SPI 949: Superfans and the Future of SPI

SPI 949: Superfans and the Future of SPI

Pat Flynn: Welcome to a special episode of SPI, and as I pass the torch to Liz, as many of you’ve recently heard, I know a lot of you might be thinking, “But Pat, how can we even know that Liz can help us?” Well, instead of just saying, “Trust me, bro,” I wanted to do something a little different and special to show you that I truly did my due diligence, and I am leaving you in good hands.

Not that I’m completely leaving, though. Of course, Liz and I decided that I’ll be back on the show from time to time, at least once a quarter for the foreseeable future, and I’m so excited to do that so I can keep you up to date on all things DPM. But as I head out of daily SPI work and turn my focus to Deep Pocket Monster, and before Liz and I even made the announcement, I spent time in Liz’s community, and what I saw blew me away, and who I saw.

And so today, we have a podcast with two special guests who actually come from Liz’s community, who have been a part of the SPI community in some way, shape, or form in the past as well. We first have Allan Ngo, who has converted from a corporate business to a digital business, and he’s got a lot to say about that, but also a lot to say about Liz too.

And then we have Melquea, who is incredible and absolutely an amazing talented artist who sells POC clip art and illustrates children’s books, and how she actually first discovered Liz through SPI and is now a part of her community. And now we’re all together, right? So this is gonna be incredible. I hope you enjoy it.

So first up, let’s talk to Allan. Here he is.

Allan, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for being here.

Allan Ngo: Thanks for having me, Pat.

Pat Flynn: I know you’re all the way on the other side of the world in the Philippines. I’m half Filipino myself. I’m curious, what part of the Philippines are you in?

Allan Ngo: I’m in Manila, near Chinatown here.

Pat Flynn: Oh, very cool. Very cool. My mom was born in Cebu, and I’ve been to Cebu a few times, so I do miss it. It’s a beautiful country, and I hope to get back sometime. But I definitely wanna get back to you and talk about you and your story ’cause you’ve had a lot of different kinds of businesses over the years, and I know that you’ve listened to, to the podcast before, and you’ve even had me on your show at one point, and now you’re here on this podcast, which is amazing.

And we also wanted to talk about how Liz, of course, who, uh, is coming in to help support, has made an effect on your life. I know she’s made a big impact. But before we get to that, like, before online business, before Digital Solopreneur, what were you doing, and why did you stop?

Allan Ngo: Yeah, that’s a great question.

It was a time in my life where I called myself an educated bum. So- … I’ve always been a good student, growing up in school, good- got good grades and stuff. Then upon graduation, I got a job at a bank. And at the same time, my, my college friends and I wanted to spi- kind of start fast in life, so we actually franchised a fast food chain locally.

So I did that both at the same time, and I ha- I had no clue what I was doing. I was in my early 20s then. Fast-forward three to four years later, I was around 25, and I was burned out with corporate and the fast food franchise. I thought it was a turnkey business. It was, but they don’t tell you all the what to do when the ice machine breaks, when your managers files for, wants to go overseas, all that stuff, and I was a bit overrun.

And employment in the bank wasn’t working out. Business, the easy kind, which is like a franchise, wasn’t also working out. So all that education was kind of leaving me in no man’s land. So, and that was around the time, uh, I was turning 25. My best friend and I had around, our birthdays were around two weeks apart, so every year we’d call one another and ask each other, “Hey, at this age, are you where you wanna be?”

And at that time- Hmm … I wasn’t. I was miserable. So that was when I kind of made a pivot in my life

Pat Flynn: Wow. I really love that you had that accountability partner or friend that you could chat with and kind of, you know, help each other out, or at least check in with each other. I really love that idea, especially that question, are you where you wanna be, I think, and, and I would advise the listeners to ask yourselves right now that same very question, and having that check-in every year, I c- I can imagine how motivating that would be.

So what was your first steps from there? Where did you even turn? ‘Cause I know that when you might be in a state of mind like that, you know, you might not know where to begin.

Allan Ngo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. My, my buddy actually proposed an idea. So he saw a scholarship at the time where we could go to, to China for a, for a time to study business, politics, and more importantly, language at the time.

And growing up as a third-generation Chinese here in the country, I’ve always wanted to get a crack at learning the language the proper way, so it kind of aligned. So I applied. Fortunately, I got in. My, my friend bailed, though. He went to law school. So I went there myself, and it was kind of the break that I needed.

So it was around a 10-month program, and upon arriving back, I was part of the country’s unemployment rate. And that’s when I, I was staying at home, was online most of the time, and I typed in the magical words, “How to make money online.” And this was 2010, so 2010, early days, especially in our, our country, where, like, the internet marketing isn’t as advanced.

So I, I got a j- project job which paid me, like, around four times more than the, than my bank salary, which kind of blew my mind. And after that, that project ended, I came on board our family business, but our family business is traditional, so e- but it’s not an office. It’s like a store. And while working there, the itch in my mind about, hey, I, I could make money online, because all I’ve ever kn- known was employment or, like, our store, right?

