Today we’d like to introduce you to Garrick Williams Sr.
Hi Garrick, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When you look back on things, you see all the experiences, both wins and losses that led you to this point. You learn how to adapt to your losses and take them as lessons learn. I always looked at it as God preparing me for something greater that I couldn’t see at that moment. Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana I was always into sales, photography, magazines, outdoor media signage, runway events and marketing. I was pretty much all over the place. But when I join the U.S Navy in 97’ and got out in 2001 to go join the U.S Army in 2002 and got out in 2006, that gave me structure and how to put my passions into a vision. Reading business books helped me create a constantly revolving cycle system with a structure that made my business stand out.
One thing I learned quickly in Baton Rouge is that you must be a jack of all trades. You must be able to maneuver and think accurately but quickly because no one is going to help you, so you have to develop a knack of being a jack of all trades in your business. In a city that has limited resources, you have to be to become your own resource in any and everything you do.
My footprint experience led me to learn how to do a lot of things that later was lessons learned and things I took with me. I never want to do something to say I did it. I always wanted to be great and master everything I do. So, while I lived in Baton Rouge, I became a salesman of a lot of products like Cutco knives, Herbalife, organic gold coffee, but none of these complete me. I knew a lot of street ways of doing business, but I needed to learn other ways. I had a hard time with face-to-face sales and the way I was taught was not working for me. So, as I pursued my degree Associates Degree, I started doing standup comedy and host runway events and parties to pay for school. Later I received my Associates in Computer Drafting and Designing, bachelor’s in project management and MBA in Supply Chain Management & Operation and six sigma white and yellow belt certifications. I realize standup help me become a better salesman and a people person.
I went on to work in the oil gas with these degrees because I wanted to learn the business side of the oil and gas business and apply it to my business. So, after the years of traveling and learn the business of oil and gas and attending international supply chain seminar about manufacture products and selling them here in the United States, apply everything to the structure to my business. In 2016, I left my wife and kids to create a residence for my family and move my business to Houston.
It was rough at first, I had an apartment, but it wasn’t ready, so I lived in VA shelter for a few weeks (two months to be exact) until it was ready. On the day of Hurricane Harvey, I went and picked up my family and moved to the woodlands.
I was at a standstill when I moved to Houston/The Woodlands because everything was way different than it was in Louisiana. I never seen a culture surrounded around fitness. Back in Baton Rouge, my environment wad not circle around fitness did not do we see men and women working out or promoting health and fitness. So, when I moved to The Woodlands, it seem like every day was a move. I had to change and reprogram my way of thinking. So, I put my business on hold to and started sponsoring women in the bikini fitness competition. When I started that, I noticed all the different women working out on social media as influencers but not many businesses utilizing the audience they built. So, I went and learn how to bring both business and fitness ladies together. During that time, I also noticed parents was having a hard time getting their kids notice in sports especially with this new NIL (name images & likeness) deals that these kids can get. So, I learn how to build sales funnels, social media campaigns, photography on a commercial platform, how to sale-scale- and-negotiate influencers and high school athletes to businesses. Then I recalled my childhood experience about being able to shoot for outdoor media companies.
In 2020, I re-launch and rebrand my business. 99 Flavors Media PR is the liaison between Entrepreneurs and businesses, Fitness and lifestyle influencers and High school and college athletes. We use a sales funnel diagram to create multiple awareness procedures of their Name, Image, and Likeness. We use the first stage of the sales funnel which is AWARENESS and started placing Places Female fitness influencers and middle/High school athletes on Digital Billboards and other outdoor signage across the USA, Canada, UK, and Mexico to expand their awareness outside of social media. We photograph, created workout fitness influencers and high school performance highlight reels, and place them at gas station tv at the pumps. Then I conducted sales meetings with businesses that needed awareness for their business as well. I presented the high school and some college athletes and female fitness influencers and negotiated a marketing campaign deal that my company launched for that business with the content of the influencers and high school athletes being displayed.
I realize couldn’t put the fitness influencers and high school and college athletes on the same platform or sales presentation. In 2021, during the pandemic I created Glamour Fitness and invested in partnerships such as 4000 digital billboards across the USA with outdoor media companies, Kalling Plays with Kailey (sports podcast in Alabama) and DRSportz Showcase (7 on 7 football tournaments). For the fitness influencers, we created a three-day Glamour Fitness Music Runway Showcase that includes Fitness Combine and marketing and workout seminar. I put this together as a way for businesses to come out and meet and scout influencers for their next marketing project. We hand select 16 glamour fitness influencers. We have 8 slim-fit beach body and 8 curvy fitness athletic. We go city to city and state to present this event. We offer business opportunity to have their business send of digital billboards and one influencer will be selected to be on a digital billboard in New York Time Square.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road but there has been some breakthrough. Not all fitness influencers or people will be interested and that is ok and not all businesses (small to large) want to be on digital billboards or see the benefit of a sale funnel and that is ok. The main thing is to keep pushing, be innovative and be open-minded to hear what needs and gaps that businesses, fitness influencers, and high school and college athletes need and want. Keep travels and doing the runways shows, keep the sales presentations and so on. Most influencers, once they get like over 100k followers, don’t check their emails and social media DMs, so they wouldn’t know if we reach them and nor the opportunity. Businesses are different; they will respond for a sales presentation via zoom, face to face, etc.
As you know, we’re big fans of 99 Flavors Media PR. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
99 Flavors Media PR is a marketing liaison between businesses that need the traffic to their business and quality leads and fitness influencers/high school and college athletes that are looking to build an audience and getting paid influencers or NIL contract assignments from business. We have the capability of placing business, female fitness influencers and high school athletes to over 4000 digital billboards throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.
We do all this through our glamour fitness runway event and fitness combine. We travel from city to city throwing these events. We invite businesses to come and scout the fitness influencers we selected for the event for their campaigns
For high school and college athletes, we invite them to their games and camps to see them play.
Our sale team go and do a sales pitch to these businesses on let us a photograph, write and launch their digital billboards, social media and sale funnel campaign with our fitness influencers or high school and college athletes.
We want readers to know that we strive on locating the best female fitness influencers and the best high school and college athletes that can be an inspiration and influencers and audience that comes off as a great value to a business that is seeking traffic and quality leads/consumers.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I do teach classes from marketing to personal development. I also still do standup from time to time just to see if I still got it. They also are amazed at my photography skill set and how knowledgeable I am about things.
I also take a small percentage of our revenue and give high school and college athletes scholarships money because not all sports give student-athletes full rides.
We also pay either full or a percentage for fitness influencers that want to get their personal trainer certification.
Pricing:
- Digital billboard weekend rate $265 and up
- Digital billboard week rate $668.36 and up
- Digital billboard weekend rate $2,959.88 and up
- Sales funnel $250 and up
- Photoshoot $120 and up
Contact Info:
- Website: www.99flavorsmediapr.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/99flavorsmediapr?igshid=NWRhNmQxMjQ=
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/99flavorselite?s=21&t=eilyEEGPce0SStrKn5jxBg
- Other: https://instagram.com/billboards_media?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Image Credits
Sydney Criss Garrick Williams jr Kenya Morris Bre
