaboration—without any hype or gimmicks. From one-to-one services and done-with-you programs to brand messaging strategy, website copy, and email marketing, Stacy’s ultimate goal is simple: to position you as the go-to choice while staying true to who you are. And with her background in education, she’s got an edge in creating training and speaking opportunities that resonate.
Ready to transition your own skills beyond the classroom—or simply curious how to capture (and keep!) the attention of your dream clients? Tune in for an inspiring conversation on building brand messaging that feels good, sells well, and is anything but “sales-y.”
Key Takeaways:
- Leveraging transferable teaching skills in entrepreneurship and marketing
- Evoking empathy in brand messaging vs. resorting to manipulative tactics
- Defining the unique brand story that sets you apart in a crowded market
- Why teachers’ knack for coaching and connection makes for standout copy
Connect with Stacy on LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/copybystacy
Join us as we discover how educators—and anyone passionate about making an impact—can transform chaos into structured success, one authentic story at a time!
Join the "Structuring Chaotic Minds" Family
Connect with Us:
- Facebook: Follow us on Facebook for updates, inspirational quotes.
- Instagram: Follow Melissa on Instagram for life stories, behind-the-scenes, episode highlights.
- Pinterest: Follow us on Pinterest for motivational content, episode pins.
Subscribe to Our Community:
- Don’t miss out on the conversation! Subscribe to our community to stay updated, share your thoughts, and connect with like-minded individuals.
Be a Part of the Conversation:
- Your voice matters! Join the conversation on our social media channels, share your journey, and find support in our community.
Start Your Journey Today:
- Your path to better mental health and life balance begins with "Structuring Chaotic Minds." Follow us, subscribe to our community, and take the first step towards a more balanced life today.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa Franklin (00:00):
Hello everyone and welcome back to Structuring
Chaotic Minds.
I'm your host, melissa Franklin, and this is season four that
we are kicking off.
I am so excited for thisseason's theme Finding your
Voice Beyond the Classroom.
This season, we're exploringhow educators have taken their
skills and voices into those newfields.
They're tackling challenges andfinding fresh ways to make a
(00:20):
new impact.
Today, we're joined by someonewho has a very unique journey to
share.
Her name is Stacey and shespecializes in websites and
sales copyright.
She left her role as aneducator years ago.
In her work, she has seenfirsthand the pressures that
teachers face and has made ither mission to bring clarity,
purpose and authenticity to herclients' brand messaging,
(00:42):
without adding high stress orextra tactics that are
unnecessary.
Stacey now partners withpurpose-driven businesses,
helping them capture theattention of their ideal clients
and building long-lastingconnections.
Welcome to Structuring ChaoticMinds, the podcast where we turn
the chaos of everydaychallenges into structured
success.
I'm your host, melissa, andeach episode we'll explore
(01:04):
innovative strategies, real-lifestories and actionable insights
to help you navigate thecomplexities of leadership,
business and personal growth.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a leader or someone striving
for personal development, thispodcast will give you the tools
to create clarity in the chaos.
Let's dive in.
Welcome, stacey.
We're so glad to have you heretoday.
Stacy Eleczko (01:26):
Thank you, Melissa.
I'm so excited to be here andexcited to kick off this season
with you.
Melissa Franklin (01:31):
Let's go ahead and start with your journey.
Stacey.
You made a big shift fromcoaching teachers in the work
that you're doing into movingover to brand messaging and
website development.
What inspired you to make thattransition, and how did your
experience in education actuallyimpact your approach that you
have with your clients today?
Stacy Eleczko (01:50):
Yeah, great question.
So you know, I think, like alot of educators, I had been
disenchanted with the publiceducation system and my role for
a while and I had been lookingfor other alternatives and
everything either seemed to be Ineeded to go into corporate,
which did not feel like a goodfit for me, or even jobs that
felt like they might be an okayfit was either a massive pay cut
(02:13):
for me or would require me togo back to school.
So I had actually gotten to apoint where I decided I'm going
to have to finish out my careerin the classroom, had sort of
resigned myself to the fact thatI'm just going to have to do
this.
And then I was sitting on thecouch one night and mindlessly
scrolling on Facebook, as onedoes, and I saw an ad for a
copywriting course and I clickedon the ad, didn't know what
(02:36):
copywriting was at the time, andI started reading about it and
I was like, oh my gosh, thissounds like all of the things
that I love doing, that I'mpassionate about, care about,
and I don't have to go getanother degree to do this.
And so I literally was lookingat my husband.
I'm like I'm going to be acopywriter and he goes okay,
sounds great.
And the next day I just Istarted.
(02:57):
I didn't really know what I wasgetting into.
Thought you know never in amillion years that I think I'd
be an entrepreneur.
Thought you know never in amillion years that I think I'd
be an entrepreneur.
But it really did end up beingjust this perfect marriage of my
skill set and the flexibilityand freedom that I didn't have
as an educator.
Melissa Franklin (03:13):
I really do.
I think I love the most theflexibility part that we just
didn't expect.
When you were working withteachers, you saw the kind of
stresses that they face everyday, and I know you felt like
you were actually contributingto that stress at times.
How did that particularexperience, though, shape your
outlook to where now it'sinfluenced how you help your
(03:34):
clients today?
Stacy Eleczko (03:37):
Yeah.
So I mean, I think, just likein education and business, it's
stressful right.
There are all of these outsidefactors and influences, and in
both you always have to look atwhat's the part that I can
control right, what's the partthat's within my control, and
what's the part that's outsideof my control.
And so one of the things that Ihelp business owners do is
(03:58):
figure out what parts of yourprocess are you not controlling
because you don't have a clearmessaging strategy.
So a lot of my process are younot controlling because you
don't have a clear messagingstrategy.
So a lot of my clients arefrustrated because they're
getting unqualified leads,they're wasting all these times
on discovery calls, their salescycles are really long, they're
getting burnt out, stressed out,just like teachers, right, they
(04:19):
feel like they're spinningtheir wheels all the time, and
so I'm able to help them sort ofhone in and figure out what the
pieces are that couldpotentially be the problem, and
then, once we figure out what weneed to work on, I can take
that off the plate for them.
I feel like with education, Iwas never really able to take
something off the teacher'splate.
(04:40):
I could try, right, I could doa little thing here or there.
But with this I can helpbusiness owners understand like
what's the missing piece forthem and then how I can help
them solve that and just givethem a kind of clarity that they
can't always get.
You know, when you're in yourown business it's hard to to see
the forest for the trees, asthey say.
Melissa Franklin (05:03):
I love that I'm not trying to encourage
educators to leave, becausethat's not what we want, but I
love that you're framing it sokind of diving deeper.
We're going to move intobuilding transparency and
authentic messaging.
One thing that sets youparticularly apart is your
commitment to having thatauthentic, transparent messaging
(05:23):
, especially in voiding thosehigh pressure tactics that are
pretty common with marketing.
Could you share more about thattransparency and what it looks
like in your approach?
Why is that important?
Stacy Eleczko (05:36):
Yeah, and I think so.
There's sort of two ways Ithink about this.
