Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] We're gonna help get this out. Okay, guys. 0:12 It's time to get a little energy for the night, and I gotta make sure that I'm drinking some water, so we're just gonna try and bang them both out at the same time. Today I'm going to be reviewing Hydro Rush. 0:25 Time to get up and start moving. Gotta reach out and grab my Crypto Rush from Hydro Rush. Let's go. We've gotta get this generator started, and we're gonna need the energy to do that and to go exploring. 0:37 Five, what's up, Sam? Give it a good safe tug. All right. That rush is so you're not rushing. Cheers, Sam. 0:47 [upbeat music] Okay, you guys have magnesium in here, 66 milligrams, sodium, sea salt, 1,000. All right, that's pretty high. 1:01 You got some potassium, keeps you nice and invigorated, keeps your bones and your joints going good, muscles from cramping up, and then creatine. 1:10 Um, a lot of people have been telling me about creatine, you know, um, very good things from, uh, from the weight training community. Yeah, let's see how this tastes. Okay. Not bad. All right, this is Hydro Rush. 1:20 [upbeat music] Hello, hello, Emily. How are you doing today? It's so good to see you. 1:38 Uh, welcome to One11 Pod. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here today. Yeah, me too. You are an EBL coach, and you're also a doctor. 1:48 Do you wanna be addressed as doctor, or just Emily is fine? I just wanna make sure I'm respectful. Either one is fine, whichever one you're comfortable with. Awesome. 1:56 Yeah, so why don't you just share a little bit about, uh, what a EBL coach does, and then we'll just kinda dive in from there. Absolutely. 2:03 So I am the founder and director of EBL Coaching, which is a one-on-one tutoring program that helps students with special education needs develop their core academic skills, reading, writing, math, and executive functioning skills. 2:19 Um, and actually, just to date back a little bit, grew up in the field of special education. My mother was the founder of a school for students with learning disabilities down in Florida. 2:28 So I spent so much of my childhood working at her school and just seeing what a profound difference having the right support made on the lives of these children, and that was really the beginning of the journey, which eventually, uh, took me into becoming the founder of EBL Coaching. 2:44 I love it. So it runs in the family. [laughs] It runs in the family indeed. I absolutely love that. So why don't you share with me a little bit about your EBL coaching. 2:54 Is this something different from a lot of other coaches out here that focus on special needs children, or how is this different? Absolutely. 3:02 We're very different than a lot of other tutoring programs or homework helpers out there in that everything that we do is very much custom-tailored to the needs of each student, and we use all research-based multi-sensory techniques that are most appropriate for that student. 3:18 So typically, I will start by personally meeting and evaluating each student myself to give me an overall picture of who that student is. 3:27 If they have other evaluations like a neuropsychological evaluation or an IEP, I like to review those as well. And then from there, I match the tutor with a specialist who I feel would be an ideal fit. 3:40 And then like I said, we put together very much of an individualized plan using all research-based multi-sensory techniques that are catered to the needs of each student. 3:48 And then we do the tutoring either in person in the New York, New Jersey area, but we actually work with students worldwide through our virtual tutoring platform, which has been amazing to see grow over the past, uh, many years. 4:01 Awesome. So when did you get started? So I started... Well, I went to Brown University for my undergraduate degree. Then right out of college, I actually did finance for two years. Totally different than what I do now. 4:13 Wow. Quickly realized it was not for me, but I did learn a lot from that experience just about being comfortable with numbers and money and all those important skills. Mm. 4:21 But I just, I really recalled how gratifying it was, um, helping kids and working at my mother's school and, and how- Mm... that just was so life-changing on so many levels. So that's really when I pivoted. 4:33 So I've been doing this for about 21 years now, which makes me feel very old. Um, but it's- [laughs]... just every day is different- Mm... and it still never feels mundane, but, but it's been a long time. Wow. 4:45 So you've done this pretty much your whole life. Like, this has been, like, a one-track career. You knew from the very, very beginning, like, this is what you wanted to do for the rest of your life. Yeah, pretty much. 4:56 That's amazing. You know, I, I, I don't get that from a lot of people nowadays. You know, a lot of people, they, they kinda just, they pivot or they switch careers every few years. 