Check Out Jhai Keeton’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jhai Keeton.

Hi Jhai, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story began at the age of 17. When I started my first business, Authentic Dime Piece Collection. While I really had NO idea what I was embarking upon, I soon realized that entrepreneurship was a journey that I could easily commit to. By my sophomore year at Jackson State University (JSU), I rebranded the clothing company to B.mek-Inherit Apparel Co. and began participating in on-campus fashion shows, party promotions, and sponsoring local recording artists.

During this time, I was able to engage with several entertainment sectors which allowed me to experiment with various marketing and cross-promotion strategies. This was also around the time that I began to experience the need to live this “double life” based on the fact that I was an accounting major preparing for a corporate day job, all the while, transforming into an entertainment entrepreneur each night. The theme of corporate professional by day and entertainer by night continued to recur throughout my journey.

In 2007, after graduating from JSU, I relocated to Washington, D.C. where I worked as a federally contracted auditor for a private firm. Working in this capacity allowed me to gain a more sophisticated understanding of financial systems and a number of internal control processes. Another great benefit of this role was the expansive travel opportunities it provided. While my peers chose to travel abroad, it was advantageous for me to stay in the U.S. so that I could participate in major industry events taking place across the country. Nonetheless, I did work on an assignment in Kyiv, Ukraine. This strategy would hold true by the time I quit my corporate job in 2012 to become a full-time entrepreneur.

As my professional network matured, I was able to leverage my relationships with a director of national events, Derrick Brown, and Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Lil Wayne’s, former manager Cortez Bryant. My fluid ability to travel domestically afforded me the chance to participate on national tours and produce events when the opportunity presented itself. At the peak of this season in my life, I worked with the management teams of Young Money Ent. (Lil’ Wayne and Drake), Grand Hustle (T.I.) and Street Execs (2Chainz).

Through these relationships, I had the ability to work with promoters across the U.S. to book artists for various events… from concerts to appearances and from album release parties to radio interviews. I enjoyed going through the tour schedule and putting together an agenda of various promotional activations for each city. Nashville is a city that always proved to be a valuable tour stop. Eventually, I would go on to work in a management capacity with Shanell (Young Money Ent) and Dee-1 (RCA Inspiration).

After working on three nationwide tours over a five-year period, I began to feel stagnant and decided to step away from the music business and focus on my own brand, B.mek-Inherit. What I failed to mention earlier is that when I walked away from my job in 2012, I built a small shed in a business associate’s back yard in Memphis, TN. This is where we housed our screen printing machines to print our t-shirt designs. Choosing to print our products in-house not only cut down on production cost but also allowed us to service custom orders for larger groups. As I met people in need of shirts on tour, I would email the orders to Memphis where they would be fulfilled and shipped out. We ran this operation long enough for me to solidify my production process and thus my focus shifted towards a concentrated distribution model.

By 2014, after several trips back and forth, I decided to move back to my small hometown of Moss Point, MS to spend some time with my family and just… relax for a minute. Little did I know, my daily life would immediately be filled with an amount of free time that I never had. This resulted in me attending public community-related meetings where I found interest in listening to stakeholders discuss their programs and the challenges they were experiencing to deliver said programs. Eventually, my consulting background kicked in and I began to make recommendations to the various committees and boards, but my youthfulness didn’t allow the older generation to consider my experience leaving my suggestions without consideration.

Soooo, six months after moving to my hometown I organized my first event, a “Back To School Rally” for the school district. The event was a success and I went on to co-found a community engagement initiative, #OnPoint. We positioned #OnPoint to serve as the conduit between the local government and its community members. By doing this, we were able to organize a range of events from food drives to Easter egg hunts, eventually allowing us to provide direct support to teachers in the classrooms with civic engagement activities for the students.

Based on the momentum we were gaining in the community, in 2015, I decided to open my first brick-and-mortar business, The Venue Retail Lounge. The Venue was intended to function as a community hub while also providing me with a space to sell my apparel and conduct business consulting services. We also held live music events and open mic nights in the space. This led to us hosting comedy shows with “Wise Cracks Comedy Series”, a Nashville-based group that saw value in engaging in our local market.

The Venue Retail Lounge allowed me direct access to the community on a daily basis for a little more than two years. During this time, I was able to learn more about how the community could benefit from better access to public resources, and the more time I spent around local government officials, the more I realized how closely related running local government is to that of running a business.

This realization eventually prompted me to close The Venue and run for Mayor of Moss Point in 2017. Because I had been spending so much time around elected officials, I had a deep understanding of how important housing and economic development was to my community. That being said, I began to study and learn more about commercial real estate development and the role that the public sector plays in supporting smaller developers.

The results of the election did not play out in my favor but having to go through the process itself taught me a lot about the thought process of community members when it comes to elections and their overall understanding of political strategy. This would set me up to be invited by a state representative to act as his chief of staff, ultimately introducing me to the world of lobbying and corporate interest.

With all these experiences, I began to think about what was next for me and my future. I embraced my introduction to the world of community development and politics while acknowledging that my season in the entertainment industry had come to pass. However, I would be reminded that real estate development and economic development require a vast set of skills, primarily in the fields of business, finance, and public policy. At this point, I decided to enter graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi, where I obtained my Master’s in Economic Development and thus moved back to Washington, D.C. in 2019 to intern with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

I figured at this point I was ready to part from Mississippi for good, so I applied for roles everywhere but in Mississippi. It was only after delivering a presentation on “inclusive gentrification” at the annual conference for IEDC in Indianapolis, IN that I was approached by a gentleman from Jackson, MS with a job offer that I couldn’t refuse. So after completing 60 applications, going through 16 interviews, being a finalist for 6 of those interviews, and receiving three offers…

I am proud to say that I brought my talents back to Jackson, MS where I now serve as Deputy Director of Economic Development for the City of Jackson.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not even close… I tell people that they have to fall in love with the “process” of being successful, more so than with the thought of any particular outcome (fame or wealth).

Also, it’s hard to stay consistent, having to risk your finances and reputation can be challenging. Taking losses and continuing to believe that I can deliver what’s in my heart to do has been a struggle as well. It’s also very difficult to keep creating new ways of staying relevant, continuously reinventing myself to be competitive.

Notice, I haven’t even mentioned how hard it is to come up with the necessary capital to effectively run a business. Over my 20 years in business, I think I have experienced every emotion possible… causing me to now be numb to the process.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently the Deputy Director of Economic Development for the City of Jackson.

In this capacity, my responsibilities include developing and administering all business development, real estate, and economic development-related programming for the city.

I would say that my specialties are problem-solving and strategy implementation.

Over the years, I have developed a savvy approach to delivering optimal outcomes in high-stress scenarios with multi-layered variables. I’m most proud of having been able to transverse eight years of full-time entrepreneurship into a leadership position at the municipal government level.

Basically, I went from an entrepreneur to an intrapreneur.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am interested in connecting with small real estate developers across the southeastern region. I would like to learn about the investment opportunities that exist in our neighboring states. I would also be interested in building relationships with persons interested in the real estate market in Mississippi.

In regards to my apparel company, I’m interested in working with content creators and social media managers. I’m also open to working with various brand ambassadors as well as boutique retailers that would assist with the promotion and distribution of our B.mek-Inherit branded apparel.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.bmekinherit.com
• Instagram: @JhaiKeeton
• Facebook: @JhaiKeeton
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48FP9UydV-29FJuzSJdfbg