[00:00:00] Sophia Lebano: [00:00:00] Hello, you guys. Welcome back to another episode of Hear and Now podcast. I am so, so, so excited to welcome Dre today from time of Dre media. She’s so cool. Her vibe is just so fun. I mean her background, I’m looking at it right now. It’s just awesome. So Dre, welcome to the show. I was so excited to have you.
[00:00:17] Dre Fox: [00:00:17] Hey, well, I’m excited to have this conversation today.
[00:00:19] Thank you for having me.
[00:00:21] Sophia Lebano: [00:00:21] Of course. So why don’t you introduce yourself? Tell us what you do.
[00:00:25] Dre Fox: [00:00:25] My name is Dre Fox. Then I’m a social media expert and entrepreneur located here in Austin, Texas. And essentially what I spend my days doing is educating people on how to master and monetize their powerful message online in a variety of programs that I run.
[00:00:43] Um, and it has really been an interesting ride over the past three years, but it is just such a beautiful thing being self-employed and impacting all of my students, every single.
[00:00:54] Sophia Lebano: [00:00:54] Absolutely. And one of the reasons I wanted to have you on the show is so you can bring that Girlboss entrepreneurship energy to us.
[00:01:01] So, um, how would you explain what you deal in a nutshell to somebody who just kind of com comes across your page beside you’re just a very fun person in general.
[00:01:12] Dre Fox: [00:01:12] The way to describe it, I believe is I’m an online educator. So if you were to go into school and learn something, instead, you would do it with me.
[00:01:21] One-to-one. So I run anything from private coaching, kind of similar to what we’re doing right now to courses and things that people are able to join, depending on where they’re at in their Instagram journey to either monetize as an entrepreneur or as an influencer. So I would say essentially, I’m a coach.
[00:01:41] Sophia Lebano: [00:01:41] Awesome. Yeah. So walk us through, how did you get started in this field?
[00:01:47] Dre Fox: [00:01:47] Yeah. You know, the long winded journey I’ll be brief is that I used to be a pastry chef. So when people hear that, they’re like, how did you go from pastry chef to doing this whole thing? Um, I grew up in Missoula, Montana, and you know, Missoula, Montana is a lovely place, but boy, if you’re making $30,000 a year there.
[00:02:05] Like making good money, you know, small peanuts, you know, if you’re doing anything, you’re killing it. And so my life was really a summation of that. I was really happy working in, uh, um, the university of Montana’s mess hall. And then I became a chef and I like really enjoyed all that stuff. And one day I woke up and I was like, I think that if I stay here forever, I’m going to do this forever.
[00:02:28] So I packed up my car and moved. Sight unseen to Austin, Texas. I didn’t have an apartment, no friends, no job. Didn’t know where I was going or what I was doing. And I just showed up. And now I’ve been here for 12 years, but the very first thing that I did when I moved here was I went back to college. And when I did that, they asked me to get an internship, which I hadn’t done in Montana.
[00:02:53] And I got an internship with the social media software company. And. They [00:03:00] essentially hired me on like right away, without experience, without the degree, without the, like the knowledge that I probably should have had. Um, so I got lucky in that sense that I kind of stumbled my way into a great job. But over time, I realized one, I was not cut out for working for other people and sitting at a desk all the time.
[00:03:22] Um, and to these, this knowledge that I was learning, working with fortune 500 social media teams deserved to be shared with people like you and I. And so I started an Instagram account and just kind of sharing what I thought and what I knew. And it took off with people saying, can you teach me how to do that?
[00:03:40] And so that’s where the business start. Amazing why Austin just random. I was definitely tired of the cold. I was definitely tired of the gloom and Austin has a lot of fun and you know, honestly, my sister recommended it. She said, you should move to Charlotte or you should move to Austin. And I picked Austin.
[00:03:58] I drove.
[00:03:59] Sophia Lebano: [00:03:59] That’s awesome. I’ve never been to Texas, so it seems like a great place to be. That’s awesome. You just seem like you have so many fun things to do when I’m looking at your Instagram or whatever. So that’s so fun. So wow. 12 years and asked him. That’s great. So what motivated you to do the work that you do and help others in this way?
