Cortney Fletcher

Cortney Fletcher was a college dropout with a dream. She grew up in a very non-traditional home. At an early age, she found herself surrounded by substance abuse, violence, and neglect. Without even realising it, this is when her drive for entrepreneurship began. Because of her troubled past, she had a dream to help others through non-profit work. But she knew in order to help the way she wanted, she would need to create wealth. So she finally had the courage to drop out of medical school and pursue her dream. She struggled to find her purpose and struggled to pay her bills, so she started an online store selling jewellery. And she did it without needing to invest in inventory or ads. This is what she calls her connective eCommerce strategy and her secret sauce. Since then, she has gone on to teach this method to over 15,000 women. Many of which have become 5, 6, and 7-figure entrepreneurs.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I try to be pretty consistent Monday – Saturday. I usually do what I call “plan tomorrow today” I learned this in a book somewhere. Or maybe from Andy Frisella. I can’t remember! But basically what I do is write down on a paper all the things I want to do the next day. Work and personal. Then I put those into my Google calendar. Some things are the same each day such as getting up, feeding myself, and my dogs, going for a walk, gym at night. But I follow my schedule throughout the day and that’s pretty much what my week always looks like 🙂

How do you bring ideas to life?

I first come up with ideas through journaling, and quiet time such as my walks and talking to my team. And when we have an idea worth creating, my team and I start to make a plan of action for how and when we will get it done. We have a big team now and they are a huge part of bringing things to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Hm, so when I think of trend I think of Tik Tok and IG, so not totally sure if I’m going to answer this right! But I think nowadays it’s becoming quite trendy for women to be the bread winners or at least have financial independence. More so than it was for the generations before us. And I love this. I love seeing women take back their power and control so that they are never trapped in a situation simply because they don’t have the money.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Planning my tomorrow today has been a game changer. I don’t know how I would get anything done if I didn’t have a list to follow in my calendar.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell my younger self to follow my intuition and what excites me and to never take advice from someone who does not have the results I want. I would tell her to invest in herself, to find mentors, to read and listen to people who are living the life I want. I would also tell her to hangout with like-minded, goal oriented and big thinkers. And to believe in myself. People will try to talk you out of your dreams and it happens every single day. Don’t let anyone steal your dreams from you. It’s your life. You live it big and however you want.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

I will list a few to choose from:

1. I believe that our mind, food, and body have the power to heal themselves. My dog for example was given a few weeks left to live when I adopted him. He had stage 4-like cancer. And with no chemo, he was cancer free within 8 months. That was 4 years ago! So I believe that traditional medicine is amazing for emergencies but I believe that a more traditional route can heal chronic illness.

2. If that doesn’t work for an answer, I believe that college is a scam and that most people are totally brainwashed into a way of thinking and a system that is outdated and not in their best interest.

3. I believe that food carries energy. I have been plant-based for 10 years. And I believe that factory farming is sick and also terrible for humans to consume. The animals suffer massively. They are scared, sick, and filled with trauma and negative energy. And we eat that. And I really believe it has a negative effect on the emotions of people.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Work on re-wiring my subconscious mind for success through books, podcasts, and courses. I suggest this to everyone!

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

You know, I struggle with this if I’m being honest and I think it goes to show how nobody is perfect. I get easily overwhelmed and when I find myself like this, I like to go for a walk, or call a friend or watch a show. Just something to help switch my thought patterns up.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

My connective eCommerce method is a method that I created and it helped me so much when getting started with my eCommerce journey. I was a broke college drop out so I had to be lean and scrappy. So finding a way to build a business without needing to invest in inventory or ads was a game changer and helped me get my foot into the door. And this is the method we teach our students so that they too, can get their foot in the door and start catching some momentum.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

I think at the beginning of eCom babes, we didn’t understand the importance of building company culture. And so we hired some of the wrong people. And it wasn’t a good fit. We really take pride in underpromising and overdelivering. We take pride in helping these women feel heard, validated, and cared for. We really do everything we can to make their experience with us amazing and help them see transformation. And some of our hires in the start, were only there for a paycheck. And they didn’t really care about the women we were serving and so this was a huge lesson for us on how to build a great culture and choose people who have the same standards, excitement, and vision as you. I’m really grateful for some wrong hires because it taught us this lesson quick.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

If you are new to eCommerce, I recommend starting with a 1 product store. And a great way to find a product is to check out viral products on Tik Tok. One for example is the anything speaker. You can put this tiny speaker on a wall, mirror or anything and it will turn into a loud speaker. You can then go find this product for a low price from a vendor, make a website and sell that product as your own branded product.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Monday.com — My team and I use this to stay organized and connected (along with Slack).

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

Honestly a chiropractic adjustment. I work so much and I don’t always take the best care of myself. So this is something I have been really focusing on recently. Part of that involved me getting a chiro adjustment and I didn’t even realize how tight my neck was! So I really suggest this for anyone working from home! This was a game changer for me and I have been so excited about it!

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker and The Secret (also comes in a movie) These books were game changers for me!!!! They were the first books/movie to help me get started as an entrepreneur and I highly suggest them to anyone who is looking to expand into living a bigger and more abundant life.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I like to stay away from anything scary or dark as I’m a big believer in the subconscious mind. I once heard a story of a billionaire who said he would leave the room anytime a dark or negative movie or show was on. So ever since that day, I try to watch funny and lighthearted content. I do believe laughter can also help heal the body since it’s a high frequency. With that being said, if I’m not watching something silly and light-hearted, then I’m watching Survivor! I absolutely love this show. I started watching in the 4th grade and have seen SO many series. It’s a fun and family-oriented show and great to watch with friends or family. It’s a really nice way for me to detach from work mode and just relax.

Key learnings:

• Only take advice from people who have the results you want. For example, if you want to be a millionaire, don’t take advice from your friend’s mom or neighbour or teacher, who isn’t a millionaire. It’s simple. If they don’t have the results you want, then don’t take their advice. And it’s nothing personal to them! You just want to start becoming aware of who you are taking advice from.
• Always invest in yourself. Buying books, courses, tickets to events… etc is one of the easiest ways to fast-track your success. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. If you want a result, be willing to invest in the information that will help get you the result. If you don’t have the money, find it. Sell things in your garage, drive for Uber eats, walk your neighbor’s dog, and spend less at Starbucks. Life is too short to try to reinvent the wheel. Success leads trails so follow them.
• Believe in yourself. You can learn all the skills and have all the resources but until you believe in yourself, you won’t succeed. Stop “hoping.” If you are just hoping for success, you will be hoping for the rest of your life. Make the DECISION that success is yours and that you will do everything in your power to make it happen. If you can believe in yourself 100%, the results will come. And belief is like a muscle. Sometimes it takes time to build. That is also why books and podcasts are so powerful. They will help you get into the mindset where you have an unshakable belief in yourself.
• Just GO FOR IT. The world needs you. How selfish would it have been for me to never start eCom babes because I was nervous or scared? We have women earning 5, 6 and 7 figures who have had total life transformations and to think I almost didn’t start, because I was nervous, is heartbreaking. I would have quite literally stolen a life-changing opportunity from so many women. If you are reading this, this is your reminder that you have magic within you and the world needs you to release it. It would be selfish of you not to.