Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Lakisha Ross.
Dr. Lakisha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am THE BRAND DR. Lakisha Ross and I am the CEO of MOE Brand Studio based in Orlando, Florida. As an International Brand Strategist & Creative Director, I help lady bosses from around the world build, brand and market their businesses to increase visibility, marketability and profitability. My motto is “branding is not a logo, it’s a lifestyle” …my client list includes celebrities, high profile influencers, and small business owners around the world.
Born in Brooklyn, New York to Jamaican parents and raised in London, the UK, I have been traveling most of my life. As a child, I was always creative and had a mother that recognized that in me and supported me at an early age. Truth be told I would fail math tests but get straight “A”s in all creative classes. From playing the violin, acting classes, dancing, and dressmaking classes, I did it all.
While living in London I became a teen mom but I made a vow to myself and my daughter that I would not become just another statistic. I graduated from the University of London with degrees in Art & Design and Media Studies and felt proud of my accomplishments but found it hard to find creative jobs at that time and was told by those around me to get a “proper” job. I proceeded to follow society …climbed up the corporate ladder, kept a steady paycheck and money in my bank account but yet still felt empty. At 30, I made the lifechanging decision to leave my family and friends in the UK and return to the USA, my place of birth.
Fast forward five years later, I was living the “HIGH-LIFE”. had gone back to school in the USA, got married and worked in a well-paid position in HR within a well-known retailer when the 2009 recession hit. Not only was I laid off from my contracted position (which meant they owed me no severance pay) but then two weeks later the same happens to my husband who worked in the construction industry…welcome to the 2009 recession! You name it, we lost it!
It was at that time my creativity kicked in. Suddenly all the ideas that I had tucked away inside from my younger years came flooding back. I tapped into the online world and started importing products to sell from the UK to the USA. I sold clothing and even launched a party favor business.
The money didn’t come in overnight and we eventually were able to find jobs to keep the lights on but after that experience, my mindset changed. I refused to leave the future of my family and my life in somebody else’s hands. You see it doesn’t matter how much you do for a company, how early you come in, how late you stay. How many of your children’s plays you miss, when they are sitting in that boardroom crunching numbers that don’t add up…nobody’s position is safe. Their loyalty is to their business and if they have to cut overheads you could be next. I couldn’t allow that to happen again.
So I worked a job from 9-5 and my sideline from 6-2 in the morning. I used the money from my paycheck to buy inventory for my businesses, to invest in mastering my craft and to build my list of clients. Yes it was tiring, yes I was exhausted but I knew my future self deserved everything that would come with it at the end. I tapped into the online world and learned how to generate money in my sleep.
I juggled both for seven years until one day God spoke to me and said the time is now. That day I walked in and handed in my resignation with only six months of savings in the bank but the faith that God would make a way because I had sown seeds along the way.
During the seven years, I launched various businesses but on the day I resigned God sent me the phrase “mindset over everything” as nothing I had accomplished, survived, overcome, learned and grown from would not have been possible without a positive mindset. Hence why my branding and marketing company is MOE!
I have now found my purpose and my mission is to help others do the same by elevating their mindsets, tap into their purpose and then help them stand out visually, dominate digitally and grow financially.
Has it been a smooth road?
Truth be told, there are many individual obstacles and challenges that each person faces along the journey of entrepreneurship. We can often find ourselves entertaining pity parties without ever understanding that sometimes our worst enemy is ourselves! The biggest challenge along this journey has been me. I’ve doubted myself on many occasions, second-guessed moves and lost opportunities due to fear, anxiety, the unknown and not knowing if I was truly made for this.
Nothing is promised or guaranteed in this business so FAITH has to be your moral guiding compass along the way. A person with no faith will not take risks and risks are a necessary part of entrepreneurship.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
MOE Brand Studio is the international business birthing boutique for entrepreneurs. Our mission is to help you stand out visually and dominate digitally by helping you build a solid eye-catching brand that is not just good to look at but actually converts your target audience into raving fans who can’t wait to pick up what you put down.
We are not your mediocre branding company. We think outside the box and take your vision to the next dimension. If everybody else is doing it, chances are we are doing something else. We offer brand development, brand management, website & logo design, and pr/media services.
We most recently signed two new celebrity clients and secured a second location in London, UK. Our sister company Xpose-Her Marketing Magazine is also getting ready to launch in January 2020 and the marketing campaign for that is already underway.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love Atlanta but I have lived and worked in many cities including Atlanta and to me, it’s like any other “BIG” city …full of opportunity but unfortunately plagued with a “cutthroat” mentality. With so many people piled on top of each other trying to claim the top spot, people start to compete and I’ve seen things get ugly. I learned very quickly that it’s not what you know but who you know especially in a big city.
I think it can be difficult and intimidating for someone new to the game to start and that’s why I believe we as a community really need to work on supporting each other genuinely.
When we understand that we don’t need to dim each other’s light to shine… life will be so much better.
Pricing:
- Book a FREE 15 Min Consult
- Book a POWER HOUR Video Coaching Call $249
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moebrandstudio.com
- Phone: 1800 607 1917
- Email: getbranded@moebrandstudio.com
- Instagram: @iamthebranddoctor
- Facebook: @iamthebranddoctor
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