We had the good fortune of connecting with Cara Pressley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cara, why did you pursue a creative career?
I worked for the federal government for 20 years. During that time I learned who I could be professionally, while I was evolving personally. Everyone has an impact point, it’s that thing that stops you on the inside while window shopping to say “hey we need this in our lives”!

As an analyst & public affairs specialist by trade, I understood exactly what others needed to learn, and what engagement / communication strategies mattered the most, so individuals could exceed expectations.

However, the more I taught at my job, and saw my students learn something new and see things in new ways, the business side of training & reaching my boss’ goals were no longer interesting to me.

While working, I began to work with Red Table Talk on the side and had grown a Facebook community to over 100k. The actual act of guiding and cheering others on along the way while providing successful resources to assist on their journey was now my goal. That journey + Social Media + COVID + discussions via Red Table Talk helped me understand more about my role in the lives of others.

I found my impact point through my career, I fell in love with individual Evolution of others in real time! I now help adults identify what they truly want and need in their business.

Red Table Talk RVA? Tell us more about The Career Cheerleader & your online community?
I am in year one of my entrepreneurship journey I am excited for my future, and although the path is new then passion is what I do. This role is not new for me, and I’m excited to transparently share it with others. I share the story about the week I retired from the Government. I transitioned on a Wednesday, and was at Jada Pinkett Smith’s house by Friday celebrating an Emmy Win. God is good. But it didn’t happen over night and I promise you the 4 year journey was better than this grand event & Emmy win!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well I am a Virginia tourism ambassador, so if a friend was visiting for a week we would stop and visit the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. We could stop by the Botanical Gardens, or we could go to the metro zoo. We could even visit the rumors of war statue by Kehinde Wiley at the Virginia Museum of fine arts. After some successful sight seeing, we would eat at local places such as Southern Kitchen, or Nu Vegan for our plant based peeps. Lulu’s Sunday Brunch is amazing, or we could stop by Brewers Café or Tang & Biscuit in Scott’s Addition before the weekend ends. And before they leave (because we ate so good) we would have to workout outside at least once in the park with Vern CEO of @YNTBFIT .

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost giving honor and glory to none other than God above then my parents, my son (TJ) , and my Facebook Family the Group Red Table Talk RVA! This group is our global safe space for men, women, parents, entrepreneurs to come, share , and tap into our culture (and of course we share a few funny memes). We will continue to share our transparent stories of our human journeys, and I hope we continue to inspire others along the way!

I hope to connect with you all soon! You can catch me on The Successful Podcast (your favorite bite sized podcast) on Anchor, Apple, & Spotify AND Thursday mornings on The Barry Farmer Morning Show for my “Let’s Ask Cara” segment. Until we meet again, Stay Successful my friends!

Website: www.CaraPressley.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/TheCareerCheerleader

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carajpressley

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/The1Cheering4U

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/209458979834779/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC4EW4QAbaVbG9AaxqoLTyRA

Image Credits
Connie McGowin

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