Jade
Kiedra Tyson kickstarted her career by doing basic internships and promo work for a radio station. From there she continued to network, find opportunities and try different paths until she found one that worked for her. She has now been in the industry for over ten years and she never imaged she would be this successful in her chosen field.
StarCentral Magazine recently caught up with this inspiring entrepreneur and here’s what went down:
Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your business?
My name is Kiedra Tyson, I have a PR firm called B3 FACE Forward. I started my company after working in the advertising and marketing field for years. I realized that if you can help to advertise and market a small business you can do the same for a person or a brand.
Can you describe your journey to success? When did you start? Did you ever imagine you would become this successful?
My journey has been a long one. I have been in the industry for over ten years. I started off doing basic internships and promo work for radio. From there I continued to network, find opportunities, growl, build and tried different paths until I found one that worked for me. I never imaged I would be this successful especially since growing your own business always has its ups and downs.
What is your main source of income?
My main source of income comes from the retainers my clients pay.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your business?
To maintain my customer base and business. I remain consistent and never offer something I can’t deliver. I have been very blessed and fortunate not to be forced to advertise. Because our client list is mainly high profile, I mainly deal with referrals. Sometimes I have more than I can handle.
What social media platforms do you usually use to increase your brand’s awareness?
I mainly use Facebook for social media awareness. I use Instagram mainly for the person.
What is your experience with paid advertising, like PPC or sponsored content campaigns? Does it work?
I use to be in advertising and marketing so I have a lot of experience with PPC and sponsored campaigns. Depending on the type of client or customer base depends if it works. It’s not for everyone or everything. I use it if I am having an event. Facebook ads are great for targeting a specific audience.
What is your main tactic when it comes to making more people aware of your brand and engaging your customers? How did your business stand out?
My main tactic to make more people aware of my brand is actually press. I have been working with the press to continue to grow the brand and help with SEO.
What form of marketing has worked well for your business throughout the years?
The forms of marketing that have worked the best for my company have been word of mouth and social media advertising.
How did your brand stand out from the rest of the other brands out there that is similar to your niche?
Our brand stood out from the rest by the type of clients we have and the work we do.
What is the toughest decision you had to make in the last few months?
I had to terminate a clients agreement for nonpayment. It was hard because I really like her and wanted to see her be successful but I had to let her go because business is business.
What money mistakes have you made along the way that others can learn from (or something you’d do differently)?
I have a business partner who I love because we are both very passionate about what we do but we did not set clear expectations or finical splits and responsibilities especially seeing this has been my way of life for a while and we merged companies. I would highly recommend making sure you clearly define your roles and responsibilities from the beginning.
What have you learned in the process of becoming wealthy that others can learn from?
I have learned being humble goes a long way.
What new business would you love to start?
I actually started the one I wanted today. I started B3 Face Forward Publishing company. That focuses on songwriting and publishing.
If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were just getting started, what would you do differently?
I would establish more business credit from the beginning. I did it 5 years into running my company not even thinking about it. I would cut out more defined for people within the company. I would also establish a mentorship program from the beginning.
If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were first making a name for yourself, what advice would you give yourself?
When I first started out I didn’t have set prices because I wanted all the business so I would work with whatever budget someone had.
Do you have any favorite business-related or personal development related books that you can recommend to other entrepreneurs?
I highly recommend The is World is Flat by Tom Friedman. It focuses on how globalization affects the market.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
To define our company roles.
Initially, my business partner and I were running around both doing the same thing. This caused us to start working against each other. It was horrible. Once we defined our roles in the business it allowed us to work smarter not harder.
What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?
I always tell newcomers that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Growing a business is a process and if it’s your passion then you need to stay with it.
Jason Harris
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Jade
