Ebbi Young — Full Interview Transcript
Thriving Through Podcast, Episode 98
What Thriving Means
AJ: Ebbi Young, welcome to the Thriving Through podcast. I'm delighted to see you today.
Ebbi: AJ, thank you so much for having me. This is exciting!
AJ: I like to start with a question. As you know, the title of the podcast is Thriving Through. So my very first question is — what does thriving mean to you?
Ebbi: Thriving, to me, means navigating the world not just doing things the right way — and when I say 'the right way,' that's usually the way we're taught. But thriving, to me, is a little bit of that, and also leading with joy. I think joy is something we discover what it means for us as life goes on.
Thriving, unlike just surviving, is a mix between what you've been taught and what you've been discovering about joy. A combination of the two — that's how I see thriving.
AJ: And are you thriving?
Ebbi: I am on a journey to be thriving. Because I'm learning what my joy looks like every day.
AJ: I love that. Joy — ending the day having found joyful moments — is really important to me. I love that you defined thriving as having a joy aspect to it.
Ebbi: And I think it's important to note that what thriving means will change throughout life. What thriving looked like to me at 21 in college is completely different for me now, at this phase of life. Thriving used to be tied to success — what does success look like? A lot of things were tied to your work.
Now it's little things, like being able to step away from the desk and actually go breathe outside, touch grass, play with the baby — give them back, but play with the baby. All of those things are part of me understanding what thriving means in this chapter.
The Path to Self-Employment
AJ: Tell me about your path to self-employment.
Ebbi: It's been a winding road. I started my first venture in college, actually. My first business was really a self-healing thing for myself, and it just exploded. It was more of an events-based type of brand and business.
After college, I made it into an actual business. I was still working full-time and doing events on the side. But then we had something called the pandemic. I was laid off from my full-time job, and my business — which was in-person events — had its doors shut.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place with no income coming in. But I'm not a one-trick pony. With my background in journalism, marketing, and content creation, I started doing what a lot of entrepreneurs do — looking for the gaps.
Where are the gaps? Now that the world has seemingly shut down, I'm looking at small businesses and saying: they're missing something here. Their doors have had to physically close, and businesses are shutting down left and right — but they actually don't have to.
What if I was the person who stood in the gap and taught them about video marketing? We have the internet. It's been here before the pandemic. But a lot of us were not leveraging it for business. If you didn't have to use it, you weren't.
So I started working with small business owners: what would happen if we worked together on your brand story? What would happen if we talked more about your journey from your kitchen to your brick and mortar, and shared that online? As a journalist, I knew stories connect us — it's the one thing that's stood the test of time for thousands of years.
I leveraged that storytelling, took on the title of 'Video Strategist' — nobody knew what that was at the time — and started ET Digital Consulting, which stands for Ebby Talks Digital. That's how I became self-employed.
The Pivot: From Small Business to Leaders and Founders
AJ: You've recently been in the process of doing a pivot. Tell me about it.
Ebbi: The pivot has been interesting. It's 2026 now. The pandemic hit in 2020, and it's kind of like we lost two years.
I've noticed — as someone who looks at gaps and trends — that while video marketing is still the leading way brands reach their ideal audience, and storytelling is still one of the main ways brands connect with people, I'm seeing something new. A lot of professionals who are leaders — whether in corporate or running their own ventures — are sitting on enormous expertise. And we have four generations in the workplace right now, which is mind-blowing.
One of those generations — the boomers — is moving toward retirement, or not, because they don't want to retire. They have so much expertise, but they're not done. The work ethic of that generation is on another level.
AJ: As a boomer myself who doesn't plan to retire, I can attest to that. I started a new business at the age when most people in the corporate world were thinking about retiring.
Ebbi: You're making my point! There are so many more AJs in the world. Gen X is constantly moving up the ladder as the new executives. Millennials — my generation — are in middle management. Boomers are the current executives, moving out or staying.
So I'm looking at this and thinking: you don't want to retire, but there are so many more people like AJ. How about we leverage all of this knowledge you have? Let's talk about what it looks like to build your authority outside of the company you've helped build for all these years. Let's build your brand.
For my clients still in corporate, it's professional development — how do we position you to be an even greater asset to your company? I help them broadcast their skills in really cool and different ways, and suddenly their companies are saying, 'We need to have you on more panels, more speaking engagements, you're part of the face of the company.'
The pivot is still about storytelling. Video is still my main vehicle — I'm still challenging clients to get on camera. They hate and love me for it. But it's no longer small-business-centric. It's more leader and founder-focused. People who already have this wealth of knowledge, and we're positioning them to build authority.
Marketing with Urgency: Navigating a Second Layoff
AJ: While you're doing the pivot, you were planning to work full-time to pay the bills. But since we last spoke, there's been another layoff?
Ebbi: Yes. Because of the economy we're in, there was another layoff. So where we are now: back full-time as a business owner and entrepreneur, client-centered. The ideal situation had been full-time employment plus working with clients. That is not where we are.
