We recently connected with Kenia Thompson and have shared our conversation below.
Kenia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?
Circa 2006, the year of my college graduation, I was two years into the career I thought I’d spend the remainder of my career in…television news. I was doing pretty well for myself at such a young age in the industry. I had taken every opportunity to learn everything I could in the newsroom. I was fortunate to have an internship turn into a job at a local station. We were a small family station, but none-the-less I was able to remain in a top 20 market and was slowly working my way to becoming a reporter.
Two years into my journey, we received news that our station was shutting down. I was devastated. I began sending my tapes to every station looking for a general reporter all across the country. Locally, our management team was working to secure positions for those impacted. I got a break! I was given a role at one of our top 3 stations here in the Triangle.
Remember, the station I had started at was a small family station; not a big, fast-paced environment like this new station. I was drowning in this new environment. I let all my insecurities surface, I second guessed my knowledge and couldn’t cut it. I left the one world I wanted to be part of so badly. Not knowing if I’d ever go back.
Kenia, 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?
Growing up I was a very quiet, shy young girl. I share a story of a time when, in the 6th grade, I was so scared to raise my hand to ask to use the bathroom that I ended up wetting my pants in the back of the room. This trauma followed me for decades. The day I chose to leave news was the day I realized that young girl still lived in me.
I began my business by telling others’ stories. Being a storyteller gives me joy because I help others amplify their voices. From there, my business began to evolve, especially after the pandemic, into educating others on how to do it for themselves. During my time away from news, I became a professor in addition to my other roles so incorporating an education arm to my business seemed like a natural next step.
I train others in the area of public speaking, leadership communication, conflict resolution, executive coaching, empathy building, DEI, and more.
In addition to those offerings, I am able to say that I brought my television story full circle, 20 years later, by now being the host of a PBSNC television show, Black Issues Forum. It’s a great opportunity to educate viewers on a larger scale and bring solutions in the areas of social justice, education, health, arts, and more.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
As someone who built their business on documenting events, speaking in public and engaging with other in-person, the pandemic was a major disruption to my business. Everything immediately stopped, including the money.
It made me look at how I could pivot my service offerings and provide solutions to the pain points my clients were experiencing. Everyone missed events and interaction with the public so we found ways to create virtual engagements and provided virtual video management. Additionally, I took my education online and provided coaching and courses online. Lastly, I began speaking and conducting more virtual workshops that could be monetized.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The best way to grow clientele is through storytelling. The more people feel like they know you, the more they’ll connect with you and in turn, the more they’ll trust you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wordcrumbs.com
- Instagram: @kenialthompson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kenia.c.thompson/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keniathompson/
Image Credits
Tanisha Walker, In God’s Image Photography