We recently connected with Sade Champagne and have shared our conversation below.

Sade, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I had dreams and visions as young as 4 years old doing the things and living the life I am today. Starting in elementary school, I used to read books aloud in front of the mirror and practice public speaking. I would also line up all my teddy bears and dolls along my bedroom wall and I would start preaching to them, singing and giving encouraging messages. In my mind I was visualizing myself performing for audiences and people all over the world. I always knew that this would be my life!

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?

I am an award winning and critically acclaimed professional musical artist, performer, speaker, entrepreneur, philanthropist, mentor, published author and dream coach. I love to use
my platform, energy, gifts and talents to make a positive impact in my community and around the
world. I’ve been practicing and preparing to live my dreams since I was a little girl- I won my first award for public speaking in early elementary school. I wrote speeches, spoken word poetry and short stories. I also used to sing all the time for my family and they would give me money to perform their favorite gospel songs. I grew up singing in church and also taking dance classes in the community. When I was in high school I was in choir, and during this time is when I started mentoring other singers and eventually became the assistant choir director. Even though I did exceptionally well in my schooling, I knew that after high school I was going to hit the ground running straight into my dreams. This past June I celebrated 18 years of living and pursuing my dreams professionally! My greatest joys are being able to be my authentic self and express myself through my creativity and encourage and support other dreamers. Every week I get messages and comments from my students, mentees and clients about how much my services and influence have greatly impacted their life and careers.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the most challenging and yet equally freeing lessons I’ve had to unlearn is believing that how people treat me is a reflection of who I am and my worth/value. Believing this lie brought me a lot of unnecessary pain, suffering, confusion and discouragement. How people treat us is not a reflection of who we are, how loved and valued we are or our worth. How people treat us is often a reflection and projection of what is happening inside their own heart. We don’t have to carry those burdens or pains any longer. Unlearning this has restored my joy, peace and confidence. I don’t take things and people so personally and seriously anymore. Simultaneously this has benefited my career greatly because I can exercise my bravery and courage and not live in fear of rejection.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I always say the 3 most important things are in-person connection (how we connect with people face-to-face and at live events), word of mouth (what other people say about you), and social media presence. I am 36 years old and very grass roots, meaning I am all about community and building from the ground up. The majority of my social media following (70%+) are people who have a real life connection with me, have been following me for several years and have actually seen or experienced me live in person. We cannot just focus on likes and followers, we have to actually be around the people, perform consistently and in different communities/places if we can. We want to always be genuinely connecting with people and being in spaces where we can share our gifts and receive from other people’s gifts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.iamsadechampagne.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamsadechampagne/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadechampagne
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sadechampagne
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sadechampagne

Image Credits
Photo and makeup by Samantha Elizabeth of Faithful Ad Consult