Her Story
About Mikayla
Mikayla Schuett serves as a Senior Executive Account Executive at iHeartMedia, where she has worked for nearly four years. With a decade of sales experience that began in her family's organic soybean oil company, one of America's largest soybean refineries, she now focuses on podcast advertising, CTV advertising, and international business growth. Mikayla holds a marketing degree from Briarcliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, along with certifications in account executive, personal assistant, and executive assistant roles, and she is pursuing Political Sales Certification. She approaches her work as a growth partner rather than a traditional salesperson, emphasizing authenticity and integrity while helping businesses expand. Mikayla attributes her success to her father, her biggest role model, and she is excited about becoming a new mom while continuing to grow professionally at iHeartMedia.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Mikayla
01What do you attribute your success to?
My dad. I grew up just learning and watching him grow something out of nothing, and he is my biggest role model. I attribute all of my success to my dad. I think that he is the reason why me and my siblings are the way that we are, and why we are very passionate about helping other people grow their business. I watched him work very, very hard my entire life.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be yourself. It is really important to not necessarily sell a product, but to sell yourself. I really wholeheartedly don't even see myself as a salesperson. I see myself as a growth partner. I like to help people grow.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just be yourself. I think that people can, especially business owners and people around my age, they can kind of get stuck in this, oh, I have to sell you something, but instead, like, be like, oh, like, I'm here to help you grow, I'm not here to, you know, take your money. Just be you. Talk. Be personable.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge would probably be getting people's time. I reach out, and when I reach out, I'm very... I will only reach out to companies that I believe in. I will only reach out to companies whose products I have personally used and have first-hand experience. Getting people's time can be a little more difficult when you sound salesy, so try and be a little more personable in my phone calls and my emails, and just try and help them understand that I'm not here to sell them anything, but to help them.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, I am about to be a new mom, so I'm really excited. My family's growing. Professionally, just being authentically you and in integrity. I feel like a lot of people can, you know, in sales, can sometimes lose their integrity and just see the money side of things. I don't like to think of myself like that. I don't necessarily see dollar signs, but potential and growth on both personally and professionally.
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