Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jamal Harbison. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jamal, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
I grew up as a loner. Despite having 7 siblings I was the oldest and was not raised in the same household. Throughout elementary and middle school I was picked on because of my obesity. In high school, due to the loss of my dearest grandpa my family moved from New York to North Carolina. Most of the bit of friends that I did have in New York I lost touch with and I was even more of a loner in my new town. North Carolina was the first place where I experienced racism.
I experienced a culture shock in NC that was terrifying at the time but proved to be an asset building experience. In Amityville, LI, New York I lived in a predominantly black and latino neighborhood and went to mostly black and latino schools. Most students there grew up in low to moderate income households. My freshman year of high school in NY was in a school of around 800 students. However, in Cary, NC, my new school was one of the most prosperous communities in the country. The school was populated by around 2000 students and it was a predominantly white school. So I went from being bullied for my weight to being shunned for my color/class.
Needless to say, I did not relate to many students in my new school. So I made friends with the outcasts and became more of an outcast myself. We were a small group of black kids that didn’t fit into any of the common school cliques. We didn’t get invited to the parties that other students would throw in their parent’s fancy houses/neighborhoods but we still wanted to go because we felt we never had anything fun to do. One day, we decided to try to go to a party being thrown by a girl that we knew from school. After we knocked on the door, she opened it and told us that ‘no blacks were allowed.’ This was a shock to me as I never experienced overt racism. Before I moved to the south, I thought of racism as a far fetched idea I only read about in history books. This was 2005!! That was just the beginning.
My friends and I used to be bored out of our minds outside of school. On the weekends we would walk around nice neighborhoods during the day sometimes just because or on our way to other places. On multiple occasions we would be stopped by cops who said people called them because we looked ‘suspicious’. That made us feel even more out of place. Good thing nobody got hurt when we were being profiled. Though, one day someone tried to hurt us.
We used to hang out with a white hippie friend of ours that lived in the woods on his father’s property. He was so carefree. He didn’t believe in color, he loved animals, didn’t even have a tv, and he trusted everyone. His father, on the other hand, was a different story. He didn’t like black people! Due to our friend living in the woods we were usually able to visit and leave without being seen by his dad. Well that was until his dad did see us. That day, the dad happened to catch us leaving our friends house. He was so furious that he pulled out a shotgun! We ran for our life that day through the woods as his father was yelling racist taunts towards us and shooting his gun. Luckily, we made it out without a scratch. To this day I am still afraid of the woods.
However, though I was traumatized by these hate driven experiences I developed a tough skin that allows me to be comfortable in places where someone like me may not typically be seen. Often times my business takes me to spaces full of different cultures and tax brackets but I thrive because of my social skills that I developed later on in my college life in Atlanta. Atl was another culture shock but in a good way.
Luckily, throughout my entrepreneurial journey I have not experienced overt racism even though my clientele does not always look like me or have similar culture to me. Nowadays, I thrive off of being somewhere different then I would be normally thanks to my career. I think the difference is that my clients and their guests welcome me with open arms. A feeling that I’ve gotten used to. Between being a loner and encountering racism I’ve learned to find solace in myself and to not rely on someone else or a group of people to make me feel good about myself whether I’m in a crowd or alone. When you’re confidence comes from inside it can’t be broken.
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Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am the proud owner of Signature Selection event services. We provide high class bartenders, servers, and other specialized event staff for private and public settings.
What makes my job special and fulfilling is being to help lifelong cherishable memories come true for my clients. I like solving problems behind the scenes to ensure that our promised mission is complete.
I’d like people to know that the new slogan to our brand is ‘Be Selective’. This is a statement reminding our clients that they have the right to not feel bad about asking for they want. You should never have to settle in making decisions about life’s special moments. It’s also a reminder to our staff that are free to choose to work the gigs that are most suitable for them.
My company has been expanding in various areas recently. We are now capable of making large catering deliveries and set up. We also provide new supplies such as a portable bar, a premium wheeled cooler, premium and standard coffee bars, etc.
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?
My three most important skills are my customer service, my networking acumen, and my leadership techniques.
All 3 skills can only be fortified over a time of consistently working on them.
Customer service is best developed over time as you build up your patience. Do not take anything personal when dealing with clients or employees. Always try to empathize with the other person but don’t expect others to automatically think like you. Take the effort to help others understand your point of view. In difficult scenarios be the one to deescalate.
Some form of networking is important in any career. As a business owner, be intentional about making cold calls or messages. If you are too shy to network step outside of your comfort zone by setting a goal of periodically reaching out to someone that you normally wouldn’t. It could be a simple as a DM or an email. With those methods of communication you can rehearse what you are going to say and set templates. You can become comfortable networking by talking about your craft, passions and what you know best. Sometimes you may find something that you have in common with a potential person to connect with. Use that to spark a conversation.
Leadership is the skill that I’m still trying to improve on the most. I’ve learned to become a better leader over time but I first started expanding my business by hiring family and friends. I had to learn to separate our family or friendship relations from our work relationship. I had to learn to be conscious of treating everyone equally by sharing the same expectations with family/friends vs. other employees. Sometimes I feel like I’m a bit too nice when an employee needs to hear my opinion about things. If you learn to be firm without being offensive as a leader that’s the perfect balance.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
My biggest obstacle is maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I constantly work on this but it’s not something that I can figure out one day and then forget about it. I know it will be a constant battle but it’s worth it because my happiness is on the line.
A lack of balance is the primary source of my problems so I try my best to be intentional about solving the root of it. Recently, I attended a webinar focused exclusively on work-life balance. I constantly try to set boundaries within my work and personal life in order to not neglect one or the other facets of my life in general. It’s hard because the truth is that my business is my life and my passion. It’s not something I can put down easily.
Within my business, I’ve been slowly trying to delegate tasks to other staff, specifically assigning team leads, an administrative assistant and in general trying to give my staff more responsibility. I know setting this structure takes more time and careful planning but it is something I cannot avoid if I want the business to continue to grow.
I’m struggling with this mission because another important goal of mines is spending more quality time with family. I don’t want time to go by and I end up missing too many precious moments. I’m also conscious of spending alone time because at the end of a long day or week I just need space to clear my head. I constantly feel like I’m being pulled in every direction until right before I’m pulled apart. So I have a lot of work to do when it comes to balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sig-select.com
- Instagram: @SigBooking
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sigselection
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sig-select
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