The desire to serve others is one of the most powerful drivers of any successful entrepreneur. This is what spelled success for Andrea Albright‘s publishing business. She joins Don Williams to share her proven entrepreneur story of building Beverly Hills Publishing. She explains how she gives aspiring authors a chance to share influential ideas and bring enlightenment through their books. Andrea also talks about her parents who shaped her into the dedicated entrepreneur she is today, the lessons from her very first business, and some tips for creating an impactful brand.
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ANDREA ALBRIGHT – BEVERLY HILLS PUBLISHER WRITING HER OWN PROVEN ENTREPRENEUR STORY
I have a phenomenal lady, one of my best friends, all the way from Beverly Hills, California, Andrea Albright. Andrea, welcome to the show.
I am so thrilled to be here, and I love that you think of me as one of your best friends. I agree.
I am thrilled. I have not seen you face-to-face because we have been the great stay-at-home for a while. Even though you were in your area in California and I am in Texas, we did see each other a couple of times a year and were great collaborators. I love working with you and we are a good team. We bring out the best in each other, or certainly, you bring out the best in me.
It does not even feel like work whenever we are collaborating. It feels like we are hanging out, having fun, and being the best versions of ourselves.
What you are supposed to do when you are in that zone of genius is not work and just fun. It is certainly fun when I am working with you. Thank you so much for coming to the show. I know your story, but let’s share your story with this corner of the world. Tell me the name of your company, what you do, who you serve, and all that.
I am the Founder and CEO of Beverly Hills Publishing. We specialize in getting books published for thought leaders in 90 days. A thought leader is someone who is evolving their industry, disrupting the status quo, and daring to bring a new perspective. I specialize in thought leadership because I, myself, am also a thought leader. I have been an entrepreneur for eighteen years in October 2022.
I had a nervous breakdown in Corporate America and I learned early on that I had to have money with meaning. The money without creating value and being of service led to me having a nervous breakdown. I went and started my first company at 26. I remember filling in the form. This is back in the day when you had to go to the registrar’s office and register your company. You could not do anything online. I will never forget the moment I filled in my name next to CEO and I realized, “I made myself a CEO. We are making all of this up.” I have been unemployable ever since.
Entrepreneurship continues to reward and excite you when aligned with your purpose and passion, even when things aren’t going well.CLICK TO TWEET
Let’s talk about publishing. I am getting ready to release my fourth book. My third book, Build Your Big Legacy, I published with you and Beverly Hills Publishing. I will give you a little commercial here. It was by far the easiest, most fun experience out of all four. I used another publisher on 1 and 2. I have nothing but good things to say about them, but Beverly Hills Publishing is a whole other gear, a new frontier, easier, faster, better, and more fun. The book number four, I am on my own, which is not as easy, not as fast, not as fun for sure, but we are going to get it done. Let’s now go all the way back to little Andrea, five years old maybe up to eighteen. In your home where you grew up, were your mother or father entrepreneurial?
No, they were not. I did not even know the name entrepreneur until I had already gone through career changes. I have always been that person who would start something, go straight to the top, excel, and then realize, “Is this it?” I would get bored. I did not know I was an entrepreneur until I was in my late twenties. It is like, “Now it makes sense.”
My mother is a psychologist. My dad is a writer. It is interesting that I have become a publisher because the publishing process is about revealing deep parts of yourself and making an impact on others. In writing, I have always loved words and communication. That is why I am fascinated by marketing, publishing, and branding because it is about communication and connecting with others.
Even if you sell millions of books, you still connect one leader at a time. That is how it goes. Mom and dad were not entrepreneurial. I find that true about half the time in entrepreneurs and set at an entrepreneurial dinner table at night, the gravitational pull of entrepreneurship got them, but the other half the time, another parent was entrepreneurial. It was something that was born inside of you. One day, a spark lit a flame and now look at you. You are blaze. All the way back, still little Andrea. Tell us about your first job where you got paid.
My first job was a sales job and it was my mom who said, “Andrea, you will be great at sales.” I have this all lined up of all the different places I was going to go in the mall to get a sales job. I started at the back end of the mall and I was going to work my way around. The first place I went to was RadioShack. I walked in and they were like, “You can have a job,” so I never even went to any of the other places in the mall.
