We recently connected with Dr. Brad Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Brad, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

I got my first client by word of mouth. I had been refining my company for a few years really trying to niche it down to where I felt in my heart would be meaningful and impactful work. I had already gotten my masters and professional doctorate and wanted to ensure that whatever I did was broad enough to not box me out of the industry, but specific enough that I only worked with those that fit my brand. I prayed about it and looked around and saw in my faith community of urban people that we don’t seem to get or know about the opportunities that others do. Sometimes even when we have the raw skills or education, we don’t have a lot of people that help prepare us to take our careers to the next place. It burdened my heart because I remember starting my career in corporate America and feeling stuck at points because I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I needed job mentors and career consultants that could help me to refine my resume, my presentation, and help me define accurately where I was trying to go. That is how Communic8 Life Consulting has come to fruition. It is the answer to what I always needed. I started out helping people in corporate settings with their resume and interview prep because I had done a lot of it in my own career. After having success at seeing people land interviews and promotions, and praying about what direction to take my consulting company in, I started to test the waters with people in my friend circle. One person I edited and made recommendations on their resume went from not having any job interviews to having 3 interviews and three job offers within two weeks. It was literally like night and day. After that I took on my first “official” client who was looking to climb the corporate latter in their company and assisted them with interview prep and one on one consulting. It was the first time that I was paid for helping someone advance their career. The money is great but it is the gratification that I get from seeing people advance in the their vision that is the most rewarding part.

Dr. Brad, 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?

Sure. I am a writer and IO Psychologist who assists urban believers thrive in life and career. As a writer, I use the pen name BJ Communicates and specialize in writing urban fiction stories aimed at telling the stories of urban people in ways that spark deeper conversations among their loved ones. I believe inner healing starts with conversations. My latest book “Hard Conversations Book 1: Breadcrumbs to the Past” is the catalyst for my new series around the conversations that need to be had to move forward. As an IO Psychologist, I own a Communic8 Life Consulting, which is a virtual career consulting firm where I specializing in helping urban Christians advance their career goals by assisting them with resume editing, career pathing, interview preparation, and HR advice. I got into the latter by journeying through my own career in corporate America. I have worked for a the same Fortune 15 company for the past 15 years in a gambit of different roles. When I first started I had no clue where the job would lead and had little to no help in defining my path or how to even begin to understand what was available to me. It took me stepping out and just trying a lot of things to end up in the right career fit for me. In my career I had the opportunity to do numerous jobs including labor relations, HR investigations, interview panels, vendor management, and people management. What I kept seeing was people that looked like me who were stuck in a job that they hated or terminated because they were unaware or ill prepared to find their fit in the company. Not only did I see it, but I had been them once upon a time until a hire up in the company took a chance on me and gave me a promotion. I didn’t know how I could help them until I decided to go back to school. My company afforded me the opportunity to go back to school on their dime; so I got my Masters in IO Psychology and Communication and then got my Professional Doctorate in Entrepreneurship. It was while going to school that I discovered a passion for Human Resources, and specifically in helping people understand, define, and execute upon their career aspirations. Also, because I had done the labor relations job so long in my company, I was passionate about both accountability and employees being aware of their rights so that they couldn’t unwittingly be taken advantage of because of ignorance. I have clients that reach out, not because they are trying to advance their career but, because they are trying to stay employed and feel that their rights are being violated by their superiors. I help these clients by asking questions about their company and giving them HR advice based on their responses to ensure that they are aware of their options and labor protection policies. I have become so passionate about “career coaching” that I do it both in my corporate job and in my own business. I feel like I have found a sweet spot. I am a man of faith and a person of color; so it is important that people that look and believe like me have ample access to informational resources to improve their lives and live their dreams.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What has helped me build my clientele is results. The more people I work with, whether I take them on pro bono or if they are paying, the more positive reviews and word of mouth marketing has happened for me. Almost all of my clients have gone into new positions, promotions, or company launches that they have directly attributed to working with me. This has been my greatest marketing. The career services I provide speaks for themselves as clients tell their friends and colleagues about their day and night career outlook after working me. Also, I think my passion in our one on one consultations and in my workshops have built my reputation. I always get feedback that my passion for career advancement in palpable which draws more and more people to want to work with me.

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

When I was first thinking about launching my business I planned to work with couples, families, and business teams on improving their communication skills based on my Masters degree training; but I couldn’t get any traction with it and quickly discovered that my passion in a consulting capacity was diminishing. I am very passionate about communication but it took me awhile to discover where to put that passion. I had to step back, pray, and look at what gifts I had been given and in what context do I see them working and drawing people. When it came to communication, people have been drawn when I creatively write about it in the form of a book; when I talk about career advancement and career pathing people want me to meet with them one on one and help them. I strategized about it and pivoted my business to only focus on career consulting and haven’t looked back. I have a steady flow of clients reach out to me; so I realized this is where the consulting company is needed. I continually have people leave reviews and email me about the books and how they gave them the language to talk about a sensitive issue with their community and family; so I know the need for communication help is in my writing endeavors.

Contact Info:

• Website: WWW.communic8life.com
• Instagram: Bjcommunicates
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/bjcommunicates
• Twitter: Bjcommunicates
• Youtube: BJcommunicates

Image Credits
Photographer: Devon Jones