Meet Sierra Scott

We were lucky to catch up with Sierra Scott recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sierra, thank you so much for making time for us today. We can’t wait to dive into your story and the lessons you’ve learned along the way, but maybe we can start with something foundational to your success. How have you gone about developing your ability to communicate effectively?

I was a pre-K and kindergarten teacher’s aid during my late teens & I babysat quite a bit, and anyone who has spent any time with children knows you DO NOT tell them anything you don’t 100% mean because they will take whatever you say and run with it. Think telling a kid “5 more minutes” will get them out of your face for a bit & give you time to focus? Think again. If the kid can’t tell time, 5 minutes might as well be 5 seconds and they’ll be back in your face before you know it. If they can tell time & you’re taking longer than 5 minutes… get ready for sulk town & to never hear the end of how you lied.

So I always try to keep my communication concise and as truthful as possible so there are as few misinterpretations as possible. I also try to use common language or I’ll immediately explain when I use technical jargon, because we all come from different backgrounds and I’d rather someone stop me & tell me they already know what something is, if they do, rather than potentially feel weird about asking the meaning of something or deciding “it’s a dumb question” and not asking at all.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a software developer with a background in entertainment. So currently I have a YouTube channel called @ITGirlll where I talk about tech things and my journey going to Western Governors University, but because of my entertainment background, I also have a Talent Agency called Youth Brand Talent Agency, which represents youthful talent in the areas of commercial and print, and a Creative Agency called Acline Creative that specializes in business branding.

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?

Consistency, or lack thereof in my case… The smartest people are those who are consistent – and this is a case where it’s something I’ve seen others do really well & still struggle with on my own. I’m more of a ‘whatever I’m interested in at the moment is my goal’ sort of person & for building a community or following, consistency is definitely key. So learn from my mistake on that one readers & be consistent lol.

Don’t worry about what other people think & take as much time as you need to hone your craft or do your thing. As you get good at whatever it is you’re doing, the right people and opportunities will find you.

Lastly (and most importantly), failure is beautiful. Not many people become savants overnight & there’s almost always a learning curve, but that’s okay. Ask the ‘dumb” questions. If you think you know the answer, but aren’t sure, try anyways. Develop hypothesis & test them out. Take risks and see what would happen if you just gave it a shot. Even if we fail, we learn.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I hate this question because there are SOOO many amazing books I’ve read in my life & they each had such wonderful takeaways…

There’s this book series I was really into as a teen though called “Fearless” by Francine Pascal; which was about a young woman, named Gaia, who was born without the fear gene. There’s a lot of intrigue & it’s a thriller, but the thing I found most interesting was how Gaia ultimately became this bad a** in situations that would freak most people out. It made me start asking myself what would I be capable of if I wasn’t afraid?

I speak to a lot of people and they like to tell me things they’re planning to do or would like to do but can’t because of x,y, or z, and it’s just fear. Fear of failure. Fear of not having this or that, or giving up this or that… fear of change… So these little YA “Fearless” books, taught me that fear will keep you from so many things and you are actually capable of so much, so don’t let fear get in the way.

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Image Credits

(Copper shirt photo) Photographer Perla Maarek, (Pink dress photo) Photographer Leonidas Jaramillo

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