This Celebrity Publicist Shares How She Overcame Homelessness, Domestic Violence And Launched Her Own Agency
Cherisse Jamison, improved known by her alias “Aye Yo Kells,” is a person of the most sought soon after leisure publicists in the state. With a long checklist of clientele that have incorporated Vivica Fox, Hillary Clinton, Armani Caesar, Masika Kalysha, 21 Savage, Boosie Badazz, and far more – how could she not be?
But this wasn’t normally the PR maven’s reality. At just 12-a long time-previous, she realized that she was adopted. At 21-a long time-previous, she sought out to uncover her adoption records and identify her organic family.
On reconnecting with her beginning mother and moving into her property, Kells before long identified her goals of forging a balanced romance and producing up for dropped time, shattered. In an exclusive job interview with xoNecole, she disclosed that her start mother was “very narcissistic,” “a scammer,” and “neglectful.”
1 working day, Kells overheard her mother conversing on the telephone: “I hardly ever arrived hunting for her, she was seeking for me… I would like she would go again to the men and women she came from.” The rejection from her start mom would in the long run drive her into the grasps of an abusive connection.
Study as Kells shares her initially-hand information in escaping domestic violence, what encouraged her to delve into the globe of general public relations, what she thinks are the three keys to becoming a thriving publicist in the sector, and so a great deal more!
Jadriena Solomon: You are a businesswoman who has been viewing huge achievement with your very long list of notable purchasers and projects. But this was not usually your actuality – your present working day achievement was essentially born out of your vigor to escape abuse – both romantically and from your organic mother. Can you explain to us extra about that period in your daily life?
Aye Yo Kells: I was in a pretty dark area at that time – possessing the opportunity to at last locate my delivery family, and then my mom not managing me the way I anticipated. It wasn’t the reaction that I was hoping for, nor was it the reaction that I had usually dreamed about. When I came in call with my start mom, she was quite abusive and that traumatized me. It produced me sense like I experienced mother troubles, even nevertheless I had grown up with truly excellent adoptive dad and mom that often cherished me and taken care of me like I was their own.
From there, I was quite vulnerable and acquired into a marriage with a guy extremely rapidly, even relocating in with him in just a just one thirty day period timeframe. I was attempting to escape the existing living circumstance with my mom and ended up in a domestic violence romance. Thoughts you – I experienced under no circumstances witnessed any form of violence among my adoptive mothers and fathers, so for me to finish up in that scenario with a husband or wife was extremely traumatizing. And I refused to call household for any type of help due to the fact I was so prideful.
JS: You at some point have been equipped to escape that domestic violence romantic relationship but endured a time time period of remaining homeless, even though functioning to turn into monetarily secure and get back again on your ft all over again. I know that uncertainty of what lies in advance can go away numerous women of all ages paralyzed and trapped in abusive associations. What information would you give to any woman who’s battling to go away mainly because she’s fearful of the unknown or uncertainty which is to come?
AYK: My guidance would be to certainly make certain that you have a wonderful guidance procedure that you can use. I had a single pal that I could get in touch with and rely on, and that seriously helped me to escape that condition.
Make guaranteed that you have that assist method in your corner so that when you get started viewing all those pink flags – when the human being is being controlling, when they are isolating you from buddies and family members – and start considering about leaving the romantic relationship, they can unquestionably phase in and aid you. Or even if a condition one working day just escalates much too considerably and becomes way too violent, possessing an escape approach in spot and being aware of who you can call can make all of the distinction.
JS: How did community relations cross your fascination? And what influenced you to launch The Jamison Company?
AYK: I occur from a musical loved ones. I’m the cousin of the legendary “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown – my mother is a Brown and then she married my dad who is a Jamison. But I under no circumstances utilized that name because I desired to make my own way, and produce my own legacy, in the organization.
Whilst I was in higher education, I had an impartial hip hop site and I was contacted by a marketing team for the rapper Boosie. I was brought on the team with them and I started executing marketing and PR – so that seriously piqued my interest and I realized that it was one thing I had presently been performing, I just didn’t know the expression for it.
