Bestselling author, speaker and orchestrator of daring publicity campaigns, Luana Riberia tells us how she helps coaches and entrepreneurs to connect with a larger audience.
What do you currently do
We help entrepreneurs to become known as the leading authority on their topic.
We do this by helping them to build their reputation and to reach millions of people with their impactful message through guiding them through writing and publishing a book (or even writing it for them) and by getting them consistent interview bookings and features in mainstream media.
We typically work with business owners who:
- Have a strong online presence
- Already have a strong marketing and sales strategy
- Are clear on their message and who they want to attract into their business
- Are clear on their offers
- Want to grow their businesses and create a greater impact
What was the inspiration behind your business?
It was a gradual process. Formerly, an actress, being in the media was second nature to me so when I set up my previous business, which was an acting school, I continued to go into the media to talk about it and share my stories and the exciting things we had going on.
It was my lifelong dream to open an animal sanctuary, and in 2017, my business had hit a point where I would be able to fully fund this venture through my business.
At the same time, I was going through a marriage break up which was very public. After 6 months of being at the heart of a press flurry, I suddenly felt as though I needed my own space to think, to heal and to figure out who I really was!
So, I did what any normal human would do… I fled the UK to go live in a ditch in Portugal.
This was the beginning of the Freedom Sanctuary. I had left my old life behind and my business, which had expanded to 4 venues across the UK by now, was running nicely without me.
While I was there, with no power, internet or running water, hours away from any sort of civilization, I wrote my first book, which was around how I had managed to create this business that gave me a life of freedom.
It hit best seller and resulted in me living a double life for a while. One day I would be in the muddy ditch and the next, jetting off to luxury hotels for TV appearances and speaking engagements.
I had a course leading from the book to help people to create freedom in their businesses. I had no experience in this area, no website, no landing pages, no ads and my organic social media was a total of 2 posts all year. I was ecstatic with how it had taken off but as I delivered the course, I found myself only wanting to talk about books and media. It came as a huge shock to me that not every business owner was already getting themselves into the media. And that’s when I decided to take the plunge and to niche down into helping people to gain more visibility and to create a greater impact by using these tools!
Who do you admire?
I admire lots of people. The rebels with hearts of gold who pave their own way, the people whose mission is greater than their fears, the people who have had a ton of obstacles thrown at them but who keep talking action and moving forward, the people who dare to dream, to think differently, to lead others in a positive way and to create real change.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
I’ve been at rock bottom, I’ve failed multiple times over, I’ve been conned and manipulated in the cruelest of ways, I’ve lost everything multiple times over, I’ve cried into my wine not being able to afford new shoes for my kids, I’ve been the target of a hate campaign to try and destroy my reputation and I’ve had months at a time of absolute darkness.
And I have got back up every single time, with more strength, more courage and more determination.
So, my answer is no, I would not do anything differently.
What defines your way of doing business?
I don’t tend to follow the standard rules of business. I’m very open with sharing my stories and I speak to my audience in the exact same way that I speak to my friends.
I have fun with it. I have no interest in breaking free of the 9-5 life, only to give myself a stuffy job, and having this approach calls in the clients that are right, for me.
What advice would you have for someone starting out?
Blending into the crowd will not cut it, especially in the online space. You need to figure out what it is about you and your business that makes you unique and then shine a light on it!
Be clear about what you do, who you help (no, it’s not everyone) and build your audience by communicating your message consistently, firstly by using social media and them amplify the effect thousands of times over by publishing a book on your topic and becoming a regular in mainstream media.
