How was I going to be the Bi-Racial Cindy Crawford as a nobody without a rich famous family?

Fast forward a decade of going on more castings, auditions, and go-sees. Landing some gigs, losing many more in between. Traveling from NYC to Miami to LA to South Africa to Europe and back, living out of suitcases in crowded model apartments and cheap hotels trying to make a name and leave a mark. Modeling can be a really hard life with little stability and no real guarantees.

I think EVERYONE gets the feeling that they want to leave a mark, have a purpose, meaning while making more money and having more freedom.

Life for me changed when I decided to compete as “Miss Jamaica” in the Miss Asia Pacific International competition. I began BRANDING myself with a website, business cards and on social media.

I got out every single book I could find about marketing and branding
I read blogs and articles about sponsorship and business
Every night I’d stay up writing down ideas of how I could promote myself and get people to follow me.

What I learned about marketing and branding myself really paid off. By the time I was headed to China for my first competition I had secured my first sponsorship deal, had made several appearances including public speaking, newspapers, television, and radio.

One of the most notable experiences I learned was how to handle controversy. During the Miss Asia Pacific International 2005 competition in Guangzhou, China I conducted on stage protest regarding the poor treatment of contestants by the organizers. It made front-page newspapers in China.

Throughout my 10 year + pageant career, I’ve held the following titles:

Miss Jamaica International 2005, Miss Asia Pacific International Jamaica 2005, Miss Earth Jamaica 2005, Miss Beauty Queen World Jamaica 2005, Miss Beauty Queen World 2005, Miss Asia USA Israel 2005, Miss Asia USA Yemen 2006, Mrs. Jamaica 2011 and Mrs. Ethnic World International 2012.

It’s been many, many years since I first stepped foot on a pageant stage but I’ll never forget how empowering it was to learn to take charge of my personal brand. Because I chose myself I was able to open doors for others. I was the first Jamaican candidate to compete at Miss Asia Pacific International, Miss Earth and Miss International. Since many girls have followed in my footsteps.