Women At Work: Akia Denise of StyleFree Blog

As many of you know, KholiOli.Com kicked off the “Women at Work” series in a HUGE way last week with Amelia Mango, SEO specialist & self-proclaimed fashion fanatic.  I’m loving the feedback from you folks!  There are still ladies reaching out to get involved … luckily, so many of you are my friends and people I’ve admired for a long time! I suppose I can say I’m seriously blessed.

But enough about me!  I’m going to move right along and let you meet someone I hold near and dear to heart … and we’ve never even met in person!  Many of you may remember when I was featured in a series on STYLEFREEBLOG.COM … well I’ve been waiting for my chance to return the favor!

Meet, Akia Denise.

PR wiz/natural-haired/singer-poet/entrepreneur/part-time chef/undercover comedian/brown skin beauty!

She also just happens to be the beauty behind the business of STYLEFREE Blog.

Currently, engaged in communications, Akia is pretty skilled in everything from social media management to public relations; internal communications to marketing communications.  You name it!  We sat down and asked her the same questions we ask all of our ladies.  “Goals, dreams, day jobs?  You got ‘em?”  As always, the responses were priceless!

DREAM JOB? 

I’d like to think that every time someone asks me this I would say something particularly noble or ambitious. But honestly, I’m a simple woman. My dream job, better yet, my goal is to quite plainly be my own boss. Whether it’s running my own PR firm, heading a non-profit, developing an animal rescue shelter, or opening my own bed and breakfast (all dreams/goals of mine), I simply want to work for myself. I strive to be able to have something of my very own, so I can say, “I did this. I made an impact. I created something.”

 

GOT A SIDE HUSTLE?

LOL a side hustle? I’ve got two! Seriously though, I’m such a hustler that sometimes I work myself too hard. In addition to my 9 to 5, I have two other projects that I’m working on; one as a communications specialist for a women’s magazine and the other as a publicity and research assistant for a PR firm. I also started StyleFreeblog.com recently, a lifestyle blog dedicated to culture, natural hair and PR. Writing and maintaining that site takes up loads of my time. It was tough to balance it all at first, but the key is to set realistic goals and let your dedication be your energy.

I’m a big advocate of “me” time, and though I spend several hours a day working on my projects (sometimes till the wee hours of the morning), I always take personal time to rest my mind and spirit to keep from burning out. I try to plan my week out as much as possible. Then, I try to anticipate issues and last minutes things that may come up. I prioritize, start early and communicate effectively so that I won’t drive myself crazy with a million projects and not enough time.

 

DESCRIBE A DAY IN YOUR LIFE. 

I wake up and the first thing I do is spend time in prayer, giving thanks and praise to God for his love and blessings. After that, I spend about 20 minutes exercising (gotta get those abs and that booty right!). I head to work on the metro because traffic is a nightmare and you’ll seriously have to call on a higher power just to make it to work on time. At work, each day is different. I’m constantly checking emails from publicists and clients.

In the office, I may have a busy day or a quiet day. Either way, I always start off with a list of goals to be completed for the day. I always put timeframes beside each goal to make sure Im not spending too much time on one thing, so that everything gets done. Sometimes I have a meeting, phone conferences, etc. Other days, you can’t pull me away from my computer.

Because of my work, I’m always on Twitter and Facebook monitoring and sparking conversations.

I also do a LOT of reading (articles, blog posts, tweets, etc.). After work, I’d like to say it stops there, but it doesn’t. I have phone conferences at least twice a week. I also have team meetings throughout the week for activities I’m engaged in at my local church. Somewhere in between there I try to fit in a social life as well.

Whew! I’m exhausted just reading this!

 

 

DISCUSS YOUR PATH. 

Wow, the path to where I am now was so not planned. Life has thrown so many curves balls at me you’d think I played pro baseball. Of course in college I had my whole life planned out and was sure it would go smoothly. Unfortunately life had different plans and decided not to tell me or even send a memo. After graduating undergrad and receiving my B.S. in public relations, I got a job as a marketing manager. It was fun at first, but after almost a year I found myself hating it. That’s when I realized I needed to be my own boss. So I did the unthinkable – I quit my job. It was extremely liberating in the beginning. But when I couldn’t find another job and the economy continued to get worse and worse.  I found that my ego and self-confidence took a huge blow. On top of that, my health took a turn for the worst and I lost vision in one of my eyes. When I say I was at a low point, I mean bottom of the barrel. But with tons of prayers, networking, skill-building and research I was finally able to get to this point. My sight is almost back and I’ve learned how to stay grounded when the going gets tough. I never stopped trusting in God and I never stopped believing in myself. I now have three jobs and have nowhere to go but up!

 

 

ANY DISCOVERIES ALONG THE JOURNEY?

I’ve discovered through so many up and downs that I’m one tough cookie! I’ve grown so much in terms of confidence in myself. I’m stronger than I look and much more resilient than I thought I was. You need to be if you’re going to be in PR, but more importantly, you need to be in life.

Life is hard, and anybody that tells you otherwise is selling you something.

 

WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY? 

I would have gotten more internships in college. I would have made more connections and networked so much more. That is KEY to success in any industry. The earlier you start, the more options you have. That is what can truly set you apart from the competition, and in the process you’ll have the opportunity to be blessed so much by all the mistakes and successes you encounter.

 WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS?  10 YEARS? 

I hate this question lol. It’s completely necessary and it is important to have a 5 year and 10 year plan. But if life has taught me anything, it’s that you can do all the planning you want but it’s still gonna rain and storm and snow when it wants to, so don’t get too comfortable with your plan.

But being the PR junkie that I am, I do have a plan. In 5 years I see myself at a small to mid-sized PR firm in the role of associate or executive associate. By that time, the goal is to be proficient in a specific niche, while skilled in the standard PR areas.

In ten years, the goal is to have my own PR firm established and fully functional. Concurrently, I’d like to be in the beginning stages of planning my bed and breakfast business. Realistically, I don’t want to work in the PR industry until I retire. I have a passion for food and culinary arts that just won’t let me. I see myself spending the latter part of my career owning a small restaurant where the food is authentic, the people are down- to-earth, and the atmosphere is peaceful.

But until then, I shall grind on!

How can you NOT love her?!  Right, you can’t!

So because I know you need more of her … and she does too … Akia’s created her own “Women at Work” section below.

Shameless Plug Section!!!

I’m so not ashamed to plug myself, so here it goes:

My blog: www.stylefreeblog.com

Stalk Me: www.facebook.com/StyleFreeblog

Tweet Me: www.twitter.com/StyleFreeblog

Watch Me: www.youtube.com/stylefreeblog

Where I Tumble: www.stylefree.tumblr.com

Want to read up on other amazing “Women at Work?”  CLICK HERE!  Want to nominate a wonderful woman (yes, it can be yourself), send inquiries and press kits to info @ ardorbrand dot com!

you stay cool.  i’ll stay kholi. <3

p.s.  Got questions for Akia or any of our other “Women at Work?”  Leave a comment, below!

Tags: akia denise, bloggers, business, life and writing, pr, social media, the personal is political, there is no such thing as small change, women at work