Rising Stars: Meet Myisha Procter of New York

Today we’d like to introduce you to Myisha Procter.

Hi Myisha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My love for beauty began when I was nine years old, playing in my mom’s makeup and watching her create different looks. I was fascinated by the transformation the way beauty could be a form of creativity, self-expression, and confidence. I checked out beauty magazines from the library to learn everything I could, then created my own “Beauty Book,” a guide for girls covering skin, hair, and nails.

That early curiosity eventually became the foundation for my career. I started at SEPHORA, where I fell in love not only with products and brands, but with the business of beauty: the relationship between storytelling, education, community, and commerce. What began on the retail floor grew into a career spanning sales, education, business development, brand strategy, and executive leadership.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to help build, scale, and transform businesses across beauty, wellness, direct selling, and consumer brands. I’ve led teams and organizations through periods of tremendous growth as well as moments of reinvention—experiences that taught me that leadership isn’t simply about having the right strategy. It’s about creating clarity, building belief, and helping people see what’s possible before the results are there to prove it.

Today, I’m an executive in the beauty industry, a speaker, brand strategist, storyteller, and creator. I’ve had the privilege of leading organizations and initiatives across multiple brands, speaking to audiences of thousands, and helping businesses translate big ideas into strategies that people can actually understand, believe in, and execute.

But somewhere along the way, I realized I didn’t want my creativity to exist only inside conference rooms.

That realization led me to build my own platform, The Sequin Unicorn. What began as a place to share my love of beauty, fashion, travel, and storytelling has grown into a community that has allowed me to collaborate with brands, create content seen by millions, and connect with people I may never have reached through my corporate career alone.

At first glance, executive leadership and being a content creator might seem like two very different worlds. To me, they’re extensions of the same thing. Whether I’m developing a commercial strategy, standing on a stage, building a brand, or creating a 30-second video, I’m ultimately trying to do the same thing: make people feel something and help them see possibility differently.

My journey hasn’t been perfectly linear, and I’m grateful for that. Every chapter has expanded my definition of success. I used to think success was about reaching the next title, the next milestone, or the next room. Today, I think it’s about building a life large enough to hold all of who you are.

I can be an executive and a creator. Strategic and imaginative. Ambitious and joyful. Serious about the work without taking myself too seriously.

And perhaps that has been the greatest evolution of my story: realizing I never had to choose just one version of myself.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh no, It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Some of the biggest obstacles I’ve had to overcome weren’t always external they were the stories I had learned to tell myself about where I belonged and what was possible for me

Growing up, I didn’t see many women who looked like me on magazine covers or sitting in boardrooms When you rarely see yourself reflected in the places you dream of going, it can be difficult to imagine yourself there. For years, I wrestled with self doubt and self esteem, even while I was accomplishing things that should have made me feel confident

As my career grew, there were external challenges too. I’ve walked into rooms where I was underestimated because I was a woman, because I was a Black woman, because I was younger than many of my peers or some combination of all three There were moments when I felt I had to be more prepared, more polished, and more proven before I was afforded the same credibility that others seemed to receive automatically\.

For a long time, my response was to overachieve. If I could just work harder, know more, deliver more, perhaps I could eliminate anyone’s reason to question whether I belonged in the room

Eventually, I realized there is no amount of achievement that can permanently silence self doubt if you haven’t decided for yourself that you are worthy of being there

That has probably been one of the most important lessons of my journey Confidence, for me, wasn’t something I suddenly discovered. I built it Experience by experience Room by room Risk by risk I learned to stop waiting for external validation to confirm what I was capable of

And now, representation means something different to meI’m no longer only looking for the women who look like me in those roomsI recognize that sometimes I get to be one of themThere may be another little Black girl flipping through a magazine, scrolling through her phone, sitting in an audience, or imagining her future who sees me and thinks, “Maybe I can do that too”

That makes every difficult room I’ve had to walk into worth it

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At the heart of my work, I’m a builder.

Professionally, I’m an executive specializing in sales, business development, brand strategy, and commercial transformation, primarily across beauty, wellness, and consumer brands. Much of my career has been spent working with companies at important inflection points, periods of rapid growth, transformation, reinvention, or simply asking, “What does our next chapter need to look like?”

I’m known for taking big ideas and turning them into something people can actually believe in and execute. That might mean developing a growth strategy, building a sales organization, creating a new channel or program, repositioning how a brand tells its story, or standing on a stage and helping thousands of people understand where we’re going and why they should want to come with us.

I think what sets me apart is that I’ve never viewed strategy, storytelling, and people as separate disciplines. You can have the most brilliant strategy in the world, but if people don’t understand it, believe in it, or know how to activate it, it’s just a beautiful PowerPoint.

My career has given me a unique vantage point. I’ve worked from the sales floor to the executive level, across organizations ranging from emerging brands to businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars. I understand the numbers and the consumer, the boardroom and the field, the strategy and the story. And because I’m also a creator, I spend time on the other side of the equation, thinking about what actually captures attention, creates connection, and moves people to act.

I’m proud of the business results I’ve helped create, the brands I’ve helped build, and the audiences I’ve had the opportunity to speak to. But what I’m most proud of is the people.

Some of my favorite messages come years later, from someone who tells me they still remember something I said on a stage, a leader who discovered a capability in themselves they hadn’t recognized before, or someone I once managed who has gone on to lead an organization of their own.

Titles change. Companies change. Revenue goals reset every year. But knowing that something I built, taught, or said helped someone see more possibility for themselves, that stays with me.

I think that’s ultimately what I’m known for: creating momentum in businesses, in brands, and in people, and leaving a little sparkle everywhere I go.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’m endlessly curious about people, what motivates us, how we connect, why we make the choices we make, and how we become better versions of ourselves.

I’m a longtime Oprah fan. Her ability to use storytelling to help people see themselves differently has always inspired me. I also enjoy Jay Shetty and Mel Robbins because they have a gift for taking ideas around growth, mindset, and human behavior and making them feel practical and applicable to everyday life.

When it comes to books, Atomic Habits by James Clear is one I return to because I believe so much of success is built through the small things we do consistently. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is a classic for a reason. At its core, it’s really a book about understanding people, listening, communicating, and building meaningful relationships, all things that have been invaluable throughout my career.

And then there’s Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. I first read it when I was young, and it has stayed with me. It asks such a simple but profound question about whether living forever would actually be a gift. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve appreciated its message about time, change, and what makes life precious even more.

Then there’s the completely different side of my listening habits: true crime! I love True Crime Obsessed and Crime Junkie. Apparently, when I’m not thinking about leadership, personal growth, beauty, or business strategy, I like putting on my amateur detective hat and trying to figure out what really happened.

So my personal library is a little bit self development, a little philosophy, a lot of storytelling, and just enough true crime to keep things interesting.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesequinunicorn?stkn=MWk3cXhrdWF1OTYwMA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DbmFp94VW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/myishaprocter