And so there’s a way that you can do it while at home without having the problems of employment, stocks, insurance, inventory, and that’s when I started exploring online.

Pat Flynn: Got it. So when you started exploring, typing in this into Google, discovering probably a lot of different brands out there, where did you gravitate to?

What kind of caught your eye?

Allan Ngo: I tried everything , blogging, posting on socials. You know, the first time I built my list, I actually texted everyone on my phone list, gave them my link. That’s, that’s how, how beginner I was. And I eventually gravitated towards email marketing and affiliate marketing, and I believe it was for a specific reason, because I, I finished accountancy, and accountancy isn’t really the course where you- people are outgoing, right?

Right. But among those people who aren’t outgoing- I was one of the most quietest one. So, but if you’re in a group, I don’t speak much. But I think for a lot of introverts, you know, just because we don’t say a lot doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to say. And I think I gravitated towards email marketing because it’s a way for me to share my thoughts, talk to a lot of people without the awkwardness of actually speaking with them.

So- Mm-hmm … um, for that medium, I gravitated towards that. In affiliate marketing, because as somebody starting out, I don’t have any products, but I am using some products, and I could recommend it to others. So that’s kind of how the one-two punch kind of started.

Pat Flynn: I love that, and that totally makes sense. I think that’s kind of why I got into blogging too, for the same reasons, ’cause I didn’t have to be f- face-to-face with people, and I could still share my thoughts and hopefully help and serve people.

So email marketing, obviously an amazing platform, and that’s something that Liz is very, very much known for. In fact, she’s way better than I am at that. And so I’m curious, like, how did you eventually connect with or, or discover Liz?

Allan Ngo: Ironically, it’s during one of the podcasts. So I was invited as a guest in one podcast, and I joined the list of that host.

A few days later, I saw him recommend Liz. So at the time, I was already in emails, but mainly locally. So when he recommended her, I checked her out. It was… I saw an interesting $9 a month membership. And I grew up in the ’90s, and Liz is really, like, into the ’90s with her look, with her fandom. Very much. And, and so I gravitate towards, gravitated towards that as well.

So I took a chance, got into her community, joined her membership, got into her community, and that’s how I started getting to know her.

Pat Flynn: Oh, that’s really cool. I think, I think this definitely is a great sort of call-out in terms of personality, right? A lot of people might not know Liz, but once you start to understand a little bit about her and her story, you start to see a real person, a real personality, somebody who shows up in her full self.

And that’s what gravitated me toward her and why she and I started working together and having deeper conversations about SPI. And w- what I’m curious about is, like, what kinds of things specifically, being in that community and being around Liz, did you learn and apply, and what were those results like?

Allan Ngo: What gravitated me to her more than the ’90s is her candidness, uh, her, her perfect balance of honesty yet practicality. You know, um, what I mean by that is there are some business owners who would go rah, rah, rah all the way to that dial, and there are others who are too, sometimes t- treating business as charity.

So there’s, there are the two extremes. But Liz can manage both, like the vulnerability of a business owner, but the practicality of, “Hey, send an email daily.” Right? So because, hey, I have to feed my family. I have to feed my daughter. And I love that about her, that realness. And one of the things that I love about her community and what she does is when she opens up the doors to her business.

What I mean by that is since I am into email marketing, while I do use her swipes, what I really enjoy about her community is when she would open up, “Hey, here’s what happened to my launch.” Similar to when you did your monthly income report, right, Pat? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So it’s, it’s those things that I highly respect because there’s a sense of vulnerability, honesty, because there’s, on the online world, there’s a lot of posturing, um, a lot of, you know, like making myself look good, and that is- Yeah, making, it’s just the opposite. It’s the honesty, it’s the vulnerability. And so it’s those things that, okay, so these are the strategies that work for her, these things did not, and these are the things she’s trying. And those are, especially if you’re taking things seriously, and I’ve been in this business for over 10 years, those are the extra things that I appreciate, and those are the takeaways.

While I don’t have, like, an exact one is to one return on what I learned from her, it’s that the fact that, hey, things are hard, but here are things that I’m still trying. And for me, ju- just having that, that look into somebody’s psyche, and when things don’t go right, she acknowledges it, and which allows me to acknowledge my own shortcomings and move forward.

I think, like, more than the tangible numbers, I think that, that realness, you know, that realness, because I work with a lot of folks that are one-person businesses, and sometimes you don’t have a sounding board. Sometimes for me, that’s what she represent

Pat Flynn: Yeah, I completely agree. When I was invited into her community for a little event, it was the first thing I noticed, just how in-depth and involved she gets with her people.

And when she’s come over to SPI, I’ve seen the exact same thing happen, and it’s only allowed the SPI community to thrive, which has been incredible to see. I did ask Liz for some thoughts about you before getting on this interview. I just wanted to, to s- put a spotlight on you a little bit. She said, “You are the gold standard when it comes to being a generous community member, and I first noticed him because he gave such in-depth answers and helped my students, all without asking for anything in return.”