AJ: That adds a sense of urgency. When you were employed full-time, you could be a little more leisurely about getting clients. But now it's 'I have to make money.' What's changed in your marketing approach?
Ebbi: I have to be honest with you. One of my superpowers has always been online connection — we're able to connect through direct messages, and that has been a superpower. But something I've been tapping back into since the world has reopened is getting back outside. Getting back into different networking events, making sure I'm diversifying the rooms I'm part of, and really having conversations with leaders at different levels since that's my target audience now.
It has gone from what I'd call passive sales — to more intentional, timely, urgent: let's make some moves. And it's required a total mind shift.
Strategic Networking: Making Networking Active
AJ: I always think of networking as passive — it depends on who happens to be in the room. You have no guarantee your ideal client will be there. I think of LinkedIn outreach as active. But what I'm hearing is that networking can be very active. Tell me more about how you make networking active.
Ebbi: The same thing we do on LinkedIn — intentionally researching people, looking up titles and backgrounds — I apply to networking events. I'm a journalist by trade, so I'm used to deep dives. I don't just go to any networking event. In my 20s, I was at every networking event that had free wine and cheese. Now I'm very intentional about the rooms.
I look to see who has RSVP'd to these events, because most of the time guest lists are digital. If it's a Facebook event, I can see who's RSVP'd. A prime example: yesterday, during Women's History Month, I was looking for events focused on women — more specifically, women who are either in corporate, founders, or a mixture of the two. Very different from a yoga event that happens to be for women.
For an event I signed up for recently, the description was very specific — here are the speakers, here's the focus. Knowing that subset of women, I already knew the types of people they'd attract. I researched each speaker: this one is in media, her crowd is this. This one is in tech. This one is in construction. I did a deeper dive before I even clicked RSVP.
The event was also at 8 to 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. That helps me rule out certain people and identify who's likely to be there — probably self-employed, or with the flexibility to take two hours away from a job. The part of town, the venue — all of those things factor in. My prior knowledge in the event world lets me apply that kind of psychology when thinking about where to show up.
So that's how I've made networking events active. I'm making sure that, more often than not, my ideal people are already in that room — so when I work the room, I have a smaller group to focus on.
AJ: So you walk into the event knowing exactly who you want to talk to, and you know something about them because you've looked at their profiles and what they post.
Ebbi: Absolutely.
The Marketing Paradox: More Tools, More Noise
AJ: You teach clients to leverage social media, LinkedIn, and newsletters for thought leadership. But you also said that modern marketing tools have actually made it harder to launch businesses. That's a paradox. What's different now compared to when you started 15 years ago?
Ebbi: Fifteen years ago, social media was a thing, but it wasn't being leveraged for business. People were still using it to be social. LinkedIn, back when I was in college, was literally just for job searching. A professor told us, 'Create a profile — this is how you'll find jobs in the future.' That's it.
Now everything is leveraged. LinkedIn is leveraged for business, for connections, for thought leadership, for companies showing off their community involvement. All of these tools are being used at the speed of light.
And it's a double-edged sword. It's great that we have all these free tools. But we don't own any of them. If any platform crashed, it's gone. That's why, as business owners, we should always be building our mailing lists — something we actually own. If you don't know that, now you do.
What makes it difficult is the noise. It's so much more noise. Whether it's good noise or bad noise, it's noise. You have to cut through. I just saw a stat that less than 5% of LinkedIn users actually post content. Less than 5%. Most people are lurking — scrolling, thinking 'that was a good article,' and moving on. They're not sharing their thoughts or posting their business.
Fifteen years ago, business was more personal. Less transactional. It was more like, 'Ebbi, I like you as a person — and by the way, you do amazing work. I want to work with you.' Now the default is: connect, pitch, done. You get a connection request and immediately it's a pitch — not even a conversation.
LinkedIn Outreach Without Pitch-Slapping
AJ: You do direct outreach on LinkedIn. How do you do it so that it doesn't land like the pitch-slapping everyone else is doing?
Ebbi: When I connect with someone on LinkedIn, I hop in their inbox with something genuine. 'Thanks so much for connecting. Here's something I found about your profile — this is what caught my eye, and this is why I think we should connect. Right now I'm being more intentional about my connections here. I'm doing 15 to 20-minute virtual meet and greets — virtual coffees. I'd love to have one with you in the next couple of weeks. If you're interested, let me know. If not, totally understand. Thanks for connecting. Here's my calendar.'
And when they book that 15 to 20 minutes, the booking page itself says: 'This is just for us to connect and get to know each other better. This is not a sales pitch.' So it's letting people know — I want to hear from you as a genuine person.
They may not even be quote-unquote client material. But I'm intentional with who I connect with. Even if they're not my ideal client, they may be the person in the room with my ideal clients. So when we're talking, it's organic: 'Oh, this is what you do? Oh, this is what I do. Well, we're looking for speakers for this, or podcasts for that.' And it elevates. We don't have to pitch-slap anybody. That's the quickest way to get deleted.
It's about quality. Even if you get a couple of people who respond to a cold pitch, what's the probability they become repeat clients or refer you? So much goes into relationship building. First impressions are forever.
