They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and 20 year-old Chelsea Ellis is a prime example of that. Ellis is the daughter of Sam and Sandra Ellis. Her father owns Jim Reynolds Asphalt company and has been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and her mother has been a professional hair-stylist since she was 18 years-old.
Ellis was born in the West End of Louisville but was primarily raised in the East End. She has aspired to be an entrepreneur since she was young. She was so motivated as a youth that she started a lawn care service while attending Eastern High School.
“I like cutting grass… It was funny because I advertised it on Craigslist… That was one of those businesses where I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to own a business… I made business cards off of Vista Print and I put my name on Craigslist to get some customers… I also cut grass for my mom as well as my father… I just knew that I wanted to make money. It didn’t last too long but it was the beginning of me knowing that I wanted to own my own business.” – Chelsea Ellis
High school graduation was quickly approaching and Ellis was undecided about what she wanted to do with her life. She contemplated going to college but wasn’t particularly interested in any specific field. All she knew was that she didn’t want to work in any profession that she didn’t enjoy. After graduation she decided to get a job and embark on a path of trying to figure out what really made her happy.
Ellis began working at a UPS store but quickly became bored with her job duties. She spent most of her shift sitting idle and felt as though the position wasn’t challenging enough. During dinner one evening she expressed to her father that she was unhappy with her current employment status.To her surprise – he offered her the vice-president position at his asphalt company. She was reluctant at first due to her lack of experience but ultimately decided to take advantage of the opportunity.
Her father began mentoring her and forced her to step up to the plate. He treated her like any other employee and didn’t accept any excuses. Ellis didn’t waste this opportunity. She quickly learned the business and being that she had entrepreneurial dreams herself – she used the experience as training for her future business endeavors.
A short time later Ellis began developing her own brand. She started giving motivational speeches and mentoring the youth at local high schools as well as volunteering at Louisville area Boys & Girls Clubs. In addition she produces motivational videos and provides online marketing services – teaching others how to create their own businesses.
“After joining that [asphalt] business I knew that I had to do more… I had to teach others how to own businesses… I knew that I couldn’t keep that secret to myself because so many young people want to do it, they just don’t know it’s possible.” – Chelsea Ellis
Ellis’s motivational speeches inspired her to write a book. After speaking with several young people she realized that many aren’t reaching their full potential due to lack of proper instruction and positive role-models. She feels that a book is the best way to spread her message to a mass amount of people all across the globe simultaneously.
Her book is entitled “Fail to Success” and the Kindle version was released on Amazon in September 2015. The Kindle version was an Amazon #1 Best seller in three different categories on its release day.
“The topic of my book came from me wondering how two people who come from the same neighborhood can take different paths… One winds up successful and the other person is not successful… What is it that stopped that one person or made that other person go harder? I realized that some people let failure stop them from reaching their goals… After realizing that, I knew it was something that I had to share with people. If they know that failure isn’t the final destination, but it’s just the journey, there would be so many more people reaching success because they won’t stop… They’ll keep going, knowing that’s just a part of the journey.” – Chelsea Ellis
The release date for the hard copy version of the book was September 27, 2015, and Ellis held an elegant book signing event at Louis’s “The Ton” to commemorate the occasion. “Fail To Success” is available on Amazon for $14.99 (hard copy) and the Kindle version is $5.99Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download
Ellis is working on organizing a book tour involving local and national universities as well as concentrating on growing her motivational brand. Her goal is to create 100 financially independent individuals before the age of 30 and she says, “I won’t stop until I do it!”
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is:
“Self knowledge… Learn something new everyday and find a good mentor… Keep learning and implement. After you learn, implement and do something with it.” – Chelsea Ellis –
Author, Marketer, Speaker, and Entrepreneur.
Brad Harrison is a journalist/motivational speaker/entrepreneur and on-air personality. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with cum laude honors from the University of Louisville. In October 2015, he started UrbanMaxx Magazine to provide positive role models for Urban residents that reside in at-risk-communities and lack positive leadership in their lives.
For booking or advertising – contact Brad Harrison at bradharrison@urbanmaxx.com