Meet Chrissy Collins of Elite Way Academy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Collins.

Hi Chrissy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Being a business coach was never a thought that crossed my mind while growing up. Born and raised in Chicago IL, I was a ward of the state. In and out of foster care and group homes between the ages of 2-15. I always had ambition and I always knew I was going to be something one day, I just never really knew how I would get there. I was told most of my life that I wouldn’t be much of anything. I believed it some days and then I fought against those beliefs on other days. My passion has always been for helping others. If I would see a homeless person on the street I would give them cash even if I had little to give. In high school, I would always give pep talks and encourage those who were struggling to keep going. Even though I was being abused at home, Mentally, physically, sexually, and emotionally oh! And spiritually because that’s not talked about enough I never let that keep me from making a difference.

On days my dad would beat me I would still hold out my hand if a friend needed me. I would even help those who later betrayed me. My heart was my weakness and people prayed on it often. There was a point in my life where I told myself I was going to be cold-hearted and still could never carry out those actions even when I tried. That was when I learned that you can’t change who God made you be. I get asked often why I chose this path and the truth is, it was chosen for me. Let me explain.

My biological dad found me at 14 and eventually earned custody of me at 15. Seeing that I grew up in the system for most of my life I had no idea how to act going into a normal home. Except my home wasn’t normal. It only took months before my dad began abusing me in every way possible. Yes, that’s right. My birth father. I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell so bad but I was finally out. Something so many kids only dreamed of. I didn’t want to ruin my chances of going back. That was how I felt at first until it got worse. After a while, I finally got the courage to tell my stepmom. She condemned me and called me a liar more times than I could count. I knew this was just one battle I was not going to win. I eventually didn’t care anymore and began looking for love in all the wrong places. That’s when I became pregnant and had my first child at 16. Just when I thought this would make everything better for me it only turned worse. Shortly after giving birth, my parents took over as if I didn’t exist. They groomed my child to call me by my first name when he was old enough to speak. He called them momma and daddy as I watched. If I was caught calling him my child in public I would get beat when I got home.

The abuse obviously continued. I thought I could save myself and my son by going to the police but my parents had convinced me to give them guardianship of my child, so when I reported the abuse all they had to do was bring up my past in foster care and say I’m a troubled teen. Boy did the police eat that up so my voice was never heard.

By the time I turned 19, I realized that I had to leave my son to make a better life. I made one of the hardest decisions to leave home and do something with my life. I told myself that it was for a better cause. I enrolled in dental school. Got my diploma, and started working hard until one day I realized what my passion was. I applied for Verizon. I know what you are probably thinking. Verizon isn’t a career but to me, it was definitely what opened the door to where I was about to go. I ended up working as a sales agent for about 6 months until I was promoted to store manager. That was a huge accomplishment for me to say at 20 years old I ran my own store. I got that first taste of leadership and knew I was born for it.

I got myself together, saved enough money to get my own place and took my parents to court, fought for my son, and won. Another accomplishment! My journey didn’t stop there. I was nominated as the #1 store in the district. I eventually made my way around the telecommunications field until I ended up managing an at&t store. My whole thought process changed when I saw the business rep walk through my storefront for the first time. The things that he taught me intrigued me on a different level. I was so hooked on understanding more about it. It was one thing to sell consumer lines but another to sell business lines in this industry at the time. And we were talking about 2014. Business lines were almost never sold in any of our regions so when I heard that I considered it a challenge. I studied and studied and eventually before you knew it I was pushing out just as many CRUs (business lines) as I was consumer lines. I even inspired those in other districts because it started to become the new norm. that’s leadership at its finest. Inspiring others through actions not only words.

