Start the business now! Don’t wait! Nothing is going to be perfect. Stop thinking about it and start acting. If it seems too overwhelming, list out the steps, and work on the smallest step first.
April Davis is from a small town in Northern MN, Emily. Through hard work she took college classes while in her Junior and Senior years of high school. In 2001 she graduated high school and simultaneously obtained an AA degree from Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. By age 19 she had earned a BA and at 20 received a Masters in Business Management from St. Scholastica.
Her career with LUMA –Luxury Matchmaking began when she realized she needed to take her skill of intuition and understanding people to the next level. She was always a hard worker, a small town Midwestern girl with big city dreams, MBA graduate working her way up a Fortune 500 company and also pursuing modeling on the side. But if there was one thing she knew more than anything – it was how to help people find love. And not just the butterflies and hearts type of love – the real, long-lasting, take home to Momma, marriage material type of love.
After all, she’s married to a Divorce Attorney, Franz Davis, which gives her a unique insight to know what’s going to last. April Davis was a Matchmaker for years within her own circle of friends and acquaintances; she just didn’t know that she was at the time. Whenever she met someone who was single, she would naturally start thinking of who she might know that would be a good fit for that person.
April often wondered why so many of her girlfriends were single – they were all high-caliber women who were beautiful on the inside and out. Many were just unable able to meet a man they truly connected with, but that didn’t mean there were no good men out there! The challenges involved in singles meeting quality matches became increasingly apparent, and it was then that April realized she needed to take her matchmaking from a hobby to a full time career.
Having been raised in a small town with 600 people and the 4th of 6 children, April has a very diverse background. She grew up doing many things rural kids love to do – fishing, hunting, racing dirt bikes and snowmobiles even Professionally for 10 years. Having 2 jobs since the age of 12, she learned early value of humility and hard work by being a Server in the local cafe in her hometown. Everyday she would engage in conversations and really get to know the wide variety of clientele that came through that door. One of her best friends, Frank, was a 95 yr old man who regularly frequented the restaurant. She learned a lot from Frank and the numerous other patrons of that restaurant and really paved the way for her to have a genuine interest in understanding and helping people to find happiness.
Where did the idea for LUMA – Luxury Matchmaking come from?
LUMA stands for Luxury Matchmaking which is the kind of clients we represent. Clients that are usually professional, executives, and enjoy certain luxuries.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
My days are long and filled with many different tasks as I wear many different hats. I start each day with a list so I can prioritize what needs to get done first. After that is finished I confirm all of my meetings with clients, other businesses and employees for their one on ones with me. During each one on one with my employees, I answer any questions they have as well as review any documents or materials they need me to take a look at. Throughout the day I take my confirmed meetings and schedule new ones. I make sure I am as available as possible to my employees and continually answer their emails/text to make sure they have what they need. Everything is on my calendar! If I am planning a gym workout, working on setting up meetings, or having dinner with my husband I block off time on my calendar.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Lists! Writing ideas down on a list allows me to get the idea accomplished. I am able to write out a plan, steps to accomplish our goals, who will be in charge of each step, and the status. Following through is one of the most important steps. This shows the employees that I am paying attention and making sure what I assign them gets done and is important to me.
What’s one trend that excites you?
There are more and more women business owners! When I started in 2010 Women business owners were few and far between. Now I personally know women starting their own businesses and succeeding!
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
I always set my priorities in the morning for the day and work on the hardest thing first. That way if other things come up during the day I have still been able to accomplish what I needed to.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Start the business now! Don’t wait! Nothing is going to be perfect. Stop thinking about it and start acting. If it seems too overwhelming, list out the steps, and work on the smallest step first.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
It’s not just who you know. You have to put in the long hours and dedication. You can build a business without feeling like you need to be a schmoozer and have a huge network. I’m an introvert and grew my business where you need to deal with a lot of people.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
I continually remind myself to stop the negative talk/thoughts. Anyone can do anything. Those before us were just people like us. To think negative does not grow my business or help anyone, in fact it can hurt both.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Integrating Social Media into our marketing plans has helped grow our business tremendously. Marketing trends are changing and if you are not using social media you can easily become non relevant. Each social media platform allows you to reach different people you wouldn’t normally get to talk to. Creating a new business model to use the social and digital platforms that fit your businesses will continue to let your company thrive and stay relevant
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
As with any company I’ve had clients that were unhappy and wanted refunds. You can’t make someone love someone, love takes time! Some people join our company for all the wrong reasons and are in a rush, only care about looks, and are not truly open to finding a real relationship. Even though refunds are not something we offer (and neither does anyone else in our industry) I feel like I need to at times in order to protect our reputation.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Fast food that’s organic/healthy – Why isn’t there any organic options in the Midwest?
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
Apple Airpods – These are amazing, but cost ~$140
What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
LinkedIn Sales Navigator – I love this tool because it automatically pulls up online photos, career information, etc. on the person I’m emailing. It’s a google plugin and the information shows up on the right of my screen while I’m in gmail. This kind of information is very valuable to my business, as we are a Matchmaking service and it’s necessary to know what people look like, obviously, but it can also be helpful to know if someone is a professional and what their occupation is, since our company caters to professionals and executives. Additionally, the plug in is free, which is always nice.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“The E-myth” if you haven’t already. The Power of Habit is another great book that has caused me to reevaluate how I do things and helped me to overcome my habits.
What is your favorite quote?
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” – Neale Walsch
Key Learnings:
- By prioritizing your day early in the morning with the most important tasks first you will be able to take on the day and whatever it throws at you as well as get the most important tasks done.
- Write lists when forming an idea. Write out a plan, steps needed to accomplish your goals, who will be in charge of each step, and the status of the project. Most importantly follow through.
- Include social media in your marketing strategies. Creating a new business model to use the social and digital platforms that fit your businesses will continue to let your company thrive and stay relevant. Researching important SEO for all social platforms and using your brand awareness to attract new and current customers in new ways, will let your company outgrow competitors sticking to traditional media.
- Keep negativity out of your head and out of your businesses. Positivity encourages productiveness and success.
- Productivity begins and ends with you. Have a plan before your day starts to ensure the most important tasks get accomplished. Be available to your team so you are not the one holding up progress.
Connect:
LUMAsearch.com
April Davis on Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilmdavis/
LUMAsearch on Facebook:
LUMA –Luxury Matchmaking on Instagram: luma_matchmaking
LUMAsearch on Twitter:
Carlyn runs the day-to-day publishing operation here at ideamensch and interacts with our awesome customers and entrepreneurs. She is likely editing this with a cat on her lap.