We had the good fortune of connecting with Carrita Tanner-Cloud and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Carrita, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Some call it risk, I call it faith. Whichever term people choose to use is up to their foundational belief system. Raised in the church my entire life as a Pastor’s daughter, walking in and by faith is something I’ve been doing since a child. Seeing my father, both a Pastor and serial entrepreneur become a millionaire through entrepreneurship helped motivate me to want the same for my life.
It’s impossible to be in business with taking risks and the most successful business owners take the greatest risks. Every major elevation in my business required risk, a leap of faith.
I remember when I finally went into my business full-time after being fired at 7 months pregnant. That indeed took so much faith and risk but in the end, it was the best decision. Having been featured in Forbes and Inc Magazine in this year has proven that those great risks resulted in gigantic rewards!
What should our readers know about your business?
I believe, as a service-based business, that my Services should be relational over transactional. I believe in perfecting the outcome and always implementing new methods to be innovative while continuously improving our client experience. I believe this is what sets us apart from others.
My proudest moment, to date, has been the feature in Forbes Next 1000 and making the Inc 5000 list as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. Other proud moments were securing my 1st 2 office spaces for my agency.
It certainly hasn’t been easy. I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. It wasn’t until I learned how to listen to my clients, create a tailored system for my business and keep my branding and messaging consistent across all platforms that the business began to see accelerated growth. This, along with hiring the right team members to support our vision.
I’ve learned that we must always sit in a space of self-reflection. How can we improve and better serve others around us?
I want the world to know that Creativity Justified, my advertising agency, and Carrita Cloud & Associates, my growth consulting firm, are here to make our clients’ lives a bit easier. We want Creativity Justified to be known as the #1 woman-owned, black-owned advertising agency in the United States. We create impactful branding that helps our clients resonate and relate to their audiences. Our consulting firm is the next black-owned EY. We will help businesses, organizations and entrepreneurs scale their brands nationally by incorporating systematic operations, branding and marketing into their businesses.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’d likely stay at the Whitley because why not enjoy the boujie life! I’d hang out at Lenox Square and around Buckhead for shopping, food and drinks.
After that, I’m headed to my home in Powder Springs for a good ole’ New Orleans style turn-up in our finished basement! I’m born and raised a Nola girl.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout two people, if I can. First, my husband, Denero Cloud. He supports me in the greatest ways and times when I completely wanted to doubt myself and give up, his support kept me going.
Secondly, my clients. Specifically, Dr. Lana Joseph-Ford (Jrumz & High Level Speech and Hearing Center, Melissa Odum (Queendom Aesthetics) and Tiffany Carter (Klutch Cosmetics). These three black women believed in me and were the first to hire me as their brand managers even when I didn’t have all my things together. They were patient with me and continued to encourage me as my company continues to grow. I will forever be grateful for the risks they took on me so every chance I get, I will let the world know who they are.
Website: https://carritacloud.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carritacloud
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carritaelysetanner/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/carritacloud
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carritacloud
Other: My agency website: https://creativityjustified.com
Image Credits
Armon Dauphin with DauphinTales Photography