Meet Jessica Huie

August 23, 2010 in Awards, Lifestyle, Public Relations, Serial Entrepreneur

Founder

JH PR & Colorblind Cards

Award-winning serial entrepreneur Jessica Huie is the brains behind Colorblind Cards and JH PR.

Colorblind Cards, founded in September 2007, is a unique range of greeting cards and gifts focused on highlighting the beauty of people from Caribbean, African, Asian and mixed race descent.

JH PR, a full service public relations agency representing celebrities and brands including Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Rowland and the Virgin London Marathon, was established in January 2009.

In addition to running her companies, Jessica is a regular columnist for Pride magazine, serves as an ambassador for the government’s Mark your Mark campaign and was invited to Downing Street as an enterprise adviser by former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

Why did you decide to start your businesses?
Ambition and a desire to grow by challenging myself were the main reasons for starting Colorblind Cards and later JH Public Relations. I’d achieved what I’d set out to within my media career when I realised the gap in the market for greeting cards representing people of black and mixed race.

It was not a question of “if” I started a company but when. As a mother I wanted a more flexible work life which could only have been possible through being my own boss.

What was your career path prior to starting your first business?
I enjoyed an extensive career in media prior to Colorblind Cards. My very first media position was aged 17 as office junior for Connie Filippello, who continues to represent Mariah Carey and George Michael. It was a whole new world and I fell in love with the pace, the glamour and the creativity.

Aged 19 I embarked on a degree in journalism and I spent three years in house at Pride magazine as senior staff writer under the wonderful writer and Editor Amina Taylor. I continue to have a column in Pride today. Two years spent in radio journalism at BBC London radio and Choice FM ran alongside my position at Pride before I settled into the role of Press Consultant for Max Clifford for several years and loved every minute.

Tell me more about Colorblind Cards and what makes your products unique?
We currently have almost 100 designs in the Colorblind Card range and are set to launch a gift line which will include children’s t-shirts, baby-grows, eco-friendly bags etc, in the next month.

The cards combine beautiful imagery with poignant or funny captions. They capture the beauty of all people of all races and aim to give the next generation positive images which they can identify with.

Your cards are available in over 100 Clinton Cards stores in the UK, how long did it take following launch to secure nationwide retail distribution?
It happened very quickly, around seven months after launching. That said, I have no doubt that my PR skills came in handy in negotiating the deal. It’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination and the range is actually more visible in our many independent stockists across the UK.

Tell me more about JH PR, what type of clients do you work with?
My clients are a broad mix of celebrity, high-profile business people, brands and experts. My background working for Max Clifford and Connie Filippello included similarly diverse clientele and ultimately the approach is the same.

Past and present clients include several of the TV series Secret Millionaires such as Hilary Devey, Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Rowland, the Virgin London Marathon, the Ministry of Justice, Stardoll.com, Luxury beach club Nikki Beach, Nia Long and Ali Bastian.

I’m currently working on a fantastic West End show called Burn the Floor which has come straight from Broadway. The opening night was a fantastic success, the stars came out in droves and we had mass press coverage for days afterwards, I still get a buzz from my job.

What has been your favourite PR project to date?
That’s impossible to answer as every month is so varied. Shortly after launching JH PR I was flying clients Kelly Rowland and model Natalie Suliman out to Caribbean Fashion Week to perform and model. Organising the London screening of Good Hair for actress Nia Long was great fun and last month we had a ball in Marbella taking a group of celebs to Nikki Beach for a luxury weekend.

That’s the glamorous side, but equally fabulous is that my life has been enhanced by some amazing mind, body and spirit experts including life-coach / hypnotherapist Ali Campbell. I’m blessed that I get to work with people whose advice and expertise I benefit from on a daily basis.

What are you working on at the moment? Can you describe your typical working day?
Burn the Floor at the Shaftesbury Theatre was JH PR’s first foray into theatre, so it had been challenging but hugely satisfying to orchestrate such a successful campaign. The show runs until September 4 so we’re arranging press for the cast and stars on a daily basis.

