cara`s interview - 6 Inch Digital Group

I craved the
ability to live
and think
outside of the
“Collaboration is
much sexier than
competition.”
Tiffany Box
CARA ALWILL LEYBA ON WHY
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
SHOULD ALWAYS FEEL LIKE A
GLAM NIGHT OUT
Name: Cara Alwill Leyba
Company: The Champagne Diet
After 8 years working for entertainment media giant MTV, Cara Alwill Leyba decided to risk it all to pursue her
passion for empowering women in life, health, and business. Starting with a blog a few years ago to now on her
fourth best selling book GIRL CODE, multiple media appearances, and a giant organic social media presence,
Cara lets us in on why personal development should always feel like a glamorous night out, why it’s critical to
follow your passion and why your passion is worth more than a cushy paycheck.
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“Get so
obsessed
with your
own brand
that you
have no
time to
worry
about
others”
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
I’ve always had the entrepreneurial bug. When I was little, most girls would play with
dolls and I would pretend I was a boutique owner. I always had little businesses going
while I was growing up and I knew my path would one day lead me to becoming a full time
entrepreneur. I eventually ended up at MTV, where I spent 8 years working in digital
advertising, and although I had a great position there, it wasn’t my passion. I felt that I had
so much talent and drive that was not being tapped into in my day job. While at MTV, I
was growing my blog, The Champagne Diet, and exploring more and more opportunities
to monetize it. When I decided to become a life coach I realized it was possible to make
the transition in my career even though most people felt it was risky. I had great training
and began connecting with other coaches and female entrepreneurs and realized that I
did not have to and should not have to lead a life where I wasn’t completely fulfilled in
every possible way. I craved freedom, passion, creativity, unlimited income, and the
ability to live and think outside of the (Tiffany) box.
Y
You left a very lucrative
position and salary at MTV to
pursue life coaching full time.
When did you finally say to
yourself it’s time to take the
leap and how did you not talk
yourself out of leaving the
cushy paycheck?
It was very difficult for me to come to that decision.
Even though I love unchartered territory and consider
myself to be fearless, you always have people in your
ear telling you to “be careful” and not leave “a good
thing.” I spent a solid year convincing myself I could
manage my career at MTV and run The Champagne
Diet brand and I only wound up stressed, sick, fat, and
unhappy. After gaining over 30 pounds and having zero
personal time, I finally came to the decision by realizing
that I’d never experience my full potential if I didn’t cut
the cord, so to speak. I knew my day job at MTV was
blocking me from doing so many things, and unless I let
go, I’d never see how far I could take this. That was the
point I went for it. And it was the best decision I have
ever made.
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“If it's not an
immediate and
resounding YES, it's a
NO!.”
Tell us a little about
your company. What’s
your company/brand
philosophy?
I believe that personal development should feel as
glamorous as a night out. On The Champagne Diet, it’s
all about celebrating yourself, making your happiness a
priority, and always finding a reason to raise your glass
and toast yourself. I think we’re very hard on ourselves
as women, in all ways, and it’s important to learn to
appreciate our success. I believe that we need to come
together as women and support one another in business.
There is power in numbers, and collaboration is much
sexier than competition. Jealousy is dead and we need
to realize that we all bring a unique, kick-ass twist to
what we do and nobody can or will ever do it like us.
NOVEMBER 2015
What steps did you take to
make this business dream the
amazing reality that it is today?
The first thing I did was focus on consistency. I
kept writing and using social media to share my
thoughts and philosophies. I continued to build
my list and do whatever I could to promote my
blog and books. While continuing to build my
brand, I started thinking of ways I could
generate revenue. I knew I would run group
workshops and take on private clients and make
some money off my books, but I really had to
brainstorm at least five streams of income for
myself to be comfortable leaving. I didn’t have
to generate all five streams at the same time,
but it was crucial for me to have many ideas on
the table. The next step was connecting with
other women that aligned with my brand
mission. From clients, to other female
entrepreneurs, to boutique owners, to bloggers,
I built up my network so that I had a strong
support system in place. I put myself out there
as much as I could: did interviews, held vision
board workshops, met up with other girl bosses
for a glass of wine. I cannot stress enough how
important it is to collaborate.
As a woman entrepreneur you
know the intense focus on
competition. How do you
handle it and what advice
would you give every woman
out there that is comparing her
success to others?
