IAM646- Performance Artist Empowers People Through Dance

Lauren is the creator & founder of The Lion’s Den – a community-driven & operated organization dedicated to inclusion and creating spaces for people to freely express themselves. The Lion’s Den provides weekly dance classes, monthly sessions, and opportunities to perform and serve in the local community.

Lauren has 11 years of experience in dance education and community building. She is a 360° wellness advocate and performance artist in the DC metropolitan area empowering people through various modalities including dance, yoga, barre & meditation. Expect to leave with a deeper sense of self, confidence & newfound awareness of your inner artist!

• CEO Hack: Getting clarity on my strengths and capitalizing on them (2) Morning Pages for journalling (3) Re-visiting my long-term vision
• CEO Nugget: Everyone is going to have an opinion, you will be frustrated if you take up everyone's advice
• CEO Defined: One who has recognized a need and whose passion aligns with the need

Website: http://www.lauren-devera.com/

IG: @laurendevera,  @thelionsdendmv and @mindmovematter

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Transcription

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:29

Hello. Hello. Hello, this is Gresh from me I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today, I've Lauren DeVera of The Lion’s Den. Lauren, It's awesome to have you on the show.

Lauren DeVera 0:39

Thank you for having me. Super excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 0:41

Definitely super excited to have you on and before we jump in, I want to read a little bit more about Lauren so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Lauren is the creator and founder of the Lion's Den – a community-driven and operated organization dedicated to inclusion and creating spaces for people to freely express themselves. The Lion's Den provides weekly dance classes, monthly sessions, and opportunities to perform and serve in the local community. Lauren has 11 years of experience in dance education and community building. She's a 360-degree Wellness Advocate and performance art artist in the DC metropolitan area empowering people through various modalities including dance, yoga, bar, and meditation. Expect it to leave you with a deeper sense of self-confidence and a newfound awareness of your inner artist. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Lauren DeVera 1:31

I am.

Gresham Harkless 1:32

Awesome. Let's do it. So, to kick everything off, I want to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story. When did you get to start your business?

Lauren DeVera 1:40

Yeah, so I'm one of those people who didn't know they were really starting a business. So back in the end of 2013 or 2014 was a couple of years after college graduation. My dance experience through college was incredible as far as community building, and creating experiences on the weekends. Shout out to Kodachrome, Virginia that gave me kind of the first taste of community and dance in one space. And so I was teaching like adult classes, but through studios, and I was teaching a lot of kids, but I wanted to have a class that was accessible to my friends. And that was affordable, not some insane rate at the time. So I rented a studio and started hosting my own class. And it was before I really had a name for it.

You know, I was making my own flyer through those apps. And then yeah, so I was doing this choreography class for a while. And then I wanted to also cater to the street dance community, which is still kind of separate from the choreography community. So I also provided a freestyle session after the class for people to come out and just get down. And so the lion's den name, that was the name of the session, and then fast forward through, you know, 2014-15-16, all the way to where we are now. Yeah, I basically have been hosting a consistent dance class on Tuesdays for like five years, it's just evolved through different names and different spaces. And we officially became an LLC. Last summer, just operated one class a week. And then monthly events, and we host like a party. Every quarter.

Gresham Harkless 3:35

Nice.

Lauren DeVera 3:36

So yeah.

Gresham Harkless 3:37

And I definitely appreciate that. And I appreciate, you know, just the community piece as well, too. Because I always say like, a lot of times we forget, you know that, that that I guess connection piece and building and growing with each other or you know, dancing, whatever it is that we can do to kind of be connected. And I appreciate you for doing that through those mme modalities, to be able to kind of connect and reach people. And I think a time sometimes when you feel like you're by yourself, and you don't have a way to connect, there's different ways that you can do that.

Lauren DeVera 4:04

Yes, absolutely. It really came from like, you know, going into adulthood after college, it was like, Well, why can't we still have those really amazing dope experiences that we had in college? Why can't we do that just because we're now like a professional in the real world? And so that's what I wanted to create on a weekly basis bringing the community and the fun part all together in the same space.