I might start my day at GMTV with Ali Bastian and end it at the Graham Norton show with Kelly Rowland who’s currently promoting her third solo studio album. In between that I’ll be fielding calls and requests for Nikki Sanderson to do a shoot for OK! Magazine, reviewing new stockist orders for Colorblind, preparing new business proposals and many, many other duties. It’s always non-stop and if I’m lucky, travelling to Spain on the weekends for shoots at Nikki Beach!

As a serial entrepreneur, how do you balance running two distinct businesses at the same time?
With difficulty! I’ve only just accepted I can’t do it all. Colorblind Cards suffered when JH PR took off, so now I have a good team of agents to ensure Colorblind isn’t impacted on too much. Both are still small businesses so it’s manageable. The most important thing these days is for me to try and stay spiritually and physically healthy so that I can handle the juggling!

What have been the highlights of running your own businesses?
The opportunity to travel to wonderful places and access fascinating human beings. Being a “cool mum” thanks to perks such as X Factor tickets, High School Musical film premieres and other things which my daughter thinks make me brilliant. Plus never having to miss a school assembly.

What is the hardest part of running your own businesses?
The responsibility and the lack of sleep. When I first left Max Clifford Associates the realisation that I was responsible for everything and the buck stopped with me hit me like a ton of bricks. There were tears and I had to grow up (at the grand old age of 28!!) but now I couldn’t be happier. I work harder than ever, but it’s for me and for my daughter and an end goal, which is satisfying.

You have won numerous awards, Gordon Brown presented you with the Daily Mail’s ‘Enterprising Young Brit Award’ in 2007 and you won the Evening Standard’s ‘Most Inspirational Entrepreneur’ Award in the same year. What has been your proudest moment to date?
Being invited to No.10 Downing Street was a big deal for me, but so was graduating. Nothing tops the day my daughter was made Head Girl of her school at Speech Day though. You could take everything away but my daughter is a wonderful, incredibly focused and kind human being and as she gets older I stare at her incredulously as I’m so proud to be her mother.

You are an ambassador for the government’s ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign and have acted as an enterprise advisor to former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. What advice would you give to stimulate business development growth following the recession?
Ensure you have a fantastic publicist on board to drive your brand or service – JH PR!

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received?
“In order to be successful, you have to make yourself vulnerable.”

What, or who, inspires and motivates you?
Life inspires me. Every day is full of possibilities and my dreams are still massive. The determination to realise them motivates me.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering starting multiple businesses?
Inner fulfilment for business success is the most important thing for any entrepreneur to be conscious of. I feel so strongly about the benefits of taking an almost holistic approach to business, that I was inspired to join forces with Precious founder, Foluke Akinlose MBE to create the PRECIOUS YOU event which takes place on Sunday November 7th 2010 in London.

We’ll have some incredible speakers with actual business success running seminars offering practical advice, and also workshops on meditation and practices to ensure you stay spiritually intact while building your business empire!

What are your future goals for Colorblind Cards?
The gift range is next on the agenda and will be launched imminently. Further expansion and presence is the focus for the next two years. Ultimately the goal is to cement our place as the world’s leading multicultural gift and card publisher.

What are your future goals for JHPR?
To set up our Los Angeles office in the next three years and offer a transatlantic service to our clients. Watch this space.

PRECIOUS YOU takes place on Sunday November 7, 2010 at One Alfred Place, 1 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7EB.

For more information on Colorblind Cards and JH PR visit www.colorblindcards.com and www.jhpr.co.uk

Jessica Huie was interviewed by Octavia Goredema, founder of the Twenty Ten Club.

Twenty Ten Club is a Best Business Blog finalist at the 2010 Black Weblog Awards in the United States. If you enjoyed this post we’d appreciate your vote! If you’d like to vote for the Twenty Ten Club Blog you can do so here until August 31, 2010.