Meet Joanna Parada

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joanna Parada. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joanna below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Joanna with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I love this question! Those that know me well have heard me say that work ethic can’t be taught, you either have it or you don’t. I stand by this wholeheartedly. I would like to say that I was born with work ethic. It comes from my parents, without a doubt. As first generation immigrants from El Salvador, they landed in a foreign place, not speaking the native language not knowing a whole lot of people — but what they did have was, yes you guessed it, work ethic! Both my mom and dad started working at a very young age. Growing up in a third-world country, working was key to surviving. My dad mastered the art of agriculture at eight years old, and my mom mastered the art of baking and customer service at the age of nine. Fast forward to the early 80s, they decided to run a business together and they did so for over three decades. Watching them work together through the good and the ugly certainly catapulted my hunger to always learn, be patient with the process and become great at many different things so that you can understand and appreciate the hustle. That is what work ethic is to me — the need to continue to grow, leave fear behind (so what if you fail?!) and use what you admire in others as healthy competition.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Hello beautiful people, my name is Joanna Yvette Parada! Born in the best era ever (what’s up, fellow millennials!) and raised in South Central, Los Angeles. CEO and founder of JP & Co. Branding, I am just a girl who wakes up every day wanting to be better than yesterday. It may sound super cliche but that really is my goal – to be a better woman, sister, friend, daughter, Aunt, girlfriend, business owner, creative partner etc. I will always appreciate a good lesson and welcome the opportunity to explore outside of my comfort zone. From starting JP & Co. Branding during the pandemic, to getting my first tattoo at twenty-five years old to flirting with the Dragon Ball Z, Barcelona FC-obsessed handsome guy that turned out to like me just the same – I’ve always been motivated by a “what’s the worst that can happen?” attitude. I am constantly reminded that we’re here for a short ride, so why not make it the best one that you can?

It’s been five years now since I launched JP & Co. Branding and I continue to grow as a business owner, as a creative and as a strategist. My pride and joy is working with others that have vision and heart. That aren’t afraid to showcase their work, product and style, regardless of how big or small it is. Everyone possesses a distinct purpose and gift and what I aim to do through my work and the mission that guides what I do is to live that purpose with them to get them through doors that are often shut for them.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Let me start out with this – don’t be afraid to start from basics, from the bottom, from scraps. You won’t be an effective CEO if you don’t know what it takes to master all the roles that you will oversee. A very common mistake for business owners, managers and executives is that they don’t empower their people to learn more, to be more so they rob them of the opportunities to be both efficient and self-sufficient. At every single job that I’ve held, especially when I was in managerial roles, I always encouraged staff to shadow me, to ask questions, to understand the why (shoutout to one of my mentors, Ryan Harris, for teaching me that!). I have never felt threatened by someone wanting to learn how I do things, in fact my goal is for them to do it better than me. Because if someone can do a job that I’ve already mastered, guess what that means? I can focus on doing the same for the next level up, so and so forth – imagine that!

Don’t understand something? Confused about how X led to Y that caused Z? Great! Do some research, reach out to experts – find the answers! Don’t be complacent nor kid yourself in thinking that you know it all, you don’t.

Treat yourself like a brand and network like nobody’s business. You’ve heard this before I’m sure – whether you’re a candle maker or a welder or a fashion stylist or a writer – be the best one that you can be. Study those that you admire. What do they wear? What do they read? Who do they surround themselves with? How did they get to a level worth of admiration? Get the answers to these questions and watch yourself get closer to doing what you love and be happy doing it.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

As a Latina living in a complex yet beautiful world that is bilingual and proud of her heritage, I would love nothing more than to collaborate with others that are proud of where they come from and are excited for where they want to go. I’m not just a brand and marketing expert, I am a storyteller, a dreamer, a self-doer and I would love nothing more than to work with others that are ready for their story to be told. Even if you’re not looking for branding services, I would love to hear your story! Email me at jparada@jpbrandings.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jpbrandings.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jpandco_branding/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jpbrandings
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jpbrandings