5:04 They can't make up their mind what they wanna do in life. But it sounds like you actually, you kn- you, you knew from the get-go of, like, this is what your purpose, this is what your mission on this earth is to do. 5:17 And so, like, how did you come to that, like, realization, I guess, like, at such a young age? Well, I, you know, I think I was so fortunate to have my mother's school to work at. And you know- Mm... 5:28 I think when I was a kid, it was like, "Oh, I have to do this again. I have to go work." But now, you know, in retrospect, I can look back and say that that time was so valuable because- Mm... 5:37 it gave me the foundation of what I have. 5:40 And so, you know, originally, like I was saying, right out of college, I actually thought I wanted to explore something else and not sort of live in my mother's shadow, so to speak, which is why I explored finance and living in New York City and, and, you know- Mm... 5:54 doing that life for a little bit. But just realized pretty quickly that it wasn't for me. So I had a little moment of, of pivot and exploration before- Okay... 6:01 I kind of went back to, you know, what, what I loved doing, what my passion was Got you. That makes sense. That makes sense. 6:07 So from your career doing this one, like, track, what have you found that you enjoy so much about, you know, um, hanging out with kids all day? [laughs] What are some of the joys you find? 6:19 Yeah, I think that there are so many moments of joy that I experience on a regular basis, whether it's seeing a child read for the first time, that's one of my favorite moments. When they- Mm... 6:29 they know the letters, they know the sounds, but they just can't blend them together, and all of a sudden they, they sort of have that aha moment, and they figure out how to read. 6:36 And it's, it's just so mind-blowing to just, just watch that happen. I love seeing, um, the confidence of kids change. I think that's such a key component of success in life. 6:46 And so many kids who struggle in school have such low self-esteem, they're used to so much negativity, they're used to failure. 6:54 So when we turn that around and we see them start to feel good about themselves, I love that. That's one of my favorite, uh, moments as well. 7:01 And then I would say another one is when parents reach out to me many years after we work with them, and they tell me about these incredible things that th- their kids are doing, whether it's, I recently had a father tell me that his son was studying law at Georgetown. 7:16 Another mother told me that her son, who ha- was severely dyslexic and had severe ADHD, is now a successful engineer. 7:23 So when I hear those stories, that's just music to my ears, and it, it just reminds me again why I do what I do every day. I love that. 7:31 Yeah, so you have these moments, these in between times that you can really just be intentional with the kids. I think that's really great. Do you have kids of your own? I do. I have four daughters. Oh my gosh. Okay. 7:45 So you've had a lot of experience- [laughs] Oh, I-... with children. 7:50 [laughs] Between my own children and the children that, that I work with, and, and I think actually being in the field of education has helped me a little bit from a parenting perspective. 7:59 But yes, I, I feel like I've seen it all. Yeah. 8:02 Actually, why don't you dive a little bit deeper in that about parenting and how that's helped you, um, just with your personal life and, you know, how it goes back to education? 8:12 Well, I think first off, it's been able to help me just from an education standpoint of knowing, uh, what's realistic for someone of my kids' age at that time to know, to learn, uh, different approaches that, that can be tried if something isn't working. 8:27 So kind of that education angle, and then also the perspective, for example, like I said earlier, confidence is so important. 8:34 And so if one of my kids is ever struggling, I remind them of their strengths, I show them their progress. 8:41 I really try to empower them and not let them get lost in failure, because we all have moments of failure, and I think as a kid, it's sometimes easy to fixate on that- Mm-hmm... and really self-confidence. 8:53 So that, that's a, a big, um, thing for me as well. And, and my oldest daughter, who's 17, my, my kids span- Oh, wow... from seven to 17, she's actually interested in studying education as well. 9:02 So we may have a, a lineage in, in my family of, uh, of female educators. Oh, I love that. Oh my gosh. So is that like a proud mom moment for you? Or h- how, how does that make you feel? It is. 9:14 It's a really proud mom moment. Um- Cool... it's, my daughter's now actually literally right now, uh, working on her college application. 9:21 So it's, uh, and there's a lot of introspection that goes into writing these essays and kind of hearing her voice, and it, it does make me, as a mom, feel proud about what some of the influence I think I've had on my kids in terms of not just being an educator, but being a business owner and working and, you know, all of these challenges that I deal with that, that I think they watch me sort of work through. 