Despite building an extremely successful governmental contracting career in which she rapidly climbed the corporate ladder, attained high-level executive positions and netted a six figure salary, all before reaching the age of 30, Rabiah Sutton felt unfulfilled. After completing her MBA at John Hopkin’s University, Sutton left her corporate position in 2010 to found FWDthink, an award-winning, multi-million-dollar company specializing in information technology(IT) services.
Sutton is now focused on using her expertise as a growth strategist to help individuals and businesses achieve their goals through her personalized coaching platforms and her signature 9-5toCEO online course. Noting a lack of female representation among prominent entrepreneurial influencers, Sutton is also seeking to fill that gap through launching her own podcast and sharing her tips and strategies with her following on social media. Inc. had the opportunity to sit down with Sutton to discuss her unique approach to offering advice, her current projects and her plans for the future.
Q: What sets you apart from other entrepreneurial influencers?
RS: When my clients request consulting services, whether their problems are business or personal, my specialty is to focus 100% of my energy on the solution. We spend as little time as possible focusing on the problem. This approach gives my clients the results that they need in the fastest time possible, using my strategy and training platforms
Q: What problem are you solving within the industry?
RS: I help people find freedom. I do this through offering my advice on business strategy/entrepreneurship, through filling their technology gaps and through coaching them to evolve their mindsets.
Q: How are you solving it better than others?
My approach is different. I advocate for people to start with themselves, their mindset, howthey treat themselves and others around them. I gauge how they are or not tapped into the Law of Attraction and what type of attitude and energy they emit on average. I listen to their wants, desires and goals and then help them identify a strategy to achieve them.
Q: What experience do you have that uniquely benefits you as an entrepreneurial influencer?
RS: I come from a complex background. I was raised by two entrepreneurs so I was able to see how they each operated their businesses differently, what was important to each of them and the positive and negative aspects that their businesses had on their relationship, their family and their finances. Then, I had my own experiences working in both small and large businesses and being part of executive teams as well as doing clerical work. I don’t just understand the theory but also the strategic and tactical aspects. Finally, my superpower is once I understand what your goals are, I automatically see 100 ways for you to monetize and strategically meet your goals.
Q: What services do you provide?
My company FWDthink provides technology support. My 9-5toCEO programs provide the following for individuals and businesses:
Online Courses
Coaching
MasterMinds
Retreats
Q: Who were some of your mentors and inspirations?
RS: My parents, my husband, my children. Mentors and sponsors in corporate jobs Myself, along with my inner being/intuition.
While researching entrepreneurial influencers, I found two whose messages resonated with me, Daymond John and Gary Vaynerchuk. Before they were famous, both Daymond and Gary built businesses from the ground up and they provided tactical advice and spoke about mindset, empathy and kindness. Always focused on the path of least resistance, I figured that face time with them would help me fast track my media strategy. Fast track it did!
In a year, I went from watching Daymond on TV and not knowing who Gary was to:
1. Leasing an office at BluePrint + Co, Daymond’s exclusive co-working space.
2. Attending Daymond’s inner circle mastermind.
3. Getting advice from Daymond and Gary on my media strategy.
4. Meeting with Gary 7x in 6 months and developing a real friendship.
5. Being interviewed by Gary on Podsessions.
In a year, I went from zero media presence to:
1. Launching my own podcast, From8to9.
2. Offering coaching services through my 9-5toCEO program.
3. Booking speaking engagements, TV appearances and magazine features.
4. Hosting TheRecess, which provides exclusive luxury retreats for entrepreneurs.
5. Networking and making business deals with celebrities, influencers and other entrepreneurs.
Q: What are some of your most popular courses and programs?
RS: GetThatGovernmentContract.com
9-5toCEO.com
From8to9 Podcast
Q: Can you share an example of an individual or business that has been helped by your advice?
RS: I typically provide advice in the form of coaching or consulting and I usually focus on three areas, Financial advice (money), Strategic advice (growth) or Recovery advice (failure). The topic might be different, but my advice is always predicated on my understanding of your energy output and your mindset.
For example, I recently had the pleasure of coaching a prospective investment target who manufactures bath products. After understanding the energy and mindset of the founders, it was clear they understood and were tapped into the Law of Attraction from a positive perspective but were not seeing all of the growth areas possible. I provided them a couple of ideas included designing a curated monthly subscription box with items from influencers they were interested in co-marketing with and also curating boxes based on symptoms, dry skin, detoxing, relaxation, etc.
Q: Who are some of your past and current clients? Who are some of the experts that you have interviewed?
RS: I’ve had the pleasure of getting celebrities, influencers and entrepreneurs to participate in my soon-to-be-released podcast without metrics or provable reach. I attribute this to my strong desire, the Law of Attraction and the kindness of others. I have interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk, Matt Higgins, Steve Sheetz, Takisha Sturdivant-Drew and several others, with exciting upcoming guests including Daymond John, Cindy Crawford, Biggs Burke and the Gronkowskis. I have aspirations to interview The Kardashians, Elon Musk, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Ray Dalio, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez and Meghan Markle to name a few.
Q: How can people work with you?
RS: There are several ways, depending on the goal. If you are looking for coaching, I offer online courses, group and individual and business coaching, executive Master Minds and luxury retreats. If you are looking for technology support, my company FWDthink can support your needs. For more information, please visit www.RabiahSutton.com You can also follow me on my social platforms:
IG: rabiahsutton
LN: www.linkedin.com/in/rabiah-sutton-030b465
FB: @RabiahSuttonOfficial
TW: @RabiahSutton
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCggKRVZlGAN1bCDIQJG4H1A
