Interview with Leandra Williams

Leandra Williams is an entrepreneur from Michigan. She owns a business advisory firm and co-owns a graphic design studio and works exclusively with business owners and fellow entrepreneurs to assist them with growing their businesses by providing strategic planning assistance, branding solutions, marketing services and more. We have conducted a short interview with her.

What benefits does your advisory firm provides?

Stingray Advisory Group provides one-on-one advising services to our clients. We work exclusively with small-to-medium sized businesses (SMB) as well as start-up entrepreneurs. Our purpose is to create dynamic customized solutions for business growth. The main areas we focus on are: strategic planning, marketing concept development & implementation (including social media management), website development and fraud prevention training. Since we do work hand-in-hand with our clients and really invest in their success, we are able to create long-term relationships and partnerships with them.

In your opinion, how important is the role of branding for a small business owner?

Branding is crucial for any size business. Your brand defines who you are and allows you to be easily identified. Most people are familiar with popular apparel brands, shoe companies, restaurant chains, why? Because they have distinct, recognizable and memorable branding. At Gold Leaf Designs we love working with clients to help determine what their brand is and creating their logos and marketing materials to communicate and accentuate their brand.

What kind of results have you generated that causes an impact for your clients?

Our clients, both within the advisory group and our design firm, really value our commitment to them and their organizations. We are your advisors and advocates. Whether it is providing our expertise from a marketing and branding perspective and helping a client identify who they are and how they go to market, or developing a plan to help a company take their operations to the next level, we are involved in some of the most important aspects of business development. We are able to help streamline operations, improve efficiency, develop or improve marketing strategies and conceptualize and launch brands.

How much should a small business owner prepare, or with what kind of readiness, before he/she engage your services?

The most important aspect for our prospective clients is to have a sense of direction when they reach out to us. What are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to branch out into social media? Is your company looking to rebrand? Would you like to help mitigate the potential for fraud within your organization? If a client can come to us with a basic framework for what they’re looking to do, we are able to work together to develop a strategy for how to accomplish it.

What is your unique selling proposition as compare to your competitors?

In addition to our focus on exception service and quality solutions, there are three main areas that set us apart. First, we love technology and help our clients bridge the digital gap. That can be seen through communication with clients traveling or outside of our areas-we are available and accessible through Skype, iMessage, Google Hangouts, whatever works for our client. Additionally, we keep on top of technology within our workplace so we can continually provide the best of the best. Second, we communicate with our clients in a way that is easy to understand. We don’t need to bombard them with jargon or technical terminology. We know the how and the why of the solutions we offer; our clients care about the impact on them. We want them to be on the same page with us, not afraid to ask questions and comfortable with the plan and process. As business owners ourselves, we provide a unique perspective when engaging with fellow business owners and entrepreneurs. It’s more than just having a sense or general understanding of what they’re going through, we have and are living it. Finally, we make business easy. We know what we expect of the professionals we engage with and we know our clients are busy. They want to focus on what they’re passionate about, not day-to-day operational and marketing needs. That’s what we’re passionate about! We make it simple for them to refocus on their business so we can help theirs grow.