I started to learn about sales. I am a geek and a nerd. I love technology. This is back in the day when cellphones were first coming online, and they said, “Every person is going to have a cellphone at some point in their life. It is up to you to make sure that you get a cellphone into everybody’s hand who walks through the door.”
Publishing Business: A thought leader is someone evolving their industry, disrupting the status quo, and daring to bring a new perspective.
I was slinging those cellphones. You would walk in for a little diode or resistor for your stereo and then you would walk out with the most amazing cellphone, a full package. I became the fourth salesperson in the entire district. I was in Dallas, Texas. That is where I learned my love of sales and selling technology. Here I am now on the internet so it all works together.
It is funny how more mature entrepreneurs look back where they can see instances in their childhood where it is like, “Maybe that was a seed that got planted that grew and I harvested later.” As you know, I live outside of Fort Worth, Texas, which is the home base to RadioShack. Charles Tandy started RadioShack. At one time, 94% of America lived within 30 minutes of RadioShack and 80% of America over eighteen have been in RadioShack within 2021.
Phenomenal company for little mini retail footprints unusual products but if you needed one of those products, you knew a place to go is RadioShack. There is no sense going anywhere else. That is awesome. I did not know that part about your story. After RadioShack, the fourth salesperson in the region selling those cellphones. You then went to university, joined the Marines, and backpacked across Africa. What do you do?
I went into college with the belief that I wanted to be a doctor. I love the human body. I am fascinated by Anatomy and Physiology. I started to geek out on science, and I thought, “This will be a great way to help people to be a doctor. It was pre-med, and about halfway into my college curriculum, I decided I wanted to be bilingual. I would like to be able to travel the world and learn another language.
Many people told me, “You can never learn another language if you do not learn as a child.” I said, “I am going to do my best.” I started taking courses in Spanish, and I did some study abroad programs where I had the great blessing of living in Europe. The study abroad was in many ways as beneficial as my curriculum in college. The way that it opened up my world gave me access to different cultures and people. It also gave me that innate sense of curiosity, wonder, exploration, and adventure.
I kept taking these courses because I did not know it at that time, but I am what we call a whole-brain person. Most people are either left or right-dominant. I happen to be both. I am both scientific and I am also creative. That is why I love communication. I also love numbers and data. Eventually, I was taking so many classes because the more I would work on the right side and the communication part of my brain, the better I was at science.
If you don’t put that purpose and intention at the beginning of your entrepreneurship career, you’re hitching to a rocket that you don’t want to be on.CLICK TO TWEET
The dean calls me in and he says, “What are you doing taking all of these classes in Spanish? None of them count for your Science degree. It is a completely different field of study. It is Bachelor of Arts, and you are supposed to be getting a pre-med degree in Science.” I said, “I love it so much. I want to keep learning.” He said, “You might as well get another degree. You have taken many classes.” They count for a whole other college.
I say, “I got an accidental Spanish degree.” When I graduated, I graduated twice on the same day. I walked for my Bachelor of Science, and later that afternoon, I walked for my Bachelor of Arts. That is pretty unique. I know a lot of people who have multiple degrees. I do not know anyone who got two degrees on the same day. That gives you an insight into my crazy path of curiosity and where things have led me in life.
I have always known you were an overachiever. Beverly Hills Publishing is not your first business. Tell me about your first business.
My first business was a production company. It was back in the day when we were using DVDs. I had the realization that a production company could film the graduations because, at that time, all of the graduates who were graduating from a university only had their photos made. They were not doing videography.
I would cold-call all the universities in California and I would say, “Let us come in and film a montage for the school. It will be like a marketing DVD because now everyone who buys the video of them graduating will also be a part of the alumni and how great the university is.” For the first time, I was selling something on my behalf. It was my first business. Instead of selling for another company, this was my baby.
