We met the lovely Ravelle Worthington at Moms in Color earlier this month. She is the founder of Mommy Brain, your go-to place for kid-friendly listings, reviews, and a community of parents. When she asked Jennifer to guest blog on her site, she couldn't resist!
Jennifer shares what inspired her to write "I Am Unique!" and three ways you can encourage your child to love themselves. Click here to read the article!
Our founder sat down with Jacqueline T.D. Huynh of Parent Pump Radio to share:
Listen to the interview below!
Not only is March Women's History Month, it was Moms in Color's event launch! Moms in Color is a collective created to celebrate diversity, complexity and intersectional motherhood. Their mission is to inspire, motivate, and spread awareness around the topics that affect moms most. We were honored to be one of the vendors at this event.
The key takeaway from this event is that representation matters. When we have booths at events, our founder likes to give visitors a brief overview of the mission and message behind "I Am Unique!" When we vendored at this event, a number of women bypassed the intro and went straight to asking how much the book costs.
"I want to buy the book because [Erin] looks just like my daughter" many of the mothers expressed. Some of them even took out their phones to show us how much Erin resembles their daughter.
There's something about seeing yourself positively depicted in the content we consume. A special thanks to the lovely women of MIC who curated such an amazing event!
Our founder sat down with Black Enterprise to share how she turned her insecurity into international impact. Catch the full story here!
A few months ago, we partnered with the talented Sharlene-Monique, a U.K.-based singer and songwriter to launch #IAmUniqueToo, a self-love campaign. We asked girls and women around the world one question:
You all had some inspiring and thoughtful things to say. We took the submissions and compiled your responses into a 15-minute audio. You can download it here.
When we were in the process of gathering submissions, I asked a couple friends if they’d be interested in participating. The responses were mixed. Some said, “Sure!” without hesitation, while others committed, only to later tell me they couldn’t come up with anything to say.
That got me thinking. How much time do we actually spend learning about ourselves and discovering our unique contributions to this world? We all have something about us that is non-replicable. I realized what I thought was a simple 4-word question actually requires more time to develop. We need to get to know ourselves and because most of us don’t take the time to do so, we take the easier approach and say, “there’s nothing unique about me” or “I don’t know what I’m good at.” What I know for sure is that this question requires TIME exploring and discovering who you are at your core. It wasn’t until my mid-20s that I picked up Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life” and dedicated time to really get to know myself and the reason I was placed on this Earth.
If someone has asked you what you’re good at, what your passions are, or what your gifts are and you were stumped, I’ve listed some ways to identify what it is about you that makes you unique.
What do I love to do? / What are my hobbies?
What activities make me lose track of time?
What areas of my life, school, work, etc. come easy to me that most people find to be a struggle?
How would my closest friends and family members describe me using 5 adjectives (ask them)?
What do people compliment me on frequently?
Identifying your unique ability takes time with yourself. What better person to know you than YOU?
It is in your uniqueness that makes you stand out. What are some other ways you could identify your unique gifts? Share them below.
Our founder sat down with a Forbes contributor to share how she's building a self-love brand for girls. She talks about the inspiration for building the brand and her plan for expansion. Check out the full article here!
We teamed up with the talented Sharlene-Monique, a U.K.-based singer, songwriter, and blogger to create #IAmUniqueToo - a self-love campaign.
We asked girls and women around the world one question: "What makes you unique?" They had to sum it up in a 30-60 second audio and we compiled your responses.
It was amazing to hear everyone's gifts, talents, and aspirations. We hope this audio inspires you to identify your unique contribution to this world. Enjoy!
Let's keep the conversation going! We want to hear what makes YOU unique. Post a picture or video on Instagram sharing what makes you unique. Be sure to use the #IAmUniqueToo hashtag so we can see!
In Spring 2015, I received a “3” performance rating on my annual review. Although the rating was considered a successful contributor, I felt it wasn’t aligned with my contributions for the year. I requested a meeting with my manager to discuss our difference in opinion. My performance year was a unique situation – I was reporting to three different managers during that time period. So, all of them were in the meeting that day.
