E20: Deliciously Ella - Blogging Saved My Life
Ella, founder of Deliciously Ella, shares her journey from debilitating illness and mental health struggles to building a global brand. She offers insights on authenticity, team empowerment, and navigating social media for personal and business growth.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
Ella Mills's 30-Second Life Story Challenge
Navigating Imposter Syndrome and the Role of Luck
Scaling a Business and Empowering a Team
Ella's Core Contribution: Vision and Creative Direction
Strategies for Building a Personal Brand on Social Media
The Importance of Authenticity and Useful Content
Origin Story of Deliciously Ella's Energy Balls
Personal Battle with Chronic Illness and Mental Health
Social Media's Impact on Self-Perception During Illness
The Role of Purpose in Mental Well-being
Advice to Her Younger Self During Hardship
Conscious Social Media Use: Inspiration vs. Comparison
Future Worries and Excitements as an Entrepreneur
Making a Business Partnership with a Spouse Work
Hypothetical Dinner Party Guests and Menu
4 Key Concepts
Imposter Syndrome
A feeling of self-doubt and intellectual fraudulence, where successful individuals question their achievements and fear being exposed as a 'fake.' Ella describes experiencing it when her book exploded and when hiring highly experienced staff, feeling she hadn't earned her place or was less knowledgeable.
Authenticity in Brand Building
The practice of being genuinely oneself and aligning actions with personal values, rather than copying others or being solely driven by profit. Ella emphasizes that true authenticity allows a brand to bring useful content to people and connect on a deeper, more personal level.
Purpose as a Mental Health Tool
Having a sense of direction or a meaningful goal in life, which can significantly contribute to mental well-being and combat feelings of being lost or low. Ella found that even small tasks related to her blog gave her a sense of purpose, helping her cope with severe illness and isolation.
Conscious Social Media Viewing
An intentional approach to consuming social media content, where individuals are aware of its potential negative impacts and choose what they view based on what is beneficial for their mental state. Ella advises against comparing oneself to curated 'highlight reels' and instead using social media as a tool for inspiration and ideas.
7 Questions Answered
It began accidentally when Ella, battling a debilitating illness and mental health issues during university, started a blog in 2012 to find and share resources for a new diet, as she couldn't find suitable information elsewhere.
The most important thing is to be personal and authentic, deciding how much you're willing to share while creating useful content that genuinely engages people. People are inspired by other people, so being yourself is key.
Maintaining authenticity requires starting with a genuine passion or personal need, not just for money, and adhering to strict guidelines about what to promote. This ensures that products and content align with core values and serve the audience honestly.
Ella found that a massive lack of purpose contributed to her feeling low. Starting her blog, even with small tasks like trying a recipe and posting a picture, gave her a sense of purpose and achievement, which significantly helped her mental state.
Social media can negatively impact mental health by presenting curated 'highlight reels' of others' lives, leading to constant comparison and feelings of inadequacy. This is especially detrimental when one is already feeling down, as it can exacerbate feelings of isolation and not being 'normal.'
She would tell herself that there are choices in life and that passively sitting in bed, refusing to communicate, and consuming unhealthy media and food isn't making the situation better. Instead, she would encourage trying to make small changes to move in a positive direction.
A successful business partnership between a couple often relies on having similar goals but very distinct strengths and roles with minimal overlap. It's also crucial to present a united front to the team and discuss major decisions privately to avoid discomfort or conflict in front of others.
13 Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate a Sense of Purpose
Actively seek and engage in activities that provide a sense of purpose, as a lack of it can significantly contribute to feelings of low mood and identity loss. Ella found that even small actions, like creating recipes for her blog, provided a crucial sense of achievement and direction during her illness.
2. Take Action to Change Your Situation
When facing difficult circumstances, avoid passive sadness and instead take small, intentional steps to move in a positive direction. Ella realized that even trying to cook or reaching out to friends, despite the difficulty, was better than doing nothing to change her situation.
3. Empower Your Team
Recognize that a company’s success is driven by its team, not just the founder. Empower team members to excel in their specific areas of expertise, as no single person can be brilliant at everything.
4. Hire Smarter People
Actively seek out and hire individuals who possess brilliant expertise in areas where you lack it, rather than fearing exposure. This approach is crucial for scaling a business effectively and leveraging diverse skills.
5. Complementary Skills in Partnerships
For successful business partnerships, especially with a romantic partner, ensure that individual strengths and roles are complementary with minimal overlap. This allows each partner to focus on what they do best while sharing similar overarching goals.
6. Maintain Authenticity; Avoid Compromise
Build your brand and offerings from a place of genuine passion and personal belief, refusing to compromise on your core values for external offers or trends. This authenticity creates a deeper connection with your audience and ensures your work has a true “soul.”
7. Deep Community Engagement
Foster a strong sense of community by personally engaging with your audience, such as responding to social media comments. This direct interaction builds loyalty and can be a powerful, free marketing tool.
8. Create Useful, High-Quality Content
Focus on producing content that is genuinely useful and well-presented for your audience, as this drives engagement and encourages people to save and revisit your posts. Ella found that easy, practical recipes resonated most with her community.
9. Set Personal Boundaries on Social Media
While being personal is important for connection, establish clear boundaries on what aspects of your private life you are comfortable sharing online. This helps maintain a distinction between your public persona and personal self, protecting your well-being.
10. Practice Conscious Social Media Consumption
Be mindful of how social media makes you feel and consciously choose what content you consume. Avoid comparing yourself to curated highlight reels, especially when feeling down, and instead use it as a tool for inspiration rather than comparison.
11. Make Conscious Life Choices
Understand that ambitious goals, like rapidly scaling a business, often require conscious choices that may impact other areas of life, such as social activities or travel. Acknowledge that you can’t “do everything” simultaneously.
12. Embrace Discomfort for Growth
Recognize that moments of imposter syndrome often arise when you are stepping out of your comfort zone and growing. View these feelings as a sign of expansion and an opportunity for development.
13. Present a United Front in Business
When working with a partner, especially in a leadership role, ensure that any disagreements are discussed privately, and a unified stance is presented to the team. This maintains professionalism and avoids making others uncomfortable.
5 Key Quotes
I always say to people like I know you know our company's called it has my name in it it is my face that appears far too often for people but behind that the reason that we're a success is the team and empowering that team to do what they do really well is everything.
Ella Mills
There are so many people out there doing everything but there's always space for someone to do it in a more authentic better way I think in anything in the world and that's what you've got to do you've got to be comfortable to be yourself.
Ella Mills
It's a snapshot it's curated space if people make you feel uncomfortable go away from them but don't also believe like it's fully real it's not real it's just my new insight into 24 hours it's a kind of one second out of thousands.
Ella Mills
I massively lacked any sense of purpose in my life right and that was I think one of the biggest contributors to feeling really low because I just was so lost my kind of sense of identity and who I was had changed overnight.
Ella Mills
There are choices in life and I wasn't making it any better... sitting in bed on your own refusing to communicate with people watching tv on repeat and eating pick and mix isn't making it any better.
Ella Mills