Getting Out of Your Own Head
AJ: You shared something really vulnerable in our screening call — that your biggest obstacle has been getting out of your own head. Tell our listeners about that.
Ebbi: I'm so aware that transactional connections don't feel good — that's the first thing. And I always say, with time comes wisdom. But ignorance is bliss, too. The less I knew about business, the faster I moved. When I hit a block, it was just, alright, go around, next, next, next.
But now that I know so much more — the etiquette, the nuances, the right approaches — I find myself more cautious. I'm thinking about how I'm coming across, whether I'll be perceived a certain way. It slows me down.
Sometimes that pays off. High achievers who've had a lot of people ask things of them — they can appreciate a genuine approach. But I'm slower to move when it comes to asking for actual business.
I was vulnerable about this on purpose, because as business owners we're so excited to share all the great shiny things — the success, the numbers, all of that. But on the human side, we all have different challenges. One of mine is reminding myself: at the end of the day, this is still a business. Sales is what keeps it alive. It's the food on the table. You have to go. It's a necessary evil.
The Missed Opportunity: A Lesson in Closing
AJ: Tell me a story about a challenge you've faced recently as you've been pivoting, and how you've overcome it.
Ebbi: A part of consulting is what I like to call compatibility calls — some people call them discovery calls. I recently had one in person, which I don't usually do. The conversation was amazing. And then we got to the point where the person was expecting the close. They were waiting for me to jump in. And right when it was time, I just — I didn't jump. I didn't leap. Instead, I kept us on what felt easier to discuss.
We had a great conversation. But I believe that was a missed opportunity. It's been a long time since I froze like that — six years of ET Digital Consulting, and I haven't had that happen in a while. I think it's because of the pivot. I got so used to pitching the other way. With this new focus, I'm still refining my words, still getting my talking points together. I know the work, I know the transformation I can offer. But in that moment, I overthought it. And then the person said, 'This has been a great conversation, thank you,' and that was it.
AJ: And you've lost the opportunity — because you can't email them afterward and say, 'Hey, what I wanted to say was...'
Ebbi: Exactly. And this is a different demographic I'm getting used to. These are busy executives, C-suite folks, people on boards. When they carve out time and you don't go for it, they're almost like — well, I guess it's nothing. They're actually used to being asked. They're looking at you like, 'We've done a lot of casual talking — what's the point of this meeting? What do you need?'
AJ: It is business social. You're not nurturing a new best friend. There's a business aspect, and they know there's going to be something coming out of it.
Ebbi: Absolutely. And especially when you understand the value you bring — it's not about them doing you a favor by working with you. This is an actual service. They see it as the next level in their career. I'm just the conduit to help them get there. But with that particular person, I choked. And it was a lesson well learned.
What to Do Differently: Structuring Discovery Calls
AJ: What are you going to do differently next time?
Ebbi: First of all, I want to keep compatibility calls virtual or on the phone. That sets a clear boundary — here's the window of time, and we're going to stay in it. When you know the window, you know you only have so much time for small talk, and then you need to get to the point.
I'm also going to make a little outline for myself — my talking points, ready to go. I don't teach my clients to use a script for videos, but I do teach them the art of outlines and topics, because we tend to wander off and get onto tangents. It's the same principle. We're here for a point and a purpose. Moving forward, I'll keep that same cadence.
Vision for the Future: Corporate Teams and Longer Retainers
AJ: Where do you see your business in three to five years?
Ebbi: In three to five years, I see myself working more with teams. I love the idea of working with individual leaders, but this transition is taking a little more time — people need to understand that building their personal brand outside of their company is even a path they can take.
When it comes to working with teams and corporations — helping them understand the art of storytelling and what I call 'power presence,' which I also work on with individual leaders — the opportunity is to help teams see each person's superpower and how they can better execute the brand story together. In three to five years, I know we're moving from leaders to: let me work with your teams.
Some leaders are honest that they don't want to be on camera. But they have an amazing team — and they want help making it all make sense. I've been doing trainings for years. The goal is longer retainer contracts with corporate teams.
AJ: What do you think the biggest challenge will be to get there?
Ebbi: Finding the decision makers. With every business, that's usually the biggest challenge. You can connect with people who are in the room with decision makers, but then you have to get to them, build relationships — all of that takes time. Versus when your prospect is the decision maker and you can just sit down, have coffee, and talk about their goals for their team.
How to Connect with Ebbi
AJ: This has been a fabulous interview. How can listeners connect with you if they want to learn more?
Ebbi: You can find me on LinkedIn as Ebbi Nicole Young — that's E-B-B-I, Nicole, Young. On Instagram, I'm at Ebby Talks Digital. And my email is [email protected]. If you want to pop into my inbox and share the nuggets you took from this episode, I'd love to hear them and share them online. We do great things when we learn from one another.
AJ: Thank you, and listeners and viewers — I hope you'll take Ebbi up on her invitation to jump into her inbox and start a conversation. I know it will be valuable. For all of you watching and listening, until next time, keep thriving through.