We had the good fortune of connecting with Pattie Ehsaei and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pattie, how does your business help the community?
My business only exists to teach people things they don’t know to help them navigate life better and become a better version of themselves.

Every video I post has to have some takeaway, some actionable item that a person can implement and see positive results.

What should our readers know about your business?
I started as a lawyer and was a criminal prosecutor for 5 years in Chicago. I moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and transitioned into finance and now am the SVP of Mergers & Acquisitions financing.

I started my TikTok channel when the pandemic started. I was scheduled to speak at several Big Brothers Big Sisters events because I was a Big Sister in the program. When the pandemic hit, everything shut down. I had all this great wisdom I wanted to share, but no platform.

It came to me, at 2:30am, that I should start making videos because everyone was doing everything online.

I posted my first videos on YouTube and was getting 25 views on a good day. I was getting very little traction, which was disappointing. I looked at the analytics an noticed that people were dropping off after about 1 minute. Since this was the case, I decided to start doing videos on TikTok because at the time, TikTok only allowed 1 minute videos.

I locked myself in my office and recorded 100 videos in 2 days. I wanted to post 3 videos a day, because that was essential for the TikTok algorithm. Then I began to post at the start of 2020 and after about 4 months of grueling work, my channel started to take off! Now I have over 975K in followers and growing steadily.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am very into food and culture, not so much “partying.” This would be the itinerary if my best friend were to come to town.

Sunday: Geoffrey’s in Malibu for brunch. It’s right on the water, with magnificent view and amazing food! Then we’d stop by the Malibu Country Mart for a little shopping.

Monday: Visit and have lunch at the Getty Villa. Dinner Raffi’s in Glendale.
Tuesday: Workout at the original Barry’s Bootcamp; lunch at California Chicken Cafe. Visit the Grove.
Wednesday: Shop in Beverly Hills; Lunch at Wally’s; Dinner at Crustacean
Thursday: The Getty Museum; dinner Mozza Pizzeria
Friday: The Broad Museum; dinner Bestia
Saturday: Afternoon tea at the Peninsula

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shoutout to my 9th grade English Teacher, Mr. Gary Stoddard. Moving to the US as an immigrant, not knowing the language, and being dyslexic, it took me a while to catch up academically. I always thought I wasn’t that smart and just an average student.

In 9th grade, I did very well in English in Mr. Stoddard suggested that I take AP English the following year. I was incredulous because that was for “smart people.” Mr. Stoddard saw my potential and insisted that I take that class.

Once I was in the class, I realized that I was just as smart as all the other students. This gave me confidence I hadn’t had before and I started to excel academically in all my classes going forward.

If it weren’t for Mr. Stoddard, I’m not sure if I would be where I am today.

Website: pattieehsaei.com

Instagram: @duchessofdecorum

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pattie-ehsaei-a785589/

Twitter: @decorumduchess

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=duchess+of+decorum

Other: TikTok @duchessofdecorum

Image Credits
Russell Baer Photography

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