Life & Work with Leah Rogers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Rogers.

Hi Leah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My entrepreneurship journey started at a young age. It first started as a hobby to make extra money while in high school, selling candy and snacks to my classmates, lol. When I saw how easy it was to make money, I knew in my mind that one day I wanted to have my own business. I joined the military immediately after high school in the field of human resources. After completion of training, I went on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

While working on my undergraduate degree at NC A&T State University, I served as a traditional guardsman where I will train with the military one weekend a month. The beauty of being a member of the National Guard is that it allows you to explore other avenues or civilian careers. I was introduced to the beauty of fashion while working as a sales associate at a women’s clothing boutique in Greensboro, NC, called “Q Fashions.”

My job as a sales associate consisted of showcasing the store’s most popular items and offering solutions or ideas to customers, providing guidance on product fits and styles. As my passion for fashion grew, so did my relationship with my customers. It was then that I knew I wanted to dive more into the fashion sector. What started as a dream, selling my own used clothing and shoes, eventually turned into much more. As a National Guard Soldier, I had the opportunity to serve my country, while also pursuing a civilian career or business start-up.

Fast forward to 2018, I went full-time in National Guard where my one-weekend drills turned into going to the office daily. I launched a lifestyle brand boutique called “Soldier CEO.” Soldier CEO was created to encourage service members that they can serve and explore other avenues outside of the military. Soldier CEO has different branches catering to different audiences. On the boutique side, we offer women’s apparel, accessories, and more to maintain individuality either in or out of the uniform.

Less Graphics x Soldier CEO was launched in 2021, with the goal of assisting service members with creating a cohesive brand Identity for their existing or start-up ventures. Less Graphics is a design and graphics agency offering brand identity services from web design, logo suite developments, social media graphics, and more.

My overall goal is to create an all-in-one solution for entrepreneurs to start or grow a brand. We want to give you a solution for all your branding needs from start to finish.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a business is a big accomplishment for many aspiring entrepreneurs, but maintaining it can be the biggest challenge. Time management and organization are essential to keeping myself level-headed. I sometimes struggle with finding a balance between my business and work. Finding ways to devote time to both is key to achieving a work-life balance. While working a full-time job, I dedicate at least four hours a day to my business after work.

Lack of proper marketing has also been a challenge. When starting a business, there’s no blueprint on how to market your business in order to attract and retain customers. Marketing is important in order to let people know you exist. While I’m not an expert at marketing, I am better off than I started. Investing in courses and books has helped me along the way.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As I stated previously, I currently serve in the Active Guard as a Human Resource Sergeant. I have been serving for almost 12 years. My current role as an HR Sergeant is to take care of Soldiers under my command. Taking care of Soldiers encompasses everything from their life in the military, their family, and their well-being. My goal is to make sure the Soldiers and their families are taken care of so that they can focus on the mission at hand.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
My blog, I Am Leah Marie, dives more into my life as a Soldier and entrepreneur. You can read more of my journey at www.iamleahmarie.com where I share my travels, lifestyle, business, and more. If you have any questions or topics that you would like to know more about please contact me using the contact form.

The advice that I would like to leave with my readers are:

Believe in yourself. Your vision starts with you. If you don’t believe in yourself or your vision, how can you expect the next person to do so? Having the vision and believing in myself is the force that keeps me going daily even when times get hard or business is slow.

Do the time. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Everyone starts as a beginner. As Steve Jobs noted, “If you look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” You have to invest time into your business. After coming home from my full-time job, I invest a minimum of two hours a day or more in my business.

Have a team. When I started my business, I was handling literally everything on my own. I handled the accounting, social media marketing, promotions, order packing, shipping, etc. It was very draining and time-consuming. No one succeeds in business alone.  It took me a while to realize this but now I have the assistance of family and friends to help me with small things. I lived by the saying, teamwork makes the dream work.

Write it down. Know your goals and write them down. Having a goal in front of me that I can see makes it easier for me to plan and work towards reaching the goal. I learned to not be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes have been my biggest teacher in building a business and I learned from that and now apply them in all that I do.

Contact Info:

• Email: leah@iamleahmarie.com
• Website: www.iamleahmarie.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/i.am.leahmarie
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ii.am.leahmarie
• Other: www.thesoldierceo.com