We were lucky to catch up with Ebrima “Abraham” Sisay recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ebrima “Abraham”, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I woke up one day and decided that I want to guide a billion people from surviving to thriving…

I know you’re probably thinking, “Wait, what?? That’s a little over 12% of the world’s population.” – Let me backtrack to 4 years ago (2018). I was running very successful production and advertising agencies called Alkamba Creative Solutions and Alkamba Productions. Each company was doing multiple 6 figures a year and we were steadily growing at 64% every year. One day, I decided to fire 90% of my clients and started a new mental health agency focused on accessibility. This was the riskiest decision of my life and it nearly broke. I did this massive pivot because most of the clients I had, didn’t align with my values and it kept me up all night. I was depressed and very suicidal due to a whole host of mental illnesses that I wasn’t aware of back then.

I went to therapy 6 years ago (2016) and everything changed for me. From a depressed Executive Strategist with a really bad stutter to a mental health advocate with no stutter. While in therapy, I learned that my stutter was a physical manifestation of all the trauma I went through as a child. From experiencing a friend drowning in front of me to being molested by a respected individual in my community. I also learned that there were other people dealing with this issue and that it wasn’t just me! That’s when I made the decision to fire my clients that didn’t align with my goals and went all in to help guide a billion people from surviving to thriving!

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?

My story started in The Gambia, West Africa. Growing up in an extended family as the second oldest out of eight siblings, there was always something dramatic or exciting happening. It wasn’t really my favorite growing up in an extended family until I moved to the US almost 9 and half years ago (2013). I really miss everyone now and can’t wait to reconnect. Growing up, I was always a good kid! My younger siblings looked up to me (and my older brother too but he would never admit to it), and my parents were happy with me because I had good grades and was a well-behaved techy kid.

I came to the U.S. to study accounting. However, I fell in love with computer programing. I studied accounting while teaching myself programming because I didn’t want my parents to find out that I wasn’t studying accounting. During my third semester (late 2014) in college, I was already getting hired by major fortune companies to build their websites, debugging software, and a bunch of nerdy projects. I created my agencies and I’ve hired about 64 Kansas City locals over the past 4 years as an immigrant in the U.S.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start?

While I was going to college, I was working part-time as a tutor in school and working for Blue Beetle as a pest control technician. Yes, I was driving around Kansas City in a little beetle car with antennas and spraying people’s houses and apartment complexes with bug spray. I meet my first client while spraying his house.

I became his bug guy and every time I’m scheduled to service his house, I would spend more time required to explain the service, the types of chemicals I would use, and how to prevent his pets from coming across it. I did this with every blue beetle client. It got to a point I was getting requested by property managers and homeowners. I’m guessing they liked my method even though the company was reminding me that I was spending too much time on each property. I will finish my list of properties at the end of the day but I did it my way. Listening to customers, intentionally servicing their concerns, and consulting them before leaving.

I got the initial capital to kick-start my agencies from my bug client – He would always share his businesses and one day, he told me that his website partners build him a site he hated! I offered to help rebuild it and he said, he already spent $20k already and doesn’t have that budget. I told him, “Pay me whatever. I want to help”. That was the first time someone paid me $10k to design a website. This was all back in 2015. A lot of money!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think nowadays I come across a lot of entrepreneurs or life coaches and consultants. They are all trying to change my life and help me accomplish X goals that they came up with and spend the entire time talking nonstop about how THEY are going to help me. Mind you, they don’t even know my last name!

The number one piece of advice I can offer for any industry is to listen. Listen intentionally to understand but not to respond. I closed my first $10k deal without telling or showing any of my work. The client didn’t even know I knew how to help websites. I simply listened to his problem not good for his bottom line and simply offered a solution. Even to this date, I would close a deal and 6 months into the project, the client would say, “You know, we’ve never seen your website or marketing materials.”

The skills and no how are important but It’s not about that! It’s how you make someone feel seen and heard. Then be empathetic to their problem and offer a solution. It’s that simple!

Contact Info:

• Website: freedomprokectkc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/abrahamadvocates/
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/abrahamadvocate
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/esisay/
• Twitter: twitter.com/abrahamadvocate
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCovQtQwz_hHkgf1JaXU4Fkg

Image Credits
Alkamba Productions | Alkamba Studios