Liska Wilson, a 2011 graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, returned to Siena to share her experience as a “serial entrepreneur.” While she is now successful in doing what she loves, it wasn’t always this way for Wilson.
“I had a job lined up after graduation at a management company and was pregnant with my daughter.” Just as she was getting into the swing of things at her job, she found herself pregnant and unemployed. “I was a stay at home mom for an entire year before looking for another opportunity.”
Wilson then decided to start her first business, a not-for-profit called “She’s a Boss.” The business began on Facebook in 2012, and Wilson has been working on it ever since. After she got back in the groove, she began looking for other jobs. She worked at a consignment clothing store, at a virtual internship, and at a bank as a part-time teller before finding what she thought was her “dream job.”
“Growing up, I dreamed of dressing up to go to work every day,” Wilson said. As a marketing assistant at a bank, this is exactly what she got to do. However, she soon realized that it was not everything that she hoped it would be. Despite not feeling fulfilled, Wilson kept her 9-5 job with the bank, while switching her focus to her “passion project” after-hours.
In 2015, she was published in Women@Work magazine for her work on She’s a Boss.
“While 2015 was a year of fantastic opportunities, it was also a year full of personal turmoil.”
Fast forward to 2016 and Wilson found herself in a new role. “The good relationships I had from previous jobs and internships created a connection for me with Performance Industrial,” Wilson said. She described this job as her “real dream job.”
“In 2017 I was a girl on fire. I was published in HerLife magazine and was really owning my own life. I just had a burning desire to be my own boss,” said Wilson.
Wilson recently hit her stride in 2018, starting her second venture, Velvet Rope Group, a business that creates original events for socialites in the Albany area. In addition to her work on Velvet Rope Group and She’s a Boss, Wilson has been spending most of her time working on her family’s pack and ship store, “Busy Day Mailbox Business Center.”
Wilson concluded by sharing her “3 Keys to Success” with students.
“First, you must have a strong vision and goals. Stick up for what you want and hold your goals close. Second, network your tail off. Relationships and connections get you what you want because your network determines your net worth. Lastly, realize the value of mentors and sponsors. Hold close the people that make you realize that it is all about what you can do for somebody, not what they can do for you.”
