7 Minutes with... Leona from Indie Roller
For this month’s ‘7 minutes with’ we’re talking to fellow small business supporter Leona, from Indie Roller. Indie Roller is a community built to empower independent businesses and we’re big fans. Read on to find out where the idea for her business came from and her words of wisdom for budding brand owners.
HEY LEONA, GREAT TO HAVE YOU WITH US! FIRSTLY, DO YOU MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU DO?
Hello there! I’m the founder of Indie Roller, a truth-telling, secret sharing, myth-busting community to empower independent business owners to play by their own rules. We have an Annual Membership for small business owners that have just launched via a successful Kickstarter and our backers will receive a copy of the Indie Roller Handbook, an online course ‘The RAINBOW Reframe’ which I created to inspire companies of one to reset thought patterns and a year’s worth of online support. I also run a subscription-based accountability group, Masterminds and offer one-to-ones.
IN 3 WORDS, SUM UP INDIE ROLLER?
Empowering, energising and activating.
WE LOVE WHAT YOU DO. WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA AND WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS SO RELEVANT TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN 2019?
I’ve run a variety of financially successful businesses over the past two decades but despite how it all looked on the shiny exterior of social media and the press, I’ve often felt alone and fed up. In 2017, I decided to give a talk in London that revealed how I was truly feeling on the inside as a founder-led small business owner and on the day I laid the chairs out in a circle rather than standing at the front talking at everyone. This opened up the space as a peer-to-peer environment so we could all speak and share our stories and it surprised me how many brilliant entrepreneurs felt like they were failing.
That’s when I realised we needed a truthful and comfortable environment where we could be ourselves, feel heard and support one another. This is relevant in 2019 because companies of one make up 75% of SMEs in the UK and the individual support we require to succeed is different from what the government currently provides for small businesses on the whole, particularly when it comes to mental and emotional health.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST FEAR TO OVERCOME WHEN RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
The fear of thinking I should have all the answers because, of course, I don’t. When I worry about the expectations of my members I remind myself that all I can be is me and to share my story, strategies, and ideas truthfully and transparently. I am also building our outreach team to cover a wide variety of the popular topics which our members need the most support with.
SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN AT THE START?
My measures of success are unique to me and I don’t have to explain, justify or apologise for them.
THE BEST PART OF RUNNING INDIE ROLLER?
To smash stereotypes around the world of small business and what an independent business owner should be doing. For so long I didn’t feel like a ‘proper’ business person and I was held back by imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Now I have the opportunity to empower and energise hundreds of brilliant human beings so they can make a living from the ideas in their head, without feeling like they need to fit into a specific box.
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WERE TOLD THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH OTHERS?
My therapist consistently invited me to show compassion to myself and it changed my life.
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS?
Spend more quality time with my family, connect deeper with my members and reduce the digital noise in my life.
FINALLY, SOME QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS:
WHERE IS HOME?
Margate.
3 APPS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT?
Snapseed, Blinkist, and Mailchimp.
A PODCAST WE MUST LISTEN TO:
Raise Your Hand And Say Yes by Tiffany Han.
A BRAND YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?
hello DODO for their commitment to building a business and brand that aligns with their personal values.
IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Compliment strangers! A momentary and unexpected joyful interaction online or in real life has the power to change someone’s day for both you and for them. Proactive kindness is the way forward.
Follow Leona on Instagram or visit her website to get all her small business tips and tricks.
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