IAM031 – Visibility Expert Helps Established Entrepreneurs Skyrocket Their Visibility

Michelle Lewis, founder of Visibility Vixen® is a Visibility expert who specializes in helping established entrepreneurs skyrocket their visibility, launch their unique show strategy and start landing press for their brand through her programs and membership The Visibility Lounge.

She is host of “The Visible Entrepreneur” podcast and facebook group and has been featured on Entrepreneur On Fire, The Huffington Post, LadyBossBlogger and JustLuxe.

• CEO Hack: Mindset–mindset, journaling at a coffee shop and eating healthily
• CEO Nugget: Tap into your zone of genius and promote it
• CEO ReDefined: We are thought leaders and how we facilitate change on the planet

Website: http://visibilityvixen.com
Book: http://publicityjumpstart.com / Book on Amazon
Instagram: http://instagram.com/visibilityvixen
Podcast: https://visibleentrepreneur.com/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/visibleentrepreneur

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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 I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:28

Hello, hello. hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Michelle Lewis of Visibility Vixen®. Michelle, it is awesome to have you on the show.

Michelle Lewis 0:39

Thanks so much for having me. This is gonna be such a blast.

Gresham Harkless 0:42

Yeah, so I'm super excited about this because we get the opportunity to learn a little bit more about Michelle and all the awesome things that she's doing for entrepreneurs and business owners. So what I wanted to do was read a little bit more about you so people can get a little bit of a glimpse into all the awesome things that you're doing.

Michelle Lewis 0:55

Absolutely. Go for it.

Gresham Harkless 0:57

Awesome. So Michelle Lewis is the founder of Visibility Vixen®. She is a Visibility Expert who specializes in helping establish entrepreneurs who skyrocket their visibility, launch their unique show strategy, and start landing press for their brand through her programs and membership in the visibility lounge.

She is the host of “The Visible Entrepreneur” podcast and Facebook group and has been featured on Entrepreneur On Fire, The Huffington Post, LadyBossBlogger, and JustLuxe.

Michelle, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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Michelle Lewis 1:27

I'm so ready. Let's do this.

Gresham Harkless 1:29

Let's do it. So the first question that I wanted to have was to learn a little bit more about your CEO story and what exactly led you to start your business?

Michelle Lewis 1:37

Oh my goodness, it's kind of embarrassing, because, in some ways, I think I came into entrepreneurship thinking that it was going to be easier than working in film and television. I was so wrong, right?

Gresham Harkless 1:51

Surprise.

Michelle Lewis 1:52

In all honesty, it came from working 14-hour film days and being exhausted and feeling like nothing against like the shows that I work for, but I felt like my worth wasn't being recognized and that I wasn't really helping anybody I was showing up and standing on a mark and you know, assisting my actor and all that stuff. And then I was going home. So as much as I loved the film and television process, I just felt like there was so much more that I could be doing.

I'd had a history of some health issues that I was able to overcome, and that really put a burden on my heart to go, there are a lot of people struggling out there. So in all honesty, I left film and TV thinking I was going to become some kind of a health coach and I put together a 30-day course called Life reboot, so people can help get themselves back on track. That's where I thought my life was going. But it totally like snowballed into using the stuff I had been doing every day in Hollywood inside of an online business to help other people get that same visibility. But in the online space, instead of you know, here.

Gresham Harkless 2:57

In Hollywood, that makes perfect sense. But obviously, that's very, very important to be able to learn a lot of those principles and those kinds of practices that people have in Hollywood and be able to kind of translate them into their business.

So could you delve a little bit deeper about exactly how you do that and what kind of services do you provide for people like that?

Michelle Lewis 3:13

Sure. Well, it all came to fruition when someone said, why don't you teach people how to do video and I went, well, everyone knows that. They're like, No, they don't. That's what started everything. My husband put together a course called Video University, where we showed people how to make their own videos, professional lighting and sound, and all that for a very affordable price. Then that started snowballing into live streaming because I kept getting messages saying how are you so confident on camera? And what equipment do you use? And what's your strategy so that you don't babble and all that stuff?

So it's been really discovery and answering people's questions, it has helped me formulate my training like the visibility lounge and the visibility vault where people can go through and figure out the mixture of like, specifically, I really love how I see color because I see it in two ways. One is how it affects the body because of my health training.

