Today we’d like to introduce you to Janice Robinson-Celeste
Alright, thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started Successful Black Parenting Magazine as a print publication back in the 1990s. We were the first Black parenting magazine in print and on newsstands. Our people supported us but we needed investors and we had none. At the time, we had just enough money to fail, the Fortune 500 advertisers came on board a little too late, and we were hanging on like ticks on a bull until the last minute but we decided to close the publication — the only regret in my entire life!
After lamenting with my business partner for many years, we decided to bring it back. It was a time when Black Lives Matter was surfacing for the first time and we decided that as “the first” we decided that we should have a presence on the Internet and have social media platforms. I decided to put together a website and just like when we first began, our people supported what we were doing and we’ve been going strong ever since.
This publication is my life and my mission, which is to help Black parents go from surviving to thriving! I want to thank everyone who follows us on social media and our website because every time you click, it also helps us to thrive as a publication. Readers have no idea how important clicking and sharing is for us to keep our platform free to readers. Please keep caring and sharing.
This Spring 2025, we are looking forward to our first National Black Parenting Conference. The theme is “Helping Black Parents To Thrive” and we are currently seeking speakers and sponsorships for the conference. The first conference will be online and more information is available on our website.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For small Black businesses like ours, it is never easy, especially when it comes to capital. People assume that a Black woman-owned business should have access to capital but the money we need to compete with the big publications that are similar but not Black who will and have literally taken what we have been doing and do it themselves. That has been one of our biggest threats along the way is defending our trademark from other conglomerates. Instead of saying, these little guys have been around for decades, let’s partner with them strategically, they instead decided that they would just take our concept and idea and do it themselves. They are not Black-owned but they don’t care.
This is the struggle of many Black creators.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Besides SuccessfulBlackParenting.com, we specialize in providing the best parenting practices to parents of Black children. We also have a weekly syndicated podcast that can be found on any popular platform, called BACKtalk by Successful Black Parenting.
We also have an animation company on YouTube called Ethnic Animations and a publishing company with award-winning books like “Miles’ Stuffy Nose” and “BIG Kid: For When You’re Feeling Small in a BIG BIG World” board books.
What sets us apart from others is that we infuse not only culture in our easy-to-read articles but also statistics, demographics, and research. We don’t tell parents what to do, we give them the best practices for them to decide what is best for them and their families.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I am still seeking a publisher and marketing mentor myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SuccessfulBlackParenting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/successfulblackparenting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackParenting1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SuccessfulBlackParenting
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/backtalk-podcast-by-successful-black-parenting-magazine/id1439847711
