2023 Top 10 LinkedIn Influencer, Biz & Brand Strategist increasing the awareness, audience and income of personal & business brands | Coach, Consultant, Trainer & Speaker → Free LinkedIn training↓

My career has been anything but traditional — and that’s exactly what shaped my perspective.

I started in the legal industry, moving from research-based paralegal work into client acquisition and corporate account management. I managed complex compliance projects and high-profile relationships for a global leader in the legal and regulatory space.

Eventually, I realized my fascination wasn’t just with strategy — it was with why people buy, believe, and connect. That curiosity led me into business psychology and marketing research.

After earning my MBA, I launched my own consulting practice focused on brand positioning, messaging, and digital growth. Over time, I discovered my niche: translating human behavior into marketing strategies that drive measurable results.

Today, I serve as a fractional CMO and strategist, helping founders and service-based brands turn identity, perception, and storytelling into growth. My clients have scaled from $0 to $40K/month, grown audiences of 80K+, and built thriving email lists from scratch — all through human-centered marketing.

Outside of client work, I’ve built a thought leadership presence on LinkedIn and through my Substack publication, “Marketing Mindset,” where I share insights at the intersection of marketing, psychology, and behavior. I’m also a two-time author — one self-published, and one traditionally represented — using storytelling and research to bridge theory and real-world practice.

Now, I’m expanding that bridge even further through my Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) — merging academic rigor with practical experience to shape how marketing and consumer psychology are taught, studied, and applied.

At my core, I believe better marketing starts with better understanding people.

Because when we align strategy with psychology, we don’t just grow businesses — we build brands that connect, convert, and last.

In the spirit of celebrating myself more, I’d like to celebrate that I jumped back into school like I never left. Exactly a decade ago, I completed my MBA and vowed to never go back. 

I must admit, I felt nervous about whether I could handle the challenge with my client workload. But, so far, the work feels easy, since I’m already a Marketing Maven and all😉 

I’ve got my supplies, syllabuses printed, and first discussion boards completed 👍🏽 I feel like a kid at school for the first time. I *love* learning! 

I’m currently taking some grad-level marketing coursework at UIC as I solidly my self-taught experience, ahead of the start to my doctorate program this fall at DePaul. 

Save any comments about not needing another degree, if any. I know this.

I have a plan. Watch me work.

Lakrisha Davis, MBA

I am a LinkedIn Branding Expert, Business Coach and former Award-winning Career Development Coach. I have leveraged the power of LinkedIn to grow my personal brand and business, and in the past, as a tool to land career opportunities.

As a LinkedIn Branding Expert, I teach individuals how to get more visibility, leads and sales from LinkedIn through my coaching and course offerings. 

Additionally, I also partner with companies and organizations to teach their audiences how to develop and grow their personal brands on LinkedIn. I do this through keynote presentations, workshops (single or series), consulting, and course licensing.

Testimonials:

"The feedback that we have gotten has been all positive. It was a great workshop with a lot of valuable content provided. The Leadership team met after the workshop to debrief and it was unanimous that we would like to bring you back in 2022 to provide another workshop to our membership. " -Corporate Client

"I achieved a 700% increase in profile views in 1 week and am now getting flooded with inbound leads." -Individual Client

"I saw an 80% increase in monthly revenue and over 150% increase in inbound leads. Collectively, a 300% increase in quarterly revenue from both the b2b and b2c sides combined in 3 months.” -Individual Client

Core competencies:

-Coaching & Mentoring
-Strategic Consulting
-Brand Development
-Personal & Company Branding
-Effective Storytelling
-Business Development
-Copywriting Skills
-Content Creation & Marketing
-Inbound & Outbound Lead Gen
 
Achievements:
 
-Earned a BA&MBA in Business
-Founding member of the Newsweek Coaches Council
-Partnered with Capital One, AT&T, LinkedIn, Facebook, Coursera, and more
-Seen on NBC, ABC 7 News, CNBC, LinkedIn News, Rolling Out, Leading Ladies Africa, and more
-2021 Phenomenal Woman Awardee
-Named Top 13 Coaches to Follow by Brainz Magazine
-Forbes Coaches Council, Former Member
-Served over 2,000 individuals clients
-Beta tester for select new LinkedIn features
-Named CORE 100 Most Influential Blacks Today 2022
-2023 Top 10 LinkedIn Influencer by The Business Anecdote

Fractional CMO | Business Consultant | Brand Strategist | Advisory Board | LinkedIn Trainer + Writing Coach | Adjunct Professor | Future Doctor of Business Administration

My first LinkedIn post got 50 views.

A year later, my posts were reaching 5,000–7,000 people.

Now? Over 185,000.

I’ve always had a lot to say.

I just hoped the right people would receive it.

For 8 months, I posted into what felt like a void.

Little engagement.

No community.
No validation.

I wanted to quit more than once.

But something kept me going.

And I’m forever grateful I listened to that voice.

If you’re in the quiet season:
Don’t stop.


Momentum is often building long before it shows up on the screen.

I don't know who needs to hear this 👇🏽

10 businesses.

1 niche.

10 different positioning.

“Over saturated” is a scarcity mindset. 

The problem is never whether a market is over saturated or not. It’s differentiation.

Who's with me? 👇🏽

"What do you do?"
"Meet."
"That your company's name?"
"No, I attend meetings for a living."
"Oh."

First, we felt overworked and underpaid.
Now, the feeling is overpaid and overmet. 😳

Daily huddles.

Weekly meeting for [this].

Weekly meeting for [that].

Mid-week check-in.

Monday meeting.

Friday meet.

Monthly meeting.

Quarterly meeting.

Annual meeting.

Meeting, meeting, meeting. 😅 

We just want to do good work!

Excessive meetings decrease startup productivity precipitously. 
Read how (and what you can do).

💡CMO Insight:

Teams cannot fix problems that have existed for years in a single month, or even a quarter.

Start from a clean slate.

Lead with clarity.
Allow time for real change.

When you don’t, you create a culture of exhaustion, resentment, and quiet disengagement.

That’s not a performance issue.

That’s a leadership one.

Reesi Wilson

Which Founder are you currently? 👇🏽

If you’re a founder planning 2026 with hope instead of structure, this is for you.

You don’t need another motivational post. You need decisions made in advance, about your offers, revenue, calendar, content, and focus. Because ambition without a framework doesn’t scale… it exhausts.

I just shared the 15 strategies most business owners avoid, and why clarity, not hustle, is what actually compounds.

Read it before 2026 designs itself for you. 👇🏽

5,127 prototypes.
1 breakthrough.

Here’s what Dyson teaches us about marketing.

James Dyson spent 15 years developing a bagless vacuum cleaner before introducing it to the market.

• 5,127 prototypes
• 5,126 failures
• 1 proven technology

Thirty years later, that single breakthrough became Dyson Ltd.—

From a vacuum cleaner, to multiple product portfolios, to a degree-granting institution shaping its own talent pipeline.

We can all learn a few important marketing lessons from Dyson:

1️⃣ Every product must deliver real customer benefit
If it doesn’t make life easier, it won’t scale.

2️⃣ Solve real problems
Dyson didn’t invent a vacuum.
He fixed what wasn’t working.

3️⃣ Improve what already exists
No reinvention required.
Find everyday frustrations—and make them better.

4️⃣ Create a no-brainer offer
When the value is obvious, the product speaks for itself.

5️⃣ Build with end users in mind
Dyson developed and tested with real customers—not just surveys.

The takeaway:
Stop overthinking.
Solve problems—especially the ones you face.
That’s where the best ideas come from.
—

❔If someone asked today, could you confidently articulate why your product exists?

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