To Inspire Others - Ignite Publishing

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in publishing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lady JB Owen, Founder and CEO of Ignite Publishing, located in Red Deer, AB, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I am proud to be the Founder and CEO of Ignite Publishing™. Known as the leaders in empowerment publishing, we provide a platform for every person to tell the story of their Ignite Moment™ and use the wisdom and insights they have discovered in their own life to uplift the lives of others. We do this through publishing internationally bestselling compilation books that contain the stories of people who are genuinely, authentically sharing what they have learned through their challenges and triumphs in the hope that it will help guide others on their path. Alongside books, we also offer training, events, and opportunities to our community so they can Ignite more greatness in their lives.

Alongside this work, we also run the Ignite Humanity initiative, which is a book, documentary, and movement to inspire healing, growth, human connection, and empowerment within every person on this planet. In fact, soon myself, the film crew, and a handful of impactful, innovative leaders will be traveling to India to film the next segment of the documentary, which will include meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Our customers are every person who has a story of transformation and every person who needs to read a story that will positively impact their life. We believe that is every person on this planet, and our mission is to share 7 billion Ignite Moments™ around the globe. We are committed to supporting individuals, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in growing their brands and business by infusing authentic storytelling into their businesses and raising the consciousness of humanity.

Tell us about yourself

I have always had a mind for business and sales. Even when I was younger, I could see that business was not simply the act of selling something to someone. It was about providing them with the solution to their problem or giving them what they needed that created an emotional impact. It was of service to others while also fulfilling your mission and being on purpose.

That idea — that with every sale, business interaction, collaboration, or deal made, everyone comes out of it a winner — is a huge motivation for me. I have incorporated this idea into an essential business practice for me. I call it the Triple Win. It is where everyone wins; you win, your clients win, and the people your clients connect with also win. With our Ignite books, we go a step further. Our authors win by becoming internationally bestselling authors. Our readers win because they read transformation books that ignite positive change in them. And because we are committed to building schools and homes in impoverished countries, students and families there will win as well.

I’ve even expanded beyond this: my team wins because I’ve created a business where their voices are valued. Those in need win because we donate to the charity initiative we run that builds schools in Indonesia. Those who know our authors and readers win because they benefit from the change we spark in those authors and readers. Everyone gets to win, and that is what motivates me every single day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment was actually a recent accomplishment. In September, I traveled to Anaheim, California, where I received the Ignite Humanitarian Award at the 2nd annual Be Great! Humanitarian Awards. That award was deeply meaningful for me because it represented the impact I have made not just as a business owner but as a humanitarian who has incorporated causes and initiatives into my work that has allowed so many people to be uplifted, empowered, and ignited. Standing on that stage, that award represented more than a personal achievement; it represented the difference I was making in the world. Earlier this year, I was also knighted for my philanthropic and entrepreneurial impact. Having these platforms has allowed me to reach and inspire even more people. It’s a truly wonderful thing to know that you are impacting more people than ever before and impacting them in a way where everyone can be uplifted.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things as a business owner is to move from only thinking about yourself and instead thinking about what your customer needs. We are conditioned to think about our own needs first all the time, and it is a difficult thing to find a balance where you are addressing your needs while serving the needs of the customer and the planet. One needs to be very conscious of their role as a leader. You are the one who can call the shots and transform your business into one that serves the needs of your customers, your staff, and the greater needs of others. It often takes a journey of self-discovery, along with seeing your experiences with customers as transformational rather than a transaction, to focus on connection and forming a relationship that empowers both you and your customer to make a huge impact on the world. Great business owners work on this trifecta of success where you win, your customers win, and the world at large wins.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

My top three tips are to think transformational, not transactional, to surround yourself with a team who are experts in their field, and embody being a CEO: clear, excited, and organized.

1. Think transformational, not transactional.
   It can be easy to fall into the mindset where making sales, upping the numbers, and seeing your customers as dollar amounts are all you focus on. But what I have learned through my years of entrepreneurship is that when you treat a customer as someone you can uplift, help, empower, and transform, they can see that and see the results. It makes that person a customer for life because they win, and they get something essential that not many businesses can give them: their growth, their next evolution.
2. Build a team of experts.
   Every single person has their own niche and mode of intelligence. The way that you are smart, driven, and innovative is different from the ways another person is those same things. When you build your team, you’ll grow when you have people who are not just competent at their job and their duties but someone who will expand your ideas and step outside of your box, allowing growth in new ways you might not have discovered alone. You also want people whose experience with a certain tool or aspect of business exceeds yours. As the entrepreneur, the businessperson, and the face of the company, you can’t be an expert in everything, but you can be the expert in leading an exceptional team.
3. Be a CEO: clear, excited, and organized.
   Embodying the true meaning of being a CEO means that you are clear, excited, and organized. Clear in that you have to intimately know your vision, your mission, and your purpose and be able to express that through the work your business does. Excited that your charisma and enthusiasm for what you’re doing sparks an exuberance in others, too, and makes them want to be clients or collaborators. Organized in that, you have to build systems and put them in place to allow your successes to be replicated time and time again. CEOs take on so much every day, so starting each day with that clarity of purpose, going throughout the day with a bright attitude, and ending it knowing you have systems in place to continue your successes is what allows you to scale, advance, and succeed.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://igniteyou.life/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/igniteyou.life/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igniteyou.life/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jb-owen/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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