Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Joy.
Kristin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is KristinJoy and I am a young African American woman. I went through life attempting to blend in with the crowd but always seemed to stand out. Have you ever found yourself walking into a room praying no one sees you or notices you hiding and decides to strike up a conversation with you? Well, that was me! I started noticing more and more that I was not able to blend in and be unnoticeable. This was partly to my personality and also the fact that even though this was my comfort zone it was never intended to be my reality. Once I started to fully embrace this idea I started to become the true KristinJoy. This discovery lead me to start a small group with my friend. The goal of this group was to create a community within our church. This made a quick shift and became the launching pad to my greatest success to date! The skills and confidence I developed within leading my small group helped me to take a chance and step into uncharted waters. I now am the founder of PartyofOne Podcast. The motto that I live by and that PartyofOne embodies is Be Bold. Be Exclusive. Be Enough. This journey has provided many different opportunities such as speaking engagements, business opportunities, friendships and lives being changed. I am truly grateful for this journey and will continue to enjoy it, embrace it and take it one step at a time.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has not been a smooth road by any stretch of the imagination! There have been many challenges and obstacles along the way. I have learned to embrace challenges and obstacles because they breed growth and character. I believe the two greatest struggles were: me vs. me and me vs. them. At one point I was my greatest enemy because I feared everything! I feared success, I feared failure and I feared mediocrity. These fears stifled me and caused me to become paralyzed until I was able to decide that at the end of the day I am failing regardless by not allowing myself to simply try! The second struggle was me vs. them. I had many people tell me no, not want to help me or simply just not value my product. This can become discouraging if you allow them to have more influence over you and your product. I had to realize by me wanting to give up it was confirming everything they said about me that I knew was not true! This is difficult however, you have to find a way to allow the negativity to make you and not break you.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me has many different components. I believe the key to success is you must define realistic success for yourself. For myself, at the beginning of every endeavor, I set a goal, something that as a business we are shooting for. The key to the goal is it must be measurable in order to correctly gauge the results. If we hit the goal, that is a success! If we do not hit the goal we will analyze the situation and learn from it so we can reach the goal the next time. If we can learn and implement a new plan I also feel this is a success. Ultimately, my definition of success is the ability to gain from an experience. In both scenarios, we have the ability to win! One is slightly out of our control the other is completely based on our decision to move forward or sit in our defeat.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 602-652-2847
- Email: iamkristinjoy1@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkristinjoy_/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/partyofone_podcast/
Image Credit:
Photographer – Olivia Sheppard
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