Selects Edition: From selling “trash” to a multi-millionaire dollar business with Alison Prince

This is the Selects Edition of the Eventual Millionaire, where we choose to republish the best interviews I had with millionaires. (This episode was originally published on October 28, 2019)

Alison was a Jr. High teacher and ended up a serial entrepreneur. To earn extra money for her family, she started selling products online. Her first online products were left-over craft supplies she found in the corner of her office. Those were the first steps she took that led her to build not one but four multi-million dollar businesses. Currently, she is showing others the secret in building their online dream business.

“In business, find that person who can hold your fear for you.” – Alison Prince

Episode Highlights:

• How to use your own resources to get started with your business
• How fear almost stopped Alison from starting all her businesses but used this method to fix it
• Learn how Alison taught her kids to build and grow their own 6-figure business (giving other options than college)
• How starting and growing 8 businesses almost killed her
• Why going deep and focused are better strategies for your health and wealth
• How to push yourself out of your comfort zone

Website:

AlisonJPrince.com

Connect with Alison:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

Transcript: Download

Video Transcription provided by GMR Transcription Services.

Jaime: 
 	Welcome to Eventual Millionaire. I am Jaime Masters and today on the show we have Alison J. Prince. You can find her at alisonjprince.com. She’s run an e-comm company. She’s even taught her children how to make a six-figure business as teenagers. 
Thank you so much for coming on the show today. 
Alison: 
 	Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here. 
Jaime: 
 	I absolutely loved the highlight reel that you sent me. So, I need you to give me a bit of an update of what that highlight reel is because you’ve had quite a few different businesses.  
Alison: 
 	I have, I have. I started in the blogging industry because I wanted to figure out how to make money online. And blogging, as you know, you work for about $0.05 an hour for the first three years. 
And that really wasn’t paying the bills. And so, what I did is I decided to open up my first ecommerce business. But everything that I read online was that you had to have this huge inventory. 
And you had to have a lot of money to pay for that inventory. 
 
 	And as a mother of four and as a schoolteacher, that wasn’t going to happen, right. So, I looked around my office – my makeshift office. It was like a corner of a room. Everybody has one, right? And I found these leftover crafting supplies that were headed to the trash. So, I decided to set up a site – I had a friend set up a site because I don’t know how to do tech at all. And we put those vinyl sheets up online. Now, if you don’t know what vinyl is, it’s like a black sticky paper that you can cut out words. 
 
 	I didn’t even have a cutter to cut out the word. So, it literally was just sheets of vinyl. And I put them online and we sold out in about two hours. And I was like, “Yes, I’ve hit it. I’ve made it. I’ve figured it out.” And that was like $200.00 at the time, and I was like, “This is the best thing ever.” And so, then it hit me, “Oh my gosh, I don’t have anything to sell tomorrow. And so, I went down into my basement, and I’m rummaging through just anything I could find.  
 	And I found some leftover gable boxes that held cookies in them 
from a birthday party. And so, I put those up online the next day and they didn’t sell. I’m like, “It’s okay. 50/50. I’m still in the game.” And then the third day I put up another product, and I don’t recall what it was, but they didn’t sell. And at that third day I’m like, “That was just a fluke. I got lucky. I’m going to quit.” And then I had this feeling of, “Alison, you can’t quit. This is part of your journey. You cannot quit. Don’t quit. Don’t quit.” 
 	
 
 	So, I woke up the next day – I woke up at 4:00 AM to get everything ready. And that fourth day I sold out of my product. So, I had to realize – or I had to decide at that moment that entrepreneurship is literally a roller coaster ride, right? And was I going to get in the front seat of that rollercoaster or was I going to get out? There was no other option. And so, I decided at that moment – I’m sitting in the front seat, my hands up, screaming and I’m going on the ride.  
Jaime: 
 	That takes guts though, doesn’t it? Especially when you had so much other stuff going on with kids. Because we have all the excuses in the world to not ride that rollercoaster even if you want to dream that bad. You had so much else on your plate. 
Alison: 
 	So much else. And a dog and – you know, diapers. And I remember I was nursing my baby, and I had to learn how to type one-handed so I could get all the typing I needed to, right? And 
I’m like, “Man, I’m a good one-handed typer.” 
Jaime: 
 	So am I. So am I. The things that moms have to do that nobody knows in the background. But the fact that you did it anyway, right? So, how did you not have any excuses – like how did you not use your excuses? What made you actually go all in? 
Alison: 
 	So, one of the things that I’ve learned is we have two voices in our head, right? Without – this is not – we literally we’re speaking to someone and then we have another voice that comes in like, “Oh my gosh, do I have spinach in my teeth? Oh my gosh, is my shirt crooked?” Right? And we’ve got these inner voices criticizing us constantly. And some people say it’s like to help you or to guide you or to lead you or whatever it is. But there’s always the voice that is very negative that you have in your head.  
 	And the way I see it is that with the hope, the inspiration, the good 
things that we’re going to, that’s following the light or following what God has given us for our dreams to live. And then if we’re following that negativity of, “Oh my gosh, stop talking because your breath stinks” or whatever it is. It really doesn’t, you’re just making it up in your head. That’s the dark or the devil coming into your head. And so, when you start a business, God or the light is giving you, “Take this dream. Go live it. You’ve got this. You can do it.” Right? 
 
