Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynesha McElveen.
Hi Lynesha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started by doing financial literacy after living through racial unrest while in grad school in Cincinnati, OH in 2000. I watched African American people destroy their own communities and it hit me that you don’t change systems by tearing up things but by spending your money differently. From there, I started teaching financial literacy and teaching people how to get the best for less. I partnered with United Way of Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity, Get Checking and did seminars for Colleges and Universities around the county. My niche was teaching people how to save money have the things they want in the process. I trademarked the name, The Di$count Diva (R) and wrote a book, “Discount Divas 30 Tips to Having the Best for Less” in 2013. Getting clothing, shoes, and accessories was naturally a part of this so after being “laid off” my job in 2014, I launched, The Di$count Diva Thriftique from my living room in East Point, GA. I created a website and heavily marketed through social media (Fb, Twitter, IG). After being in living room and dining room for almost 2 years, I got pregnant with my son and my husband insisted I get a space outside the home, so on May 5, 2020, I moved to: 1864 Harvard Avenue in downtown College Park, GA. I saw the potential of the area before it was popping.
I remained in that space and grew my business for three years and then COVID happened. I was home with a second new Baby born at the beginning of Covid (3/7/2020) and was contacted by several of my clients/buyers asking if they could do Live Sales on my dormant Facebook platform, Discount Diva Deals. I created this in 2015 to let people share deals on anything from travel to clothing, to grocery sales, anything with a Deal or Discount! It had approximately 2500 members but NOBODY posted but me and that was once every few months 🤣🤣🤣 I initially said, “No”, but once the 3rd person contacted me, I relented. The first person, TaraNita McHenry had the first Live on June 26, 2020. From there word of mouth spread and by July of 2020, I had 15 people doing Lives. Within 6 months there were over 100 Sellers. I also allowed people to post items for sale. The platform is like a Poshmark but a year later in 2021, I created a separate page, Discount Diva Deals Live which is for LIVE SALES ONLY. The idea is to be like an HSN of Lives Sales and Jack’s Lives 24/7. Currently, I have sales Daily. Weekdays are usually from 12 PM-12 AM. Fridays-Sundays are typically from 9 AM-2 AM EST. We just had our two years anniversary on Monday and are celebrating this week. We have 19,900 members (trying to hit 20K this week) and over 465 Sellers! I am so grateful to be a part of helping empower women and assisting them in changing their WHOLE family’s financial dynamics.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was smooth with the Thriftique when I was in my home. I had no overhead and the Reseller’s industry was not as popular and thriving. I literally had clients who would spend $2500 with me in one month. Once I moved to my retail space, I now had overhead and some of the people who visited me in my home didn’t follow, even though I was only 3-5 miles away. Also, the market for resale changed with the invent of Posnmark, Mecari, and other sites. People low-galled products too. I used to sell items for the same prices as Ross, my niche being most items were under $20. Now people sell stuff for $2-$5. It kind of messed up the market. I struggled for years in my retail space and had to use household money sometimes to make shop rent. If I didn’t have the support (emotional and financial) of my husband, I would have had to close my shop. They say it takes 5-7 years for a business to make money and I concur. My business didn’t start making money AGAIN until Covid hit and I added the Seller’s platform. That was 4.5 years into being in a space. Now five years into it, I am doing VERY well and seeing 6 figure income but it took five years.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I empower women to Live Their Best Life! I do this a number of ways. Through teaching financial literacy including saving, investing, debt reduction, passing on wealth, cost cutting, building credit, and how to “Get Your Gucci Without Getting Gotcha” I conduct workshops, seminars, and personal one-on-ones. I also have a Facebook Seller’s platform, Discount Diva Deals (DDD) and this is what I am MOST proud of. I’ve had so many women reach out and say how their lives have changed since doing Lives on my platform. People who were losing their homes but able to save them with money generated on DDD! I’ve had people go into business full-time as sellers. People have launched retail spaces, started support services for Sellers, helped others in their financial struggles. I love getting messages from people telling me they made $1500 in an hour off a sale or $1000 a day posting items for sale. That’s what I’m most proud of. It’s a ministry and not just a passion. What sets me apart is I am The Di$count Diva (R). I believe in “Giving Deals, Getting Di$counts”. My platform only charges $27.99 for a single-hour sale (started at $14.99) compared to others that charge up to $100 for a sale and we although are a smaller platform, people are making the same amount of money!!! I also have monthly and quarterly packages that other platforms don’t offer.
It allows people to go Live at the same time each day of the week for a month ($84.99) or quarter ($225). This lets people build an audience. Like a tv show, people are looming for them on Sundays at 8 PM (or whatever time they choose) like it’s the Real Housewives of Atlanta! I also offer UNLIMITED POSTINGS which allow people to post as many items for sale as they want for a fixed price ($59.99). This way they have UNLIMITED income potential. I also encourage people to build their businesses. You’re not supposed to stay on fries. You should move up to cashier, manager and then franchise owner. Lol! I do this by offering FREE TRAININGS for Sellers in my group. Everything from how to increase viewers to how to increase sales. I’ve even had a Business Accountant share tips. I want to empower the sellers on DDD. There’s enough to go around and I want us ALL TO WIN!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I LOVE that Atlanta encourages entrepreneurship. You can say you sell toothpicks and people will buy them just to support you. I don’t know any other city that supports business owners like Atlanta and especially black, woman, and minority-owned business.
I don’t like that people here can sometimes be pretentious and act like they have more than they do. This has in the past put a negative outlook on the Thrift, Vintage, and Resale industry here. It can sometimes prevent the growth of your business. People want the deal but don’t want others to know they GOT the deal. They don’t want people to know they got that LV for the low low at a thrift store/Consignment Shop and went and had it certified and cleaned. They don’t want people to know about your business because they are scared then they’ll miss the deal. I’ve had clients tell me that when I asked for referrals. Thankfully they are in the minority and now Recycling clothing is “trendy” and environmentally friendly, especially since 64% of clothing ends up in landfills.
Pricing:
- $27.99 for a single Live
- $84.99 for a month of Lives at the same time and day each week
- $225 for a quarter of Lives at the same time and day each week
- $59.99 for UNLIMITED POSTS for the month
- $165 for UNLIMITED POSTINGS for the quarter
Contact Info:
- Website: TheDiscountDivaThriftique.com LyneshaMcElveen.com
- Instagram: @DiscountDivaDeals @TheDiscountDiva @TheDiscountDivaThriftique
- Facebook: Facebook.com/groups/DiscountDivaDealss Facebook.com/DiscountDivaDealsLive Facebook.com/TheDiscountDiva Facebook.com/TheDiscountDivaThriftique
- Twitter: DivaThriftique
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/Ypeg7BWjsKA