When you’re doing your own thing and focusing
on yourself, there is no such thing as
competition. Stop looking around at others and
get so obsessed with your own brand that you
have no time to notice anyone else. If you’re
competing, you’re not working hard enough.
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Give us two strategies that you feel brought your brand
to where it is today?
NOVEMBER 2015
Hustle and relationship building.
What lessons have you learned along the way?
There are so many! The first one comes from you actually, I have constantly reminded myself to operate in
my “zone of genius.” I do my best work when I am being authentic and focusing on what truly lights me up,
not what I think I “should” be doing. I have always prided myself on being unique in my style of coaching. I
mean, my brand is called The Champagne Diet. So I have to stick with that and know that my intuition will
never lead me astray. I have learned to say no – a lot. When I was first starting out, I said yes to everything. I
wound up overcommitting and burning myself out. Now I carefully select the opportunities I am presented
and if its not an immediate and resounding YES, it’s a no.
Walk us through a day in the life of the champagne diet since
leaving the corporate world.
My typical day can have me anywhere from a plane, to a TV set, to a hotel room, to a book signing, and that
is why I am so madly in love with what I do. But when I’m home, it usually looks like this:
I wake up around 7 or 8 am, and before even touching my phone, I do my daily gratitude practice. I think of 5
things I’m grateful for before my feet even touch the floor. That sets the tone for my day and it’s been the
best ritual that I’ve ever started.
Then I head straight to the coffee maker because I am truly not functional without copious amounts of
caffeine. Once my coffee is ready, I head into Champagne Diet HQ (my office) and light my candles and put
on some mellow music. I’ll check emails, social media, and then set my intention for the day. Depending on
what my current focus is, I get to work on whatever I need to do.
Anywhere between 4-5x a week, I am riding my SoulCycle classes. That has become such a huge part of my
life that I literally build my schedule around those classes. I won’t book clients or meetings during that time
it’s that important to me. One of the many reasons I love being my own boss!
My days are long and my schedule is anything but typical, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some days I
start my first client at 7:45 am and I’ll host a group coaching workshop at 9 pm. It sounds like an incredibly
long day, and it is, but I am so passionate about what I’m doing that it hardly feels like work to me.
Regardless of my schedule, I am a huge believer in “me time” and that’s where SoulCycle comes in. On the
days where I don’t ride, I make sure I take time out and either take myself out to lunch, or go for a glass of
wine or champagne in the early evening to just chill out and collect my thoughts.
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Give us one piece of advice that you follow on a daily basis
that you believe contributes to your ongoing success
Gratitude. If you aren’t focusing on being thankful for what you have, you will never, ever be happy. And
since I believe happiness and success are synonymous, I make sure I focus on being grateful all day long.
As apart of the profit girl world I preach how important it is to
position your brand to make money before anything else. How well
do you feel positioning is to business especially in this era of social
media and what steps did you take to position yourself as a brand
worth following?
Positioning is everything. It builds trust in your followers and potential clients. If you aren’t viewed as
someone who is an expert in your field, it’s virtually impossible to bring in clients and revenue. The one
mistake I see so many women make is give up too soon just because their brand doesn’t take off
immediately. I started The Champagne Diet blog in 2008 and I have consistently built it up over time.
People have come to know me as a trusted resource. They know my voice, my message, and my style.
What’s the best business advice you’ve been given?
Go with your gut.
When most people are climbing the ladder to success they tend to
look at successful people and think that it was “easy” and successful
people didn’t have struggles. Give us one struggle you’ve had on
your journey to success and how you pushed through?
HA! Being an entrepreneur is one of the hardest personal development courses you will ever take. There is no such
thing as an overnight success, and there are so many struggles you have to face on your own. You’ve got to have a
thick skin to be in business for yourself.
One of my biggest challenges was publishing my first book. I always knew I wanted to be an author, and my dream
was to sign with one of the big publishers. I had a detailed fantasy of exactly what that would look like – getting a
huge contract with a big advance and popping a bottle of champagne in a conference room at Simon & Schuster. I was
dead set on it happening that way – until it didn’t.
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I had a very talented literary agent who shopped the book to publishers. That book, which eventually became Sparkle,
was rejected 19 times. 19! Most authors would have crawled under a rock and died a slow death at that point, but that
wasn’t going to be my fate. I had a pretty strong following at that point and women who were begging me for the book.
