We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kishmere Carter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kishmere, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The more we talk about good leadership the more we think good leadership practices will spread and so we’d love for you to tell us a story about the best boss you’ve had and what they were like or what they did that was so great?

The best two bosses I ever had , came to me back in high school. I was an intern for a clothing alteration shop in Ithaca NY. My mentor name was Claudia Jenkins. She taught me the fine art of tailoring and making custom clothing. Also she was one of the funniest ladies I ever know. She just passed away recently and I am thinking of doing a fashion show in her honor.

The second person is Ed Einstein. He owns a copy center called Gnomon Copy in Ithaca, N.Y. He always gave me positive messages . Ed helped inspire me to start my own business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am blessed with multiple artistic gifts. I recently just finished recording my second album. My first album has videos available on YouTube Tube. Also I am a lead singer in a rock band . The reason why I create music is that it unites all people around the world. It’s something everyone listens to . . Music is a very powerful thing. It can make you feel all sorts of emotions. Also I am a fashion designer/ artist I love making clothing for people who have a hard time finding clothes to fit them.Through fashion and art I can make people feel great about themself.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I can share a quick story about my resilience . As a sewing person I also do custom upholstery. One time a had a rush order come in that was due in a couple of days. I had to reupholster some car seats. Well my sewing machine broke and I had no experience in fixing machines. I had a deadline to meet. And I found the strength to figure out how to fix it The pressure was intense.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Sewing has always been been my side hustle. It’s always provided me with a secondary form of income .

Contact Info:

• Website: KishmereCarter.com
• Instagram: Kishmere Ali Carter
• Facebook: Kishmere Ali Carter
• Youtube: Kishmere Cart