Meet Kharissa Love | Entrepreneur, Creative Director, Model, Writer, Photographer, Holistic Care Enthusiast

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

Hi Kharissa, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Well I always knew I wanted to have my own business one day for as long as I could remember, but in my heart I knew I would always end up being some type of entertainer so I never really thought much about it until I was in college for media. Once I was exposed to the logistics, structure, and the experience of being in the media world for the big companies, I immediately knew it wasn’t for me. After graduating, the idea to start my own media company only grew stronger and stronger as I came back home to the LA area and was sure I had no interest in falling trapped into the growling process of working for the big names. My mom always taught me that there is nothing in this world that I can’t achieve if I put my mind to. My older brother used to constantly tell me, “if you believe, you will achieve,” growing up and it wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly realized the value in those words. So I ran this idea with my co-founder of No 9 To 5 Media, which gave me the confidence I needed to really bring the vision to life and follow my intuition on how to grow my own company.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
No 9 To 5 Media is a multimedia company for creative of all kind to have a reliable network to provide their work for compensation and build their audience for their talents. The company is still young so I can’t say too much about it yet but soon the actions will speak for itself. When I started this company back in 2019, my goal was to build as I go and just put out my work hoping to encourage other creatives to join in the mission. As I took the time to educate myself on entrepreneurship, I learned that without careful and calculated planning my business wouldn’t live to see another year so I’m really happy to be at this point of my journey to really be building with the right intentions. As a creative, I’ve build a loyal little following of people who love the work that I do and encourage me to put out more creative work, but at some point in the last year, I had to be honest with myself about my intentions of my purpose and my career and really lock in on the fact that I’m proudly an entrepreneur at heart. My goals are strictly to build something bigger than myself and really for communities that would’ve never been given opportunities to follow their purpose otherwise. For my fans of my creative side, I promise I’ll get back to that work in time, but for now I have to follow my instincts and work to build work for others. I really encourage all entrepreneurship and business owners to find their rhythm and patience in their goals. Building a business is not easy at all. For some it might take a year and others a decade to really see their business where they have planned it to be, but I promise with self-motivation, determination, and faith, you will get your goal!

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.
Honestly I’m a pretty go with the flow type of women so my best friend would already know that we will just go where the party is at or make our own party in the simplest and most effective way. I’m actually a native of the outskirts of LA County so I do think that there is so much to see outside of LA. I would probably go out to downtown Santa Ana because there is this amazing night life there and so much culture that the locals are trying to keep within that community. Since I’m already in the OC, why not take a little trip to the Anaheim packing district where there is a large selection of amazing food and dessert places and if that’s not working for my friend, we’ll go to downtown Disney and get it poppin’ with Mickey and Minnie. I’ll then take a trip to Claremont where they have the cutest little crystal shop to restore the good energy and frequencies amongst us. There is a great hiking trail near by, and everyone who knows me knows I need to get a workout in, so a nice way to get some views and get a sweat in. I’ve been a tennis fanatic lately and there is a great court in Long Beach so I would also force my friend into a match but reward him/her with a relaxing afternoon at the beach and maybe some Thai from a local Thai spot near by, I forgot the name but the Green Papaya Salad was unforgettable. And if we must hit up LA, I would definitely hit up The Alleys for some shopping and great Peruvian food!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to start my shoutout to my good friend and the co-founder of No 9 To 5 Media, Donte. Without him, I don’t know where this business idea will be. I’m just really happy to have such an influence in my life like him because he really is such a go getter and does so much for what he believes in so I’m proud of what we’ve built together and the freedom he’s encouraged me to have to continue to build on my own as he puts his energy to his other passions. I also have to show a lot of love to the legendary Jarvis Neely. If you don’t know the name now, you definitely will. To me he is the definition of passion and hard work. He is always looking for new ways to expand his talents and to maximize on all things he sees possible. And I truly can’t express in words how much his belief in me means to me; I know I always have an ally in him. Also shoutout to my amazing friend Caitlin, who helped me build No Print in 2019 and is working to help me reboot it to bring so much more to that publication. Thank you to my family as well because they have so much faith in my success and see me as the big entrepreneur that I’m not yet so it’s so comforting to be highly valued by them despite still being in the beginning of my entrepreneurship. Also huge thanks to the ladies of BADSK, you all always make me feel so loved and never make me feel like I can’t do it even though I know y’all and me are still trying to figure out how the hell am I going to build this company from the ground up. Thank you to my friend Stanley for truly being an amazing talent, teaching me how to have a better vision, informing me on what’s hot and new, and constantly being a rock for me in going after what I know I can obtain. And lastly, I have to of course thank Willy! This guy is always putting me on even when I have nothing to put on. He always is helping me elevate on my goals and is a great confidant. I’m really happy to have him a part of my circle of influence. Also read The Power of Broke, Think and Grow Rich, and The Art of War! All very influential books to my style of entrepreneurship.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/no9to5mediaco/

Twitter: twitter.com/No9To5Media1

Image Credits
Solo shoot photos shot and edited by me. Last Photo: Shot and edited by Stanley Ray/ Written by me