Born and raised in Seattle Washington, LyNea Bell attended Griffin Business College where she studied Computer Programming. She went on to earn her degree in Business/Corporate Communications at the University of Phoenix-SC.
Bell began her professional career working for fortune 500 companies while doubling behind the scenes learning the entertainment business. It wasn’t long before the savvy corporate exec switched lanes landing a position at Media Artist Group, where she worked as a Talent Agent and product endorsement specialist. Then it was off to 90210 talent as Head of the Comedy Department, Theatrical and Literary Agent for 3-year
stint before opening up The Bell Hall Talent agency aka BH Talent, a full-service agency representing talent in television, film, comedy, voice-overs, commercials, print and literary and music artists. The agency excels in identifying and introducing new talent and helping to reignite careers.
LyNea lives up to her reputation of being aggressive, tenacious and yet, quite engaging. Her love of the arts coupled with her passion for helping to advance the careers of those she represents is her driving force. She has spoken on several industry panels and workshops and was selected as a judge for the Hollywood Black Film Festival. She’s a member of the Television Academy, SAG, Women in film, the JTC List, and Women of Color Unite.
Constantly evolving, LyNea Bell is a creative, spiritually guided visionary with a heart to help others reach their true potential.
What is GOTCONN all about?
In a nutshell, users get fast and relevant search engine results without having to mortgage their privacy in return. The companies that are well known in this space essentially engage in the cyber-stalking of their visitors across the internet and sell that information to the highest bidders while trying to convince you that it is normal behavior and that you don’t have any other options.
GOTCONN lets you retain your privacy while you are performing your searches, and we will continue to work on features and with partners to continue to extend the basic privacy values that we all have offline to your online experience.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I was a bit of an anomaly you could say. I graduated High School when I was 16 years old. Then I went on to get an associate degree in Computer programming. I guess you can say this was the precursor to where we are now. I’ve always been fond of coding and tinkering when it came to programming, but then I decided to shift gears and moved into real estate and then finally parked my career vehicle as a Talent Agent opening my own Talent Agency.
What was the biggest problem you encountered with your business and how did you overcome it?
Having to educate people about the true cost of performing a search and how much of their privacy they are routinely giving away without a second thought. Our society is generally blind to the fact that they are essentially being cyber-stalked throughout every online interaction when they can choose another path.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
My biggest mistake along the way was second-guessing myself. I knew what I had was great, but I kept questioning if people would actually understand how beneficial it would be to their lives. By second-guessing myself, it kind of slowed down the process.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
One thing I do daily to grow as an entrepreneur is read. I read or listen to testimonies about the success of other entrepreneurs, which helps to motivate and inspire me and keep me moving forward.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
- How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie.
- The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
All the information you need to get started is out there. You don’t have to depend on one specific person or one specific company anymore. Many times, we find ourselves stuck waiting for someone who we believe can help us, when we can actually help ourselves.
Secondly, you have to step out on faith and believe in yourself and the vision. The most successful people are those who take risks. You got to be a risk-taker.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Word of mouth and the media have been powerful allies for me. Combining a grassroots approach using word of mouth with social media and traditional media platforms has allowed us to reach more of our target market in a short period of time.
If you only had 1000 dollars to start a new startup, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
We are all experts at something. I would take that $1000 and develop a pre-recorded online course around that particular thing where people could pay a fee to learn that information. I would have a couple of times during the course where I will host a couple of lives for Q&As. Bottom line is, we live in an information era and people will pay for information.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Stay focused on your Dreams. Don’t listen to the naysayers, you have to transform that negative energy into something positive to help fuel and refuel your enthusiasm. Do something towards your goals every day, and always know that your vision is bigger than you.
What is your favorite quote?
I live by this quote;
Do You, Be You & Shine.
Everyone should be free to shine and be unapologetically who they are.
How can readers get in touch with you?
One thing the pandemic has done is, it’s leveled the playing field. We all have come to the reality that we are in this together, and we need each other. I make myself accessible! You can find me on all social media platforms including Clubhouse. And yes, I do take the time to read messages and respond if applicable. You can learn more about me on my website.LyNeaBell.com.
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