So one is, like you talkedabout those gimmicky, shady
sales tactics, right.
Things like fake scarcity, youknow, like you have to purchase
this thing now.
And the most common one I seeand the one I think that relates
to education the most is thisover agitation of pain points,
(05:59):
right.
So, yes, it's important inmarketing to evoke emotion,
right, that's how we connectwith things, and if you don't
connect with your targetaudience, you're not going to
convert them into sales.
But there's a difference betweenevoking emotion and exploiting
emotion.
Ooh, yeah, do you want me tosay that again?
Right, huge difference.
(06:21):
When you're evoking emotion,you're getting people to relate,
right.
When you're exploiting emotion,you're digging in at something
that's already really a problemfor them.
We already know what ourproblems are, right.
We need to know how can youhelp me solve this problem and
how can you help me make thisproblem better, and so that's
(06:42):
the kind of thing that I reallylike to help my clients avoid.
When it comes to those shadypractices, we don't ever want
the person sitting on the otherside of the screen because
there's someone on the otherside of the screen right.
We don't ever want them to feelnegative or bad about themselves
.
We want to show them I'mevoking your emotion because I
understand and I can relate andI have empathy, and so that's an
(07:04):
important piece for me.
And then the other piece that Ithink again also just dawned on
me really does relate toeducation, is this idea of all
perspectives being heard andmarketed to.
So when you have a targetaudience, it's really important.
You have to be obsessed withyour clients.
You have to know exactly whatdrives them and what motivates
(07:27):
them and what motivates theirdecisions, and we need to be
able to holistically look atthat audience.
So if I'm targeting womencoaches right, am I getting
women coaches across thespectrum when I'm thinking about
race and gender andsocioeconomic status and, you
know, disability or any of thosethings?
Because we tend to be exclusiveinstead of inclusive in our
(07:51):
marketing too?
So I think it's reallyimportant that we do both of
those things.
Melissa Franklin (07:56):
I think we'll bring you on for another episode
at another time.
There's going to be othertopics we can talk about in this
.
You just named something for metoo, as a teacher like why was
I so effective?
Because I knew how to speak tothat pain point for those kiddos
and the only reason I actuallydon't think I exploited it,
rather than I resonated becauseI was that kid and that's why I
(08:18):
actually do what I do, which iswhy I love what you do.
You help other people find theirwhy and like stick to that
authenticity and that messagingto say like hey, we're not
trying to annoy you and justbasically tell you you suck as a
person rather than drawawareness to there's an issue,
like can we do something aboutit?
Or there is a situation if youwant something different?
Here's the awareness and I lovethat, because a lot of people
(08:43):
are too busy trying to make aconversion on the sale that they
sell too much on the pay pointsand too much on the scarcity,
and you're not wrong, it works,yeah, but is that really what we
wanted to make in the changeand just more money in our
pockets, or did we want to makean impact?
And I think that makes adifference.
So when you work one-to-onewith clients, you're building
websites, helping them definetheir brand and messaging.
(09:05):
What process do you use to helpthem find that core message
that really resonates with thataudience?
Stacy Eleczko (09:14):
Yeah, absolutely so.
It's a lot.
It's a lot of the work up front.
It's really helping under themunderstand, first figuring out
what makes them tick right, what, as business owners, is
important to them.
So we always start withconversations about missions and
vision and values, like what'syour goal, what are you hoping
to achieve and what is essentialto how you do business, what's
(09:37):
non-negotiable for you?
You know, what are you for,what are you against?
And so once we've defined thosethings, then we can start to
think about now who are youserving and what's important to
them.
We really have to dig in andunderstand our audiences.
What are their hopes, what aretheir desires, what are their
motivations?
What are they?
(09:58):
You know?
What are they hoping to gain?
What are they avoiding?
What do they want to, you know,not lose, or what do they want
to lose?
But we've got to figure outwhat exactly are those things
that are triggering.
What BS are they trying to getrid of?
Pretty much right Like what'sthis baggage I need to shed?
Melissa Franklin (10:23):
That was good.
It sounded very, verydistinguished like polite and
kind in the process.
But you're not wrong.
That's.
That's really what a lot ofpeople want, and I love that
you're speaking to what a lot ofthe people don't want to admit.
Stacy Eleczko (10:35):
They really need to separate.
I think that, yeah, and I thinkthat's another thing.
So many of my clients come tome and they think that they need
one thing right, or they wantone thing, but once we dig in,
it's really something else.
And I think that's where mybackground as an instructional
coach is so critical, because Iunderstand how to post questions
(11:00):
to get people to think about,to think in a different way
right, to see differentperspectives, and so that's been
a big help, because a lot oftimes I'm on calls with clients
and you can see that shift whenit happens, when they have this
realization and they're like, ohmy gosh, I've never thought
about my business in this waybefore and it's, it's amazing.
(11:20):
I love being part of that.
So I'm like, oh, this is, I'mjust, you know, pulling in some
of my coaching tools.
Melissa Franklin (11:25):
Something you just pointed out was the you
know how to ask the rightquestions.
Isn't it so funny as coaches,we don't give the advice, we ask
the questions because theyalready know the answer.
And it's funny as a coach, youdon't have to give directives,
you don't have to manage people,you just get to light a fire
underneath them and be like, hi,but you're still coaching, just
(11:47):
in a different aspect, likeit's not a title of coach, but
it's now this piece and it'sbeen there because for years you
could help them unlock that andnow you've taken those
practices of being a coach andputting them there into your
one-to-one services.
But I love it.
Um, it's finding that rightstuff that a lot of people don't
want to talk about.
(12:08):
So, thinking about that, let'skind of transition back to
educators and finding theirvoices in the classroom, cause
that's really what we're focusedon this season.
Yes, teachers who arespecifically transitioning and
they want to communicate theirunique skills and their
experiences.
A lot of them probably feellike they're underdeveloped or
(12:29):
they don't have the skills andthat sort of stuff.
I know I felt like that when Ifirst started.
What advice would you give tosomebody in that space to help
them feel more confident?
Stacy Eleczko (12:39):
Yeah, I mean, I 100% felt like that.
I was like what skills do Ihave that are transferable?
And once you're out of theclassroom, it's like what skills
do I not have that weretransferable?
Because, as teachers right, wedo everything as educators and
we just we don't know how toframe it in that way, right.
But when I look at what I'mdoing as a copywriter, as a
(13:00):
brand messaging strategist, I'mlike these are all tools that I
really fine tuned in myeducation career and so I think
it's.
You know, we just have to thinkbigger and outside of the.
What is the actual skill?
But what does that skill helpme accomplish or achieve?
So, for example, you know,teachers, we look at data all
(13:22):
the time in the classroom andyou use that data to make
informed decisions and to guideyour next steps, and that helps
you to make sure that you'reresponding to your students in a
way that's going to help themgrow.
It's the same thing in ourmarketing and in our messaging.
It's what's working, what's notworking, what shifts can I make
(13:43):
so that I can continue to makeprogress toward reaching my
customers, towards reachingtheir goals?
And so, regardless of whetheryou're going into copywriting or
not, you have skill sets and Ithink it's just starting to
figure out and you know what isthe.
