Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonae Roberts.
Jonae, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After leaving New Orleans in 2005, where I went to college at Dillard University, I started humbly working on the sales floor of an online university. I spent seven years there fine tuning my talents. I was a Sr. adviser, mentor and team leader. These roles allowed me to work closely with directors and the training department. During this time, I did a lot of volunteer work, while also starting my freelance make up artistry career. The Special Olympics was one of my favorite events to volunteer at. Seeing the joy in the eyes of the competitors despite physical or mental limitations was beautiful. Immanual Food Bank was an eye-opening place for me when I volunteered there. People humbled by life would swallow their pride and accept help not always with a smile. I made it a point to try and make the situation a pleasant one by telling jokes and just being kind. I truly had not known the magnitude of families that struggled just to eat daily. These were eye opening yet great times in my professional and personal development after college.
As time goes on, things change and after a while, I felt I hit the glass ceiling at the online university for a young woman of my ethnicity. I left and focused on my freelance makeup artistry. It allowed me to still be in the sales atmosphere I had grown to love but also stay in tune with my creative side. An opportunity presented itself to get into yacht insurance. I gained a wealth of knowledge in this sector, the yachting community is huge yet close knit group in south Florida. I worked long hours doing data entry in this new sector. All the while planning my wedding, where I married my now husband Richard. During this time, I felt I was missing something and I realized I was neglecting my gift of sales. Back in the search for something that sparked the fire inside of me, I started a position working as a health advocate at a nutrition company. I was able to use my sales skills again and I of course excelled. Not soon after starting this new position, I was offered a promotion as a customer advocacy analyst. This position allowed me to work closely with the legal department and executives. I loved doing investigations from an unbiased position to help customers or protect the company. I was able to get a better understanding for the infrastructure of a fairly new company. Participation in corporate runs, the Boat shows, and other events also assisted in developing major networking skills that I still use today. I truly enjoyed this position but needed more freedom with my time as my family grew.
After almost three years at the nutrition company, my husband and I started our own business, Efficient Energy Consultant Group. EECG is an energy brokerage working with commercial businesses in energy deregulated states. We help businesses budget their utilities. We worked from home at first, just us two closing deals and building our company up. I was back in my sales zone and loved it. After a while, we knew in order to see real growth with our company we had to push it on a bigger scale. After a long search, we found a fitting office and started the hiring process. The skills learned working as an adviser at the university helped me with sales and also with having an eye for talent (recruiting) and training. We have now had our office opened a year as of April and we are still in the green! All praises to the highest for that. EECG has six employees and two contractors in New York. It feels good to help people grow and provide jobs for people. I’ve just been very blessed to be a sponge along the way and now be able to use the skills learned over the years to build my own business. The question now is what business will I start next, because the only way is up.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, but such is life. Every failure every setback is a setup for a comeback. And I truly believe that. In 2010, I was in a major car accident, where I almost lost my life. I had a broken jaw and broken orbital. I was in the hospital for a week and had two surgeries. I have plates in my face to this day. It was a long road to healing, I had my mouth wired shut for 6 weeks. The days of crying and blending burger to drink were miserable for me. That experiencing made me appreciate life, what I am capable of enduring, overcoming and solidified in my mind that I am here for a greater purpose. Giving my all and taking advantage of every opportunity given is what I have taken away from this struggle. Mentally, it has weighed on me though, I was scared to drive for a long time and struggled with confidence since my surgeries left scars on my face. This did not detour me from continuing with freelance makeup artistry. I still did weddings and events. I attest me getting through this time to God and my adoring husband who literally was a major factor in building my confidence and holding me up. My husband left his job and stayed home and nursed me back to health for 3 months. He will forever be my hero for that.
Please tell us about Efficient Energy Consultant Group.
Efficient Energy Consultant Group is the only black-owned energy brokerage in South Florida. We are set apart from most due to our relationships with over 75 different energy suppliers in the country. We are able to give clients the best rates possible for energy contracts. To give more details, in energy deregulated states people can choose energy suppliers with the best rates for their energy consumption. This can lower your bill tremendously if you get a good rate, which we do for our clients. We specialize in monitoring the market and helping each client get a rate that will help lower or protect them from the volatility of the ever-changing energy market.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am starting a new business in e-commerce. Furr Baby Swag, is a pet clothing and accessory site dedicated to swaging pets out. Cool clothes and fun, practical accessories for pet lovers. Also, my husband and I are doing another joint venture in credit repair, Credit Care Repair Solutions. We are not loosing focus on Efficient Energy Consultant Group we are in talks with realtors in New York & Texas to open a new location in an actual deregulated state, to help the business grow more. Personally, we are also searching for a new home for our new family of four.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.efficientenergyconsultantgroup.com
- Phone: 866.217.8804
- Email: jroberts@efficientenergyconsultantgroup.com
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