The life of a magazine editor can seem like a constant swirl of glamour but behind every celebrity selfie and television appearance there is a ton of teamwork. We visited entrepreneur and Lifestyle & Relationships Editor Charreah Jackson at the Essence offices to talk about the power of relationships, the importance of pursing your passion, and never forgetting about the people you serve.
Name: Charreah Jackson
Location: Harlem, NY
Personal Style: “Retro. Romantic. Funk.”
Favorite Designer(s): DVF, Kate Spade and Laquan Smith.
Must-Have Accessories: A pop of color, bold earrings and a kiss.
What lead to the founding of BossBride.com?
During my course here as Relationships editor, I get so many relationship books and resources that come across my desk but I often felt like a lot of the information wasn’t necessarily tailored to today’s woman. Concerns are a little bit different than generations before because we have so many more professional opportunities as women today. But having a lot of choices can sometimes be overwhelming, there are a lot more things that are coming for our time. We dream bigger and better than generations before because we have unprecedented access to the life we want. So it’s a passion area for me and as a dating coach a lot of the women I work with are very successful professional women who are looking for that same level of success in their personal life and so that was who my niche was. I was thinking about what do you call her and boss bride came to me. I launched last year.
Who is a Boss Bride to you?
A Boss Bride is a woman who merges the best skills of an effective leader with a woman on her wedding day. She is someone who is a great delegator, who is a team player, who is a visionary. She is a woman who is living in the moment, fully taking advantage of having the people she loves around her and who prioritizes her relationships. You can be single, you can be a divorcee, you can be married for fifteen years and still be a boss bride. It’s a mentality and approach to life that you’re really smart and particular about what’s important to you because you know that there’s a lot on your plate.
Read more about Charreah below.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Touching peoples’ lives. I consider it a service job. There’s nothing like hearing a woman say “I got tested for HIV after reading your story”. I am grateful to serve such an incredible audience. And of course It’s great to see them at Essence Fest every year and on twitter.
What’s your favorite part about collaborating with the Essence team?
My favorite part of collaborating with the Essence team is that they are some of the smartest, most passionate, knowledgeable, creative people that you will ever encounter and also incredibly hardworking. What we do requires great synergy among the team, you can’t do it on your own.
What’s the greatest lesson that you’ve learned from being a part of Essence so far?
I’ve gained a lot of invaluable lessons working here. And if I boiled it down to a few words I would say ‘people matter’, that how you show up and how you communicate your vision means everything. Also there’s a lot of power in what you say because what you say matters. You only get one shot for a magazine. We take it very serious. I can go on a site and change things I can’t pull back a million copies of a magazine if we get something wrong so getting it right is a priority for us. People matter, not just the people we work with but the people we serve. If you’re ever at Essence for five minutes you’ll start to hear “she” being used about this mythical woman, and we’re talking about the Essence woman. To be here is to clearly understand who “she” is and to respect her because we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the women who support this brand.
What’s been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned so far as an entrepreneur with BossBride.com and with speaking engagements? Aside from Essence what’s the biggest thing you’ve learned in your career?
There’s the business lessons and the life lessons. From the business perspective it’s not easy to have a demanding day job and to have external interests and work as well but you if it’s really a passion it will drive you. And your network really is your net worth. Every great success that I’ve had in my life thus far I can track to another person.
How do you think attending a HBCU has helped your professional path personally?
Howard has been invaluable to me. My first magazine internship was because one of the professors there who connected me with Joyce Davis who was an editor at Upscale magazine in Atlanta. It was Joyce who connected me with my huge magazine crush Mitzi Miller, who had been her assistant at Honey. Every new person I met introduced me to another person.
What’s been the biggest setback or obstacle on your journey?
I’ve been laid off and it was a gift to me. It was a good lesson. People called me like somebody died but I refused to receive that sympathy. I couldn’t say I had faith and in times of strife not lean on it.
What three pieces of advice would you give to someone who emulates your career?
- Get clear on who you are first. Know yourself in and out.
- Cultivate great relationships. Retweet the people you think are cool, tweet them, like them, connect on LinkedIn.
- The industry is increasingly specialized execute one thing well then add on. I definitely encourage that.
What’s in your handbag right now?
Sunglasses, a business card holder, $20, some lip gloss, keys, earrings because I feel naked without earrings, my iPod, headphones, magazines, a book and my notebook. I have SO much stuff in here!
Check out Charreah’s recap of her experience hosting a dating bootcamp with Steve Harvey here.