Many of you know me as a journalist, activist and blogger, but I’ve actually gotten my feet wet in business projects over the years. The first business adventure I took part in was my senior year in high school at La Paloma. It was my first sales job and I had the opportunity to mingle with experienced entrepreneurs who had already made waves in Tucson, Arizona. I continued on with my my entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Arizona where I worked in Telemarketing.

Sales is truly my foundation, and I kind of stumbled into journalism because I was into script writing and theater and because I could see the industry was changing. I saw the changing of print journalism as a business opportunity way back in 06 and began plotting.

Through the help of my dad’s business contacts I attended a forum in Dubai in 2014 that focused on digital marketing for business ventures. I also met Maya’s father there and we discussed everything from the Arab economy, to producing artists and music production, to Libyan people we mutually knew, to our wedding (Lol!) and finally how to make my background in print journalism benefit TV. I had no idea I would attend the Network of Television Broadcasters Association weekend with Mohammed Shammam at the time, but he did and I’m so grateful for that opportunity.

A lot of grit and hard work went into the behind-the-scenes aspect of the work we do. Me and Mo consulted and wrote so many business proposals before we felt confident enough to come to Cairo and test our hypothesis. We were so secretive and people there accused me of being unfriendly because I had to respect my clearance with the U.S. government. The people at Alwasat had no idea what I was working on while I layed low in America, even though I frequently flew back to Cairo to check on our project.

Your girl is a business owner in case that wasn’t entirely clear from the get-go. 💋

In 2020, our business contacts proposed something new, and that’s what we’ve been working on for the past three years. While I still work as a media analyst and blogger on freelance projects, my heart is 100% dedicated to my business.

Because I’m from the southwest, LA is so fun for me. I would drive to Los Angeles all the time in my teens and while studying at the UofA. We grew up in Davis so I also remember making that drive across California frequently as a baby.

Now, I live a bicoastal life because a lot of my contacts are in D.C. and The Gulf. Many of them are in government and news and that’s slowly changing to include local entrepreneurs and army businesses.
I’m not actively recruiting for my real estate venture but feel free to reach out with any business inquiries and make an introduction at media@yusratekbali.com.

Update: Mental Health Campaign was a success! Thanks to all the Libyans that participated! I’ll be attending this conference on June 6, so look for my updates.