[00:04:23] Dre Fox: [00:04:23] Yeah. I tell people this a lot because when. Creators come to me and they say they want to monetize. I’m always curious why, because if we do things only for the money we will burn out and we will feel really uninspired by our own work quite quickly. People think it’s really exciting to make money and it is, but if that’s the only thing you’re in it for you won’t last.
[00:04:46] So I always am. Fired up by my passion to help other people see that there’s a different way to go about things. My whole life. I’m I’m not exaggerating. My parents were very traditional. It was like, get a job, get a husband, have the two kids do not travel. Save your pennies. Like all of the phrases that you could imagine.
[00:05:10] And the thought of me becoming an online entrepreneur, especially on social media for them, they were like, this is Hocus Pocus, right. It could not be. And now that I’ve seen the power of what can happen when you use the platform for good. That is what gets me. That’s what gets me up every morning, because I do believe that I am not special or different than anyone else, and that everyone could have this.
[00:05:37] If they learned and implemented and did all the steps they could get there. Yeah. So what are your parents think now? Right. You’re so successful, you know, it’s a little complicated, so they, um, they think it’s great that I’m doing something that I love. They don’t particularly understand what Instagram is or what social media.
[00:05:59] Four, [00:06:00] because I have a sister who’s in a traditional job and I think, and she’s incredibly successful in a traditional job. Right. So I think for them, when they see our successes, they do still be them differently because they’re like, isn’t it great that she got promoted to VP of this big company? And I’m like, well, I’m the president of this company.
[00:06:23] My perception is I think the perception will always be skewed and I’ve come to grips.
[00:06:27] Sophia Lebano: [00:06:27] Yeah. I know I was going to say, um, on my LinkedIn profile, I write like CEO of my company. And I was like, why not? Like I ran this thing. I built it from the ground and people are just like, how do you get there? And I’m like, I self promoted, like I made this happen.
[00:06:43] And it’s the best part about the job. So that’s so true. How would you, I mean, just as a side question, measuring success in this type of business, how do you, how do you do that? Do you count by numbers? What is success in your mind?
[00:06:57] Dre Fox: [00:06:57] For me as the coach, I do view my client’s success as a part of my success.
[00:07:03] Any good coach will say your client’s success actually is not your, your success because people are responsible for their own actions and how they, but I believe that the work that I do is good and actually makes an impact on other people. And when I see that with their own perceived success, whatever, they benchmark that by, it could be a lot of different things.
[00:07:26] I then view my work as important or interesting. Also, it definitely feels really great and validating to be recognized. You know, I’ve been in Forbes multiple times and a lot of these other bigger or, um, media outlets and things like that. And I just never thought that that would be possible for me. I never thought that would be my life.
[00:07:47] And now that I’m here, um, that really feels like a success. For me.
[00:07:53] Sophia Lebano: [00:07:53] Yeah, absolutely. Well, Forbes, that’s huge. How was that for you? Where you just overjoyed with excitement?
[00:08:00]Dre Fox: [00:08:00] It was really. Uh, milestone, you know, it felt like, wow, here we are. Because, you know, you can pay to get an articles on the internet. I don’t know if people know that, but this was actually a feature of me where they approached me to do the feature.
[00:08:14] So it was, um, them wanting to have me. And, you know, the topic of the article was something I was super passionate. It was about why stability shouldn’t be our only goal. And so it was about leaving that nine to five. Taking that risk and watching it actually work instead of being too afraid to make that leap.
[00:08:32] So the topic as well was really passionate for me.
[00:08:36] Sophia Lebano: [00:08:36] That’s so great. Wow. I’ll have to link that below so you can send that to me so everybody can read that. Um, what has been the biggest learning curve for you and kind of figuring out your own career and having charge over all that.
[00:08:49]Dre Fox: [00:08:49] I will be honest. The number one thing I did not expect is how much mindset and mindset work plays into [00:09:00] not only just having an Instagram account, but owning a business, building a business and being a leader.