Why is the thing that?
This thing that I did in theclassroom, why did that matter?
(14:05):
Right, so I have this skill, sowhat?
What does that mean?
And now, how might it benefitother people?
And I think it's also justgetting in conversations with
people outside of education,because it's a whole new world
out here.
It really is right, You've gotto talk to people.
Melissa Franklin (14:26):
I feel so played.
I'm not even this is not toinsult my fellow entrepreneurs
and business owners and foundersbut I feel so played, knowing
all the years that I stuck intoeducation because teachers and
educators are resourceful.
Yes, when there's no money,there's no way.
You're in charge, you don'thave a choice.
(14:46):
That is the one field.
You don't get to recall theproduct.
You have to get it right thefirst time.
So, because of that there is no.
Oh well, we didn't know.
Like you're required to knowand you're underpaid and tough
kitties and you just get so usedto that that you would think it
transfers into the businessworld.
And it's so funny to watch myfellow business owners Like how
(15:09):
do you run three businesses thesame way?
I ran three schools.
Like what do you mean?
It's the same thing.
Like I'm not understanding.
The same way we ran three, fourclassrooms.
Like it's the same thing.
And so many teachers do it andhave to build relationships with
over a hundred kids every yearand deal with their family
dynamics and deal with what theyneed and move those numbers and
(15:31):
then still make like five otherbosses happy.
Yep, a lot of educators don'trealize how amazing their skills
are.
So many educators bring skillsand in with their connection and
storytelling more than anything.
Oh my gosh.
Yes, that they leverage thoseskills in a new context, whether
that's a business, role, site,project, whatever the heck they
(15:53):
want to step out into.
How can they leverage thoseskills in that new context?
Stacy Eleczko (15:59):
So I think you know one of the things I was
thinking about when I was in theclassroom, whether it was with
kids or with teachers.
I always started with that endin mind, right?
So what is the ultimate thingthat I want either kids or
instructors to be able to knowor do by the time I am done
teaching this thing?
And so I think it's the sameidea when you're thinking about
(16:21):
you know what's the goal of inthis position.
What are the things that youwould want to see me know or do?
And just recognizing that sortof you know, it's that backward
planning that you know as aneducator.
Melissa Franklin (16:33):
I was just going to say backward planning.
That's what I'm thinking I'mlike.
Stacy Eleczko (16:36):
I'm just going to call it what it is it's
backward planning.
Don't say the terms, Don't beannoying, but it's backward
planning.
That's exactly what it is, butit is.
Like you.
If you're going intoentrepreneurship, that's how you
have to run your business.
What's my goal?
What are the things I need todo in order to get myself to
that goal?
But it's just, we have thisskillset.
The reason this question is alittle bit hard is because I'm
(16:59):
thinking even when I firststepped out of the classroom.
Now I very, very clearly seehow every single skill I had in
the classroom is 100% applicableto what I do now.
But because we were in theclassroom or in the school
system, you don't reallyunderstand those applications
right, and so I would say one ofthe first things you do maybe
(17:19):
then is seek out other teacherswho have transitioned out of
education, Talk to them, Findout what are the things that you
know, what are the skills thatyou realized were the most
beneficial to you.
And then, like you said,storytelling is powerful.
It's impactful.
So when, let's say, you'reinterviewing for a job and you
see that they're looking for youto talk about a certain trait,
(17:40):
what's the time that you showedthat trait in the classroom?
How can you tell that story ina way that relates to whatever
this new position is?
Melissa Franklin (17:49):
in a way that relates to whatever this new
position is, and I think it'ssomething I want to piggyback
off of.
That is like I think.
Sometimes too, we don't giveeducators the respect that they
deserve, so a lot of that fearcomes into.
I'm just a teacher, so arepeople going to have respect for
me?
And it's so funny because whenyou get in the room with those
same people you realize how muchhigher your skills are, and
then that confidence actuallygains pretty quickly, as you
(18:12):
realize.
Nah, I'm pretty edumacated.
Okay, I know my stuff.
That's beautiful.
You've been running a businessfor how long, like what?
And it's an eye-opener too.
But it's a mindset shift, Iguess anything accepting that
not everything is dollar fordollar or hour for hour, and
it's more finding that pathwayand allowing yourself to
(18:37):
actually be compensated what themarket is, compensated other
people rather than whateverybody can afford.
Because as educators we want toserve everybody and we
undercharge so much.
It's not even funny.
Most educators have thosemaster's or secondary degrees
and all those other pieces, andyet they're not even getting the
(19:00):
credit.
And most business owners don'thave all that extra education
but already put in the man hoursin the right field.
They're further advanced andit's so funny because it's the
same people that end up coachingeach other and it's like, wow,
why am I coaching a businessowner who has all these extra
years of experience?
Because they found the peoplelike teachers, who have the
(19:23):
skills to go do it.
So now, as a teacher, have theconfidence to stop letting
someone else control it andstart making those decisions and
kind of step outside of it.
I I love that, thinking aboutthat, you're more active, like
on LinkedIn and social platformsand such Educators entering new
fields.
I mean educators just wantingto show up on social media.
(19:45):
That's something different.
What advice would you give forthem, as they're building their
online presence in a way thattruly connects with people?
Stacy Eleczko (19:53):
I mean, I think it's the same way you do it with
your students in your classroom.
It is about building genuinerelationships.
So you know, I was terrified ofnetworking when I first started
teaching because I had thiswhole old school picture of
networking and I know, you knowit still works this way
sometimes, where you're going toa meeting to hand out a
business card and do your pitchand it's uncomfortable, right.
(20:16):
And really the best advice Igot when I started out is
someone said to me you know howto make friends, right?
And I said, yeah.
She said well, go make businessfriends.
I was like, oh, I can do that.
And she's like when you make anew friend, you don't go up to
them and be like hi, my name isStacy and I played tennis for
(20:38):
this many years and I did this.
That's not how you start aconversation.
Don't start conversations inbusiness that way.
And so I think you know, justthinking about it's it's just a
shift in how you're doing it.
Linkedin in particular, it is.
It's about buildingrelationships.
So you're not out there tryingto get leads and make sales and
close deals right away, and theother thing is like half of
(21:03):
what's on there is crap right.
Find.
Find the right people to follow, because there's so many people
on there using social media asa highlight reel and I'm sorry,
but they're the same people whoare in my DMS now trying to sell
me on things Right Like.
Melissa Franklin (21:18):
I'm just like so you got to be in my cold DMS.
I promise if you're inmarketing and sales and you're
as good as you say you are, Iwill come to you.
And if you come to me, do youneed my coaching?
Stacy Eleczko (21:33):
Most of them are full of it, right, but like just
go find the people who aren'tright, like see through that
piece, there's so many teacherswho have transitioned into other
roles.
Find them, follow them, justsort of get the lay of the land.
You know, it's kind of like Ithink about when I was in the
classroom.
I would observe my kids andfigure out, like let me start to
(21:55):
get to know you first of all,and then let me see how you
interact, how you're engaging,what things motivate you, what
things drive you, what are youtalking about?
Get in on those conversations,right.
