Whitney Williams -Thank you for having me, Courtney! This is my first feature on someone’s blog, and I am honored! I started pursuing what would become Lights, Camera, Passion long before I knew what “branding” was. I always knew that I enjoyed positive promotion, and I love to see what ideas people have and where they take them. I started early in college realizing there was much more to my palette than just working a 9-5. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a 9-5 currently to pay my bills, but I have several things that I’m passionate about. Once I mapped those things out, I decided to launch LCP, a lifestyle blog. From there, I realized that I had many more interests and wanted to expound on those. Currently, I am working on background business licensing and things for my blog and brand.
WW - So I know you’ve heard the cliché Oprah answer, and she used to heavily influence me or so I thought. No doubt, she is a force to be reckoned with, but my influencers are much closer to home. As time and experience has shown me, my top influencers are my family, my friends who are pursuing their dreams and living in their purpose, and people that have played a part in my spiritual growth. I also see TONS of women and men “out there” that are doing their thing and doing it well. Kudos to them, and I admire it. There are some bloggers that I have taken notice of that embody elements of what I represent. There’s a healthy living blogger named Andie Mitchell, and author of It Was Me All Along, that is a great example of God’s favor and what he has done in her life. I also love to watch ever so fashionable and fun Rene Daniella of ownbyfemme.com as she travels the world and shares her light. There’s so many more, but for time’s sake, I’ll name those two for now. Haha. As far as who doesn’t really inspire or influence me, I tend to not pay attention to anything that is not positive or uplifting, especially in regards to what I allow into my realm. We are all works in progress, but I prefer to stay where the light is. : )
WW - My passion for writing and public speaking stemmed from my childhood. Early on, my parents got me involved in Girl Scouting and public speaking activities through school programs. I used to think that being a Girl Scout was not the coolest thing because many of my friends made jokes about it. Fast forward, those opportunities afforded me scholarships, trips, opportunities to enhance my God-given talents and much more. So thanks for the ridicule people, it made me better. : ) I have always been an avid reader and can read almost anything front to back fairly quickly. There’s something about being captured into a story and using both sides of my brain to envision it and take myself into the world. Someday I will write a book. It has been placed on paper, so it will happen!
WW - I must say the greatest struggle with starting my blog or anything else in my life has always been myself. I learned how to become an excuse remover and focus up so that I could level up. I still face many challenges with my business endeavors simply because I am a one woman show. I try to perform to the best of my ability in all avenues of my life, and that requires time, patience and focus. I believe the best part of LCP has been the opportunities that it has brought into my life. In the year of 2015, I traveled to L.A. to the BET Awards with LCP and a business colleague and his PR firm, I also served as a speaker for the STAND Foundation leadership summit and had the pleasure to meet some local and national celebs. I must those experiences were rewarding, but what was most rewarding was interviewing people that I have interviewed is seeing people be so passionate about what they do and seeing them WIN. It’s very rewarding and it encourages me to keep pushing towards my dreams as well.
SBM: What made you choose your current location?
WW - Living
in Dallas kind of chose me. Initially, I moved here for my job, but I have
grown in so many other avenues of my life since moving here. I have connected
with many people since moving here and I have expanded the LCP brand and
started a LCP Fitness component to it. I feel that my blog should be a true
reflection of me, and I am working on living a healthier, fit lifestyle, so I decided
to share this with the world as well.
SBM: How do you advertise your blog?
WW - I self-promote and ask my friends and colleagues to spread
the word about my blog and I take it from there. Follow me on Instagram (@LCPlife) and check out my website (www.lightscamerapassion.com)
SBM: To what do you attribute your success?
WW - I
attribute my success to God who is forever faithful, my experiences in life
that have made me more resilient and given me more fire. I have always had a
thirst for life and success and I just can’t settle until I have reached it.
SBM: How do you handle life with so much negativity?
WW - This
is an excellent question. I’m so glad you asked! I have learned that happiness
is indeed a choice. I consider myself to be an eternal optimist and I look for
a positive side in everything, even my shortcomings. I am very thankful to have
been blessed with this mentality and I try to spread that happiness and
positivity to everyone that I meet. There’s so many things that we could choose
to become bitter about or negative, but we have the gift of life, we have air
in our lungs, and we each have a purpose on this earth. The promise of a great
life if I work hard enough and remain faithful, and that is enough to keep my heart full
of joy.
SBM: If you had any advice for someone starting their own business, what would it be?
WW - I would suggest to them to write out
their plans, seek out professional advice from others that have succeeded in
that given field, work hard, set goals and believe with all of their heart that
if what they are doing is going to help someone’s life become better, to strive
for success and never give up. It’s not about rushing to the top, it’s about
the climb to the top. Everybody wants to be famous, but no one wants to put in
the work. Most of the work has nothing to do with the outside world, and it has all
to do with what’s inside first.
SBM: Describe your brand in THREE words:
WW - I would
simply describe it as Lights. Camera. Passion.
Light- meaning the light that comes from within.
Camera- is
the medium that is used to shine light on a person’s talent and/or skill.
Passion- is
simply a strong, uncontrollable desire to pursue what you love.
