In over a year since I have blogged, I have come across some awesome people. When I didn’t know much about blogging, I still was able to meet some great people along the way to help, inspire and teach me what it means to network. Each week I want to feature men and women in the Blogger Spotlight that has inspired, taught and supported both myself and other bloggers. Introduce Yourself to Lakesha :  Please comment, visit “Lakesha” and keep the support flowing to every blogger you know!

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your blog?

Hmmm, well it all started back in 1978…wait, you probably don’t want me to go back that far! Hey, I’m Kesha and I’m a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios. I like to keep things simple, love connecting and interacting with people, and can be easily bribed with Oreos (hint, hint). Here’s my philosophy about life as so wonderfully stated by Cecil Beaton: “Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” That’s me – anything but ordinary! This is what spawned the creation of Uncommon Chick, a blog that challenges you to live, think and do differently to earn the success you know you deserve in life (whatever you consider success to be).

What most influenced you to launch your business?

I started a blog back in 2009 to discuss websites, blogging, social media, and small business marketing to complement my web design business, XD Web Solutions, but I wanted to have a place to talk about lifestyle items and to share my personal thoughts and feelings about things, which didn’t belong on the web design blog. And, voilà!, Uncommon Chick was born on September 1, 2011. Topics span the gamut: living an uncommon lifestyle, weight loss and fitness, personal finance, relationships, funny stuff (because you ain’t living until you’ve had a good laugh every day!), inspirational, personal development and more…

What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far with your blog?

There are so many things I want to do for my audience that at one point it got really overwhelming! So I had to take a step back, make my project lists, and just start tackling them one at time. The overwhelming feeling was also compounded by the fact that I run multiple blogs so priority management became even more critical.

What role do social media play in your blogging life?

In a sense, our blogs are considered part of social media so I think it’s a no brainer when I say that it plays a HUGE role!! Social networks have been tremendous in helping to send traffic to all of my properties online and I love it. The analytics tell the story better than I can. Honestly, I don’t know what we were doing or how we survived prior to the advent of social media as it is today!

How has blogging affected your career?

Blogging is cool and I’m one of the cool kids. Blogging, in a nutshell, has given me the opportunity to show myself to the world and gain credibility in my field. In addition, it has not just affected my career but also my personal life. Through blogging I am finding more and more people to connect with, share ideas with, meet in real life (which is always fun), and collaborate with and I know that without blogging, this would not have been possible.

What advice would you give to aspiring bloggers?

Where do I start?! Don’t be afraid to DO YOU! Put yourself out there; you’ll be surprised at the awesomeness you’ll attract. Know that perfection doesn’t create profits. One of my wise friends, Andrea Amir, told me this and it has stuck with me to this day and I share it with everyone I know. There are a lot of things I wish I would have just implemented without having the need for it to be perfect. Waiting for something to be perfect means you’ll never get around to doing it. You can ALWAYS tweak/change/redo once it’s out there, but you must take the first step. Connect, connect, connect! I don’t care what anyone says, I don’t believe you can realize success without the support of others, especially from other people in your field. Connect with other bloggers and website owners and remember, don’t burn your bridges. Be open! Stay open and pay attention to opportunities that WILL come your way.

What aspect of social media has helped your business?

The love I get from the people who follow me online, the retweeting, resharing, replussing, restumbling, repinteresting (LOL) that my social media tribe awards me with – all bringing more eyes to me and my content. If you’re one of those people reading this now, THANK YOU!!!

What would you say is the single biggest reason for your success?

My Sistatribe! Woot! I belong to a small mastermind group and we lovingly call ourselves the Sistatribe. We support each other, brainstorm ideas together, give advice, are shoulders and ears for one another, and whenever we all can get together in the same place, it’s a paaarrrtaaayyy!

If you could step back in time to when you were just starting out, what advice would you give yourself knowing what you know now?

JUST DO IT! (I really gave Nike that phrase but I’ll let them take the credit this time) But seriously, it’s all about putting in the work and taking action. I’m a good planner and can plan stuff all day long but until action takes place, that’s all it is, a plan. Planning can’t pay bills (unless you’re an event planner)! Remembering that helped put some fire under my butt to get moving!

Do you have any big projects in the works?

I just recently started the Uncommon Point of View show, a weekly podcast where I expand on some of the topics from the blog and will be highlighting uncommon people, talent, and ideas (get at me if you want to join me on the show!).

What websites do you visit most?

Wow, there are so many! I love reading and sharing other people’s content and I enjoy the different perspectives and thoughts people bring to everyday topics. My RSS feed is quite lengthy with wonderful blogs (including LogAllot!) and though I can’t get to them as often as I’d like, I am always in for a treat when I do get a chance to do some blog reading.

What is the best way for our readers to learn more about you or contact you for more information?

Want to know more? Sure you do! I have provided more details than you thought you’d need (including 7 Random Facts You Didn’t Need to Know About Kesha) on the blog and of course feel free to connect with me online. Here’s where you can find me:

• Twitter: @uncommonchick
• Facebook: UncommonChick
• Google+ (trying to use it more often these days!): Lakesha Brown

And of course I love interaction on the blog, so don’t be shy and come on in! Thanks Kesha for being a part of this series and I really appreciate you!