7 March 2021|Latest Posts, Meet the Successful Founder
Carla Williams Johnson is a Media Marketing Specialist based in Trinidad & Tobago. She founded Carli Communications, which offers advertising and marketing advice to entrepreneurs and business owners who are interested in building a business in the ‘real world’. She considers herself an advocate for business men and women who were desirous of promoting themselves by offering sound, unbiased advice, focusing mainly on methods to identify ideal clients, online and offline approaches to boosting visibility and the creation of practical marketing campaigns designed to increase revenue.
She’s been asked to share her knowledge with numerous publications including Forbes, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Home Business Magazine and Business Digest Magazine, Thrive Global to name a few. She has been named one of the Marketers to follow for 2020 as well as recently awarded Best Promotions Company – West Indies at last year’s Media Innovator awards as compiled by Corporate Vision Magazine out of the UK
What would you love to share to encourage other women to start their own business?
You are EXACTLY what someone is hoping for and praying for every day. I can say with absolute certainty that your gifts and talents are precisely what someone is in desperate need of and meeting you would truly be a life saver.
Someone out there
Would be thankful just to meet you;
Would be thankful for the opportunity to know you;
Would be thankful if you came into their lives;
Would be thankful to hear your message;
Would be thankful for your knowledge & expertise
Would be thankful that they found you because you have exactly what they’ve been searching for…
…..they just haven’t met you yet,
That’s why it’s so important to show up and live your purpose. You can touch the lives of so many just by doing what you love to, best of all, you can get paid for it too. The world needs you, your people are ready for you, all you have to do is show up.
What are your top 5 tips for entrepreneurial success?
Schedule self-care like your life depended on it…because it does. There are times I get so focused and engrossed in what I’m doing that I forget to eat. It’s crazy!!!! I had to learn the hard way that being unkind to my body and not giving my brain time to recharge can have terrible consequences. Being a CEO means others depend on me so I do everyone a favor and take a break every once in a while.
Failing is OK, even for a CEO. I would beat myself up whenever I made a mistake but as time went on, I realised that it’s all part of the process. As a matter of fact, I’ve dismissed the word failure from my vocabulary altogether. I learned the lesson and I allow it to strengthen me as I move forward.
You’ve got to believe in yourself and forget what others may or may not say. For a very long time, I had a hard time dealing with this. I would hide or not say what I mean out of shear fear of offending someone or being misunderstood. Then one day it dawned on me: I wouldn’t be in the position I am in now, if I didn’t know what I was doing. I like to think of myself as the master of my industry and run with that feeling. I’ve learned it’s bad to say nothing and worse to sound like someone else. So, I just get out there and do it and people love me for it.
Trust your gut. I cannot say how many times I went against my own intuition and got myself in hot water. Now I don’t make a move unless my intuition is in play. It gives me the confidence and the desire to follow through much easier once I feel aligned and at peace with the decision I’ve made.
Ask for help. Somehow we got the notion that when we got into entrepreneurship that we had to do it all ourselves……by ourselves; We also got it in our heads that if we need to get it right we have to do it ourselves. The fact DIY-ing ourselves through entrepreneurship slows us down and keeps us in ‘struggle-mode’. We waste the precious resources of time and energy (and sometimes money) trying to figure things out ourselves or trying to do it all. We burn out faster; we get frustrated and honestly nothing really gets done effectively. Asking for help in terms of delegating or seeking out a mentor who can help guide you is really a great way to scale your business and achieve success
Who are the 5 women who inspire you the most?
● Jamila Bannister, fellow Trini and co-host of the Shut up and Listen podcast. She is the branding guru and has committed her life to helping other women step out into their leadership role
● Debbie Ann Jollie, another Trini. She calls herself the stammering communicator and did not let her speech impediment hamper her from building a business
● Marlena Cole is a Relationships and Leadership coach has been quite a force in my life and I swear she believes in me more than I believe in myself. She calls me her ‘sister from Trinidad’ and she is doing big things helping women lead a life they love
● Carissa Daniel, Carissa is a spiritual life coach and teacher to others but to me she is truly the bomb.com. She is one of the very few persons on earth doing exactly what she is called to do.
● Cherice Job Lewis. I have known Cherice for years but it has only been able to truly spread her wings to help so many persons live the life they want and deserve. I am so proud of how far she has come and of the good work she’s doing
What is your favourite inspirational quote?
My absolute favourite quote in the world is by Maya Angelou
“I did then what I knew how to do.
Now that I know better, I do better.”
This quote really helps me understand that I am doing the best that I can and learning & growing is all part of the process.
Website & Socials
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlicommunications
