Getting laid off last year from her well-paying job as a payroll and benefits manager at a software company was a “shocker” for Cianni Jackson, a single mother of three children between the ages of 11 and 15.
But that pink slip prompted Jackson to throw herself full-time into pursuing her passion, and now she’s running her own business, a San Francisco apparel company that designs and sells products that celebrate Black and Afrocentric pride.
“I think me getting laid off was the push I needed to focus on my business completely,” she said.
Also central to whatever Jackson’s success has had so far, however, has been In The Black, a city-supported business incubator and accelerator program. It operates a storefront that was once a check-cashing outlet in the Fillmore district where today, Black entrepreneurs such as Jackson sell their wares.
“We would always walk past there on the way to school,” said Jackson, who grew up near the check-cashing outlet. “To see it transformed from a check-cashing place that was pulling money from the community in such a horrible way is just a really remarkable experience.”