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Founder@ Interview
With Traci S. Campbell
“I want to share with other entrepreneurs and founders the importance of spending just as much time imagining and visualizing and feeling success in your business or mission as you spend working on the day-to-day tasks of your business. NOTHING happens without being a thought first. I am a firm believer in that. Thus, we have to train our brains each and every day to think about and feel the things we want. If you do that often enough, things will indeed align to bring those thoughts into a tangible reality. ” – Traci S. Campbell
Today we feature Traci S. Campbell , the founder at BeSpire TV . We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
I am a technology consultant by trade. I am also a non-profit founder and I am the founder of a streaming network (BeSpire TV) that is currently available on Roku and Amazon Fire.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
I started in technology…software training and testing and then later business analysis and project managment. I was even a software developer for a brief time. While I was passionate about technology, I also had a passion for media and journalism. I started podcasting in 2008 (after my mother passed away) and from there…authored a book which turned into a program to help kids and single parents. Eventually I started two non-profits, founded an awards show in various citries, and then ventured into radio and now streaming media.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
BIBO Worldwide, LLC is based in Chicago and creates media platforms and supports others who want a presence (TV show, podcast, and/or radio) on media to promote their brand, product, or service.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
A strong desire to not end up like my mother and take her sacrifices to forge a better future for us both. By that, I mean, not living a life where your personal dreams are never realized, but at the same time, making it a life mission to help others along as well. My “aha” moment came right after I lost my mother in August 2007. I had created a successful career in IT, but I was still not yet “fulfilled”. After years of being a caregiver to my mother, I realized that I still had dreams and missions to pursue. My mother helped prepare me to be independent and resourceful. Other mentors along the way helped me to realize my talents in communication and leadership. So, I took courses and put in the time and effort to move into a whole new industry from IT and as a result, was able to realize the other part of my dream and help others as well.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far in business is the huge importance of having a team in place to help you on your journey. Before I learned this lesson, I was trying to do everything myself. And all that did was cause me anxiety and panic attacks (literally) and caused delays that could have been avoided if I had taken the time to get the right people on board to help me. Even without a lot of resources, which I didn’t have a lot of funding in the beginning of my business, I was able to connect with people who saw my vision! They wanted to see my project succeed and by extension, they were very supportive of me. Some of them are still with me to this day. But even those that moved on, were a huge help during the season that they were around.
Another huge lesson that I learned was making sure that resources, both monetary resources and human resources, are in place before taking on a huge endeavor. We found ourselves in some financial trouble during one of our events in a city outside of Chicago many years ago. We had to scramble last minute to get the needed money to pull it off. We did, but of course it cost us greatly in terms of the amount of money that had to be paid back to the lender.
If we had taken more time up front to secure sponsors or possibly scale down the event before publicizing it, we probably would have avoided that very stressful and very costly situation. Thus, when we go into events or anything that is going to be a huge financial and or resource endeavor, we make sure that those things are in place as much as possible before we move forward and especially before we publicize it.
Building your business’s infrastructure should be the very first thing that you do. It is vitally important to have processes and procedures in place. It is very important to identify people to fill key roles. It is extremely important to have an assistant or virtual assistant to help you along the way. Establishing your “order” from within first is going to allow you to grow and scale more easily. This is something that we eventually did and reaped the benefit, but we didn’t do it early on and that caused unnecessary angst and frustration when we first started.
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Knowing what I know now, I would tell my younger self not doubt myself so much. I have come into my confidence over the years, but I feel that I could have realized my true worth and established the confidence that I have today at a much younger age. I also would tell my younger self to go after what it is that you’re truly passionate about. I was very fortunate in that I have essentially had two careers and I have a passion and a love for both of them. But, I did not realize that until later on and it is very possible that I would have pursued the path that I’m on now at a much younger age. Even though I firmly believe that it’s rarely ever too late to do something, there is very valuable time lost when we procrastinate. Step out on faith and do the thing that you were purposed to do. Imagine the impact that you could have on others in a positive and powerful way if you were just more full of faith and less doubtful.
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What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
Building your business’s infrastructure should be the very first thing that you do. It is vitally important to have processes and procedures in place. It is very important to identify people to fill key roles. It is extremely important to have an assistant or virtual assistant to help you along the way. Establishing your “order” from within first is going to allow you to grow and scale more easily. This is something that we eventually did and reaped the benefit, but we didn’t do it early on and that caused unnecessary angst and frustration when we first started. 
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
Definitely the very first BIBO Awards show in 2013. We started our journey to BeSpire TV with conducting award shows in cities like Las vegas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. These BIBO awards or “Beauty and Beauty out” Awards honored exceptional women in cities throughout the us. That was just an idea in my head in 2012. It was a real thing by the end of 2013. And we did this for 5 years. Just being able to say that we pulled off something of that magnitude with an incredible team of volunteers mostly ,to this day, is still amazing to me. And I am forever grateful.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
In addition to seeing BeSpire TV become a very successful streaming network that entertains and informs and inspires many people, I want to launch our scholarship or grant program under the BIBO Foundation, our 501c3. At this point in my life, I want to be a resource for young women as they start their career or entrepreneurial journey. And probably more importantly, I want to spend much more time traveling and enjoying experiences with my husband.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
I want to share with other entrepreneurs and founders the importance of spending just as much time imagining and visualizing and feeling success in your business or mission as you spend working on the day-to-day tasks of your business. NOTHING happens without being a thought first. I am a firm believer in that. Thus, we have to train our brains each and every day to think about and feel the things we want. If you do that often enough, things will indeed align to bring those thoughts into a tangible reality.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and BeSpire TV “
To learn more about BeSpire TV Visit https://www.bespiretv.com/
Find on social media @ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bespiretv/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086546214465
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