Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Smith.
Brianna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always been motivated by my peers and family! They encouraged me at a young age if I put my mind toward a goal, remained focused and had faith in God, then I would be successful. I took these words and molded my path toward success believing that if I worked hard, I could accomplish anything. I was always business forward. From middle school, I knew I wanted to pave my way as a professional in business. I joined school organizations such as FBLA & BETA club and from there grew my network. I have always been active in my given communities. While in my position of Varsity Cheer Captain in high school, I learned to not only be a leader but to also understand how to follow and take direction from my team.
While maintaining a full-time student status at Georgia Southern University, I participated in various organizations to make the best of my college experience. Of my proudest accomplishments as an Eagle, I had the privilege of being accepted into the University Honors Program where I later was granted the opportunity to study abroad in Ireland. I landed my first accounting internship with Turner Broadcasting – now known as Warner Media. Best of all, I became a member of the best sorority there is – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. I believe that if I wasn’t encouraged early on to pursue my idea of success, I wouldn’t have had these opportunities.
I pushed myself. I kept working, kept reaching for greatness, and graduated from Georgia Southern University in 3 ½ years. Upon receiving my bachelor’s degree in accounting, I knew that in order to set myself apart, I needed to obtain higher education. I enrolled into the WebMacc program and received my Masters of Accounting within two years. Here I am today, 23 years old with a master’s degree, an accounting career and co-owning a business. Look at God!
Has it been a smooth road?
The road to success is never smooth. There are always adversities that shape who you ultimately become. When my partner and I decided to take on the JUBA project, it became very apparent that there would be hiccups. It was a matter of deciding if our business idea was valuable enough for others to want to support. I can remember us stepping foot into local malls and carrying around a 6-question survey, trying to figure out the shopping habits of strangers. Getting positive and negative feedback managed our expectations and quickly revealed that good results would not come easily.
In a partnership, you combine the ideas of individuals with a similar vision. Initially, it seemed simple to have an idea, find the right resources, and create a business. There were different views on technical and creative direction for the company, ways to market to the public, as well as the process for bringing in new affiliates. Not only do you have to come up with a viable business, but you have to form a relationship with the other person. It is key to be able to get along with the person you spend so much time working with. We would disagree on steps in the process and there were moments when we needed to give each other space, reevaluate, redirect, and communicate effectively. Learning how to communicate has opened channels to better understand what’s important to us, respectively. February 29th was the original date my partner and I set to launch JUBA.
Aside from the pandemic that delayed our progress, we worked closely with projects in the inception of JUBA that we weren’t adapt to. This caused delays due to our lack of knowledge of coding and minimal knowledge of web designing. It was necessary for us to do additional research and also ask the right questions. Patience, persistence, and prayer allowed us to create the well-needed platform we have now launched on June 1st. Everyone didn’t understand the vision in the early stages, but we stayed focused on our mission to build awareness and keep the dollar within minority communities.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with JUBA – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
This platform was designed to give small minority businesses an outlet to have their business displayed at the forefront, without their products and services getting lost on bigger sites like Groupon. We also designed this platform with the customer in mind. We wanted to give customers a place to find these small minority businesses while also getting great deals! We believe in creating a community and filling a void in the process.
At JUBA, we aim to provide an easy and affordable way to invest into minority communities. We believe it is important to help uplift those individuals with small businesses. We give our customers the ability to support their communities while being incentivized to do so.
JUBA is a unique platform where you can network, shop, and share the best places to find unforgettable deals on products and services all over Atlanta. We have everything you need to save money and navigate your city! We have a unique chatbot that makes the customer experience easier. You search for a keyword of a product or service you are looking for and JUBA takes you to a related affiliate on the platform.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Atlanta is the perfect place for small business startups. There are so many resources available and the network of people who support businesses like ours is huge! If someone were starting out, I would recommend them starting in Atlanta. Atlanta has afforded JUBA a plethora of opportunities to grow and connect. If you own a small minority business in the Atlanta area and are just starting out, become a JUBA affiliate and let us set up your eStore on our website! We are improving the way in which business owners connect with new and existing clients by giving them a platform that helps manage their pipeline. All affiliates have access to their dashboard that acts as a CRM to help manage and send correspondence to their clients. Our platform builds that relationship to improve our city’s ability to make successful business owners!
Pricing:
- Our prices range in value due to our variety of affiliates on the platform. We have discounts between 10-50% off on categories including, but not limited to personal grooming, restaurants, event spaces, we have marketing plan add ons to assist with growing your business and more! Check us out today!
Contact Info:
- Address: 300 Cityline Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30308
- Website: www.buyjustus.com
- Email: info@buyjustus.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juballc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juballc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/juballc/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJQDp9LoFZfTq580_9M4Lw?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Branden Green, owner of Mev Photographie, Yvonne Wright, owner of Sparkle Brand Braids
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