And so I would say you knoweverybody panics with LinkedIn
in particular, because I don'tknow what to post, so don't post
anything yet.
And also, the other thing is, ifyou don't have any followers,
(22:18):
nobody sees what you're postinganyway, so don't worry about it,
Nobody's going to see it.
And if they do and it's notthat great they're not going to
read it anyway.
So, like, really, just goexperiment, go have fun.
It's not a test, there's nograde right, there's no right or
wrong answer, but you have toexperiment, you have to be
willing to put yourself outthere.
(22:39):
So I would say, find the peoplein the space that are doing the
thing you want to do, Payattention to how they're doing
it and just start engaging withtheir content.
Right, Leave meaningful,thoughtful comments.
Engage with other peopleleaving meaningful, thoughtful
comments.
Engage with other peopleleaving meaningful, thoughtful
comments.
Find the other people who areteachers that have transitioned
out, you know.
Reach out to them.
(22:59):
That's that's what I did.
I went and I found all thepeople who are either doing what
I wanted to do or live nearwhere I lived and I was like,
hey, I'm a new copywriter,transition teaching.
I see you also, you know, didthe same.
Can we hop on a call?
And I did tons and tons of thatand then eventually you do
start to find your voice andfigure it out and you can start
playing around and and posting.
(23:20):
But, like it's not that serious, nothing that you post on
social media, yes, it's thereforever, Right, but also it's
gone in two minutes.
So it's, you know, just just doit, put the effort out there.
You have the skills.
It's just like the things youhad to do in parent conferences
and, um, you know when you'regetting to, to know and meet
(23:40):
your kids.
So focus on buildingrelationships and you're not
going to go wrong.
Melissa Franklin (23:45):
I love that.
Um, I feel like nine times outof 10, we're on the spotlight
anyway because we're going tosay the wrong thing, or I taught
math for years so I might writethe wrong equation and still
get the wrong answer.
But like I was just testing youguys, I wanted to make a good
job, bravo.
I'm doing my job as a teacherbecause you caught it, um, but
nobody died and nothing happened.
(24:07):
And you know what?
I didn't get fired.
I was still asked to keep goingbecause nobody else was.
So sometimes we overthink thosethings because of the different
judgments and differentexperiences that we've had in
the past.
But really the reality is likenothing's going to fall apart if
you take that chance and forwhatever reason, you're probably
the one thing that's in the wayof that progress.
(24:29):
Thinking of that, for those whoare just getting started and
they want to build thatauthenticity, how do they focus
on building authenticity thatresonates the most with their
ideal audience?
Stacy Eleczko (24:47):
That's a loaded question, I mean.
So I think first you have tofigure out like I said before,
you just have to be obsessedwith your target audience who
are those clients that you wantto serve and what matters to
them.
So where are they on LinkedIn?
Where are they on whateversocial media platform you're
going to be on?
I mean, I can speak to LinkedInmore, so that's what I'll do
(25:08):
but where are they and what arethey talking about?
What's bothering them, what aretheir problems?
Right, and then also makingsure you actually have the
solution to the problems thatthey have.
Otherwise they're not yourideal.
Melissa Franklin (25:22):
That sucks.
Let's find someone for you.
Stacy Eleczko (25:29):
Find out where they are, find out and just
getting conversations with them.
And I think, in particular, ifyou're going to talk about
entrepreneurship, you're notlooking for the sale.
Don't start off looking for thesale.
Right, if you, as you build andgrow your expertise and build
the relationships, those thingswill come.
I mean, I had the very firstin-person networking event that
(25:51):
I went to.
I was terrified.
Got there, looked around, sawsomeone else who looked
terrified.
It was also her first event andwe were like I just did her
website and brand messagingrecently, Right, but like I
didn't meet her with theintention of, oh, I'm going to,
I'm pinpointing you as apotential ideal client, right,
but put yourself in the spaceswhere your ideal clients are
(26:13):
Right and you start to get toknow them.
I love that.
Melissa Franklin (26:17):
I think I actually attend some pretty
expensive business summits ordifferent things and most of the
time I'm trying to find theperson who looks just as scared
or in the corner as me.
I'm like, hi, friend, let's befriends.
And by the end of it you find away to network and connect.
And same thing with theteachers.
If you knew you were in thatspace and everybody during PD
(26:37):
had that blank stare looking ateach other like really, what did
they just ask us for?
Make friends with them, that'sit.
Stacy Eleczko (26:46):
And like be okay with being uncomfortable, you're
going to be uncomfortable,you're doing something new.
You were uncomfortable when youfirst started teaching too.
You didn't know what the hellyou were doing, right, like, but
what did you do?
You stood up there and youpretended like you knew what you
were doing.
So don't don't offer clientssomething that you don't know
how to do and pretend like youknow how to do it.
But when it comes, to that.
I'm saying that like let's,let's, let's not scam people,
(27:09):
but realistically just beingconfident, and eventually you
will be confident and you'llknow how to talk about your
business.
Melissa Franklin (27:16):
I love it.
I love it.
Well, we definitely have tobring you on for another episode
, but thank you so much forsharing about this particular
journey and your insights.
It's definitely been inspiringto hear what you've learned and
what you've taken from educationand then implied it over into
that business world.
A lot of people struggle withthat transition, thinking of
that Stacey if somebody wants toconnect with you, what is the
(27:38):
easiest way to find you?
Stacy Eleczko (27:40):
Yeah, so LinkedIn is definitely the easiest way
to find me.
I post content almost every day, so I'm always on there.
And then also I have an emaillist, and that is not just me
sending out emails.
I really think about that as acommunity.
I send out emails weekly.
Those have actionable adviceand tips.
I reply to every single emailPersonally.
(28:01):
It's me on the other side ofthat keyboard, and so that's a
great place to find me too.
And of course, people can go tomy website as well.
Perfect.
Melissa Franklin (28:08):
Well, I need to make sure that we share those
in the show notes.
So if you guys want to makesure that you find a way to find
Stacey, be sure to check theshow notes.
We will be sharing that there.
Thinking of that, is there anyother upcoming projects or
anything exciting that you wantto share with our audience in
another way that they might beable to get to know?
Stacy Eleczko (28:25):
Yeah, I mean I'm finally leveraging some of my
teaching experience and I'vebeen doing workshops and boot
camps and things like that, soI've got some fun things in the
works.
Definitely announce those onLinkedIn in my email list and so
you can keep an eye out forthose things.
And I am also starting to againleverage my teaching and
(28:45):
starting to do more speakingopportunities.
So I'll be on more stages andthings like that in the future
as well.
But again, I'll share all thosewith my community.
Melissa Franklin (28:54):
I love it.
Well, thank you, Stacey.
It's been wonderful being herewith you and talking about these
topics.
I think education means a lotto both of us and it's always
fun to be able to talk aboutthat with someone else who gets
it and who's that space.
So thank you so much forsharing that with our audience.
For those of you in theaudience, be sure to make sure
(29:16):
that you check out Stacey'sstory.
Anything you find out inspiring, go ahead and follow her on
LinkedIn.
