We were lucky to catch up with Rahkim Sabree recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rahkim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One deeply underappreciated facet of being a service provider is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

I left my full time banking career in May of 2021 to pursue entrepreneurship full time and to protect my mental health. It was during a period dubbed “The Great Resignation” where many people were leaving their jobs in search of greener pastures, whether that be a different more fulfilling job or to start their own business. I felt that I could no longer thrive in the environment I was in mentally, emotionally, or professionally and so my leaving was motivated a bit by frustration. It was a frustration I shared with the world on Twitter. In a single tweet that read “I just quit my job yall… and honestly I needed that for my mental health.” I garnered over 2 million impressions, multiple press opportunities, and even a small segment on the Tamron Hall show. Within that year I went on to speak on a few large podcasts, wrote a few viral articles, and was even interviewed by a publication who in bad faith misrepresented the story they were going to tell about me. The experiences in and of themselves were not positive or negative but more so teachable moments. There was so much going on and pulls in different directions that taught me a lot about navigating being a public figure, controlling the narrative on how my story is represented, and of course taking the opportunity to market my business.

Rahkim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Rahkim Sabree. I started working in banking at the age of 21 years old and grew a passion for financial education in learning how to align the products and services I sold to my own life while learning the strategies of those I’d encounter who accomplished things I wanted to accomplish financially. As I grew in knowledge and experience I began to share these learnings with friends and family casually. Eventually I became known in my personal circles as “the money guy” or “the banker” and would be asked questions about what to do and how to do it financially. I would go on to write two books; one on mentorship the other on my journey through personal finance, deliver a TEDx talk, and start building a following on social media through various pieces of educational content and writing for large and medium sized publications about personal finance, financial mindset, and entrepreneurship. Today my focuses vary into different income streams. As a writer I partner with organizations that pay for the type of content I create or generate sales from the books I’ve written. As a speaker I get paid to share my story or expertise on a variety of topics. As a coach I get to work 1 on 1 with individuals or groups to improve their relationship with money. I focus on the intersection of financial empowerment and financial trauma and how that trauma acts as a barrier to feeling empowered. Many financial coaches focus on the fundamentals alone but I believe more of us need to focus on the behavioral needs of our clients. I am most proud of being a one man PR team. I’ve had multiple features and published works across many popular publications and platforms. I do my own PR and have had relative success in getting placements to grow awareness around my work and my brand. This had led to me being verified on Twitter.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started taking social media as a personal brand seriously in 2018 but had no idea what I was doing. 3 things I’ve learned on my journey across all of the social media platforms are:

1) Consistency in your brand name/image matters. I had a different handle on Twitter than I did on Instagram and different profile photos in each platform and no one could reconcile the two. Additionally the names I chose were not the easiest to remember or type in. Eventually I used a uniform photo across all my socials and changed the display names to my personal name. This may not make sense for all business types but being visually identifiable by logo, color scheme, and type of content helps keep things looking clean and professional.

2) People connect to people. Even if your business represents a product or service people respond to situations that they can relate to. Many of the large brands go to great lengths to humanize their brands-and so should you. Use personal anecdotes, tell stories of situations that have happened to you ( success stories, failures, how you helped your clients win, testimonials, etc).

3) Be social. It may seem counter intuitive that this has to be emphasized but sometimes as business owners we get into a marketing flow that doesn’t allow for us to engage. Most of my growth on social has been word of mouth marketing, sharing of my content, and regular commenting from people I’ve connected with. Once you identify that a bond has been established nurture that relationship. Show love back in the comments or invite followers to elaborate on their responses. Making your following feel part of your journey and community is important.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I believe anyone in the business of working with people should read the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. That book should not only be read, but revisited periodically because it is a master class on human interaction.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rahkimsabree.com
• Instagram: Http://instagram.com/rahkimsabree
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/rahkimsabree
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/rahkimsabree

Image Credits
all mine