Problems to Profit Podcast

Episode: The Business of Being You: Maya Elious’ Story
Host: Preston Brown
Guest: Maya Elious
Date: October 30, 2025

Episode Overview

In this dynamic and insightful episode, Preston Brown welcomes Maya Elious—branding and messaging powerhouse, coach to hundreds, and self-made seven-figure entrepreneur. Together, they dive deep into the business of authenticity: how Maya built her brand from humble beginnings, the power (and pitfalls) of personal branding, pricing your services, identity as a business owner, and navigating the realities of coaching, consulting, and scaling—without losing yourself. Expect real talk, laughs, and plenty of actionable gems for anyone looking to turn business problems into real profit.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Maya’s Journey: From MySpace Pages to Messaging Maven

• Starting Young (03:21)
  • Maya’s “overnight success” was 10 years in the making. She began at 18, designing MySpace pages for artists and models for $35–$55 a pop.

    “All I knew was somebody was willing to pay me between, like, 35 to 55 bucks… and I was 18. So I'm like, this is a lot of money. I'm out here balling.” ([04:00] – Maya)

• Progression to Web Design & Branding
  • Adapted as MySpace faded, pivoting into web design and learning on the job.
  • Dropped out of college at 23—a big deal to her Liberian immigrant parents.
• Shift to Coaching (09:29)
  • Realized clients needed help not just with design, but with messaging and strategy.

    “As I discovered the value in what I was doing and just getting more clients… I started to grow as a coach and then eventually went full time into coaching.” ([09:29] – Maya)

2. What is Branding—Really?

• Maya’s Definition (10:21)

  “It's your persona. It's the perception other people have of you, essentially your reputation… It's not necessarily what you say you are… It's what other people say you are, but you can influence it.” ([10:21] – Maya)

• Brand vs. Marketing vs. Sales

  • Preston and Maya discuss how branding, marketing, and sales all interplay but are distinct.
  • Branding as reputation; marketing as communication; sales as conversion.

3. Brand Values & The Power of Polarity

• Being Polarizing (14:51)

  • Preston shares how his home-building company uses clear values and even “aggressive” signage to set expectations—or fire clients.

    “We reserve the right to refuse service to assholes. And it sets the brand.” ([14:09] – Preston)

• Maya on Values & Identity

  “The best brands are polarizing. It's very clear, and people know where you stand…. Let's build the CEO, then let's build the business.” ([14:51] – Maya)

  • Playfulness and clarity as intentional brand values.

4. Coach vs. Consultant: What’s the Difference?

• Market Confusion & “Coaching Fatigue” (18:37)
  • Both acknowledge coaching’s murky reputation, especially with “pop-up” coaches.
  • Preston: Coaches should stick to their area of expertise, not be “everything” coaches.
• Maya’s Framework

  “Coach… is pulling something out of you that's already inside and then kind of giving you a framework and a strategy… Consultants… Here's the strategy and we're going to implement it for you. Coaches aren't really going to implement for you.” ([18:37] – Maya)

• Coaching as Identity Transformation

  “A consultant is somebody you're paying for an outcome. A coach is somebody you're paying to help you become who you need to be.” ([24:22] – Preston)

5. Stories of Transformation & Pricing Breakthroughs

• Client Wins (25:00–29:06)

  • Maya helps a photography coach multiply her workshop price & get fully booked.

    “She did a launch, and she booked out on her launch. I think she got like, 15 clients at a thousand dollars…” ([25:00] – Maya)

  • Mindset (not just strategy) is often the biggest shift needed.

• Preston: It’s not always about what you know—it’s applying it!

  “Sometimes you forget to apply your own brilliance to yourself.” ([29:06] – Maya)

6. Ideal Clients, Offers, and Identifying ‘Gaps’

• Who Maya Works With (31:22)

  • Experts with at least 5 years’ experience, struggling to price and articulate their value, often coming out of undervalued corporate backgrounds.

  • Core limitation: undercharging & poor value articulation.