[00:09:06] And I will be completely Frank. I am not someone who journals. I don’t meditate. I don’t do yoga. I don’t have a thoughtfulness practice in my life. I never have. And the more I got into entrepreneurship and working with people, I realized, whoa, it is not about teaching people, the steps you can teach people this stuff.
[00:09:25] All day long, but all we are all victims to our own stories and mindset and limiting beliefs. And I see two women next to each other one, believe she can do it. And one belief she can’t and the results are just outstandingly different. And so I have really implemented a lot more thoughtfulness into.
[00:09:49] Learning about things like just even energetic exchanges and, you know, attitude shifts and all of these things, because that is truly the key to success. And nobody tells you that getting in, you know, you think it’s about how much knowledge you need to learn and sure. You need to know some things, but if you believe you can do it, that is the.
[00:10:09] Sophia Lebano: [00:10:09] Absolutely. One of my favorite quotes is she believed, she could, so she did. And I’m like, wow, that just perfectly encapsulates the whole effect of mindset, um, and how important it is for going into anything that you can do. Um, and so you did mention stability and I did want to touch on that. So social media is kind of a fickle thing in your idea, in your mind, how sustainable is social media as a career for people long time?
[00:10:38] Dre Fox: [00:10:38] Yeah. Great question. I really do believe that if you are in the business of getting clients. So if you are getting one-to-one clients or you are doing work with other people, if you have an audience of 50, you have 50 people that you could work with. So in that game of like numbers, I still think that no matter how many people are following you, if you did the work, or if you stayed present with it and did the work, you could see.
[00:11:04] Make a living off of social media for a long time to come. But I do think the days of millions of followers and influencing and doing the traditional, uh, that blogging type of route is going to experience a lot of shifts. What I mean by that is like the instant validation is not going to be there. And my fear for a lot of people is that that will deter them from even starting trying or continuing because the growth is not there.
[00:11:35] The numbers aren’t there, the, all the things that used to be have changed. So if you are an entrepreneur, I think you’re still in good shape for quite a while. But if you are looking to just grow. To have like an influencer platform. It’s going to get incrementally more challenging if you don’t have a message behind what you do.
[00:11:54] Sophia Lebano: [00:11:54] That’s a good point. So talk about the algorithm. What, what do we [00:12:00] need to know? I mean, I feel like it’s just changing every single day. Like where, where can we really find that sweet spot to grow with what we have.
[00:12:08] Dre Fox: [00:12:08] Yeah. The biggest tip I can give anybody is that the number one thing that you’re facing right now is obscurity.
[00:12:14] So you’re not facing how many hashtags to use and which ones and what this, that, and the other thing you need visibility, and to get on obscure, because we’ve all come across an account where we’re like, these photos are good and these captions are awesome, but why do they only have 500 followers? Like where is everybody?
[00:12:34] This account is great. And they are facing obscurity. Just people don’t know they exist because when they do, they’re going to love it. So we are, we are needing to be more creative. We can beat the algorithm, but what we can do is we can control what we’re doing. So doing strategic partnerships, leverage.
[00:12:54] Other people’s audiences doing a really compelling content that helps cut through the noise. And isn’t the same thing that everybody else has been saying. If you convert well on video and you know, you have the cutest dog and husband and health and whatever, like get them on your reels and like maximize what you have to start raising yourself up.
[00:13:17] So for example, I am now going to be doing like a live series on my account where I’m going to pull in other entrepreneurs. And of course it’s to give them visibility and add value to my audience. But also I hope that their audience then says, Hey, why is she over on this page? What is this page about?
[00:13:35] Okay, cool. Let me learn more. I’m going to follow her. And that it, like, if all we’re doing is posting and hashtagging, we’re doing it the slowest way possible, right? We’re like we’re keeping ourselves hidden as much as possible. We want to get out there, move, shake, leverage befriend people and get some visibility in other ways, too.
[00:13:57] Sophia Lebano: [00:13:57] Amazing. So I saw you are talking about the milestone challenge on Instagram. Do you want to explain a little bit more about that for us?
[00:14:04] Dre Fox: [00:14:04] Yeah. So before I tap into this, so Instagram is now trying to make the platform a little more friendly for creators paid in competition with tech talk, which I think is fantastic.
