Michelle D. Jackson is the CEO/President of PR Solutions LLC, an award-winning strategic marketing and public relations firm.
She is the founder of two subsidiaries Direct2Author.com, an online self-published book marketplace, and the i.Invest National Youth Business Competition. In addition, she is the Executive Director of LifeSkills Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization based in New Orleans, LA dedicated to youth and youth entrepreneurship, a 3x published author and the founder of the Black Writers Workspace, an online community of over 15,000 black writers and avid readers.
Michelle’s passion for entrepreneurship ignited during the 10 years she spent managing shopping malls in Alabama and Georgia. This was followed by her six-year stint working for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). While at DBED, she led the policy development effort to create the InvestMaryland program, a first-of-its-kind legislative initiative that raised $84 million for seed and early-stage companies. In addition, Jackson led the Agency’s first division focused on innovation and entrepreneurship and created the InvestMaryland Challenge, the state’s first international business competition. From 2012 to 2015, Jackson helped the state award close to $2 million in cash and in-kind prizes to high-tech start-up companies from across the U.S. and abroad.
FWM: PR Solutions, LLC is far more than a marketing agency. Share your experience that led you to launch your company.
I started PR Solutions in 1992, while in college at the University of Alabama after one of my professors shared his experiences launching a freelance PR service to earn extra money. I was excited to start my business, but I was young, inexperienced and my understanding of PR and marketing was limited. After years of procuring clients, working full-time jobs, managing marketing and PR projects, and interacting with full-service marketing firms on behalf of multi-million-dollar companies, I relaunched PR Solutions in 2013 and became a full-time entrepreneur. Since my relaunch, I have worked with prime contractors in the Intelligence Community, Coca-Cola UNITED Bottling, Delgado Community College, the U.S. Green Building Council of Louisiana, the Foundation for Louisiana, and many others. In 2022, PR Solutions was selected by The World Games (TWG) – Birmingham, AL, to design the historical event’s commemorative book. This was an honor and an opportunity to show the global community what a small, woman-owned firm can create. Working in this industry for so many years has been a pleasure.
FWM: Businesses today are faced with challenges that can only be resolved by management teams with a clear vision, practical goals and revenue generating solutions. How are you helping smart businesses formulate strategies to advance their business model and promote growth?
Our methodology focuses on profiling the company’s target audience and understanding how the audience obtains the information they need when making social and consumer decisions. Then we combine traditional marketing tools like print, broadcast, and outdoor advertising with digital marketing tools like social media, email marketing, video, podcasting, and influencer promotions to design a strategy that allows the company to reach new and current consumers. Our dynamic design team works daily on content development and messaging.
FWM: Tell us about Direct2Author, a leading online self-published book marketplace.
I launched Direct2Author.com (D2A) in December 2021 as a spinoff of the Black Writers Workspace, an online community of over 13,000 writers and avid readers that I started in March 2020, at the beginning of COVID’s stay-at-home restrictions. D2A is an excellent example of how social media tools, like private Facebook groups, can inspire business endeavors. It is an online book marketplace for new and independent authors. It gives authors a platform for promoting their work and connecting with like-minded artists and avid readers. Independent or self-published authors are 100% responsible for marketing and selling their books. This is not only a challenging task; it can be costly and time-consuming. However, with over 1 million books being self-published annually, D2A hopes to drive readers looking for great stories by diverse writers to the site and help authors significantly grow their fan base. In addition, we recently added a Hire a Pro marketplace to help writers find reputable service providers like editors, illustrators, writing coaches, and publishers.
FWM: You released your third book, Poppi Makes Cajun Popcorn Magic: The 10-Step Guide to Building a Successful Food Startup, a young adult comic-style business book based in New Orleans and crafted to teach young entrepreneurs how to launch a business. What makes this book so important to you?
The Poppi Book is the first in a series of books I will release over the next two years to help young innovators build successful businesses. I love business development. For years I worked in shopping center management and economic development. In 2015, I launched a youth entrepreneurship program called i.Invest National Youth Business Competition. The Poppi Book uses what I learned while working with over 50 youth start-up teams to show serious young entrepreneurs how to build and scale a business. One of the key 10 steps highlighted in the book is Step 2 – Build a Strong Support Team. This is important to business development because no one succeeds alone. The book is a short read, only 49 pages, it is fun, colorful, and highly motivating. We recommend it for all entrepreneurs, regardless of age.
FWM: What will client’s notice when working with you?
Our clients quickly learn that I am selective about who the firm works with. This allows me to give each client my personal attention instead of passing them off to someone on the team with limited decision-making authority. Digital marketing makes real-time decision-making and accountability critical to client relations. I make myself available daily to connect with clients, assist with content development, and ensure marketing efforts are going as expected.
FWM: You are the Executive Director of LifeSkills Foundation. Tell us about the important work you are doing today.
LifeSkills Foundation is a 501c3 organization dedicated to youth and youth entrepreneurship. It is the non-profit arm of the i.Invest Competition. The foundation has provided thousands of dollars to winners of the i.Invest Competition and hosts an annual event in New Orleans called the Tech2Talent Career Festival. The festival aims to expose youth and parents from underserved communities to the region’s technology training and entrepreneurship opportunities. LifeSkills has been the recipient of grants from DXC Technology, Delgado Community College, and the State of Louisiana.
FWM: What have you enjoyed the most during your career?
I’ve enjoyed working with dynamic innovators in different industries, supporting charity organizations, and mentoring youth who will one day be business and social justice leaders.
www.authormichelledjackson.com
