By definition, Malliha Ahmad is an ARTIST. With an eye for visuals and a digital marketing savvy that’d put Seth Godin on his toes, she’s leveraged her skills to collaborate with BIG BRANDS including GUESS, 21Ninety, United Nations, and Fashion One.  As a Style Blogger, Influencer and owner of Social Media Creative Agency, Guud Social, she took a few to answer questions and provide insight into entrepreneurship.What DEFINITIVE moment did you realize you were living your passion?I felt like I was living my passion when I started to work with brands that I aligned with. I also knew that this was my passion because it allowed for freedom and flexibility (which is paramount in my life). Are entrepreneurs born or made?  

I think that entrepreneurs are both. You can be born with the sauce or you can learn the ingredients and emulate it.

Working with BIG brands like Guess and The United Nations, what’s the biggest piece of advice you’d give an up and comer looking to collab with big names?The biggest advice I would give is to believe in yourself. Don’t ever second guess if you have what it takes to kill it! These brands want you for YOU, so don’t compromise. Show them your full creativity and bring all of your ideas to the table. How did your education at The School of Visual Arts sharpen your Marketing skill set?My education at SVA allowed for me to have a design mind and to tell a story visually in a captivating manner.

With women entrepreneurs on the rise in 2019, how can other women get started in entrepreneurship?

• Find a mentor

• Read business, leadership, marketing, and finance books

• Surround yourself with entrepreneurs

• Create a plan

• Visualize where you want to be and write it down

• Write down your goals and how it feels to attain those goals

What’s the ONE thing every business owner needs in 2019?A killer content strategy. This is sooo necessary (if you’re in the game to win it!).  Ask yourself, how do you want to connect with your audience? What’s your tone? How do you want them to view you? How do you want them to feel after they digest your content? Think about every way that you want to draw in your audience (emotionally). For a NEW entrepreneur with a low budget, what marketing strategies would you tell them to implement first?

• Think about what story you want to tell
• Create a customer portrait
• Create your brand deck
• Define your competition
• Create a blog (build SEO and start to become a thought leader in your industry)
• Put your articles on LinkedIn as well
• Email Marketing - start a weekly newsletter (gain your subscribers via IG or FB ads)
• Launch FB Ads (utilize a small budget to start)
• Create Webinars

Describe the feeling of booking your FIRST deal/clientIt feels like confirmation. And what I mean by that is… it’s confirmation that I’m aligned with what I need to be doing. Confirmation that I can do this! When I got my first client, I felt like I opened up a new book and I couldn’t wait to read each chapter. What are 5 of your must USE tools for productivity in your business?

• Google Drive, Planoly, Schedulgram, Dropbox, & Hootsuite

When it comes to MONEY, what are some ways entrepreneurs can hire, scale and control their efforts?You can hire interns (pay them a small stipend), work with freelancers, and create a commission structure for your team. Each time someone from your team brings in a client give them a royalty or a commission. This will help your business scale and your team will be happy because they’re making money.

What’s the ONE business book EVERY entrepreneur should read?So many to choose from… hmmm. I love Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuk

Lastly, how do you spend your downtime?Meditating, creating, dancing, yoga, and writing. To connect with Malliha, you can visit:https://www.guudsocial.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mallihaahmad/https://www.instagram.com/malliha/