[00:14:16] We’ve all want Instagram to pay us for years, Instagram is willing to pay people up to 500. For now, um, in order to achieve a series of milestones, when you go live now, the first thing is that you need to be a business or creator account. Second thing you need to have it rolled out to you. So if you’re listening and you’re saying, oh, what is she talking about?
[00:14:41] You probably just don’t have it yet. So that’s okay. Be patient. Um, but essentially if you go live for 15 minutes, you get a hundred dollars. If you go live with somebody else for 30 minutes, you get one 50 and then if you go live for 15 minutes every week for four weeks, you get [00:15:00] $250 total. $500. So I think it’s pretty exciting.
[00:15:06] I mean, you know, for, especially for a smaller creator, who’s never maybe made much of anything off of Instagram. 500 bucks is a great month. You know, it’s a great cash to, um, to gain from your audience and it makes people use the features. So I think it’s.
[00:15:22] Sophia Lebano: [00:15:22] That’s awesome. Do you think that they’re going to start to cap out on how many people can do it at a time?
[00:15:28] I wonder how, I mean, where can the money come from? How many when you pay?
[00:15:33]Dre Fox: [00:15:33] Probably a billion business accounts. So if all of those people start going live all the time, I don’t know where that money is going to come from. So yes, I do believe there has to be some sort of finite amount, but it’s not coming anytime soon.
[00:15:48] Sophia Lebano: [00:15:48] At least it’s so exciting. I don’t have it yet, which I’m bummed about, but it looks so fun to just, you know, get people live and in front of their audience, um, which I did want to ask another part is how do you determine what your voice is supposed to be on Instagram? What is the message that we’re supposed to be putting out there?
[00:16:08] Dre Fox: [00:16:08] It’s a challenge for some people to really get there. Others have a ton of clarity and they really, they really get what they’re doing and others. You know, they’re just trying everything and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I will say the faster that you get to uncover your message, you really are able to grow and lean into your content and understand what you should be doing in a different, deeper way.
[00:16:33] The place where I would start for people is asking yourself, So, this is what I recommend doing is making a timeline. So like grab a piece of paper, draw a line through it. And above the line, write out every like big win that you’ve had. Big moment, big transformation, something that was really impactful in your life.
[00:16:52] And then below the line, you can write negative things, things that you didn’t want to happen, or it was a bad, bad day. When you look at the things that positively happen, you might start to realize patterns, right? I am really, really passionate about talking about overcoming fears, because look at how many times I have taken a huge risk and it’s paid off or look at every time that I started a new relationship or I had a family, or like all these beautiful things that have happened in my life, which of these are things that I really want to talk about or help others with, or.
[00:17:29] And we realized that we actually have a lot of knowledge and who we’ve been through a lot when we look back at the bigger picture and we say, okay, I know that, for example, being a mom has been the best thing I’ve ever done. Right. And I want to help others. Young moms get through those first challenging five years of life with their kids, because I know for us, it was really challenging.
[00:17:53] And so you can start to lean into those types of things. But when you do get that clarity, I can promise that the [00:18:00] sky started to open for you a little bit, and you really get a lot of clarity on what you want to do. So if you’re struggling with that right now, I do have an IGT V on my page around niching down that I think would be helpful if anyone is really struggling with that type of person.
[00:18:14] Sophia Lebano: [00:18:14] Absolutely. Yeah. I, I personally with all my clients, I focus a lot on niching down for them because it’s kind of like, I just want to do everything and I want to have my hand in every single thing, which is great. But if you’re like, multi-passionate like, maybe you really need to make sure you’re focusing in the right direction.
[00:18:31] Um, so yes, definitely give us that link. I will link that below for everybody else who wants to listen, um, from the social side of things and selling, how do you combat coming off like, you’re just trying to sell everything that you do.
[00:18:46] Dre Fox: [00:18:46] Yeah. The first piece of that is believing that what you sell can help people.
[00:18:52] So I do not sell things to people that I don’t think will help them. I have people come to me all the time. Hey Dre, can I join your one-on-one mentorship? Can I work with you for the next year? And I’ll assess where they’re at and I’ll say. You’re not a great fit for where we’re at right now, but I do have a suite of products which now has allowed me to more clearly recommend where people need to be or recommend them to other friends.