Remember, if you're an educatorthat's looking to find that
voice outside the classroom,there are so many ways to make
an impact and we're here to helpyou share those stories.
If you'd like to learn moreabout Stacey and her work, be
sure to check out the show notes.
Like I mentioned before, Don'tforget to subscribe to our
(29:37):
podcast and stay updated for newepisodes, and please do a
review if you actually enjoyedtoday's conversation.
Thanks for tuning in and we'llsee you next time as we continue
to find our journey asdiscovering our voices as we are
beyond the classroom.
Stay structured and smiling.
Thank you for tuning in toStructuring Chaotic Minds.
If today's episode resonatedwith you, don't forget to
(30:00):
subscribe, share and leave areview.
Remember, the key to success isnot avoiding chaos, but
learning how to structure it.
Stay inspired, keep growing andjoin me next time as we
continue to transform challengesinto opportunities.
Until then, take care and keepstructuring your chaotic mind.
Hello everyone and welcome back to Structuring
Chaotic Minds.
I'm your host, melissa Franklin, and this is season four that
we are kicking off.
I am so excited for thisseason's theme Finding your
Voice Beyond the Classroom.
This season, we're exploringhow educators have taken their
skills and voices into those newfields.
They're tackling challenges andfinding fresh ways to make a
(00:20):
new impact.
Today, we're joined by someonewho has a very unique journey to
share.
Her name is Stacey and shespecializes in websites and
sales copyright.
She left her role as aneducator years ago.
In her work, she has seenfirsthand the pressures that
teachers face and has made ither mission to bring clarity,
purpose and authenticity to herclients' brand messaging,
(00:42):
without adding high stress orextra tactics that are
unnecessary.
Stacey now partners withpurpose-driven businesses,
helping them capture theattention of their ideal clients
and building long-lastingconnections.
Welcome to Structuring ChaoticMinds, the podcast where we turn
the chaos of everydaychallenges into structured
success.
I'm your host, melissa, andeach episode we'll explore
(01:04):
innovative strategies, real-lifestories and actionable insights
to help you navigate thecomplexities of leadership,
business and personal growth.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a leader or someone striving
for personal development, thispodcast will give you the tools
to create clarity in the chaos.
Let's dive in.
Welcome, stacey.
We're so glad to have you heretoday.
Stacy Eleczko (01:26):
Thank you, Melissa.
I'm so excited to be here andexcited to kick off this season
with you.
Melissa Franklin (01:31):
Let's go ahead and start with your journey.
Stacey.
You made a big shift fromcoaching teachers in the work
that you're doing into movingover to brand messaging and
website development.
What inspired you to make thattransition, and how did your
experience in education actuallyimpact your approach that you
have with your clients today?
Stacy Eleczko (01:50):
Yeah, great question.
So you know, I think, like alot of educators, I had been
disenchanted with the publiceducation system and my role for
a while and I had been lookingfor other alternatives and
everything either seemed to be Ineeded to go into corporate,
which did not feel like a goodfit for me, or even jobs that
felt like they might be an okayfit was either a massive pay cut
(02:13):
for me or would require me togo back to school.
So I had actually gotten to apoint where I decided I'm going
to have to finish out my careerin the classroom, had sort of
resigned myself to the fact thatI'm just going to have to do
this.
And then I was sitting on thecouch one night and mindlessly
scrolling on Facebook, as onedoes, and I saw an ad for a
copywriting course and I clickedon the ad, didn't know what
(02:36):
copywriting was at the time, andI started reading about it and
I was like, oh my gosh, thissounds like all of the things
that I love doing, that I'mpassionate about, care about,
and I don't have to go getanother degree to do this.
And so I literally was lookingat my husband.
I'm like I'm going to be acopywriter and he goes okay,
sounds great.
And the next day I just Istarted.
(02:57):
I didn't really know what I wasgetting into.
Thought you know never in amillion years that I think I'd
be an entrepreneur.
Thought you know never in amillion years that I think I'd
be an entrepreneur.
But it really did end up beingjust this perfect marriage of my
skill set and the flexibilityand freedom that I didn't have
as an educator.
Melissa Franklin (03:13):
I really do.
I think I love the most theflexibility part that we just
didn't expect.
When you were working withteachers, you saw the kind of
stresses that they face everyday, and I know you felt like
you were actually contributingto that stress at times.
How did that particularexperience, though, shape your
outlook to where now it'sinfluenced how you help your
(03:34):
clients today?
Stacy Eleczko (03:37):
Yeah.
So I mean, I think, just likein education and business, it's
stressful right.
There are all of these outsidefactors and influences, and in
both you always have to look atwhat's the part that I can
control right, what's the partthat's within my control, and
what's the part that's outsideof my control.
And so one of the things that Ihelp business owners do is
(03:58):
figure out what parts of yourprocess are you not controlling
because you don't have a clearmessaging strategy.
So a lot of my process are younot controlling because you
don't have a clear messagingstrategy.
So a lot of my clients arefrustrated because they're
getting unqualified leads,they're wasting all these times
on discovery calls, their salescycles are really long, they're
getting burnt out, stressed out,just like teachers, right, they
(04:19):
feel like they're spinningtheir wheels all the time, and
so I'm able to help them sort ofhone in and figure out what the
pieces are that couldpotentially be the problem, and
then, once we figure out what weneed to work on, I can take
that off the plate for them.
I feel like with education, Iwas never really able to take
something off the teacher'splate.
(04:40):
I could try, right, I could doa little thing here or there.
But with this I can helpbusiness owners understand like
what's the missing piece forthem and then how I can help
them solve that and just givethem a kind of clarity that they
can't always get.
You know, when you're in yourown business it's hard to to see
the forest for the trees, asthey say.
Melissa Franklin (05:03):
I love that I'm not trying to encourage
educators to leave, becausethat's not what we want, but I
love that you're framing it sokind of diving deeper.
We're going to move intobuilding transparency and
authentic messaging.
One thing that sets youparticularly apart is your
commitment to having thatauthentic, transparent messaging
(05:23):
, especially in voiding thosehigh pressure tactics that are
pretty common with marketing.
Could you share more about thattransparency and what it looks
like in your approach?
Why is that important?
Stacy Eleczko (05:36):
Yeah, and I think so.
There's sort of two ways Ithink about this.
So one is, like you talkedabout those gimmicky, shady
sales tactics, right.
Things like fake scarcity, youknow, like you have to purchase
this thing now.
And the most common one I seeand the one I think that relates
to education the most is thisover agitation of pain points,
(05:59):
right.
So, yes, it's important inmarketing to evoke emotion,
right, that's how we connectwith things, and if you don't
connect with your targetaudience, you're not going to
convert them into sales.
But there's a difference betweenevoking emotion and exploiting
emotion.
Ooh, yeah, do you want me tosay that again?
Right, huge difference.
(06:21):
When you're evoking emotion,you're getting people to relate,
right.
When you're exploiting emotion,you're digging in at something
that's already really a problemfor them.
We already know what ourproblems are, right.
We need to know how can youhelp me solve this problem and
how can you help me make thisproblem better, and so that's
(06:42):
the kind of thing that I reallylike to help my clients avoid.