At some point, I began using my possess customers around 2018-2019. I did not have my possess company at that time but I was freelancing. I experienced a company task as nicely, so just about every working day from eight to 5 I worked at my company task and then from the minute I bought off, I would go home and do the job on my PR work. A single day, I went into operate and made a decision that that was not what I preferred to do with my existence – I did not want to get the job done for anyone, I didn’t want to be in company any longer – and I went complete fledged with my own agency.
I had ample dollars saved up to include my hire for the up coming 8 months and that was it, I haven’t labored a job because then. Right now, when I search again I recognize that really I manifested in which I am these days. I keep in mind speaking with a good friend and they questioned me what I was likely to name my organization, and I told them ‘The Jamison Agency.’ I went and accomplished the paperwork, acquired the LLC for it and it’s been fairly a lot up because then.
JS: You are 1 of the most “sought after enjoyment publicists,” building seven figures in just underneath two a long time. For aspiring PRs, what would you say are the three attributes they want to embody to obtain good results in the industry?
AYK: Initially off, you want to be passionate about your profession and your consumers. I know some publicists do it for the cash and the clout, but you have to be passionate about your function. My firm is incredibly family oriented, and I address my consumers like they are my spouse and children. I’m their therapist when they need me. And even if I’m not doing the job with them at the instant, if I discover an option that I know is perfect for them, I still permit them know – even if I’m not finding compensated. I still make it a priority to maintain them knowledgeable.
The 2nd factor is to continue being educated about your industry. The situations are shifting and so is the way that we have to do PR when it comes to our shoppers. Realizing how to adapt to the climate of the entire world is really crucial – we even saw that with the pandemic. Some publicists had to quit completely since they couldn’t manage their charges, their shoppers weren’t obtaining gigs and they just didn’t know what to do for the duration of the pandemic. But it’s essential to often know how to pivot and look for out other avenues that can be effective for both on your own and your consumers.
Finally, it is important to normally do superior business enterprise. Your identify is every thing in this enterprise and it only normally takes a person or two persons to negative mouth you prior to it circulates. You often want to make positive that you’re undertaking great, clear organization with men and women simply because you never ever know who’s seeing your perform, who follows you on social media, who’s researching you – and term of mouth is everything in this market. I get so many different alternatives just mainly because of word or moth, so you constantly want to make positive you are executing excellent business enterprise.
JS: I believe to a lot of persons a publicist’s job seems to be to be uncomplicated or simplistic, but it’s genuinely not. What do you assume is the most neglected factor about what you all do as publicists that folks are inclined to forget about?
AYK: I think people assume that the only thing publicists do is protected interviews but it’s so significantly additional than just that. You have media relations, crisis management – there is so many scopes of PR. It’s not just booking a radio show or media outlet.
When you sign up to be someone’s publicist you indicator up to formally be every thing to that particular person – occasionally you have to use the management hat, from time to time you have to be their therapist, often you have to be their most effective good friend. So you acquire on a whole lot when you are someone’s publicist and you have to grow to be incredibly selfless. You have to be out there 24/7 – it is not just a thing in which you can guide a gig and which is it. You have to speak to your shoppers, and be available to them, everyday, all calendar year round.
JS: You have attained so a great deal for oneself and your business enterprise. As you move forward, what plans would you like to reach in the following ten calendar year span?
AYK: I’m doing work on opening up – what I think will be – the initially Black girl-owned adoption company. So a lot of individuals have approached me considering the fact that I have occur up with my story about currently being adopted and they want to uncover their households but they are worried of the course of action or never know how to do it. I have read so numerous horror tales and what’s happened to young children, and I’ve been so privileged to have grown up with a terrific adoptive household. So to be this fortunate, I want to make guaranteed that other youngsters have the opportunity to also experience the similar points that I did.
I surely want to release a guide just one working day, possibly a series, about producing it in the entertainment enterprise. And also a reserve about points I haven’t really discussed out, like becoming sexually molested and matters of that mother nature. That’s still something that I’m functioning on publicly expressing.
I’m also building a system called “Creators Who Hustle,” in which the mission is to encourage, uplift and advance the hustles of creatives. I want it to be a network hub that caters to all creatives – I’d also like to make it a tour series as well.
I also hope to get into movie output, or imaginative path. And ultimately, of study course, keep generating The Jamison Company even far more productive.