RACHAEL APRILL PHILLIPS

POWERHOUSE GLOBAL MAGAZINE (PGMAG)

INTERVIEW WITH: RACHAEL APRILL PHILLIPS (RAP)

Rachael is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Rachaelacademy. com. She was once named the "Top Marketing Expert" by Huffington Post. We are delighted to have her as our guest for this interview!

PGMAG: Rachael, thank you for your time! We are glad to have you.

RAP: Thank you so much for having me. I am so honored to be sharing this space with so many inspirational men and women guests you've interviewed and who's stories have graced your amazing pages.

PGMAG: Please share a brief of who you are and what you are about in the world.

RAP: I'm a black woman navigating this amazing world with my one of a kind, friend and partner in crime, my husband of 24 years and

It was when I turned 9 and joined an athletics club that my fire ball personality and energy was given a home and I excelled in sports and won over 30 medals in my field of 100 to 400 meters' sprints.

our beautiful souls, our four children who keep us on our toes and in check all the time. My passion is people and seeing them actualize to their full potential. I realized quite early on in life that I was a fire ball, someone that took risks and didn't care about the consciences. My poor mother couldn't figure out why I wouldn't just fall in line like my other siblings.

It was when I turned 9 and joined an athletics club that my fire ball personality and energy was given a home and I excelled in sports and won over 30 medals in my field of 100 to 400 meters' sprints. At my peak I competed for England Indoor Athletics championships. At 19 I got married and started a family and became a stay at home mother for 8 years. After my youngest was ready to fly the nest into full-time education I decided to retrain and go back to school to study Business and Management at University.

I qualified and landed a job as a business studies teacher in a well-known high school in my local area. I was successful with my students and each student I taught received distinction in all their business studies projects that I started to get recognized

by my student's parents and alternatively the school. So after three years as a teacher I decided to go out into the world and put into practice all that I'd learnt as a business studies teacher in theory to starting my own business. So for 8 years I ran and managed my own online blog that provided information of my journey of starting, running and growing my business. During this time, I fell in lovers with my work and the process of sharing and teaching others what was working for me, that I decided to turn it into a business and I have never looked back since.

During this time, I fell in lovers with my work and the process of sharing and teaching others what was working for me, that I decided to turn it into a business and I have never looked back since.

PGMAG: As a leader in the marketing industry, and as someone who has worked with some top brands in the world, what are some of the primary steps to building a global brand?

RAP: This is a wonderful question, thank you for asking it. Any opportunity to help others especially someone who looks like me I'm so inspired to do so. You know the saying it's who you know? Well for me it was who I knew that knew someone that knew someone else. So don't under estimate the power of your connections. So my first advice is; get out there and start building connections, in person, on the phone, on the internet, in online groups, you get my point. No man is an Island and that is something I came to quickly realize.

Secondly know your why and message you want to share with the world. We all have a story to tell, but sadly so many have been beaten down, that we've lost our voices or maybe we haven't even found our voices yet. Take out the time to discover your why, your unique selling point inside of you and then my third lesson, don't just keep it to yourself and hold it tightly or even bury it. Show it off to the world, let everyone and their friends know about your why. Invite them along to come and join you on your journey as you evolve, grow and learn more about your why and then one day you'll look beside you to your right and left and notice that while you've been having so much fun that you've managed to develop and grow a group of friends following you along your journey. That's literary what I've done for that last 10 years and it doesn't feel like work anymore.

PGMAG: What should businesses be doing in order to remain visible in the "new world" due to COVID-19?

