Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Debra D Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Debra D, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Originally the name of the company was Women Breaking Barriers aka WBB. We realized we were serving more than women and changed the name to Worldwide Barrier Breakers – still affectionately known as WBB.

Our primary goal has always been to break through barriers in our personal and professional lives and help others to do the same.

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

We envision a world where people can achieve and sustain success in their personal and professional lives without hindrances associated with economic, gender, or racial biases.

We began in 2019 with a LIVE in-person Conference that was named BREAKOUT! We did not know initially that we would expand past one event, one conference, or one meeting until we discerned that there was a real need for a community of people to be connected, inspired, and get tools to thrive that we could and felt the need to serve.

We launched our 2nd LIVE in-person Conference – Focus For The Future in March 2020. Four (4) days after our 2020 Conference – the City of Houston decided to shut down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, an event that pours millions into Houston’s economy amid the COVID19 Pandemic. We were so grateful we had already hosted our Conference event, but it caused us to consider how we could continue to serve our community somehow.

Our planning committee met virtually countless hours to come up with a solution that would allow us to safely serve while giving an EXCELLENT experience that had become our trademark in only one year. From these sessions, we developed a strategic plan to host an ONLINE VIRTUAL Conference – The TIME is NOW! that would give a LIVE in-person experience. This occurred in September 2020 – six months after the Pandemic essentially changed life as we knew it. The 3-day event was highly successful and we continue to hear how far-reaching the effects of our events have become in the lives of those we serve.

We are many trainings, speakers, and networking events down the road since we began. One of the many ways we have found to serve is through Youth Empowerment. We provide opportunities for students k-12 to showcase their artistic, technological, and workmanship abilities and offer rewards through our community support programs. We believe by serving the youth in addition to adults, we can be far-reaching in our ability to mitigate and break through barriers at an early stage in the lives of our community.

We continue to host Conferences, Trainings, Education, and Networking Events both LIVE in-person and ONLINE VIRTUALLY.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As mentioned, WBB began as what we thought would be a one-and-done Conference Event. The inaugural Conference was held in a hotel conference room in Houston, Texas. While we collected a registration fee from the attendees, it was not to execute the event at the level of excellence we wanted.

We thought about, talked about, and prayed about a solution.

One of our sponsors was able to generate enough revenue to pay for the hotel conference room from re-selling tickets to Michelle Obama’s book tour promoting her book Becoming.

The event was highly successful, and we were able to slide in under our projected budget.

The rest we can say is historical!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve realized my life has been a series of pivots or shifts. Some I initiated, some I fully embraced; others were inevitable based on changing times.

My career shifted from 100% travel to onsite clients to work from home. Although the Covid19 Pandemic and all the devastation that came with it was not a desired event, it was inevitable based on the event that I would be unable to operate as usual.

Clients that previously required my onsite presence were now more concerned that their staff (and myself as a consultant) were physically safe. I began to work with my clients virtually from my home office.

Working remotely has freed up places on my calendar which allow me to connect with community partners to bring WBB to a broader audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: wbbworldwide.com
• Instagram: @worldwidebarrierbreakers
• Facebook: WorldwideBarrierBreakers

Image Credits
Crimson Sparrow Photography