Life & Work with Jalan Ward

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jalan Ward.

Hi Jalan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’m Jalan, and I created a company in 2019 from a random dream. True story. “The Proud Black Brand” was then manifested. Usually, when someone explains their business storyline, they will start at the beginning of its development. The Art of Storytelling is very special to me, so I would like the readers to understand that my purpose was already written before it even started. At the age of 28, I believe it is best to explain that everything results back to my childhood.

I was constantly observing, drawing a variety of interests, and noticing how big the world is, outside of Raleigh. I considered myself an open-minded kid who felt different as it pertains to taking a liking to stuff other kids may not necessarily care about. Introverted some may say, but I was always interested in everything the world was visually projecting. Being raised in a single-parent household, I believe instills some unique, and powerful traits within yourself because you find yourself spending a lot of time to self-develop. The positive side of this is having the advantage of seeking your purpose early on.

This made me want to explore everything as a kid. I really felt I could do it all. Aspirations of becoming a financial advisor, pro-skateboarder, basketball star, dentist, gamer, musical A&R, to even acting. All of this could still happen by the way, but by being young, your mind is truly powerful, and if you believe you can do something, your brain will attempt to master whatever it is you want. This belief was taught to me. This is all because of my mother who gave me the confidence to actually believe that anything is possible.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I took the untraditional approach when creating my company, and it has been more challenging than I could even handle. Fellow business owners know that we are always looking for resources, and opportunities to grow our brands. Most of the time, that’s a challenge in itself. This leads to the first thing that I do NOT recommend, “DO NOT try to do everything yourself!” It’s impossible! Sometimes, I’m surprised that I’ve made it this far doing everything myself.

It’s exhausting, and I’ve prayed since the creation of the brand to find the perfect team who will be able to help grow the company together. That’s what it’s all about. Another challenge that sticks out to me is sometimes overthinking my personal work, which can lead to a creative block. I strategically map every move I make, and my mind runs 1000 miles a minute. I am always thinking ahead, developing new projects, learning new business models, and enhancing my design work.

Sometimes it’s too much to the point where you try to find a mental getaway, which is actually needed in this field of work. What’s so funny is that I really enjoy the challenges though, because I learn from all of the mistakes, especially the struggles I have gone through in these past 3 years. There’s so much beauty in the struggle.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I love every dynamic of what an “artist” entails. Art is all around us! There are no limitations to your creative capabilities in modern-day form. As a self-taught graphic designer/creative, I am someone who uses the world as my canvas. I like to study the past, present, and future of culture. This leads to implementing my ideas inside of my work to give a new, and fresh perspective. Whether it’s creating graphics, garment designs, writing books, and even traveling just to photograph pictures of the world; there are no limits to what I will do next.

This has placed me at an advantage since I’ve always appreciated the creative arts. It’s in my genetic make-up to create things. I am a photographer for 7 years now, having the passion to capture images through my eyes is very important to my company. I’m able to create the perfect aesthetic that is attractive to my audience, and most importantly, it’s relatable. I consider myself a jack of many trades as some will say. I like to think of these as assets that differentiate myself, and my portfolio from the masses as I aim to work/collaborate with bigger name companies.

What I am most proud of is being able to continue learning, growing, and evolving. I want to share everything I’ve incorporated with the next generation of creatives, and brand owners. I do not know what the future holds, nor am I thinking about where I want to be 5-10 years from now with my work. I fell in love with present-day energy and creative opportunity. Currently, everything is changing within myself, and my brand, but that is inevitable. I love who I am becoming, I find it more intriguing every day, it’s cool as hell!

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
No luck is involved in this amazing story. I appreciate each and every day for what it brings. The amount of “blessings” I’ve received up to this point is something I couldn’t have even imagined so early on. If that is “good luck” then so be it, but nothing is possible without God.

I have been blessed, watched over while continuing to impact culture. I truly want to help change the world from my perspective through P.B.B. (Proud Black Brand). I cannot wait to share with our supporters what my brand has up its sleeve, you just have to wait and see.

Contact Info:

• Email: TheProudBlackBrand@Gmail.Com
• Website: TheProudBlackBrand.Com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/proudblackbrand
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProudBlackBrand
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/proudblackbrand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9k7RWoRT2mGv7Axx_0enRg
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/j.ward__/

Image Credits
Colin Rex @ColinTRex, Devin Hunter @thevisualhunter, and The Whitaker Group @thewhitakergrp