LeAnn Smith is Chief Vibrancy Officer of Vibrant Life Source, LLC (www.vibrantlifesource.com). As a certified Health & Lifestyle Coach, Holistic Personal Trainer and Yoga Instructor, she helps people find their way back to their best selves through fitness, wellness, food, and fun. LeAnn’s holistic approach to fitness, nutrition, and personal growth programs improves wellness, vitality and life enrichment for an enhanced sense of well-being and fulfillment.

 Can you tell our readers about your background?

My background is in Corporate Human Resources for over fifteen years. I worked in mainly small to medium-size organizations fulfilling all aspects of the Human Resources role.

What inspired you to start your business?

I loved helping people in my Human Resources career, however, I was personally unfulfilled. There was a big piece missing for me. I wanted to impact people’s lives on a greater scale. I always wanted to own my business, so the dots aligned to branching out into entrepreneurship.

Where is your business based?

I live about thirty minutes from Seattle, Washington in a small town called Duvall, Washington. My business is mobile and virtual, so everything is managed out of my home office (well, and my car!).

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

It was really a pipe dream. I always was into everything health, nutrition, and fitness. At first, it never occurred to me to turn my passion into a business. I started the transition from Corporate to Entrepreneur slowly.

While working my Human Resources job, I got my Personal Training certification. I somehow got the owner of the gym I was a member of to let me be an intern with one of the Personal Trainers. So, I would work my HR job during the day and intern at the gym weeknights and weekends. I was hooked! Then I started making plans to start my business and once everything was set for the business, I transitioned out of my HR job.

 What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

For years, word of mouth was effective, however, as I am starting to shift into a virtual platform, I am having to expand into social media. I find myself spending a lot of time on content marketing, building collaborations with various companies, and finding ways to promote myself.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Self-doubt hands down. I wanted to be a business owner, but I didn’t quite feel worthy for many years. It took me over five years to introduce myself as a business owner! I always knew I was on the right path, but I realized I was surrounding myself with the wrong people. Once I started disassociating myself from nay-sayers and surrounding myself with creative, inspiring, and encouraging people, my attitude towards who I was as a business owner shifted.

How do you stay focused?

I am a very routine, schedule-oriented person. I love sticky-notes and list-making! I have many things going at any given time between working with clients, creating content, YouTube videos, and building out my virtual platform. There are people that help me, so I need to stay engaged with them. I use the calendar on my phone to schedule client appointments, time I need to create content, time for conference calls and even my own workouts. I keep a daily “to do” list and take great pleasure to cross out a “to-do” item!

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Let’s be honest Personal Trainers, Yoga Instructors and Health & Nutrition Coaches are dime a dozen these days. People pay to work with me, and I go to great lengths to cultivate and nurture that relationship. My business started mobile, working with people in their homes. How more intimate does it get than that?

As I transition into a virtual business, it will be a challenge to cultivate that relationship. I’ve been working on ways to bring that intimate feeling of working with someone in their homes to your electronic device. I’ll let you know how it goes!

 What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

For me, being authentic and transparent. What you see if what you get with me. There’s no filter, alter social media ego, or anything like that. I always want to be myself. I think I owe it to myself, potential and current clients to just be me. Good, bad and otherwise. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Have a clear understanding of who you are and what kind of entrepreneur you want to be. I didn’t do that in the early stages, and I paid for it. When you are an entrepreneur the lines of who you are as an individual and a business owner become blurry. They can be two individuals or one. Choose what works best for you and how that will be integrated into your business.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I have so many favorite apps like Apple Podcasts because I’d rather learn something cool and new than listen to the radio. Another favorite is MyFitnessPal because my type-A self likes to track daily macros. My other favorite is Thrive Market because what’s not to love? Pantry items that follow my Paleo/Whole30 nutrition plan at a discount? Yes, please!

I have so many favorite books for different reasons but the one that pops into my head is “Win Forever” by Pete Carroll. One would think it’s about football but it’s not. It’s about a philosophy of winning in life, in business, in relationships, in yourself, and in athletics. It’s one of those books for me that helped cultivate my perception, attitude and daily gratitude practice as a female-owned business owner and an individual.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

OK, this is going to sound weird but Google Drive and Google Documents. Keep in mind, I am type-A, organizational freak, and a little OCD (maybe a lot)! I work with a couple of different people with aspects of my business and I need to keep our documents and files organized. Did I mention I love making lists? When I have a project, I dive deep in a Google Document planning everything out.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Probably one of the best business role models I’ve experienced is a Business Consultant I worked with about five-six years ago (I’ll leave their name out). I was a very naïve and insecure business owner. I didn’t stand up for my business. This Business Consultant showed me who I didn’t want to be. They showed me don’t show up for each client authentically, honestly, and with the very best intentions. Guide them, support them, and show some tough love when they need it. They didn’t do that, but I learned. And I am forever grateful for that experience. I learned some difficult lessons, but it forced me to take a step back and decide what kind of business owner I want to be. Because of this, I took ownership of my business ownership. From that time to now I stand up for my business and myself.

What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?

I am a simple person. I really don’t wear makeup and my hair is usually in a ponytail. But I am diligent about skincare. I have been using Beauty Counter products for about two years now. Wow! Love their products. I cleanse and moisturize twice a day, exfoliate 2-3 times a week. I recently bought a microdermabrasion wand from Vanity Planet. Where have I been? This is amazing! Highly recommend!

How do you balance work and life?

Luckily my work and personal life are similar. I get to work out, do yoga, talk health, fitness, and cook amazing food for work. But, honestly, I calendar my personal time. I take my dog, Maggie, on a 2-3 mile walk almost every day. One of my most important business meetings of the day! Since I work pretty much 7 days a week if I need to take for “me time” I calendar it and give myself permission to do it.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Interestingly enough, I am an introvert. It’s very important for me to decompress every day. Some of my favorite things to do are Crossfit, Yoga, almost anything outdoors, cooking/recipe testing, spending time with my family, belly rubs with my dog, Netflix, and a good book.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

As I mentioned, I am in the beginning stages of building a virtual platform. There’s a company here in Seattle called Namastream that offers a virtual studio platform. You can upload fitness, yoga and wellness videos to your private “studio”, have live classes or private clients. I am creating, filming and editing videos to upload. Creating a marketing campaign, preparing for a photoshoot and continuing to work with clients. This is the next stage of Vibrant Life Source and it launches September 2020.

 How can our readers connect with you?

I can be found online at www.vibrantlifesource.com, Facebook @vibrantlifesource or Instagram @vibrantlifesourcellc