When it comes to those shadypractices, we don't ever want
the person sitting on the otherside of the screen because
there's someone on the otherside of the screen right.
We don't ever want them to feelnegative or bad about themselves
.
We want to show them I'mevoking your emotion because I
understand and I can relate andI have empathy, and so that's an
(07:04):
important piece for me.
And then the other piece that Ithink again also just dawned on
me really does relate toeducation, is this idea of all
perspectives being heard andmarketed to.
So when you have a targetaudience, it's really important.
You have to be obsessed withyour clients.
You have to know exactly whatdrives them and what motivates
(07:27):
them and what motivates theirdecisions, and we need to be
able to holistically look atthat audience.
So if I'm targeting womencoaches right, am I getting
women coaches across thespectrum when I'm thinking about
race and gender andsocioeconomic status and, you
know, disability or any of thosethings?
Because we tend to be exclusiveinstead of inclusive in our
(07:51):
marketing too?
So I think it's reallyimportant that we do both of
those things.
Melissa Franklin (07:56):
I think we'll bring you on for another episode
at another time.
There's going to be othertopics we can talk about in this
.
You just named something for metoo, as a teacher like why was
I so effective?
Because I knew how to speak tothat pain point for those kiddos
and the only reason I actuallydon't think I exploited it,
rather than I resonated becauseI was that kid and that's why I
(08:18):
actually do what I do, which iswhy I love what you do.
You help other people find theirwhy and like stick to that
authenticity and that messagingto say like hey, we're not
trying to annoy you and justbasically tell you you suck as a
person rather than drawawareness to there's an issue,
like can we do something aboutit?
Or there is a situation if youwant something different?
Here's the awareness and I lovethat, because a lot of people
(08:43):
are too busy trying to make aconversion on the sale that they
sell too much on the pay pointsand too much on the scarcity,
and you're not wrong, it works,yeah, but is that really what we
wanted to make in the changeand just more money in our
pockets, or did we want to makean impact?
And I think that makes adifference.
So when you work one-to-onewith clients, you're building
websites, helping them definetheir brand and messaging.
(09:05):
What process do you use to helpthem find that core message
that really resonates with thataudience?
Stacy Eleczko (09:14):
Yeah, absolutely so.
It's a lot.
It's a lot of the work up front.
It's really helping under themunderstand, first figuring out
what makes them tick right, what, as business owners, is
important to them.
So we always start withconversations about missions and
vision and values, like what'syour goal, what are you hoping
to achieve and what is essentialto how you do business, what's
(09:37):
non-negotiable for you?
You know, what are you for,what are you against?
And so once we've defined thosethings, then we can start to
think about now who are youserving and what's important to
them.
We really have to dig in andunderstand our audiences.
What are their hopes, what aretheir desires, what are their
motivations?
What are they?
(09:58):
You know?
What are they hoping to gain?
What are they avoiding?
What do they want to, you know,not lose, or what do they want
to lose?
But we've got to figure outwhat exactly are those things
that are triggering.
What BS are they trying to getrid of?
Pretty much right Like what'sthis baggage I need to shed?
Melissa Franklin (10:23):
That was good.
It sounded very, verydistinguished like polite and
kind in the process.
But you're not wrong.
That's.
That's really what a lot ofpeople want, and I love that
you're speaking to what a lot ofthe people don't want to admit.
Stacy Eleczko (10:35):
They really need to separate.
I think that, yeah, and I thinkthat's another thing.
So many of my clients come tome and they think that they need
one thing right, or they wantone thing, but once we dig in,
it's really something else.
And I think that's where mybackground as an instructional
coach is so critical, because Iunderstand how to post questions
(11:00):
to get people to think about,to think in a different way
right, to see differentperspectives, and so that's been
a big help, because a lot oftimes I'm on calls with clients
and you can see that shift whenit happens, when they have this
realization and they're like, ohmy gosh, I've never thought
about my business in this waybefore and it's, it's amazing.
(11:20):
I love being part of that.
So I'm like, oh, this is, I'mjust, you know, pulling in some
of my coaching tools.
Melissa Franklin (11:25):
Something you just pointed out was the you
know how to ask the rightquestions.
Isn't it so funny as coaches,we don't give the advice, we ask
the questions because theyalready know the answer.
And it's funny as a coach, youdon't have to give directives,
you don't have to manage people,you just get to light a fire
underneath them and be like, hi,but you're still coaching, just
(11:47):
in a different aspect, likeit's not a title of coach, but
it's now this piece and it'sbeen there because for years you
could help them unlock that andnow you've taken those
practices of being a coach andputting them there into your
one-to-one services.
But I love it.
Um, it's finding that rightstuff that a lot of people don't
want to talk about.
(12:08):
So, thinking about that, let'skind of transition back to
educators and finding theirvoices in the classroom, cause
that's really what we're focusedon this season.
Yes, teachers who arespecifically transitioning and
they want to communicate theirunique skills and their
experiences.
A lot of them probably feellike they're underdeveloped or
(12:29):
they don't have the skills andthat sort of stuff.
I know I felt like that when Ifirst started.
What advice would you give tosomebody in that space to help
them feel more confident?
Stacy Eleczko (12:39):
Yeah, I mean, I 100% felt like that.
I was like what skills do Ihave that are transferable?
And once you're out of theclassroom, it's like what skills
do I not have that weretransferable?
Because, as teachers right, wedo everything as educators and
we just we don't know how toframe it in that way, right.
But when I look at what I'mdoing as a copywriter, as a
(13:00):
brand messaging strategist, I'mlike these are all tools that I
really fine tuned in myeducation career and so I think
it's.
You know, we just have to thinkbigger and outside of the.
What is the actual skill?
But what does that skill helpme accomplish or achieve?
So, for example, you know,teachers, we look at data all
(13:22):
the time in the classroom andyou use that data to make
informed decisions and to guideyour next steps, and that helps
you to make sure that you'reresponding to your students in a
way that's going to help themgrow.
It's the same thing in ourmarketing and in our messaging.
It's what's working, what's notworking, what shifts can I make
(13:43):
so that I can continue to makeprogress toward reaching my
customers, towards reachingtheir goals?
And so, regardless of whetheryou're going into copywriting or
not, you have skill sets and Ithink it's just starting to
figure out and you know what isthe.
Why is the thing that?
This thing that I did in theclassroom, why did that matter?
(14:05):
Right, so I have this skill, sowhat?
What does that mean?
And now, how might it benefitother people?
And I think it's also justgetting in conversations with
people outside of education,because it's a whole new world
out here.
It really is right, You've gotto talk to people.
Melissa Franklin (14:26):
I feel so played.
I'm not even this is not toinsult my fellow entrepreneurs
and business owners and foundersbut I feel so played, knowing
all the years that I stuck intoeducation because teachers and
educators are resourceful.
Yes, when there's no money,there's no way.
You're in charge, you don'thave a choice.
(14:46):
That is the one field.
You don't get to recall theproduct.
You have to get it right thefirst time.
So, because of that there is no.
Oh well, we didn't know.
Like you're required to knowand you're underpaid and tough
kitties and you just get so usedto that that you would think it
transfers into the businessworld.