Number two, how people actually view the color on screen because of my film training. So it's been such a blessing to be able to come alongside people and be that kind of one-stop shop when it comes to visibility so that they don't have to work so hard building everything and then not know what to do because no one's coming to their website. No one's you know, investing in their services.

Gresham Harkless 4:26

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I always say like, a lot of times the name of the game is visibility, because a lot of times entrepreneurs and business owners build businesses, they understand that there's kind of like a missing piece that they're fulfilling, but a lot of times nobody knows exactly who they are and where they are, how to contact them. So they have to kind of fill in that gap.

Michelle Lewis 4:44

Exactly. Exactly.

Gresham Harkless 4:45

Awesome. I wanted to delve a little bit deeper into what I call your secret sauce or essentially your unique selling proposition. What do you think makes you unique and what is your secret sauce?

Michelle Lewis 4:56

That's a really good question. And I think that there are so many entrepreneurs who thought that it would be like, in our organic marketing, unicorn and all this kind of stuff. And I gotta tell you marketing has been a huge learning experience for me. Because in Hollywood, you literally get an agent and you go to rap parties, and like, that's how you get your next job. And that's not how it works here. You know, everything's online. So it's been a huge discovery process. Me, I think what's unique about me probably is just my transparency, I'm never going to tell you that I have it all together, and I'm never going to tell you that I've mastered any process.

But I can tell you that what's worked best for me is I love recycling content. So that's why I think people you know, find out about my show like I'm sure they find out about this one is that I, I use it and I bleed it dry, right? And I'm very transparent about my story. And I think that's what lands me the different press articles and stuff. But just to show you a little something, which I think it'd be so good for anyone watching to learn like you have to constantly be a student. So literally, I'm in my RV coming back from Idaho, and decided, Oh, I'm going to mix things up in my lounge and just started sketching things out, right? Like this, the gold here is being able to constantly change things and grow and learn. And I think that's why my personal tribe enjoys learning from me because I'm always learning.

Gresham Harkless 6:17

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. And I think you end up being one of the best learners or best teachers because you're using it in your experience. And of course, you have that background in Hollywood, and then you're translating and helping out those entrepreneurs and business owners that need it as well, too.

Michelle Lewis 6:29

Yeah, exactly.

Gresham Harkless 6:31

Awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for a CEO hack. This might be an app or book or a habit or something that you do on a regular everyday basis that you feel makes you more effective and efficient as a business owner.

Michelle Lewis 6:47

There are so many answers to that question, right? I think that the number one thing is of course mindset. Your work is always going to reflect where your mind is at. So for me, I can tell a huge difference when I am in my zone and I'm doing my daily power exercise in terms of love going to the coffee shop and journaling and you know, going through and getting my mindset on the plan.

I also am a firm believer in meditation because it helps your brain be in more of an alpha state than a high-frequency beta state. So I think that's huge, too. I think last but not least, is fueling properly. So for example, I'm doing a site transfer course trip for everything transfer, Gresham, I know you feel my pain right now. And so I'm making sure I'm staying hydrated, I have high electrolytes, I'm eating cashews, I'm putting lemon in my water, everything that's meant to boost brain function, just so that I can get it done and stay healthy.

While I'm doing it, there's no reason to sacrifice your health to build your business. I think that's something that happens to a lot of people, unfortunately,

Gresham Harkless 7:53

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I think a lot of times people forget that you kind of have to refill your cup, and you have to take care of yourself, you're so busy working with clients and giving off yourself for clients that a lot of times you forget that you also have to make sure that your cup is filled as well, too. So I think those are phenomenal kinds of hacks that people can kind of take in and learn and be more effective and efficient so I appreciate that.

Michelle Lewis 8:15

Yeah, health is number one, you know, we're only given this one body. So it's something that we really need to treasure.

Gresham Harkless 8:22

Right, exactly. So that brings me to what I would call a CEO nugget. That might be a piece of advice or word of wisdom, or maybe something that you wish that you knew when you started your business. Do you have a CEO nugget or two that you can kind of give to us to help us out as business owners?

Michelle Lewis 8:37

Totally. So my biggest mistake and I know a lot of people listening probably struggle with this is that when I started my business, I went into creativity mode for a solid year and was just creating content. I didn't stop and take the time to take that beautiful piece of content and distribute, market, get it seen. So I didn't make a profit as quickly because I was so focused on creating and not actually building up the audience.

