We recently connected with Jessica McConico and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I spent 11 years in the workforce in various capacities such as case management, social work, and administration. I have worked with at-risk youth, domestic violence survivors, and foster youth survivors. My latest position as a children’s social worker for the Department of Children and Family Services was the most eye-opening experience. First of all, working in any toxic environment will take a toll on your mental and emotional health. As an investigative social worker, I observed how harshly black folks were judged within and without our community. I observed how careless folks are when it comes to looking after the well-being of marginalized groups. I also observed how systemic racism has conditioned us to excuse exploitation for minimal rewards to uphold their interest.
I transitioned into social entrepreneurship because I saw some issues that I wanted to address in a unique way. I noticed that in those 11 years, the common denominator for the issues in my community was poor budgeting, lack of resources, and generational poverty. With this in mind, I decided to develop a solution. I took my experiences and developed Jai Got Soul Studio to be a digital space that allows me to use my creativity to bring awareness to nuanced issues through media, merchandise, and community. My first media project was a low-budget interview produced to bring awareness to mental health in the urban community. The second project that I produced was my very own short documentary titled “Unbroken.” This short doc can be viewed on my YouTube channel. We have merchandise for purchase on our website from stainless steel water bottles to our clothing collection. And lastly, we are actively building a community of folks that are serious about taking their finances to the next level. We offer our free budgeting tool and we refer them to financial professionals that are passionate about helping them build long-term wealth.
As I stated, the three ways we bring awareness are through media, merchandise, and community. Our primary message is Black Money Matters Act Like It. We raise awareness of financial literacy through the Black Money Matters Act Like It movement. Our mission is to ignite youth and young adults to take action to build sustainable wealth for themselves and their families. We partner with like-minded organizations that are in alignment with our mission. We hosted our Black Money Matters Forum events to educate about money principles as well as learn how to become your own bank through life insurance. We seek to educate families and help them to build their wealth one net worth at a time.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jessica McConico but I’m also known as Jai Got Soul and I am the founder of Jai Got Soul Studio the home to the Black Money Matters Act Like It brand. A little background about me, I am a LA Native born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I attended Salem International University in West Virginia. Then I transferred to Talladega College in Alabama where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a National Championship title in Women’s Basketball. Then I went on to earn a Master of Science in Counseling from the University of Phoenix.
My social movement began in 2017, I was fascinated with how Black Wall Street became one of the most prominent hubs for black business. Then I learned that during this time period, the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of separate but equal which had some implications but little impact on the success of this community. I thought, what is stopping us from rebuilding this in today’s digital age? A fire was lit inside me and I wrote “Can Black Wall Street Be Resurrected” parts 1&2 then I followed them up with “Little Africa Reboot”. In these think pieces, I challenge us to revisit Black Wall Street and use it as a meer template for what Black Wall Street is in the digital age. We raise awareness of financial literacy through partnerships with financial professionals to educate and serve our community with humility and compassion.
What am I most proud of?
I am grateful for this question because in most cases I would skip over my accomplishments. I am learning to celebrate all of my wins even the small ones. With that said, In November of 2022, we launched our financial coaching service, we offer personal budgeting assistance and quality referral services in the greater Los Angeles area. Through our viable referral system, we have the opportunity to connect our community with community-based businesses and services that enhances their quality of life. The year 2022 was really good for us. We partnered with Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) and they offered us free workshops, business funding as well as an opportunity to share the brand at a few of the largest festivals in Los Angeles. We appeared at the Women’s Health Expo hosted by KJLH. We serviced the Leimert Park community for the Leimert Park Juneteenth Festival. And lastly, we had the opportunity to share the brand at the Taste of Soul Family Festival. Not to mention, we won Independent Entreprenuer of the years 2022 and 2023 nominated by UNG Radio station. In 2023, we hosted informational and edutainment events to raise awareness of financial literacy in our community in partnership with Urban Financial Literacy and The Next Generation Group. Finally, we relaunched our podcast (Out Of The Box Podcast) after a 1-year hiatus. These accomplishments mean the most to me because I built this company from a part-time hobby to a full-time operating business. We have a ways to go but I am proud of how far we came.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Due to COVID, the momentum of the movement slowed down. During that time, I recognized a need to provide more practical tools to bring awareness to some basic concepts in terms of financial literacy. So I developed a free worksheet that all of our customers receive upon their first purchase. To expand and grow in this area, I am working towards my certification in the financial services space to help guide the next generation toward a healthy financial future. Recently, I have hosted three Black Money Matters Forum educational events to educate about practical money principles. I plan to build a tribe of financially responsible young adults as a part of the Black Money Matters Act Like It movement.