I had to swallow my pride, break ties with my agent, and go out and self-publish. The self-publishing landscape was
changing at that time and I was keeping a very close watch on it. I waited until I felt the time was right and I worked
my ass off to make that book as close to perfect as possible. I researched traditionally published titles like it was my
job – studying everything from font type, to margins, to back cover design, to the copyright page and exactly how it
was spaced out. I wanted my book to look professional and polished. I worked so hard at writing it that I knew I
couldn’t deliver anything less. And I didn’t. That book hit the #1 best seller spot on Amazon in multiple categories the
day it was released and continues to top those charts multiple times a year. I am so proud that I didn’t take that “no” as
final; and I created an opportunity for myself to pursue my dream, even if it looked a little different than I had first
planned. As I always say, when one door closes, pour a glass of champagne, put on your stilettos, and knock a new one
down.
What does a super busy chief executive like youself do on her off
time, if there is such a thing as off time when it comes to being an
entrepreneur?
I am never truly “off.” And I’m okay with that. My business is my ultimate passion. If I ever take a break, it’s pretty
short lived. I would rather work than sit on a beach with a margarita. Slowing down is boring to me. I do, however,
believe in self-care. You’ll find me getting a massage, relaxing at a fancy hotel champagne bar, or getting my hair and
nails done pretty often. And naturally, I’m Instagramming it the entire time.
You just described in detail as well as in your 3rd book fearless and
fabulous your story of trying to go the traditional publisher route
and after many No’s you finally decided to take matters into your
own hands and self publish your first book. You just released your
fourth self-published book “Girl Code” making this the 4th amazon
best seller under your championship belt. What advice would you
give to the woman out there that is sitting there not putting a pen to
paper to write her book because of her fears or the woman who has
been told no and feels like giving up?
Rejection is just redirection. You can’t allow someone else to dictate your future. If you want something bad enough,
you’ll find a creative way to get it done. You can feel sad about something, but you can’t unpack there. There is a
Barbara Corcoran quote that I love; in fact I included it in GIRL CODE. She says, “The difference between successful
people and others is how long they spend feeling sorry for themselves.” And as I always say, they don’t serve
champagne at pity parties.
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You’re running a very successful and lucrative life coaching company
helping women all over the world, can you give our readers a little
insight on how important you feel it is to staying focused and
remaining consistent in order to see such massive results?
Consistency is everything. I don’t want that to be confused with lack of evolution, however. I think a brand needs to
evolve, just like a woman does. My brand has had a lot of growth, but its core message has always been the same. People
know what they’re getting when they enter my glittery world. They know my values, my voice, and my core beliefs. And
that is all rooted in authenticity. I march to the beat of my own drum and I don’t look at what others are doing. I think
that’s a huge mistake many female entrepreneurs make. They doubt themselves and they start paying attention to
others who are successful and change their business model or branding to match that. There is no road map here. Your
only road map should be what’s in your heart.
Speaking of the latest book, there is an intense focus on positivity,
getting over jealousy and coming together as female entrepreneurs
to empower each other. Tell us why having an army of women
working together instead of against each other is so critical to our
success especially in the entrepreneurial world where it can get pretty
lonely.
I always say that if women could get over their bullshit, they could run the world. We sabotage our success by being
catty, jealous, or negative. So much energy is wasted on that garbage. Imagine how powerful we’d all be if we just let
that all go? I think the real reason women participate in drama is because they’re insecure. Instead, focus on building up
your confidence. Study up on how to be better at what you do. Grow your own tribe. Celebrate your own success, and
then go out and help another woman celebrate hers. If you do that enough, it becomes a domino effect of positivity.
Now it’s time for a little fun.
Which sex and the city character would you be and why?
Carrie, without a doubt. She’s all passion. Even though she’s a little clumsy at times, or doesn’t always get it right, she
comes from kindness and pure intentions. And that is exactly how I operate.
Name your celebrity girl crush
Oprah and Marilyn Monroe (sorry, I’ve got two)
Hilary or Michelle?
Do I have to pick? You know I’m not into competition. I think they’re each fabulous in their own way. But I do love
Hilary’s balls.
Can you give us a hint about what's next for Cara?
To be totally transparent, I am in the process of figuring that out right now. I am ready for something big, really big. So
stay tuned. I am just as curious to see what that will be as you are! Find Cara over at www.caraalwill.com
Y
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