We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jalen D. a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jalen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

I don’t feel as though my friends or family should support my content, as they are not my target audience. If I’m being honest, I’ve blocked most of my immediate family- I don’t (and wouldn’t) consciously give them the expectation of having to interact with my content however I do think having them on my socials would add another level of pressure.

I do however think there are some exceptions like birthdays, milestones, special moments, etc. however if someone is considered a friend or family likely they’ll have my cell to reach me. I think my perspective has started to change as I’ve grown my community. At the beginning of my content journey I did expect for the friends I had at the time to support my content however I noticed there was an unspoken rivalry, not on my end but on their’s. The other exception would be if you create beauty content and your friend/select family members love ALL things beauty however they never interact with your content or they’ll comment on other beauty content creators, things then start to become spooky.

As I started to grow, those “friends” would interact less and less with my content, albeit I could see them view it and not like it. When I dropped the expectations I started to channel more energy into my gift. The brands are paying me, not my friends or family. My community helps to propel my content further into the social media universe, not my friends and family.

Jalen, 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?

Well, hi! For starters, my name is Jalen and I grew up in Urban Milwaukee- skipping to me starting content creation, I’ve always had a knack for camera work, editing, and music. I love how music can evoke emotion- sometimes being able to feel it in your bones. I have a longggg history of channeling my creativity into activities; At age 11 I taught myself both how to knit and crochet, taught myself various instruments like Flute (which if I still played would be my 10th year), Oboe, Clarinet, and many more.. Safe to say I love artistic expression.

There’s no special way I got into my profession, I just started. Content creation and influencing at the end of the day is a business and it’s about marketing yourself while also building your personal brand. The only way to build your brand is to network and curate your content toward the community you want to attract. I wouldn’t consider myself an “influencer”, however I do have influence. I don’t know if I even have an official title other than entrepreneur… When it comes to what I do: I create advertisements for brands by way of both UGC and brand collaborations. UGC (User Generated Content) is when a brand contracts you to create a video for them, which doesn’t require posting to your main platforms however Brand Collabs/Partnerships are when you share the content (ad) with your audience.

I’m most proud of the an audience I’ve curated, although a smaller audience my engagement rate for both TikTok and Instagram are much higher than the industry average. I believe outside of follower count brands really care about engagement and seeing how your community engages with your content.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I do actually! I wish I understood how important networking is! A lot of my opportunities are presented because brands love my work however I do believe knowing people who know people can sometimes be a great aid. Your network is your net worth and social currency is 110% real.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

What’s driving my creative journey? Being Black. Often time in this space, Black and Brown creators get scraps or may not always get the red carpet treatment compared to other races. We are not the standard. I’m very candid about my experiences navigating this space as a Black Male with my audience and how at times it hasn’t treated me the best. What’s fueling my fire is knowing that I inspire someone, especially some considered BIPOC. I’m carving my own lane and breaking down barriers while still being my authentic self. I always use the example of working with editing software, CapCut- which has over 1 billion downloads and 200 million + monthly active users… Why would the team pick me? Talent.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bio.site/favrichuncle
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/favrichuncle/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@favrichuncle
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@favrichuncle