Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eydie Robinson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Eydie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
My hope is that I am remembered as a person of true genuineness, kindness, courage and a sincere heart for helping others succeed. One who follows her dreams and makes them into reality while helping others along the way. Being a servant leader and leaving a lasting impression both personally and professionally to all whom I come in contact with.
I also want the same for my businesses. My desire is that my clients leave with a lasting impression and true sense of connection that someone cared because that is where it starts and ends whether it be mentoring, speaking or publishing. When we care, we love; we work hard, we prepare, we commit and we do whatever it takes to get what needs to be done.
Eydie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Eydie Robinson. I am an International Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Founder of Desire to Empower (a 501c non-profit organization) and CEO of Robinson Anderson Publishing. I reside in Far North Dallas and I am the mother of three beautiful children. I have a Bachelors degree in Business Management and I am currently working on completing my Masters degree in Business Administration and I am a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
The purpose of every endeavor I’ve ever pursued is to help and propel others. My books and speaking are designed to inspire, encourage and motivate. Through my speaking and writing I share stories of the trials and tribulations I overcame to get where I am today and I motivate my audiences to discover their power within to do the same. I truly believe that with a vision, faith, an action plan and the necessary tools, you can manifest what you want in your life.
My non-profit organization’s mission is to empower, inspire, and motivate young girls and women to achieve their goals despite their current life situations, upbringing or economic backgrounds because I believe every woman and girl has the opportunity to achieve her goals, hence my motto, “Yes You Can!”
Last but not least, my publishing company which is my most recent endeavor, was created to help new authors achieve their goal of authorship. As an author myself, I experienced the struggles and frustrations of trying to self-publish a book because I couldn’t afford to work with a publisher so I knew first-hand what it was like. I didn’t want others to have to go through that. Because of my desire to help others and my passion for writing, I researched, attended training and became a certified Book Publisher so that I could formally help others and then after that I started my business. My publishing company allows aspiring authors to experience full-service publishing at an affordable price giving them the opportunity to just focus on writing without the headaches and everything else that comes with publishing a book.
By day, I work for Grand Canyon University as a University Development Counselor, I have been in higher education for 13 years. I have always had a passion for education and seen the benefits of it firsthand which is why I choose to stay in the profession despite all of the other things my hands are in. It’s gives me great pleasure to partner alongside adult learners and help them to achieve their educational goals. The greater pleasure is seeing them finally walk across the stage earning their degree, knowing that I was a part of the reason for it. I am also an advocate for higher learning because I believe truly believe that knowledge is power!
What I am most proud of is the thousands of people I have been able to help over the years. The girls whom I mentor, the people I’ve encountered through speaking engagements or who’ve read my books and of course my clients who can now call themselves published authors. It’s a great feeling to get messages, emails and letters about how I’ve had an impact on someone else to do better for themselves or how I encouraged them to get out of their comfort zone or they’ve received a new job or just are able to wake up not being depressed. That is the greatest feeling ever! I take my purpose very seriously because I know their is someone greater who I am serving and have to answer to.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
First, what I will say is that as a business owner, resilience is a necessity!!!! There have been so many times I’ve wanted to give up. The unexpected challenges, the things that don’t go your way and the feeling of being along itself can make a person lose it. However, what I always try to focus on is the why. Why I am doing this? I have many stories to share but I will share my most recent. I recently had a publishing client and everything that could go wrong went wrong and sometimes this can happen especially when you are dealing with other companies. Sometimes things are out of your control. I was stressed, I felt defeated, I lost many hours of sleep and I just knew that because of this, the reputation of my business was destroyed because of the issues with the other company we partner with. However, I did not give up. I called and emailed the company every day, sometimes multiple times a day until we get it right because regardless, I wanted to ensure we made things right for that client. Did the client know how stressed and overwhelmed we were, no and that is the goal. You never want to project what is happening on the client because when you do then they get stressed and overwhelmed and you NEVER want that. The main goal is to make it right while remaining professional and that is what I did. I kept going. I didn’t let up! We got it right and the book was finally printed correctly. And now, that client has sent over multiple referrals and has even publishing another book us.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
On multiple occasions I have had to pivot in different areas of my life. I have had to pivot my business to better meet my clients needs which has meant offering additional services and resources. With publishing it doesn’t stop when the book is released. It’s a continuous learning and growing process to get authors where they need to be so this year we have decided to offer more webinars, training and resources for authors after release to keep the momentum going. We are also looking to have more events to showcase authors which we had never done before. yes, it is more work but it is necessary.
With my nonprofit, we are now even in the process of restructuring our mentoring program and other programs we have to cater to the changing needs of women and girls. Through this pandemic we have seen the needs of those we serve change drastically so we have to be mindful of that. What worked five years ago may not be beneficial today.
Through my speaking, although the goal is to always inspire and motivate l, I’ve had to be more open to different platforms. At this day and time, virtual opportunities are more available than in person so I have to be open to that.
In my personal life I have to be mindful of my time and my stress levels because as the saying goes, “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” I have three children and they deserve my time. I’ve had to change my availability and learn to be present because when it is their time, they deserve to have all of me not a portion of me so I am no longer 24/7 like I used to be. I have learned to set boundaries. I’ve also learned that sometimes when an email comes through it can wait if it’s not an emergency and when a text or phone call is received after hours, it can be responded to the next day. It’s all about balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rapublishingco.com, www.desiretoempower.org, www.eydierobinson.com
- Instagram: @rapublishingco, @desiretoempower, @theonlyeydierobinson
- Facebook: @rapublishingco, @desiretoempower