 
 	And then what happens? All this self-doubt comes in our head of, 
“I can’t do this. There’s no way. I’ve got four kids. I don’t know what I’m doing for dinner tonight. I’ve got 10 loads of laundry piling up. The grass is overgrown out of control.” And we have to be able to separate those out and say, “Okay, I’m not following you today, Satan. I’m not following you, dark. I’m going to go after the light and the hope and the freedom that I really want to live that God wants me to live. God wants me to step into who he made me, and it’s my job to recognize that and to kick it out.” 
 
 	Now I don’t do that on my own. I have support. I have an amazing husband. I have an amazing sister that I can call and I’m like, “I’m really struggling because I don’t feel like I can do this. I’ve got imposter syndrome. I’ve got doubts. Can you help me?” And now what we call it is – and I’ll call my sister or ask my husband, “Can you hold my fear? Can you hold my fear while I step into who I’m supposed to be?” And by just visualizing me lifting that up and handing it to them has helped me so incredibly much.  
 
 	[inaudible] [00:05:58] stage or audience. I had to overcome stage fright quite a bit. And so, they would come up to me and hold me and say, “Mom, I’ve got your fear. Go be who you need to be.” And so, it’s just like this mental game to help me separate it so I don’t listen to that – 
Jaime: 
 	Yeah, because everybody has that stuff – 
Alison: 
 	And if I have broccoli in my teeth – yeah, right. 
Jaime: 
 	Everybody has that stuff.  
Alison: 
 	Yeah, and if I have broccoli in my teeth that the voice is saying. 
I’m like, “You know what, I’m not going to listen to you. I’m going to go own that broccoli.”  
Jaime: 	Go own it. I’m like checking my teeth right now. I don’t think I 
have broccoli in my teeth, right? Just making sure. My voice came up. Just checking. But you’re right. So, the hard thing is that it feels very uncontrollable on what’s coming in. And I love hearing that you’re so – you care about your faith so much and that can lead you that way. But this idea of holding fear. Like I want to give all the fear away, right?  
 
 
 
But how do they – so, when I asked a bunch of questions to husbands and wives that are in business together, they were like, “Oh, talking everything out about business to your significant other or to your family, sometimes they don’t get it.” So, are they in entrepreneurship too? Does your sister understand this roller coaster ride that is entrepreneurship so she can actually really hold and understand what you are going through? 
 	
Alison: 
 	So, I – my sister, I consider her my business therapist because she just lets me vomit everything out. I’m like, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” And she’s like, “How can I help you?” And I’m like, “You really can’t physically, but you just listening to me helps me organize my thoughts.” Sometimes just talking about it releases the power that it has on you. And so, she allows me to do that. My husband allows me to do that. And he’s gotten better. 
 
 	There’s sometimes where he’s like, “Can you please talk about something else?” 
Jaime: 
 	Okay, there we go. I’m wondering because that’s reality, right? It’s never always like, “Oh, I need to verbal process, honey, let’s do that right now.” They’re like, “No.” 
Alison: 
 	Yeah, yeah.  
Jaime: 
 	See, that’s awesome. So, how do you deal with that because – well I want to hear the rest of your story too. But I really want to know how you can do this with your kids. Because the kids even have an amazing story and being able to have them understand how you hold their fear, I’m sure, and they hold your fear is insanely amazing. How old are they now? 
Alison: 
 	So, my baby is 10 – oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. He’s the one that I was nursing and typing one-handed. And then I’ve got an 11year-old, a 15-year-old and then one that just turned 18. I know. 
Jaime: 
 	You look great. So, so we say. That’s very amazing. 
Alison: 
 	It’s the lighting. It’s the lighting. 
Jaime: 	But being able to be a mom of that many children, right? No 
offense, we use motherhood as an excuse. I know I do sometimes. It’s like, “Uhm,” all the things, right? So, give me a trajectory of how they saw your path. So, as your 10-year-old was born, they have been able to see you grow and do all these new businesses. 
So, walk us through what that looks like through their eyes. Giving you a challenge for a question. 
 	
Alison: 
 	Perfect. I love it, I love it. So, actually we did family pictures right before we moved to Puerto Rico, and we actually did pictures in our warehouse. And so back behind us there are boxes. We are holding boxes. The kids are in the little like U-line tote that has all the little popcorn pieces in it, like laying in it. And we went out and we got formals. And so, we’re wearing bling and sparkles and suits and ties just to represent what our family has been through over the last 10 years.  
 
 	We started shipping out of the garage, and then we started our first little warehouse. And then we got the next warehouse and then we were up to a 30,000 square foot facility, and that’s all they’ve know. They’ve known, “Okay, you start. You take it step by step by step. And then that is how your business is built.” It’s none of this get rick quick crap that’s out there, right?  It really is about building day after day. I started making $200.00 from my first sell. 
I failed the next two days. 
 
 	But I’m like, “You know what? I’m just going to keep going.” This is what we’re going to do. Let’s go. And so, they’ve learned that process of being able to start and not have these big huge reactions to whatever they start. Like when they start swimming, they know it’s going to take time to build up. It’s not like they are going to become Michael Phelps overnight. And so, I just think the process of watching – having them watch you go step by step, get over struggles and obtain your goals, is so powerful in a family.  
 
 	And having them a part of it. I remember when I first got started, I couldn’t afford models and we were selling these little girl tights. I didn’t have little girls. My girls were 8 and 9 or whatever at the time – 8 and 10. So, I had to put my little toddler boys in little lacy girl’s tights and paint their toenails. And they had their – what’s it called – Cars underwear on. And I just needed a shot of their knees and below, and they at the time were like, “Yeah, we’ll do it. Just don’t show our faces.” 
 
