We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dr. Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Johnette, we appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Now, 7 years later, I turn discontent women executives into fulfilled, transformational superheroes through inspirational strategic career advising, mesmerizing resume strategy sessions, and serene professional development workshops.

My goal is to teach mid-senior level women how to tell their professional truth and leverage their SUPERPOWERS to obtain the career/lifestyle they REALLY want with clarity, confidence, and PEACE.

Bottomline, I teach mid-senior level career women how to obtain professional peace.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As the Founder & CEO of Liberated Expressions, LLC, I teach mid-senior level career women how to obtain professional peace through inspirational career counseling, serene professional development workshops, and mesmerizing resume strategy sessions . My mission is to show women how to identify and leverage their professional value, and to pursue the career they really want with clarity and confidence.

I do this work by inviting my clients into a virtual sanctuary where their most sensitive professional challenges can be addressed. We specialize in teaching our clients how to

Uncover their fears and insecurities
Identify and communicate their unique professional superpowers
Overcome the pain of career disruptions/layoffs
Turn employment challenges into opportunities
Boldly pursue new professional adventures
Optimize their resume for maximum success

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, I served as a strategic and transformational leader with 15+ years of extensive experience implementing quality education focused programs and systems at highly regarded academic and philanthropic organizations. I used my expertise to forge developmental programs that supported the long-term growth of organizations and established strong networks in business and academia. After some soul searching and assessing my skills, I realized I could use my expertise to establish a successful business.

Every business/business owner has a secret sauce. I believe my “unemployment to entrepreneurship journey” is mine. The juxtaposition of earning 3 degrees and experiencing 2 layoffs rattled me but it also equipped me with more compassion, provided me with insights about career disruptions that cannot be fully understood unless it has been experienced, taught me how to reinvent myself, helped me to see my purpose and professional value, and it increased my ability to see and pursue unlimited opportunities. The same recipe I used to discover my power is the same unique process I use to support my clients.

It is important for every professional to look at their work and be proud of what they have accomplished. As I reflect on my body of work, I am most proud of not quitting on myself and the people that I was created to support. Over the last 7 years I have faced many challenges as a business owner. I wanted to give up and go back to a traditional job, but I couldn’t do it. Despite the discomfort, I chose to lean in, trust God, and do the work that I believe I was placed here to do.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Establishing yourself on social media takes consistency, authenticity, and engaging content. Given my audience is mid-senior level career women, I decided that LinkedIn was the best platform to attract my ideal client. To begin, I built my network up to over 500+ people. Next, I decided to follow the engagement advice of LinkedIn gurus by posting several times a day. That was too rigorous for me so I chose to post once a day. As time progressed, I started to notice a trend. I realized that more people were engaged if I posted by 9am ET and included a picture. As I became more comfortable with myself and the LinkedIn platform, my posts transformed from resume tips to life tips with a professional twist. I started sharing stories about myself coupled with life lessons that can be applied personally and professionally. The more vulnerable and human I became; the more engaged my audience became.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Growing my LinkedIn presence, establishing real relationships, providing excellent service to my clients, and asking for LinkedIn recommendations from former clients has been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele.

Consumers buy from businesses they like, know, and trust. There are many marketing strategies that can be utilized to address this, but I believe every business owner must find the approach that works best for them; even if it means going against what the experts recommend. Discovering the right approach includes a process of self-discovery. I went from posting resume tips like a robot to posting life tips (with a professional twist) like someone with a real heart.

It took several years of working on my confidence and believing that my unique approach to this work is valuable and greatly needed before I was able engage my audience in an authentic fashion, and in a way that communicates the desire to establish real connections; not to solely sell my services.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.liberated-expressions.com
• Instagram: liberatedexpressionsllc
• Linkedin: Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser, Ed.D.

Image Credits
BrightTalk Esuite Academy Built To Connect Destination Achievers, Inc. Success 4 Women Uncaged Solutions, LLC