We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lianne Torres. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lianne below.

Lianne, appreciate you joining us today. Along with taking care of clients, taking care of our team is one of the most important things we can do as leaders. Looking back on your journey, did you have a boss that was really great? Maybe you can tell us about that boss and what made them a wonderful person to work for?

Working for my sister has been a life-changing experience. For all of my 20’s and the early part of my 30’s, I was working in an industry that I hated and had zero passion for. I found myself hopping from one job to another, trying to find my place in the world, but was left feeling unfulfilled and stagnant. After getting fired from my last office job, I knew I didn’t want to go back to the office setting, but I had no idea what I was going to do. After dealing with some unexpected life events during this time, my unemployment money was about to run out when my sister asked me if I wanted a job to work for her. In my previous career, I was working in a medical office. My sister is a self-made entrepreneur and content creator, so it’s safe to say I had zero experience in working for her and what she does. However, she gave me the opportunity to learn the ins & outs of what having an online business is all about and by seeing her success, I’ve been able to pursue my own passion projects. I now work from home, making the most money I’ve ever made in my life, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Having my sister as my boss has deepened our relationship and we’re closer now more than ever. I’ll forever be grateful to her for helping me out when I was at probably the lowest point I’ve ever been in in my life.

Lianne, 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?

So a little bit about me and what I do:

My name is Lianne and I am the creator and host of the Watch Us Thrive Podcast. Truth be told, I never thought I would be someone who would have their own podcast. I always hated public speaking and never considered this an option, but here we are and it’s one of the best and most fulfilling decisions I’ve made in my life.

The Watch Us Thrive podcast is a personal development podcast that shines the light on how important taking care of our mental health is, how we need to heal from trauma that keeps us stuck in those toxic relationships & ways we can reconnect with our inner magic. It’s important to have conversations around taboo topics that people don’t like to speak of, but are constantly dealing with in silence. The Watch Us Thrive podcast is a place to normalize those uncomfortable conversations. We talk about the sh*t you don’t want to talk about, but needs to be talked about.

In 2021, I found myself in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had become a victim of domestic violence. With a number of failed relationships under my belt, I was used to accepting the bare minimum from a partner and allowed them to treat me like garbage. There was huge lack of self worth, pretty much zero self-love or confidence and all I knew was toxicity in my relationships. It wasn’t until the night that my life was almost taken from me that I realized something had to change within ME and my deep-rooted wounds needed some serious healing. I also knew I couldn’t do it alone or continue sweeping things under the rug, like I was so used to doing for my entire life. With the help of a couple of life coaches and a psychologist, along with starting my podcast, the Watch Us Thrive Podcast, to share my story of what I experienced, I began the journey to recovery after leaving my abusive ex. It hasn’t been easy to say the least and some days are better than others, but I am so proud of the woman that I am becoming, and to no longer be that broken little girl who didn’t know what it meant to love herself.

I’m super passionate about having real ass conversations with people who have gone through many life experiences and focus on the bigger picture…how they overcame those moments of challenge. No trauma is too big or too small. Your story is your story and the Watch Us Thrive podcast is a place to shine the light on your personal journey. I truly believe that you don’t need to let your trauma define who you are and you CAN heal from it…the first step is to create the space to talk about it. I feature amazing guests I’ve met along the way of my own healing journey to share those stories of turning pain in power and trauma into triumph, along with solo episodes featuring yours truly. We all have a story to tell and the Watch Us Thrive podcast is a platform to normalize these uncomfortable conversations. You can check out brand new episodes, available on all major podcast streaming platforms like Apple podcasts & Spotify every Tuesday at 5AM EST.

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

We all start from zero. When it comes to building a social media presence, I think what people tend to forget is the social aspect of it. We need to talk to people. Engage in other people’s content. ACTUALLY BE SOCIAL! It’s not about having a letter in your follower count. It’s not about going viral or having a verified blue check next to your username. It’s not about how many views or likes a post gets. The point of social media is just that…to be SOCIAL. If you’re a new entrepreneur or new business owner and you want to build your presence online, you need to be authentic. You need to have a story to tell that people can relate to and find inspirational and/or motivational. People love vulnerability and authenticity. We’re so used to see the edited, highlight reel version of people’s lives on social media, but that’s not real life. No one is living their best life 24/7/365. Everyone has off days. Everyone has struggles. Everyone has things they are going through in life. And when you share those moments of challenge (along with the wins and celebrations), that’s makes you more relatable and likable. That’s how you build your online presence. That’s how I am currently building up my presence. By simply being me and sharing my stories. And you also need to be okay with not being everyone’s cup of tea. I know I’m not for everyone and I don’t want to be for everyone. You need to focus on finding your target audience in whatever industry it is that you’re in and help those people solve a problem that you are an expert in. Show up consistently. Show up authentically. Show up unapologetically. Motivate the hell out of people. Inspire them. That, my friends, is the key to success.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I don’t have to do it alone. It’s okay to ask for help. When it comes to mental health, it’s such a taboo topic that many don’t like to talk about. Especially in my community (communities of color). Growing up, there were never conversations in my household around mental health and going to therapy. “Therapy is for crazy people.” That’s the narrative that was passed around in my family. I have dealt with mental health illnesses in my adult life that were unaddressed for a very long time. I was one of those people who thought that therapy was in fact a waste of time and only for “crazy people.” It wasn’t until I found myself in an abusive relationship that I spoke about before that I knew I needed help in healing from that. I needed help unlearning all the toxic coping mechanisms that were apart of my life (One of the vices I had was being a heavy cigarette smoker while I was in that relationship). So, once I left that relationship and started healing from my trauma, I knew I couldn’t do it alone and started therapy. That changed my life. Asking for help changed my life. And I finally realized I didn’t need to do it alone anymore. I could be vulnerable and seek guidance from outside sources. It’s been a hell of a ride, but I’m grateful for it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wutpodcast.com (I’m still working on putting it together!)
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/watchusthrivepodcast
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/wutpodcast_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf28GjruxBwJwerMQg8LZCg (Just started it!)
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@watchusthrivepodcast