 	And I want to respect them and – 
Jaime: 
 	Of course, that’s awesome.  
Alison: 	As they get older. And so, you learn have to use your resources of 
what you have at the time. 
Jaime: 
 	I was going to ask you how did they see your struggles? Oh, they were a part of it, awesome.  
Alison: 
 	They were a part of it. 
Jaime: 
 	Legs. I need baby legs. Let’s figure this out. 
Alison: 
 	They were a part of it. And so, I just took pictures of the knees down. And I show them today and I’m like, “Guess who’s legs those are?” And they’re like, “They’re my sisters. They’re not mine.” They will not accept it. They were part of the journey. 
Jaime: 
 	How did you learn about all that – because you’ve grown, that was a multimillion-dollar business that you grew. 
Alison: 
 	I did two.  
Jaime: 
 	That’s insane. So, how did you learn that quickly, especially with the limited amount of time that you had.  
Alison: 
 	So, I think it’s like when you go watch your kids play basketball. And it’s their team versus another team. And the other team is always taking shots. Shot after shot after shot after shot after shot. And then your kids’ team, they are hesitant to take shots. And maybe over the whole game, they are only taking two to three shots. Whereas the other team is taking hundreds and hundreds and hundred of shots. The reason why I was successful is because I put an offer out every single day.  
 
 	Over and over and over again. And then I’m like, “Oh, I guess if I lay down on the ground and try to take a shot, I know that’s not going to go in.” Right? If I can get closer to the basket, those have a better chance of going in. So, it was just that repetition of shooting, taking that shot, and being okay with missing and forgiving myself and keeping that inner voice out that’s like, 
“Alison, you probably shouldn’t have done that today.” Or, “You made a mistake.” Or, “You’re not good enough.” 
 
 	Just kicking that out. And I’m like, “Uh-uh. I’m going to learn this.” And so, it was just day after day after day taking those shots. 
Jaime: 	What do you think was the biggest pivot point of those shots? 
Because if you’re doing it daily and it grew that fast, was there any pivot points that really made a huge difference? 
 
 
Yes. Hiring. I thought I had to do it all. Right? When you get started, you’re like, “No one knows my product like I do. No one can take pictures of a physical product like I do. They don’t know the vision of it.” And you’re just talking yourself into so much. So actually, it was during witching hour? Do you know what witching hour is? 
 	
Jaime: 
 	No. 
Alison: 
 	It’s between 5:00 to 7:00 at night – 
Jaime: 
 	Yes, the babies. 
Alison: 
 	When the kids are hungry – 
Jaime: 
 	Oh, I remember.  
Alison: 
 	You’ve got homework going on.  You’ve got soccer practice going on and it’s just mass chaos. And I was in my – where  I take my pictures which sounds super fancy until you pull back the curtain and it’s really my kitchen table when I first started, right? And the kids are screaming. Someone is on the piano. My brother walks in and he’s like, “What are you doing Alison?” And I’m like, “I just have to get these pictures taken to post.” And he’s like, “Why are you taking pictures?” 
 
 	I was like, “I thought that was just what I had to do.” And he’s like, “No, I love you. But you will not grow if you are doing everything. You have to hire a photographer.” And so that was a pivotal point, someone else looking at my business. My brother was my coach at the time – looking at my business and saying, 
“You’re doing that wrong.” And the guts for someone to say, 
“You’re doing that wrong.” And then for me to be able to adjust. I think we get so focused – I mean that’s why coaching is so powerful, right? 
 
 	Because someone else can take a look at it and be like, “Oh my gosh, you’re killing yourself. Knock it off. There’s an easier way to do this.” 
Jaime: 	Knock it off. I like it. Yeah. It’s usually like, “Knock it off. Just 
stop it.” But you actually have to listen. So, go you for actually listening to him instead of being, “No, it’s fine. I can do it myself.” Because that’s something else I’ve said often – more often than I probably should. “No, I’m fine. Everything is fine.” Right? Until you want to die because you’re like, “I can’t take enough photos.” So, how does that work – so, especially with your kids. I really want to get into the kids’ story because I know my daughter listens to this show every night. 
 	
Alison: 
 	Yeah. 
Jaime: 
 	I know. And I want to give her this because it sounds like your kids have grit. And so, you must have helped cultivate that. So, tell me about their story. Because what you wrote down here is just absolutely amazing.  
Alison: 
 	So, when I started my first e-comm, I struggled with a lot of one hit wonder. Like, “Am I good enough? Did I just get lucky?” And so, I actually started another business on the side in secret to see if I could build another million-dollar business selling basically just a couple products. Right? As entrepreneurs like to challenge ourselves. I think I was just challenging myself. So, when I hit a million dollars, I’m like, “Okay, I know I can do this.” And then my husband and I, we got to the point where our teenage girls were starting to sleep in. 
 
 	You know teenagers. Starting – they get up at 10:00 on Saturdays. They don’t want to do their chores. And so, my husband and I had this idea of why don’t we give an option for our children to start earning money, to set up their own business instead of just the allencompassing, “You’ve got to go to college to become financially independent” which we know that’s a lie now. But to be able to give them options, options that we didn’t have when we were kids. 
The only option for me was you go to college.  
 
 	I did. I was a teacher and I qualified for food stamps. That’s a fun story. And so, we wanted to give our kids options, but we knew if we said, “Hey, go start a business, they’d be like, ‘what’. Uh-uh.” So, we gave them three options. And as parents you know how you kind of help mold their choices a little bit. We were guilty of that. 
And so, we said, “Okay, we’re going to give you three choices. You can either move out of the house. You can do more chores. Or you can start a business.”  
 
