Esbe is an entrepreneur, writer and scientist dedicated to helping coaches, consultants, speakers, entrepreneurs and professionals publish professional audiobooks. She is the CEO and co-founder of Non-Fiction and has helped authors and storytellers share their work and knowledge for the rest of the world to enjoy. I sat down with Esbe to get the inside scoop of being a location independent entrepreneur. She is currently living in Chiang Mai, and has hopped around the globe from Mexico City, Toronto, Vancouver and the United States while building her business.
Why did you get started with creating non fiction?
Growing up, my father would entertain me with colorful tales of growing up in South-Africa — stealing socks from the neighbours clothesline, what he remembers about his late parents that I never got to meet, of the different era he was raised in.
It was these times where I most felt connected to him. A few years ago, my dad had a major health scare (don’t worry, he’s fine now). He really started to think about his time here on earth and about the legacy he was leaving. So, he started recording his stories on tape. I was left thinking about my children, his grandchildren, and how much they will miss out on when my dad is no longer around to tell his tales. A thought struck me, to put his stories into a timeless capsule, to keep them safe for generations to come. I wanted to gift a book, both physical and audio, full of my dad’s stories. I went looking for a quality service to start creating this book but could not not find anything that I felt could create the story I wanted for my Dad. I then decided to take on the research myself, and essentially became obsessed with book creation and publishing, I figured out how to put stories in an order that engages people, how to pass knowledge from one person’s head to another. I first learnt how to design a book that not only looks beautiful on a family member’s shelf, but also on Barnes and Noble’s shelves. This was the beginning of NonFiction.
What is it like working as a location independent entrepreneur?
It is really awesome to be able to work from anywhere with a solid internet connection. I have been able to live in the most beautiful locations around the world and learn about different cultures and ways of life. It also makes me a minimalist as I hop around so much, that I really only tend to bring the absolute essentials and have found this to be quite liberating. Although I am concentrated on my work, I also get to explore the world around me and meet new people from around the world. I have become incredibly open-minded and definitely picked up some positive habits from living in some of the places I have lived. For example, living on the West Coast of Canada, I was surrounded by many environmentalists and definitely became more aware of my footprint. You definitely become a part of whatever community you are living in and adopt some of their qualities. From a business development perspective and HR, at times it can be difficult to manage staff that are also in separate locations and being solely online makes it difficult to create a strong work culture. At times I have wish that we could all be one place working together and building stronger personal relationships.
What barriers have you had to overcome (personally or professionally) and how did you do this?
The biggest challenge initially was that I had no capital to start my business. I was fresh out of uni and had travelled so didn’t really have a dollar to my name. But — and I learnt this in the game — a lot of the time you don’t need capital to start your biz. Does it help? Absolutely, having some cash can accelerate the start of your entrepreneurial journey. But is it absolutely necessary? No. Once I knew I could do the work, I went out to the market and started pre-selling. This validated my idea, that there was actually a market, and the money I got from those sales funded my initial books and gave me the momentum I needed. Although the idea was initially to do memoirs, when I started preselling I realized the people who were buying all had a common theme—they were business people, entrepreneurs, or coaches and consultants. From there I pivoted to writing predominantly for that group of people.
Do you see your efforts contributing to social, economic, cultural, or environmental health and well-being? If so, how?
Social impact: all 21 staff and leadership are women. I have been so lucky when it comes to my team. I have managed to build a team of 21, all female staff & leadership, with a goal of empowering each of them. They range from young women who have drive straight out of high school, to retired women wanting to take back control of their time and grow the limits of what they believe is their digital and technical knowledge. Working for us allows them to have more flexibility & support to either work on their own project as well, or to spend more time with their family, grandchildren, or simply doing what they love. Many of the women in my team have felt that they cannot have a job they love doing as well as have the time, and most importantly, support to do what makes them happy in their own time, and have been genuinely shocked that there is something like that out there. And my clients have responded very well to working with a team that is women-run. If anything, me and my team have been welcomed as a breath of fresh air—many of our clients have been in male-dominant businesses for years. I used to have trouble identifying myself as a “businesswoman,” I think, because I see a woman stomping around in a power suit, strong and powerful, crunching data and talking about ROI all the time. That’s definitely a great woman to be, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t feel like that’s me. Once I started unpacking why I had those connotations about female leaders, and what it actually meant, I gained a lot of clarity and felt a sincere sense of relief. I discovered I can run a business and be nurturing AND powerful, empathetic AND strong, creative AND careful of ROI. I didn’t have to choose one over the other. After I realized that, nothing has really stood in my way — and I am driven to pass that on to my team.
To learn more about Esbe and her business check out https://www.nonfictionaudiobook.com/