Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittney Oliver.
Brittney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always loved storytelling but did not understand the power of it until a difficult job search journey led me to hone into a skill set that would prove beneficial during a second layoff. After I graduated from college, I went on over 100 interviews to get a public relations job. I was in NYC, the city of my dreams, but had a difficult time gaining entry into my dream field. I lost my confidence, my self-esteem and after 100 rejections, I did not know if I had what it took to be in PR, but I did not have a Plan B. I had to learn a few things from that experience:
1. I had to create a plan B for myself and start opening up to other ways to either enter the PR world or discover another career field.
2. I needed to be clear about my goals and needs with the network that I built. It had to go much deeper than them referring me for a role.
3. Public relations was the overarching goal, but what skill sets do I have that encompass PR that can translate to other fields. What part of PR do I really like and what do I not like.
4. Lastly, a company has to meet my needs just as much as I need to meet theirs. What did I want in a manager and in a company that could help me grow.
What I’ve learned is that I love the storytelling and crafting part of PR. I enjoyed creating pitching and I felt great about how impactful the results are. A chance encounter at an album release party for Janelle Monae’s Electric Lady album created an opportunity for me to meet an alum from my alma mater who was an editor at ESSENCE. She invited me to the office and started a mentor/mentee relationship. A year later, she invited me to be her assistant until I could get on my feet after a layoff from my first full-time PR job. It was at ESSENCE where I was inspired by all the women around me who were unapologetic about their past, future and present. I learned in that moment that I had to let go of the shame that I carried from my difficult job search and layoff. It was there I fell in love again with storytelling again. I knew it was what I wanted to do.
I was empowered to share my 100 interview story that went viral on LinkedIn and was republished in pubs like Fast Company, TIME, and many more. From the comments and engagement, I realized their was a community of people who knew what it felt like, but in the social media age where we hide our failures no one had a safe space for community. I decided to create that with Lemons 2 Lemonade. It started as a blog, then a newsletter and now an event series for networking, tips and tactical advice for men and women of color to navigate our careers.
I wanted us to feel safe and seen in our networking spaces. I knew what it was like to network prior to ESSENCE and after and that old mentality of glitzy work places needed to change. I also wanted to put people of color on stages to talk about things beyond diversity and inclusion and really showcase their expertise. Lastly, I wanted to partner with companies that provided job opportunities. Since then 1,700 women and men have attended my networking mixers that have been hosted in Atlanta, Nashville, New York, Chicago, Los Angles and San Francisco.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No its been a difficult journey to discover my purpose as shared in the previous prompt. I’ve learned that there is power in owning your personal narrative and knowing how to tell your story. Storytelling can help you hone into your purpose, find community, build a career or business, or make additional income. It’s done all of that for me. One aspect of storytelling is pitching your story for opportunities. I now have been working with founders with helping them pitch their story for press opportunity, freelance writing gig or sponsorship.
Please tell us about Lemons 2 Lemonade.
L2L has recently added pitch workshop series to help founders and writers. I’m proud of the workshops because I’ve seen the power of pitching and storytelling and how it can transform someone’s life of business.
I continue to be a contributing writer for Business Insider, Glamour and Marie Claire. In my five years of being a contributing writer for multiple outlets, I’ve watched founders get a book launch date based off the buzz a Fast Company article got them. I had two black women founders reach their million dollar fundraising mark after an ESSENCE article I wrote about them was used in their pitch to validate them. I’ve seen founders gain national paid speaking engagements or receive sponsorship dollars after being featured in one of my articles. Learning how to pitch yourself helps.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I remember loving magazines and books and reading it on the weekends. The first time I was published was in 5th grade for a Mother’s Day essay, I wrote about my mother. My mom and I were invited to a brunch where my essay was read aloud. I continued to write and became the Newspaper Editor for my high school’s newspaper.
Pricing:
- Brand Partnerships: Elevate your brand through collaboration $60.00
- Bylines & Outlets: How to leverage opportunities as a freelance writer $50.00
- Pitch Perfect: DIY Tools to gaining press for your brand & biz $60.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brittneyoliver.com/shop/ and https://brittneyoliver.com/events/
- Email: contact@brittneyoliver.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Lemons_2_Lemonade
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/L2Lemonade
Image Credit:
Phylicia J. Photography
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