 	And they were like, “We want to start a business.” Right, that’s the easy option for them, right? 
Jaime: 	No one wants to move out or have more chores though, yeah. 
That’s hilarious. 
And this is the point where people come back and they’re like, “Alison, you just probably helped them.” I didn’t because I was running two multimillion-dollar businesses. Right? I just gave them the framework, and they took the framework and they had to make this happen. They became responsible to their customers. 
They became – the customer is like, “Hey, where’s my order?” and they’re like, “Oh, no. We messed up.” And so, by me not helicoptering or my husband helicoptering, they were able to learn the process. 
 	
 
 	Did they make mistakes? Yes. Did they pout? Yes. Did they want to quit? More times than I can count. But what we did is we set them up with a process where we’re like, “Okay, you are only going to work Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings. That’s it. We want you to still be kids. We still want you to go to whatever teenage – whatever kids do as teenagers. We still want you to live your life, but we also want you to start learning the value of money. 
 
 	And so, they started this business with – the same way I started my other businesses. And they crossed their first six figures in nine months which is so fun, right?  
Jaime: 
 	That’s insane. So, wait. Let’s back – let’s talk about this a little bit because – and e-comm is a little different anyway. But was it – tell me what they actually did? Because when people are listening to the show and they’re like, “If a teenager can make six figures in nine months, what the heck am I doing with my life?” So, tell me a little bit about the brass tacks, especially if they didn’t have tons of your help to be able to do it. So, what did they actually do? What did they create? 
Alison: 
 	So, the first thing they had to do was decide on a product. And this is where – this part gets a little frustrating for me because a lot of people think they have to have this brand-new Shark Tank idea. Right? They have to invent something. They have to go get patents and trademarks and all that kind of stuff. But there are so many products out there that are already selling. So, why wouldn’t you sell a product that is already selling. Right? 
 	You know people already want it. You don’t have to test the 
market as much. You do have to test a little bit, but not as much because they are already selling. So, at the time, we sat them down. We had them look at a couple sites. And we said, “Okay, you can see how many of these have been selling. Which product would you want to choose?” And they chose a scarf. Just a scarf that goes around your neck, right. How many billions of scarves have been sold, right? They didn’t choose the Shark Tank idea. They just rode the bandwagon of scarves. And they sold those. 
 	
 
 	So, they did have to take a small loan out from us for $200.00 because I think they had like a quarter in their piggybank. And we charged them interest because we were like, “If you go anywhere else” – it was like one to two percent.  
Jaime: 
 	I thought I was hard core. I don’t charge mine interest, but they do have to take loans. I don’t charge interest. Wow, that’s awesome.  
Alison: 
 	Just a little so they can see what interest is. 
Jaime: 
 	So, they know what it is. Exactly, exactly. That’s a good point. I remember being a small kid, and I would always have money underneath the plates because with ATMs back in the day – and my Dad would give me interest. So, I was like, “Interest is” – he would give me like two dollars every single time he’d borrow ten bucks and give it back. So, I was just making money. I thought that was how the world worked though. I was like, “Sweet. I’m just going to” – I mean it does, technically. 
 
 	But when you had a savings account when you were 15 it was like, “There’s just two percent, and I get squat. I hate this.” Right? But anyway, it taught the value of the opposite side of how interest really matters. And to me – maybe I’m doing my kids a disservice, I should be charging them interest. Sorry, continue. 
Alison: 
 	Just a little bit to show them if they go and get a credit card or they go and get a car loan, it’s going to cost you money. I know your story about how you were what -- $70,000.00 in debt? 
Jaime: 
 	Yep. Good times. 
Alison: 
 	You had interest, right? 
Jaime: 	Yeah. Right, they need to learn this before they get a credit card. 
Valid point. Really, really important. Maybe I’ll jack up the – no, kidding. But it is – imagine learning the lessons that it took us to adulthood to get slapped in the face with, to be able to learn at a young age so you are already set up for the future. Like how amazing is that. 
Totally. Totally. And so then – it gets better, Jaime. It gets better. So, then they have to overcome this self-doubt and this fear. They’re about to launch this site. And that’s when I’m like, “Okay, let me hold your fear. You’ve set it up. You know how to do this. You’ve watched me.” They just used a Shopify store, so it wasn’t any coding complex anything. They took pictures of each other and put it up on the site. 
 	
 
 	They learned how to do inventory. And then they – Facebook ads. There weren’t really – to this day they still didn’t do Facebook ads. They use influencer marketing. That’s how I’ve grown all my businesses too, all my e-comm businesses is through influencer marketing. So, they had to figure out how to find the strength in them to go contact an influencer and say, “Hey, this is my product. 
This is why I think it’s good. And this is how much I want to pay you to advertise.” 
 
 	And so, they got their yeses and plenty of no’s, right? And then they went forward with it. And after that first sale – my daughter comes home. She’s at school. I think they launched it at night and watched a couple trickle in and then they came in from school that next day. And she was – my oldest at 13, she was about in tears because she couldn’t figure out how to open up her locker. She’s like, “Mom, I just can’t get this locker open.” 
 
