We were lucky to catch up with Jasmen Rogers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jasmen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

There is nothing like having the freedom over your time as a business owner. And with that heavy privilege comes the hustle to find and retain reliable clients, level up your skills, maintain your administrative tasks, develop consistency, and so much more.

And… imagine the stress of knowing projects are ending, contracts are coming to a close, and now it’s time to go pitch for more. This becomes even more of a math problem if the work is seasonal (think, election work).

The perceived stability of a “regular job” (i.e. the bi-weekly paycheck) is hella alluring. Depending on the role and the organization, the salary and benefits package could be enticing enough for any blossoming business owner to make a shift.

When the projects slow and proposals are waiting on signatures, I have questioned which option gives me the greatest benefit for the lowest costs (to my time and my freedom). In these moments, I fine tune my skills, continue to pitch to new clients, and also apply to full-time, “regular” roles that still serve my best and highest purpose.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a facilitator and strategist with expertise in building spaces to impact organizational alignment internally and externally, centering the issues of racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ equity. In simpler terms, I curate the vibes and spaces that advance equity.

My parents raised us to believe that education was the key to leveling the playing field and guaranteeing equity. Inevitably, I experienced differently. Graduating from college and entering “adulthood” during the time of Black Lives Matter and the hyper-visible killings of unarmed Black people called me to this work.

Since then, I have worked for several years at the intersection of racial and gender justice by advancing state and local legislation, co-creating curricula that make the political process accessible, organizing movements of thousands of people across Florida, soliciting and maintaining donor relationships, and producing a variety of events to center the experiences of LGBTQ+ people.

I’m most proud of always centering Blackness, womanhood, and queerness in everything I do, no matter the client. That compass has led me to create several programs catered towards the political power of Black women and the amplification of Black communities in politics, and the birth of Folding Chair Consulting.

Folding Chair Consulting is a diversity, equity, and inclusion firm that specializes in creating meaningful and lasting impact. We work with organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations, to build inclusive cultures, implement equitable practices, and strategically showcase their values to a larger audience.

We believe in creating safe and productive spaces for everyone to bring their full selves into every space. Through our tailored workshops, trainings, and strategic planning sessions, we help our clients create new policies, procedures, and ways of being that foster authentic inclusivity and belonging.

At Folding Chair Consulting, we specialize in curriculum development, training facilitation, and social media management that is unique, prioritizing intersectionality and inclusivity, making space for everyone to redefine their leadership. We also coordinate strategies that build and maintain reliable online audiences. Our clients have run for office, shifted culture in and out of their organization, and developed a deeper political analysis that drives sustainable innovation, creativity, and growth.

What sets Folding Chair Consulting apart is an approach rooted in the reality of humanity. Not theory, not fluff, not what “should” work, but the actual needs of the people policies, organizations, and leaders are hoping to serve.

In my spare (professional) time, I currently serve as Chair of the Broward County Commission for the Status of Women, was recently named one of the 150 Most Influential People in Florida Politics, and is a former Wilton Manors Community Affairs Advisory Board member.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Like so many business owners, sometimes the hardest step is the first one.

Folding Chair Consulting existed as an idea, a side project, that one day “when I have more time,” I would make a full-time role.

While working full-time at other non-profit organizations, I would take on short-term or one-off projects… until the pandemic happened in 2020. The job I had working on a presidential campaign suddenly ended and I found myself asking what I would do next.

That is when Folding Chair Consulting became a priority with the need and the capacity to take on more clients. Since then, Folding Chair has taken on small and big, short term and long term non-profits, campaigns, and corporations.

Scaling up has not always meant taking on more clients and sometimes has meant seeking out the clients that are consistent, reliable, and are willing to make the investment to pay what my skills are worth. Taking on my first year-long contract was a HUGE milestone that met the goal.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients have been referrals. The people who’ve said my name in rooms that I didn’t even know about.

In business, word-of-mouth can sometimes beat any level of marketing that you may invest in. Over the past 4 years, every client has been through a referral from someone I know or a previous client.

It’s also important for business owners to know the inverse is also true. There are so many opportunities for all of us to share the spotlight. Making a referral, bringing someone along on a project, uplifting someone else’s name or brand on your project… costs nothing for you and could mean everything to someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.foldingchairconsulting.org
• Instagram: @JasmenRogers
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmenrogers/
• Twitter: @JasmenRogers