We recently connected with Jasmine Highsmith and have shared our conversation below.
Jasmine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I have been desperately wanting to get back into writing for quite some time now, but I wasn’t ready to dedicate too much time to the creation of a full book. I wanted to come up with something that aligned with the work I was currently doing, both content creation for the black community and communications. In one day, I created an e-book for black business owners called The Black Ass Customer Service E-book. In less than a week I had received edits and great feedback from this 16-page work. I also reached out to a good friend of mine to create the artwork for the e-book. I haven’t written anything seriously since high school, let alone get something published so it was a huge risk to take but worth it to create such a much-needed piece of work!
Jasmine, 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?
What’s good ya’ll! My name is MissJLH and I am the content creator/host for We Don’t Sip Tea We Drink Wine. The purpose of my platform is to inform, uplift and I aspire to inspire the Black Community by showcasing them authentically as themselves and to meet them where they are in order to grow as one unit. The industry of communications and social media has always been something I have been a part of. I started writing and becoming heavily interested in journalism in high school and I have always had amazing social and customer service skills, so I have always been able to talk to people and get to know them for who they are.
To sharpen my skills, I did end up get my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations and my Master of Arts in in New Media and Marketing but, it wasn’t until 2014 that I started my journey into fashion by blogging and modeling. In 2018 I took my brand into a different direction being able to incorporate all of my passions within my podcast platform. My platform is different because I’m just authentically myself and I ask everyone else to be the same.
I am most proud of the various conversations I have had through the connections I have made. I have had conversation with Black Trans Women, Criminal Justice Reform Advocates, Black Men about Sexuality from their point of view and more. I am proud of the conversations I continue to have and the authenticity I maintain.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Now I want to find solutions to the problems within the Black Community. Like ok, we have addressed the issues, right? Black people claim they don’t frequently support Black Owned Businesses because they don’t know of their existence? cool I created a BOB page on my website specifically for all the BOB I know about, shopped from or follow., you can just go to my website and support! Black Owned businesses lack great customer service… bet so as a professional with over 12 years in the customer service industry, I created a quick and short 16-page customer service e-book for BOB and their staff. Not all BOB can afford to train their employees on how to properly treat their customers but that is why I wrote The Black Ass Customer Service E-book to inform, uplift and inspire! This is just the beginning; I want to do more and be more active within my community to bring about real change.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
This has truly been a struggle for me, and the main reason has been my lack of consistency! I have had various social platforms for a long time, but I never really dug deep into my passions and what I wanted to do with them, so my advice is to first find your niche! What are you good at? or what do you want to showcase? Once you find your niche create content around that niche that is fun or informative but most importantly something that shows your personality! Last but certainly not least, BE CONSISTENT! You do not have to post every single day contrary to popular belief. I do believe in a healthy social media detox, so try posting three times a week, three times (morning, noon and evening), throughout those three days. and lastly, be engaging. Yes, your friends and family are following but why should others? Talk to them, comment back when they comment, follow likeminded followers etc.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/missJLH_ & www.instagram.com/wedrinkwine_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noteajustwine
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl1VPW43p4u8-jHoqp58Lfg
- Other: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Miss_JLH_The_Black_Ass_Customer_Service_Ebook?id=uadcEAAAQBAJ
Image Credits
the photo by the bridge: credit to s.w.i.s. visuals the book cover and logo: credit to ogidentity