We recently connected with Marlissa Collier and have shared our conversation below.
Marlissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
Simply put: If I were starting over, I would reject the embedded belief that there is more safety, stability or contentment in choosing 9 to 5 over purpose. If I could go back, I would send a message to myself, instructing the younger me not to internalize the doubt that would be sowed by society, family and members of the community – some well-meaning, and others projecting their own insecurities. I would tell young Marlissa to bet on herself, her gift and her purpose sooner.
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?
Well, I like to say that I am a freelance writer, communications consultant, and expert Black person. In 2016, I created the Dollar15 Blog and subsequently, the Real Quick series – wherein readers and listeners can find informative and entertaining thought-pieces infused with research, humor, and the occasional expletive. My work on these mediums centers on sharing diverse stories that raise social, cultural and political awareness.
I think what sets my work and my voice apart is my ability to build bridges. My background, education, and experience allows me to move between culture and C-Suites seamlessly. That’s why I love what I do. I have the opportunity to gather information, digest it, repackage it, and give it back to the people in a way that meets them where they are. And I’m not saying that my work talks down to people – au contraire. My work makes social, cultural and political topics more relevant by injecting these topics with culturally-palatable elements.
Something I’m super proud of is that I have traveled extensively as an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and an International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute Fellow. I was invited by the German Marshall Fund to cover the high-profile 2019 Ukraine presidential election as an international journalist.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
A few things helped to develop my knack for the English language. 1st – I grew up a book worm. Not only did I read everything I could get my hands on, when I would run out of kid-appropriate books, I would devour my Mom’s college course books. 2nd – I grew up in the C.O.G.I.C. church, listening to some of the best orators in the world. 3rd – My grandmother had (and still has) a way with words – her storytelling, tone, cadence, and word choice are impeccable. I was very shy and quiet intorvert, so I had a lot of time to read and listen. It didn’t take long to begin to develop a writing and speaking style that would come to dictate my passion.
I was a pretty good all around student, but I loved the humanities. I took every advanced English and Literature class I could in high school and also gravitated towards sociology, government, politics and economics. By the time I was ready to come out of high school, I’d scored perfect writing scores on every standardized test, including the SAT.
I was certain I would go on to college to study English or creative writing. BUT! My Mom said writers didn’t make any money and discouraged pursuing. Because I was a decent student, I chose to earn my undergrad degree in engineering, because you know….money. Yeah, so I did that. I earned my degree in 4 years and settled into the 9-to-5 life. Around the time I graduated, I started publishing as a freelance writer – not because I planned to become a “real” writer, but because my writing was one of the few places I found joy. And, I mean, life was cool, until I realized that I wasn’t really that happy!
Aimlessly looking to get away from engineering and into something that I was passionate about, I decided to go to Business School. I was accepted into SMU’s Cox School of Business and earned my MBA in 2 years. At this point, there was lots money flowing, I worked in a swanky high-rise and was on the fast track to leadership. And that was cool too, until it wasn’t. I noticed that even though I’d done everything America told me to do to be successful, I’d still go to bed feeling like I was leaving something undone. Still looking to feed my creativity, I started writing again, this time under my own platform. In 2016, I started the Dollar15 Blog and after just one post, understood that I had something people were looking for.
Fast forward to 2019. I continued to write as a side hustle and also began picking up freelance communications projects, helping clients design, develop and manage their brand stories. Things were going well and even though I had proven that I could make money as a writer and a consultant, all I could hear was “writers don’t make any money”. So I kept my 9-to-5 my main thing and my writing/communications a side hustle.
But in 2020, I experienced a miracle wrapped in a heartbreak. On January 4th, after a stoic, year-long battle, my mother passed from pancreatic cancer. A few days after her home going, I went in to clean her room and stumbled across something that changed my life forever. I found a folder that documented my mother’s several decades-long battle with her employer, where she would apply for promotions, pass the exams, meet all the requirements, only to be denied. And because Debra was who she was, she appealed all of these rejections. My mom never got those promotions and she passed just months after her official retirement – never getting to really enjoy the fruits of her labor. I sat there with that folder and cried because I realized how long she’d begged to be seen, heard, and rewarded. And I decided that day that I wouldn’t beg anymore, that that price had been paid, and that I would instead bet on my gift. The same one my mom told me to leave alone.
That same month I put a plan together and became intentional about taking my career into my own hands. 2 years, later, I have left my 9-to-5 and it’s the best decisions I’ve made. My income and progression is not long capped by the powers that be, but rather dependent on how hard I go. And I have no doubt that my Mom is cheering me on and lobbying on my behalf as long as I’m willing to show up and make myself available.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I really had to unlearn believing the doubt that had been sowed for so long. As I think back, I realize that much of this doubt was birthed in fear. I think creatives experience two types of embedded fear induced doubt from external parties.
The first kind comes from people who truly love you and care about your wellbeing in society. These are the folks who discourage you because they have internalized the belief that the odds are stacked against you. Maybe they tried their hand at a passion, only to find it didn’t work out. Maybe they struggled financially because they decided to pursue their passion, and want better for you. When these people picture you pursing your dream, they picture you sleeping in your car, desolate, without a friend in the world. This is the kind I experienced from my Mom. It was embedded early and applied to any creative endeavor I undertook. And it was because as a single mother, nothing was more important that the ability to make money and provide. For her, creative gifts were nice, but they weren’t guaranteed.
The next kind of fear induced doubt comes from those who see what you have and resent it. These people resent your gift, your talent and your confidence because it exposes their insecurities and/or inadequacies. These folks sow fear and doubt because it’s easier to push you down than pull themselves up. What’s the meme, “they wanna see you do good, but never better than them.” This is a real thing! They package their doubt in the form of jokes, quiet digs, and sneaky side eyes. The sooner you learn to recognize these people, the sooner you’ll realize it has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with their internal battles. And in fact, I would argue that any creative experiencing this should go harder, because it’s apparent that you have something special.
To get to where I am today, I had to unpack and unlearn a lot of what I’d grown to believe in the way of doubt and fear. And I will say, that once I did, the world started to make room for me and my gift. And I still experience this today. Sometimes from strangers other times from people I call friends. But I also realized that anytime you make your gift available to the world, you open yourself up for critic. So I keep my intentions pure and my heart good and I protect my energy from anything that seems shady.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marlissacollier.com
- Instagram: @blackgirlflyy
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/marlissadcollier
- Twitter: @blackgirlfllyy
- Other: www.dollar15.com
Image Credits
NW4, LaDrica Derrico