Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angie Keeslar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Angie, thanks for 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 a process, it starts with knowing where you are now and where you want to go, then taking the first step, no matter how big or small that step may be. Most people have dreams or ideas, but until they know where they are going and take the first step, they are only thoughts. It can be scary to begin, but to make anything happen you must have activity.
Leaving the security of the corporate world to start my own business was a scary thing to do, but I knew it was where I wanted to go. Once I took that first step, it allowed me to meet amazing people and help them along their journey to success. It would have been easy to continue in a comfortable role, but to start my journey I had to take that first step.
Angie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have always had a passion for leading others and helping them achieve their goals. From my very first job in high school through my entire 30+ year career in financial services, I valued developing others through leadership roles, mentoring, or training. Over the last 10 years, I was very involved in or leading enterprise resource groups, mentoring programs, and helping with new hire orientation in addition to my job duties.
During the COVID shutdowns, I had the opportunity to go back to school and earn a master’s degree in leadership which further fueled the passion to help others reach their goals. I learned about an opportunity to open my own business as a Franchisee of Leadership Management International (LMI), an organization with over 50 years of experience in developing leaders around the world and knew it would be a good fit with my background and education.
Now I get to help small businesses by developing their leaders and future leaders to their full potential by facilitating live multi-week training programs that focus on core leadership skills such as goal setting, time management, communication skills, and handling all the interruptions that occur during the day. It is rewarding to see the changes that building confidence and skills bring about and I enjoy making a difference for these small businesses and their employees.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best source of new clients for me is networking. Getting out there and discovering all the different types of networking groups and events and taking opportunities to speak has been a great source of referrals. Spending time really getting to know people by connecting outside the events has developed connections into friends and I have gotten to know amazing people.
When I first started networking, it took me a bit to get clear on defining what my ideal clients look like. People want to help, they just need a clear picture of what that looks like for you. As my network expands, I get to help others make connections and grow their business, which I enjoy doing.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I love to read, watch videos, and listen to speakers talk about leadership and always have. I do not know that there is one of any of these that directly impacted my management and entrepreneurial thinking, but a combination of bits and pieces from everything. Continuous learning is so important for a leader, and even more so for an entrepreneur. Things change rapidly in the world, and it is so important to keep learning and growing. I believe in keeping an open mind through all the learning, using what works best for you but considering other perspectives.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ssleadership.com/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angiekeeslar?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3B%2Br%2FxP%2FTIT1KZhl8SIXIwmg%3D%3D