Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantal Lanea.
Chantal, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
At day, I am a Cardiac Nurse and a beauty and style/lifestyle blogger. Omg, it feels so good to say that! I was always naturally a creative girl. Even though I excelled at traditional school I could never shake the feeling of wanting to create things to put out into the world. Writing came very easily and would always write encouraging entries in my journals, but never shared them. One day, while at university at FIU, I felt something tell me, ‘Start a blog.” I’ll never forget it. Even though I was afraid of what people might think, I took the leap and did it. I started my blog, www.sheseeketh.com in 2012. My goal for my blog was always to encourage and uplift women. I wanted every woman to feel as amazing as they are. Unfortunately, due to discouragement and life transitions, I fell off. I got consumed with the traditional way of life. I graduated from college became a nurse and began working. I value my job as a nurse and love that I make a difference every day, but I wanted more, I needed to scratch that itch to create so in 2018, I revamped my blog and I am back at it again. I could not be happier. I have grown so much to where I now know how to follow my dreams even while feeling afraid of the unknown. I know I have a greater purpose. I am now working on making my blog a community and platform where women can visit and feel inspired and beautiful. I do still have a long way to go, but I am already so proud of myself for stepping out.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If we are talking about my road to building the She Seeketh brand. I’ll respond with a resounding No. Every day, I have to make up my mind to continue because building a community takes time. A lot of the struggle for me has been mental. Being a blogger requires you to put yourself out there and fight to stand out. I struggled with being concerned with what those around would think about what I was doing. Would they think what I’m writing is lame? will they think my content is boring? These are the thoughts I have to push past in order to put my content out there. Also, there is so much that goes into blogging and so much to learn therefore, I have to put in the time to research how to be successful. I’ve learned that it is not an overnight thing. I recently wrote a post about the things I’ve put in place in order to stay focused on my goals in 2019. The main one for me was knowing my ‘why.’ If I allow myself to forget the reason I blog I will easily become discouraged because some days it looks like everyone is flying past me and I’m going nowhere fast. Thankfully, I do have a passion for what I am doing. This passion fuels me and with every day, I am making smalls steps towards becoming a successful blogger.
My advice to any young women out there trying to break out of their comfort zone and walk into a space they feel called to is to trust that inner voice. If you can’t shake the feeling of wanting to blog or a anything for that matter, then go for it! It just might be your way of making a difference in this world. Remember that it is not easy, but most things that are worth having do not come easy at all. Do your research and just start and try your best to stay consistent. My biggest regret is losing myself and not sticking to blogging. Please know that you have all that it takes and just get started.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
In short, I am a blogger. I create Style and Lifestyle content geared towards inspiring and teaching women. The goal is to help women to become their best self inside and out. I believe that starts with becoming better mentally so I write posts that are meant to inspire women and pick them up if they’re down. They are based on the experiences I’ve had and things I’ve learned. Therefore, much of the inspiring entries are faith-based. Who I am today is because of the faith I have in God and I am glad sharing my experience has helped many women
When women look good, we also feel good, so I also create a post that shows my personal fashion style and also beauty content having to do with hair and makeup. I am striving to touch women as a whole being.
As a brand, I am most proud of the moments when I receive messages from my readers saying that something I’ve written helped them through their day or through a tough time they are going through. I also love when I recommend products and someone tells me it worked for them. Basically, I am most proud of my brand for helping women.
I follow many blogs and they are beautiful and the tips they share about beauty products are helpful, but they forget the inner woman. They forget that no matter how much mascara you put on if you are not satisfied with who you are as a person, you’ll still end up feeling ugly. What sets me apart from others is that my blog focuses on the woman as a whole.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
In the blogging world, I believe women are at the forefront. In fact, in my niche, I rarely see a male. However, in general, I think the biggest barrier to female leadership is men and women who buy into the thought that women are the just the weaker vessel and therefore cannot lead. Women today have to fight against traditions of the past where the woman’s role was to take care of the home, her children and her man. Because of this, it is somehow strange when women are seen in leadership roles. Our society gets uncomfortable when they see cultural norms being broken and so many pushes for things to remain the way they’ve always been. Women today who want to be that boss babe is fighting against culture and that’s difficult to break, but we are doing it and it is beautiful to see. I am inspired every day on social media when I see women stepping out as entrepreneurs and CEOs, it’s absolutely amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sheseeketh.com
- Email: Sheseeketh@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantallaneau/
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
