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We had a conversation with three Black customers to talk about their own experiences, their mentors who led them to the place they are today, and their hopes and dreams to shape our future.

       Karl Ferguson Jr.  

Karl lives by the creative philosophy that your job should be able to fund your passion until it can become your entire lifestyle. Karl is able to achieve precisely that, By balancing his work along with his passion for portrait photography. One glance at his site will make amazed by the amount of famous people he's shot in the field of entertainment. Karl's online presence has allowed present his work to a plethora of potential clients in a matter of minutes. "One among the greatest tools is the method that allows me to move and drop pictures and arrange them at a second's time," Karl says.

Community has played a big part in the success of Karl's photography. Bouncing ideas off of other Black photographers helps him feel the camaraderie of an industry that can be isolated in times. Karl hopes to pass on the love within his professional life, to create an identical kind of community for new creatives in the space. "Paying it forward is being accessible to others," Karl says. By openly sharing his experience and expertise, Karl hopes to help other creatives become the best that they could be.

When asked what he might say to his younger self as someone who is just beginning the photography journey Karl's suggestion is: "Don't get so intense that you stop yourself from creating. Being patient and enjoying your process is probably the most important thing you can do as a photographer."

To learn more about Karl's work, head over his website. his website.

        The Black Corporate  

Social media expert and ambassador Candace Marie is the founder of Black In Corporate The Black In Corporate group that advocates for Black individuals in corporate spaces. The concept behind Black In Corporate was born out of her own experiences in work environments where systemic racism is making it challenging to Black employees to achieve. "While Black In Corporate was birthed out of my personal experience," Candace says, "a key reason for starting the nonprofit was that I was aware that there were many Black people in my network whose experiences were similar if they were not exactly the same as my personal experiences."

One of the many pillars that Black In Corporate stands on is the Virtual Mentorship Program, that gives Black professionals access to options, opportunities and collaboration. Black In Corporate's website has played a major role in spreading the word about the program's benefits to its target audience. "While news media and social media are the main drivers of traffic, the beautiful style and ease of the navigation on the site keeps our audience entertained and interested," Candace says about the effectiveness of their website.

The saying "it takes a village" particularly rings true in the case of Candace as she embarks on her path to launching Black In Corporate. It has grown immensely through the support of mentors, sponsors as well as friends and family who have helped her along her journey. Many ways, Candace is now offering the same assistance to Black professionals. "This experience isn't easy enough on its own," she says. "Whenever I can offer some advice or sit on a panel, or make an introduction to a contact for a colleague--I'm really intentional about nurturing other Black persons in this community."

Learn more about Black In Corporate on their website.

       Elton Anderson Jr.  

For nearly 14 years Elton Anderson Jr. worked as a photographer, shooting celebrities and some of the most popular brands. However, he decided to change direction when he realized that the job he'd always been passionate about was no longer as fulfilling. Following a potentially life-threatening bout of malaria while traveling through Brazil, Elton vowed to commit his whole life to bettering himself as well as the lives of those around him.

Today, Elton is doing just what every day: In addition to taking on new roles like producers, director of creative, and travel show host, Elton also launched Creators of Color which is a platform dedicated to telling the tales of Black artists across a variety of industries.

For Elton taking these adjustments is an essential part of the creative process. Elton's suggestion for young Black creatives seeking to make a change in their career is to follow their intuition. "If there's no way to say Yes and it's not a Yes," Elton says. "This principle has made my career switch a lot more successful and authentic to me."

For a creator like Elton with so many different projects to work on digital marketing plays an important role in telling the story of his life. The goal of Elton is to be a "Master Storyteller." Both of his websites, as well as his social media presence let him do precisely that. "I consider my site to be an opportunity for people to enter, have the time to sit down, and come to know who I am," Elton says. "My social media accounts are where people can continue my journey live in real-time."

You can learn more on Elton and his life through his site.