Selling merchandise and creating content was not enough to get my target audience to commit to taking their financial future seriously. I needed to provide more to my target customer that produced action. I developed our Now Act Like It worksheet to offer to our customers for free. That way they received value with their first purchase. Then I realized that there are people like me that need someone to walk them through the steps so they can continue to apply the concepts they are learning. So I began offering financial coaching to clients that wanted support in walking through the personal budgeting process and needed someone to hold them accountable to the goals they set for themselves.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The last 3 years have been an emotional roller coaster if I am being honest. As I previously stated, I worked full-time as a children’s social worker for 5 years. During that period, I began developing my company. I learned that building a business with a job is a lot more sustainable than doing so full-time with no venture capital. In 2020, my niece was born and she had some health challenges. But not only that, we are living in the type of society that says quality health care is only for the haves, and the haves-not must suffer.
My niece Nova Skii McConico was born on December 16, 2020. She was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and from the time she was born, we battled to preserve the little life she had left with us. Before Nova was born, we were informed that she would likely not live. After she was born, we were told that she would never get out of the hospital and if she did, she would be going into foster care. To put this story into context, Nova was born in the middle of COVID 19 which restricted visitation to only her parents for the majority of her stay. As a children’s social worker, I wondered why the hospital social worker would insensitively share this information with her parents that were already adjusting to caring for a child with needs.
I decided that I would take a leave of absence from work to support my brother full-time in this life-altering transition to parenthood. Well at the time, my place of employment decided they would make that difficult for me. So after I finally received my approval, naturally I began to focus on making sure that my niece received the care she deserved. Throughout this process, The Department of Children and Family Services was called out to investigate my nieces’ h. Thise, which was an attempt to ensure she was not released home with family after we requested a hospital transfer.
So we took this matter to social media. We were successful in finding a doctor that was willing to help us get Nova transferred to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. After being transferred she underwent approximately 6 heart procedures that extended her life and allowed her the opportunity to come home for the first time in a year and a few months. Nova passed away at home with family on August 5th, 2022 of a heart attack as her mother’s medical insurance was cut off and she no longer had access to her medication that helps to thin her blood. During these very challenging times, I decided not to return to work and resign. After my resignation, I was sent a demand of payment for an overpayment period period I had taken my leave of absence. After further investigation, I learned that my manager coded my time sheets incorrectly for six months which lead to my former employer not acknowledging my leave of absence. I learned that they drained my accumulated time off which should have been paid to me following my resignation but instead, they credited it to my overpayment and charged me the remaining $9,000 in overpayment. As a result, I was forced to withdraw my retirement account of over $30,000 to make the payment and to live off of the remaining balance after tax penalties.
So, when I say that Black Money Matters Act Like It I mean every word. After these experiences, I realized that this is more than a brand, it’s a movement. The way we are systematically exploited and left to fend for ourselves sends a clear message. So I choose to respond to that message through my brand. Recently, we developed our latest collection called the Nova Skii Dedication Collection. A percentage of the proceeds from the Nova Skii Dedication collection is allocated toward Nova’s medical bills. With that said, visit our website to check out our merchandise and consider supporting the brand’s growth as well as Nova’s medical bills.
Contact Info:
- Website: Blackmoneymattersactlikeit.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackmoneymattersactlikeit/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jai.Got.Soul/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-mcconico-5101a1102/
- Twitter: @Jai_so_Smoove
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jaigotsoul
Image Credits
Artwork by Jameah Palmer