Conversations with the Inspiring Leanna Pierre

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leanna Pierre.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My love for cooking all began with my mother and paternal grandmother. My grandmother was known for her soirees. She was very particular about every detail for her events and I don’t just mean the menu. She was meticulous about selecting the right flatware, stemware, glassware, tablecloths, centerpieces, napkins, and China. My mother, on the other hand, is a lot less formal, but to this day, still makes a home cooked meal just about every day. I often joke that my mom and grandma are the reason that my dad’s cooking skills are so limited (if you ask him, he is a great cook). Some of my best memories are hanging in the kitchen with mom and grandma.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Initially, my biggest challenge was learning the lay of the land and the basic coding and photography skills needed to develop and maintain my website. The second challenge and one that I continue to work on is making the time to produce quality content. By day, I am an attorney. I am also a wife and a mother, so my schedule can get pretty hectic. Between work, the hubs, basketball practice, homework, date night, conferences and everything else that I have to do, it can be challenging to find some quiet time for the blog. However, my husband is great about sharing the load to create time for me to be creative and focus on the blog.

In terms of advice for other women, I would say: 1.) Do your homework. Learn who the key players are, what the market trends are, and what resources that are available to you. Talk to people, hear their stories, and learn from their mistakes. 2.) Take a lesson from Nike — Just do it. Doing your homework is important, but you can’t stay in that phase indefinitely. At a certain point, you have to set a deadline and simply launch. It’s okay if you make mistakes along the way. That is how you learn and grow. 3.) Know when to walk away. When you are first starting out, you are eager to get experience and exposure and it can be tempting to jump at every opportunity that comes your way. However, not every opportunity is going to be a good fit for you and your brand. You have to be okay with that and with walking away.

What should we know about Mrs. Island Breeze? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a sugar sprinkling, soca music-loving, recipe blogger and traveling foodie. I’m known for recipes that incorporate my Caribbean heritage, New York upbringing, and Georgia living and for my fabulous food tours. I think the thing that I am most proud of as brand is authenticity. What you see is what you get. You don’t ever have to wonder whether what you are seeing or hearing is the real me. There is this false sense of perfection, particularly in the social media influencer space. Everything and everyone has to be perfect all the time. With me, however, I let my flaws show. Every food photo isn’t perfect. I don’t always get to post when I would like. Sometimes, my work schedule gets crazy and I make a salad for dinner and when that happens, I share that with my followers. I don’t think I have lost a single follower for keeping it real and if I have, well, I’m okay with that too.

I think what sets me apart is my personality, my honesty, and the well-rounded nature of my blog and social media channels. Not only do I provide recipes on my blog, but when you look across my social media channels, I also provide the complete foodie experience — food tours in various cities and countries; food holiday celebrations; highlighting local vendors, national brands, and even international brands that I actually use and love; foodie events in and around Atlanta; restaurant reviews. I am the complete foodie package.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
Absolutely. There are so many products and services that have women as the target audience but were actually created by men with limited to no input from women. I can’t count the number of times I have utilized a product and thought, “Why didn’t they include ‘x'” or “This would be so much better if ‘y’.” I think women are well positioned to fill that knowledge gap with their personal experiences and perspectives and ultimately create products that better serve society as a whole.

There’s no doubt that technology has completely overhauled how we live, work and play. I believe that there is also a tremendous opportunity for women in technology to be on the front lines of developing new apps and technology that account for our changing world. And to be clear, this is already happening. Bumble, Class Pass, Plum Perfect, Hey!VINA, On Second Thought, bSafe and Hitlist — these are all apps developed by women.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mrsislandbreeze.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mrsislandbreeze
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mrsislandbreeze
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/mrsislandbreeze
• Other: www.pinterest.com/mrislandbreeze

Image Credit:
Leanna Pierre, Mrs. Island Breeze LLC

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