Founder of Swayy Social, Erza Haliti started her company to help small businesses expand their social media, public relations opportunities, and overall branding.
Erza attended Boise State University, where she studied Business Management. Before her university education, Ms. Haliti was well on her way to success holding various positions in the sales and marketing industry. She has worked for companies such as Vitamix, Gold’s Gym, T-Mobile, and then she transitioned and became a Business Senior Strategist for Clients on Demand.
In 2011, Erza Haliti was crowned Miss Idaho and then advanced to the national level in Miss USA pageant in 2011 as well! In her first year of University, she became very involved in the pageant world.
Through the participation in pageants, Erza was able to meet so many amazing and motivated women who had goals, dreams, and ambitions. Each of these women were consistently looking at how they can give back to their communities. Her involvement in pageants motivated Erza Haliti to want to become the best version of herself personally and professionally. It taught her to be more comfortable talking with business owners or anyone successful.
Currently, Erza Haliti is in Denver, Colorado.
What do you love most about the industry you are in?
What I love most about my industry is being able to help my clients and their businesses expand their social media presence, overall branding, and public relations efforts. There are very little limitations if what you can do, so there is always room for creativity!
What keeps you motivated?
From an early age, I had witnessed my parents and how they had to rebuild their entire lives when moving our family to the United States. Even though there were several hurdles they had to overcome, this life transition allowed my parents to gain some valuable experience in the world of business early on. Even though they did not speak English, they took all the opportunities they were able to and did it to the best of their ability. These experiences are the things that keep me motivated in my life, both personally and professionally to keep continuing to improve and strive for better!
How has your company grown from its early days to now?
When I first began Swayy Social, I was mainly focused on helping individuals build their brand. Over time, we transitioned to helping small businesses as well! By having the ability to manage both types of clients, I was able to expand my resources and use these connections to benefit both parties. Most businesses are looking for influencers to help with the promotion of a new product or service and this allows me to assist them!
Who has been a role model to you and why?
Professionally, my mentor right now has bought and sold many businesses and now owns his own PR firm. His overall experience and advice have helped me to expand my own thinking and overall, expand my business.
How do you maintain a solid work life balance?
Maintaining a solid work-life balance is truly a difficult task. I find in life, there is always one that outweighs the other, but I always ensure I set aside time for self-care. I believe it is important for everyone to take that time for themselves. In my personal life, my boyfriend and I always ensure we are making time for each other, as everyone knows that life can get busy! By incorporating our date nights into each other’s calendars, it allows us to be accountable and make each other a priority.
What traits do you possess that makes a successful leader?
I think that by being compassionate and understanding is so important. Not everyone is on the same path and thinking with the same mindset. A successful leader is open to feedback, open to learning, open to constructive criticism, and accepting that I may not be able to do something on my own. Whether I am the CEO, or it is my first day on a job as an employee, we all can learn from one another. It is so much better to work as a team rather than as individuals.
What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve overcome?
I would say immigrating into the United States at the age of 10 and learning a new language was a big culture shock for me. One of the harder obstacles I would say, is finding that balance between maintaining my Albanian roots and the traditional culture behind it.
Where do you see you and your company in 5 years?
Five years from now, I picture Swayy Social expanding with a few different locations in LA, Denver, and Dallas. Not only would be working with small businesses but adding more larger corporations as well! We would be looking at creating different divisions within Swayy Social and working to customize them towards various industries based on our services.
Explain the proudest day of your professional life.
During my time with Clients on Demand, I would schedule a one-hour call with clients. By the end of the call, if there was a fit, I would offer them the service of the company, which cost $10,000 to $15,000. At the time, I was 23 years old and it was a big purchase for these clients. The first time I made that sale, it was the most exhilarating feeling.
I was able to show him the value and he bought that product and now he has a thriving business. To this day, he still reaches out and says he could not have had the same success without that product purchase. Making the sale was super exciting, but then seeing the value that I brought to his life and business was even better.