9:45 Hmm. I love that. I love that. Yeah. Thank you for sharing a little bit about that. Um, I'd love to go back to your EBL Coaching and your website, and I wanna talk more about how that got started. 9:56 Uh, primarily, was that like during COVID, you started doing a lot of, uh, more virtual sessions? Or how does... Yeah, talk to me more, I guess, on the business side of things of like how are you, um... 10:07 Yeah, h- how does that run? Yeah. So I've been running EBL Coaching, like I said, for about 21 years now. 10:13 Initially, of course, it was in person, although really from the very beginning, I, I actually started myself just tutoring all over Manhattan- Oh... by one-on-one. 10:23 That's really kind of how I got started with EBL Coaching- Gotcha... where I was, this is when I was still working in finance in the evenings and weekends. 10:30 I started tutoring kids myself who had special needs, ADHD, dyslexia, and so forth. 10:36 And I was kind of traveling around the city and working with these kids one-on-one, and I, I think I, I saw the opportunity then about how many kids struggle and how many kids need the support, and there's just not enough individuals out there really to give the support. 10:50 So that was kind of the beginning of, I think, my vision for EBL Coaching. And then, yes, it began just in person, um, and it continued that way. 10:59 We did do a little bit of virtual tutoring before COVID through Skype, which is interesting that no one really uses Skype anymore, but that was- Right... what we did a little bit, but it wasn't very popular. 11:09 I think people weren't open to the idea of, of virtual anything really at that point as- Mm... 11:15 And then as soon as COVID hit, we really had to pivot because pretty much everything, as you know, shut down and w- we couldn't really do in-person tutoring. 11:23 So it kind of just forced me, and I think a lot of others out there, to just propel things really quickly, develop new technology, develop new resources, encourage families to try this out, and it opened up a huge door of just this other avenue, this other vehicle being able to help kids who may not live either in our geographic area or in a- any geographic area where they don't h- have access to this kind of specialized support. 11:50 So it's been really amazing working with kids, not just throughout the United States, but in Europe and Asia, really all over the world. Wow, that's incredible. So how do people find you? Well, a combination. 12:02 Um, a lot of it's word of mouth. Um, there's a lot of schools that refer kids to us, evaluators who evaluate and diagnose kids refer to us. And then, um, you know, of course, just I, I do a lot of content development. 12:14 I write a lot of articles. I speak at a lot of conferences, and I always try to put that out there for the world to see through Google and, and so forth. So a lot of that as well. Awesome. 12:23 Are you the only instructor, or do you have, like, a bunch? You know, I don't do, I don't do any of the instruction anymore. Oh. I just oversee it. 12:29 So I evaluate the kids, and then I match the tutor with an instructor who specializes- Oh... in what they need the most help with. Wow. So how many instructors do you have? So we have about 80 instructors, give or take. 12:41 That's incredible. So you've built it up from literally you just starting the instruction to 80 people under you that help with the instructions now. And so where are you, like, with your global footprint? 12:54 Do you, do you teach around the world, like, your instructors, or how does it work? Yeah, so we are r- throughout the United States. And then, um, like I said before, we have students in Asia and Europe. Mm-hmm. 13:06 We have students really pretty much across the globe. So it's, it's been- Wow... [audio glitching] thing. That's really cool. And how, uh, what did it take to get to that level? 13:17 I think it was just, you know, a lot of outreach. Um- Mm-hmm... I think it's really helped since I started to produce a lot of content. A lot of people- Mm... just heard about us that way. 13:25 So they are on YouTube, or they're reading articles on Google about how to help a child with dyslexia, whatever it w- may be. 13:32 So a lot of it was just sort of organic outreach and then also just different re- referral sources. 13:37 You know, I'm always networking, going to conferences, meeting people, so just networking, you know, with people that way. Yeah. And you've been doing this you said for 20 years? About 21 years now, yeah. 21 years. 13:49 Okay, so I can totally see networking works with consistency. [laughs] Yeah. And I was actually on your website earlier, and I saw the video y- um, that plays at the beginning there. 