Today we’d like to introduce you to Katina Driver.
Katina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Being an entrepreneur was never an aspiration of mine. I was taught to get a good job & stick with it. So I did until I walked on the set of the now famous LGBTQ+ web show “BETWEEN WOMEN”. I was helping a former cast member with their clothes when one of the directors asked was I a stylist. I immediately told them no, but was later asked after taping to give it a try for the show since they didn’t have one. I had nothing to lose, so I agreed to give it a try.
I went home and researched as much as I could about what is required. With my mood board, colors for each actor, I proceeded to the meeting, & needless to say by some miracle (necessity on their part, I’m sure) I got the job, and my life as an entrepreneur soon followed.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My older brother was my immediate families first entrepreneur. Seeing the struggles, I would often think he should just get a 9 to 5 and leave that alone until I became one and understood his drive to fight for his dream.
There have been MANY struggles along the way, with not knowing how to truly charge, my business accounts were hacked, slow financial spells, etc. & as the song says, “I’ve had some hills to climb” lol.
I’ve even had to go back to working part-time jobs here and there to make ends meet from time to time.
I almost gave up when my accounts were hacked, but after a while, I began to slowly pick up my torch to start again.
It was my mother who helped me create a better system of pay once she saw all the work and running around that I was doing, and as soon as I changed my rate, the next client booked the highest package, my mother and I created.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I was once told I am the most creative person in the family, but I just didn’t believe it because of how naturally smart my mother and brother are scholastically. One day my brother “Clayton” simply told me to “GO FOR IT ALL. ALL THEY CAN DO IS SAY YES OR NO.”
So I try to remember that and Go.
Everything I’ve learned, the blessed opportunities, experiences, have been because I said Yes, sometimes shaking in my boots.
Those yes’s to so many different branches of entertainment, & the willingness to learn from the bottom up changed my business from just styling clients for events or a lifestyle change to becoming certified in Event Management at Clayton State University through the incomparable Professor Q. (Qualena Royes), and currently managing clients who are trying to pursue their dreams of acting, modeling, the arts, new businesses,& bookings for speaking engagements.
I’m most proud that I limit myself to nothing in business as long as my integrity remains firm. Being able to bend and make Adjustments to the Adjustments, has afforded me many open doors with more to come.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Being from Atlanta (College Park Raised), you sometimes take for granted just how unique and empowering it is to see successful black entrepreneurs on just about every or every other corner until you have a conversation with someone from out of state who has none. It makes me appreciate our rich culture and history all over again with true thankfulness.
Though I love overall how our city has grown, being the Founder of Angel Wings for the Missing Trafficked Homeless, I dislike how growth has left and almost forgotten about its beloved hometown citizens, who can no longer afford the astronomical rising prices of rent, taxes, and home purchases, in neighborhoods generations once lived but can no longer afford.
Contact Info:
- Email: kiceventsandmanagement@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KatinasImageConsulting/
Image Credits
@Kiceventsandmanagement @Isocandidphotography @everydayashton.atl
