Meet Yannique Ivey | Content Creator & Tech Girlie

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

Hi Yannique, how do you define success?
I love this question – mainly because my idea of success has changed so much in this past year. Presently, I see success as less of an end goal, and more of an invitation to continue to improve upon who I was yesterday. Success, to me, means finding peace with where you are whilst embracing the discomfort that comes with chasing your dreams.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always wanted to share who I am with the world. The rise of social media made that possible. Anyone, anywhere, at any time can pick up a phone and share their light with whomever is willing to watch. When my life took an unexpected turn, I decided it was time to take action and begin doing something completely out of my comfort zone. I love people and I love building community. I couldn’t think of any better way to connect with the masses than by picking up a camera and sharing bits and pieces of myself. The thought was simple, the was execution harder, and the consistency has proven to be the hardest. The only thing I knew going into this is that if I wanted anything out of it, I was going to have to commit – and commit I will. I’ve always viewed myself as somewhat of a “personality”. I feel that we all have a purpose on this earth, and I know connecting with people through being my most authentic self has always been a strong-suit of mine. Making a career by doing what I want, being who I am, and trusting that that’s enough is a dream come true! It wasn’t the easiest decision to make, in fact, it was likely the hardest, most nerve wracking life transition I’ve ever had to make. I’d been wanting to get into content creation for a while and made every excuse under the sun as to why I couldn’t get started – then I was let go from my job. The normal reaction to such a shocking event is normally sadness, anger, or confusion. For me, it was relief. I had finally gotten the sign (and the push) I needed to dive headfirst into what I really wanted to do – so I did just that.

I cannot go without mentioning that I’ve struggled with the feeling of wanting to give up. More than I’d like to admit, honestly. I guess you never really know if you should keep going, but that’s where faith and determination come in to pick up the slack. I’m still in what I’d consider the beginning of my journey, and I’d be doing myself a disservice if I were to give up this early in the game. I’ve already created this idea of what I want my life to look like, and giving up just isn’t going to cut it.

This journey has allowed me to sit with a lot of discomfort, and one thing that was constantly tested was my risk tolerance – I used to be so risk-averse. In this space, everything you do is a risk. What if I flop? What if I don’t get the brand deal? What if they don’t accept my counter-offer? Likeee? If I spent all of my time worried about the risks associated with the task, I wouldn’t get anything done! Don’t get me wrong, I still get super nervous and I’m constantly in my head, but ain’t nothing to it but to do it. Taking risks in my career has translated to me taking risks in other facets of my life. I now live life to tell the story of what I’ve done, not what I thought about doing.

Ultimately, I believe the most important factor behind my success is my ability to remain faithful to God in the calm and the storm. I pray so much – probably more than I ever have. I always thank God for what He has done, is doing, and will continue to do. Faith has driven everything that comes my way and I’m forever grateful. I also can’t go without mentioning my support system which consists of both family and friends. They push me to keep going, even through the storms.

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.
I’m definitely not the best person to ask about this, but I have had close friends come and visit me from time to time. Here are a few places we went:

For my competitive friends: Activate Atlanta
For my outdoorsy friends: Stone Mountain
For my social friends: High Frequency Friday @ High Museum
For my Christmas-loving friends: Christkindl Market, then ice skating @ Atlantic Station

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Harriet Ivey – Mother

Tanya Hunter, LCSW – Therapist

“I Hope You Fail” by Pinky Cole

Website: https://linktr.ee/yayasakkara

Instagram: @yayasakkara

Youtube: @yayasakkara

Other: @yayasakkara on TikTok