IAM2661 – Authenticity Wins: The Secret Sauce Behind this Entrepreneur’s Rapid Growth

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Transcription:

Stephanie Powers (00:00) Being a CEO means inspiring people. It doesn't mean that you're better than anyone, doesn't mean you're higher up than anyone. It just means you're a leader, not a manager.

Speaker 2
(00:12) 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 Harkness 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 Jr.
(00:40) Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO podcast. And I have a very special guest on the show today as Stephanie Powers of White Workers Lounge. Stephanie, it's awesome to have you on the show.

Stephanie Powers
(00:50) Thank you for inviting me on, Gresh. I'm so excited to be here. I am ready to share nuggets of wisdom with your audience.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(00:56) Awesome. I definitely appreciate you. And before we jumped in, I wanted to read a little bit more about Stephanie so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Stephanie is a three-time CEO and entrepreneur who dropped out of the 9 to 5 grind after her intuition went from a soft whisper to a loud roar.

(01:12) She created Free Earth Photography in 2014, where her work was featured on platforms such as the Weather Channel, Travel Channel, and Airbnb. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease shortly Shortly after, she reversed her illness by herself and went on to become a holistic health coach at her private practice, Evolve to Health, where she published a book helping thousands of people to this day, Thyroid First Aid Kit. Through working one-to-one with clients, she quickly realized the importance of spiritual and emotional health and Lightworkers Lounge was born. Stephanie, are you ready to speak to the IMCL community?

Stephanie Powers
(01:47) What a cool introduction. That sounds so official.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(01:51) Exactly. I was waiting. I feel like I should have had like intro music and everything and lights and all of those things. You're doing awesome things.

Stephanie Powers
(02:00) Thank you. That was awesome.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(02:03) Well, I wanted to kick everything off and hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to get started.

Stephanie Powers
(02:09) What led me to get, it's just crazy that I can be labeled as a CEO, to be honest. Now that I think about it, I've always kind of had the CEO drive in me. I have a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership. And going into college, I thought I wanted to do something with music or something with video production.

(02:28) I was always drawn to the arts, but I ended up getting an organizational leadership degree, which is a degree based on how you keep your employees happy. Because you can only have a successful business if the people that help grow your business are satisfied and happy. So that is really what started it. And then as you read in my bio, it was just a series of life events that led me to my purpose now as being a CEO and running my own business.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(02:55) Nice. Well, I definitely, you know, sorry, you know, everything happened with, you know, the disease autoimmune disease, but it's great to kind of hear, you know, how, like you said, you kind of look back at your life and look back at all the things you go through and you can kind of piece stuff together to see like who you are for one. And also like some of the steps you should take.

Stephanie Powers
(03:12) Yeah, as I always tell people, everything happens for you, not to you. You don't always see that as you're in the midst of grieving or anger or frustration, but in hindsight, you will see why it happened.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(03:26) Absolutely, absolutely. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper. Can you tell us a little bit more about Lightworkers Lounge and tell us what you're doing?

Stephanie Powers
(03:34) Well, you know, Lightworkers Lounge just happened so organically, I just fell into it. I had a blog called Free Spirit Fun that I started in 2013, just documenting my adventures, sharing some of the life lessons I had learned in my 20s. And blogging was fun, but I wanted to reach my audience on a more personal level. I wanted them to hear my voice and see my body language.

(03:58) So Lightworkers Lounge was started in January 2018, really as a hobby. just as an outlet to release my thoughts and my creativity, because at the time I was a holistic health coach at my own business. But I still wanted to be creative. Like I said earlier, I'm drawn to the arts.

(04:15) So I started my recreation as a hobby. And I used my intros used to be freestyles. I have a whole freestyle. A Zodiac.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(04:26) Oh, cut cuts to extra content.

Stephanie Powers
(04:30) I should post that, but it was just so fun. And then that summer, I went through a divorce, and it was really tough. And I was grieving and going through a lot of emotions. And I kind of lost my fun, let's freestyle my intros side of me, and I became more serious.

(04:45) Financially, things weren't good either after my divorce. So I thought, well, I can keep doing light workers on the side as a hobby, but it's definitely not going to be my job. I got to go get a real, quote unquote, real job. bills.

(04:58) So I applied, Gresham, I applied for hundreds of jobs. I showed up in places with my resume. I applied online, nothing panned out. And for someone with a bachelor's degree and five years corporate experience, that's just odd that I couldn't even get an entry-level job.

(05:15) So one day I was just so frustrated of waking up and applying for jobs I didn't really want. I just wanted them to pay my bills. But I said, you know what, what do I really love? What do I do without being told to do it?

