One On One with Ms. Sakita Holley ~ Mover n Shaker

Here at LIRM, we pride ourselves on providing our readers on the the most inspirational, uplifting and encouraging information that we can. Our prayer daily is that we connect with those individuals who are making inroads in their various walks of life. 

Be it the most influential stylist, singer and the like, it is never a chore to connect those movers and shakers who are poised to make major moves in their particular area of expertise. One person who is doing that is Ms. Sakita Holley. 

Not only does her name sound professional and powerful but her words of wisdom regarding self belief and focus is second to none. We recently had the privilege of experiencing a One on One with this amazing business owner and the interview backed up everything she stands for. 

Check it out:

Sakita, Your background is amazing, share with our readers where you’re from ie Hometown, background etc. 

My name is Sakita Holley and I am the founder and president of House of Success (www.hos-pr.com), a public relations and brand management firm. After spending several years working in the industry, I quit my corporate job and decided to pursue my dream of owning my own agency.

In addition to HOS, I do a lot of writing over at SakitaHolley.com about trends in PR and obstacles that entrepreneurs face. I am also a blogger for NIKE Women’s Make Yourself Movement, am a graduate of Howard University and I live and work in New York City. 

Being that many would love to meet someone of your caliber, how important is it to gleam from those who can help steer them in the proper direction? Do you have any memories of meeting any great role models? 

Finding a mentor is essential. When you’re researching or working in a field, you should know who the major players are within your company and in the industry. Whenever possible you should reach out to them and ask to be taken under their wing. 

If they’re extremely busy (and most are) you can ask if you can take them out to lunch or send them an e-mail once a month with any pressing questions that you have. Luckily in today’s world, social networks make everyone more accessible so if you’re serious you should be able to find and build relationships with the people you have career crushes on.

An alternative option is to read about successful people. I once saw an amazing quote that said, "By reading the biographies of successful people, you can learn what took them 40, 50 and 60+ years to learn in a matter of weeks". I strongly agree with that statement.

In my own life, I have a ton of role models and mentors that I admire and look to for advice. Many of them are previous employers who believed in me and gave me an opportunity to grow in the PR industry. I am extremely grateful and appreciative of the relationships that I’ve been able to develop as they have been an integral part of my growth. 

Having connected with you via Twitter. How important is the social network in moving ones business/brand forward.

Extremely important!  How you manage your personal brand and business on platforms such as Twitter can mean the difference between getting a new job or client. I always remind people that it’s the Internet and how you conduct yourself can either help or hurt you when you try and turn your contacts into contracts.

Fantastic! Share with our readers your daily regimen and how you get your day started.
Wake up between 6-7 a.m.
Read the major daily newspapers then I go through my list of online sites.
After I’ve read my regular pubs, I’ll go to my Twitter feed and read some of the links that I’ve saved from earlier in the week.
Answer any urgent e-mails and then it’s off to meetings and client work.
Write a blog post if I have time (if not, I’ll try and write one around midnight)

Will you be releasing any publications and/or videos in the near future?

I’m actually in the process of doing a re brand for “Eat in Harlem” (www.eatinharlem.com) which will be the digital destination for any/all information about food, restaurants and hospitality in Harlem. I also hope to publish my first e-book this year. (And I’m putting it out there so you and your readers can hold me accountable to it!) 

Clearly one can tell that you have a strong desire to succeed. How important is it to you to be successful?

Only success will do, because there is no Plan B. This doesn’t mean that I won’t make some mistakes along the way but as long as I learn from them and keep moving forward, I’ll continue to win.

Sakita, we live in very stressful times. Share with our readers how you handle stress and criticism?
Learning how to deal with stress is still a work in progress for me. But the things that keep me sane are my faith, my grandmother and my closest friends. Quitting my job was one of the most stressful and exciting things I’ve done, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not scared just a little bit. But then I think about my purpose and reflect on the fact that I am bringing my dreams and vision to life. So ultimately, the stress comes with the territory.

Criticism is easier for me to handle because I encourage it. I work damn hard to do a good job for my clients and in my personal projects and I try to leave very little room for error. The feedback and criticism not only keeps me honest, but it helps me get better so I don’t mind it at all.  

There are many circumstances that can make someone feel like giving up in this life. What type of advice would you give to someone who is facing situations of that manner? 

What you risk reveals what you value. No matter what your situation is, if you are committed to lifelong learning and hard work, you can turn things around. Instead of “giving up” figure out how you can get out of your own way. Oftentimes people place the blame for their misfortune on others when in actuality it has to do with their own choices/behavior.

Don’t give up…work harder.

That's the key, Not giving up. Share with LIRM what are some benefits of supporting Sakita Holley on a daily/weekly basis. What sets your brand apart from others and how does it differ from other brands out today?

Supporting the Sakita Holley brand means that you’re supporting the idea that anything is possible. On my blog and on Twitter (@MissSuccess) one of my main goals is to inspire and encourage people to pursue the things that they love and know that everything will fall into place. I offer a very transparent view of what it’s like to build a company brick by brick. And I’m always sharing industry insight or interesting links from around the web.

The Sakita Holley brand is different because there’s only one Sakita Holley.

What can we expect from you in the near future?  

You can expect to see:

·         Continued growth for House of Success and SakitaHolley.com

·         More information about the “Eat in Harlem” launch

·         My contribution to NIKE Women’s Make Yourself Movement for a few more months

·         The launch of my first e-book

It is evident that Sakita is preparing herself for the most important move in her career and that is of her bringing her expertise to the masses. In a time where clear and precise counsel is needed, Legends Icons and Role Models believe that this is her season and time to shine.


http://www.sakitaholley.com/