Not your ordinary Breakfast at Tiffany's. A champagne breakfast is a breakfast served with champagne. Champagne rules, and drinking champagne for breakfast has its perks, especially when it's with the none other Cara Alwill Leyba -- inspirational authoress, blogger, and certified master life coach. I had the honor to catch up with the girl behind the brand and asked her a few branding questions of my own and (Oh girl), it was like sparkling wine. Take a look at what this #GirlBoss had to say:
1.) Tell us more about the Female Boss behind the brand?
I've been a leader since the age of 2. Whether it was instructing my grandparents to dance for me (ha!), or speaking on behalf of my younger brother who often had trouble articulating his words at a young age, I've always been the kind of gal to take the reigns. Those leadership skills, mixed with my passion and creativity, inspired me to start my first business at the age of 17. I dreamed of working at a rock and roll record label, and because I was too young to get a full-time job, I launched my own music magazine from my bedroom. I fell in love with the process of creating something from start to finish and running every aspect of it - from conception, to writing, to production, to marketing, to selling. That girl boss flair did not waver and after dropping out of college and taking on all sorts of corporate gigs including assisting music mogul Clive Davis and then working for MTV, I decided to start a blog in 2008 as a creative outlet for myself. While still maintaining my day job at MTV and moving up the ranks, eventually becoming a Digital Advertising Director with a cushy, 6-figure salary, I grew The Champagne Diet blog into a series of books and a successful life coaching practice. I finally left MTV in 2014 to pursue my brand full-time and have never looked back. I am and always have been a driven, passionate, sensitive, hard-working woman. I live for empowering other women to live their best lives (not mine), and encourage every single one of my clients, readers, and followers to find their own happiness and chase it like mad.
On a personal level, I am a SoulCycle addict, music is my second language, and I live for the color pink. Most nights you can find me curled up on my couch, with all my candles lit, and a glass of red wine in my hand. I never stop working (even if its dreaming and scheming in my mind) and am married to a wonderful man who supports me, and loves me unconditionally. They are out there, ladies.
2.) What is the meaning behind the Champagne Diet?
The Champagne Diet is a lifestyle. It began as a blog and was quite literally titled The Champagne Diet after I found myself searching for a drink I could enjoy that wouldn't be a million calories. When I learned that champagne only had 90-100 calories in a glass, I began drinking it (in moderation) whenever I wanted to indulge. Champagne quickly became a metaphor for me after noticing how I felt whenever I held a glass in my hand; a symbol of effervescence, glamour, and celebration. All key components of what I have created in my own world after much struggle and soul-searching, and the way of life I promote through all of my work. I believe the way to finding your own happiness is by learning how to not just accept yourself - but celebrate yourself - flaws and all. Its about tapping into your femininity, letting go of comparison, recognizing your own brilliance, and always finding something to toast to.
3.) What is your favorite meal to eat for breakfast?
I always wake up pretty hungry, so I love to toast Ezekiel bread and have an egg with some turkey bacon and avocado. The protein satisfies me and gives me energy to get to work!
4.) How has Social Media impact your brand?
Social media has made my brand possible. Without it, I would not have the opportunity to reach so many women around the world. I also love playing with the different platforms. Snapchat is where I get to be silly and super personal, Instagram feels a little more formal; it's where I show my original quotes and book excerpts or pretty snapshots of my life, and Facebook is where I host my girl gang, which is my new obsession! More on that below :)
5.) So how do you make your content engaging enough to reach your target audience?
I kind of have a two-part answer to this. First, my life and work made so much more sense when I realized my target audience is myself. Meaning, I can only create content that feels authentic and true to who I am. That alleviates the issue of having to do something that feels forced, or fits into a certain box. I understand not everyone's business works this way, but mine has to. Once I realized this (which was very early on in my business), everything felt in flow. My content pours out of me because I basically talk to and write to myself. Every single thing you see on my Instagram, books, and blogs, are struggles I've endured and survived. My work is a love letter to myself, and to the women who identify with who I am. I don't think I could make content that I do not passionately feel or understand.
6.) What cool things can we look forward to in the future?
I just started my girl gang called The Slay Baby Collective and I'm so excited about it! As much as I love connecting on the internet, we're lacking serious face time and personal relationships with other women, so I was inspired to create a way to do just that. Slay Baby is a multi-faceted brand, including my weekly live radio show, Slay Baby Radio, which airs live every Thursday at 8 PM ET on W4WN.com and in podcast format on I Heart Radio. In addition to the show, I have a private Facebook group where women can connect and inspire each other. It's a girl power driven group with positive, like-minded women who are looking for girlfriends and support. It's not a business group or a self-promotion marketplace. It's truly about cultivating real friendships with other kick-ass babes. Although we meet online, the goal is to encourage each other to meet up in person as well. I've recently kicked off a series of Slay Baby meet ups around the world. The first unofficial meet up was in Brooklyn in October, and Chicago is happening in December. I'm planning Tokyo and London for early 2017. My dream is to have official Slay Baby chapters in each city led by my members who want to start something cool in their own cities. If anyone is interested in being a part of Slay Baby, please email me at Info@TheChampagneDiet.com with a brief description of yourself and I will get you started! (And pssst....its FREE!)
Thanks for sharing—we hope you enjoyed it!
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www.TheChampagneDiet.com
www.Instagram.com/TheChampagneDiet Snapchat: GlitterGutsGlam Best email is Info@TheChampagneDiet.com
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