Please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The short answer is my upbringing and my approach to looking at every situation as an opportunity to learn.
You see I was raised in a segregated version of North Philadelphia by two caring parents. My parents were incredibly hard-working and all they wanted from me and my siblings was that we would go to college. I grew up in an all black neighborhood; I went to all black schools. As you can imagine, there was no lack of black pride in any environment.
My culture shock happened when I went to Drexel University. I went from being in the majority to the minority.
In one of my freshman classes I was the only black person. I was an information systems major. Getting through college was no easy feat considering that I was also first generation college student. But I made it with great family, friends, and sense of identity.
Little did I know the mental and spiritual gauntlet that I went through in college was just the warm-up for corporate America.
I spent the next 15 years or so getting more degrees, advancing in pay but adding more stress and anxiety to my life from the people I met at work. Talk about racial discrimination, sexual harassment, bias, low wages, age discrimination…
I was tired of feeling voiceless. So, I decided enough was enough and that I was going to leave corporate to start my own business. Now that happened back in September 2017.
I took my side hustle and turn it into my main thing: Linkedin consulting. And, I started another business in 2018: BrickRose Exchange, an art gallery and event space in Baltimore, MD.
I’ve been on an amazing entrepreneurial adventure for almost four years now and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.
Bianca Jackson, what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
There’s tons to know.
I would say my superpower is being able to look at a person, place, or thing and see hidden potential. I have an eye for opportunity, beauty, and talent. I’m the type of person that may see a building while on vacation and think about all the possibilities of joy that it can bring the city and a community. It reminds me of time when I was walking down the street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
I like to speak life and light into anyone and anything that crosses my path. this is especially true when I work with business owners who really want to stand out on LinkedIn. My goal is pulling out the gems in the jewels that make that person special. I’ll say this… women have a hard time talking about themselves. I remember at one client who literally had the receipts plus more receipts. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment but they weren’t listed on her profile. She’s an amazing interviewer. She didn’t understand why she needed to mention it in this day and age of the internet. I told her she needs to let people know how fabulous she was and also position herself for new great opportunities that she didn’t even know we’re on the way.
What is “failure” and “success” for you?
Failure is not learning the lesson in what you experienced whereas success is an action that can cause long-standing positive effects that continue for years to come.
In my book, to not learn is failure. As long as you learn, you have a new insight to try until you reach success.
I believe your success can touch and inspire others to be successful.
Just imagine a world where people were focused on success in a way that it impacted the lives of others and that failure was looked at as an opportunity to learn.
There will be no blame nor shame; just willingness and curiosity to do better for humanity.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My work can be described as helping people and organizations build platforms or standing on other people’s platforms to make their message heard. What I do with LinkedIn consulting is helping business owners create their own platforms to attract and target the opportunities they want. I allow people to use my event space (ie. stand on my platform) to make their message heard.
What excites you right now?
What excites me right now is being able to master the skills and trainings that I invested in and making sure that they make an impact long beyond me being here on Earth.
What ONE thing would you like for our readers to take away from this feature story, about you?
The one thing that I would want people to get from this is that to be your most vulnerable and authentic self so that people can feel your heart your spirit from the words that you decide to leave on paper.
How can our readers connect with you?
Email Address: info@biancajjackson.com
Website: biancajjackson.com
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/biancajjackson