IBA SUCCESS MAGAZINE Volume 6 Campaign 1 | Page 24

COVER STORY
motivates them until much later in life. I
saw Jennifer move from an Administrative
Assistant role to managing offices. And
although employers couldn’t see it, she
was never really satisfied and literally
craved more. She initiated special projects
at work that helped improve functionalities
and streamlined processes. When the
occasional personal life obstacle would
surface, Jennifer dealt with it and tucked it
away. It’s not that she wasn’t impacted by
the obstacle. Sometimes she was rocked to
her core, but she used and uses it as fuel
for her next step in life... always seeking
the next goal. It’s a strategy used by all who
possess a growth mindset.
As coworkers turned friends do, we
both moved on to new jobs. We both
continued to rise in our respective fields.
I saw Jennifer continue to work for others
while dabbling in her own businesses. She
became a notary, bought a food truck, and
became a tax preparer while maintaining
full-time employment until her side hustle
became her main hustle. I asked her to
think back on those days and explain what
she was experiencing. She says,” I enjoyed
the work every step of the way. I’ve always
side of the food truck serving
clientele. She was committed.
Jennifer and Kate Shum
enjoyed the work. It’s just that I was always
reaching for something more. I needed to
own something of my own. Not just for me,
but for my family and for other little girls
who have an idea in their hearts that they
want to see manifest.”
It’s important to note that Jennifer worked
every aspect of every one of those side
hustles. It was not uncommon to see her,
with sleeves rolled up, hanging out of the
22
IBA Success Magazine
n
VOL 6, Issue 1
Fast forward to a night in July
2015. Even though we no
longer worked together, we
regularly met for dinner just
to catch up. By this time, the
tax business was flourishing
so naturally I thought she’d
spend the rest of her career looking at
numbers and IRS forms. It was during this
dinner that Jennifer proposed a venture
that had red flags all over it for me.
She wanted to start a magazine focused
on business. I am embarrassed to say I
was probably her first naysayer. “Don’t
do it!” passed through my lips faster than
it should have. I’d spent five years at an
upstart newspaper. The late nights were
grueling and deadlines were impossible,
even for a group of committed journalists.
We were slammed each week and took
a financial and emotional beating when
we couldn’t keep it afloat. When I finally
walked away, I was a shell of my former
self and had to find a job. I didn’t want
this for her. This is the difference between
Jennifer and me; her growth mindset
wasn’t worried about the late nights. She
was ready and determined. She could see
beyond the challenge to where she could
hire the right people to do what needed
to be done for her to be successful. It
hasn’t been easy, but she said after year
one, “you really don’t know how strong
you are until life has knocked you down a
few times. I’m just going to keep getting
up.” Years two and three brought a lot of
new people into Jennifer’s circle and not
all of them meant her well.
JENNIFER
Jennifer and
Danna Jackson-Carroll