    “The first thing we look at is how many hours are you working… and how much money do you actually want to make and what do we realistically need to be charging? … The value isn't in the time that's spent. The value is in what's the transformation they're getting because of the time that you spent.” ([33:06] – Maya)

7. Building a Personal Brand: Ego, Authenticity, and Storytelling

• Why Even Bother with a Brand? (38:40–44:44)

  • Preston: Many brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs worry about being “too flashy” or ego-driven. But today, people want to know you, not just your business.

    “Social media… it's today's language. They don't want just to do business with your company. They want to do business with a person, and they want to know you and they want to, like, feel you.” ([45:44] – Preston)

  • Maya:

    “When I think about building a brand, I think it's, you're just naturally telling your story… At the end of the day, people are buying into a version of themselves that they see or that they desire to be.” ([41:35] – Maya)

8. Hacks for Getting Started with Your Brand

• Maya’s Starting Questions (47:58)

  1. What are you trying to do/what do you want to create?
  2. Who specifically do you desire to serve?
  3. What urgent pain or aspiration are they dealing with?
  4. What is your unique philosophy and why is it needed now?
  5. What is the time frame for results?

  “What is the philosophy that you believe so much in that you’re like, I have to help people with this now? … Who values this the most? … You're going to sell to people who are feeling the pain. People… are usually making decisions because they want to escape a pain more than they're chasing a pleasure.” ([55:13] – Maya)

• Find your voice & archetype:

  • Maya suggests her resource to identify your “brand archetype,” e.g., Disrupter, Nurturer, etc. ([66:01] – Maya)

9. The Necessity of Being (Strategically) Polarizing

• Embrace that you’ll repel some people

  “When you're building a brand, you're gonna have to be polarizing sometimes. And polarizing doesn't mean intentionally being an asshole. … The people who agree and rock with it … will be attracted to it. And you're also going to repel people.” ([61:39] – Maya)

• Preston’s take:

  “You have to be somewhat polarizing because there are customers you don't want.” ([62:24] – Preston)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Maya, on her beginnings:

  “My overnight success was 10 years in the making.” ([03:21])

• On values and brand clarity:

  “I love that the values are so clear… Playfulness is probably a value of yours, even if it's not written down.” ([14:51] – Maya)

• Coach vs Consultant in a nutshell:

  “A consultant is somebody you're paying for an outcome. A coach is somebody you're paying to help you become who you need to be.” ([24:22] – Preston)

• On niching and expertise:

  “You need to coach in your area of expertise. You don't need to be the everything to everyone.” ([20:22] – Preston)

• On the appeal of authenticity:

  “It's not about the ego, but it's what are people aspiring to do or be or have?” ([42:21] – Maya)

• On pricing and mindset:

  “You believed in yourself enough to invest $10,000, but you don't believe in yourself enough to charge at least $1,000 for the services that you provide.” ([25:00] – Maya)

• On polarizing brands:

  “There are some clients where I'm like, I would pay you three times over to never even breathe the same air as me. … The wrong people cost you more money than not having them.” ([62:49] – Maya)

• On triggering people with truth:

  “If the truth triggers you, it ain't me, baby. It's the truth that you're getting hurt by. And that ain't my fault. That's your conversation with God.” ([65:20] – Preston)

• On sales and pain:

  “People are usually making decisions because they want to escape a pain more than they're chasing a pleasure.” ([56:58] – Maya)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:45] Maya’s Story: From MySpace to CEO
• [09:29] Transition from design to coaching & discovering message/copy as her “zone”
• [10:21] What is branding? Reputation, influence, perception
• [14:51] Polarizing brands & values: business anecdotes
• [18:37] Coach vs Consultant & why coaching got a bad rap
• [25:00] Maya’s transformation client stories
• [31:22] Who Maya serves and her ‘ideal client’
• [38:40] Why build a personal brand (even if you hate showing off)
• [47:58] Where to start if you want to build a brand
• [61:39] The power and value of being (selectively) polarizing

Where to Find More from Maya Elious

• Instagram: @mayaelious
• Live Weekly Webinars: mayaelious.com/evolve
• Brand Archetype Quiz: mayaelious.com/identity

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for entrepreneurs at all levels who are ready to step into the business of being themselves. Whether you need to raise your prices, clarify your message, or finally own what makes you unique, Maya Elious delivers both tough love and practical wisdom, guiding you to build a brand that is as profitable as it is personal.