As I’m writing this to you, I would say this has to be one of the clearest words God has spoken to me so far.

I had been praying for a name for my company for a little over a year. Seriously praying? I’d say the last 6 months. (I said seriously praying because sometimes you pray impatiently for things, you forget about it and then come back to it).

See, the odd thing about me is that I knew exactly how I wanted everything in my business to go. God had already given me the vision for my brand colors, the multiple business ventures, etc.— the only problem was I didn’t have the name! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO BUILD A BUSINESS WITHOUT A NAME!? I mean you really can’t get anything printed! That includes your website, logo, business cards, etc.

I knew there were specific things I was looking for in a name. These things included:

1. A NAME THAT WASN’T OBVIOUS

Let’s use the company Apple as an example. We know Apple today as a world renowed company leading in technology. However, before we knew the company Apple— apple was just an apple—which had nothing to do with technology. The consumer had to dig deeper to see what it really was all about. There’s another company called La Voute by Adrienne Bailon that served as an inspiration for me. You wouldn’t know the story behind her brand La Voute. If you listen to some of her old interviews she will tell you she loves everything Parisian and she was inspired by the French word “La Voute” which translates to “The Vault” in English. She quoted that a woman’s vault was her handbag and from that she created an affordable, but luxury vegan handbag line. This is another example of a company where the company name didn’t obviously state their intention to consumers. True followers of the brand dove deeper in figuring out the story behind it.

2. NOTHING WITH MY NAME ON IT

I never wanted to create anything with my name on it, but I wanted you to know it was mine. I knew a name like Jada Jackson Hair Extensions or Jada’s Hair Extensions wouldn’t work for me. It sounded lazy and like something I just threw together. Plus, when it came to printing and legalizing my company name Jada Jackson Hair Extensions would’ve been very long. It just wasn’t my vibe. Going with H22 by Jada Jackson was perfect, because it was short, powerful, versatile and marketable. I could go with H22 by Jada Jackson or just H22 and use that across different markets.

3. SOMETHING WITH SUSTENANCE

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong Christian faith. One my favorite bible scriptures is Habakkuk 2:2.

This is such a short, but powerful verse. If this verse doesn’t explain everything perfectly then I don’t know what else to tell you! This was my way of writing the vision and making it plain—creating a whole company around it! I am not shy about my faith however I do not push it on others. Just not my style. I thought this was the perfect way to sprinkle Jesus over my plans and invite him in. I didn’t want to make it intimidating and obnoxious to plaster my faith on the front of my brand, like Christian hair extensions! Only Christians can buy these hair extensions! Things like that really make me cringe. This was a discreet and classy way for me to showcase a business I am proud that is inclusive to all walks of life and at the same time my message is hiding in plain sight! Ironically, two days before I found my name I was talking to one of my good friend’s Lacey. She advised me to continue to read the scripture every day until God gives you the vision. (Oh, how important it is to have Godly community!)

My brand is timeless, classy, luxurious and H22 was that for me. Short & powerful. I talked to my oldest brother, Stokey and he told me he thought that my business name was going to be @wigsbyjada (my former hair instagram) and I told him that my intentions were never to make a business with an instagram handle. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WIGSBYJADA’S ARE OUT HERE!? LOL

When someone researches my empire 5-10 years from now, my hope is that my followers will be able to look back at this and the story behind the brand. When you can create a name for your business that’s memorable, short and has so much sustenance and meaning behind it—that is the beginning of a successful brand.