(05:28) Lightworkers Lounge. So I thought, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to wake up and I'm going to pretend that Lightworkers Lounge is my full-time job. I'm going to pretend that it is my 9 to 5 and that I make a full salary off of it.

(05:42) And I literally like clocked in, said, OK, my lunch break is at noon to one, and I'm going to close my laptop at five. And ever since that day, Lightworkers Lounge has grown one thousand followers per week on average.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(05:56) Nice. I absolutely love that. And I love the progression of everything, because I think sometimes we have to become who we want to be before it actually happens. So like what you mentioned with Lightworkers Lounge, like a lot of times we want to make our side hustle into our full time job or we have this vision of transforming, you know, this part of our life or whatever that might be.

(06:17) But we have to get our mind set and then we have to change our actions and have that kind of environment so that that starts to happen. So it's great to kind of hear that happen for you.

Stephanie Powers
(06:25) Oh, thank you. And it's incredible. I haven't had to apply for a job since.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(06:30) Nice. Well, I definitely appreciate

Stephanie Powers
(06:32) that. Yeah. So for anyone listening, I think that can really help them just focus. Pretend that your side hustle is your full time job.

(06:40) Don't worry about the money because when you focus and you're in alignment with your purpose and you feel happy and like you're on the right track, the money will show up when you least expect it.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(06:51) Absolutely. And I feel like there's a lot of people who sometimes have things that they're working on and they kind of feel like there's not a way to make it into a full-time hustle or a full-time job. Do you have anything that you maybe went through or can speak to on how you were able to kind of change that perspective?

Stephanie Powers
(07:11) Well, you won't have one stream of income. If you come from the nine to five world like I did, you are so used to getting a paycheck every other week and it's the same amount of money. You have to be okay with uncertainty, with not knowing if you're gonna make a lot next week or if you're gonna make $50. You have to be okay with that and just keep going where it feels right.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(07:36) Nice. Well, I definitely love that and appreciate that. And I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce, and this could be for you or your organization, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Stephanie Powers
(07:47) You know, Grefg, I get daily emails from people asking me, how did you grow Lightworkers Lounge? Like, do you hire a marketing agency? Do you have robots? Are your followers real?

(08:00) Because we grow so fast. My secret sauce, you guys, it's just being myself, is just going on my podcast, going on our Instagram, and just pretending like I'm sitting at a cafe with a good friend. And never, you know, if I really sat and thought, wow, there's 133,000 people looking at what I'm saying, what I'm doing, then I wouldn't be authentic. I wouldn't be myself.

(08:27) Yeah. So I just really pretend like they're all my family. Like I said this in a podcast before, I feel like I don't call them my followers. That word's just weird to me.

(08:36) I call them my Instagram fam.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(08:38) They

Stephanie Powers
(08:39) are all my brothers and sisters.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(08:41) There you go. Yeah, definitely. I love that. And I think that that's been the beautiful thing about like all these different tools and this technology is that you get the opportunity to really delve down deeper and see more into people and people get to express themselves and use different platforms like Instagram or blogs or podcasts

(08:58) to have that kind of relationship in that extended family.

Stephanie Powers
(09:01) Yeah. I love it. They are my Instagram fam. And I think that's why we keep growing because I'm just me.

(09:07) I don't try to be anybody else. I don't try to impress them or be, you know, I don't get on there to inflate my ego and feel like, oh, I've got this many followers. That's why I don't like that word. No one's following me.

(09:19) They're joining me. We're all sitting at the same round table.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(09:22) Exactly. Exactly. Definitely appreciate that. And let me ask you this.

(09:25) So do you find that, um, how do you balance between seeing people that are successful and emulating what they're doing and also being authentic? Or do you feel like you should be one or the other?

Stephanie Powers
(09:35) Oh, gosh, my intuition is sharp. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I didn't try and do what really successful people do, but I'll feel it in my gut. I'll just like, this is not me. And people are here to see me.

(09:49) And that's the most popular message I get from my listeners is, Steph, I love how authentic and real you are. So the moment I veer away from that, my intuition will tell me, I'll literally feel like nauseous. And then I'll just be like, all right, get back on track. Stay true to you.

(10:06) This is why people are here.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(10:07) Absolutely. No, I definitely love that. And it's always important to kind of, you know, have that space and that time so you can also listen to that. Because I find that, and I don't know if it's the same with you, but I find sometimes when you're go, go, go all the time, or you're doing so many different things, it's harder to listen to that quiet voice that's telling you what to do or not to

(10:24) do.

Stephanie Powers
(10:24) Oh yeah, and I can feel that and I'll have to take breaks and just, like I said, I live here in Telluride, Colorado, so I'll just go out in the mountains by myself, get grounded, spend time with friends and family with no internet, no cell phones, no social media around. That really pulls me back down to earth. Like, okay, this is who I am.