So I think that just speaks highly to your character. And the, again, the kinds of people that I love to surround myself with, it’s just we’ve been very blessed at SPI to bring those kinds of people into our community, and it’s just amazing that Liz has the same kind of attractiveness, the mag- magnetizing of, like, really good people into the community, like, like yourself.

How has she helped you make more business? I’m curious. When it comes to, like, numbers and stuff and, you know, specific strategies or what can you maybe pull out from specific things that have helped you generate more money online?

Allan Ngo: Sure. So I’ve been with her community for more than, I’d say, two to three years now, and I had the chance to be featured as one of her…

She does this, like, 12 days of Lizmas every Christmas. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So she highlights, like, members in her community that she wants to promote. So I was able to get leads from there, so that’s buyers. Second time around we worked together is she invited me to do a training in her community where I shared how I do frictionless upsells just through DMs, and I was able to get more leads and conversions from there as well.

And I think with… I was also the one who… So sometimes, like, as solopreneurs, you kind of find ways, find opportunities by asking. So she doesn’t actually have, say, solo ad. So she doesn’t, she doesn’t have a package for if you want to pay for her to send an email promoting you. She doesn’t have that. So I proposed something to her, “Hey, can I, can I sponsor your newsletter for this day for this much?”

Yada, yada, yada. And she was open to it because of the trust that we’ve built. And from there, I was able to make more than, uh, 1.5X my investment just from her first sending, not to mention the lifetime value of the folks that she brought in. So We’ve worked quite a number of times throughout the years.

So yeah, I mean, we’ve worked several times in different manners, and I’ve also sponsored some of her summits. So, so yeah, different activities bring in different results. So that’s also interesting as well.

Pat Flynn: Yes, I, I love that about Liz, her ability to quickly move and try different things that work not just for her and, you know, what’s worked for SPI.

She came in as community director in April and, like, doubled the size of the membership, started to send a lot more emails. We were a little bit worried about that, but then it started to work, and I’ve been getting DMs from people saying the community is the best it’s ever been. And it’s really amazing ’cause, you know, it was, it was really all her, as I’ve sort of moved away from it a little bit and have been focusing a lot more on the Pokémon side of things.

It’s really cool to hear that from one of her students and somebody who has worked with her for two or three years. So again, I do appreciate you coming on the show, sharing, sharing about that. Uh, before we finish up here, Allan, I’d love to just ask you for everybody listening, you know, you specialize in these frictionless offers and helping to help convert social media and email lists to customers.

How do you keep things simple? Liz had mentioned before we got on the call that you are very good at keeping things simple, removing all the unnecessary stuff. For people who are converting today, how do you recommend a person approach their offer so that they do keep it simple? What i- what is working for you today?

Allan Ngo: That’s a wonderful question, Pat. If you notice behind me, I do have a 2026, a full year calendar behind me.

Pat Flynn: I see that, yeah.

Allan Ngo: Yeah, I block off important dates because one of our core principles with what we do is we want to build a business around life. And like a couple- Hmm … of years ago, my, my grandma and my father-in-law passed in, a few months apart.

It was a- Uh-huh … long battle with what they were feeling.

Pat Flynn: I’m sorry to hear that.

Allan Ngo: Thank you. Thank you. And I- it was around the time I was turning 40, and I was wondering, like, “Hey, I kind of want to have a business that’s more surrounded around life,” and I don’t want it to sound too romanticized. I want it to be practical as well.

So one way that we translate that is, “Hey, we want a business around your life,” and it doesn’t mean that that life has to wait until the business is successful. I think a lot of when we start businesses, “Hey, I have to wait before… I have to wait to be successful before I can have that freedom.” But maybe you can challenge that.

Why not the business revolve around our schedule? So what I mean by that is one principles that I help folks with is what I call the minimum viable day. So what is it, like, what are the 80/20 in your businesses that bring in the most results? Let’s kind of identify them and break it down into a daily routine.

Like, these three to four things, if you de- do them in a day, it will move the business forward, maybe not by- Hmm … leaps and bounds, even by inches. Then what you do, whether you can do that, knock that off in an hour or two, then the rest of the time, it’s up to you. You want to go to your children’s recital, go to the gym, do nothing.

Most of the time, I use the extra time to still continue working. With that time, it allows flexibility so that you can live life now. And because I was also inspired by a book called Die With Zero, one of the principles is the m- memory dividends. The earlier you create a memory with your family, for example, the longer you can remember that in the future-

Pat Flynn: Mm.

Allan Ngo: Right? Mm. And I, I have a 10-year-old going 11. There’s, there’s, there’s a window of time, and that just, it can’t wait for me to become mega successful, right? I have to experience that now. I have to catch that moment. So those are the small- some of the principles that we, we apply for us to force us to identify what is necessary and make sure that we check those off, so that we don’t, don’t just fill our calendars with things.

