Today we’d like to introduce you to Imani Henderson.
Imani, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
iSocialPR was born from a crazy place. I was in a crazy place in my life. I was in my last semester at the University of Michigan. When I started college, I had an online clothing store. This eventually transitioned into an event entertainment company. My parties kept getting bigger and bigger. We brought in artists to perform at parties.
Then, I tried to do a concert type of event and it FAILED. Failed horribly. I lost over $20,000 in investments. I felt sooooo discouraged and depressed. But it did give me the extra push that I needed to finish my last year of school. Once I graduated, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just knew that I wanted to start another business. I was still scarred from losing so much that I refused to take any investments or loans out. I knew that bootstrapping was the only way.
After I graduated, I went to a dinner party with my mentor. I noticed that it was a gap between older people and the use of social media to conduct business. A large part of my previous business was promoting my events on social media so promoting on social media was something that I was good at. I started offering social media management and strategy sessions. As my company grew and my knowledge grew on social media, I’ve noticed that it wasn’t just older people who didn’t understand, it was people my age it was the person down the street it was the business owner that has been in business for 20 years. It was a need for companies that had an in-depth understanding of social media marketing and advertisement to bring your business online. So since then, I’ve helped more than 200 entrepreneurs create and scale their brand on social media.
Success is a team approach. All of this could not be achieved without my amazing team! My operations manager, DeAnna Sanders, is a marketing / pr genius that co-creates lead building social strategies!!
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?
My obstacle was me. I had to learn to get out of my own way. I had to get over the fact that people were not going to support me the way that I needed it. I had to offer myself enough support for me to be successful.
I let people who were not buying from me dictate how I ran my business. I molded my business to fit them with dirt cheap pricing. I had to learn to be confident and to stand firm in my pricing. Because I was young, a lot of people doubted me and would not pay me what I wanted. Even though I had the portfolio and resume to show my worth. Now I am more confident with my pricing and I stand confident with my procedures. If someone is not willing to pay my prices, then they are not a good fit for my business.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about iSocialPR – what should we know?
iSocialPR is a content marketing agency. We launched to help small businesses generate brand awareness and sales online through social media, blog writing, and digital advertising. iSocialPR provides you with concrete tools, creative strategies and consulting needed for each stage of your business. Each company is unique, so is our customized solutions.
These are the services that I offer:
Facebook Marketing Instagram Marketing
Pinterest Marketing Email Marketing
Blog Writing Facebook Advertising
Google Adwords Instagram Advertising
Digital Strategy Sessions Search Engine Optimization
Right now, I’m known mostly for getting my clients leads through Facebook/ Instagram advertisements. What sets me apart in my experience, I’ve managed million-dollar budgets and worked directly with Facebook to try out new marketing features.
I am most proud of helping over 200 businesses scale online through social media.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most important quality that contributed to my success is being resilient. Things are never going to go as planned. You are always going to fail. But as an entrepreneur, you have to view failure as redirection. You have to be resilient. You have to roll with the punches. And you have to keep getting back up every time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iSocialPR.com
- Phone: 313-283-1577
- Email: imani@isocialpr.com
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