Meet LeeAnn Barnes

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful LeeAnn Barnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

LeeAnn, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic has definitely come naturally from my dad’s side of the family. I would say its a generational thing overall.

My great grandparents started in the restaurant & hospitality business almost 100 years ago. They worked very hard and saved money for 10 years to be able to open the Okeechobee Steakhouse in 1947. It was known as Okeechobee Drive In at the time. Over the last 76 years it has remained in our family and is now managed and since been expanded by my dad who is the 3rd generation owner.

Southern Living just posted an article referring to it as one of the south’s most Legendary Steakhouses and that is most definitely attributed to the consistent work ethic put forth over the past 76 years.

I certainly credit my work ethic to the legends in my family who taught us how to get up everyday and hustle to make your dreams a reality.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is LeeAnn. I’m a 4th generation in the restaurant & hospitality business so working with food just seems to come naturally to me.

I’ve always enjoyed being a creative and feel a sense of accomplishment when I look at something I’ve created from nothing and turned into a thing of beauty.

My love of creativity and food collided when I discovered 3 years ago that I enjoy creating edible works of art that make people happy. What first started as designing gorgeous desserts expanded into also becoming a charcuterie catering artist.

What makes this business special to me is that I get to be a part of so many important occasions in the lives of my community through food. Food brings everyone together in so many ways and remains the center of most occasions. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of that.

I’m also passionate about health and overall wellness. I believe that living an overall healthy lifestyle and taking care of me affords me the ability to care for my family and my business by showing up as my best self.

I’m working on launching a new website that offers products that are important to the overall health and wellness that we as women often neglect. These products are all clean ingredients, balanced perfectly to keep your hormones aligned and easy to use even in our busy lifestyle.

I currently have this as a Facebook group called: My Wellness Is Worth It. My website with all products will be launching very soon so keep an eye out for that.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The 3 most important skills I use often are:

1.) Consistency – keep showing up even when times are hard. Even when it seems that your hard work isn’t paying off. People often quit right before they hit that finish line. Keep showing up consistently.

2.) Positivity – You’ll never attract what you want in your life, family or business with a negative mindset. Wake up everyday and practice affirmations that align with your life and goals. It helps to set the tone for the day you wish to have.

3.) Discipline – If you are a business owner you have no boss to tell you what to do, you have to be disciplined every single day to complete the mundane tasks. Your business only works if you do!

My advice to anyone starting out is this: The dream is free but the hustle is sold separately.
Set a goal, make plans to achieve it and GO for it. If it doesn’t bring purpose, peace or prosperity, do not focus on it. Do not get distracted from your goals. Surround yourself with successful people that you admire. These are the people who will help you to achieve your goals.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
The past 12 months have been a complete roller coaster ride overall for my business. I live in a very seasonal area at Cedar Creek Lake so learning the ebbs and flows of the clientele has been a challenge overall. Having moved here from Florida, the “season” there is the exact opposite of the season in this area.

I’ve learned to maximize the busy season to its fullest potential and try to gain some time for myself during the slower times. My business is extremely busy during the holiday months and any time that the lake goers head out for their lake homes. There’s only a few weeks here and there that aren’t busy but during those times I work to regroup, refocus and plan for the upcoming busy times.

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