RAP: The new world, what a scary and exciting thought. This takes me to a wonderful book my husband read to me about 4 years ago a pass time we share together. The book is called 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe in his book you get the sense of Okonkwo a character in the book who was the greatest wrestler and warrior alive in West Africa. Okonkwo's character accidentally kills a village chief and things begin to fall apart in his life. He arrives back after being exiled for many years to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived

So don't under estimate the power of your connections. So my first advice is; get out there and start building connections, in person, on the phone, on the internet, in online groups, you get my point. No man is an Island and that is something I came to quickly realize.

in his village and he has to find a way to find his footing and become better than he was. And that is very much how I see the 'new world' after COVID-19. We have to start from remembering and finding our footing on those things that were working before COVID and find new ways to adapt them to work for us. We need to ask ourselves; What are the core fundamentals of the new world? What I mean by this is; What is the language of the new world? What are we hearing them say over and over again? And then discover a way to implement them into our business as much as possible so we don't get left behind, but still keeping our core voice and message.

PGMAG: How would you describe your style of leadership?

RAP: Don't listen to a word I say. There're a lot of people trying to be leaders and I'm not one of them. I'm just trying to practice what I preach and what I believe works for me in my brand of life and if what I'm doing inspires you in some way and it benefits your life, then I've done my job of being a productive human, who's trying to make a difference one step at a time.

PGMAG: What is your message to those who are struggling to find their place in the marketplace?

RAP: Don't give up - finding your place takes time. You're not going crazy, there is nothing wrong with you, it's what I call 'A PROCESS'. When I was on my journey of trying to find my place in the marketplace, it was when I went through a mental break down after suffering a huge loss in my life and believing there was no way out. I went through a year of depression and I just became stuck, this was 15 years ago. And what started me on my journey of personal development and to eventually starting my business, was the simple thought - one day while laying down on my couch which I was doing practically every single day at that time. The simple thought just came to me of "It's Okay" 'Life is Okay" It's supposed to be a journey and a journey isn't supposed to be smooth. So as I told myself that faithful day, I tell you 'It's okay' 'Life is okay' Begin from there and then do the steps I shared with you above. Start by discovering your ‘Why’ and everything will flow from there. Business is not just about the bottom line it's about being aligned with ourselves, as founders and business owners so we can build and create businesses that truly make a difference and an impact in the world. And then and only then that you can begin to carve out a marketplace for yourself.

PGMAG: What are the top three books that changed your life?

RAP: I'm still on a journey of personal development and I try to listen to at least 2 books a month as I'm so busy now to stop and read. But the one book that changed my life and it's changing my life still today. My husband and I re-read it every year it's called 'The Master Key System' by Charles

Don't give up - finding your place takes time. You're not going crazy, there is nothing wrong with you, it's what I call 'A PROCESS'.

Haanel. I've read many books but this one has really changed my life.

PGMAG: Who would be your ideal lunch date, and what would be the topic of discussion?

RAP: That would have to be Oprah Winfrey. And the topic of conversation would be on how does she keep her heart of love for people and what she does so youthful and intact? I would want to know her secret to her still after 2 decades doing what she does so well with the same sense of passion, excitement dedication and love that I saw in her when I was a young child watching her on TV. She's such an inspiration to me and to so many of us.

PGMAG: If you know what you know now, what would you do differently?

RAP: I would look for a mentor quicker and much earlier

on, on my entrepreneurship development. And a mentor doesn't necessary have to be another human being. But I would have started the process of investing in my personal education, rather than blindly trying to work things out myself for far too long.

PGMAG: What makes you laugh?

RAP: My husband makes me laugh. He has such a funny way of turning lemons of life into lemonade and it's very infectious. Life never gets him down for too long.

PGMAG: Thank you for your time today. You have been a brilliant guest and we wish you good report as you travel in life. Please share your links with our readers.

RAP: Thank you so much for having me it has been a pleasure. I wish Powerhouse Global Magazine every new path of opportunity and possibilities as you continue to do your amazing work. Yes, your readers can find out more about me by visiting my website and my social media accounts.

Rachael Academy: https:// www.rachaelacademy.com

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Rachael A. Phillips Consultancy: http://www.rachaelaphillips. com

If you would like help with any aspect of your entrepreneurial journey you can also reach out to me: https://www. rachaelacademy.com/send-mea-message/