Exclusive with the Founder of She Leads me & Her Connection Hub, Heather Simpson
Heather Simpson is a business consultant and growth strategist. She is a thought leader and go-to guru for leadership, business development, and female empowerment. She is the Founder and Director of She Leads Me, a company devoted to supporting women on their individual journey’s in their lives, careers, and businesses. She also recently opened the doors of Her Connection Hub, a coworking space for women in Bellingham, WA.
As a former CEO in a male-dominated industry, Heather noticed the gap in true community and support for women in leadership positions. She has created a movement and culture among women, asking them to step into leadership alongside her, and fully own their power, unapologetically and abundantly.
Heather has helped launch multiple successful businesses, bringing many of them to six-figure profits in their first 12 months in business. She continues to provide strategy, knowledge, and intangible insights to businesses all over the world.
The community of She Leads Me has grown incredibly since its start in 2018 with many ongoing events, retreats, workshops, and a top-rated podcast with a worldwide following. Heather continues to build her company to support women while also being an avid traveler, partner, and mom to three.
For more details about She Leads Me, visit their website here.
Here we sit down with Heather, to know a bit more about her journey as a business consultant.
Q. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Heather: Entrepreneurship sort of fell into my lap. One of my first jobs as an adult was in a real estate office providing some administrative support. As I continued to follow my curiosity about real estate, I was exposed to other realtors expanding their portfolios and always looking for opportunities. I witnessed how many were able to craft a unique spin on their life and I became hooked to follow that journey for myself.
Q. How did you get started?
Heather: As I worked my way up the ladder in Real Estate, I became naturally drawn towards helping others build their businesses within the industry as opposed to working in the traditional sense with helping people buy and sell homes.
Over time, I built a solid reputation helping Realtors build very successful businesses while not being overworked. After 13 years of helping others build their individual businesses, I helped a group come together and start a Real Estate Company, becoming the CEO and getting it off the ground and to great accomplishments the first 3 years.
After that chapter, it was time to build my own foundation and broaden my scope to help women build businesses of all sizes, industries, and accomplishments. In my time as a CEO, I noticed the large gap in support of women-led companies and businesses and wanted to change that.
Q. What was your biggest startup challenge? What steps did you take to overcome it? What did you learn?
Heather: I faced a few challenges in my start-up phase; imposter syndrome, executing on too many ideas at the same time, and not setting time boundaries around my output. As time went on, I learned how to build confidence. I learned how to make a bigger impact by doing less. I learned that setting boundaries around my working hours were essential to the health and wellbeing of myself and my company.
Q. What is the Most Memorable Thing You’ve Done Since you Started your Business?
Heather: The accomplishment of opening a coworking space for women in my area has been my most memorable accomplishment to date. It all started with a napkin idea; location, what I would offer, who would be there, etc. Now, 3 years after that napkin business outline, we are in a 6,000 square foot facility that we renovated, sourced furniture, and poured endless amounts of love into to create this amazing space for our community.
Although this was a pre-pandemic idea, opening a coworking space in a post-pandemic world has proved to be more necessary than ever. Our members are seeing an increase in their emotional and mental health while also making much-needed connections to propel their business life and personal life forward.
Q. What is one book you recommend, and why?
Heather: My all-time favorite read and one I go back to time after time is “The Four Agreements”. It is packed with such GOLD and I cannot get enough.
Q. What are your top 3 favourite online apps, tools, or resources and what do you love about them?
Heather: I love Slack for team communication, Google Drive for file organization, and Canva for those quick and professional graphics needed to support our business.
Q. In terms of legacy, what is the mark you’d like to leave on the world?
Heather: My hope and dream is to expand the possibilities of building businesses. There are many different ways to build a business that aligns with you that encompass your brilliance, your strengths and your unique qualities. I am here to show women that they can show up fully as themselves and build their successful future.
Q. In one sentence, what’s the best advice you’d give to someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey?
Heather: Trust yourself, you’ve got what it takes.
To Keep up to date with Heather, connect with her on @She.leads.me and @herconnectionhub
