Building, Growing, and Scaling: How Ja’Von Delgado Is Redefining Success For Herself And Other Entrepreneurs
The goal is to build it up and then watch it grow in any business. But what happens when it’s no longer a small business but a major corporation? Or what happens when your small business is not growing at all? How do you make sure growth is achieved? Ja’Von Delgado is a perfect example of someone who knows how to redefine success for any size company. As CEO of J. Delgado & Co., she has helped grow several Fortune 500 companies into industry powerhouses. And her techniques can be used by anyone looking to achieve similar levels of success. So, if you’re ready to scale your business to new heights, read on because Ja’Von Delgado is here to teach you how it’s done!
When you look back on your business venture, what would you say is your greatest accomplishment?
My greatest accomplishment has been starting and staying with it. There is a saying that graveyards are full of dreams that never were. There are so many roadblocks that present themselves when you are first getting started — imposter syndrome, lack of funding, confidence issues, and the uphill battle of even knowing how or where to start, to name a few. For most, getting past these things seems like an insurmountable challenge, and they give up. I take a lot of pride in building my business from the ground up, starting with only $150, a laptop, and a dream to sow into others. I teach every day that success is on the other side of consistency. Consistently showing up when there is no one in the room when the money hasn’t come yet when it seems like the chips are stacked against you, and you are speaking into an empty room is not easy. Surpassing these odds is a major accomplishment that I am grateful to have been blessed to experience. It is the basis for my ongoing work, and I hope it serves as an inspiration to others, especially minority women.
Every entrepreneur and company define success differently, and you have worked with many. How are you able to measure your own business successes while still ensuring theirs?
When I started this business, I had one purpose — to be of service, so measuring my success is simple. If my customers are achieving their desired outcomes, we are building their businesses based on authentic connections, their customer’s experience is engaging and exciting, and they are profitable, then they’ve won, and so have I. At the end of the day, it’s all about impact. Ultimate success is defined by whether you are leaving a lasting impact. For every business, that can look different on the surface, but fundamentally, it’s all the same. Every business needs to create a transformation, meet a need, and/or make a difference in some way. I challenge all my customers to have traditional measures of success like KPIs and milestones for their businesses, but I always require them to have an impact goal, which speaks to the human element of their business and their values. This is their guidepost, their North Star, and the true testament to both their success and mine.
What do you do in your business that differs from other coaches?
The biggest differentiator is that while many coaches focus on a signature framework that is supposed to solve all your business woes. I deeply believe that leads to a lot of the frustration and anxiety that people have around invested in business coaching. First, no two businesses are the same, have the same problems, nor the same goals, so how can you possibly have one framework that works for everyone? What happens when they need to pivot, or something isn’t working? Many people lose faith in coaches because when the framework isn’t enough, they feel forgotten and taken advantage of. I coach from a solutions-based position that focuses on equipping entrepreneurs with the mindset, structures, and options needed to run businesses in the real world, which is unpredictable, challenging, and unrelenting. You can describe my coaching style and process as “Lego instructional manual meets choose your adventure.” The focus is on supporting owners through the build, grow, and scale process so that they know they’ve built their business by their own hands and will. I’m here to provide guidance and make the path to success clearer and easier to navigate.
Why is networking valuable for business owners, and why is having to leverage an important bargaining chip for them?
Networking is your entrepreneurial journey, as Siri is to you being on a road trip. As you navigate towards your ultimate destination, you will experience obstacles in your way, potholes, heck, even some deer jumping out of nowhere. Networking helps you reroute to find alternate paths to success, avoid roadblocks, and skip the pothole-like decisions you would make. One could argue that networking removes the need for you to have already mapped out contingency plans so long as you can tap into your network to infuse your business with new ideas and opportunities. The name of the game is leverage, and networking provides that. It provides you with the capability of pulling the maximum advantage out of a situation. The greater your network, the more moves you can make, the more options available to you, and, by extension, the greater the advantage you have. Your network is an invaluable asset that literally is the gift that keeps giving, but you have to nurture your network and be selective with who is in your network, as well as when and how you tap into it.
What does 2022 look like for you, and do you have any signings or projects going on your audience should know about?
I’m so excited about 2022. I have a lot of new things brewing. In Q1, I’ll be launching a major offering that I’m through the roof about, which is the launch of the Luxe Biz Society membership. It will be focused on supporting women entrepreneurs at each phase of their journey — building, growing and scaling at different revenue levels but also the shifts in mindset and leadership that go along with each change. While that is thrilling, even more, near and dear to my heart is that with every monthly membership paid, 15% of sales will be going to support entrepreneurship-focused programming for middle school and high school kids. Education is key, but we all know that business school doesn’t actually tell you everything you need to know to build a successful business in today’s climate. For those young, aspiring entrepreneurs, I want to give them a leg up in understanding the basics like generating business ideas, building and executing business and marketing plans, pitching to investors, managing their financials, and how to launch their very own real companies. I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time, and I’m so excited to see it come to life.
How can people connect with you?
My latest jam has been to serve up free content on both Instagram and Clubhouse at @iamjavondelgado. However, if you really want to connect with me, check me out at www.javondelgado.com, where you can sign up for my free newsletter to get my best strategy tips and advice on niche marketing, business strategy, and product launching, as well as access to my private Facebook group.
