Entrepreneur: Haley Ingram

Biz: Coffee & Contracts 

Tilt: Marketing education for real estate agents

Scene: Blog, membership community, affiliate program, Instagram (59.5K), Facebook (32K), Pinterest (2.6K), LinkedIn (306)

Snack Bites: 

  • A new real estate agent, Haley found her clients reached out after seeing her Instagram posts. Fellow real estate agents soon asked her to help them with their social media.
  • Haley pivoted from being an agent to being a content entrepreneur, selling a monthly membership program that includes a private community.
  • Coffee & Contracts has grown its business by partnering with entrepreneurs with similar but distinct audiences and paying commissions for referrals.
  • Haley is the sole employee but works with six contractors to get all the work done.

Why We Stan: Haley Ingram started with an audience, then she built the content business (and grew that audience.) She also embraces the power of partnerships, including an open submission for anyone who wants to get paid for member referrals.

The Story of Haley Ingram

Haley Ingram had an audience before she ever thought about becoming a content entrepreneur. 

It all started when Haley was a relatively new real estate agent. Struggling to attract clients, she posted to Instagram and found those posts worked better than any cold calls she made. Other real estate agents took notice. They asked for her help.

Haley said yes and started Coffee & Contracts, a content service and marketing education provider for real estate agents. She tells Success that she built her business service model as a subscription service. Inspired by a personal trainer, she created a weekly “workout” plan and launched a members-only Facebook group.

“I grew up with social, so I can really explain how it works and help agents of all ages feel more confident using it,” Haley explains in the Success interview. “We also have tutorials and trainings and offer hands-on training as well. We teach agents how to use their own images, video, and branding in our templates to make it unique to them and their brand.”

In 2019, Coffee & Contracts originally offered three membership tiers ($9, $14, and $19 a month). Today, Haley sells a single membership for $54 a month and has a waitlist to join. According to a Medium article by Laura Como, Haley’s monthly recurring revenue totals $165K.

To grow the business, Haley uses paid ads, partners, and an affiliate program. She works with partners who have an audience she wants to reach but have different attributes or demographics than hers. 

She explains to Success that her first collaboration happened with The Broke Agent. “He was doing something similar, so when I reached out to him to have an initial conversation, the collaboration seemed to make sense,” Haley says.

The Broke Agent earns a commission on each member he brings into Coffee & Contracts for as long as they stay a member. He provides monthly templates for Coffee & Contracts members and appears on the occasional Facebook Live to answer their questions about Instagram.

Haley has grown her partnership program, creating a partner resource page on her site. The 18 or so partners offer services ranging from staging and graphic design to housewarming gifts and photography.

#HaleyIngram collaborates with partners and has an affiliate program that pays commission for new members to her #Coffee&Contracts community. Click To Tweet

With her affiliate program, anyone can apply to participate. They also can receive a special coupon code to offer a $15 discount on the first month to attract referrals.

Haley runs a lean operation. She is the only full-time employee and relies on six contractors to help get the work done. As for the future of Coffee & Contracts, Haley sees partnerships and expansion as the key. She tells Success: “I want to continue growing this business, even further improving the user experience, and expanding out into other industries such as mortgage and title.”

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About the author

Ann regularly combines words and strategy for B2B, B2C, and nonprofits, continuing to live up to her high school nickname, Editor Ann. An IABC Communicator of the Year and founder of G Force Communication, Ann coaches and trains professionals in all things content. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.