Brown girls from New York to Los Angeles, can set their calendars by I Don’t Do Clubs, a website dedicated to providing details on events from day parties to charity galas. Founded by digital expert and entrepreneur Genese Jamilah the site has become a staple for the young, black, and gifted who value a good time that’s anything but old fashioned. And with ventures like the popular Black Owned Restaurant Month, and the Must Love Beards day party series it’s clear that Jamilah’s innovation is only going increase the site’s impact. We caught up with her to discuss, clarity, productivity, and the importance of saying no.
Name: Genese Jamilah
Location: New York, New York
Describe Your Personal Style in Three Words: Cute, Comfortable and Classic
Who Are Your Favorite Designer(s):Banana Republic, Rachel Roy, and Calvin Klein
What Are Your Must Have Accessories?: I always have on earrings and bracelets.
You recently launched a new brand with Slide in their DMs. What prompted you to expand?
It started as a joke I was at a mixer with a couple of my friends and this guy came up to me telling me he needed to find a girl and asking if I knew any good women in New Jersey, because we were in New Jersey for the event. He was like “put me on your instagram!” And so I put that guy on and a couple of my friends who are single and everyone just liked it so I thought okay maybe this could be something. Just like Must Love Beards is kind of a way to meet the opposite sex it’s just another discreet way for people to get to know someone because they’re putting themselves out there. A lot of the events do focus on meeting someone of the opposite sex so why not make it a daily feature?
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
That it’s very important to say no. In the beginning of my blogging career I tried to please everyone and it ended up burning me out. So in the last two years I’ve made it a point to only say yes to things that I want to do and make sure that I keep strict business hours so I can have time for my personal life too.
Learn more about this enterprising brown girl below.
You founded Black Owned Restaurant Month. What do you value most in your dining experiences?
I hate having to wait. I can make my decisions pretty quickly.
What is your greatest professional asset?
I would say my time management skills. I have a full time job at Ebony magazine and I manage the blog. I’m able to juggle both with ease and my personal life is great so I think the fact that I’m able to do all three without pulling out my hair is a great attribute.
You have more than one demanding professional role. How do you manage your time effectively?
The main thing is that I get up early. I’m usually up by 6:30 or 7am working on the blog and then I transition into Ebony work at 8am I work from home with Ebony and I Don’t Do Clubs until about 10am then I’m in the office around 11 and I switch between work both platforms throughout the day and I have a hard stop at 4:30pm Monday through Thursday. And on Fridays I usually don’t do any work . I think the fact that I go really hard Monday through Thursday allows me to be productive.
What’s been the greatest moment in your career so far?
I think the greatest moment as of late is Black Owned Restaurant Month. I was surprised that there weren’t any other restaurant months going on that highlighted black businesses and I definitely think there’s a need for us to support our businesses and going forward I’m launching black-owned retail month which I think will be another platform to reach out to black-owned businesses that are not in the food field.
What’s been the biggest setback or obstacle on your career path?
Not saying no to people. Two years ago when I looked at my year end goals I realized I hadn’t done a lot of them. And they were simple enough but I realized I was spending a lot of my time trying to say no the right way or extending myself with things I knew I didn’t want to do to begin with. So looking back I think that if I would have said no earlier and been a little more careful who I picked to work with I would have accomplished more by four years in.
Who are your role models?
There’s no one that I want to be exactly like but I do read the stories of a lot of successful and strong women and there’s pieces of their lives that I try to apply to my own.
Were you always social and outgoing?
I’ve always been really involved in school. I was in SGA, and on homecoming court, I’m in a sorority and I’ve always liked planning events.
What three pieces of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
- Get started. I think a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs talk themselves out of their project before they get started. If you really want to do it you’ll get started. It might not be a success right away but you’ll never know unless you try.
- The second thing is be clear about your goals. You don’t need to have twenty or thirty projects. Just pick one project and make sure that goals before starting another project.
- The third would be say no and don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your own dreams and aspirations.
What are your current career goals?
First I want to finish an app and then I would like to cover other cities the way I do with New York on I Don’t Do Clubs.
What’s in your handbag right now?
An almond walnut macademia Kind bar, a notebook that says bright ideas on it, my wallet -it’s grey and from Nine West, a makeup bag that has hand sanitizer, body butter from bath and body works, high shine lip gloss by love and beauty, a tiny brush and comb, a travel size of Britney Spear’s Fantasy perfume, an umbrella and flip flops because I’m going to get my nails done after work.
Black Owned Restaurant Month will soon be joined by Black Owned Retail Month. Learn how you can participate here!
Photo Credit : Kolin Mendez for I Don’ t Do Clubs