Kim Ellis has quite an impressive background – from working with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, obtaining a position as a permanent Adjunct Faculty member for the International Space University and the Global Space Institute, being appointed as a NASA Postdoctoral Program Reviewer and countless other achievements – there’s no denying the fact that Kim is an expert in the fields of space, science and technology.
Today, Kim is the Director of International Earth & Space Technology Pty Ltd, a company she founded which provides consultancy services for scientific and technical research organisations, as well as online courses for business, legal and STEM professionals.
“I started my company out of a desire to create a technical business which fits my own unique niche and could impact our world.”
Her biggest motivation was her need to avoid feeling trapped and caged in by a regular 9-to-5 job.
From that original idea, Kim has evolved her business into one that not only sustains communities and helps others achieve their visions, but also sustains Kim’s family and allows her to spend time with them.
Recently, she has developed Skyrocket Your Profile for Profit, an online training program with both a business edition and a lawyer edition that helps professionals design powerful online profiles that sell.
Kim has also created an intensive workshop training session that focuses on helping her clients secure six figures in Australian business funding – which she succeeded in doing for her own business.
“I love creating workshops and training for space industry professionals which push boundaries and result in innovative new ideas for space exploration.”
Kim Ellis’ presentation reached the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
With her impressive credentials, Kim has been invited to speak at a number of meetings and seminars – including the Space Law Symposium in Washington DC, a graduate seminar for the University of Central Florida’s Space Institute, and many other universities, government departments and charitable organisations.
Interestingly enough, Kim cited her favourite entrepreneur as none other than the famous Kim Kardashian!
“Kim Kardashian is a unique individual who has consistently leveraged social media and technology into an ongoing passive income using tech partnerships.”
The advice Kim wishes she had when she started her business:
- Don’t listen to anybody when they tell you that your idea ‘won’t work’. Even if they are family and friends, – they mean well but they can’t see your vision the way you can because they are not you and they don’t have your expertise.
- If your business idea is so ‘out there’ that when you tell people about it they laugh or snigger – don’t take it personally. Just smile because every new innovation in the world was once something people laughed at and it means you are close to a breakthrough, eg. Reusable rockets (Space X), Aeroplanes (Wright Brothers), Electricity (Edison & Franklin) etc.
- As a woman in business, you need to grow a backbone and have strong self esteem or you are going to have a rough time. Its important to invest in yourself to make sure you have both.
The advice Kim would give someone thinking about starting their own business:
- You have to be willing to view your ‘failures’ as lessons and education and be able to get up every day and keep going despite hearing no, over and over again sometimes. If you can’t do this – you won’t succeed.
For Kim, these skills and knowledge areas are essential for anyone starting out in business:
- Networking, Sales and Marketing is key to growth.
We asked Kim to identify the problems in her company that HerBusiness membership solves:
- I have identified that my company needs to scale what I am doing and hire staff to continue to grow. I believe HerBusiness can help me identify my strategy moving forwards.
This article was co-authored by Cara Albert. She is currently completing a journalism internship at HerBusiness and pursuing a degree in Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in the United States.
