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Meet Juli Long-Brooks of iCandi Productions

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Juli Long-Brooks.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started iCandi Productions in 2009. I had just become a mother and a single mother at that. Instead of being angry and bitter, I decided to focus on learning how to be a good mother and being a good role model to my daughter. My dream was to direct and produce film and television in some aspect.

The first years all about building the production company. It all started with a YouTube series called “iCanditv” that I did with a few friends and family members. The show helped because people would book us to cover their events. From there, I started getting editing jobs for music videos and commercials. Then I got a really nice opportunity to executive produce a local reality show.

In 2010, I moved to Jacksonville Florida to be with family during a hard time for all of us as my grandfather was ill. In Jacksonville, the hustle never stopped. I got into online radio where I had the opportunity to reach a larger audience. Initially, I know nothing about radio I just knew that I liked to talk and I would just share my experiences with others until I got the hang of it. The show ended up doing really well and we gained audiences all over America and some in the UK.

I did online radio for the next eight years. I was able to market myself as a host and MC. I traveled to different cities to host different events which was really cool. I was able to put out an online newsletter that had a magazine vibe called “iCandiland”. Doing the online newsletter help me get some graphic design experiences that I use later to help market myself and my products so it was a win-win.

I moved back to my hometown (Cincinnati Ohio) and started doing events. I did Christmas charity concerts, women’s empowerment conferences, and a few mixers. In the mix of this, somehow I managed to have a personal life and got engaged, married, and had a new baby. Everything seems to be going in a progressive direction for my life and my business.

Recently I decided to take conversations from my eight years of online radio and turn it into a book. So while planning my wedding I also was writing a book and the book is titled”Woman to Woman” 10 Ways we Sabotage Relationships. I just believe that at times we as women, sisters, homegirls should have real conversations. There are so many amazing women that are single and that don’t necessarily want to be single. So I took the conversations that I’ve had on radio shows with live callers and guest co-hosts and wrote about it.

The book is out and is doing pretty good. I’m in the process of working on my second book so I’m excited. As I continue to grow as a woman my company is growing and I am just riding out this journey being as positive as possible. I always want to be a helping hand to anyone that I can be as well as a great mother to my children and a wonderful wife to my husband. Hopefully, the sky’s the limit for what iCandi Productions does in the future.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think the biggest struggles that I’ve come across along the way is somewhat self-inflicted. It was a hard lesson to realize that I can’t do everything alone. I sometimes get into the mindset that I am a one-woman show. At times I really tried to do everything on my own videography, photography, graphic designs, promotions, being the actual talent, editing all my videos, designing my magazines. It became overwhelming and I got burned out.

I’ve noticed that I succeed the most when I let my team do some work. Having an amazing team and actually building the team is a struggle in itself. Not everyone sees your vision and not everyone is going to go as hard as you go. So finding that balance of finding a good team to support you and also releasing some control have been two big struggles for me.

This journey of being a business owner has not been a smooth road and it still isn’t. I feel as if anything worth having doesn’t come easy. It’s been hard work and that has taken dedication, persistence, and consistence to grow and my plan is to continue what I’ve been doing and so far. It’s been paying off.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the iCandi Productions story. Tell us more about the business.
iCandi Productions is an entertainment film and photography company. We provide video production and photography assistance. We also provide entertainment as in radio/podcast, television, and events.

I am most proud that the company is continuing to expand. What started off with one target of just producing videos has grown over the years. We now don’t only produce videos we do photography, radio, magazines, events, publishing. So a lot of things are continuing to grow within the company and I’m very proud of that.

I think what sets us apart from most companies is that not only do we work behind the scenes but we also have the talent to be on screen as well. For example, sometimes you will see me behind a camera working or editing a project but other days when you will see me in front of the camera working as well or hosting an event. I think it’s cool that we are able to be the Jack of all trades we aren’t just one-sided we’re able to do multiple things.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t really believe luck has played a role in building and branding my company at all. I feel like blessings have definitely been a part of it. I think whenever I am presented with an opportunity that I actually am brave enough to run with it is definitely a blessing and anything that didn’t work out just wasn’t meant to be.

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Image Credit:
Photography provided by iCandi Productions and Le’Amaj Studioz

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