14:00 And it looks like you had a news organization interview you about, you know, um, EDL coaching, which I thought was really great, um, amazing promotion, uh, of what you guys do and how you do it. 14:11 And, um, what is, like, something that you would like to improve on with your business in the future? I'm sure you know we're always looking on ways to improve. 14:20 I feel like you've definitely scaled to the point where it's, it's an inspiration especially for other entrepreneurs who want to build businesses in this kind of format. 14:29 Um, yeah, I guess some advice that you would give, uh, your fellow entrepreneurs and then also, like, yeah. We- we'll start there. 14:36 You know, I would say, you know, always be open to, to a pivot because you never know what's gonna happen. Like, COVID was a perfect example. I just had to quickly pivot and, and develop new technology. Mm-hmm. 14:46 And always be open to learning. I never- Yeah... you know, even though I have my doctorate degree, I have my master's degree, I never feel like I'm... I will never feel like I'm done learning. 14:55 And I think that as we know, this world is evolving so quickly with technology and with AI, and no one really knows what the future's going to hold. 15:03 But we have to embrace it and, and use these tools and kind of continue to learn about them because learning never ends. That's right. Always be a lifelong learner. That's for sure. I love that. 15:14 Um, speaking of AI, we, we definitely have to touch on that subject a little bit before I go to my next questions, but, uh, how are you using AI within your own business to leverage it or support you? 15:26 Well, I think that, um, you know, I think AI's a great tool. I think there's always this fear that it can take over kids learning how to, how to read, how to write, how to do math. So- Mm. 15:36 We are, we encourage students to use it as a tool. But a- again, we still really focus on the importance of teaching them the core skills. I hope that never goes away. 15:46 I hope kids never feel like they don't need to learn how to write because AI can write for them. I think that as humans we need to have those skills. 15:53 So I think it's always this balance of teaching kids the, the core skills that they need, but also teaching them how to use AI as a tool because it's not gonna go away, and most employers now are looking for people who are, um, AI literate. 16:07 So I think that is a tool to teach our children as well. Got you. Got you. So you don't think AI's ever gonna take over the classroom? Well, I think no one really knows the answer to that. 16:18 Um- [laughs] S- I, I hope it doesn't take away from, from core skills learning. Totally. Yeah, definitely resonate with that. 16:25 Uh, so looking forward, though, with your, your business, what you've been building for the last 21 years, what are some ways that, um, you see room for improvement or ways that you can scale even more in reaching more kids that, uh, struggle with, um, learning, uh, with their disabilities? 16:42 Well, I think, you know, my hope and my plan is to continue to open more a- outlets in different parts of the country and maybe in, in other countries as well, kind of physical locations that are a base for home tutoring as well as for in-person tutoring, and then to continue to expand our virtual, uh, services to more and more kids in more and more geographic areas that, that really just need this kind of specialized support. 17:05 Hmm. I love that. And you said you don't really have any competition, do you? Or y- there's similar tutoring programs out there, but nothing quite like what you do on a personal level. 17:14 There are different, um, of course, there's different tutoring programs. I just think that we differentiate ourselves by the approach that we take, by the methodologies that we use. 17:24 We pull from about 22 different research based techniques and all, really just highly customized to the needs of each student, with a, which I think is different than a lot of other programs out there. Cool. 17:34 No, I love that. I love that. Thanks for sharing. Um, if you couldn't do this and you had to go do something else for a career, what would you do? Oh, that's a great question. 17:45 [laughs] I would say it certainly would be something working with kids in some capacity. I, I love working with kids. Mm-hmm. Some, you know, way of, of, of bettering their lives. Um, 17:56 something in, in, in that arena if it w- wasn't this specifically. So maybe a school teacher or what? Maybe. 18:03 Maybe working in a classroom or maybe doing speech therapy, occupational therapy, something kind of in this- Hmm... same realm of being able to help improve the lives of children. I love that. Yeah. 18:15 That was a little bit of a curve ball, huh? So yeah, I like to throw those questions out there. [laughs] Sure. [laughs] Um, yeah, yeah. Um, I'd love to hear a little more about, um, not just, you know, if... 18:28 I, I, I can see your love for kids. You're very passionate about kids, right? And it's all about the kids, obviously. But, um, more than that though, it's like how did you, I guess how did you figure this out? 18:41 You know, like you were saying earlier, when you were a kid, how did you know, like, you wanted to help other kids, right? Like, it, it must have became apparent as you, as you got older. 