Because for us, one of the things say, we say that is that blank, empty spaces in your calendar are appointments too, right? Because we tend to- Mm-hmm … just fill those up, fill those up. But when it’s blank, it’s also an appointment for you to slow down and understand that there is time for yourself, too.

Pat Flynn: Wow.

That is amazing. Thank you, Allan, for that. I think that’s a great reset for maybe some who have been living that sort of, “Well, I’ll do it later,” or, “I’ll, I’ll, I’ll get to it at some point.” But, you know, you might not have that some point, so you might as well make that point now, and I love that about the sooner you create the memories, the longer you have with them.

That is very deep, and, and I appreciate you for that. Before we finish up here, Allan, two things. Number one, can you give a shout-out, where can people go to find more of you and what you are up to?

Allan Ngo: Well, thank you, Pat. People can visit digitalsolopreneur.com. I’m also Allan Ngo on LinkedIn, so I’d be happy to connect with you there.

Pat Flynn: Perfect. Thank you, Allan. And then finally, for somebody listening who is brand new to SPI, and maybe Liz especially, what might you say to help a person understand that Liz is definitely the right person to work with moving forward?

Allan Ngo: I would say, me and my connection with Liz, we both work with our sisters, we both have daughters.

And for me, it’s a special connection because we have parallel lives in some ways. But for me, it’s just for when you see Liz, you see, what you see is what you get, and that’s not something I can say with a lot of people, right? I can say that with you, Pat. I can say that with Liz-

Pat Flynn: Appreciate that …

Allan Ngo: but not much else. So give them a try. Give them a try. I think Pat and Liz, both, both of you guys, you have to be experienced. Like, you have, you have to give, you have to s- work with them, see them, and talk. Well, you’re in front of me. I, I should, shouldn’t refer to you as a third person, but, but I, I, I feel that once they hear you, once they get a chance to listen to them, to talk to them, you’ll see what I mean

Pat Flynn: Allan, thank you so much.

I appreciate you, and I’m sure this episode’s gonna make Liz very happy and, and proud of you as well. And I’m sure that you guys will be able to work together much, much more in the future as well. So thank you, Allan, appreciate your support here, and, uh, all the best of success to you. Thank you.

Allan Ngo: Likewise, Pat.

Thank you. It’s been an honor.

Pat Flynn: All right. Wasn’t that incredible? Allan, thank you so much, especially for those deep words of wisdom. And now we’re gonna move over to Melquea, an amazingly talented artist who has been a part of Liz’s community recently and does so many amazing things, and we’re gonna talk about what’s been working for her.

And why Liz? Why, why should you be excited about the future of SPI here with Liz, with Liz in your hands and at your disposal? So it’s gonna be incredible. And again, I’m so, so grateful and feel so blessed because I know this is unusual. I’ve mentioned this in podcast episodes before. You might have heard me and/or Liz on other podcasts talking about the recent sale and acquisition and, and me moving forward from it, but I’m just, I’m just so blessed, man.

Like, I feel so, so grateful that Liz is here to not just continue what I started, but take it to a whole new level in her own special way, but not leaving behind the stuff that I sort of put together and the community that’s there. Again, the last thing I wanted to do was just kind of abandon everybody.

I wanted to set everybody up for success even beyond me, and Liz is there to do that. So anyway, let’s talk to Melquea and see what she’s got to say. Here she is.

Melquea, welcome to the SPI Podcast. Thank you so much for being here.

Melquea Smith: Oh, my gosh. I’m so excited to be here, y’all. Like, Pat, he already knows how excited I am, but y- my dear listeners, y- you can see me s- you can probably hear me smile, so I’m glad to be here.

Pat Flynn: Well, I’m so excited to dive into your story ’cause you have an incredible story, and I know that Liz has had a, a part in that as well. But before we get into that, tell us about you and how you got to what it is that you do. I love what you do. It is the coolest thing ever. So I’m, I’m excited to share this with, with the world here.

Melquea Smith: Oh, my gosh. I’m so glad to be here. So my dear listeners, hello. I am Melquea Smith. Um, I am a children’s book writer and illustrator, owning the writer part, and I also create diverse clip art of Black and brown kids for educators. Gosh, how long have I been doing this? I’ve pretty much been illustrating ever since I could pick up a pencil.

And I knew that I wanted to be an illustrator. Like, if I die with a pencil in my hand or a or a paintbrush in my hand, that’s a life worth living. So, uh, it’s been always intrinsic a part of me. If you’re listening to this podcast, I’m wearing a lilac T-shirt, and I have… Not only do I have black braids in my hair, but I also have light blue, purple, and mint green braids in my hair.

So I am, like, a full rainbow mess. It’s like, it’s like a pastel threw up on me. And it’s just, I dress the way, I literally dress my profession Um, I have been drawing … I was strictly an animal illustrator. I used to draw, like, anthropomorphic animals. And then I had an option. I used to do mentorships with a, with many different, like, illustrators and, um, folks who were in different industries.