I came prepared. I gave them examples of how I went above and beyond my call of duty throughout the year. I expressed that receiving that rating made me feel unmotivated and I wanted their feedback on my performance. They listened attentively, and when I was done, one of the managers simply said, “We don’t want you to feel unmotivated. You’re a great worker, but your contributions didn’t directly impact the business.” If someone had dropped a brick on my chest, I don’t know if that would’ve equated to the pain and disappointment I felt that day.
Flashback to New Year's Eve 2012, when I received an epiphany after Bishop Dale Bronner said, “Don’t die with your gifts still on the inside of you; impart to others what was entrusted to you.” I spent 2013 compiling poems and short stories written from age 6 to 26, and later in 2014, I published “My Channeled Energy” on my birthday. That was the first time I believed I could share my writing gifts and make supplemental income from it. But the negative self-talk, coupled with the disbelief that I could actually make it by sharing my gifts set it in. So, I decided to keep my creative fire dimmed and focus on proving my value in Corporate America.
But telling me that my contributions didn’t directly impact the business lit a fire underneath me. It gave me just enough ammunition to shift gears out of my dormant state. I thought, Well, if I’m not impacting their business, then I’m going to figure out how to use my own gifts to impact people’s lives.
I had been sitting on a children’s book idea for a while. The idea actually came to me when I was working on “My Channeled Energy.” Not wanting to take my focus off that project, I quickly jotted down a few notes so I wouldn’t forget the vision and saved it on my thumb drive.
Soon after I received my performance rating and the managers’ feedback, I went home, found the thumb drive, and started developing the storyline. In Fall 2015, “I Am Unique!” was born – a story about self-love that stemmed from my childhood insecurity of having a birthmark. I hired an illustrator and we worked magically together. Waking up early to work on my passion project before heading to the 9-5 was my way of life for several months. Then in January 2016, “I Am Unique!” was published.
Two months later, I was laid off and left with mixed emotions. I was relieved that I was released from an unfulfilling job, but also scared because I had no other source of income. I spent 2016 taking “I Am Unique!” to schools, youth empowerment groups, and non-profit organizations to share the message of self-love and the importance of sharing your gifts. My former managers might not have seen the impact I made on their business, but I could see firsthand the impact my story was making in girls’ lives. After a reading at my former elementary school, one little girl came up to me and said, “You’re my new role model.” This is a testament to what happens when you honor your gifts. I’m continuing to build the “I Am Unique!” brand with aspirations of positioning Erin, the main character, as the face of self-love. She embodies my personal motto to “live your life undimmed” because I believe we should do work that sets our soul on fire, to not play small in life, and to stand fearlessly in all our power.
This journey has been daunting, yet liberating. While there is no blueprint to destiny, I have been entrusted with the opportunity to walk in my purpose, on purpose. I stopped trying to prove my value to others that may never get it and started directing my talents, time, and attention toward people who actually do. My hope is that through my books and passion projects, I inspire others to do the same.
Jennifer learned so much from participating in Zuventurez's pitch competition last year, so when they asked her to come back and share some tips with the entrepreneurs, she couldn't resist.
The teams wanted to know how she was able to weave her story into her 5-minute pitch so seamlessly. Her strategy was to lean more on the story vs. the financials (which was another one of the components required in the pitch).
The most common question Jennifer gets when she talks about "I Am Unique!" is, "What was the inspiration behind writing this book?" That leads us to believe that people care more about WHY you do something vs. WHAT you do (side note: watch Simon Sinek's Ted Talk on how great leaders inspire action).
Jennifer might not have been able to convince the judges that our brand is scalable, but that didn't stop her from getting the highest score on all the rounds leading up to the final pitch.
YOUR STORY MATTERS.
On June 2, Jennifer, along with 8 other entrepreneurs, pitched their businesses for a chance to be the local winner of InnovateHER, powered by the LA Black Investors Club. InnovateHER is a pitch competition that provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase innovative products or services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families.The competition was held at The Creative House in Downtown Inglewood.
If you're selected as the local winner, you then are entered into another pool where the Small Business Association (SBA) chooses 10 finalists to pitch at the National InnovateHER Conference in 2017. The finalists compete for as much as $40,000 for their business!
Jennifer was the runner up, so she wasn't selected as the local winner. Nonetheless, she met some incredible people at the event. Some of them are pictured above. They all have different journeys, but they have one thing in common: they have a vision and are audacious enough to see it through.