We recently connected with Dr. Yolanda Carter and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Yolanda , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The inspiration behind ASL with Dr. Carter and Jax is deeply personal.
It’s rooted in a 20-year friendship that changed my life.

My best friend is Deaf. And over the years, I’ve watched him navigate a world that wasn’t always built to include him—with strength, grace, and a kind of quiet brilliance that’s stuck with me. What continues to amaze me is that he’s never treated his deafness as a limitation. Instead, he’s embraced it as a superpower—something that sets him apart in the most extraordinary way.

Our friendship taught me that American Sign Language (ASL) isn’t just a means of communication—it’s a culture, a community, and a bridge to connection that too few people know how to cross.

Over time, I realized something:
There are so many people who want to learn ASL—parents, educators, kids, professionals—but the resources out there were either outdated, impersonal, or just didn’t speak to today’s learners. There was a huge gap between interest and accessibility.

That’s when the idea clicked.

Dr. Yolanda , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Dr. Yolanda M. Carter, and I’m a passionate Special Needs Educator with over 20 years of experience. I’m a proud native of Pensacola, Florida, and a graduate of Florida State University, Central Michigan University, and Nova Southeastern University.

My journey in education began after my honorable discharge from the United States Air Force. Driven by a deep commitment to service, I spent ten years teaching in Florida—serving students in Jacksonville, Orange Park, and Orlando. Later, I relocated to Dallas, Texas, where I discovered my true calling as a Vocational Compliance Teacher. It was there that I found a deep sense of purpose working with young adults transitioning into the workforce.

That experience led me to establish I Love My Job, LLC, a company dedicated to providing employment transition services for adults with disabilities. My work has always been driven by a core belief in empowerment through education, inclusion, and opportunity.

Creating ASL with Dr. Carter and Jax has been a true labor of love—a project born from both personal passion and professional purpose. Along the way, I’ve learned to wear many hats. I’ve used tools like Canva, Instagram, Facebook, IngramSpark, Spotify, Venmo, QuickBooks, Cash App, Square, legal services, networking platforms, and more to bring this vision to life.

This journey has been about more than building a brand—it’s been about building a bridge. One that connects communities, creates access, and celebrates the beauty of American Sign Language and the Deaf community.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first launched Dr. Carter and Jax, my mindset was all heart—I was fueled by passion, excitement, and a desire to get out there and just start. I wanted to be seen, to share the message, to sell. I poured my energy into events, appearances, and opportunities without really stopping to ask the hard questions: Is this sustainable? Are these decisions financially sound?

The truth is—I was all over the place.

I was investing in events without fully understanding if they were worth the cost. Sometimes I was paying high rental fees just to set up at an event that didn’t draw my audience. Other times, I was passing up free events that could have offered priceless networking and exposure. I didn’t yet have a system for weighing value vs. visibility or connections vs. conversions. I was doing what many new entrepreneurs do: running on excitement, not strategy.

About a year in, I hit a point where I had to stop and reflect.

I asked myself: What’s the goal here? Am I building a brand that will grow—or just staying busy?
That’s when I pivoted from being emotionally driven to being business-minded.

I started analyzing every opportunity. I compared rental fees to potential profit. I considered how each event aligned with my target audience. I prioritized spaces where I could make meaningful connections, gather contacts, and build real community over just making a few sales.

That shift changed everything. I became more intentional, more focused, and more financially responsible. The vision for Dr. Carter and Jax started to sharpen—not just as a passion project, but as a purpose-driven business.

That pivot—moving from reactive to strategic—was one of the most important moves I’ve made on this journey.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One moment that stands out in my journey—and continues to ring in my ears to this day—happened shortly after releasing my first book, Jax and the Mighty 4. A customer had purchased the book and read it from cover to cover. Then she came back to me—not with praise or encouragement—but with a pointed critique.

She had found a misspelled word.

She told me she was an editor and that errors like this jumped out at her. She went on and on about it. And while I remained professional on the outside, inside, I was crushed. I knew I had corrected that word before printing, but somehow, it still made its way into the final version.

There I was—excited about launching my brand, introducing readers to a character and a cause I believed deeply in—and suddenly, I was feeling embarrassed, exposed, and questioning everything. It shook me. For a moment, I wanted to hide, to pull the books, to start over.

But I didn’t.

Instead, I took a breath and reminded myself: This is part of the process. Every entrepreneur, every author, every creator has moments like this—moments where something slips through the cracks. I had a choice: let it defeat me or let it shape me.

I chose resilience.

I fulfilled my commitment and continued to distribute the copies I had. I now call them my “rare collection”—those early editions that mark the beginning of this journey, imperfections and all. They represent growth, not failure. A reminder that perfect doesn’t exist, but progress does.

That moment taught me that resilience isn’t about never making mistakes—it’s about how you respond to them. And I responded by moving forward, learning from the experience, and continuing to build Dr. Carter and Jax with even more care and intention.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.drcarterandjax.org
• Instagram: @drcarterandjax
• Facebook: @drcarterandjax