And I had a mentorship with a man named Chris Oatley, who used to work for Disney, and now he teaches a lot of creatives. And back then we used to do this cohort called, um, the Clopwork Art. And I had to pick which industry did I want to, to dive into. And this was back in 2019. And, um, it was either animation or illustration, and he was just like, “Pick one.”

And I’m the one that loves to do a bunch of different things. I have different types of pasta cooked at different intervals. Some on the floor, many on the wall, just trying to figure out what sticks. And I picked illustration for holistic, you know, worldwide reasons, and also really selfish reasons, i.e., I want my name on a book.

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Melquea Smith: You know, I don’t wanna be there for three seconds going, “Oh, there’s me. Guys, pause it. There’s me.” No, I want- … by Melquea Smith on the book. So I, I picked one. I dived deep into children’s book illustration. I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about illustration. The stuff you see on Instagram is not children’s book illustration.

It is sequential storytelling. You are literally creating books and reading materials for kiddos who cannot read. They need to be able to tell a story. Your illustrations are there to not only guide the story, tell your own story, and also just enhance your author’s words if you’re paired with an author.

And so that was the world I fell into. And it was funny because a few … Well, I’d say about a few years in, like, on and off, I was like, “Uh, am I in the, am I in the right industry? I don’t know if I’m in the right industry.” This is, this is so different than the animation world that I, you know, kept my nose to the ground on.

And then I finally settled in. I found my people, and I was like, “Okay, I’m in the right industry.” So that’s kind of how I got into the children’s book world, and then real quick, I got into Liz’s world through Smart Passive Income Podcast. This is a completely full circle, completely full circle event right now.

I’m speaking on the podcast, and how I got introduced to Liz, I was out on a walk, and I used to listen to Smart Passive Income Podcast thinking, “Okay, how can I make money through my art? Like, how can I do this as a career? I don’t wanna really do anything else. I’ve always had, like, a part-time job or full-time job in conjunction with my illustration work.

How can I do this but, like, the smart way?”

Pat Flynn: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Melquea Smith: And I used to listen to a bunch of Smart Passive Income Podcasts, and then I fell off of listening to the podcast. I randomly, super randomly, started listening to Liz’s podcast episode, and at, towards the end, I was walking around my neighborhood. I stopped my ma- my walk, and I booked it back to the house ’cause I was like, “I need to sign up for her email list, like, ASAP. Like, this is exactly what I’m looking for.” My pain point was I used to email my folks, and I used to try to email people at least once a quarter, and I couldn’t even do that. Mm. I was just like, “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to email people. I don’t even know, like, what to even do.” And then once I finished listening to Liz’s podcast episode interview, I was just like, “Yeah, we, the, the, this is it. My prayers have been answered.”

Pat Flynn: That’s so crazy. Wow.

Melquea Smith: Yeah. Full circle. Like, I can’t believe it. And yeah, and now I’m here. Isn’t that nuts?

Pat Flynn: It is amazing. Moqua, thank you f- for that. I have a lot of questions. I do wanna talk about a little bit more of your origin story and illustrating and writing, which is kind of uncom- uncommon, in my opinion, from children’s authors to have them also illustrate the books.

I wanna talk about that, but I do wanna selfishly ask, why did you fall off the podcast? I’m curious.

Melquea Smith: Ooh. Ah. Gosh. What

Pat Flynn: was it about it? And be honest. Be honest. ‘Cause we, and especially Liz, wants to take this to a whole new level, and I mean, she brought you back, right? So that’s a start. But I don’t know if there was anything, or maybe it was, like, the kinds of things we were starting to talk about.

I- th- there was a moment in time where it was like, “Yeah, I’m just gonna invite all my author friends on to talk about their books,” and it, it didn’t feel like the OG SPI. So I don’t know if that maybe had something to do with it-

Melquea Smith: Oh … or. Gosh, I don’t know. I think it was just, like, I was in a different space.

Pat Flynn: Mm.

Melquea Smith: Because once I got into SPI, I was trying to figure out, like, how to make other income, and then I, once I got into the world of, like, picture books, I kinda just pivoted to that.

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Melquea Smith: And less a little bit about business, ’cause the way I see my career or my business, in a sense, is I split it into two.

The one half is, like, the picture book work. There’s very… One, the traditional picture book work, like, you get an agent, you work with traditional publishers. They have their own system that that’s just how that works.

Pat Flynn: Right. Right.

Melquea Smith: And then there’s the business side of things, and I split it into two, which is my clip artwork.

How can I market myself? How can I tell as many people as possible about what I’m doing? How can I email people and get them on my email list so I can start emailing them and then getting them on my, you know, my, my membership and- Yeah … just, like, all of that. And so I didn’t bring in the clip artwork until about a year or two years ago.

