We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carla Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carla below.

Carla , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

I think of my last job as the place where I learned one of my most important lessons. That experience shapes every corner of the work I do now.. Then, I worked for the Federal government acting as a business and community liaison in the workforce development sector. Businesses, big and small, as well as organizations and universities met a need for a federal initiative, and our partnerships helped them fulfill a corporate or organizational mandate. And the adults I served were the beneficiaries.

Well, when the federal contractor who hired me lost their government contract, a new juggernaut acquired the contract and began firing nearly everyone from the previous contract, except me. The company had reviewed my metrics, outcomes and growth in that role and as a result, they wanted to retain me. So amid the melancholy sweeping the campus with mass layoffs, I had an offer with a raise. But, almost immediately, I felt apprehension, so I asked for time to consider the offer. The ball was in my court to decide.

Following the offer meeting, I weighed my options, did my research and prayed. In my research, I discovered that the parent company of the new contractor was a private prison. At that moment, I was confronted with a crisis of convictions and character, especially as a member of the group of people most exploited by that industry: Black people.

When I shared with peers my quandary, some people thought the decision was a no-brainer: take the offer. This response was especially popular among people facing involuntary unemployment, understandably. But, the lesson this experience taught me is I have to be able to live with my decisions, not other people. And I care about how I make my money and who it impacts. Though the roles and responsibilities of my job served a vulnerable population, my core convictions wouldn’t allow me to reconcile the choice to be paid dollars that exploited one group to serve another group.

Business should have a conscience. And now that’s the bedrock of my business, mission and every space I cultivate. A justice minded business woman was born and I’m glad to have met her. Now she’s creating spaces historically excluded folks have always been worthy of.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a Hartford girl with roots in the music scene, both Jazz and Gospel, in the NorthEast. As a musician by night, I was privileged to collaborate with music legends like Marcus Cole, Paul Brown and the late Dave Brubeck while freelancing as a marketing professional by day. During that time, I quickly realized not all of my professional music peers had my proclivity for business strategy. And more specifically, my least industry connected yet exceptionally talented peers, women especially, didn’t have the advocacy they needed to thrive in the music business beyond gigging.

Hence my love for marketing strategy support for creative entrepreneurs was sparked. So, as a result my consultancy was born. CYJ Consulting tells the story of your brand as well as positions your brand in partnership with the sponsors and brands who share your values, aiding in the propelling of your brand. Brand storytelling via pitch deck design, as well as thoughtful assessment, strategy development and production of visual brand asset production to establish and/or fortify brand identity and/or voice.

Women entrepreneurs in entertainment deserve for their brands to thrive. And in an industry where people are often relegated to hope and happenstance, I provide more than service but an environment that produces brand clarity, builds community around their brand and fellow women entrepreneurs have access to community as well. This work helps improve customer loyalty and generate brand awareness, but benefits the entrepreneurs.

Also, because I centralize serving music entrepreneurs, creative collectives, studios, including film, animation and music studios, the opportunities and values aligned community is ever growing. That uniquely positions both music entrepreneurs and studios for access to an agency that can streamline music supervision needs and opportunities etc.

Honestly, my greatest love is creating spaces where people’s needs are met. And the best brands connect to people in a real and meaningful way. So, brand storytelling goes beyond digital campaigns and pitches for me. Curating Events with the small touches of love via experiential marketing which conveys brand (companies and collectives) core values is another joy and work in our suite of services..

I’m fiercely committed to creating spaces historically excluded folks have always been worthy of in every area I touch.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Most definitely, in a world where social media highlight reels and perfectly curated LinkedIn profiles dominate a fair share of the attention economy, even in business, we don’t see much that isn’t carefully curated. Very rarely do years of unexpected caregiving, tragedy, sudden loss or health challenges, make the highlight reel. And as an entrepreneur, we often want to tell the story of only excelling in business. And we often believe that the absence of hurdles tells our ideal clients or partners that we are the best choice.

As a woman who was unemployed during the recession of Obama’s presidency, once a stay at home auntie and co-parent, marketing freelancer, federal workforce development contractor, and musician, my resume was not the linear and carefully crafted professional highlight reel of some others.. Honesty, I felt I wasn’t eligible for certain major opportunities because of it. I knew my skill set and my experience made me capable, but I didn’t have the polish of some of my peers. I saw that as a disadvantage.

But, instead of misrepresenting myself and my career, as many do, when meeting with a revered social innovator and executive in both music, social justice work and media, I shared the complexities of my story and work. Then without my initiation, my then friendly meeting turned into my first whale client.

Their words were, “you’re who I’ve been looking for to add to my team.” From that moment forward, I became a consultant for someone I once revered from afar and, in the process, I grew my business.

During my leaps in entrepreneurship, I have quickly learned that my grassroots and ground level days in the industries I am ascending in are actually my greatest advantages and assets. Major sponsors, CEOs, partners and industry figure heads, often know ideals but not intricacies. So, nothing is wasted.

Building business partnerships as a federal contractor, not wasted. First hand hurdles as an independent artist. Not wasted. Metric tracked program and skill development initiatives. Not wasted, Even, the day-to-day schedule structuring for three unpredictable toddlers. Not wasted. Actually, it qualifies me to be more effective and informed than some of my more heavily degreed, classroom nurtured peers in my industry. The unique convergence of my career experiences has purpose, especially to those I now and will soon serve.

I am able to be the kind of social innovator and change architect my peers in entertainment, community organizing and marketing need and deserve.

I was convinced success had a certain look or resume. I needed to unlearn that. When all along, it looked like me,

Lesson: Every part of your journey is valuable, even the un-Instagram-able arts.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Pivot. Definitely. In 2019, I started to consult full time. As a freelancer, I had a reputation in Connecticut for curating events for Diving Deeper (a professional community and discussion group) and cultivating a community for musicians. Brand Storytelling via events was a well known strength of mine. Once I decided to pursue consulting full time, and my professional pivot gained traction, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the news. In March 2020, after a year of pounding the pavement, traveling to and from Atlanta, GA to warm up music licensing leads for the biggest music studios in CT (with artists already making national buzz), the world stopped. As you can imagine, in the world of music, gigging and studio work are an artist’s bread and butter, even for an accomplished and highly sought after musician.

My growing clientele had swiftly tightened their purse strings and I didn’t know what to do. So, after a year of pivots and investing money in business travel to fortify connections in the South, I was concerned about the viability of my business.

While the world had fixed their eyes on social media during quarantine, I made a major and quite uncomfortable pivot. I began to create an online community for singers to sing, laugh and talk about business in addition to their careers. As a result, brand visibility increased, I told the story of my brand and got more visibility within the music communities of peers across the country. Reach to potential clients widened, as well as brand credibility due to the reputation of these accomplished musicians.

Within the second quarter of 2020, I focused on positioning more than gaining revenue. In essence, I dedicated myself to pitches, supporting more established brands, securing partnerships and clients with deep roots in film, showrunning, music licensing and production companies. Those pivots have changed the trajectory of my business entirely.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cyjimpactconsulting.com
• Instagram: @cyjconsulting
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cyjconsultingmusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-jones-94828b78/

Image Credits
Personal Photo. Photographer . Danae Beckford Image 1,2. Image Courtesy of Dale Falk Jr. Image 3,4,5,6. Photographer. Kristen Stadolnik. Image 7.