Adrianna J. Jones Speaks, LLC

For Adrianna Jones, the spark happened in a most unexpected way. Approaching 30 and experiencing feelings of incompleteness and wonder, she knew there was more – an addition to the already good work she’d done as a master’s level, professional social worker. She’d dealt with people and behaviors, yet she hadn’t quite put in the time to dial into her own thoughts about why she felt slightly unfulfilled. She enjoyed her career, but still, something else was missing. Enter the Rock It! Lab team.

Jones began volunteering at the Rock It! Lab a few days a week, the idea of supporting entrepreneurship being intriguing to her. In a particularly inspired moment, a Rock It! Lab team member, a specialist in being closely attuned and responsive to human energy, emotions, and motivations, picked up on Jones’s energy. Although Jones was not an existing entrepreneur, the team member was able to see a spark in her that said she could be. She challenged Jones to complete a self-assessment survey that drilled down into 3 things: what she enjoyed, what she did well, and if there was a way to connect the dots and monetize any of the listed items. Communication – specifically writing poetry to be exact – emerged.

The exercise took a mere 30 minutes, yet the effects have continued. Jones continues to dare to dream about how her poetry could be an opportunity to generate income, inspire readers, and serve as a creative outlet. Never would she, like many young adults, have imagined exploring small business ownership as a part-time or full-time option. And now Adrianna is a published author with the imagination as her only limit.

Today Adrianna organizes her time at the Rock It! Lab to not only volunteer but to also learn vital business mechanics for laying a solid business foundation. “Learning alongside others who are realizing they can do and be more than what they ever thought was possible is a deeply satisfying and exhilarating feeling!” states Adrianna. She was invited to join the 2022 Business Incubator Class Second Cohort and Adrianna appreciates the Rock It’s Lab’s intentional assembly of unlikely founders. Among the cohort, she’s found tremendous value in the support given, hard lessons truthfully shared, and stories of daunting dreams frequently, if not always, dared.

It’s been less than a year, and Adrianna is still assessing her skills as a paid communicator/writer. Publishing her first book happened quickly, but she continues to dream through an idea that was always present, yet never in focus enough to be realized. With support from experienced and compassionate mentors at the Rock It! Lab, Adrianna J. Jones Speaks, LLC is now a reality.