Gresham Harkless 4:28

Absolutely. I love that. And that's where I'm guessing we can find that in the lion's den. So I wanted to hear a little bit more about, you know, the lion's den and all the awesome things that you're doing there.

Lauren DeVera 4:38

Yeah, so we host a weekly class on Tuesdays at 8:30. Over here in Alexandria, and then we partner with other businesses. So we host a monthly session at the block in Annandale. And what we do there is we just clear out the floor. We take over the space and we play music and we just get down and then we host a quarterly dance party called roar. And we hire a DJ, we invite different dance crews and companies to perform. And it's kind of like a potluck style. And it's a great way for everyone in the community to come together without the limitations of it being a battle or a competition. But more so a safe space for us to party and get down, you know, which can sometimes be limiting when you go out into the city, and you're dealing with other elements there. But yeah, I mean, besides the lines, I also teach bar yoga and meditation outside of that. But yeah.

Gresham Harkless 5:39

Nice. No, I definitely, you know, appreciate that. Because again, you know, just as you said, like, when you are graduating from school, especially, you have such a strong community, especially if you're like on campus, at least in my experience, and then when you transition from that you don't, you don't have those wants and desires, sometimes you just don't have the opportunity or the ways to be able to kind of connect it. So I appreciate you for actually building that, and building that mash-up of things that we were kind of missing.

Lauren DeVera 6:05

Thank you.

Gresham Harkless 6:06

You're very welcome. So I wanted to ask you now, for what I call your secret sauce, and it could be for yourself or for your organization in your business. What do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Lauren DeVera 6:17

Yeah, I think the clarity and the vision of the Lions have been constantly evolving. And I think as you experience different things, and you notice who is showing up, you know, you're realizing that you're tapping into a certain audience. And, my background is pretty diverse. I'm a certified yoga teacher, and I'm certified in mindfulness, stress-based reduction, and positive psychology. So all those things that I've been learning and applying and studying, I bring those elements into the lion's den. So it's really important that when people show up in our space, that we create this feeling of home, you know, coming like bringing back the element of finding your people finding your tribe. And being that we're in the DMV area is such a transient place, it is really difficult to find and create long-lasting bonds.

And so I believe our secret sauce is that we focus more on the people before the actual service before the actual product. And really paying attention to like, okay, who's showing up in our space? You know, what are they saying that they need? What, you know, are they not getting elsewhere? How can our dance experience be different? Because, you know, there's one million dance studios, and I don't necessarily call us a dance studio, we're not a brick and mortar. But we are a family that occupies various spaces. And, yeah, it's more so like, Well, how would I want to feel walking into a new space? You know, and I professionally, I used to work at a church, you know, and being a Filipino, like, we were we're naturally like, hospitable and want to make people feel welcome. And so bringing that element into our space. More so like focusing on the human versus just the dancer?

Gresham Harkless 8:12

Yeah, yeah, that makes so much sense. I usually say a lot, that usually I'm talking more about the business. But I was like, when you peel back the onion, a business you'll you'll forget that a business is made up of people, those people have wants, desires, hopes, dreams, but you bring up another point, which is right in line with that sometimes we forget that about the people that we're serving as well, too. So those clients, those people that are coming through our doors for whatever, quote, unquote, service it might be, there's sometimes and probably a really deeper reason that we're connecting with, and we're there to do that. So we should to kind of take it upon ourselves to do the best of serving but also do the best of listening and engaging us.

Lauren DeVera 8:49

Absolutely. Like the people drive everything. You know what I mean? Without them, like we we can't do what we do. And yeah, it's just like trying to recreate that amazing experience every time and keeping it fresh, so that it doesn't get stale.

Gresham Harkless 9:07

Absolutely, yes. You have to have people to serve in order to serve unless you're actually not really doing it. Why are you doing it?

