We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alessandra “Alley” Leto a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alessandra “Alley”, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Success is defined differently from one person to the next. What I may think is “successful” may not be someone else’s definition of it. For me success is about waking up each day and feeling a level of contentment. I don’t strive for money or material things, I strive for creating a positive change. Leaving a legacy of some sort behind. To me, success is looking in the mirror and thinking, “I have come so far” and feeling complete gratitude for it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I started in the digital space, after being home for 10 years raising my 3 children, a few years ago. I had gone through a challenging chapter in my life and needed a creative outlet to share bits and pieces of my story and things that brought me joy. Like home, style, food, and travel. It was then I really found my passion for sharing online and it evolved into what it is now, a small business I run from home while balancing mom life. I think the thing that sets me apart from others are my life experiences and my ability to be vulnerable with my readers. People are craving for more authenticity. When they visit me online they feel as if they are with a best friend. Like they have known me all their lives. There is a beautiful human connection in that.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

It’s really simple. Treat people like you want to be treated and be fair. Also, having incredible follow through. I think staying consistent with those things has helped me build long term relationships with PR agencies and brands over the years. I have a corporate background so I know the value in being professional and how important that is to my reputation.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

My greatest resources have been individuals within my industry. I have learned so much from other content creators, public relations individuals, brands etc. I always keep myself open to learn from anyone I meet. I have seen people not talk to someone based on follower count or their particular job title. To me, I think that is so limiting. You can learn something from absolutely everyone. You just need to pay attention to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lifeofalley.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lifeofalley