Karen Civil is in a league of her own. From heading the marketing campaign for Beats by Dre, to maintaining rapper Lil Wayne relevancy during his incarceration to now headlining her Be You, Live Civil tour, Karen Civil is sure to be a legend in her own right.
I had the pleasure of attending Civil’s tour here in NYC for the December 11th tour date. HerAgenda owner Rhonesha Byng and Alleynyc event space in Manhattan hosted the event. Although, slated to start at 7pm the actual conversation did not begin till about a quarter after eight. Guests were becoming restless and almost turned around to leave the event, but the anticipation on meeting and hearing entrepreneur Karen Civil share her jewels on success kept them there.
Fellow entrepreneur Rhonesha Byng sat alongside Karen Civil on French like couch on stage to conduct the interview. It was over 100 attendees, both male and female and we all became enwrapped in Civil’s presence upon her walking onto the stage. This is when all the magic begins.
Civil was asked an array of questions. Some were your usual: how did you get started? What advice can you give to others aspiring to be entrepreneurs? How long did it take for you to become successful? These were all great questions but they were also cliché due to the fact that you can find the answers to these questions online just by googling the Haitian native from New Jersey. What we wanted and needed so badly to hear was the jewels of success that she had to share.
http://youtu.be/m_1kSV53w8s?list=UU7eyZ8vIA2ifamGhIHRC2XQ
Civil shared interesting stories of how she lied to get what she wanted, but she tells the audience right away that she is not suggesting they do the same. Jewel no.1, “lie if you have to.” Civil had bought some marketing materials and pretended to sell them online to gain the attention of a potential client. To my demise and her expectation it worked. She soon received a call from the actor’s attorney that led to her having a sit down with the actor and later forming a work relationship. Jewel no.2, “overwork what is expected of you.” Civil says whenever she was hired to do something regardless of the tasks she always overworked. She didn’t do just was expected she went above and beyond. Jewel no.3, “don’t listen to what others have to say about you, validate yourself.” This has to be the best piece of advice I have ever heard. When following your aspiratiosn you always seek validation to those you feel are experts in the filed or someone who may have more experience than you. Civil tells us to “know your self worth.” She says that she’s been told “no” by plenty and often criticized but she did not allow that to stop her. She always believed in what she was doing and knew that one day it would pay off. She chuckles and says “I know my ideas are great.”
