Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Johnicka Byrd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Johnicka, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience came from dealing with many years of dealing with depression, I finally got to the point where I realized then mentally solidified the decision that out of all the options I have on earth, giving up is NEVER one. From childhood to today, I have dealt with many hurts and disappointments. Initially, I would allow the hurts and disappointments to take up too much mental residence and have me walking around in defeat. Unfortunately, it would then boil over to physical manifestation where I would get headaches. extreme fatigue, and a nonchalant attitude about almost everything in life. Over time this got worse. I was still able to function day to day but the internal battles were heavy. In 2009 I got a job teaching at Virginia College. One of the requirements for us as instructors was to put a positive affirmation on the board for our students to read daily. I began to google affirmations and would write them daily to meet my requirement to do so. Then one day I wrote ” Giving up is Never an option!” This affirmation sparked a deep conversation with my students that evoked a lot of emotion from them, as well as myself, which in turn made for a better than usual class session. The next day, I wrote it again. We, again, spoke in detail about what this meant and what it looked liked in each persons reality. It brought out a discussion on the decisions we make given the options we have available to us. After a few days of this it became my class mantra. The majority of the students I taught were what are classified as nontraditional students on more than one level. Sometimes I felt like they taught me just as much as I taught them. They definitely encouraged, challenged, and pushed me. In my heart me way to give back to them, outside of teaching them the skills they would need to be amazing medical assistants, was to let them know on a daily basis that they had options beyond what they originally imaged for themselves and that they had someone in their corner rooting for them not just academically but in life. I wanted to remind them that there destiny awaits them on the other side of not allowing what a situation looks like and even seems to be, to alter their decision to keep persevering. This, in turn, served as my own reminder to do the same and became one of the mottos that I choose to live my life by. It is also a message I, to this very day, use to encourage people that I encounter. Since my time teaching, I have endured more hurts, battles, and difficulties. I’ve had fleeting times where I momentarily thought that giving up would probably be easier than continuing to endure, but then I remember that giving up is never an option I will choose and I get back up, dust myself off and continue to push through.
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?
My name is Johnicka, but most people call me Nikki. I am a brand productologist and the owner of Exxpressive Creations, where innovation meets visibility. At Exxpressive Creations we specialize in designing, creating, and producing cutting-edge products that elevate your company’s advertising game. We also offer in-house design and print services that ensure your brand stands out with custom and standard print solutions, meeting all your stationery needs seamlessly. We are your # 1 decision to help amplify your presence!
While our main focus is on helping businesses to amplify their presence to their desired audiences we also provide custom services and products to help any event stand out above the rest. Some of these services and products include event centerpieces, napkins, invitations, paint canvases, greeting and thank you cards, thank you gifts, glass etched products, and so so much more.
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?
Looking back over my entrepreneurial journey I would have to say my intuition, unique creativity, along with perseverance and determination have been the most impactful skills and qualities that have helped me successfully advance and expand my business. When the majority of my clients come to me they come with an idea that they would like to have expanded upon and brought forth into physical form. To be able to do something like this, I believe, you have to be able to understand and anticipate the desires your client has that will bring their vision to life. My clients trust me to use my creative skills to turn their ideas into full flourished products that will help to attract their audience to their brand. That is not something that can be done with the designs and products that you see every other brand use over and over again. That is where they unique creativity comes in. I am very blessed to be able to do this. An added bonus that I always try to give to my clients is to not only deliver the products they request, but to also show them an array of other products and designs that can be used to amplify their brand as well. I truly love what I do and are very blessed to be able to live out my passion daily, but this is not always done easily. As a full-time entrepreneur I had to learn and understand that not all days are chocolates and flowers. On the journey to success it is important to know that even when times are hard, stressful, and filled with uncertainty, you have to keep moving forward. There have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel and walk away from it all. Those are the times I had to learn to dig in harder, remained focused, and know that the tough times don’t last but the I can and will because I am destined to do what I am doing. If I were to give any advice to an up and coming entrepreneur that would be it.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
One of the classes I used to teach at Virginia College consisted of teaching career interviewing skills. The final assignment for that class included doing a mock interview with myself and a few of my collogues as the interviewer panel. Before we broke off into the job specific questions, we would ask the basic interview questions, two of which included what would you consider to be your strengths and what would you consider to be your weaknesses. Most of my students expressed they did not like to answer these questions. When I asked why, I learned that it wasn’t so much that they did not like the question but more so they did not know how to answer it honestly and where it would actually benefit them as a potential employee. We spent a good amount of time going over the importance of highlighting the qualities and skills an individual but also how you can take something that may be viewed as a weakness and turn it into a beneficial positive as well. For example, if someone was to feel that a weakness they have it taking a long time to get something done, a good way to present that would be to say ” my biggest weakness is that I can sometimes be a perfectionist when it comes to projects I may work on because I always want to present my best work to, from, and on behalf of my company. I have come to understand this is very time consuming process could be counterproductive and possibly harmful to our reputations so I am learning better steps in the preparation portion of being assigned a project to help aid in how much time is spent completing the project to the best of my ability.” Answering the question this way shows your potential employer you recognize you have a quality that can be viewed negatively but you have openly acknowledge them and come up with a plan to turn it around.
So, to answer the above question, I do think that it is a must to continually cultivate the strengths you possess but you also have to work on areas that you know you may not be strong in. Being a well rounded person is very important no matter the niche you are in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.exxpressivecreations.com
- Instagram: exxpressive_creations
- Facebook: Exxpressive Creations
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Exxpressive Creations
