We recently connected with CJ Bland and have shared our conversation below.

CJ, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

In 1998, I launched ATLInfoConnection and JobConnection e-newsletters to promote diversity organizations, job opportunities, and other robust career, economic, lifestyle and networking content, events, and resources.

At the time, such vision and publications were widely viewed as highly innovative, unique, and forward-thinking. My audiences for these publications rapidly grew to tens of thousands of e-subscribers, and multiple people repeatedly asking me to move and expand this type of valuable and beneficial content from email newsletters only to a web-based online.

These e-Newsletters provided the foundation and building blocks for the eventual birth and 2001 formal incorporation of my company. However, it was 3 and ½ years later when I finally leveraged the newsletters along with my personal, civic and professional experiences; leadership, technical and business background coupled with focus groups, corporate senior-level advisors, and a pair of partners and minority stakeholders to formally incorporate and launch Minority Professional Network (MPN).

Undoubtedly, during the past 22 years, MPN has achieved great success, and has evolved into a proven and respected Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I)-focused human capital and consulting integrated solutions provider. Our core offerings have included job board, recruitment placement and staffing, digital marketing, networking and recruitment events, training and consulting solutions. In addition, we have attracted thousands of clients, partners and advertisers from 46 U.S. states and several other countries.

Nevertheless, in hindsight, formally incorporating MPN 2-3 years earlier, in the late 1990’s, likely would have stimulated significantly greater revenue growth and expansion.

At the time, there were minimal other nationally-focused online job boards or DE&I competition, and Facebook, YouTube, ZipRecruiters, Twitter, Instagram, etc. did not even exist at the time. In addition, significantly more investment capital and growth opportunities were likely available. Lastly, since this timeframe also preceded the Dot.Com bust, an offer to acquire MPN (that I would not have been able to refuse), would probably have been forthcoming from a bigger brand seeking to build on its DE&I focus.

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

Founded in 1998 and incorporated in 2001, Minority Professional Network, Inc. (MPN) is a proven DE&I human capital and consulting integrated solutions provider as well as a NMSDC-certified MBE. Our internal or partner-supported offerings have encompassed DE&I-focused recruiting (job postings, placement, staffing, search, events) and retention, digital marketing/branding, training, and consulting solutions and results.

Since 2001, we have attracted and driven results in support of 2,800+ corporate, higher education, government and nonprofit employer clients, recruitment agencies, staffing firms and other partners from 46 U.S. states and other countries, including Alabama Power, AT&T, City of Portland, FADV, FBI, FDIC, Feeding America, Gates Foundation, Georgia Power, Harvard, Honda, JFK Center, JWT, Nicor Gas, Novartis, PwC, Southern Company, Stanford, Travelers, UCLA, United Way, U.S. Department of State, U.S. SEC, Walmart, Yale, and thousands of others.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My journey on the road to personal and professional success and fulfillment has certainly not been a walk in the park or a day on the beach. To the contrary, I’ve faced, experienced and overcome or endured numerous roadblocks, challenges, hardships and disappointments along the way, both personally and professionally.

After my father totally abandoned our family when I was age 5, I was reared in poverty as one of six children in a New Orleans, Louisiana housing project by my single mother. This strong, smart, classy and sacrificial woman of unwavering faith instilled guidance, confidence, values, teachings, selflessness, and inspiration in me at a very young age.

I was reared in poverty and grew up in a housing project. I lost my oldest brother to a senseless racially motivated hate crime. He was randomly targeted in a drive-by shooting by three young white males while waiting to catch a bus, solely because of his brown skin color. Despite her immense heartache and pain, my mother relied on her unwavering faith to forgive those hate-filled young me and instilled in us to not harbor any grudges or ill-will against anyone over differences or beliefs, including race, color, creed, gender, national origin, religion, etc.

Such humble beginnings, upbringing, and personal tragedies profoundly shaped my life, goals, and beliefs from an early age. They also served as an inspiration and propelled me to subsequently earn 3 college degrees, including my MBA and Bachelor of science degrees in engineering and physics.

These credentials led to jobs at Bell Labs, NASA, NCR and AT&T among others where I earned and held various IT, consulting and sales roles with increasing leadership and revenue responsibilities. Along the way, I concurrently became heavily involved in community service, civic, and professional organizations.

These factors coupled with my mother’s ongoing examples, inspiration, and teachings planted the seeds of faith, love, sacrifice, confidence, patience, mutual respect, tolerance and forgiveness in me at an early age.

All of the above factors led me to launch MPN, with an aim to drive greater awareness, respect, inclusion, value, and
tolerance for others. As humans, many of us spend far too much time on divisiveness and wedge issues instead of trying to better understand and celebrate any differences in race, gender, origin, culture, religion, customs, traditions, etc.

At the end of the day, we’re all part of the human race and we all have at least three facts in common: (1) A date of birth; (2) blood flowing through our veins to keep us alive; (3) A date of death at some point in the future. Since these are facts, why spend so much of your finite time on earth wasting it on being angry, envious, mad, upset, etc. over things that are beyond your control. Life is way too short!!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

In the 22 years since MPN was incorporated, we’ve never paid for any advertising. Therefore, practically all of the 2,800+ valued clients and partners that we’ve supported since 2001 from 46 U.S. states and other countries, have found us or been referred by others to us.

A larger number of new clients and partners may have connected with us through relevant organic keyword searches via Google, Bing, and other search engines or DE&I and supplier diversity websites.

Others found us via our extensive ongoing social media branding campaigns (i.e., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) where we’re constantly promoting jobs, ads, resources, blogs, articles, and other content.

Lastly, other new clients have been referred to us via or existing clients and referrals from 3rd party partners (formal and informal).

For example, in 2003, the U.S. State Department came to MPN via their ad agency (JWT Inside) with a challenge: It was only attracting white males in the northeast and mid-Atlantic and wanted to reach a broader audience of diverse candidates across the country. The State Department was pleased with MPN’s recruitment efforts and partnered with the company on diversity events across the country. Between 2005 and 2017, MPN planned 60 events in 40 U.S. cities. MPN attracted other government clients, including the CIA, FBI, FDIC, and Department of Energy.

In 2010, MPN secured Walmart as a training and development client. When a key Walmart contact moved to Dollar General, the retail chain also became a client.

Out continuous aim from the outset has been to seek to understand our clients and partner’ specific needs, requirements, desired outcomes, budget, and timing, and to subsequently recommend viable, effective and affordable solutions that we believe would drive results that meet or exceed expectations. Operating with such integrity and focus on driving results have been instrumental to our success and longevity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mpndiversityjobs.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjbland01
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mpnsite
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpndiversityjobs
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mpndiversityjob
• Other: https://www.mpndiversityrecruiters.com

Image Credits
Haja Barfield, Manager, Digital Marketing (MPN) Emree Jensen, Director, Marketing & Communications (MPN)