An Interview with Deborah A. Bailey: Author, Entrepreneur  & Coach

Sylvia: Hi Deborah, it is such a pleasure to interview you.  Please give our readers a brief introduction of yourself and a little about your book.

Deborah:Thank you, Sylvia. My name is Deborah A. Bailey and I am a writer and coach.  I am also author of the books, “Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Taking Charge of Your Life” and “Think Like an Entrepreneur: What You Need to Consider Before You Write a Business Plan.”

After several years in the corporate world, I decided to transition into entrepreneurship. I am founder of DB Writing & Editing Services and graduated from Coach U.  Recently, I launched “The Book Coach” book coaching services to support entrepreneurs who dream of becoming published authors.

I’ve had my bylines in Baseline magazine, Dailyworth.com, Bankrate.com, Daily Career Connection, More.com, Working World Magazine, MSN.com and CNN.com; and been a guest on Good Day Street Talk on Channel 5 in NYC, ABC6 TV, Fox News Strategy Room and WFMZ TV.  In addition, I was recently named one of the “25 Career and Business Women Bloggers Worth Reading” by BlogHer and one of the Top 100 Women Entrepreneur Experts to Follow on Twitter.

I am the host of “Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success,” a weekly internet radio talk show.

 

Sylvia: What inspired you to write your book?

Deborah: I was inspired to write “Think Like an Entrepreneur: What You Need to Consider Before You Write a Business Plan” because there are so many people going into business who have no prior business experience.  There’s so much emphasis on writing business plans, but someone coming from corporate may have no idea what they’ll need to do as an entrepreneur.

Lots of books talk to people who already understand business concepts. I wanted to talk to people who are coming from a corporate background and are thinking about starting a business. My intention was to give them the fact so that they could determine if it’s the right path for them. My first book, “Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Taking Charge of Your Life” showed how to take entrepreneurial thinking and use it to advance your career.

Sylvia: Well, I am very honored to be apart of your book project as a contributing writer.  Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my expertise. 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Deborah: You are welcome Sylvia! Don’t be afraid to tell your story. Don’t worry about selling tons of copies or being on a bestseller list. Just be true to your story and you will connect with your ideal reader. You don’t need permission from someone else to get started. Know your why. Why are you writing this book? What do you want to share? Who will benefit? Don’t write a book because you want to follow what others are doing. If your heart isn’t in it, the entire process will be a struggle.

 

Sylvia: What marketing techniques have you used to sell your books and which ones have been most successful?

Deborah: I have a radio show on Blog Talk Radio and a blog that is ranked high on Google, so those two things help a lot. In addition I have a social media presence on the major sites and an author’s page on Amazon.com. I’ve had the most success selling my book online, so that’s where I concentrate my efforts. Last year I was quoted in an article and it included a link to my book on Amazon.com. That one mention sold about 30 copies of my book in an hour. As it turns out the article was featured on a career website for high-level managers, and that audience was very interested in my book.

 

Sylvia: That’s awesome Deborah.  Great information for other authors. Why should we buy your book?

Deborah: If you’re in the least bit interested in entrepreneurship, then this book will provide the answers to your questions. It also includes interviews with several women entrepreneurs who were gracious enough to participate. (Including Sylvia Browder, founder of NAWR) When you read those interviews you get an additional boost because you get to read the experiences of others who have walked the same path. You can get “real world” information from these women because they’re not trying to sell you anything. They just want to share what they’ve learned out in the business world.

 

Sylvia: What projects are you currently working on?

Deborah: I’m in the process of finally starting work on a novel, which I’ve been talking about for a long time! In addition, I’m offering book coaching to help entrepreneurs who want to write a book for their business. Most people have no idea what their options are, so they end up spending a lot of money or (unfortunately) being ripped off. There’s a lot of hype out there around book publishing and I want to help other business owners through the maze of publishing options. Recently I created a product which includes interviews with 13 bestselling authors who managed to get book deals because their self-published books sold so well. My desire is to help entrepreneurs who may not have time to research the publishing industry, but they have expertise that they want to put into a book. I’ve learned a lot of over the years and I want to be an advocate for the author and help in their success.

 

Sylvia: What is your POWER WORD? Why this word? (A power word is a word that has great effect to the person hearing or reading it. My power word is EMPOWER)

Deborah: My power word is “authenticity.” It’s extremely important to know your “why” before you start a business, write a book or start any major project. Why is it important for you to do this? What is your goal? Too often we can waste time following what others are doing, and we’re left unfulfilled. Instead of always comparing ourselves to others, we should connect with our own desires. But we can’t do that if we aren’t being true to who we are. It takes a lot of courage to do that, but the rewards are tremendous.

 

Sylvia: Thank you Deborah. Please leave your contact information. 

Deborah: You are very welcome. See below:

 

Website: http://www.dbaileycoach.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/womenentrepreneurs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DebBC
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahannbailey
Book Link: http://www.dbaileycoach.com/blog/

Deborah’s Book Review

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