We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rockelle Henderson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rockelle below.
Rockelle , so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Growing up in New York City, and being the youngest of six has definitely contributed to the person I have become. To survive in New York City you must develop a thick skin—especially as a Black woman. Nothing is given to you and you learn early on that you must pursue any and everything in life that you desire for yourself. Though I am more of an introvert than not, I have always understood that the squeaky wheel gets oiled. That said, you will not often find me out front, or bold if you will, but more so getting “it” done, whatever “it” is from behind the scenes. Understanding who I was early on, and having success in the process, has given me the confidence and self-esteem I possess.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Entertainment Marketing has always been a dream of mine. Throughout my professional career I wanted to be part of product launches for major brands. After initially working in advertising for a magazine, I took a marketing position in book publishing and after 16 years working for publishers such as Penguin Random House, Disney, and Harper Collins I stepped out on faith to launch my marketing agency Rock Inked, Inc. Launching my own company has led me to opportunities and partnerships I could not have imagined existed or dreamed of establishing. Today, along with the marketing agency, we have launched a literary agency, Rock Inked Literary, where we represent writers such as the actor/director/producer, Eriq La Salle, award-winning producer Monice Mitchell-Simms, and others who you will soon hear more about. Not only are we working with writers to get their stories told through books, we work on their entire brand. The literary agency also represents writers for film and television. But that’s just the beginning, my partnership with Collective 5 Entertainment—a management and development company—has opened the door to creating content for television and film. We are excited about a recent New York Times’ bestselling book, The Grift by Clay Cane, as well as the development of Wild Meat TV (https://www.wildmeattv.com/) that we see as the next Duck Dynasty type brand. While to some it may appear I’m working in many different areas or working on many different things, it really all comes back to entertainment and marketing.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back, there was one quality that I developed from working with a mentor in publishing. She was tough, but she knew her stuff. I loved learning from her. Working with her taught me to always come with a solution and not a problem. If you don’t have the answer, that’s fine, but at least attempt to find a solution. At that time I was the product manager for Viking/Penguin. It was that position that taught me everything about publishing and running a business. Later in my career I learned the importance of showing up. It was not something I had ever said to myself. But I have noticed how others have benefitted from just showing up. Lastly, just be yourself. People want and respond better to you if you present who you really are in life. Don’t change who you are to fit into someone else’s world. I’m not talking about Code Switching because that’s an entirely different discussion around survival. Just be you.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
It is not easy to avoid becoming overwhelmed in the world we live in now. With everything I have going on, I’m also a caregiver. My advice is to always take at least an hour per day for yourself and away from social media. Just be still and give your brain a chance to recharge. If you are a praying person as I am, take some time out of the day to pray.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://c5entertainment.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collective5entertainment/
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