We were lucky to catch up with Chanelle Yarber recently and have shared our conversation below.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a speaker, author and serial entrepreneur who takes great joy in helping black women entrepreneurs thrive. I started my business in 2012 out of necessity. I have a background and 2 degrees in media production and management. But after having a difficult time finding my footing in my career, I decided to take matters into my own hands and employ my skills as a freelancer and contractor.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve grown my agency to employ others which has allowed us to take on an array of projects as well. We’ve worked with numerous brands and non-profits on their communications and marketing strategies including the Potter’s House church, Samsung, Texas Instruments, WorldVentures, Neiman Marcus, The National Urban League, Faith in Texas, and a host of small businesses around the country.

Our main focus is digital marketing – website development, social media, and marketing automation funnels. But now I’m shifting toward a passion of mine and coming full circle by offering clients advertising on streaming TV and also creating video content for YouTube, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV.

I’m most proud of the fact that although my experiences have been varied and wide-ranging, no experience has been wasted. Somehow every project I’ve worked on has added another tool to my tool chest so that I can better serve the next client. So I’m always learning on the job. I started out in production and now I’m working my way back to my first love. I also pride myself on building relationships – they are absolutely the key to success in business and I wouldn’t be able to make these shifts without some solid connections. I’m thankful for the pillars who have mentored, guided, and opened doors for me along the way. I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without them.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my social media audience from scratch by hand. I didn’t use any bots and I didn’t buy followers or anything like that. Straight organic growth. And considering I started in 2012, it was a lot easier to gain traction by simply being social and being consistent. I still advise my clients to do the same. Algorithms change all the time and they will continue to do so to favor the social media platforms and their objectives. You have to play with the algorithms instead of fighting against them. I see so many people getting upset with changes and going against the grain. But that’s what takes them off course.

Right now, video content is king. Consistently create videos, find a cadence that works well for you, and lean into your target audience. Think about what they need/want and use that to keep engaging them. At the end of the day, the platforms want to know one thing – can you keep someone’s attention. If you can do that over and over again, you win.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn working hard to get where I wanted to go. Nobody will be honest and tell you how difficult it is for one person to successfully run a business. This lie of “team no sleep” and “hustle and grind” will have you sick – mentally, physically, and emotionally. I’ve been there and done that. And it cost me a lot of time as well as my peace and my health. I began resenting my business because no matter how many hours I put in and how hard I worked I wasn’t getting where I wanted to go.

It wasn’t until I learned to rest, meditate, partner, and delegate that I started to see the results I wanted. No man is an island and no man is “self-made”. If someone tells you that, they’re lying. We all have 24 hours in a day. But we aren’t made to work 20 of them. So when you build relationships, partner with others or delegate to carry the load, you multiply the time you had and allow yourself time to rest and do the things you really love to do. When I’m off, my employees or partners are on and vice versa.

I get my best ideas when I’m doing what I love and I’m not under pressure to perform. A free mind is able to create masterpieces while a tired, clouded one can’t think straight. So I had to teach myself how to stop doing and start just being. It was a hard lesson to unlearn and I’m still unlearning it because I am an achiever. But it is so satisfying when things are still moving and I’m not the one pushing the buttons all the time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brightgirl.media
• Instagram: instagram.com/brightgirlmedia
• Facebook: facebook.com/brightgirlmedia
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/brightgirlmedia
• Twitter: twitter.com/brightgirlmedia
• Youtube: youtube.com/brightgirlmediainc

Image Credits
Jaren Collins – JCi Creatives