Meet John Blakley | Founder & President of JSpeaks

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Blakley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting out and in the beginning stages of JSpeaks I studied some of our great talk show hosts such as Oprah Winfrey, Trevor Noah, Larry King etc. Something I noticed about all of them is that they tended to invite onto their show, and deemed “worthy”, people who were glamorized in society – Hollywood stars, famous sports players, high net worth individuals, anyone who went viral for any particular reason etc. I am not discounting these individuals and I am sure people like Denzel Washington didn’t come out of his mothers womb with the aptitude for acting that he has now but I truly believe that there are great, hardworking, passionate, caring people everywhere who get overlooked because they do not have a million dollars in their bank accounts or a million followers on social media. However, these individuals are working tirelessly and making an impact within their respective communities. I sincerely believe that these people deserve to be recognized, congratulated and spotlighted so that they can motivate others to do the same and not quit. My platform is giving voice to the 99%. With this reasoning being the bedrock as to why I started my channel, it is my mission to connect, educate and empower the world one spotlight at a time and it is my vision to leave a lasting impact on the world that challenges people to think, consider and better themselves.

What should our readers know about your business?
What makes my business and platform different from what is out there is that my platform is giving voice to the 99%. Something that is missing from mainstream talkshows is “relatability”. I believe it is hard for the common viewer to relate to guest appearances who have garnered so much fame and fortune. I am not saying that their accomplishments are bad and not worthy of praise but I do believe that there is a modicum of disconnect. We spotlight way too often people who have already “made it” and I think it is time to spotlight those who are “trying to make it” and are working just as hard, if not harder than celebrities, to make a transformative difference within their respective communities. That is why I decided on my tagline, “Real People. Real Conversations. JSpeaks.” and strive to live up to it with every episode I roll out. The conversations and people that I have on my channel represent authenticity, relatability and your everyday, hardworking American who is trying to make it. It is my charge to find these changemakers, creatives & entrepreneurs, nonprofits, business owners, therapists and spotlight their stories, impact and knowledge for the greater good of the world.

I am most excited about continuing my forge in sharing and spreading content to the world that is positive, motivational, educational and informational. I am looking forward to my platform growing and receiving more recognition and views so that my interviewees can garner the attraction and attention that they deserve. I tell my interviewees and people all the time that JSpeaks is not about me, it was never about me – I am just the vessel. There are so many great people in this world who should have been interviewed years ago and someone has to do it… why can it not be me?

I got to where I am today due to a multitude of reasons:

1. I wanted to fully own my own voice – I am fortunate to like the company that I work for and the opportunities that my job affords me. However, I do not believe that my job provided me the space to own my own voice and bring my true, authentic self into work everyday.

2. I felt like I was capable of so much more – From the corporate angle: I enjoy being an individual contributor and making an impact but I wanted to be trusted with more responsibility and aspired to have a leadership role. Everything in corporate America is predicated on “years of experience” and current, present day knowledge but I believe great leaders are made when someone takes a chance on them, throws them into the deep end and although they might not be 100% qualified, “to the T”, with the right mentorship and guidance they can excel and grow. From an entrepreneur angle: I was tired of using my soft skills in being a great communicator, multitasker, organized and disciplined to be “just” a great employee. I wanted to be more than that and in particular I desired to use my talents, energies and soft skills to give back to society.

3. Positive feedback and encouragement from the people who I interviewed, Demonica and social media – Although my overarching goal is to empower and make a positive difference on the world, before that is achieved I strive to make a similar impact on my interviewees. Most of the people who I interview, this is their first time being interviewed. Knowing this to be true, I try my darnedest to be supportive, transparent and helpful prior to and during the interview, that way they can open up and feel comfortable being their natural selves on camera which will lead to the audience better receiving what they have to say. Also post interview, I make sure my interviewees are 100% involved and aware of my proposed thumbnail, video description, social media tagging and posting cadence. I tell my interviewees all the time, “this is your episode” and I plan for it, personalize it and treat it as such. This way of handling my interviews has not only garnered me appreciation from my interviewees but they enthusiastically relay my information and platform to other people in their network as well.

I have always been told and believe that “anything worth having in life doesn’t come easy but only from out of faith & obedience in God, hard work and discipline”. This journey has certainly not been easy and I have gone through moments of burnout and intense imposter syndrome. Starting up a brand from the ground up is so much more work than I perceived and your success in this area is solely not predicated on your mastery in your soft skills – although it is very important. I am so fortunate to be working with such a great, humble and hardworking team who not only share similar characteristics and soft skills as me but also a similar passion and drive in wanting my platform to blow up and reach the masses. I am so very grateful for my team and I am gradually learning how to rely on them more and trust them in having full autonomy in their areas of expertise. Also, I got where I am today because made the culling decision to eschew and prune who and what deserved my energy, time and attention. We live in an electromagnetic world and everything we do, consume, interact with and entertain either drains us of our energy or gives us energy, Starting and maintaining any business will require of you to conserve as much energy and time as possible in order to sufficiently pour into yourself and grow your business. If your time and attention is being occupied elsewhere then the speed at which you will grow and make an impact in the world will be lessened drastically. Every aspiring entrepreneur and business man/ woman needs to go through a long season of autonomy in order to self reflect and take action!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am truly an old head at heart and do not go out like I used to but if someone were to visit me I would:
Location: Greensboro, NC

– Wake up, shower and get ready
– Breakfast: Dames Chicken and Waffles
– Jake’s Pub and Billiards
– Lunch: Crafted the Art of the Taco
– Walk around downtown + window shop/ Boxcar Bar + Arcade
– Dinner: Print Work Bistro

– Wake up, shower and get ready
– Breakfast: Scrambled Southern Diner
– International Civil Rights Center & Museum
– The Bog Garden at Benjamin Park
– Lunch: Sticks and Stones
– Nap / Chill
– Watch a movie at the crib & takeout (La Palma)

– Wake up, shower and get ready
– Breakfast: Luxe Soulfood & Cocktails
– Salem Lake Trail
– Nap / Chill
– Food & Activity: Top Golf
– Dinner (latter in the day): Lucky 32

– Wake up, shower and get ready
– Breakfast: Mimis cafe
– Botanical Gardens
– Catch a movie
– Lunch: Green Valley Grill
– Attend a Shakesum’ event in Raleigh
– Dinner: Mums Jamaican

– Wake up, shower and get ready
– Live in the moment, rest and see where the day takes us

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to take this opportunity to shout out my best friend & confidant, videographer and photographer, secretary and stylist – Demonica Stanley. I was absolutely crazy to think that I could have walked this journey alone. Thank you sincerely for your unwavering patience, kindness, support and enthusiastically making yourself open and available to assist me in any capacity that you can. I am so very grateful for your genuine, selfless desire to do anything for me that would serve to relieve stress, take work off my plate, make life easier for me and make me happy. Thank you for staying by my side through it all, being subbed to my mission (since day one!) and my number one fan!

Website: https://www.aboutjspeaks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jspeaks__/profilecard/?igsh=N3U5aDczaXAxeGhy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jspeaks/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/mMNNvb9J5LWJRtAj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@jspeaks6623?si=ptnDVbgHuKoxIyCV

Other: Newsletter: https://linktr.ee/j.speaks__?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaadtyE90833pSnsxb6G1QfFC3AMscbSRX82QEKseetEKQ-pFMT0bLipnhA_aem_2tE9WRL_u8ecZ9EvVF2hLg

Image Credits
Demonica Stanley