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

Marissa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

In 2020, when the world was grappling with unprecedented challenges, my encounter with a Black Santa figurine sparked a journey that would redefine the boundaries of my professional life. What started as a simple Instagram page would grow into a huge success story,

The Instagram page, dedicated to showcasing diverse holiday-themed products and Black-owned brands struck a chord with tens of thousands of people, amassing a following of 60,000 within a year. This unexpected surge in popularity paved the way for a groundbreaking partnership with a multi-million dollar brand, a move that not only propelled my pages influence but also secured an income surpassing my current job.

Faced with the pivotal decision of whether to play it safe or take a leap of faith, I chose the latter. Opting to dive headfirst into the realm of entrepreneurship, I embarked on a journey filled with endless possibilities. After quitting I swiftly set my plans in motion, checking off as many ideas as I could out of my handy dandy notebook. Among the numerous ideas I implemented, the most impactful one was the decision to host live sessions with various brand founders. Through these sessions, not only were products showcased, but also stories of the entrepreneurs. I learned invaluable insights into the intricacies of business development and growth.

The turning point arrived when a Christmas-themed book featuring a Black Santa and elves, titled “The Holly-day After,” went viral on my page. After learning I dreamed of writing a book the author proposed a collaboration that would prove to be a game-changer. Combining my platform with the author’s expertise, we embarked on a collaborative writing journey that spanned two years. The path to creating our diversified take on the Tooth Fairy wasn’t without its challenges and the search for an illustrator capable of breathing life into the narrative led us to an unexpected ally, a former Marvel illustrator, courtesy of a well-established brand connection (and Tampa local brand, Canviiy)

This fall, our book, Truth Tales: The Air Fair-He, will be available and our pre-orders are on track to propel us into bookstores across the country. What once seemed like a daunting leap of faith has blossomed into a remarkable transformation, propelling me from content creator to culture shifter and author.

My story stands as a testament to the transformative power of chasing your dreams, regardless of the obstacles that may lie ahead. For anyone aspiring to take the entrepreneurship leap of faith here is my advice. You have to bet on yourself, be delusional in your dreams, ask for help and don’t forget to network along the way.

Marissa , 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?

Marissa Kearney is a former educator who pivoted into making a huge impact by highlighting Black-Owned brands on retail shelves. She owns two award-winning platforms, TargetWhileBlack and RetailWhileBlack with a total of 550K followers. Each page bridges the gap between retailers and consumers by providing a fun and educational look at the retail world. Marissa has also helped numerous brands start a successful retail journey, promote brand awareness and increase revenue. As a result, businesses have scaled to stores across the US.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have three pages all with over 100K people. I built my audience by setting my own posting schedule. I didn’t listen to the gurus. On Instagram you can see the best times for you to post on “Analytics” pick three days you will post and always post on those days at the same time. Also, google banned hashtags and check them against the ones you are using. Using a banned hashtag is the quickest way to beat yourself.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I struggled finding capital. If you want to be a creator you should look for grants vs, loans. But for three years I had no funding–grants for content creators were few and competitive. Everyone views content creators as millionaires with millions of followers but there are tons of us that do not fall in that category and it is compounded by racial gaps in content creation pay. I make more now than I did with my teachers salary but a good year has brought me 150K. Which is amazing! But I am not a millionaire. I bought every product myself, I flew to events with my own money, purchased convention tickets again with my own money (using points, my dads points, my gift cards I got for birthdays/christmas and sometimes asking to be a plus 1). At one point, I had nothing left and was questioning if my mission could continue. The next month I received the largest brand deal I would every receive and it covered my then salary and then some. Turns out they had been watching me for months. Could you imagine if I would have quit?!

After building my brand, I am now sent dozens of products, get media passes to events and use brand partnerships to save money for big goals like hosting my own conference for Black brands in retail.

Contact Info:

• Website: retailwhileblack.shop
• Instagram: retailwhileblack
• Facebook: retailwhileblack
• Linkedin: Marissa Kearney
• Youtube: retailwhileblack

Image Credits
James Hartley for the Webby Awards (yellow photo)