Meet Innovative Woman Kimberly Pitts, Marketing and Branding Strategist and founder of UImpact, LLC.
How/why did you begin your business?
When I first started down my entrepreneurial journey I launched a professional speaker management agency. We researched and booked speaking engagements, handled all the speakers marketing, booked their travel, shipped their products, organized book tours, etc…Sounds great, right? It was such a great experience and also a huge learning one as well. What I learned during that time was that I found more enjoyment and satisfaction from showing a client what I did to help them get their business off the ground, than doing it for them. As this realization sunk in more and more, I knew I needed to make a change. It was then I decided to close those doors and launch UImpact, LLC. Best decision ever!
I absolutely enjoy supporting and educating women entrepreneurs on how to navigate through all the branding and marketing strategies available to them. I help women entrepreneurs that are ready to launch, grow or redesign her business brand….in a way that is true to who she is. I am committed to help create a positive transformation in people’s lives. I have learned that by equipping our clients with the tools, knowledge, and encouragement to transform their own lives, we can help them to impact their life and others. This leads to true significant ccontribution. This is Uimpact’s core value…making an impact.
What has been your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge I had was learning how to say no more often, in order to say yes to myself. I had to really accept that saying “no” is one of the most important traits of living a life filled with balance, integrity, and authenticity. I had to accept this because when I struggled with saying “no” my life was unbalanced and I was not living in a place of being authentic. I said yes, when I really wanted to say no. I knew saying “no” was more about creating healthy boundaries, honoring myself, and being true to my commitment to family.
In terms of overcoming this, it is a day to day process. I wish I can say I have mastered the art of “no” but it is still a process. Am I stronger in this area than I was 14 years ago? Oh yes! Is this an area I have to keep top of mind so my boundaries are ever present? Yes it is.
How do you define SUCCESS?
How I define success is rooted in how I don’t define it by what the entrepreneurial/business world defines it. I saw this quote and it spoke to me: “”What I know for sure is that if you want to have success, you can’t make success your goal. The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant – and the success will naturally follow.” – Oprah Winfrey”
For me success doesn’t have anything to do with my accomplishments, accolades and results. Those are great and very rewarding and at one time I did associate the meaning of success with those things. However, when I went through a season in my life where the doctors gave me a medical diagnosis that turned my world upside down, that definition changed. In that season, the people around me were my family, friends and some amazing clients. That is when the word “success” took on a new definition to me. I can’t take a trophy, a plague or an award with me when I am gone. But I can leave a mark in the lives of those around me. I can be successful in using the gifts God has given me in my business. I can be successful at not wasting any moments on things that don’t add value to my life. For me, success is intimately associated with my efforts, with the quality of how I am as a Christian, wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, aunt and as a business owner, and with my true intentions on how I am using every gift God has given me. My pathway to defining success is ever evolving and ever changing as I grow and change as a woman and a business owner.
If there was one thing you wish you knew before you began your business, what would that be?
In the beginning I spent too much time, money and tears trying to fit a mold of what a business woman in my industry looked like in terms of how she built her business. I had so many “advisors” telling me what I should do to the point that I got lost in what I needed to focus on. It was not until I invested in a great coach, did I start to realize the value of my unique thumbprint on how I conduct business.
What makes you an innovative woman?
I love this question! I feel I am an innovative woman, because I have always been the type of person that is highly creative, very inquisitive, very observant of my surroundings, loves to explore new opportunities, love to learn, and gain new knowledge that challenge me as a person and as a business owner. I take everything in and creatively make it my own. I don’t believe you have recreate the wheel, but I do believe you in need make everything your own…in your own voice…in your own way. This is something I do not just in my business but in my life in general.
To learn more about Kimberly visit her website www.uimpact.net or connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.
Editor’s Note: Kimberly is also the Today’s Innovative Woman City Director for our Dallas/Fort Worth City Edition. To find out more about our Dallas/Fort Worth City Edition click here.