I cold-called and closed Berkeley, which became one of my clients. Once I got Berkeley, I was like, “I can pretty much sell anything that I care about and I am passionate about.” The first year, we were profitable. It was a successful production company right out of the gate. My background in production still carries forward now because I do a lot of videos online and it led to me breaking through as a thought leader with YouTube.
Publishing Business: If you can write a book, it will help establish you as an authority because the market is way too competitive.
When you land Berkeley as a client, that looks good on your resume. If you are going to drop a name, that is a good one to drop.
I realized I loved the production, telling stories, marketing, and I wanted to make an impact. I wanted to use my voice, my message, and make a difference. I used to struggle with my weight. I was a compulsive yo-yo dieter throughout my teens and twenties. When I solved it, I wanted to help other women who were also struggling.
I realized, “If I could write a book, in many ways, this would be like being a doctor and helping people with their health and their well-being.” My mentor at that time said, “If you can write a book, that is what will establish you as an authority because this market is way too competitive. Everyone is competing for weight loss and fitness on the internet. People are spending millions of dollars on advertising so you have to find a way to stand out.”
I was terrified to write that first book. I remember thinking, “No one is going to read it. Only my mom is going to buy it. I am going to sound so stupid,” and all the fears that a first-time author goes through. I am glad that I was able to overcome it because I said, “If I can help one person, it is worth my ego annihilation being of service.”
I am glad that I did write that book because it went on to launch a movement in many ways. I have now had thousands of success stories from people all over the world. This thing called YouTube came along. It was like, “What is YouTube? Maybe I could put up some videos because I have a production company.” Never in a million years did I know that Google would buy YouTube.
This was back in 2006 or 2007. I was part of the social media revolution. I got to be on the front page of Google because my content had the most thumbs up from the audience. That was revolutionary because, for the first time in the history of business, you could compete with these large corporations. You could do it at the most grassroots level because social media brought you face-to-face and connected you to your audience and that one-to-one relationship.
The power of a brand is beyond business and entrepreneurship. It is its own entity and has a life of its own.CLICK TO TWEET
Eventually, I got to the cover of Women’s Health and Fitness Magazine, which is the number one fitness magazine in the world. They interviewed me and they said, “Andrea, you are more than an influencer. You are a thought leader because your books are evolving the conversation.” I established and created my own authority in one of the most competitive industries online.
You guys can go out and Google Andrea Albright and you will see all that YouTube stuff. It is all still out there. It never goes away. I know that was very successful. I think you had an exit with that business. Tell us how you started the publishing business.
I have now written over twenty books in health and fitness and I have impacted millions of people. I went through somewhat of a crisis because I had a horrible divorce. My ex-husband ended up having an affair with my bridesmaid. It rocked me to my core because I began to doubt myself and why did I choose these people.
As an entrepreneur, when you lose your sense of self and trust in yourself, that is your compass, your true north. I had to do a lot of soul searching. I was depressed, scared, and heartbroken. The only thing that got me out of bed was the belief and the understanding that I am meant to serve more. The answer was you have to go for a bigger vision and a bigger dream. That is when I started to realize, “Publishing has built my business and created my authority.”
What I would hear from other authors is that their publisher never helped them with the marketing, promotion, or PR of the book. Publishers do not understand anything about marketing. I thought, “What if I were to do this for other people because I have published my own books and reached millions? What if I were publishing thought leaders and I would do everything, the marketing, branding, publishing, PR, so that now they are reaching millions of people?” That is how I realized this could be a global impact. I can impact billions of people by being behind the scenes as the publisher. That is how Beverly Hills Publishing was born. Now, we are disrupting the $100 billion publishing industry because we are the first marketing firm and publishing firm combined.
I will say again, “I am a published author with Andrea in Beverly Hills Publishing. It is a phenomenal experience.” Thank you very much. Tell me about this. What about a warp speed moment. It can be in any of your businesses. Things are going okay, they are not bad, they are not great, but maybe 1, 2, or 3 things fall into place where all of a sudden, you have that hockey stick and you are riding the rocket ship as it is going straight up. Can you share a warp speed moment with us?
Publishing Business: Thanks to the social media revolution, entrepreneurship could compete with larger corporations for the first time in history. They are able to connect with their audience and build one-to-one relationships.