18:51 But it's like, coming back to that because, like, let's be real, not everyone wants to work with kids. But I, I can see where your, your passion lies. But I'm like, where did you, I guess where did you figure that out? 19:05 I think when I figured it out was probably when I wasn't working with kids, which was when I was in the world of finance when I did, I did investment banking- Oh, that's right... and then I did wealth management. Mm-hmm. 19:14 And I was in a totally opposite world of working with kids and helping kids, and it was really more about working with money and clients and sitting in an office desk all day. 19:23 And I think it was being out of the world that made me realize how much I missed it and how much I knew that, that, at that moment, that that was my calling. 19:31 I think before that I didn't really know and I was young and exploring a little bit. Um, but I think it was, it was in that period of my life that I realized that that was my calling. Yeah. 19:41 So when working with kids you have to have a certain amount of patience, you have to have, um, some type of understanding as well. Where do you feel like you developed those, those skills? 19:52 I, I think that just has come with, with time and- Mm-hmm... with experience. 19:56 I think initially it, it was a little overwhelming to work with a kid who had severe ADHD and was bouncing off the walls, and I didn't- Mm-hmm... really know what to do. 20:05 And I actually relied on my mom a lot in those moments in the beginning because, again, she's in the field of special education. 20:11 She ran a school, she was a teacher and she had pretty much seen every kind of special ed child. So in the beginning I really would reach out to her a lot. 20:20 And I think in general, having a mentor, especially when you're young, who c- you can reach out to- Mm-hmm... in these moments of challenge where you don't really know where to turn really is so impactful. 20:29 So I, now I don't rely as, uh, on her as, as much. Uh, we do talk about situations sometimes. 20:35 But, um, I think she was really helpful for me in the beginning when I was just learning and, and very raw and new at, at all of this. Mm. I love that. I love that. 20:44 Yeah, it's good to have family that are, that's willing to help you, especially through those hard times. 20:50 Would you mind sharing, like, a story about maybe a, a troubled kid you had that you had to, you know, that was, that was, um, deeply challenged, let's say? 21:02 And what did you do in that circumstance and how did you overcome that challenge? Sure. 21:07 So one of the first students that I personally worked with, this was back in the day when I would see kids in my apartment in New York City- Mm-hmm... before working in an office. 21:16 And, um, this little boy, he was in first grade. He had severe dyslexia and severe ADHD, couldn't read at all, couldn't sit still, and his mom was so desperate to get help for him. And I wasn't quite sure what to do. 21:30 And, and in that moment I, I did reach out to my mom and she gave me some ideas and I, I used very much of a multisensory approach with him where I integrated kind of the auditory, the visual, the tactile kinesthetic modalities with tools like magnetic tiles and colored sand, and all of these tactile multisensory tools. 21:50 And that really helped engage him and it taught him how to read. And it was a journey. It didn't happen overnight. 21:55 But I really just saw this movement from someone who really couldn't read at all, really couldn't stay focused, to really, I just watched him develop his skills over time, and it was just so gratifying to see that happen. 22:08 I love that. I love that. I know little boys can be the hardest sometimes, so [laughs] thank you for sharing. 22:15 Uh, what advice would you give some parents that are struggling with their kids when it comes to ADHD or a certain disability within their own kids? 22:24 So I always believe that a parent will always be their child's best advocate. 22:27 So first off, if they're really struggling with their child at home, whether it's they just can't sit still, they can't get through homework, there's severe persistent challenges, they should start by reach, reaching out to their child's teacher. 22:40 See if the teacher's noticing these kinds of difficulties at school. If so, it probably makes sense to have the child evaluated to see if maybe there is ADHD or a learning disability or, or whatever it may be. Mm-hmm. 22:53 And then once there's a diagnosis, then the school is really obligated to provide the appropriate services and support. And having those services, having those support really can be life-changing for kids. 23:04 So if there's ever a parent that is, is afraid of a stigma or a label, I believe they're really doing a disservice to their child because without that diagnosis they won't have access to the support and services that they need in order to really meet their potential and thrive in school. 