Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasmine Stith.
Jasmine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I go by “The Pretty Plug” where my mission is to inform the uninformed. I know that information is not circulated to every area code I know this all too well. I’m from a small town – Pine Bluff, AR and I know that there are not everyday conversations on starting businesses, pursuing college, and being more than what you see every day within your family. That’s a problem and I want to be the solution that highlights greatness to inspire and inform anyone anywhere willing to listen (this is my brand name).
This is how I started the Walk By Faith Movement…
It all started on Snapchat when I decided to record my steps walking while I was on my way to class. At the time, I had been believing God for multiple things. I was like a lot of young believers who called on God when things got tough and only starting seeking after him because I wanted something from him.
I started recording my steps and that’s where things got interesting. Every day, I would put “Walk By Faith” on my Snapchat not thinking anything of it but rather inspiring myself to keep the faith. After about six months of being consistent I started to shift my thinking from “God I want something from you to God I’m following you regardless if you decide to give me what I think I want.”
That was 2015… it is now 2018 and I can say it is a true movement. The evolution began when I started interviewing Entrepreneurs, Organization Leaders and sharing positive things people were doing to impact the community. I started doing interviews on the campus of PVAMU during my last semester of college. I wanted to keep it going when I left PVAMU, but I knew that I was moving to NYC and finding a camera crew, team, and staying consistent was going to be hard as I found my new balance of working full time while still having the same passions to expand my platform.
I was introduced to Anchor, a podcasting platform, and the rest was history. I have since completed my first season and I’m starting my non-profit organization “The Walk By Faith Movement” that seeks to inspire the young and old to pursue their dreams and walk in their purpose.
Has it been a smooth road?
I had to learn how to do things on a global scale. Let me explain what that means.
I started out at PVAMU (I knew lots of people there, I was comfortable. I could interview people for days just on my campus relationship alone).
I moved to NYC in 2017 after graduation. (I became the small fish in a big pond and I had to learn how to swim.) I had to start using technology to become the intersection between people so that no matter where I was located I could still tell their stories and complete it with a high level of execution. I had to learn how to strategically network where people took me seriously. In NYC everyone is trying to be someone and do something. One thing that helped me stand out was that I executed. A lot of people are all talk and no action, we call them “Wantrepreneurs”, but my advice to all women out there is to move from Wanting to do something and actually DO IT – Like Nike would say!
I started joining an organization like “The New York Urban League Young Professionals”, engaging with The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority chapters here in Harlem and Brooklyn and honestly just being curious.
If you are shy and timid in networking events you are holding your business and people that care about you down because you have to have an even balance of sophistication, aggressiveness and follow up to truly secure the bag.
I now can complete my side hustle anywhere as long as my phone has a connection and my laptop has a wifi connection. My team is global. We are located in Arkansas, Texas, and NYC. We can’t be defined by our location anymore because technology is the solution for all scaling issues your business can have in the future.
Top Advice: Network Strategically and Authentically. Write your vision down and EXECUTE! Don’t talk about it be about it and pick a network of people that will support you in all directions.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Pretty Plug: The Walk By Faith Movement / New Venture: Faith Tech Grow, LLC story. Tell us more about the business.
– Ability to adapt to multiple environments.
– My vision started out on Snapchat and has now evolved into three parts. (Technology Consulting Company, Nonprofit organization and in the future a venture capital arm that invest strategically in Underrepresented Communities and entrepreneurs).
– I have been very consistent on social media just building my brand little by little. I want to do it organically and I want to be able to show people that they can come from small places and make it to the center stage where their passions and visions align with a foundation of FAITH.
– I’m the Pretty Plug, my story alone will shock you because as a Southern Belle I was never selected to be the most likely to succeed in school or thought that I would even execute on my dreams but I’m doing it. I am the direct representation that you don’t need titles to be successful. You just need faith, discipline and a vision to execute.
– I am the brand, I am also everything that God has said I would be through his word and my success will be a reflection of his best when you truly choose to Walk with him for the rest of your life.
– I want to attract those that don’t believe and show them that God is real everything has a purpose and building his kingdom is definitely a goal one day at a time.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Favorite Podcasts – Sarah Jakes Roberts – Woman Evolve (Faith); Goal Digger Podcast – Jenna Kutcher (Business Development); The Dave Ramsey Show (Financial Freedom); The GaryVee Audio Experience (Social Media and Brand Excellence/Expansion)
Apps – Anchor (Podcasting One stop shop for greatness) ; Instagram; Cash App/Venmo (I hate carrying cash, it’s just irrelevant to me at this point, lol); Google Calendar (If it’s not in my calendar; I can’t commit to it. I’m very good with my time management.)
Books – The Bible (everything I need to know is located in this living text); Becoming the Woman God wants me to be – Donna Patrow; Outliers Book by Malcolm Gladwell
Contact Info:
- Email: jasminestith@gmail.com
- Instagram: __theprettyplug ; wbfpodcast
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jastheprettyplug/
- Twitter: @__theprettyplug / wbfpodcast
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/jasminestith
Image Credit:
Pictures with me in yellow shirt: Kristen Wells-Lewis, Graphic: Maiya Chinonye (Maiya’s Media), Picture with me holding the phone: Kiana Shine, Photo with Roy G. Perry: On The Yard Magazine (PVAMU)
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
