For Sevetri Wilson, the word “yes” has been key to her success.
As Business Report details in a feature from its new issue, Wilson, the founder and CEO of Solid Ground Innovations, says she has only been able to build her public relations business over the past seven years because of the yeses she has received from others along the way. “You need people to tell you yes to accomplish your goals at the end of the day,” she explains. That’s why Wilson places a special emphasis on helping her clients learn the art of yes though paying it forward.
In 2015, SGI ranked seventh on LSU’s annual listing of the 100 fastest growing alumni-led businesses, and Wilson anticipates more room for growth. She has her sights set on opening a third office in Washington, D.C., to further expand her firm’s scope of work into the federal contracting space.
She also plans to launch a product spinoff, creating a new company separate from SGI in the form of a web-based compliance platform for tax-exempt organizations.
In 2009, Wilson founded SGI as a nonprofit management consulting agency. Since then, she has added private sector services, providing traditional public relations and marketing assistance as well as helping businesses embrace corporate social responsibility.
Within SGI exist two arms of the business. SGI Cares operates primarily as an organizational support and management team for clients, which helps organizations implement and complete projects. At the same time, SGI provides traditional marketing, advertising and digital media support.
Whether working in the private or public sector, Wilson uses her experience in understanding communities to identify where their needs intersect with the mission of her clients. “So we look at corporate social responsibility as a true means to an end as we are talking about marketing and advertising,” Wilson says.
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