We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ruth Carter-Hickman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ruth, thanks for joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
I love to travel and go on vacation. I’m currently looking for a remote job that will allow me to do just that, travel full-time! I want to find remote work that I enjoy and that pays well.
Moreover, that will allow me the space to be financially free so that I can be free to create projects that inspire me and educate others.
I’m so excited for the new adventures that I will manifest. I look forward to meeting other creatives on my travels that inspire me and that I can partner with on new business ventures. I hope to be even more creative and inspired on my travel journey!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Throughout my college education at Clark Atlanta University, I was able to meet other creatives and was involved in their projects.
I learned quickly that I enjoyed being in front of the camera just as much as I loved being behind the camera! This allows me a special skill to help my clients feel good and comfortable in front of the camera. From posing to props, from wardrobe to hair…I’m able to consult and customize my clients experience in detail for a tailored shoot like no other!
My love for education that was instilled in me by my parents and my natural eagerness to research and learn new things fueled my Masters of Fine Arts in Television Production at Loyola Marymount University. I was able to take that focus and discipline into commercial production and work for over several years as a 2nd Assistant Director working with talent.
All of the celebrities that I worked with over the years, really helped me fine-tune my talent to please my clients and be of service to you and provide exclusive support and first class experience. You have to really ask the right questions and listen to find out what your clients wants and needs are, which has helped me to be so successful with every client that I’ve worked with.
I am most proud of my work that I created on Afro Mexicans because not only did I shed light on one of Mexico’s forgotten communities and cultures, I also won a Sony Alpha Female Grant for the project! Winning that grant let me know that I was on track with my Afro Mexican Tambien project and my Afro Latino Tambien project! I want my potential clients and followers to know that my brand is dedicated to create content that’s missing from the global main stream media especially in the Latino market…the beautiful melanin of Afro Latinos!
Representation matters whether you’re from the Caribbean, Central, North, or South America…my brand is dedicated to creating content for children of these communities to see themselves in a positive light while educating them on the historic figures that paved the way for their success!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The story of my cousin Bridget Biddy Mason who’s in the Smithsonian as a California Real Estate Entrepreneur, Philanthropist and Midwife truly impacted my entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy of “If you hold your hand closed, nothing good can come in. The open hand is blessed, for it gives in abundance, even as it receives.” A quote from Biddy and featured in my thesis documentary. Biddy’s story is remarkable, one of being someone’s property to owning property in the late 1800s and accumulating of wealth of $1 million in today’s society. She’s the first women to own property and first woman of color to accomplish such a wealth in that time period!
Biddy inspires me because not only did she fight to win her freedom in the courts, she was a midwife and a nurse and delivered so many children in early Los Angeles. She continued to help so many people throughout her lifetime that locals used to call her grandma Mason. For example, she created a church out of her house FAME (First African Episcopal Church) which currently has over 18,000 members and a school for children. Anytime I feel unmotivated or overwhelmed, I like to remind myself of her story and I think to myself, if she could accomplish all that with all the odds against her during the 1800’s, then I can surely be successful today!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew earlier in my creative journey about these following resources:
Adobe Lightroom Mobile. Helios Pro, Placeit.net, Upwork.com, Fivver.com, VN video editor, Skillshare, Splice, Quik, Studiobinder.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ruthhickman.com/
- Instagram: @ruthhickmanphotography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthhickmanphotography
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-carter-hickman-21797946/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEIe1x3Bbn8GQrt1pzQITEA/featured
Image Credits
My Portrait with the camera was shot by: Damon Thomas Eleven16 Media The others from my project were shot by me: Ruth Carter Hickman