At 28 I got married after meeting the man of my dreams and we ended up blending our family of 7. We decided to start our own town truck company in 2019 and it was thriving. I ran all the books and did all the data entry work. I was a “pro” at handling business so this came easy to me. That is until the pandemic hit in 2020 changing everything. It was at that time we learned some hard lessons about business. How it wasn’t set up properly and If we hadn’t co-mingled funds we could have applied for funding to help with the hardship we had experienced. I was slightly cocky in running our business until I realized I really didn’t know much at all. Like always I did research because I never wanted to put our family in that position again. While the pandemic was something that no one saw coming, I know now that we could have at least made it easier on ourselves had we done everything properly. You live and you learn right? After much research and investing in mentors. I got inspired to help prevent others from going through what we went through.

While the pandemic was not a happy place for the world to be in, there were some great takeaways from it. Many people were inspired to go after their dreams. So many business owners were produced in 2020 and 2021 and it’s only growing from there. I have been a big part of that increase. I opened up my business After helping so many people through the pandemic. I decided to start my company “Elite Way Academy”. I built this company with the intent to help others start and run their business the right way. I became a business Coach over time because that’s what I do, I coach future business owners on starting up their businesses and how to keep them going. I’ve created eBooks and courses to help those who would rather learn at their own pace rather than a 101 session.

I’ve taken everything that was already in me and built this amazing career. I didn’t want to make this about my sad upbringing but I did want to encourage those who hear my story to know that your past does NOT determine your future. You can be something in spite of what others have told you. Being resilient was my superpower. Knowing my worth kept me going. So, I want to say to the little girl or boy without a home or who doesn’t feel loved. Love yourself and believe in yourself. That love and confidence will be your helping hand through all the tough times. This was only 2% of my story but I made 100% sure I created my own when I had to ability to do so. Someone once told me that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react. I personally know that to be true.

This is only other beginning for me. I’m so excited about where I’m going next!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has definitely been bumpy. I experienced hiccups like any other person figuring out themselves. my biggest struggle I would have to say was my mind. While I am primarily a positive thinker, I’m still human and there was a point, I would see other people doing what I was doing and become intimidated.

I quickly felt like I wasn’t worthy of being a business coach and that I didn’t have enough experience or education behind me. I let my mind run wild at times. I noticed whenever I did that my momentum would slow down. I had to literally push myself out of that “imposter syndrome” by reading encouraging books or listening to those who were where I wanted to be. I began surrounding myself around like-minded individuals and that definitely helped.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Elite Way Academy is a company I started to help those who wanted to start a business but don’t know where to go or how to get there. I consider my academy to be targeted at beginners and those who may already have a business but didn’t structure it correctly. What sets me apart is my academy educates business owners on how to properly set their businesses up for success. I go over even the smallest details because I know firsthand that every detail matters. I’m there for my student every step of the way. I think so many coaches only focus on the big steps. ie: Pick a name, incorporate it, then get your EIN, and so on. I don’t just leave it there. I educate beyond structure. Let’s make sure your name has meaning and then do research to ensure you won’t run into any mix-ups with similar companies.

I’m most proud of my brand for being authentic. I can still be true to myself without sounding like the crowd. some would say that the market is over-saturated with coaches but I say those coaches aren’t me and don’t have the same inspiration, Inspiration determines directions so no one coach is the same,

When I first started Elite way academy I solely focused on business building, I have since added business credit and personal credit to my teachings. This decision was based on the economy and companies constantly changing policies. In addition, I never want people to forget I’m a student myself and I always will be. I’ll always take in more information so that I can become a better version of myself than I was yesterday. I add knowledge to myself so that I may add value to my students. I recently learned how to remove any negative account in just under 60 days. That’s what I mean, knowledge is power so ill always invest in someone to teach me so that I may teach others.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned I would have to say is to keep pushing even when it appears that no one is watching. I’ve learned that someone is always watching. take social media for example, some would say because they don’t get lots of traction to their posts people don’t see them.

But I say that likes don’t always equal sales. People will watch before they respond. You may get 5 likes on your post one day from promoting your brand and go viral the next. Life is inconsistent so you have to stay constant with yourself. I had to learn to believe in my brand even when no one else did. I stayed true and now people know my brand and my colors just by glaring.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/elitewayacademy_?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Therealchrissycollins?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: https://linktr.ee/coachchrissyc