 	And I’m like, “Honey, it’s okay. Go look at your Shopify store. You just sold over $4,000.00 today. Why don’t you pay someone to open up your locker for you?” 
Jaime: 
 	$4,000.00 from influencer marketing. 
Alison: 
 	Yeah, $4,000.00. 
Jaime: 
 	Wow. That’s amazing. What kid doesn’t want to be, “Oh, by the way. You can open my locker for me, $20 bucks.” That’s amazing. 
Alison: 
 	But here’s the thing – 
Jaime: 
 	Confidence – 
Alison: 	They didn’t understand what $4,000.00 was. They had no concept. 
To them, they still had their quarter in the bank, right? And they were – it was just – they couldn’t figure out how much money that was. So, we actually sat them down and compared it to babysitting hours. And said, “Okay, babysitting you are going to be making 
 
what? Five bucks an hour? How many babysitting jobs is it going to take you to make $4,000.00?” And by the end of it, they’re like, “That’s too many diaper changes.” And so, they just threw themselves in. 
 	
 
 	And they kept repeating the process over and over again. And I think that’s something that entrepreneurs forget to do. Sometimes it’s the boring work and the repetition that actually creates the success. It’s not some big, huge a-ha moment. It’s by keeping consistent over and over and over. And that’s – we know that’s the key to success, right, is never stopping. And so, they saw that over and over and over again.  
Jaime: 
 	See, so teaching that to a kid is – go you. Because I’m so glad my daughter is listening to this right now. Though I think she’s going to want to sell some sort of product and have leverage and not do any serviced based anything anymore. Because both the kids do a lot of service-based stuff. But you’re right, the amount of money that they can actually do versus the leverage that they can have is also a great lesson that they can learn now instead of later. My daughter’s going to be like, “I need to make $4,000.00 the first influencer marketing thing I’m going to do.” Right? 
 
 	Now she’s got a set point which is wonderful thing though. So, when you’re – 
Alison: 
 	Just tell her $200.00. For kids, it’s those mini wins. You have them make like $100.00 and then you go to target and buy a $3.00 shirt, and then they build that confidence. You’re setting them up like little mini wins instead of get to $100.00 in nine months, right. If they don’t do it, they’re going to feel like failures. You’re just creating those little tiny wins that they can be like, “Yes. Yes. I totally get this. I’m totally nailing this.” 
Jaime: 	I love it. And my daughter does door-to-door rosemary sales still. 
She goes – but’s it so time consuming and she gets the door shut on her face a little bit. She’s like, “Hmm.” So, it’s great for grit. But how did you get your kids to not quit – or not get your kids, but how did they not quit. Because especially for children, their interests are very fluid. I know mine were when I was little. I was like, “I’m going to do this for a long time.” Was it just the money feedback that they know that they could do it? 
No. 
Jaime: 
 	Yeah, tell me more about the annoyances – 
Alison: 
 	No, no, no. 
Jaime: 
 	Of this. 
Alison: 
 	So, they started in April. And we had them commit to the full year. They had to finish out the full year. And as parents, we knew that if we forced it for a long time and not let them be children, they would resent it. And so that next year my daughter – my oldest was like, “I really want to do band.” And I’m like, “No, no.” But she needed to learn who she really is. We give them this experience, and then they have to figure out who they are and what they want to do. So, she actually took a break. There were still sales coming in. It just wasn’t as much. 
 
 	But she wanted to take a break and figure out what she really wanted to do in life. She took some nursing classes at school as was like, “No, not doing nursing.” She took some – the music lessons. And she liked that, but it just wasn’t her passion. And then what happened is when she was at a band camp, she came home and was like, “Mom, school starts in a couple days. I don’t have any money to buy school clothes.” This is the next part. When they had the ability to start making money – this is going to sound so mean – 
Jaime: 
 	No, I know where you’re going with this. Just say it. Just say it. I love it. 
Alison: 
 	We cut them off of all things but four things. We provide housing, food, schooling, and underwear. And they have to buy everything else.  
Jaime: 	I love it. Everybody thinks I’m hard core, and I make them buy 
their own stuff. Like I always make them buy their own stuff. Like toys and anything like that unless it’s a gift from a grandparent or whatever. Sometimes I’ll buy them something. But in general, nothing. And everybody thinks I’m hard core. I like where you’re going. Maybe I could level up my hardcoreness. They’re like, “You make your kids buy that?” And I was like, “Yeah.” “You got any money? Oh, you don’t. You can’t. Don’t know what to tell you. Go earn some.” Right? Real world. 
These kids know how to make money. They so know how to make money. And then when they go to the store instead of like throwing a tantrum that they want five shirts. And I’m like, “I’m not buying you five shirts.” Right? They in their heads are like, “Well, I have to pay for this. I’m just going to chose one.” And so, they’re thinking through the process, and then they’re like, “Mom, I want to buy this, or I want to buy that.” And I’m like, “Good, I want you to too.” Like, how can I support you so that you can get the money to do it?  
 	
 
 	So, it’s not a bunch of nos. It’s a bunch of yes. How can I support you? What can I do besides giving you the money? How can I support you to make money in your business? And so, when my daughter came home from that camp, she didn’t have any money because she hadn’t been doing her business. And so, I actually had her go work in my warehouse for eight bucks an hour for the day. And right after we went to Old Navy, and she could only buy a pair of pants. And she’s like, “I just worked all day long, and I can only afford a pair of pants.” 
 
 	And she looked at me and she said, “Yep, business is for me. I would rather make thousands of dollars than eight bucks an hour.  
Jaime: 
 	I love this story especially because it’s very prevalent for me right now. Because I was trying to explain to my kids, “Most people work and make $8.00 to $12.00 an hour. So, feel free.” But I should make them do it. I need to make my children do stuff. Okay, I love this. You do it children. Because I don’t think they have a good – they go to an entrepreneur school which is amazing. But I don’t feel like they have the context of what really life is really like people. 
 