So it was very much like I was just in a different place, and I wasn’t looking for a way to run my business per se, but more so how do I break into this industry.

Pat Flynn: Gotcha.

Melquea Smith: And full, full disclosure, I’m, like, whole, whole ADHD, so it’s like I will dive deep into something and then be like, “Okay, I’m done.”

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Next thing,

Melquea Smith: right. And then, like, come back full circle. Super relatable. Like, oh, wow, three years later, okay, I’m back in there, and then, okay,

Pat Flynn: I’m done. I appreciate that. I, I appreciate that answer and honesty, and that’s super fair. Um, was just, was just curious if anything-

Melquea Smith: Yeah, of course …

Pat Flynn: triggered that. But, you know, I think people come in and out of the podcast very often, and from what I’m hearing, a lot of people are excited because they’re gonna start to hear a little bit more from, from Liz, and she’s got an incredible knowledge base for things that are very practical for business owners- Yeah, and stuff. And, and I do wanna, again, get into how she specifically has helped you. But, like, there’s so many people who are in the same boat of, they have an art, they have a creativity, but they just don’t know how to turn that in, into revenue. When did this start to see some revenue come in for you? What, what did that look like?

Was it with the agencies and that sort of thing? ‘Cause you said the clip art stuff- Mm-hmm … came later. But when did you realize that, like, yes, this was a viable thing for me?

Melquea Smith: I had to realize it. I’m still working on that. But as an artist and a creative person, we… I don’t see the starving artist myth floating around anymore that much, that, oh- Mm-hmm

you’re, you’re selling out, and… No, I don’t see that anymore. I do see, though, that a lot of creatives and teachers who, like, teach people business and stuff, and teach artists specifically on, like, running a business, to really break them out of that, the remainder of that starving artist myth. It’s somehow, for some reason, intrinsic in us now.

And then- Mm-hmm … you just add all of your intersectionalities, like if you’re a person of color, or if you’re assigned female at birth, or if you’re all these different things, and it’s like, “Wait, I shouldn’t want money? Like, that’s gross.” And it’s like, no, uh, I wanna be able to, like, pay for my nephew’s daycare and, like, buy things I want, and be able to- Right, right.

Like, live comfortably, like, and be able to give back. Like, I want to do that, and I, and I wanna say that with my chest, my whole chest, and not feel weird or icky about that. So just realizing that is a viable path. Like, a lot of people are like, “Don’t quit your day job,” and, you know, “Don’t do these things.”

And yeah, that, that has some sort of, like, merit to it, um, but also, you just have to be, like, delusional.

Pat Flynn: So true.

Melquea Smith: Yeah. You have to be like, “No, I have to make this happen.” Like, there’s, there’s n- I put myself in a situation, and we can talk a little bit more about that if we have more time, but I put myself in a situation like, “No, this needs to happen.”

Like, I need to make this work because the life that I have built right now will only happen if I continue to make income through my artwork. And so surrounding myself with people who have actually… that are doing it. Mm-hmm. Um, my mentor, Kelsey Rodriguez, is one of them. She’s a creative, but she also teaches other artists, uh, about business.

Liz, when she runs her, you know, her $9 a month membership, and now she’s able to support three households through the proceeds of that. Like, that’s amazing. And then emails, little old us over here saying, with little emails saying, you know, “Hey, by the way, thank you so much for being here. You are, you being here allows us to, allows me to support my family,” that’s awesome.

That makes me- Yeah … wanna stay even longer, you know? And I just surround my- try to surround myself virtually or in person with people that have done it and are continuously doing it. My friend Vanessa, she also does this. Now, she’s more in the education space, but she does work in surface pattern work and illustration, and she’s done children’s book work.

And so I try to weasel my way into people’s DMs. and get to know people through that, and then somehow be able to make friends with folks and, and, and make friends with artists who are business owners and who are like, “Nah, I’m a business owner. Like, I’m an artist, and I email my people, and I send sales emails.”

And that’s how I learned like, oh, this is viable. Like, this can be done. And I have yet to make one of those six-figure, six-figure months or six-figure years, but I will get there because I’m seeing my friends and seeing other people do it. So… And I’m gonna keep going until I do, so.

Pat Flynn: I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

You often hear your net worth is your network, and so I love that you’re working on who are you connecting with and, and, you know, not too shy about that. I think a lot of us are too shy to go and make friends and see the power- Mm-hmm … of, of one plus one equals three sometimes- Yeah … in, in these kind of wor- uh, worlds of entrepreneurship.

And, and I’m curious, how many books have you now published? And follow-up question, of all those books, what would be the first one that you would recommend for the listeners to go and check out to really get a true sense of you and your work?

Melquea Smith: Oh, boy. Okay. So I worked on three children’s books. One was with a nonprofit organization called Room to Read.

Another one was with a small publisher with, uh, what’s her name? Their name is Includas Press or Includas Publishing. And then the third one was Cardinal Rule Press. So three books: Two Homes in Omar’s Heart, The Biggest Gift of All, and The Time Machine. The one that I would say that is the best culmination of who I am is The Biggest Gift of All.

