Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Sullivan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Katie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have always been a work-a-holic and wanting to do my own thing so after my father passed away in 2014, I decided to do what I truly wanted to do in life. I moved to Pittsburgh in 2015 and started my own digital marketing agency. Fast forward a few years too early 2018 and I became founder and CEO of Safe Haven LGBT.
Safe Haven LGBT is a suicide prevention and awareness non-profit aimed to lessen the suicide rate within the community. Did you know that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death within the LGBT teen community?
We are an online anonymous chat based peer to peer platform that you can come to for advice, just to vent, or seeking information.
It took a lot of hard work and ups and downs to get where I am now.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No. Ha. It sure has not been a smooth road. I have run into every struggle possible but I am grateful that I have for the sole reason of what I have learned about myself and how to run a successful company.
You name it and I have been through it, losing a top paying client, losing funding for an event, being broke 600 miles away from home, a brief stint of homelessness, the list goes on and on.
My advice to you takes all those downs and use them to fuel your fire. Don’t let anything burn out that passion for your company or journey. There will be more downs than ups during the beginning but that is okay, you would much rather have them happen now than five-ten years down the road.
Please tell us about Safe Haven LGBT/SK Marketing Group.
So I own two companies. SK Marketing Group & Safe Haven LGBT. One an LLC and the other a non-profit.
My marketing company is not your regular company, we take 45% of the profits and put it towards building state of the art homeless shelters in the major metropolitan areas.
Safe Haven is all about suicide prevention and awareness. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the LGBT teen community, we are here to lessen that statistic. We are an online anonymous chat based peer to peer platform available 24/7/365. We have talk leaders all over the world that are available to talk to about anything and everything. We also are trying to make the community safer and bring more equality to the world, the way we are doing that is by our extensive community resources section. Whether you are looking for transitioning information, coming out, AA meetings, NA meetings, or new doctors we have it all in one place broken down by state and soon country.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
Mindset.
We as females already know that we are the underdogs going into anything in more ways than one. If we go into anything with the mindset that we are equal or better than traditional male leadership, we would be able to stand our ground more. The outlook on life is all about the mindset, change that to the positive and you are already ahead of the game.
Pricing:
- Instagram Mgmt – $350
- Facebook Mgmt – $1k + ad spend
- Pinterest Mgmt – $250
- Safe Haven LGBT Website Ad Space – $50/yr
- Basic Website Design & Development – $500 then $60 a month
- Google AdWords – $500
Contact Info:
- Address: 333 Bailey Ave Pittsburgh PA 15211
- Website: www.skmarketinggroup.com www.safehavenlgbtq.com
- Phone: 412-389-0911
- Email: katie@safehavenlgbtq.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/safehavenlgbtqapp
- Facebook: facebook.com/safehavenlgbtq
- Twitter: twitter.com/safehavenlgbtq
Image Credit:
Caitlin Manning & Eric Toal
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager 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.