 	And my son has made a lot of money – 
Alison: 
 	Totally different – 
Jaime: 	But still. It’s like, “This is the real world. Okay, here you go.” But 
I’m sure being set up at 18 for having this as a history is huge. And for anybody listening that’s stuck in their business right now and going, “If a teenager can do it.” Right? And holding yourself to that – the pushing I guess, out of your comfort zone feeling. Because everything is new for the kid anyway. But everything’s new for you as a business owner. How do you keep pushing out of your comfort zone over and over and over again? 
Me personally or for the kids? 
 
Jaime: 
 	Actually, I want to hear from you. 
Alison: 
 	For me personally, Jaime, I’m not going to lie. It’s hard. So, I actually threw my first conference in March, and I can’t even throw a birthday party. Ask my kids. We go to Chuck E. Cheese and Costco to get a cake. 
Jaime: 
 	That’s awesome. 
Alison: 
 	But I had 250 paid people coming and then 50 staff and a few friends that were helping with this. And three days before, the selfdoubt, the insecurities flooded me. And my team looked at me, and they were like, “Are you okay, Alison?” And I said, “You know what, I’m not. Thank you for helping me realize that there’s something wrong.” So, I drove home, and the whole way home I just bawled. And all the insecurity came over me. Like I was watching Instagram stories and Facebook posts of people who were getting in their car from states away to come see me.  
 
 	And I’m like, “I’ve got to cancel this. I can’t do this. Who do I think I am?” Right? But I look back at it now, and I was just so overwhelmed with that. I know who I am. I know that I’ve created multiple multimillion-dollar businesses. But it’s in those times of just sheer fear, sheer fear of acknowledging it and letting it all out. Whatever you need to do – cry, run, whatever you need to do. Just let it out, right? And so, I cried all the way home, and I got home, and my husband looked at me like, “Oh, what’s going on?” 
 
 	And I said, “I can’t do this. I can’t. I can’t.” So, he held me for a little bit, and then I just sobbed on his shoulders, sobbed, and sobbed. And he looked at me, and he put his hand up here and he pulled – he pretended that he pulled it out and said, “Okay, there’s your fear. It’s gone. You need to step into who you need to be. You were given this journey for a reason, Alison. It’s your turn to share. Step into who you were made to be.” And Jaime, a lot of my first part of my entrepreneur journey, I thought it was just me. 
 	I was alone. Nobody understood me. My friends didn’t get me. 
Like I lost friends from doing this. And I would stay up until four in the morning and then have to get up at 6:00 in the morning. And I was exhausted and just felt like I lived on this little island that nobody understood. But over the years of this journey I found that there’s a world, a whole world that understands it. And so now if I start feeling one way or feel another way, I’ve got contacts. I got into a coaching group that absolutely changed my life. 
 
 	And I’m like, “You guys are crazy, just like me. Yeah.” Right? 
Jaime: 
 	Because these wild, sobbing moments are not – I don’t want to say infrequent, but they’re normal to an entrepreneur that’s pushing themselves. And I don’t think people talk about it enough. They’re like, “It’s sunshine and roses and everything’s easy for me. And all we want is joy and sunshine.” Right? And it’s not like that when you actually get into it, especially if you’re pushing yourself consistently.  
Alison: 
 	Yeah, like I set up e-commerce because I’m an introvert. I’m good at not being in front of crowds, right? And then I just had this feeling, “You need to go teach your journey. I gave you this journey.” And I’m like, “No, no, no. Don’t make me do this.” Right? So, pushing myself to speak on a stage in front of people, and now I’ve spoken in groups of over 3,500 people. To watch that journey for me. And then I actually go back now and say – and look back at where I started and my journey.  
 
 	Like I’m constantly looking back over my journey because we are always looking at this peak, right? Oh my gosh, I’ve got to get there. I’ve got to get there. I’ve got to get there. And it never seems to be enough. But when you take a moment to look back at just how far you’ve come – even if it’s that first $200.00. Getting over that fear, that anxiety, that stress of launching your first product, being able to make that first dollar online. It doesn’t matter. The zeros are just there, right? 
 
 	You’re still experiencing it every single step of the way. I think looking back helps give you the strength to move forward.  
Jaime: 
 	I don’t think entrepreneurs do that enough either. It’s like, “Wait, did you not see all of the things that you’ve done in your past.” It’s like, “Yeah, I know. But I’m looking so on the future or it’s not enough,” or whatever those pieces are. And that messes with your brain too because then you’re never satisfied. Which I think is a good piece of being an entrepreneur. It’s good to never be completely satisfied because I feel like that reaching can also be juicy, but if it makes you crazy, not so much. 
 
 	So, how do you deal with that where it’s never really enough? 
Alison: 	So, this is a good question. We were – my husband and I were with 
our financial advisor. My financial advisor says, “Alison, what’s your goal?” And I said, “I want to double it.” And my husband looked at me, and he’s like, “You want to double it. Alison, when is enough enough? You work a lot.” And this is the point where I owned eight businesses – I know, Jaime.  
 	
