The deets:
Name: Mané Bailey
Pronouns: She/Her
Business Name: Ivy Entertains & MB&Co
Follow Ivy Entertains on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and MB&Co on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
Describe your business:
Ivy Entertains is a talent agency focused on artists, live-streamers, and influencers. Founded and operated by creatives, we take pride in providing online opportunities to content creators and talents to grow and leverage their online presence – all while bravely showcasing their authenticity, unique skills, and talents.
As an agency, we represent a diverse selection of artists, influencers, and content creators. My mission at MB&Co is to help emerge and transition women-owned businesses, create the most FIRE strategy and map out a step-by-step path that will bring their vision to reality.
Tell us about your self-employment journey.
I’ve never been a 9 to 5 person. When I first moved to the United States, I had to start from scratch. My first instinct was to start something of my own. That’s how Ivy Entertains started!
I’ve gone from making $800 every month in the first year to now becoming a 7 figure business this year alone, in the third quarter! Then, after 10+ years in business consulting and having four successful businesses under my belt, I decided to turn my passion for helping women entrepreneurs into business.
What area of your business are you most passionate about?
Being able to help creatives earn additional income without having to work in retail or fast food – and contributing to more women doing better business.
What’s the most valuable thing you learned early in your career that has contributed to your success?
You can’t build a business on motivation. Discipline comes first. And discipline is a muscle that you need to build. People can come up with any strategy. If you’re not ready or willing to do the work, nothing will happen.
How are you pivoting your business during the COVID-19 pandemic?
We didn’t pivot at all. And we were very lucky to continue growing our business during the pandemic. While the world was getting used to utilizing live streaming on different platforms for monetary gain, our talents, and our broadcasters had been doing it for a while. This was a great period of time for us to offer more opportunities to creatives.
We also didn’t have to pivot for MB&Co. Our business is focused on women entrepreneurs who are currently working on building their businesses. Because of that, it was easy during the pandemic, while everyone was home and focused on themselves, to help a new business grow.
What’s a recent project that you’ve worked on that you’re really excited about?
We worked on an influencer marketing campaign for Collective, and it’s been an amazing experience promoting a brand with a mission we believe in.
I’ve also been giving out 10 free business intensive sessions to up and coming businesses in honor of my mom. It’s been a great helping other businesses get on their feet.
What advice would you give other self-employed people?
Treat your business like it’s Coca-Cola. If you treat your business like it’s a hobby, it will become your hobby and only pay you like a hobby!
How has forming an S Corp helped you level up your business?
First and foremost, taxes. I didn’t realize that I would have to pay so much in taxes for my business. As a Business-of-One, you depend on every dime. The second would be liability. There is a difference between my assets and me – as well as my business and its assets.