23:20 Mm, I love that. Yeah. I think it's definitely a, a combination. It's a collaboration because everyone wants the kid to win, right? And everyone wants to see that, that kid to win. 23:31 So it's like having that, um, communication with the teacher and with the parents on ways that they can improve, um, when it comes to any type of learning disability with the kid is definitely crucial. 23:43 So yeah, thank you for sharing that. That's awesome. Um, I'd love to just talk a little more about, um, your business and specifically what kind of like s- uh, like what age group. 23:53 Is it like through kindergarten all the way through high school that you help? Or talk to me a little more about, I guess, the certain kids that you cater to. Yeah. 24:01 We work with kids as young as the preschool level, and we actually go all the way through the adult level. I would say most of what we do is through grade 12, but we do work with some- Mm-hmm... adults as well. Oh. 24:10 And then we have specialists on board who specialize in different age and skill areas. So for example, some are early childhood reading specialists, some are high level math specialists, some focus on study skills. 24:21 So w- and that's part of kind of that matchmaking process Okay. Um, could you, like-- I'm curious about the matchmaking process. 24:29 How can-- Would you mind sharing more, a little bit about that, and how you connect, I guess, the right instructor or tutor with the, with the child? Yeah. 24:36 So that is, um, part of that initial evaluation that I was describing earlier. Mm. 24:41 I do that because it really gives me a picture of who the child is, both in terms of their strengths, weaknesses, academic levels, and a little taste of their personality, so that I can then work on who I think the best match would be for that child. 24:54 Someone who, of course, specializes in the, the skills that they need help with, the age grade that they're in, someone whose personality I think would work well with, and then someone who's, of course, logistically able to work with that child, whether it's a certain location i- in Brooklyn, or whether it's virtual at a certain time that the family's looking for. 25:11 So of course, the logistics play a role as well. So a lot of different factors come into play. Got you. Got you. But you said you do virtual as well. Is it better in person, this type of service, you find, or? 25:22 Really depends on the student. Mm. Some students thrive with virtual, and others are better with in person. A really kind of case by case scenario. That makes sense. That makes sense. Cool. 25:32 And, um, I'd love to hear more about, um, I know we talked about the future already, but I wanna go back to when you were first building. 25:41 I know it's, it's been a long time, 21 years, but you were mentioning before about content, right? And I think this is really key when we're talking about building our businesses. 25:51 You need a lot of content to get people's awareness. Mm-hmm. And so what type of content did you focus on when you were kind of, y- you know, when you were in that building phase? 26:00 Well, you know, in the building phase, the, the internet wasn't really that big of a thing. I mean, I'm gonna date myself- Mm... but I, I think I, email just came out when I was in college. [laughs] Oh, wow. 26:10 So there wasn't really that much in terms of internet content. I did a lot of physical content then, like I was-- I would write articles from physical magazines that were, you know, newsstand- Gotcha... 26:22 and did some advertising in physical magazines. Um, but I, I love how the internet has opened up this whole world of access. Mm-hmm. 26:30 And so I enjoy educating parents and even connecting with other professionals through the internet. Again, whether it's creating videos. 26:38 My girls have taught me how to make TikTok videos, although they still say that I look weird in them. Um, but with- [laughs]... videos, writing articles for other publications, writing blogs. Mm-hmm. 26:48 I just love, like, educating people, not just about our services, but just topics on how parents can help their kids at home or at school. 26:56 I just, I really love just, just helping people in that way, and I think in turn, it's helped to bring people to our services and to what we do. Hmm. Oh, here's a good question I just thought of. 27:08 So it's like the content part, and you've seen how content has translated or transformed over the years, right? From just writing articles in the newspaper, magazines, to now TikToks and videos, right? 27:21 If you were to start your business, let's say in the last few years or post-COVID, would it still be the same type of business as you started 21 years ago, or would it be different? 