And it's so funny to watch myfellow business owners Like how
(15:09):
do you run three businesses thesame way?
I ran three schools.
Like what do you mean?
It's the same thing.
Like I'm not understanding.
The same way we ran three, fourclassrooms.
Like it's the same thing.
And so many teachers do it andhave to build relationships with
over a hundred kids every yearand deal with their family
dynamics and deal with what theyneed and move those numbers and
(15:31):
then still make like five otherbosses happy.
Yep, a lot of educators don'trealize how amazing their skills
are.
So many educators bring skillsand in with their connection and
storytelling more than anything.
Oh my gosh.
Yes, that they leverage thoseskills in a new context, whether
that's a business, role, site,project, whatever the heck they
(15:53):
want to step out into.
How can they leverage thoseskills in that new context?
Stacy Eleczko (15:59):
So I think you know one of the things I was
thinking about when I was in theclassroom, whether it was with
kids or with teachers.
I always started with that endin mind, right?
So what is the ultimate thingthat I want either kids or
instructors to be able to knowor do by the time I am done
teaching this thing?
And so I think it's the sameidea when you're thinking about
(16:21):
you know what's the goal of inthis position.
What are the things that youwould want to see me know or do?
And just recognizing that sortof you know, it's that backward
planning that you know as aneducator.
Melissa Franklin (16:33):
I was just going to say backward planning.
That's what I'm thinking I'mlike.
Stacy Eleczko (16:36):
I'm just going to call it what it is it's
backward planning.
Don't say the terms, Don't beannoying, but it's backward
planning.
That's exactly what it is, butit is.
Like you.
If you're going intoentrepreneurship, that's how you
have to run your business.
What's my goal?
What are the things I need todo in order to get myself to
that goal?
But it's just, we have thisskillset.
The reason this question is alittle bit hard is because I'm
(16:59):
thinking even when I firststepped out of the classroom.
Now I very, very clearly seehow every single skill I had in
the classroom is 100% applicableto what I do now.
But because we were in theclassroom or in the school
system, you don't reallyunderstand those applications
right, and so I would say one ofthe first things you do maybe
(17:19):
then is seek out other teacherswho have transitioned out of
education, Talk to them, Findout what are the things that you
know, what are the skills thatyou realized were the most
beneficial to you.
And then, like you said,storytelling is powerful.
It's impactful.
So when, let's say, you'reinterviewing for a job and you
see that they're looking for youto talk about a certain trait,
(17:40):
what's the time that you showedthat trait in the classroom?
How can you tell that story ina way that relates to whatever
this new position is?
Melissa Franklin (17:49):
in a way that relates to whatever this new
position is, and I think it'ssomething I want to piggyback
off of.
That is like I think.
Sometimes too, we don't giveeducators the respect that they
deserve, so a lot of that fearcomes into.
I'm just a teacher, so arepeople going to have respect for
me?
And it's so funny because whenyou get in the room with those
same people you realize how muchhigher your skills are, and
then that confidence actuallygains pretty quickly, as you
(18:12):
realize.
Nah, I'm pretty edumacated.
Okay, I know my stuff.
That's beautiful.
You've been running a businessfor how long, like what?
And it's an eye-opener too.
But it's a mindset shift, Iguess anything accepting that
not everything is dollar fordollar or hour for hour, and
it's more finding that pathwayand allowing yourself to
(18:37):
actually be compensated what themarket is, compensated other
people rather than whateverybody can afford.
Because as educators we want toserve everybody and we
undercharge so much.
It's not even funny.
Most educators have thosemaster's or secondary degrees
and all those other pieces, andyet they're not even getting the
(19:00):
credit.
And most business owners don'thave all that extra education
but already put in the man hoursin the right field.
They're further advanced andit's so funny because it's the
same people that end up coachingeach other and it's like, wow,
why am I coaching a businessowner who has all these extra
years of experience?
Because they found the peoplelike teachers, who have the
(19:23):
skills to go do it.
So now, as a teacher, have theconfidence to stop letting
someone else control it andstart making those decisions and
kind of step outside of it.
I I love that, thinking aboutthat, you're more active, like
on LinkedIn and social platformsand such Educators entering new
fields.
I mean educators just wantingto show up on social media.
(19:45):
That's something different.
What advice would you give forthem, as they're building their
online presence in a way thattruly connects with people?
Stacy Eleczko (19:53):
I mean, I think it's the same way you do it with
your students in your classroom.
It is about building genuinerelationships.
So you know, I was terrified ofnetworking when I first started
teaching because I had thiswhole old school picture of
networking and I know, you knowit still works this way
sometimes, where you're going toa meeting to hand out a
business card and do your pitchand it's uncomfortable, right.
(20:16):
And really the best advice Igot when I started out is
someone said to me you know howto make friends, right?
And I said, yeah.
She said well, go make businessfriends.
I was like, oh, I can do that.
And she's like when you make anew friend, you don't go up to
them and be like hi, my name isStacy and I played tennis for
(20:38):
this many years and I did this.
That's not how you start aconversation.
Don't start conversations inbusiness that way.
And so I think you know, justthinking about it's it's just a
shift in how you're doing it.
Linkedin in particular, it is.
It's about buildingrelationships.
So you're not out there tryingto get leads and make sales and
close deals right away, and theother thing is like half of
(21:03):
what's on there is crap right.
Find.
Find the right people to follow, because there's so many people
on there using social media asa highlight reel and I'm sorry,
but they're the same people whoare in my DMS now trying to sell
me on things Right Like.
Melissa Franklin (21:18):
I'm just like so you got to be in my cold DMS.
I promise if you're inmarketing and sales and you're
as good as you say you are, Iwill come to you.
And if you come to me, do youneed my coaching?
Stacy Eleczko (21:33):
Most of them are full of it, right, but like just
go find the people who aren'tright, like see through that
piece, there's so many teacherswho have transitioned into other
roles.
Find them, follow them, justsort of get the lay of the land.
You know, it's kind of like Ithink about when I was in the
classroom.
I would observe my kids andfigure out, like let me start to
(21:55):
get to know you first of all,and then let me see how you
interact, how you're engaging,what things motivate you, what
things drive you, what are youtalking about?
Get in on those conversations,right.
And so I would say you knoweverybody panics with LinkedIn
in particular, because I don'tknow what to post, so don't post
anything yet.
And also, the other thing is, ifyou don't have any followers,
(22:18):
nobody sees what you're postinganyway, so don't worry about it,
Nobody's going to see it.
And if they do and it's notthat great they're not going to
read it anyway.
So, like, really, just goexperiment, go have fun.
It's not a test, there's nograde right, there's no right or
wrong answer, but you have toexperiment, you have to be
willing to put yourself outthere.
(22:39):
So I would say, find the peoplein the space that are doing the
thing you want to do, Payattention to how they're doing
it and just start engaging withtheir content.
Right, Leave meaningful,thoughtful comments.
Engage with other peopleleaving meaningful, thoughtful
comments.
Engage with other peopleleaving meaningful, thoughtful
comments.
Find the other people who areteachers that have transitioned
out, you know.
