Founding Badass Alexis Dent
The community of “badass women” known as IC WIC today, are happy to thank Alexis Dent to be one of the founding members of this group. On Wednesday September 27th, we got to Skype with Alexis to hear about the roots of this club, how she graduated into the corporate world, and then rejected it all to enjoy the freedom of working for herself. Alexis is an IMC graduate, from the class of 2014. Freshman year, her friend heard about NYWICI’s fabulous Student Career Conference, and asked Dean Gayeski for help and funding to get there. Alexis used the conference to dip her feet in the marketing world, as she left feeling empowered and wanting to start her own community of “badass women” in the field, known as IC Women in Communications today.
Six years later, she told our group about the cautionary tale of not getting so caught up in the “plan” of your life. She left IC with a music marketing job lined up, and thought the corner office was just around the corner. However, she felt her mental health suffering a lot by missing college days and not loving her working conditions. Afraid to tell her parents, she quit her first job on a whim, and enrolled in an entrepreneurship program because she always knew she wanted to work for herself one day. From this experience, she learned some of the best advice; learn to fail quickly. She told us that you’re always going to have ideas, and you’ll recognize which ones are great pretty early on.
Since leaving the corporate world, Alexis has followed her passions on her own terms. She spends time as a freelance writer for many renowned publications, and has even published her own poetry book, titled “Everything I Left Behind” inspired by her severe anxiety, She followed a dream she has had since was was little, which was to publish a book by the age of 25. She did it by 24. Additionally, she owns a leggings brand and a custom vow writing company, where they write everything from maid of honor speeches to wedding hashtags.
Through a series of happy accidents, Alexis has found self-employment to be the best route for her. It has been great for her professional confidence, as she no longer feels put down by reporting to someone else and finds that building something from the ground up is rewarding. She also enjoys living her life on her own schedule, as work-life balance is a huge component of her career. She recommends having set work hours, and only adjusting for emergencies. She also prioritizes self care and choosing to be around people who make you happy.
Alexis has always believed in standing up for your personal beliefs and advocating for yourself. This ties into her view on branding, and the idea that we commonly get too caught up in needing to separate professional and personal. She advised to have professional brand messages supported by personal beliefs. She brands herself as the “Queen of the Clapback,” and says that you have to know who you are and be it. During our Skype she said, “you’re never gonna like me if you don’t like the things I care about.” This ties into her experiences on social media, where she believes in being honest. It helps you stand out in the eyes of employers, and your brand is going to be the only thing you own, so make it yours and don’t hide.
Networking on social media has been a big part of Alexis’s experiences. Before college, she started a Twitter account where she wrote about Justin Bieber through a trusted source. She was the first to break the massive news about Justin dating Selena Gomez. She used this platform to learn about networking and gain a following for her projects now. One incredibly cool project she’s working on is talking with Lena Dunham about her relationship with Taylor Swift (how cool is that!!)
Overall, Alexis left IC WIC with some pretty powerful advice. In the corporate world, she told us to not feel small for your boss, friend, partner, or anyone. Self improvement comes from communities, just like WIC. In fact, she thanks WIC for connections around the world, empowering females, and three bridesmaids.
Thank you Alexis for the remarkable advice, fun stories, and for founding a club that so many of us depend on and thrive in here at IC!
