When life presents challenges, you can either stall or leap forward.
Colleen Biggs chose to leap—and LEAP, she did.
As host of the podcast Take the LEAP, Colleen uses her platform to build community… one comprised of women business owners who share their successes and struggles, their wins and losses.
For Colleen, it is a mission of love and faith.
Colleen has launched over 340 businesses, is an international speaker and a bestselling author, and an award-winning businesswoman named local “Businessperson of the Year” in 2021. She brings that experience to her podcast, interviewing guests from all areas of business, simultaneously showcasing and highlighting them for maximum visibility.
Colleen explains: “It’s about visibility. I’ve been a business coach and consultant for 20 years. The number-one factor that worked for every single one of my clients was telling everybody about them. First and foremost, you’ve got to get out there and tell everybody about you! I created platforms within my community for my members to do that, and one of those platforms is the podcast.
“My members are my primary guests. These are women in all different industries who are either launching, building, or accelerating their businesses. I love it because there are all levels within the group. And that’s something that I really think is a benefit to my podcast, because my listeners themselves are at all levels.”
Colleen doesn’t just bring anyone on as a guest. She has a required application process, and she looks for what makes those interested unique. She also values authenticity—it’s important to her that her guests show up as themselves.
“That’s what makes you successful. What makes us stand out is being ourselves, and not like others. I’m really not looking for people with a ton of credentials or those who try too hard to impress me. Honestly, I tell people to check their ego at the door. I want people who are interesting and in all different industries. 
“I just love it when they’re quirky and real. I had a lady reach out to me once who told me she was a gay, Black barista/marketing expert, and I was like, ‘I don’t know who the heck you are, girl, but I need to have you on my show!’ We went on to become really good friends. She joined the community, and I brought her in to teach expert marketing. She worked with some very high-profile celebrities. Many of them are in the world of music, and she works on their Instagram accounts and all. She wound up creating a book for marketing that I promoted for her. So, we helped each other out. And it was all because she sent me an email saying, ‘This is who I am.’“
Yet not everything goes so smoothly. Prior to Take the Leap, Colleen had a podcast called Speak Up to Lead Up. It had over 180 published episodes and was an asset of a business she had with a partner. The partnership dissolved, and though it was heartbreaking for Colleen, she knew the podcast must live on.
“Take the Leap is a continuation of Speak Up to Lead Up. You could call it ‘starting over’ instead of ‘rebranding.’ It’s 2022, and it’s like that song—‘I’m coming out,’ right? I’m doing things my way. My original podcast was based on my original community, Lead Up for Women. Leading up was really about leading your life the way you deserve to. It was about giving yourself permission to say what you want to say and do what you want to do. We hold ourselves back a lot by not speaking our truth. When I say something, I don’t really care what other people think,” laughs Colleen.
“I tell people, when you walk into a room, own it. Speak up, and lead your life! What are you truly afraid of? Most of the time, they’re afraid that people will really see who they are. But that is what we all want to see. That is what we all crave!”
Colleen has never been a stats-watcher… until recently, that is. She was intrigued by the countries following her and liked watching that number grow.
“I’m very proud of all the clients I’ve interviewed,” she shares. “And I’m very proud that we’re ranked in the top three global podcasts, which is something I just found out about. I’m not a stats girl. I don’t think about big, long credibility lists. I do think it is important to shout from the mountaintops when you’ve created something so great and helped so many other people out, though. And we do need to celebrate more. Because it builds our confidence, and we keep our power. So, I do think it’s important that we celebrate those moments.”
Colleen’s celebration is most certainly well-deserved!
October 2022 Issue
