Elaine Slatter is the Founder and CEO of XL Consulting Group. The consultancy is a small business advisory, specializing in entrepreneurial startups and businesses that are not experiencing their full potential. Elaine is the Founder of Fabulous Fempreneur, a team of entrepreneurs who want to build a community to embrace, support and mentor women entrepreneurs.
FWM: “Life can throw you curve balls.” Tell us about your background and what led you to launch the XL Consulting Group.
It’s possible to go from a Personal Assistant to running a Corporate division, because that happened to me with a few curveballs along the way! I started at the bottom of the Corporate rung and gradually worked my way up to the top. The most important boost in my career was having a female mentor who helped clear the way and offered me many opportunities for personal growth. During that time my husband passed suddenly and I was also left with his retail business to run until I could sell it off. After a successful Corporate career I decided to launch XL Consulting Group, specifically to service start up companies, particularly women-led startups. We help new businesses launch online with a web presence and social media platforms. Women still have some disadvantages in business as they are not the “boys club”, so at XL Consulting Group we understand that and work with clients to help them clarify their marketing message to their target market.
FWM: What trends are you seeing today?
During the last couple of years, small businesses recognize that they need to keep their brand profile in front of their potential customer base on a consistent basis. As a result more companies understand the importance of having a video, blogging and social media presence. We are definitely helping our clients become as visible as possible!
FWM: Tell us about Fabulous Fempreneurship.
Fabulous Fempreneurship started as a book for women startups, to help them get over their fears and start a busness. This is a complete guide with input from 32 women entrepreneurs. From that beginning, we branched out to offer other services such as a weekly magazine and podcast as well as co-founding “Independent Women in Leadership” in our local community to offer monthly workshops for women entrepreneurs. This sister organization also raises money for women and childrens’ programs in our local area.
FWM: What resources are offered as a member?
We have a Facebook group which allows members to advertise their products/services on weekends and during the week we have “theme” days to help women entrepreneurs grow their business. We also have a weekly podcast, interviewing industry experts who offer advice to women entrepreneurs.
FWM: How important is the Mentor Portal?
For startups this is so important, because mentorship can help you overcome specific problems in your business. I found mentorship invaluable in my career and I hope that our mentor portal can do the same for woman entrepreneurs.
FWM: Share a few member stories.
We have a member in financial services who had a unique value proposition and we were able to help her brand her uniqueness so that she stands out in the market place of mostly male financial advisors. She now has a platform that speaks to women in their own language rather than the industry jargon that so many male advisors use.
Countless women say that they look forward to our weekly podcasts on all things for women entrepreneurs. We have scoured the globe for interesting experts who have given fantastic advice to women in their area of expertise. Many of these experts have offered special deals to Fabulous Fempreneurship listeners for programs that can help with all aspects of entrepreneurship. We have over 180 podcasts recorded and are now in Season 4. These podcasts can be found on our website www.fabfempreneurship.com or on any of the popular podcast platforms.
FWM: You are a much sought-after speaker. What topics can we expect to see in the upcoming months?
Since physical events are still not a “go” in Canada, I’m mostly giving interviews on podcasts and the recurring topic is “leadership”. What will leadership look like in the future and how can we incorporate inclusion and diversity into the workforce.
FWM: What’s next for you?
At present I’m working with a European company to build out their product offerings and we have some exciting projects on the board at the moment that will come into fruition in early 2022 for this company. I’m also co-hosting a Clubhouse room on how to start, grow and monetize a podcast.
