Meet Laura Starling- Owner/CEO of Queen City Fame Productions/Media

Highlights:                      

• Owner/CEO of Queen City Fame Productions/Media
• Advisory Board Member, Virago Network
• Leader, Women Empowerment

VN: Laura, Please tell us about your profession?

Laura:  I am an entrepreneur and the owner/CEO of Queen City Fame Productions/Media. I share and develop stories about influential, inspiring and motivational people wanting to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  I am dedicated to providing a platform for individuals from different backgrounds with diverse perspectives, sharing their journey through challenges and successes.

VN: What’s the #1 attribute that helped you get where you are in your career?

Laura: The number one attribute that helps me get to where I am today is my ability to engage and connect with people. I strive to learn and grow every day to become a better human being.

VN: How do you manage your family life while pursuing your career?

Laura: I make a conscious effort to plan for family time each week to stay connected.

VN: What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Laura: I am most proud of producing my very first lifestyle series and teaching myself how to edit a film.

VN: What has been the greatest challenge(s) in your career and how did you overcome it (them)?

Laura: The greatest challenge in my career has been spreading myself too thin. Although I want to be part of all of the amazing organization, foundations, charities, networking events: it is very hard to stay on task with my personal goals. I work hard to evaluate each organization and situation equally to determine if I would be able to fully add value, connect as well as gain joy from being involved.

VN: When faced with adversity, what pushes you to keep moving forward?

Laura: When facing adversity, the thoughts of letting my parents down keeps me moving forward. I want to fulfill all of the goals I have shared with my parents before they are no longer on this earth. That is my biggest fear.

VN: What are the challenges to female leadership?

Laura: I believe the challenges to female leadership is to be taken seriously, to be respected as being intelligent, beautiful and successful.

VN: What are some strategies that can help women achieve a more prominent role in their organizations?

Laura:  I believe women that take on more responsibilities and are flexible in their organizations would allow them to achieve a more prominent role. Women who step outside of their comfort zone, think outside of the box, ask questions and be willing to fail become great leaders in any organization. You have to be willing to fail to win.

VN: Have you encountered any gender-specific challenges or obstacles in your career?

Laura: The gender-specific challenge I have received is people tend to think I am just the face or host of my production company and not the visionary and producer. I am always having to explain my role in my production company. I meet men and even women every day that cannot fathom that a woman can be a creator. There is always seems to be a thought that a man is behind the scenes doing all of the work.

VN: If you had the power to change one thing in the corporate world for working mothers, what would you change?

Laura: If I had the power to change one thing in the corporate world for working mothers, I would provide an additional 24 paid hours for them to attend important school meetings with kids which would equal to about 2 hours per month.

VN: What is your definition of success and/or your mantra?

Laura:  My definition of success is a peace of mind, loving myself, loving what I do and loving how I do it.

VN: Which Female Leader(s)/Entrepreneur inspire you the most and why?

Laura: I am inspired most by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry. The reason Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry inspire me are because they both went through many struggles to become the people they are today. Although they had many struggles, they never gave up on their dreams and they both give back to help others achieve their dreams. They are who I aspire to be.

VN: What are your thoughts on the glass ceiling? Does it still exist for women in the workplace? And if so, how can women professionals navigate that?

Laura: I believe there is still a glass ceiling in the workplace. I believe there are more companies providing more opportunities for women to excel to higher leadership, however, women are still facing stereotypes that they can’t handle being at the big table and making big decisions. Women need to get more involved in the organizations in their company that focus on workforce culture to stamp out these stereotypes. Women should first come together, then gather statistics of the men and women in leadership roles and request a meeting to discuss. Statistics speak louder than assumptions. Preparation breeds success.

VN: If you could go back to when you were just beginning your career, what advice would you give yourself?

Laura: If I could go back to when I was just beginning my career, I would tell myself to write out my goals, research and study other entrepreneurs in my field, determine a timeline, align myself with other entrepreneurs in my field, create a budget, align with a team that understands and believes in my vision. Trust the journey even when you don’t understand it.