Jaime: 
 	I saw this in the notes, and I was like, “I’ve got data on that from millionaires too.” So, please tell me about this eight-business story. But finish your story. 
Alison: 
 	Don’t do eight businesses. Don’t do eight businesses. Because they all come crashing down at one time, and on your plate, right? 
Anyway, and my husband looked at me and he’s like, “Alison, why? Why do you need to double? This is good.” And it was a big realization of me not – yes, I’m competitive with myself. I want to keep pushing. I want to keep growing. Alex Scharffen talks a lot about momentum. As entrepreneurs we need to feel that momentum, and if we don’t get in these weird funks, right? 
 
 	But I’ve got to learn how to find momentum in other parts of my life. Right? We just moved to Puerto Rico, and I’m feeling so much momentum in my family because we’re stuck on an island together. We don’t have a lot of friends out here yet. And so, what do we do? We go have dinner on the beach together which is so amazing. And we get to watch our kids laugh and play, and it just brings us together. And so, it’s me helping find momentum in other parts of my life instead of so money driven. 
 
 	Because as an entrepreneur, money is very trackable, right? We can see those numbers. One is one. One’s not, “Oh, maybe it’s .5 or .3.” No, one is one, and we can see that. And I was so focused on that number and the number of where I was getting. Now it’s changed differently. My numbers now include my family, how much time I get to spend with them. Another one is that I have actually been teaching the last two years which that is a whole new ballgame. 
 
 	And I have so much fun. They fill me when I get to see their success stories in a whole different way. Jaime, you know this. 
When we see someone go through these, “I can’t do this Alison. I can’t do this.” And you’re like, “Yeah, you can.” And they make their first dollar, their first thousand, their first hundred. And you get to watch their journey. It’s a whole different thing. It’s like watching your kids succeed at something they’ve struggled at, right? 
Jaime: 	Yes, yes. You’re like, “Impact. I helped somebody. This is 
amazing.” Yeah, it’s almost better than yourself which is amazing. 
 	
Alison: 
 	It is. It is.  
Jaime: 
 	I just want to highlight what you say about the momentum piece and finding it somewhere else. Please everybody that is an entrepreneur, please heed her warning on this – or not warning, but you know what I mean. Because I don’t think – and even the type of personality that I was beforehand, I’d just move every couple years. I’d be like, “Okay, right? The energy has to go somewhere. So, I’m just going to do this.” And then I started a business later and was like, “Oh, that’s crazy.” 
 
 	But it’s the momentum feeling that really makes a difference. And you can find that, just so you know people, in other ways that is not just business. We can be more well-rounded. Anyway, so buck’s over. Okay, so eight businesses. What happened with those eight businesses then? 
Alison: 
 	So, I met a guy named Russell Bronson. Have you heard of him? 
Jaime: 
 	No, of course not. Everybody’s heard about Russell – no. – 
Alison: 
 	I know, right? I love Russell. And he’s like, “You have eight businesses.” And I’m like, “Yeah, isn’t that so cool.” And he’s like, “No. No, that’s not cool.” He’s like, “You’re going so wide, Alison. Go deep. Find your true passion and go deep. You’ll be happier, you’ll be able to move faster, and you’ll probably make more.” And I was like, “I don’t know how to get – how do I do this?” And so, it was all about focusing in on what I truly loved to do.  
 
 	And Jaime, I thought it was the numbers. But now the numbers have changed to how many people can I impact. And when I have that thought in my head, “How many people can I impact? How many people can go from that stay-at-home mom position of feeling the paycheck to paycheck life. Like one appliance breaking down to having to go into debt for it. That fear. How can I help those people?” And I connect with a lot of moms because I’m a mom, I have kids.  
 	I talk about mom stuff all the time, right? So, I connect with a lot 
of these moms and helping them find that power inside of them to push out that fear and step into who they were meant to be. Yes, we’re meant to be moms. That’s the best job in the whole world, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be our only job, right? We have been given so much. And part of our jobs as human beings is to change people’s lives. Whether it’s our product changing people’s lives? Whether it’s our services changing people’s lives. It is literally our obligation to help other people in this world.  
 	
 
 	And so, I found so – oh my gosh, so much job in helping others that Russell really helped me to narrow it down and say, “I actually – that’s not my passion over there. That’s not my passion.” So, I’ve narrowed it down to two main businesses which I’m pretty darn proud of. And I can go deep with those and serve more people and get my – the students that I teach, I can just make more impact on them, and that’s my goal now.  
 
 	And then the money just comes. People would say that, and I’m like, “You guys are crazy. You guys are crazy.” But now I see that and I’m like, “Okay, they’re not crazy. It’s totally true.” 
Jaime: 
 	Isn’t it funny how we do that, “Oh, huh. When that happens to me, then I’ll believe it. Okay, great. You’re right. Never mind. You’re totally right.” What I also love though is that you’re helping moms, and you’re going to tell the story of your kids and impacting the next generations in regards to that too. The moms will show the kids what can be done. Right? Instead of just being a helicopter mom saying, “You should do this,” they’re actually doing it with their own journey.  
 
 	And that’s the best thing ever for kids to see too. So, you’re changing the world. That makes it so much more heart centered too, right? So, it’s not just about the numbers anymore. It really is impact for some other people. I love this. Okay. You know I could ask – 
Alison: 
 	I want to – 
Jaime: 
 	Yeah, go ahead.  
Alison: 	I want to say one more thing because I know a lot of people say, 
“You teach because you can’t do anymore.” But what we do is we actually go alongside and give case studies. So, two weeks ago in 
Puerto Rico – because people are like, “I can’t ship, I live in Canada.” Or, “I live in an RV or I live in a bus down by the river,” right? And they have all these excuses. And so, I’m like, “Huh, I’m in Puerto Rico. I can’t ship from here. It’s going to cost way too much to ship.” 
 
