Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ais York, Owner of York Promotions, located in Atlanta, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
York Promotions is an events promotion business based in Atlanta, Georgia. We have a mission to use our events and platforms to help celebrate culture while addressing the mental health crisis in our society. The R&B Soul Picnic is focused on mental health to bring music, good vibes, and certified mental health professionals to people who require relaxation, fun, and mental support.
Our Jollof Music & Food Festival is a way to celebrate Afro-Caribbean culture through the shared cultural markers found in the food and music of West Africa and the Caribbean, and the Americas.
We will also celebrate Ghanaian Independence with Afrique Weekend in the Bahamas and are the hosts of the Atlanta Arts Festival, which caters to people with an appreciation of all forms of artistic expression, from music and visual arts to spoken word, film, and performance art. Though we are primarily centered in the Atlanta area, starting in 2023, we will bring the R&B Soul Picnic and Jollof Festival to New York, Miami, Albany, LA, and beyond.
Tell us about yourself
This is a labor of love. Starting as a restauranteur, host, and hospitality consultant, I learned a lot about serving people. Bringing the skills and experience I knew in over 30 years of that business to the festival space is a natural progression but a chance to affect more people with positive vibes and the value of being together in the spirit of healing and celebration.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We have touched over 17,000 people at our inaugural R&B Soul Picnic event in Piedmont Park in Atlanta. So many of those people have told us what a great experience it was and have vowed to return next year, and we have had requests to bring these events to other cities. This lets us know that not only are we doing something right, but we are doing something that people want and benefit from.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
It can be challenging when you are working on large-scale events because there are many moving parts. Still, the same is true for any small and entrepreneurial business. The main difference is scale. We want to offer something of value to the people, and in that process have to balance things like budget, staffing, scheduling, and even weather! We have to consistently challenge ourselves to do better and ensure that we are positively impacting our events.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
My top three tips for anyone looking to start a business, be an entrepreneur, chase a dream, or bring a vision into reality are the simplest and most challenging tasks. Still, if you can accomplish them, you will succeed.
- Start
- Keep going
- Don't stop
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://yorkpromotions.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yorkpromotions
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yorkpromotions/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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