Meet Eboni Blake

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eboni Blake. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Eboni, thank you so much for joining us today and appreciate you talking about a sensitive topic. It’s unfortunately relevant to so many in the community as layoffs have been on the rise recently, and so we’d appreciate hearing your story and how you overcame being let go?
I laugh in the face of danger, lol

Seriously though, I have a few fired/laid off stories, a small fraction of my hired stories. But in most situations, I knew it was coming.

And guess what? It is likely to happen to you, to everyone. Whether it is an employer or client, it is expected that you will be let go from a role. And regardless of the reason: economic downturn, employee performance, or company objectives; it will happen.

But then what?

It’s essential to take a strong look in the mirror to analyze 1) What you could have done better, 2) What will you do differently next time, and 3) Breathe and persevere.

Reflecting as an entrepreneur/IT Consultant, a client cut our contract and the entire IT Team. Was it surprising? Honestly, no. As a consultant, you are likely going into a burning house and are expected to save the day. (Often, we do!)

Reflecting as an employee: pre-Covid and maternity leave, my work was deemed incomparable. I received high marks from my managers and support teams. Returning from maternity leave, I felt a complete shift in how my team received my work and effort. I proactively reached out to my managers, HR, and team. All the feedback was vague and illusive. I felt so isolated, and it wasn’t the byproduct of remote work. No matter how many tasks I completed, the support provided to my team to unblock their work, and the projects delivered, it just wasn’t enough. But I saw these red flags before; now it was my turn.

Reflecting as the culprit, I was not meeting the marks. I took on a stretch role, and I wasn’t engaged. It just wasn’t the right fit.

Regardless of the reason, my Spidey senses and intuition were preparing me for the end of a phase and the beginning of a new journey.

In any event, the culmination of every role/job drives the commencement of my growth. I apply the good, bad, ugly, and gorgeous to my constant evolution! And that’s why I laugh, smile, cry, breathe, and galvanize for the next leg of the marathon.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Eboni is the owner and founder of EBI Labs (formerly Ideas Lab). We are an IT and Operations Consulting firm helping organizations drive impact!

EBI Labs helped many organizations optimize their Cloud Platforms (Salesforce, SAP, Hubspot, etc.), build trust and healthy working relationships between their IT and Business Stakeholders, empower teams and grow their business and technology acumen, and coach and deliver best practices to drive revenue and customer KPI/OKRs/goals.

I founded EBI Labs to reach my personal and professional goals to drive social and economic impact. It allows me to grow my expertise across industries and businesses while giving back to a multitude of communities.

We are excited to continue to provide consulting services and launch our Product Development arm building across cloud, web2, and web3 technologies.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three most impactful skills/qualities in my journey: 1. Be a Listener
2. Be Fierce
3. Be a Trailblazer

If I listen well, I can move fiercely with the most impactful action and can create a life my way that allows me to enjoy and build with many people, teams, and organizations.

My advice to everyone: Do it your way, Do it well, and Enjoy along the way!

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
YASSS!!!

We are open to all sorts of partnerships!

Client Referrals, Product Reviews/Development, Web2/3 Marketing Developers, and Investors.

Please contact eboni@ebi-labs.com for a copy of our P.I.C.H Deck or ways to partner.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Eboni and Genie (Salesforce Rabbit) Eboni and Denver Nuggets Rocky RedTag Salesforce Partner – Oleh Mykytyn (left), Eboni Blake (center), and Liza Gospodarenko

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