[00:19:18] So. That is the mentality shift I had to learn. Getting into business is my very first product. I was so excited that people were interested that whether they were a good fit or not, I didn’t have an application process and people could purchase. So people purchase because they were excited, but they weren’t an excellent fit for that program because I didn’t have an application or I didn’t have those steps.
[00:19:43] And I learned a lot from that. Where now, if someone comes to me and they’re. You know, his impacted income for me, I’m in this stage. I can tell them no, but I would love for you to apply next year, or I would love for you to join us at a different time. So that is a big energetic shift. Um, I also create products that I’m proud of.
[00:20:04] So I think that when people are shy to sell, they either don’t believe that their product actually works or they don’t believe it’s right for that person that they’re talking to. And so I always make sure that those boxes are checked. Um, but it really is, you know, coming from a place of service. If they need it, they want it, they want that outcome.
[00:20:24] And I have this solution for it. I have no problem talking to people about it, but other than that, um, I don’t feel salesy because I do feel like my products are awesome and everybody should want them.
[00:20:38]Sophia Lebano: [00:20:38] I feel like that’s so true. You know, when you have fun and say, I’m starting to just seem so genuine.
[00:20:43] Yeah. Like, you’re excited to talk about it and not timid at all. Um, so yeah. Talk us, talk us through your products. Do you offer one-on-one training group training? What are some of the things that you have for people?
[00:20:56] Dre Fox: [00:20:56] So I’m going through a big seismic shift. I’m getting away [00:21:00] from, um, lower ticket, like passive offers and moving into more impactful containers.
[00:21:06] So I have a program called the social CEO, which is a six month mentorship program for coaches, people who want to become coaches. So it’s coaching program for coaches. It’s awesome because the whole premise is. Be yourself, amplify who you are. It’s not about trying to be somebody else to be successful. I also have one-on-one coaching that is typically for people who are making already anywhere from like seven to 15 K online a month and are looking to scale and improve that or, and just have accountability.
[00:21:38] And then I have a beginner program. It’s a passive course called the elevated Instagram. This is for people who. Know how to use Instagram, but they’re not using it effectively across the board from content, hashtags, engagement, messaging, all those things they’re having struggles with. So it’s, it’s my number one bestselling course.
[00:21:59] I mean, I’ve, I’ve. Sold hundreds and hundreds of that course. Um, so I’m always going to keep that one because it’s awesome. But I’m going to, I work with people who are a little bit more into the business side of Instagram. They either want to be a coach or sell digital products or courses and things like.
[00:22:17] Sophia Lebano: [00:22:17] That’s great. Yeah. So do you work with people who want to be creators on Instagram? And I guess more in the influencer, I used to call them like inspires more than influencers. Do you work with those people too?
[00:22:30]Dre Fox: [00:22:30] I do. I, I had a membership for a long time called the compensated creative, which was dedicated to people maximizing their influence or income.
[00:22:38] We’ve closed the membership and we rolled all of the trainings into a passive, like video bundles. So people can just. Purchase, essentially like a library of trainings. Uh, so it’s not a core. I wouldn’t call it a course. I would call it like an asset library and it’s awesome. You know, it’s great. We had tons of great successes in that program and I love helping influencers.
[00:23:01] It’s just like the longer term vision for me is that business side, the course side, the coaching side that I’m truly more passionate about, but, uh, I love helping influencers get wins.
[00:23:15] Sophia Lebano: [00:23:15] That’s awesome. I feel like that’s one of the things that, um, people need that boost of encouragement from people like you who have a great platform and are really passionate about what they do.
[00:23:27] Um, so can you share a little bit about your own journey of being a blogger, specifically, a food blogger? How did that affect you and contribute to what you’re doing today?
[00:23:38] Dre Fox: [00:23:38] Yeah. You know, starting the food blog. Just something I was passionate about. I had fun, um, made a lot of mistakes, took bad photos.
