We were lucky to catch up with Meredith LeJeune recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Meredith thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Thought Bubble Communications has one simple mission – elevate the voices of the often underfunded and overlooked minority-owned businesses. Although our mission is specific to small to medium sized businesses, it stems from a very personal space. As a young girl, I remember times where I felt overlooked and undervalued. I know too well how it feels to be unseen. In 2012, I made it my mission to work directly with businesses that are underrepresented in their spaces. As Thought Bubble Communications continued to evolve, I drilled down deeper into the niche of the underrepresented and specifically began to focus on women and BIPOC-owned businesses. Ten years later, Thought Bubble is still championing the cause of the minority voice in business and media.

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 17-year, award-winning public relations industry veteran, who has developed and executed high-impact media relations campaigns. Throughout my career, I’ve served on the board of directors of journalism and public relations organizations, including the Hampton Roads and New York chapters of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Black Public Relations Society Atlanta and New York chapters, and the Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals, a local chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Recognized as one of PRSA New York’s 2017 Top 15 Professionals Under 35, I am the proud founder of Thought Bubble Communications, the New York-based boutique public relations firm. Thought Bubble has also been certified by the City of New York as a Minority/Woman Business or Enterprise. Thought Bubble frequently works with women and BIPOC-owned startups and partners with other agencies to develop and launch national campaigns for tech, education, cannabis, women’s wellness and multicultural communications, as well as leading brands such as The National Black MBA Association, Coca-Cola and Toyota.

I’ve always had a love for writing and media. I wrote stories and plays as a young girl. This love for writing and sharing news led me to a study public relations in college. After graduating, I interned with Scripps Network, who owned household names like HGTV, Food Network and the Travel Channel, and was fortunate enough to find a communications job shortly after. Since then, I have continued to thrive in this industry.

Outside of work, I am wife and mother. I am most proud of my three children (two-year-old toddler and eight-year-old twins). I am also a certified doula and certified yoga instructor. As a business owner, I am most proud of my recent milestone. Thought Bubble Communications turned ten-years-old on Sept. 25! In the age of a global pandemic and recessions, that is a tremendous accomplishment.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

To be an entrepreneur is to constantly be resilient. It started in 2009, I prayed about my next steps and spoke to God. God told me I had to make a major move. I used that year to travel to and from Atlanta, apply for job and look at apartment communities. In 2010, I left my current job in Virginia with no backup plan. People not attached to my purpose thought I was crazy. However; with no concrete plans in sight, I persevered. Without a job, I understood that I still needed to maintain a current body of work. I started and maintained a blog that I updated daily and used that as my portfolio as I continued to look for jobs. By the grace of God, I landed my first agency job. This job laid the foundation for my career as a consultant. In 2012, I launched my career as a consultant and shortly after that, my then boyfriend, now husband, and I found out we were pregnant with our twins. I had nothing. No insurance, no consistent income. Nothing. Because I needed the support, I got on Medicaid and continued to stay on it until the twins were toddlers. Yet, I never gave up on my purpose. In a search for something better, my, now husband, and I moved our twins to New York. Although the move brought new opportunities, it came with its own struggles. I lost many of my clients who preferred working with an Atlanta-based consultant. I was in a new town and completely unfamiliar with the area and business landscape. On the days and weeks that I had no work coming in, I had to tap into those things that brought me peace. I strengthened my yoga practice and tapped into my network for opportunities. I eventually started to secure more clients and not only build my clientele back up, but surpass where it was before our move.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth and referrals have been my bread and butter. Although I am a public relations professional, I haven’t had to invest a lot financially into marketing my business over the past decade. My work and network speaks for itself. In an effort to build even more, I recently invested in a mastermind group as a participant. Her Brand & Co is a woman-owned business that runs an accelerator program and marketing mastermind group for women-owned businesses. As a constant student of business, I have learned so much and applied much of what I’ve learned to create new client offerings and secure new projects.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.thoughtbubblecommunications.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thoughtbubblecomm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThoughtBubbleCommunications/
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/MeredithLeJeune

Image Credits
Meredith LeJeune and Leighwilson Photography