What is wonderful about entrepreneurship is that it continues to reward you and excite you when you are aligned with your purpose and your passion. Even when things are not “going well,” you are still fueled by the purpose and the passion you have that you get to live your dream every day. I have always known about the inflection point.
The inflection point is in the business. Businesses start, they can go down, go up, and have little bumps, but when you hit the inflection point, it takes off exponential growth. I have always said to myself, “I don’t have to keep going and let this pace forever. I need to get to that inflection point.” The inflection point was when it all was going to take off, and I am happy to say that we have reached the inflection point. It is now a viral process where people learn about me. They hear about me from amazing success stories like yourself. The brand that I have created has its own mission and purpose. It is attracting people to the top of their industry.
I would say that the inflection point has been that work speed moment of like, “Now it hold on, we are going for the ride. This is why it is important to build a business that is aligned with your values, integrity and how you want to spend your everyday life. If you do not put that purpose and intention at the beginning of it, if it takes off or when it takes off, you are hitched to a rocket that you do not want to be on. I am glad that I took the time to cultivate this business and the brand for the long-term because this one is the one that I am going to the $100 million and beyond. It is exciting.
What about a hard lesson? Something that happened maybe in retrospect, you see the benefit of that but at that time, painful and I don’t like it. Do you get a hard lesson you can share with us?
The divorce rocked me emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It was to my knees humility and also pain. Now, I look back on it, and had I not been in such a state of depression, feeling lost, and confused, and how my life-even-get-here experience. If it were not extreme, I would have been good with how things were going. I would have kept riding the ride of being a fitness expert, helping people with their health and wellbeing.
While that was in many ways gratifying to me, it has never given me this kind of, “This is why I am here to serve authors, publishing, and make an impact in the publishing industry because books are sharing enlightenment with others. Had I not gone through that horrible situation, I would not have done the soul searching to go deep into what is my soul’s purpose here to do.
You cannot expect other people to understand you or see your vision. They may think you are crazy, and that’s okay. Celebrate your crazy.CLICK TO TWEET
I certainly would not wish divorce on my worst enemy if I had an enemy. It was a brutal experience and best to be avoided if possible. When you talk about your true purpose, for our readers, it is easy to know when you are in that center of genius and your purpose because all you have to do is check your energy. If you do not tire and you gain momentum in an activity, that is probably what you are supposed to do.
If you feel weary and you have to drag yourself to it, that is probably not what you are supposed to do. It is pretty simple. I love books and stories. Brené Brown says, “Maybe stories are data with a soul.” I love that and I think that speaks to your whole brain, both sides. What about a golden nugget? Something we do not know that we want to know.
I am impacted by the power of a brand. It is even beyond business and entrepreneurship. A brand is its own entity and being that is created with purpose and consciousness. It has its own life. I am grateful that I have created brands. Marketing is getting people’s eyeballs on your product or service. My favorite definition of a brand is your promise. The brand becomes that beacon of where you are aspiring.
The brands that I create are much bigger than me. They inspire me. They are a better version of me. It becomes this force that pulls you forward. People are attracted to it. When they interact with it, now they build a relationship because it is your promise. It is how you show up day after day, week after week, year after year.
If you are an entrepreneur reading this and you have been hustling, the hustling only comes because you do not understand branding. The brand works for you when you are sleeping. The brand pulls people in, even before they have ever met you or talked to you. The brand attracts investors and conversations like this.
If you have not gone and explored building a brand, I hope that more entrepreneurs get this message because I see them make millions and they burn out. They make millions and the market changes. They have to keep doing something more scammy or desperate. You and I have seen this in the years as an entrepreneur, the amount of entrepreneurs who fail, burn out, and lose their hope or enthusiasm. I believe it could all be solved by branding. By building a brand that is not you, it is not me as the business owner or the entrepreneur. The brand is this inspirational hope that I get to be of service to every day. That is what I would love to share with your audience.
Publishing Business: The hustling only comes because you don’t understand branding. The brand works for you when you’re sleeping and pulls people in even before they’ve ever met you or talked to you.