[00:23:47] Like had no idea what was going on half the time, but food is a really high growth niche. So like there are certain niches that are high growth, like puppies and bikini models [00:24:00] and fitness and things like that. And food is also one of them. Um, and I didn’t know that at the time it was just kind of a happy accident that I liked food and that’s where it went.
[00:24:10] But. So my account grew really fast and I was really excited by that. I was thought it was so fun. I was like, this is incredible. And people follow me for this stuff. Um, but then, you know, as I started teaching, I was teaching on my stories and people were more like, Ooh, we want this type of content. And I realized I had a decision to make.
[00:24:30] I had to either be popular or profitable. And I wanted to make that shift of like, do I want to just influence or do I want to be a business owner? And I am not saying that influencers are not businesses. They, 100% are, but the way that you conduct business as a course, creator or coach is a lot different than an influencer.
[00:24:55] You know, I, I joined a mastermind and I started seeing what these women were doing and what they’re capable of and what they’re accomplishing. And I said, I’m having fun with the food. I love it, but I have to make this shift and take a run at creating my own business while the getting is good. And so I really started doing a slow pivot.
[00:25:18] I was still doing a lot of food and I would still talk about coaching and I’d kind of blended all in together, but now I’m like 10% food, 90%. Coaching instead of like a 50, 50 blend that I used to be. And, you know, some people did on follow me and people were like, uh, you know, you’re not doing the same stuff anymore.
[00:25:36] And my ego hurt a few times where I was like, oh, but I miss when everyone like loved the food and they were all here for that, but that wasn’t helping me build the legacy that wasn’t helping me go anywhere with what I wanted to do with my career. And so it had to change, but you know, that’s life and I’m glad that I’m where I’m at.
[00:25:58] Sophia Lebano: [00:25:58] Yeah, it’s incredible. I love seeing your little food stories. I think they’re so fun. Um, I’m just a huge foodie myself, but, um, yeah, no, absolutely. That’s so great. So do you have any plans for growth in the future? Anything you want to hint at projects you’re working on?
[00:26:15] Dre Fox: [00:26:15] Yeah. So I am opening up these scale, your social mastermind.
[00:26:19] It’s going to be an August. This is for people who are roughly at around five K um, monthly revenue off of Instagram right now, doing whatever it is they’re doing, whether it’s influencing selling courses or coaching. And they’re looking to scale that up to 10 to 15 K month and really want to be in the presence of other women who get it.
[00:26:42] Also have a lot of insight and want to see you win. I think that doing online entrepreneurship alone is the most misery filled way to do it. And so getting support from other people who really want you to win and be there for you is, um, my recommendation for [00:27:00] any early stage entrepreneurs. I also, um, Launched and sold out I retreat for September, but it was so popular that we are going to host a second retreat probably in February of next year, but I’ll be opening up again.
[00:27:18] Sophia Lebano: [00:27:18] That’s so exciting. So if people are interested in finding out more about you, what you do, anything you offer, where can they find you?
[00:27:26] Dre Fox: [00:27:26] The best place to find me is time of Dre on Instagram. If you are a coach specifically, you might want to also follow me at Dre Fox that’s Dre Fox. That’s my account, all about coaching related tips and tricks.
[00:27:41] Um, but yeah, DM me connect with me there and I’ll have a variety of fun things linked to my bio for you to take a look at, depending on when you. Broadcast. Yes.
[00:27:51]Sophia Lebano: [00:27:51] Yes. Thank you so much, Dre this is amazing. So jam packed with a bunch of information. I’m so thankful for you to come on and just talk to us about it.
[00:28:00] Dre Fox: [00:28:00] I appreciate you having me here and also having this conversation really valuable to have.
[00:28:05] Sophia Lebano: [00:28:05] Absolutely. Yes. And thank you guys for tuning in to this week’s episode of Hear and Now podcast. Don’t forget to check out all the links in the show notes below, and we will see you next time.
SHOW NOTES:
It’s the 95th episode of Hear and Now Podcast! Thank you for joining me this week as I have Dre Fox on to talk about 6 figure business, Time of Dre Media.
Dre’s Forbes Article // IGTV on Niches
Find Dre: Instagram and Website
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