Lauren DeVera 9:15

Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 9:15

So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So that could be like an apple book or habit that you have or what's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Lauren DeVera 9:30

Yeah, um, I think getting clarity on like, what your strengths are and capitalizing on that. You know, it's oftentimes like some people try to recommend to like, okay, figure out your weakness and then strengthen that, but you know, we're only allotted so many hours in a day and, and I know where my strengths lie. So my strengths lie in, you know, bringing people together influencing ideation, creativity. And I think my hackmore. So, where I knew that I needed some help was with productivity and staying focused on a goal. And I think what has helped me when you're such a creative mind, and you're constantly assessing, analyzing, you know, it's going to sound cliche, but cultivating meditation practices extremely helped me, just finding the time to get quiet, and drop in back to my body, and maybe notice, like, whatever thoughts are arising. So a meditation practice.

And I also practice something called Morning Pages. This is a hack created by Julia Cameron, she's the author of The Artist's Way, I don't know if you're familiar with her, but you need to read that. Yeah, I journal every single day. And I aim for at least three pages, or 30 minutes just to kind of get the subconscious mind onto paper so that I can sift through and get to like, what's really happening in my mind. And I feel like, through the practice of daily writing, and daily meditation, I'm peeling back layers to get back what's inside us are inside me.

And that's something that I recommend for anyone who, for any human being really is, you know, we already have the skills that are required to do what we need to do, it's just a matter, of discovering it or reawakening it. And then what helps me too, is just revisiting, like, the vision, I never used to be a long-term planner, and I don't really call myself a long-term planner, but the vision of like, okay, well, where do I want to be when I'm 50-60 -70-80? Is what I'm doing sustainable? And that helps me kind of like, figure out what to say yes to and what to say no to if it's not aligning with that. And vision, you know, so that, yeah, just practicing those things, and getting clarity over and over again, because it's a process.

Gresham Harkless 12:05

Nice, I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So that could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you can happen to a time machine, what might you tell your younger business self?

Lauren DeVera 12:16

Everyone is going to have an opinion. And they're going to project their own experience on you. And you will feel flustered if you try to take on everyone's advice.

Gresham Harkless 12:25

I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. So we're hoping to have different, quote-unquote, CEOs on this show. So Lauren, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Lauren DeVera 12:36

I think when we strip away like the bells and whistles, it really comes down to someone who has recognized a need. And they have a passion that aligns with that need. And so coming from a place of wanting to serve people, because that is what owning a business is, you're serving a customer or a client, or an audience or community. Even if your business is blogging, or whatever you're trying to provide value for someone else. So I think it's someone who has a CEO, someone who has a relentless passion, relentless desire to provide value for a need in their community, whatever they can do to achieve that. Yeah.

Gresham Harkless 13:34

I love that. And I think it speaks to that deeper approach that you have and the secret sauce that you have with your organization. Because I think so many times we get caught in, how we're going to do it and the different ways that we're blogging, or podcasting, or we have created in the studio, or how we're doing it. But in reality, if you remember that you're being of service, and you figure out how best to kind of connect those dots and be empathetic and put yourself in those shoes, then that allows you the opportunity to really serve on an even higher level and deeper level as you kind of spoke to before. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, Lauren, truly appreciate that definition, and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know and then of course, how best they can get a home view and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.

Lauren DeVera 14:21

Yeah, thank you. Um, you can follow us on Instagram, which is the lion's den DMV. My personal page is Lauren De Vera. I also have a page dedicated to mindfulness positive psychology and self-care. That is called Mind move matter. All of those things. One place, you can go to my website, www dot Lauren dash de vera.com. I would love to connect with anyone who has any questions or would like to possibly collaborate or just extend the conversation even more awesome being here.

Gresham Harkless 15:00

Awesome, definitely great to have you. We will definitely have the LinkedIn information in the show notes so that everybody can follow up with you even more easily. But thank you so much again, Lauren, for reminding us to take care of those certain things and making sure we remember why we're doing what we're doing, which is the service of people. So appreciate that and I hope you have a phenomenal day.

Outro 15:18

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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