Erika Talia McCarthy is the founder of the Gratitude 1st brand. Gratitude 1st focuses on helping new, female entrepreneurs launch their business with ease while building confidence in themselves and incorporating the power of their minds.
Her principle teachings focus on reducing stress, strengthening your mindset to become unstoppable, and creating winning habits to launch a successful business even if you have other obligations such as a 9 to 5 job or being a mom. Erika believes every female should have a voice and you don’t have to choose between your job, motherhood, and your business, you can have it all!
Erika created the Gratitude 1st Membership (gratitude1stgarden.com) site, which is an online learning center, to help you finally bring your dreams into reality! The Gratitude 1st Membership will walk you through how to launch your online business with the least amount of stress while maximizing productivity, how awesome is that?
If you’d like to secretly stalk Erika, you can find her on a variety of platforms. Erika is the host of the acclaimed Gratitude1st podcast which dives deep into the topics of business, spirituality, and mindset. She is also the author of the beloved novel, The Creators which you can find on Amazon here.
If you love binge-watching YouTube just as much as Erika does, you can find her delivering even more business gems and powerful advice on her Gratitude1st YouTube channel.
Her 3-year old son is the love of her life and she resides in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
What is your entrepreneurial story? How did you come about building your business?
Gratitude 1st was born almost by accident. As I was working in the corporate world, becoming an entrepreneur was not at the forefront of my mind, I was solely focused on climbing the corporate ladder. As I began to work on developing my mindset and professional skills, I noticed something was missing in the online business world. So many people felt they had to choose between their 9 to 5 jobs and building their own business. The fact that people felt they couldn’t work a 9 to 5 and build a business at the same time was so heartbreaking to me and I wanted to do something to help. I didn’t feel people should have to bury their dreams because they needed to make a living. Why couldn’t people have both? I set out to figure out a way to help people build a successful business while working their 9 to 5 without all the stress and overwhelm.
Gratitude 1st was born after I proved that I could successfully work my 9 to 5 job, build a thriving business, and continue to be an awesome and hands-on mom to my three-year-old son. During the process, I also managed to become more productive and create more time for myself even with the additional responsibilities of my business.
My mission from that day forward was to teach people how to work their job and build a successful business while strengthening their mindset. I also strive to help as many people as possible build spiritually aligned businesses because I honestly believe spirituality and business should go hand in hand.
What is your business model — how were you able to grow so fast?
My business has been able to thrive because I focus on building genuine connections with people. I really want to get to know my tribe, their struggles, and their dreams, then we collaborate to come up with a game plan to help them meet and exceed their goals.
Vanity metrics such as the number of likes on social media don’t mean anything if you’re not building true connections. To see long-lasting growth in your business, your heart must be in the right place.
Can you give me an overview of who you are, what is your educational or overall background? What are some of your achievements?
I’m a big kid at heart and love to bring fun and playfulness into anything I do. I was born in North Carolina but moved to Connecticut when I was two years old. I later moved to Atlanta, GA with my mom and brother in 6th grade, and I’ve resided in the Metro Atlanta area ever since.
I received my Bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and have taken several business and spirituality courses. I’m also training to become an NLP coach.
What have you learned through your experiences as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?
The road isn’t always easy but you’re worth more than a mediocre life that’s stressful and unfulfilling.
If your heart is calling you to start a business and live your dreams, then it’s up to you to take a leap of faith and answer the call.
With the right mindset, action, consistency, and guidance you can and will launch that business you’ve been dreaming about.
Keep going and don’t throw in the towel, because your dreams are worth it.
What makes your business so unique and successful?
Gratitude 1st is unique because I’m a strong believer that spirituality and business should go hand-in-hand. When you incorporate your spiritual practices into your business it can help you massively up-level your business and speed up success when you’re mentally and spiritually aligned.
What have you learned through your journey as an entrepreneur?
I’ve learned the journey of entrepreneurship is not always easy but it’s extremely rewarding and fulfilling. You have to cut out the noise, have tunnel vision, and know living in your purpose is worth all of the hard work and persistence at the end of the day. You must work on your mindset as you building your business in order to make it through the tough days, setbacks, and obstacles.
What skills and attributes make you as successful as you are?
Since I’ve worked so much on developing my mindset and aligning myself spiritually, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I can manifest anything I desire in my life and business. To all my friends reading this, I know you can do the same thing for your life and business if you just believe it!
I am also very persistent, consistent, and I am always seeking to learn more and gain more knowledge. If we never stop learning there will always be new worlds to discover. Taking action is also key to my success and I make it a priority to complete tasks and projects in my business.
Finally, I’m always showing gratitude for my blessings and praying for the people I’m connected to within my business. When you show gratitude, you’ll receive more things to be grateful for.
When you genuinely care about people, God/The Universe/Spirit/ Source (pick whichever word resonates with you) will send more people to your business because your heart is in the right place.
Why is online business, marketing, etc important?
Online business and marketing are so important because of the ability to reach an extraordinarily large number of people from all over the world. I think it’s absolutely beautiful that one’s product or service can transform someone’s life who lives on another continent. Online business also shows how truly connected we all are.
Marketing allows people to get to know you and your brand. Marketing increases the know, like, and trust factor and will help you gain loyal customers, clients, and fans once people get to know you. Again, what’s wonderful about online marketing is that you can reach so many people who live anywhere in the world.
Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to add in the articles?
If you’re interested in working with me and joining the Gratitude 1st Membership site here’s just a few things you’ll learn in the online learning center. Visit gratitude1stgarden.com
How to create a beautiful website that converts.
- Growing your email list with loyal fans.
- Instagram growth strategies for long term success.
- Calculating your sales goals and coming up with a game plan to meet those goals.
- Clearing the clutter of your mind for business success.
- Letting go of limiting beliefs
- Shifting your mindset for maximum results
- Juggling work and family while building an empire
- Incorporating spirituality into your business
- Plus much, much more!
Company name: Gratitude 1st
Website URL: http://gratitude1st.com
Instagram URL: https://www.instagram.com/gratitude1st
YouTube URL: Gratitude1st
Facebook URL: www.facebook.com/groups/gratitude1st
Podcast: Gratitude1st
Book on Amazon: The Creators by Erika Talia McCarthy