Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clarissa Wright. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Clarissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I think a lot of times, we as people stay in certain situations even if we’re not happy or not realizing our full potential out of comfort or fear. For me that was exactly the case. I was working in the corporate world as a Digital Marketing manager, working in an environment that was less than fulfilling. Same thing day in and day out, and certainly not much of a challenge. I was feeling stuck. I had started my first business in 2013 and then put it on pause when I moved to NYC, because I knew I had to get a steady pay check. Fast forward 5 years later, in 2018, and I said enough was enough. While I was working at the corporate job – I had got married and my last name changed. So I decided to revamp my company with a fresh approach and new name, thus CNW Digital was born. I landed my first client (that was enough for me to take the leap of faith to quit my day job). I told myself ‘I can do this’. and I did. It took me a while to get another client, but I didn’t give up, even when times got tough and I wondered had I made a mistake? That was just my fear creeping up. About 6-8 months after my first client, I got my second client, then shortly after, my third. Those clients started referring their business owner friends to me, and the rest was history. Now in 2022, CNW digital has worked with over 30 brands across the fashion, beauty, and luxury space helping women-owned and minority-owned businesses scale their marketing efforts. And the best part? CNW Digital has been 100% referral based. It comes to show when you love what you do, and you give it your all – it pays off.

So I end with – don’t be afraid to bet on yourself. Be your biggest cheerleader, your biggest advocate, and don’t be afraid to go down without a fight. Meaning, even when times get tough, if you want it bad enough, don’t quit. When there is a will, there’s a way.

Clarissa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

This is a bit repetitive to my last statement so I apologize. I launched CNW Digital in 2018. CNW Digital is a black-owned, female-led agency that focuses on helping other women-led, minority-owned businesses thrive.

I am most proud that we are 100% referral based – meaning every client we’ve ever had is because someone else referred them to us. Because we believe in truly helping our clients and love what we do and it shows.

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

Don’t over extend yourself and your resources. Don’t be afraid to ask for help in the areas that are not your expertise. It’s okay to say ‘I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I deserve to be here’ so let’s find a way to work out the kinks.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When CNW Digital first started out – we were offering anything and everything digital marketing related – SEO, FB ads, email marketing, building shopify websites, brand strategy you name it. But you simply cannot do it all. You can certainly try, but guarantee you won’t be great at every single one – you may be good, sufficient – but not great. I learned to narrow in on my focus and what we wanted to offer – what we were truly good at and what we enjoyed the most. So we pivoted by restructuring our services and pricing structure by only offering email and sms marketing. This meant putting boundaries down to previous clients that were used to us doing it all – we had to say we simply cannot and don’t have the resources to do everything as we grow and then directed them to other resources / companies that could offer the things we no longer did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cnw-digital.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cnw_digital
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/cnwdigital
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cnwdigital