We recently connected with Leah Forney and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Leah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

As a creative and business owner coming up with ideas are never a problem. The problem often times lies in determining whether or not this idea is needed in the marketplace and whether or not my audience actually wants it. One of the biggest issues I have faced as a business owner is falling into what I like to call the “creative trap” The creative trap is when you are constantly creating but without a plan of execution. When I started out in business, I had no clue on what I wanted to do and who I wanted to serve. I was a newly published author and I just wanted people to buy my book. I didn’t understand that even as an author there is a business side to it. I spent my first 3 years as an Authorpreneur creating a whole bunch of stuff but too afraid to launch anything.

The funny part about that was I had a great skill set in helping others write and publish books but still was too afraid to give it a shot. The shift happened after I was invited to be a speaker at a conference called Pen to Profit. As a speaker, I was teaching on audience attraction and visibility. In my class, I had several high earning women entrepreneurs that were so impressed by my class that they offered to mentor me. I left that conference excited and ready to finally take a chance on me. I sat down and begin to brainstorm all the things that I was good at. Then I took a look at that list and sectioned it into setting goals. Which one of these things can I execute in 30, 60, or 90 days. Breaking down my list into bite sized goals helped me to see my vision for my business clearer. Another thing that I did was I began to do a lot of personal and business development work. I started reading books, taking courses, and even hired me a coach to assist me on this journey. I had to make the shift from being an entrepreneur into a CEO.

The biggest things that I had to figure out was knowing when to ask for help. It is very easy to want to go at it alone on this CEO journey but you don’t have to. If you don’t have money to invest in a coach, you can always purchase a course, webinar, or book that will help you get to your next step. Execution is a strategy and a skill. Many of us don’t know how to do it because we are too afraid to try or we are not clear on what we want our business or program to look like. If I could leave you with one thing, it would be get clear before you execute. Spend some time tapping in with yourself and getting clear on what do you really want in your life, business, career, relationships, etc. The clearer you become, the more align you will be in your business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Sure. For those who may be meeting me for the first time, my name is Leah M. Forney, Your Visibility Activator. I work with women teaching them how to increase their visibility while making the impact and profitability she desires through the power of storytelling. My brand is called Visibility to Impact. I offer quarterly workshops, 1:1 Mentorship, Membership, and Group Mentorship. I started in my industry after spending 5 years increasing my own visibility by being interviewed in various media platforms over 140 times. One of the problems that I solve is teaching women how to position themselves as an expert using their book or podcast to share the story behind the brand. The biggest things that sets me apart from others is that I am a faith based CEO with a framework that I have personally used to get myself to the next level of my own visibility.

The thing I am most proud of is that I have discover what my sweet spot is and creating a profitable business around it by serving other women like me and helping her reach her next level. My brand lives to serve women who ready to leverage her expertise by starting, building, or growing their visibility through book or podcast form. There’s something for everyone in my business so don’t be afraid to reach out.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lesson I had to unlearn in business was getting rid of my scarcity mindset. For a long time, I was comfortable being broke, busted, and disgusted. I was cool with playing it safe. I was afraid to fully show up and be who God created me to be. Yet, I was desiring so much more for my life and business. I was hiding in the shadows. I was always the person who showed up and supported everyone else in their businesses. My friends would ask me when I was going to finally launch something but the truth was that fear had paralyzed me. I didn’t come from wealth. I didn’t know anyone who was wealthy. It was the fear of being successful that kept me from fully showing up in life and business.

The shift happened when I made a conscious choice to try something different. I started with daily positive affirmations. I started reading personal development books such as We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers. I took strength assessments to be able to hone in on my strength. I also did a self-sabotage assessment to determine why and how I tend to self-sabotage. I made a commitment to myself. The more that I spent time with myself, the clearer I became and slowly my mindset started to shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think what helped me build my reputation within my market was being willing to show up and my transparency. People connect with People. I spent a lot of time being honest and transparent about my journey in life and business. I let my audience/clients tag along on the journey with me. I wasn’t afraid to show my scars. When I didn’t know something, I wasn’t afraid to let them know that I had no clue what I was doing. I remain consistent with my audience. Even in the moments, when I didn’t want to show up, I reminded myself that my brand and vision was bigger than me.

The more knowledge I gained, the more I was willing to share with my clients. I made it my mission to not leave my clients behind. Sometimes that looked like offering a deep discount to a client for one of my services because I truly believed in her. It wasn’t always about making money. It has always been about the success of my clients. Their success is my success. These are things that have helped build my reputation and continue to grow and thrive in my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leahmforney.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leah_m_forney/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/podcasthercommunity
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-forney-3b089814/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/leahmforney

Image Credits
Carlton Jackson, Sr. Terrance Pickett