When Leang started Pelorastack, she had a vision in mind for providing content and courses for HR professionals looking to upskill themselves. This was born out of her passion for designing content and helping people. But, "Since then the business has evolved into the professional services space."
This pivot was in response to what she was learning along the way. "I do think in order to be successful, you do have to create space and flexibility to allow that to organically happen."
Like many emerging leaders, Leang started doing a lot of speaking engagements. "What I discovered during that process is that there were people who connected with my story, there were people who found value in what I was sharing with them." They approached her asking if she ever takes on clients outside of that space.
"Sometimes it takes a little bit of self-discovery and time to figure [it] out."
The thing that enabled Leang to successfully respond to the needs she was hearing from perspective clients was seeking help herself. "As a coach...it's important for me to work with other coaches to help develop me in other areas and that's the reason why I sought a marketing coach. I saw a sales coach throughout this entire journey to help me with all those." Those coaches took her through a vulnerable process of self-discovery, which helped her to connect the dots in her business.
Leang experienced many benefits from seeking the help of others. She specifically sought to learn domain knowledge from marketers and sales experts. The second benefit was confidence, "how good it feels to be able to invest in yourself because I'm important."
Above and beyond those, "The third thing that I gain is a level of authenticity with my clients." Leang realized when she is more authentic and feels more confident she's able to better sale her services.
Leang experienced transformational growth from investing in herself. "Before I started Pelora Stack, I wasn't on social media, I wasn't putting myself out there." Getting onto social media felt quite scary for her. But, she "made peace with my discomfort in that way because I want my business to succeed."
Having a presence on social media was particularly difficult because Leang has, "always been a pretty private person. I wasn't even on social media from a personal perspective... I think I had to figure out how much do I want to share." She let herself ease into the process of having a presence online. And established boundaries around what she did or did not share.
Above and beyond that, she learned how to embrace her expertise. Leang reflected, "Expertise is expertise, and it doesn't need to have a specific look and feel to it. It comes in many different shapes and forms and different stages of your life."
We concluded the interview by talking about what Co-creating looks like in Leang's business. She reflected, "as a solopreneur...you either you have to really embrace it, or you have to figure out a way to create that co-working experience, while still being a solopreneur." Leang has assembled a "beautiful tapestry or network of other solopreneurs who feel the same way that I do. Like we really enjoy connecting with other people, we enjoy brainstorming, we enjoy being held accountable for the things that we want to hold ourselves"
For aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals seeking growth requiring them to get outside of their comfort zone, Leang's interview is sure to provide actionable inspiration.
Connect with Leang:
Leang's LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leang-chung/
Pelora Stack's LinkedIn Profile - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pelorastack/
Pelora Stack's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pelorastack/