Dr. DL Wallace is the CEO and Founder of SimplySuccess.com (aka Success Training Institute), which is an Education Technology that offers professionals from all walks of life the ability to learn and earn with its mobile-friendly training platform. The company offers certification courses in numerous core business competencies known as “soft skills”; which current trends show are most critical to business success.
Leadership, team building, sales, conflict resolution, and overcoming adversity are just a few of the courses designed to boost social, emotional, and workplace effectiveness. The subscription-based membership also allows professionals to earn money by referring the corporate services of Simply Success to business leaders in their respective networks. In addition, paying subscribers can activate scholarships for the less fortunate simply by completing the online certification programs. This cause-based approach to training allows each customer to contribute to the advancement of those in need.
Global Millionaire magazine recently caught up with Dr. DL Wallace to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur and here’s what went down:
1. Could you please tell our readers about your background and about your motivation for launching your business?
I started my first business venture as a junior in college at Baylor University. This is when I discovered my passion for innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship. After college, I excelled in Corporate America and was blessed to retire at the age of 32. This led me back to my early passions for developing great business enterprises.
Being fascinated by technology, I wanted to create online tools to empower the masses with the skills you don’t learn in college. I wanted to bridge the gap for business-minded professionals with on-demand training that actually produced the desired results. This led to the development of Simplysuccess.com; which allows people from all walks of life to gain certifications that boost their resumes, earnings potential, and entrepreneurial opportunities. Today, our company has a presence in multiple countries across four continents.
2. What makes your business model unique?
It’s our focus on philanthropy. We are the only company in the Education Technology space that offers a one-to-one match with our educational and training products. This means when our paying customers earn certifications through our online platform, we donate training scholarships to those less fortunate.
Here’s the impact of the model: As our customers are growing personally and professionally by earning certifications in Leadership, Sales, Team Building, Conflict Resolution, and more, they are automatically empowering at-risk teens, victims of domestic violence, single parents living in poverty, disabled veterans and other members of society who would not otherwise be able to afford this type of training.
3. Can you describe your typical client?
We serve both corporate and retail clients. Our typical corporate clients include school districts, colleges and universities, and companies looking to improve retention and productivity. We work with all types of corporate clients because every organization needs quality training programs that are customized to suit specific needs.
Our retail clients include a variety of business professionals who are looking to both boost their skills and earn extra money. We have a program that allows them to earn commissions by referring corporate clients. It’s very popular because it encourages them to turn their contacts into contracts. Our retail clients can even enroll in programs to become certified trainers within our network; which allows them to earn money by training for us in live and online settings. This program alone helps us attract professionals from all backgrounds and industries.
4. How has the global pandemic impacted your company?
Being an online Ed Tech company, our business has thrived like never before during the pandemic. We offer Virtual Internship Programs for college students seeking work experience, mobile-friendly training business professionals and everything we do is online. Therefore, the demand for our services is at an all-time high.
Most of the world has been forced to make a major shift in their approach to doing business in order to ensure the health and safety of their employees and clients. Our company is helping usher in this new era of online training and development. People are now seeing the power, convenience, and effectiveness of learning and earning remotely and our company is definitely benefiting.
5. What business achievements do you cherish most?
First, is our customer satisfaction rate because business is all about managing the customer experience. Over 97 percent of our clients rate their experience with Simply Success as exceptional. That means a lot to me. It shows that our products, processes, and personnel consistently exceed customer expectations.
Next, would be the development of the SIPS Instructional Method. This is a process we pioneered and perfected. It’s the art of delivering impactful, video-based training in 8 minutes or less. People want to grow professionally but don’t have time for hour-long webinars and boring presentations. They need power-packed, high energy training segments that complement rather than compete with their busy lifestyles. Our training method accomplishes that and much more. It’s one of the reasons our programs are so popular.
Last and certainly not least, it’s the people we’ve been able to help through our Global Success Initiative. This is where we provide training scholarships to those in need. Sometimes, we hear back from the recipients and they tell us how the access to our training helped them get a better job or a promotion. In other cases, we hear how our training programs have boosted their confidence or helped them become better parents. I’m always encouraged to know we’re making such a difference in the world.
6. What is your most valuable personality trait and why is it so important to your success?
That’s easy! Creativity. In business, it’s important to stay on the cutting edge. New ideas, new process and always improving is critical. Everyone has been blessed with creativity but not everyone uses it. For me, ideas don’t leave my head until I act on them. By implementing rather than just talking about great ideas, our company stays ahead of the pack.
7. As a business leader, how would you like to be remembered and why?
My goal has always been to help make the lives of people better. I enjoy being an agent for change. Our company was designed to help people achieve success because success makes people feel better about themselves. I’d like to be regarded as a leader who brings out the best in everyone I meet and in everyone who experiences our services.
8. Who are your role models/mentors and how have they helped you succeed in business?
I’ve had the privilege of exceptional professional mentorship and have been fortunate to interact with some of the world’s wealthiest and most successful business leaders. However, there has never been a role model that has made a greater impact on me than my parents. My father and mother gave me all the love, support, guidance, and preparation needed to prepare me for success in life. Their profound influence on me can be seen in every aspect of my life. I thank GOD for blessing me with the best parents on the planet!
My work ethic, patience, and focus are all attributes I learned from my dad. Attention to detail, commitment and drive to help others are just a few of the traits I learned from my mother. They both made sure I was grounded spiritually, taught me the importance of character and integrity, and never discouraged my big dreams and aspirations. Most people don’t realize the magnitude of being raised by exceptional parents. It impacts everything, including business success. They cultivated my confidence and provided the environment that allowed me to reach my full potential and I’m forever grateful.
9. What is the most important advice you could give to an aspiring entrepreneur?
This one is easy. Become great at doing what you love. We all have something we were born to do. However, most professionals chase money by doing things they don’t love; not realizing they could make far more money by focusing on their passions, their gifts, and their unique talents. Some would call this risky but it’s gratifying. The bigger risk is neglecting your true talents and wasting time doing things that don’t inspire you. Entrepreneurs need one-track minds to succeed and if you’re going to think about one thing, it may as well be the thing you love most.