Elizabeth Allen is the Founder of Economy Of One, a training and consulting firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. She has worked in every facet of strategic market planning, national brand execution and executive sales management. She has served as a facilitator for The Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program and as a mentor for the University of Kansas MBA Graduates Program. Elizabeth has consulted as a marketing expert for projects with Sprint, IBM, 3M, and Pfizer, and is a founding member of the Kansas City United Way Women’s Leadership Council.
FWM: What led to the launch of Economy of One?
The Great Recession. One early morning in 2009, I was headed into a library to meet a client that never showed up that day. I walked up to the doors of the library where a nice looking man stood looking at the doors. (I could not figure out why he was staring at the doors)- so I awkwardly reached for them and said “aw, they are open” (because he didn’t seem to notice that the doors would open). As a Christian, in that exact moment I heard in my spirit “pay attention.” And we walked in with one another to the library. He said, “so what do you do?” And I said, “ I teach entrepreneurs how to sell more.” He thought about in for a moment, then sheepishly asked me “do you think you can help unemployed people sell themselves?” I stopped in my tracks, looked straight at him, and said that I didn’t know if I could. That I had never tried to…. And he said to me that he was asking because he was looking for a speaker to come speak to a newly formed group of people laid off from Sprint. He said they met every Tuesday and asked me to come. I did, thinking it would be a handful of people. It was a large group that I provided the seminar to on the subject of “thinking like an entrepreneur about the job search”- which was the birth of Economy Of One.
FWM: You have worked in every facet of strategic market planning, national brand execution, and executive sales management. What are the challenges entrepreneurs are facing?
Entrepreneurs, like everyone Post-COVID, are just trying to find their footing to move forward. These times are unprecedented in that the rules of the game have truly changed. So, for many, it is time for continued pivot for traditional business models, while at the same time, extreme opportunity for innovation for new entrepreneurs launching or working to obtain a market advantage. The way I guide people though always goes back to the basic questions: Do you have something to sell? Can you find a customer? Can you make a profit? Can you scale what you are doing to teach others? These questions lead to truth as it relates to entrepreneurism because most people considering entrepreneurism struggle to identify what it is that they really want to “do,” and while entrepreneurism is something you “do,” it’s really what you sell, as entrepreneurs are first and foremost “demand generators.” They have something other people need or want and are willing to do what it takes to “drive demand” in their own tiny economy of one. Does the world need another marketing company? Architect? Accounting firm? Photography business? No. If we are honest, there is a lot of competitors in all forms of business. Yet daily, I see entrepreneurs say YES, the world does need my vision of this type of company, and I believe that there’s a market for the unique way I intend to do business and add value to the world I will serve. Are they crazy? Yes! Are always successful? Certainly not. But are they needed? Absolutely, as entrepreneurship is the single advantage we have against our global competitor, China. It’s our American birthright and I personally will do all in my human power to empower as many entrepreneurs as I possibly can because these are the job creators. They are the backbone of the American economy and our way of life. I believe if they are willing to humble themselves and “fail forward,” learning from every miscalculation and learning opportunity that they can find success and happiness as they define it.
The Economy of One on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv7SqL-1_83zReThAdC2Fnw
FWM: What have you learned over the years as a consultant?
I have learned that people need meaning and purpose in their lives more than anything else and that too often we go through decades without it. We are creatures of a society that tells us that to make “x” amount of money we need to study “x” at college and too often our careers are the result of a truly broken HR system. People need desperately a way to find meaning, especially now that COVID is over. Recent research by McKinsey suggests that seeking working lives that offer personal purpose and meaning is the single biggest issue impacting workers today.
FWM: You are a much sought-after speaker on topics including, “think like an entrepreneur” in order to create true opportunity (instead of just chasing another job or paycheck) and the “gig economy.” Tell us about your upcoming speaking engagements and topics for 2021.
Right now I am working on seminar content for a new book called Soul Damage. The content is based on my observations in working for the past decade with people coming out of toxic job situations, trying to figure out what’s next. I will be offering this seminar series through a number of churches, colleges and non-profit venues.
The premise of the book and seminar content is that the traditional employment system as we know it is broken. I will be addressing how traditional job seeking methods people are taught don’t work and set them up for trauma and a prolonged period of unemployment. The collective impact of this failure is personal, spiritual, emotional and financial devastation. This systemic failure is further amplified by the isolation and mental health crisis associated with COVID. For most people, prolonged unemployment can be compared to attending your own funeral where you bury your personal and professional identity in the coffin. You observe it lowered into the ground. And instead of people sending cards and offering lasagna, they tell you to “put on your interview face” and get out there and make something happen. They don’t understand the loss. The grief. The emotional fatigue people feel in having to be in constant “interview mode” and it’s a by-product of mistaking what we do for who we are. We are human “beings,” not human “doings.” This issue of helping people understand that it’s not their fault– what’s happening to them, and that there is a better way forward is the reason Economy Of One course, Creating Opportunities Instead of Chasing Jobs was created. People need a better way and they need it now.
FWM: How important is giving back to you?
Giving back is the driving force behind the Economy Of One. This is why I put the content of the entire Economy of One course for free global distribution on YouTube, the Economy of One channel. It’s my gift, and my partner’s gift (Frank Bonura) to the world. I believe each one of us is uniquely gifted for a specific and God-ordained purpose. My purpose is to address the extraordinary pain people feel in meaningless careers and to help them find a more fulfilling path forward. I want to help launch millions of small businesses worldwide as I believe these businesses and economic vitality to be the what’s needed now in order to help us to avoid global war and conflict.
A key philosophy taught in Economy Of One is that money is anything we can use to solve a problem for someone else. I ask people I work with constantly how well they are investing the money that is within them. I point out that because of our gifts and talents- we are all extremely rich. Profit is simply a function of the value a person can deliver, and starting with what we have (internally) where we are at (in life) is a perfect place to begin. The only key question is how effective are we using our gifts to invest in others in order to solve problems and add value.
Entrepreneurs embody this philosophy because often they start with only the technical talents they have, and the task is to find someone (a customer) who recognizes this value and pays them for it! Once they can find one customer, they can find more! When people realize the truth, that when we add value to others, we increase our own value, this is what makes the Economy of One work. We teach people how to drive demand for what it is that they can uniquely supply in their own tiny economy of one. In a world wracked with economic uncertainty, sharing this highly proven solution with as many people as possible is my personal purpose on planet earth at this point.
FWM: Please share your social media links.
www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethmallen
www.facebook.com/groups/economyofone/?ref=share
