Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chiquita Jackson, CEO of Chiquita Jackson Enterprise, located in Greenbelt, MD, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Chiquita Jackson Enterprise (CJE) is a professional development agency located in Prince George's County, Maryland. We provide professional development resources to assist underrepresented communities of color in landing competitive roles within their desired industry and develop personalized strategies to alleviate the pressures of the career search process for talented job seekers, rising entrepreneurs, and aspiring talents.
Here at Chiquita Jackson Enterprise, we help our clients optimize their potential through personalized professional development assistance and luxurious event management. Our goal Is to help our clients Get PAID, not PLAYED!
Tell us about yourself
My name is Chiquita Jackson, and I am a first-generation entrepreneur determined to create and empower my communities with opportunities and resources to achieve generational wealth. I think back to when I was a child and witnessed my mother financially struggle to support my siblings and me. I remembered one day when I started losing my baby teeth and believed that the tooth fairy would give me money in exchange for my baby tooth. My mother came home from working all day at Burger King and came into my sisters' and my room, where she thought I was asleep. I felt her place a toy she got from Burger King under my pillow because she didn't make enough money to put a dollar under my pillow.
That's just one of many experiences I faced growing up in poverty, including homelessness. My siblings and I would sleep on our family members' floors because my mother was unemployed. I remind myself of the life-changing experiences that I lived and see that it's still a reality for many people in low-income communities. I work hard to create the opportunities where I am advancing the agenda of promoting ending poverty by addressing anti-displacement issues that negatively impact minorities and looking for accurate racial equity. As well as engaging in controversial topics of political and educational barriers to the community.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I would say my most significant accomplishment as a business owner was a panel speaker at SXSW Edu 2022, a featured session titled Gen Z Young Women Future of Democracy & Politics, where I was able to use that platform to discuss the importance of being committed to empowering disfranchised communities through professional development assistance and community organizing to achieve minority upward mobility/generational wealth.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing that comes with being a business owner is realizing to respect my mental health. As a goal-oriented young professional, I learned it's important to give myself space to be okay with taking breaks and not drowning myself in tasks or projects because of my high-functioning anxiety. Understanding your mental health and how your business operations can be affected by it is critical to learning how to make adjustments that will set you and your business up for success.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Invest in your business: I highly recommend for those who are looking to start a business invest in an LLC/Trademark application assistance, professional business website, and logo design.
- Network: For those looking to grow a business, attending networking events can help you educate others about your business and mission/values, which can bring you, potential clients, and business partners.
- Become a Lifetime Learner: I recommend for those currently running a business be okay with continuously learning by attending professional development conferences, which can expose you to new strategies to increase your financial revenue or whatever area you want to grow in.
Remember: Being a business owner means being open to exposure to business opportunities and ideas that allow you to achieve your goals.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cjecareerconsulting.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CJECareerConsulting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjeconsulting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CjeConsulting
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cjeconsulting/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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