27:32 I think the core of it would, would certainly be the same. I think it's the same principles that I've really always embraced, whether, you know, it was in person or virtual, whether it was 15 years ago or now. Mm-hmm. 27:43 In terms of, though, how I would reach people, I think I probably would've done more content earlier than-- now I do a lot. Mm-hmm. 27:50 But the, I, I didn't originally do a lot of content because I didn't kn- really know the power of it and the exposure, and I think it, obviously it's grown a lot. But that's, that's one thing I would do differently. 28:00 I probably would've started earlier and done more of it earlier. Although I probably need 10 more hours in every day to get it done, but that's another story. [laughs] I was gonna say. 28:07 [laughs] Content takes time, you know? Like, um, people don't realize how much time is dedicated to just creating the content, and then publishing the content. 28:17 Distribution, that's just, that's another thing you have to do on top of that. And then just, you know, doing, well, essentially what we're doing right now is content, right? Yep. 28:26 So it's like doing these podcasts, it's another form of content, which I absolutely love, by the way, and it's something that more people should do. I highly recommend it. 28:35 And so you were mentioning before of how you used to do a lot more writing, articles, newspapers, magazines. You translated into, I guess, what you're doing now with video podcasts. 28:45 So walk with, walk with me a little bit about how, um, you've changed, um, I guess, your marketing tactics in such a way. Because, like, with technology advancing now, there's other ways that you can reach people. 28:58 So have you, like, always been like just trying to find the best way to market this, or has it always been just something that you've always progressively got better at? 29:08 Well, I think I've, I've tried to progressively get better at it, but I think that the times have also just evolved. For example- Hmm... 29:15 as I kind of alluded to, I used to do a lot of advertising in different physical publications. Mm-hmm. And then I switched to, um, parenting websites where I would do banner ads, and then no one really did that anymore. 29:29 And I would just track the results and see that, well, that's not really working anymore. Let's try this. And some of it was trial and error, really. 29:36 And I've now, I mean, at this point in time, again, producing all this content has been great. I don't know what's gonna happen in the world of AI when AI can create everyone's content. Does it dilute it? 29:48 I don't really know where that's gonna go. Hmm. But I can only focus on what's working now and just continue to grow that. 29:53 And like I said earlier, continue just to be open to new ideas and new opportunities that may come up as, as the world evolves. Definitely. What, what's been working for you currently? I'm just curious. 30:05 I think it's just really producing, like I was saying before, a lot of written content, a lot of videos, a lot of blogs- Mm-hmm... newsletters, just kind of continuing. Mm-hmm. 30:14 And not, not really in a marketing kind of way, more in an educating sort of way. Right. I really focus not on pushing a business, but really more on educating parents and students out there Right. No, I love that. 30:26 I love that. 30:27 So, you know, as we're kinda wrapping up here, I, I'd just like to, um, hear a little more, I guess, about your story, um, about your finance journey too, about the pivot because I feel like that's, that's a very important part of your story that you moved to New York. 30:44 So you moved to this, like, random place that you'd never been to to start a new career that you never really tried before. And I would love to hear more about how you were able to, I guess, reinvent yourself, but then 30:59 you were like, "Okay, maybe this isn't for me. Maybe I'll go back to education." Yeah. 31:05 So, so the way that kind of all played out was I graduated college in 2001, and I started working at a f- at an investment bank actually. Mm-hmm. And then, um, 9/11 actually happened in the beginning- Oh... of this. 31:19 So I, I actually watched the whole thing happen. I was working in the World Financial Center, and, um- Oh, wow... it was a pretty profound time, obviously, in my life. Hmm. 31:28 And then they moved us to these two hotels in Midtown, and it was really just this very chaotic experience. Um, so it was sort of like being in that time and having to deal with everything that was going on. 31:41 A- and I also just didn't feel connected to the field of investment banking. Again, it's so- some people love it, and I do think in retrospect I did learn a lot from it. 31:50 But in the moment it just, I, I just felt it wasn't gratifying at all for me. It was just I was doing my job just to do it. 31:57 And so I left that job, and then I switched to a different finance job thinking, "Let me see if maybe something else in finance would be interesting." And so I did, uh, private wealth management. Again, 32:07 wonderful company to work for, but it was very much of just a, a corporate job where I was sitting at a desk and didn't feel that warm and fuzzy feeling like, "This is what I wanna do with the rest of my life." 32:19 But I also felt like the- Mm-hmm... responsible side of me was like, "Well, I can't just quit a job and be living in New York City, which is a very expensive place to live, and have no job." 32:28 So I, I stayed at that job, and I started tutoring kids in the evenings and on the weekends to see if that could turn into something. 