Reach out to them.
(22:59):
That's that's what I did.
I went and I found all thepeople who are either doing what
I wanted to do or live nearwhere I lived and I was like,
hey, I'm a new copywriter,transition teaching.
I see you also, you know, didthe same.
Can we hop on a call?
And I did tons and tons of thatand then eventually you do
start to find your voice andfigure it out and you can start
playing around and and posting.
(23:20):
But, like it's not that serious, nothing that you post on
social media, yes, it's thereforever, Right, but also it's
gone in two minutes.
So it's, you know, just just doit, put the effort out there.
You have the skills.
It's just like the things youhad to do in parent conferences
and, um, you know when you'regetting to, to know and meet
(23:40):
your kids.
So focus on buildingrelationships and you're not
going to go wrong.
Melissa Franklin (23:45):
I love that.
Um, I feel like nine times outof 10, we're on the spotlight
anyway because we're going tosay the wrong thing, or I taught
math for years so I might writethe wrong equation and still
get the wrong answer.
But like I was just testing youguys, I wanted to make a good
job, bravo.
I'm doing my job as a teacherbecause you caught it, um, but
nobody died and nothing happened.
(24:07):
And you know what?
I didn't get fired.
I was still asked to keep goingbecause nobody else was.
So sometimes we overthink thosethings because of the different
judgments and differentexperiences that we've had in
the past.
But really the reality is likenothing's going to fall apart if
you take that chance and forwhatever reason, you're probably
the one thing that's in the wayof that progress.
(24:29):
Thinking of that, for those whoare just getting started and
they want to build thatauthenticity, how do they focus
on building authenticity thatresonates the most with their
ideal audience?
Stacy Eleczko (24:47):
That's a loaded question, I mean.
So I think first you have tofigure out like I said before,
you just have to be obsessedwith your target audience who
are those clients that you wantto serve and what matters to
them.
So where are they on LinkedIn?
Where are they on whateversocial media platform you're
going to be on?
I mean, I can speak to LinkedInmore, so that's what I'll do
(25:08):
but where are they and what arethey talking about?
What's bothering them, what aretheir problems?
Right, and then also makingsure you actually have the
solution to the problems thatthey have.
Otherwise they're not yourideal.
Melissa Franklin (25:22):
That sucks.
Let's find someone for you.
Stacy Eleczko (25:29):
Find out where they are, find out and just
getting conversations with them.
And I think, in particular, ifyou're going to talk about
entrepreneurship, you're notlooking for the sale.
Don't start off looking for thesale.
Right, if you, as you build andgrow your expertise and build
the relationships, those thingswill come.
I mean, I had the very firstin-person networking event that
(25:51):
I went to.
I was terrified.
Got there, looked around, sawsomeone else who looked
terrified.
It was also her first event andwe were like I just did her
website and brand messagingrecently, Right, but like I
didn't meet her with theintention of, oh, I'm going to,
I'm pinpointing you as apotential ideal client, right,
but put yourself in the spaceswhere your ideal clients are
(26:13):
Right and you start to get toknow them.
I love that.
Melissa Franklin (26:17):
I think I actually attend some pretty
expensive business summits ordifferent things and most of the
time I'm trying to find theperson who looks just as scared
or in the corner as me.
I'm like, hi, friend, let's befriends.
And by the end of it you find away to network and connect.
And same thing with theteachers.
If you knew you were in thatspace and everybody during PD
(26:37):
had that blank stare looking ateach other like really, what did
they just ask us for?
Make friends with them, that'sit.
Stacy Eleczko (26:46):
And like be okay with being uncomfortable, you're
going to be uncomfortable,you're doing something new.
You were uncomfortable when youfirst started teaching too.
You didn't know what the hellyou were doing, right, like, but
what did you do?
You stood up there and youpretended like you knew what you
were doing.
So don't don't offer clientssomething that you don't know
how to do and pretend like youknow how to do it.
But when it comes, to that.
I'm saying that like let's,let's, let's not scam people,
(27:09):
but realistically just beingconfident, and eventually you
will be confident and you'llknow how to talk about your
business.
Melissa Franklin (27:16):
I love it.
I love it.
Well, we definitely have tobring you on for another episode
, but thank you so much forsharing about this particular
journey and your insights.
It's definitely been inspiringto hear what you've learned and
what you've taken from educationand then implied it over into
that business world.
A lot of people struggle withthat transition, thinking of
that Stacey if somebody wants toconnect with you, what is the
(27:38):
easiest way to find you?
Stacy Eleczko (27:40):
Yeah, so LinkedIn is definitely the easiest way
to find me.
I post content almost every day, so I'm always on there.
And then also I have an emaillist, and that is not just me
sending out emails.
I really think about that as acommunity.
I send out emails weekly.
Those have actionable adviceand tips.
I reply to every single emailPersonally.
(28:01):
It's me on the other side ofthat keyboard, and so that's a
great place to find me too.
And of course, people can go tomy website as well.
Perfect.
Melissa Franklin (28:08):
Well, I need to make sure that we share those
in the show notes.
So if you guys want to makesure that you find a way to find
Stacey, be sure to check theshow notes.
We will be sharing that there.
Thinking of that, is there anyother upcoming projects or
anything exciting that you wantto share with our audience in
another way that they might beable to get to know?
Stacy Eleczko (28:25):
Yeah, I mean I'm finally leveraging some of my
teaching experience and I'vebeen doing workshops and boot
camps and things like that, soI've got some fun things in the
works.
Definitely announce those onLinkedIn in my email list and so
you can keep an eye out forthose things.
And I am also starting to againleverage my teaching and
(28:45):
starting to do more speakingopportunities.
So I'll be on more stages andthings like that in the future
as well.
But again, I'll share all thosewith my community.
Melissa Franklin (28:54):
I love it.
Well, thank you, Stacey.
It's been wonderful being herewith you and talking about these
topics.
I think education means a lotto both of us and it's always
fun to be able to talk aboutthat with someone else who gets
it and who's that space.
So thank you so much forsharing that with our audience.
For those of you in theaudience, be sure to make sure
(29:16):
that you check out Stacey'sstory.
Anything you find out inspiring, go ahead and follow her on
LinkedIn.
Remember, if you're an educatorthat's looking to find that
voice outside the classroom,there are so many ways to make
an impact and we're here to helpyou share those stories.
If you'd like to learn moreabout Stacey and her work, be
sure to check out the show notes.
Like I mentioned before, Don'tforget to subscribe to our
(29:37):
podcast and stay updated for newepisodes, and please do a
review if you actually enjoyedtoday's conversation.
Thanks for tuning in and we'llsee you next time as we continue
to find our journey asdiscovering our voices as we are
beyond the classroom.
Stay structured and smiling.
Thank you for tuning in toStructuring Chaotic Minds.
If today's episode resonatedwith you, don't forget to
(30:00):
subscribe, share and leave areview.
Remember, the key to success isnot avoiding chaos, but
learning how to structure it.
Stay inspired, keep growing andjoin me next time as we
continue to transform challengesinto opportunities.
Until then, take care and keepstructuring your chaotic mind.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com