That can be found on my website, or I feel like I have a link somewhere. It’s on my website, but you- it’s, it’s definitely on my website- Okay … prettykittypaintings.com. It, it’ll be up somewhere. What was- It’s like-

Pat Flynn: What was the website one more time?

Melquea Smith: Prettykittypaintings.com.

Pat Flynn: Perfect. Thank you for that.

Melquea Smith: Of course.

Pat Flynn: Let’s talk about Liz, ’cause you coming back into the SPI world with Liz on the podcast and then diving into her world, what is it that she’s been able to h- to serve you with? I… Yes, she’s an email expert, but she’s so much more than that, communities she’s built. What specifically was she able to bring to you?

Melquea Smith: When I think of Liz, I think of just down-to-earth and approachable, which is something that i- i- when you’re learning from people and you’re learning from, you know, educators in the space or marketers, they seem not as approachable. Like- When you listen to her speak about her mistakes or the things that she’s excited about or nervous about, she puts herself in the same kind of level as our, like, listeners and, and her people and encourages us to do the same.

I used to email people thinking I had to be some really, like, super guru-y type of person that knows- Right … all this stuff and, and is, you know, like this person that’s kind of untouchable. But that’s just not me, and I am grateful that I was able to kinda pick that up from her. And instead of being that, you know, sage on the stage, I’m more of a guide on the side.

I email my people and always encourage people that it’s a two-way street. You can always reply to me. Um, same thing that she does, and I will straight up steal her emails, and she completely be okay with that.

Pat Flynn: Well, that’s what she wants. And, and even that phrase, you know, sage from the stage, I mean, that’s her.

That’s her DNA, and you’re, you’re- Yes … embodying that, uh- Yeah … here even in your answers. I love that so much.

Melquea Smith: Yeah. It’s, it’s awesome. And, and of course, like, folks, like, when you steal her emails, you’re gonna change things up. You’re gonna make them more in your voice and things like that. Like, every time I’ve had used her email templates or have straight up gone like, “Oh, this is a good idea. I should totally, you know, take this,” I’ve always… I’ve gotten so much stronger at writing emails that I don’t feel nervous about writing emails. I’ve consistently, ever since getting on Her email list and signing up for her membership, then becoming an annual, uh, a pass holder, and now becoming a lifetime pass holder.

I have emailed consistently for two years now straight every Thursday. Like, isn’t that crazy?

Pat Flynn: If you said you couldn’t do it every quarter before.

Melquea Smith: I couldn’t do it every quarter. I was like, “What are you talking about? I don’t know what to do.” Like, no, I e- every two, every week. Is that crazy?

Pat Flynn: That is amazing.

I mean, email is definitely one of my weaknesses. That’s why I think bringing her in in this way has been incredible, and even when she came in as community director back in April, she saw some things that we could clearly do to make an impact, and she made it happen. I mean, she doubled the size of our community almost, you know, in a month or two, and we’re like, “Oh, yeah, we, we definitely need her.”

So-

Melquea Smith: Yeah …

Pat Flynn: That is incredible.

Melquea Smith: The thing about her is that it’s not also just her emails that makes her valuable. It’s just her mentality and how she handles business and how she, like, her approach to it. She’s always like, “I don’t want to complicate things, and I’m not going to encourage you to complicate things,” you know?

A lot of people might have questions about, “Oh, I’ve emailed my people, but then I stopped emailing them, and then what should I do?” And she’s just like, “Just tell them, you know. Don’t complicate it. Send an email that’s from the bottom of your heart that says like, ‘Hey, I, you know, I’ve moved overseas, and I got really tired, and I stopped emailing you, but now I’m back,’ you know?”

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. “And let’s pick this back up.” Like, don’t make it, don’t make it complicated. Don’t, you know, inflate it any more than it needs to be. Most people don’t care. You know? They’ll, they’ll, they’ll, they’ll understand. You know, it’s summertime. They’re probably not even checking their emails as much, depending on your industry.

Yeah. But yeah, and, and that’s… I just like the way that she has such a sharp eye and ear for business too, that I, I love being in her space. And then of course, her mentality and her energy brings like-minded people, and I’ve met so many awesome people through her membership and through her community. And then now with partnering with you also having super cool people and just, like, a great, like, wholesome, I’d say I, I attune different feelings and energies as, like, brown sugar or, like, you know, just warm garam masala, like that warm energy.

Pat Flynn: Yeah.

Melquea Smith: And just like having those two superpowers of warmness collide into a bigger warm community, it’s just like that’s awesome. Like, that’s exactly… Like, this is like the business home that I am super happy to be in.

Pat Flynn: Oh, that is so cool. Thank you for, for saying that. You know, when I was very much just solo, Pat Flynn is Smart Passive Income like it was for a long time, it was Team Flynn, and it was like, you know, I’m the team captain, but we’re all in this together kind of thing.

