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

LaTanya, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Have you ever heard of the saying, “Consistency is Key?” Well, that is especially true when starting a business. Forming positive habits and having a positive growth mindset are essential. Majority of business fail within their first 3 years. Hmm, maybe this is why the IRS takes it easy on those who suffer losses for at least 3 years. When a person sets a realistic goal to get into shape, they understand that they have to consistently go to the gym and eat healthy. They also realize that it takes time to accomplish the desired goal. This why perspective entrepreneurs should set SMART attainable short-term goals that will lead to their ultimate goal. This reminds me of when my grandma used to say that life should be a journey, not a destination. Imagine standing at the bottom of a staircase of 1000 stairs. Your goal is to make it to the top, but if you solely focus on making it to the top, you’ll run the risk of becoming overwhelmed and, even worse, giving up. If you set a goal to climb 10, 20 or 50 stairs per day, you can celebrate each milestone on your way to the top. Just remember to stay positive. In the words of Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.”

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

As a child, when people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, never did I say that I wanted to be a teacher. Teaching is something that chose me. I decided to teach as I was attending college to receive a Master’s in Business Administration. I had every intention of leaving the field once I graduated with my degree. As I thought about it, I realized that teaching encompassed all the things that I love. I love children, helping others realize their potential and teaching people new things. Silly me, and why was I thinking about leaving the profession? Helping others is, both, rewarding and gratifying. Although slipping into the role of a teacher seemed pretty natural to me, the biggest challenge is the red tape and constraints that come with teaching in the public school system. Many times, I felt that I wanted to teach on my own terms, and that was not my reality. However, teaching in a school system is not without advantages. The trainings, relationships and connections you make are invaluable. After years of teaching, the entrepreneur in me felt suffocated and was burning to get out–especially those times I was denied the access to teach what I wanted. Now that I am juggling a teaching career with my businesses as a side gig, that inner entrepreneur dragon is being fed and has subsided some. Although I plan to leave the public school system one day, looking back, I don’t think I would change a thing. The resources, lessons and stability that the profession continues to offer is appreciated. But, as inflation swallows my check, I am homing in on my skills and special talents, realizing that it may be getting close to the time to let that inner dragon fly and go wherever it takes me. I’m currently creating an online business course, and of course other courses will follow. The courses will be available through my business, Intellect 4 Success by visiting www.edgeuspire.com.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

My first book, Marisol: A Little Girl with a Big Dream was published in 2017 through a self-publishing company. I was very green and knew nothing about the publishing industry. I chose to go with the company that I went with because it was a one stop shop and I figured it would be easier. As I went through the process, I realized that the these “vanity” publishers will publish your book, regardless of if they think it will result in great sales or not. Therefore they ask for money upfront as well as royalties. Once my book was published, I realized that I had to do all the work with marketing my book while they were still trying to nickel and dime me. With anything that I do, I research and study. After attending a few seminars and reading literature on the publishing process, I regretted the decision to use the self-publishing company in lieu of “truly” self-publishing. Out of necessity, I created my own publishing company (branding is important) to publish all future books and publications. I eventually went back, read my contract and realized that I retained ownership over my work and illustrations for my first book. Soooo, guess what I did. Yep, I recreated my book; this time with my company NextLevel Book Publishing as the publishing company. Although I only publish my own books, I created a blog that I use to post educational articles targeted to aspiring self-publishing authors–helping them navigate the waters.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Hiring a publicist has definitely helped me build a reputation. From there, I began to gain popularity and respect for my craft as more and more people saw me in the media and heard me on podcasts and the radio. I still believe that word of mouth is the best advertisement since people tend to listen to other people they know and trust. Additionally, as an educator who writes and publishes books geared towards inspiring and educating people, of course, teaching in the public school system has helped me gain trust and respect in the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.edgeuspire.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.latanya.brooks
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latanyabrooks/