#92 Mercedes Benson: Be Your Best Self

Hello and welcome to Season 3 of the Wanna Be Podcast. The podcast that takes you from where you are now to where you wanna be in 30 minutes or less.For any of you listening I have a simple request. Get your phone out, head to Instagram and search @Contentisqueenhq and check out our new branding, typography and colour palette! I want to know what you think of it so leave comments or emojis on your fave colour combos. I love Indigo and Oatmeal.A quick notice for any aspiring or current podcasters listening, if you’re looking for a cosy and affordable professional studio space head on over to contentisqueen.org to join the waitlist for our space.Right, time to get onto what you came here for. Today’s guest is the personification of a multi-potentialite (refer to episodes 11 and 12 with Emilie Wapnick to learn more about multipotentialites). Back to Mercedes- Mercedes is the Brand Partnerships manager at Complex, a host and personality on Heels Off, a DJ- she’s DJ’d for some of the biggest names in the industry including Jaden Smith and Tiwa Savage and she’s an influencer and the Founder of Social Fixt.Mercedes inspiration to start this business was built out of frustration. At the age of 24 she had the most amazing opportunity to work for the biggest tech company in the world. Once she arrived she realised very soon that she would be 1 of 1. Mercedes wanted to see other people like herself in boardrooms and in the ideation meetings. To solve this problem, Mercedes founded Social Fixt which uses social media to list jobs in the creative industry in the Facebook group and on the website. She also hosts events that encourage the BAME community to 'know their worth'.I caught up with Mercedes at Red Bull Amaphiko to get the tea on how she finds the team to do it all and then some. In this episode we talk about focus, time management, diversifying your income, growing a brand, embracing being watched by others and behind the scenes of being an influencer. Let’s dive in! When Mercedes said people can be watching you to big you up, I was immediately  in my feelings! Isn’t that the absolute best way to look at life. There are so many people that want to see you win, yet social media will have you feeling scared to step out and share your gifts. No more- you’ve got this! You can find Mercedes on Instagram @mercedesfbenson and Social Fixt on Facebook Twitter and Instagram @SocialFixtJust a reminder that I’ll  be opening a members-only recording studio for podcasters in South London! If you’re interested head to contentisqueen.org to join the waiting list.For updates on Wanna Be follow Content is Queen on Twitter @ContentisQn and Instagram @contentisqueenhq.If you’re enjoying this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share it with a friend via your insta-stories.To get extended show notes listing the tools and resources we’ve talked about on this episode visit wannabepodcast.com.Thank you to the team at Red Bull for arranging this interview! This podcast is proudly a Content Is Queen Production. It has been lovingly edited and put together by Ellie Clifford. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.