I think a lot of us have that and I think it also can kind of stem from a deeply rooted fear of no one's gonna like this, this isn't going to reach anyone, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I think that the best thing you can do is tap into your zone of genius, create that beautiful offering product video, whatever it is, then take the time to really work on promotion. And that's something that I really struggled with. So it took me more of that ketchup time, and I wish I would have known that earlier.

Gresham Harkless 9:30

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Like you've probably touched on before like your Hollywood background, probably you had somebody that would actually do that and fulfill that for you. But understanding that not only creating is a big part of it, but also making sure that people see it and understand it as well too.

Michelle Lewis 9:45

Absolutely. You just kind of do the whole red carpet thing or the movies all shot like you're done and everyone else is promoting it and putting on buses and stuff and so you don't have to worry about it. But when you're a one-man operation, it's just you but it can be done. I was just chatting with someone over at tailwind and talking about Pinterest. And I really wish I would have dove into Pinterest when I first got started, you know, I'm like playing the catch-up game now. But there are friends of mine who started at the same exact time and blew up just because of Pinterest. So there are so many different resources out there that are at our disposal. But a lot of us don't take that action because we're really afraid that we either aren't qualified or we don't have the tech kind of brain to handle it. But I think it's really important to focus on it and just slowly but steadily build that skill. It's like a muscle.

Gresham Harkless 10:36

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. That makes perfect sense. So I wanted to ask you, for the definition of what being a CEO means. We're hoping to have different types of CEOs on the podcast. So we can kind of peel back the onion and see exactly what everybody thinks the CEO is. So I want to ask you very specifically, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Michelle Lewis 10:53

I think I'm still discovering what it means for me personally. But I think that when we're blessed to be able to build our own business, our own empire, our own team, it means that we have a specific mission on our heart that we were born with whatever that may be. So I think that that really means that we are thought leaders, you know, the online business, the world of entrepreneurship is revolutionizing the planet and it's a wonderful thing.

And we can say, Oh, I've made this much and our monthly income report. But it's really bigger than that. I see being a CEO as how am I actually helping to facilitate change on the planet. So I think whatever really touches our heart in terms of bringing people water, or helping people who are homeless, or whatever we can do, to take a percentage of what we earn to help other people is really what being a CEO is all about.

Gresham Harkless 11:43

I love it. It's all about paying it forward, you know, you reach a certain level or a certain stage, and then you're able to kind of give back and make the world a better place. So I love that definition.

I truly appreciate that. Michelle, I thank you so much for taking some time out of your schedule, I wanted to pass you the mic so to speak, to see if there's anything additional that you want to let our readers and our listeners know, and then how best people can get a hold of you.

Michelle Lewis 12:04

Awesome. Well, I think what I have to say just as parting hugs to everyone that's listening is that I and my friend and co-author Kristin Marquet wrote a book called publicity jumpstart, which you can reserve. It's just publicityjumpstart.com. But what I want to say about that is we think that until we're making millions, we don't have the voice, we don't have the leadership, we don't have the income to justify getting press and publicity. And that's something that I thought until I met Kristin. So I want to encourage everyone to listen that even if you're just starting out, work on getting your story down on paper, work on writing out how you want to impact the planet, different things that you've learned as a business owner, or whatever it is.

And start figuring out how to implement applying for publicity into your schedule now because I'm telling you, this is a muscle that you have to develop. But you absolutely can do it. And I think there are so many entrepreneurs out there who are probably listening who haven't gotten press yet and are going, I have no clue. It seems like this big hairy monster. And I know it did for me too. But it's so important for you in terms of establishing your credibility, and getting your voice out there, and it's 100% possible. So if you're listening today, know that that is something that you can absolutely get for the brand that you deserve to have and that you deserve your voice to be heard. So that would be my parting love for everyone today.

Gresham Harkless 13:28

I love it. And if people are listening to this, or watching this, what's the best way for them to get ahold of you?

Michelle Lewis 13:35

They can absolutely grab our book publicityjumpstart.com and you can come and hang out with me anywhere visibility Vixen, works for a website, Instagram, everything. So come on over and say hello. Let me know if you heard me on I AM CEO, I'd love to know. And I just really encourage you guys, don't give up, put your mindset practices in place, and then just take that daily action and that snowball effect does happen.

Gresham Harkless 14:00

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Michelle. I truly appreciate everything that you're doing and all the gifts that you have any kind of sharing with us so that we can learn to be better entrepreneurs and CEOs so wanted to give you a virtual high five and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Michelle Lewis 14:14

Thanks, Gresham. You too.

Outro 14:16

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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