That is a good golden nugget. It reminds me of my good friend, Warren Roston. He talks about clarity of vision. You know where you want to go, you know who you want to be, you know how you want to show to the world your values and the certainty of your intent. Those three steps build a company, build a brand, and build a future.
We are coming into the home stretch. In this time capsule, I am going to invite you to step into it. It is going to take you a couple of weeks back, and you are going to get to spend a couple of minutes with twenty-year-old Andrea. In that couple of seconds you are going to get to spend with her, you are going to be able to only give her one piece of advice. It is something that you think twenty-year-old Andrea should know that would help her on her entrepreneurial journey. Step into the time capsule, and back you go. What is that one piece of advice you would tell your twenty-year-old self that would have helped you go faster and go farther?
Be good with being crazy. That was a difficult thing for me for many decades. I felt misunderstood and was even told I was crazy. I can’t even count the number of times. You are unrealistic. You are a dreamer. Who are you to think that you could create all of this? Don’t you understand the reality? Where is the realism? Basically, you are crazy and delusional.
This is what I want to say to visionary entrepreneurs. I wrote an entire book on this. You are crazy. That is why you are special. You have been given this vision, and the vision is not here yet. That is why you are meant to bring this vision onto the planet to bring it into life. You cannot expect other people to understand you or see your vision. I went from you are crazy and now I am a genius. That is the path that you take, and be okay with being crazy. Celebrate your crazy.
You got to believe in yourself and you have got to be yourself. Conformity is not a common trait in successful entrepreneurship. I have always thought that entreprenerurs had a bit of a rebel. You say, “I must do this. I am certainly not doing that. I am going the other direction.” I met Ari Weinzweig, the Founder of Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor. He is a super guy and he took it a step further. He was like, “It is even more than a rebel. I think a great entrepreneur is an anarchist.”
I liked that too. We use a more polite term now with disruption, but it is the same thing. I don’t see it that way. I see it a different way. I am going to build mine, and you can come to join me because I am not joining you. Andrea, if someone would like a publisher or a super cool friend, how would they reach out to you?
The website is BeverlyHillsPublishing.com. There is an application to see if we are a good fit. If you are looking for a partner with more than the book, the marketing comes first, knowing the market is there and knowing the market is seeking and searching for your solution. We do all the marketing and the publishing. We also have PR and promotions.
The success stories are incredible, what we are creating and what we are co-creating. You have to be ready. A lot of people say they want to write a book, but the kinds of books that we publish as you know, Don, establishes you as the authority. You need to be ready for the spotlight and for the massive amounts of attention that it brings you because the book establishes that authority and you step into being the authority so you need to be ready for that.
It is a process we go through. It is a journey. Every book has its own special journey and I am honored to support authors in every way I can because we need an author revolution. Authors are not supported by the old methods of publishing. If you are interested, come and check out the website BeverlyHillsPublishing.com. I would love to learn how I can support you in publishing your book.
Andrea, thank you so much for joining us.
Thank you, Don. It is wonderful to co-create with you again.
It is my pleasure. Thank you.
IMPORTANT LINKS
- Beverly Hills Publishing
- Build Your Big Legacy
- RadioShack
- Ari Weinzweig
- YouTube – Andrea Albright
ABOUT ANDREA ALBRIGHT
Andréa Albright is on a mission to create the next movement for authors and evolve the publishing industry. She is not just a publisher, she is a Legacy Maker. Andréa’s first movement took the health and fitness industry by storm.
She amassed over 10,000,000+ views on YouTube, was featured on the Women’s Health and Fitness magazine cover, and grew her health business to over 100,000 raving fans.
Since then, she has become the author of 25 books, reaching tens of millions worldwide in over 40 countries.
Now, she has taken her passion for helping authors find the same success by publishing books with meaning. She is recognized as The Thought Leader Publisher.
For information on how to work with Don visit Work With Don Williams
You can also reach out to Don Williams at https://donwilliamsglobal.com
Please join Don and his businesses in support of St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital in its Mission to cure Childhood Cancers. You can donate to St. Jude at stjude.org/donate
