We were lucky to catch up with J.LeVar Bryan, Sr. recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi J.LeVar, thanks for joining us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?
I’ve always looked for ways to venture off into entrepreneurship. Whether it was joining a network marketing/direct sales opportunity at 18 years old or trying to start something on my own…I’ve had a desire to serve others in my own way.
For years, I realized that I was constantly assisting friends with starting their own business in one way or another. It could be advice regarding the incorporation process or connecting them to a variety of resources. My work experiences at companies like the Bose Corporation and Apple, Inc. helped me to understand aspects of business on a larger scale. So, I knew that there was an opportunity to help solopreneurs with the basics of organizing and structuring their new businesses.
When I started my company LeVar Legacy, I already had friends within my circle who were business owners in a variety of fields. I thought to utilize those friends in my existing network and the skills of new individuals that met to serve the needs of small business owners I worked with. This was the birth of the agency side of my company. I now had resources in the graphic design, web design, cyber security, legal services and so much more. I started to make those connections between my clients and the people in my network and collected my fee for doing so. I saw the potential for growth and it was exciting.
Like many others, I fell victim to imposter syndrome early on. I was afraid that I would try to help someone who was further ahead in business than I was and I would be embarrassed professionally. I continued to work in my career and didn’t give my company the energy or effort it needed to succeed. I eventually got my confidence from helping solopreneurs who really benefitted from the knowledge and experience I did have. That inspired me to niche down and be very clear on who I wanted to serve. That helped so much!
In 2020, I had another opportunity that would change the direction of my business. I had my first birth doula as a client. During the year I spent as her Online Business Manager, I learned so much about the birth worker industry. That’s when a newly discovered passion grew within me. I realized that birth workers served with their whole heart to help families bring new life into this world. I also realized that many of them wanted to focus on what they do well, but the operations necessary to start, grow and protect their business were getting in the way.
So, I decided that I wanted to dedicate my business to helping birth workers get organized and have the success they have been desiring. I overhauled my business and the services I offer to tailor to their needs. I now have a greater sense of fulfillment and I’m enjoying running my business everyday. I feared that being so specific would deter other solopreneurs from working with me, but it hasn’t. Word of mouth has still been helping me serve non-birth workers and I’m grateful. I still offer paid consultations, legal services and some Online Business Manager services to solopreneurs. I really love what I do and I appreciate the journey it took to get here. I’m still at the very beginning of this pivot and I’m excited for the future!
J.LeVar, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started LeVar Legacy Operations Agency to solve simple problems for those starting their businesses. I have been a sales & consultative professional for over 20 years with experiences from retail management to network marketing and direct sales. I’ve spent years working as a consultant and business manager to clients in the birth worker, life coaching, social services industries and more.
I also have been offering legal services for the past 20 years to families and small businesses to make sure everyone has access to affordable legal assistance when they need it most. I help birth workers with several services such, but not limited to building their website, digital file organization, scheduling for clients and even serving as their Online Business Manager to run their day to day so they can focus on what only they can do. So many of them want to either lighten their load as a business owner, learn how to run the backend of their business for themselves or even just get some assistance with the organization and efficiency of their company. I’m really proud that I am continually learning more about the birth working industry and being able to identify the needs of so many women in this field especially as a man. I’m starting to understand who they are and what they need to be successful. Every consultation reaffirms that I’m serving in the right direction.
I’m always looking to meet and work with entrepreneurs. I love building a referral agency that allows me to help other professionals build their business. So, if you’re a photographer, graphic designer, accountant, social media manager or anything that can help my clients become successful…I’m looking to connect with you.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
The Lominger competency model is a talent management system that assesses 67 competencies focused on basic leadership and talent management. I learned this model during my time at Apple, Inc. This is one of the most valuable aspects of my education there. It helps you to see people in a different light with tools that can help people grow personally and professionally. During my time at Apple, I perceived Lominger training as life lesson training. As a Manager for Apple, I learned how to develop people and help them become the best version of themselves using Lominger. It also helped me clearly identify my strengths and areas of opportunity. This has greatly helped me in building my business and working with vendors within my agency to clients. I recommend this to anyone who wants to better understand and help themselves, their team and the people around them live up to their potential.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Life happens to everyone in a variety of ways. I’ve experienced loss in the family, financial strain, being let go from jobs at the worst possible times and so much more. I have had the feeling of not being sure what my purpose is and questioning how to provide for my children. The logical thought of giving up when it made sense to crossed my mind more times that I can remember. I’ve questioned why things aren’t working out when I’m trying my best and have all the right motives? So, what keeps me going? I believe that my God has made me who I am to serve and I just had to understand that it will always be in His timing and not mine. Getting motivation from the people closest to me, reading life changing books and having the right mentors in my life played a major part in my resilience, but my belief my God’s plan for my life is the ultimate reason. I’m just working on being patient.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.levarlegacy.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/levarlegacy
- Facebook: Facebook.com/levarlegacy
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jlevarbryan