We had the good fortune of connecting with Jasmine Walker and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jasmine, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My drive behind starting The Imprint, LLC “Changing Our Lives Through Impact” was to be able to provide a safe space for young children and adults to use their voice and truly feel supported to do so. Growing up there were a lot of programs that I lacked or resources that were not as readily available that I wanted to be able to provide to the generation after me. The name The Imprint was chosen because the overall vision I had for my business was to provide services that will be long-lasting and that could leave a positive impact on one’s life forever. Another key factor in starting my own business was the desire to be able to work for myself and identify policies and procedures that focus on the greater good of community and that could support growth within for not only the clients we service but the staff that we hire as well. I have worked for many organizations in the past and most times felt that there was not a lot of focus on quality over quantity. It is my goal to ensure that clients and staff who are apart of my organization feel impacted in a positive way.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The Imprint, LLC is a Mental Health Service Agency based in Silver Spring, Maryland that provides a range of opportunities to support our youth and their families as they work to reach manifestation. Our goal is to change lives by being influential through programming and services provided to individuals daily. We aim to provide our youth and their families with a productive outlook on life and to instill in them the belief that their voice matters. Our programs have impacted many young people in a nurturing way and we strive to continue to leave a promising mark within every individual we service.
The Imprint aims to enhance the inner motivation that every individual being posses by providing the tools necessary to identify strengths through Mentorship, Therapeutic Sports Engagement, Individual Therapy, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program Services, and Sibling Support Groups.
I would say that our organization is different from other Mental Health orgs because we provide an array of services that support Mental Health in a “creative” way. For example, through our Girls Beyond and Men-2-Succeed mentorship programs we not only allow our mentees to determine what they want to learn in this program but we find unique ways to incorporate mental health into the program. So if a cohort would like to learn about entrepreneurship, we find a way to ensure that they can do a sales pitch maybe of themselves in the business or career field they desire to be apart of in adulthood. We then discuss forms of self-care that would be helpful to cope or deal with some of the stressors that could come from the chosen career field i.e. police officer, surgeon, therapists, etc… We make learning and understanding Mental Health fun for our clients so that they don’t feel uncomfortable when they don’t feel like themselves.
I am most proud that throughout the journey of becoming a business owner, there are always ups and downs but I find pride that October 1, 2024 will make our 5 year mark in business and to know that I was able to bring the vision to life is truly rewarding and a testament to hard work paying off. I am excited for what will come in this 5th year and to continue to grow and expand in the mental health field. I would love to tap into a virtual platform for our mentorship program in which we can be a support to young males and females across the nation and be able to change lives at a new level!!
To be at this point, it took a lot of researching, asking questions, and learning through trial and error as there are not many business owners in my immediate family. The challenges of maintaining compliance with State laws for mental health and behavioral health programming in the State of Maryland is no easy beast. It takes a lot of courage to fail and push forward. I think I was able to overcome the challenges of learning this work and processes by being vulnerable and transparent in moments when I did not know what to do or needed help to have a better understanding.
The lessons I have learned through this journey is that even in moments when you feel defeated, consistency will always win over failure. To not give up on yourself is the WIN. I have learned to fail forward through this process and to always give myself grace as I learn and grow. I want the world to know that The Imprint will live on and touch so many people when it is all said and done and that Mental Health will no longer be stigmatized but uplifted in all communities.
I also want the world to know that I started with an idea on a piece of paper to get where I am and that there is no limitations to what we can do when we set a goal and stick to it! I also would want them to know that sometimes our past experiences lead us into our purpose and that when it feels uncomfortable to process the past remember how far it brought you because that’s the piece of my puzzle that keeps me grounded and motivated to keep learning and growing each day.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a best friend was coming to the DMV area for a good time, I would plan for us to go to the national harbor for food by the water . We may go to Rosa Mexicana for tacos or Grace’s Mandarin as they have some of the best sushi I have ever had. I think it would be nice to also go on a boat cruise for brunch on either a Saturday or Sunday.
In the DMV we are known for our brunches & day party vibes so I would definitely take my bestie to Kitchen & Kocktails or Park at 14th so that she could experience that as well.
Some of the best tourists experiences are going to the African American museum and all of our local museums, seeing the White House and bike riding.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to give a special shoutout to my grandmother Ruby Foster whom is no longer here with us but it is crazy how 20 plus years later 10 year old me can still remember the words she said to me as if she were saying them right now “goldilocks you are going to be something great one day, keep your focus”. I live by those words and often times I still hear my grandmother saying those things to me. This shoutout is meaningful because it drives the work I do daily in the Mental Health field and for my own self-care. I am driven by the importance of positive affirmations and speaking life into clients because most times many people do not hear positive things or motivational encouragement from others and that is generally what one may need to excel or keep going when things get rough.
I also want to shoutout all the powerful influential woman I encountered on my journey to adulthood: Mother Carolyn Forster, Mentor Ebony-Nicole Kelly, Step-Coach Shanique Moore, I wish I could name everyone but I would be here for a while.
Website: www.theimprintllc.com
Instagram: @theimprintllc
Linkedin: Jasmine Walker