(10:42) Now I can go back on.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(10:44) Exactly. Yeah, it's nothing like nature to give us that clarity and that time to do that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an Apple book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Stephanie Powers
(10:59) I'd say my CEO hack would be going out and living and putting my face out of the books and out of the podcast and the Instagram and just going out to a coffee shop and striking up a conversation with a stranger.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(11:13) Absolutely. No, I definitely love that. And I appreciate that perspective. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget.

(11:20) And this is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Stephanie Powers
(11:28) Getting hungry. Talking about nuggets.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(11:31) Exactly. If you put them all together, it makes something really special.

Stephanie Powers
(11:35) Yeah. He said if I could go in a time machine,

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(11:39) go

Stephanie Powers
(11:40) back to my younger self, like how old are we talking?

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(11:43) We can talk. We can talk. I don't know. When was the first entrepreneurial thing that you did?

Stephanie Powers
(11:50) Starting my blog. I started while I was still working a corporate job. So, you know, I'd work from 9 to 5 and then I'd work on this blog from 5 to 8. And I was just, I loved it though.

(12:03) And if I could go back and sit next to that girl who's sitting at the laptop eating dinner while typing at the same time. Yeah, eating that secret sauce. I would just look at her and be like, hey, everything you've learned about the nine to five life is untrue. This isn't the only way to survive.

(12:27) You see that blog that you're writing? I would just sit over her shoulder and be like, you know, look how passionate you are about this blog. This can make you money. There's absolutely no reason why this can't be your full-time job.

(12:40) Because I was still so deeply conditioned that unless you have a 9 to 5 with a 401k and health insurance, you're not going to be successful. And that's just so, so untrue. You can love what you do for a living. You can.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(12:54) Absolutely. Yeah, there's definitely an opportunity out there. And it's a great reminder, you know, that you've been able to do that and, you know, letting us and reminding us of that possibility as well, too, because I think you are sometimes your environment. So if you grow up, you know, only seeing people go to nine to fives and only people, you know, save it for their 401ks and all those things, then that's reality.

(13:14) But hearing, you know, your story and hearing about your success is definitely a great reminder to us.

Stephanie Powers
(13:21) Mm hmm. Yeah, I love that.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(13:23) Yes, definitely. And I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on this show. So Stephanie, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Stephanie Powers
(13:34) Being a CEO, to me, means making people love coming to work. It means bringing joy to the world. It means being an example for people that you don't have to believe everything you are conditioned to believe about work and what we do for eight hours a day. Being a CEO means inspiring people.

(13:55) It doesn't mean that you're better than anyone. It doesn't mean you're higher up than anyone. It just means you're a leader, not a manager. You're showing people the way.

(14:04) You are shining a light for others.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(14:07) Love it, love it, love it. And leader, not a manager. That's definitely a great reminder for us. And Stephanie, I truly appreciate you.

(14:15) I appreciate your time and all the awesome things that you're doing. I wanted to 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 the best they can get ahold of you.

Stephanie Powers
(14:25) Yes, I want everyone listening to this. I want them to know that if you want to run your own business and you want to be the CEO of your life, not just your job, your life, you have to be your biggest cheerleader. You have to always tell yourself that what you're doing and the ideas you have is right, and it will work. Because even your most loved ones, your best friends, your parents, Sometimes they will look at you like, okay, yeah, good.

(14:54) Good luck with that. Right. Good idea. We'll see how that goes.

(14:58) But you must understand that that is just coming from a place of love and they're not knocking on you to make you feel like you can't do it. They just don't want to see you struggle because they love you. But being a CEO, you will struggle, but I can tell you from experience, it's so worth it. So keep going and be your biggest cheerleader.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(15:17) Awesome. Well, thank you so much. I truly appreciate that. I appreciate the grind that you're reminding us to continue to work on and people that want to follow up with you.

(15:26) What will be the best ways?

Stephanie Powers
(15:28) Yes, so you can find us on Instagram at Lightworkers Lounge. You can also find us at www.lightworkers-lounge.com. And of course, the podcast. Please come hang out with us every Wednesday.

(15:40) We have a new episode. And you can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Podbean, really wherever you get podcasts. Just search Lightworkers Lounge with Stephanie Powers, and there we are. Coming out every Wednesday.

Gresham Harkless Jr.
(15:53) Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, we definitely have those links in the show notes as well so that everybody can follow up with you, Stephanie. And like you mentioned, if you're submitting to this podcast, definitely search for like Workers Lounge as well. But thank you so much, Stephanie, and I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Stephanie Powers
(16:08) Thank you, Gresh. I'll chat soon.

Speaker 2
(16:10) Thank you for listening to the IMCEO podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. IMCEO 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.

(16:33) 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.