 	So, we created a product, and we sold it. Then I went into my community and I’m like, “Hey guys. This is how we set it up. This is what we did. These are our sell numbers. This was our order cart value. This was this. This was this.” I’m still in there showing how to do it all the time, so I can help keep breaking their excuses in their head that they can’t do it. And so, there are some people that still do what they teach, and I’m one of them. 
Jaime: 
 	See, I’m speaking at Scott Wilkers conference, and he’s on the ecomm side too. And he does that too. Because especially in the ecomm space and how fast it moves – to have old data of like, “We used to do it like this,” and still teach it. When it’s not – when change happens way too fast and current conditions of the market is very fluid. So, I so appreciate you actually doing that because that’s showing them the real deal. And that they can actually still do it now.  
 
 	That’s awesome. I know we have to start wrapping up. And I’ll probably have you back on the show again. Won’t talk so much about children, we’ll actually talk more about the actual e-comm and what you do with your clients and all that fun stuff. But to wrap up, what is one action listeners can take this week to help move them forward towards their goal of a million. 
Alison: 
 	Well, I think with this topic it’s to find that person who can hold your fear for you. Because Jaime, how many people do you talk to that they’re stuck on their head. So many, right?  
Jaime: 
 	A million – no, every single one of them is stuck in their head at some point, yes. We’re entrepreneurs.  
Alison: 
 	Yeah. And if you can find that person to hold your fear, it becomes a whole new game. 
Jaime: 
 	Okay. Then I usually don’t ask you that follow up question, but give me the tactics – like do you say, “Hold my fear,” and then they just hold it and you just feel better? Give me a little bit more about how you can reinforce that or what you actually do. 
Alison: 	This is the mom fluffy side of things, but it really works for me. 
And it’s worked for a lot of my people. So, for instance, Jared, my husband, he’s around me a lot. And my sister she lives in Utah now so it’s a little bit harder for her. But it really is – like I’ll go give them a hug, and I hold them, and I just really envision in my head, “Okay, all this self-doubt, all of this everything is just going onto your plate. You hold this, and then I feel lighter.” And once I feel that lighter feeling, then I start focusing on the positive thoughts that come into my head. 
 	
 
 	And some people are like, “Oh my gosh, that’s so soft and fuzzy and whatever.” But it works for me. And it has been so powerful the things that I’ve been able to do when I literally say, “Jared, take this right now.” And maybe your envisioning the word fear. Maybe you’re envisioning that self-doubt. Maybe you’re envisioning this cape of something that’s holding your down and you hand it to them. And then you’re like, “Hey, I can’t think about it anymore. Move forward.” 
 
 	And then it’s not like it’s just a one-time deal. Like I’m constantly telling – asking my family, “Hey, I’m doing something uncomfortable. I’m doing something that I don’t like. Can you hold my fear?” And they’ve gotten really good with me too of saying, “Hey, you look a little freaked out. What can I do to help you? What can I do to help you?” And you do have to have those people around you. And I have business friends now where I can call who are female moms – like my husband wouldn’t understand. 
 
 	And I’m like, “Hey, I’m struggling with this. Can you help me with this?” And then I’ll talk it through. I don’t necessarily say, “Hey, can you hold my fear?” They’ll probably think I’m crazy. But I’ll be like, “Hey, can you help me talk this through.” And by talking it through with them, they’re taking that thing that I was giving power, that fear that I was giving power and they’re helping me break it down. And so, it doesn’t bother me as much anymore – 
Jaime: 
 	I love that – 
Alison: 
 	I say as much. 
Jaime: 
 	Don’t even. Don’t. So, only because I test it and it works for me. I have a guided meditation that does the exact same thing. It’s taking all your self-doubt and putting it on a plate, literally putting it on a plate. So, it’s hilarious that you’re saying that exact same thing because you do feel lighter. Like I don’t have to own this anymore. Right? Because it’s not your own best interests. It’s not your own brain doing things for the good, it’s doing for the not good and will hold you back. And you do feel lighter. 
 	So, I challenge people even if you think it’s fluffy or a little 
visionary or woo-woo or whatever, just give it a shot because if 
you feel better, it’s going to be a million times better. And we have to use whatever tactics humanly possible in this world of entrepreneurship that can be a roller coaster crazy ride like you were saying. So, thank you Alison. I’m so thankful for Joelle for introducing us. I absolutely love – a little shout out to Joelle also. How can we find out more about you online and what you teach and all that fun stuff? 
 	
Alison: 
 	So, alisonjprince.com. You can find me on Instagram AlisonJPrince, YouTube AlisonJPrince and right now I’ve got the zero to 100K system, and that’s what I taught my daughters. And I’ve got over 4,000 in my program right now of teaching them how to start from zero and get to their first $100,000.00 online.  
Jaime: 
 	I was about to say, “Oh, I’m going to give that to my daughter.” No, if she’s listening, she has to do it herself. That’s the kind of – 
Alison: 
 	She’s got to earn it. 
Jaime: 
 	She’s got to download that. She’s got an email address. She’s fine. She can download that too. I love it. I love it. Thank you so much for coming on the show today Alison. I really appreciate it.  
Alison: 	Thank you, Jaime. Thank you.

Categories: All, Business, Millionaire Interviews

Hi I’m Jaime. Each and every week I bring you the top business advice from the people who know best.

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