And then, and then we had FlynnCon in 2019. It was about me, and then ever since the community came on in 2020, I have seen that, no, it’s not even about me at all. It’s about all of us. And when Liz came on she’s like, “Yeah, it’s no longer Team Flynn ’cause it’s like it’s us, and it’s, it’s Liz now as well.”

She’s like, “It’s kind of like Team Win. Like, what’s important now? W-I-N. What’s important now?” I was like, “Man, you’re so good.” Um-

Melquea Smith: No, like come on. Like, d- only she can do it, man.

Pat Flynn: Yeah. But like you said, she, she like removes the complication. She’s like, there’s a lot of things we need to do as business owners, but what is important now?

That means winning, working on that thing which is like just a, a, a great way to put it. So I think that, you know, I’m excited for the future and, and for what people can get from her. And who knows where she’s gonna take ’cause she’s got so many good ideas, and her energy’s incredible. And Mocquiah, what would you say to somebody who’s maybe listening to this, and they’re like, “Well, I don’t know. You know, Pat’s kind of less and less here on the, on the show and on the, uh, in the brand and, and more of Liz.” Like, what would you say to somebody who’s maybe not so sure about the future of SPI?

Melquea Smith: And I think all businesses go through changes, and all businesses pivot. I totally get the feeling of, you know, this person that I am very, like, attached to, either parasocially or whatever in that way, ’cause I totally get it.

I’m really… Once I find something that works or I find a community or something that works, I stick to it. I have my, like, three major communities that I’m into, and I’m like, “This is, like, these are the things that are, like, filling my cup in, in the season that I am in.” One, I totally believe that Liz is awesome.

Like, it- like I said before, that warm energy, that all… You’re getting almost, like, two for the price of one, you know? If you’re even paying anything. Like, if you’re, you’re on this podcast, you’re, you’re listening to this podcast, so it’s free. You’re getting two for the price of one. If that isn’t business winning, then I don’t know what is.

Um, and two, I think that just try it out. I totally understand, like, the, the need to, or the- that fear. I’m also glad that, Pat, you’re stepping back a little bit and allowing other people to contribute because that just allows you to have a little bit more free time or allows you to focus on other things that work for your business.

Once you’re in business, you’ll kinda, if you want to scale in a specific way, scaling, like, stepping back as the owner is, is kind of, like, the next step sometimes. It just allows you to not do everything yourself. And just, just stick with it because, you know, I- I’m really excited to see, like, where this is going to be, like, how this is going to go and, and what, what Liz is going to bring.

She’s done a lot of changes in her community too and just, like, adding a lot of stuff. Actually, real quick, as a pass holder, she ended up hosting a town hall for her folks, and we literally just had, like, a hour, hour and a half Zoom call where, like, all of us was able to chime in and ask for certain things or, you know, she was like, “I have this idea. What do you think?” And then we all were able to, to give our ideas on it, and she’s really open to people She’s really open to making sure that her membership, and not just the membership itself, but her community and the overall SPI Community, are being able to get what we need from what you both are providing.

And that’s just, that’s exactly how we need to be running our businesses, y’all. Like, we need to be able to- Yeah. Amen … give what people are asking for. And but we weren’t able to have this town hall un- un- until she, not even until, but we weren’t able to have something like that until she was able to, like, build that up from the ground up and always say, “You know, I’m open to ideas. I’m an email away. Reply back to me,” and keeping that, that door open and always asking. So that already tells you what kind of person that she is and how she’s going to be handling, just how she handles things in general.

Pat Flynn: Incredible. Thank you, Melquea. I appreciate you so much. One more time, where can people go to find your incredible work?

Melquea Smith: You can find me at prettykittypaintings.com. You can also find me on Instagram with the same handle. It may be changing in the future, but maybe not yet. I have to figure that out. And I’m just excited to be here. Thank you, Pat, and thank you, our, my dear listeners, for being here and listen to me prattle for 25 minutes.

Pat Flynn: Ah, appreciate you. Thank you.

Melquea Smith: Thank you, guys.

Pat Flynn: Absolutely incredible. Thank you so much both to Melquea and Allan for coming on the show today. And once again, thank you, the listener, for trusting me to put you in the right hands to move forward in your business and wherever you’re at. And I promise you, with some time, you will see that this was absolutely the right move for all parties, and I think Liz is gonna have the most incredible time supporting you in your journey as well.

This is what she’s most excited about. I’m excited for it too, but I have this higher calling, and it’s already seeing itself through some amazing things in my life that I never thought possible. So again, thank you to Liz. Thank you, the listener. So I appreciate you. Take care, and I’ll not be disappearing completely.

Don’t worry. I’ll be here, and I’ll be back, and I’m looking forward to catching up in the future. But until then, best of luck. You got this. And I’m speaking to you, Liz. And I’m speaking to you, the listener, as well. Appreciate you. Bye.