32:35 I didn't really feel like I wanted to take the plunge without having any kind of backup. And I did that, and I didn't get any calls for the first two months or so. 32:43 And then all of a sudden, all of these private schools started reaching out to me and saying- Hmm... "I have a child with dyslexia. I have a child with ADHD." 32:49 And I started to, uh, really build up my practice to the point that I couldn't do both anymore, and that was when I left the finance job and started to pursue this, first on my own, and then slowly started to bring on very organically other specialists who specialize in different skills. 33:05 And so the growth of EBL Coaching was very organic. It really started as just me, and then just kind of organically grew from there. 33:12 But that was kind of the finance piece of it, was it had all those little, uh, nuances that went on. Yeah. Thanks for sharing. 33:20 That, that must have been a really hard time for you, especially during the World Trade Center. That's, that's really scary, so I could totally understand that. 33:28 And, um, I can also understand, you know, it's like if it doesn't spark joy, why do it, right? So it's like you have to do the things you love. 33:38 You have to do the things that you're passionate about and share that with others. 33:42 And yeah, for the first few months you didn't have any calls, but, you know, it, it changed because a lot of schools needed you, and you were solving a problem too- Definitely... 33:51 which is really essential for anyone building their own practice, um, their own firm, their own business, right? So it's definitely, um, a, a, a much need. 34:02 So I really do appreciate the time, and energy, and the patience [laughs] that you take- Yeah... every single day even though you don't instruct as much anymore as you used to. You know, you, you started somewhere. 34:13 You had to start somewhere. And so, and even if you don't instruct the kids, like, on a personal level, you have to instruct the instructors to instruct them, right? Yes. [laughs] So, so in a way, [laughs] 34:24 you're still kinda doing it. [laughs] Exactly. Which I absolutely love. Um, what's some advice that you would give, um, 34:33 I guess, teachers or instructors, um, that, that wanna do what, what you did back in the day, you know, like, or, or to build something similar to what, what you're doing now? I think follow your passion. 34:44 You know, as I spoke about earlier, it's when something doesn't feel right and it doesn't feel- Hmm... like it's your calling, don't force it. Explore other options. 34:52 And it doesn't necessarily mean quitting what you're doing that day, but exploring other things on the side until you kind of figure out what feels right and what makes sense or at least what you want to explore 'cause that was what, what worked for me. 35:04 That was my journey, and ultimately, it, it leaded to, led to a lot of success for me. Definitely, I would say so. Is there anything that you wanted to cover that I didn't ask that you would like to share at this time? 35:16 So I think it was just a great conversation. It flowed naturally, but, no, I think we, we covered a lot. Awesome. Well, where can people find you if they wanna connect with you or reach out? 35:27 Best place is our website, which is- Okay... eblcoaching.com. And then we're on pretty much every social media platform under EBL Coaching, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, and X. Awesome. 35:40 Well, thank you so much for coming on 111 podcast. I really appreciate the time you've given us today, Emily. So you enjoy the rest of your day. Make sure you get some more sunshine. More than five minutes is not enough. 35:51 [laughs] So definitely take that to [laughs] heart. Absolutely. And definitely go outside. [laughs] Yeah. Thank you so much for having me today. I really enjoyed our conversation. Awesome. Well, we'll see you next time. 36:02 Thank you again, Emily. Bye. Bye. [gentle music] Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed the episode. 36:08 If you wouldn't mind liking, subscribing, commenting, sharing, rating, reviewing, it would mean the world to me and Stella here if you did that, and it really would help support the show. 36:21 Thank you so much, and stay grateful. Right, Stella? Stay grateful? [laughs]
