Today we’d like to introduce you to Blaire Jackson.
Hi Blaire, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Imagine being a young lady having to walk from night class across a dispersedly lit campus, whose grounds are openly accessible to visitors, with a whole lot of landscape causing blind spots. I was a Bio major at TWU, known for being a predominantly female college when I really understood how important it is to protect yourself. Most of the science classes that I had to take were way across campus from where the dorms were located, especially the labs which would end close to 8 in the evening. Despite campus efforts to our public safety, there were instances of assault attempts throughout my undergrad term. I was focused on graduating during undergrad, but when I graduated, I took a break and was blessed to be able to finance my own business. Knowing how many of my peers could benefit from carrying non-lethal yet fully powerful self-defense tools, I started to search for the most durable and simplistic products that I would choose personally that would provide multi-purpose protection. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve learned just how universal our products are. From a personal distancing reminder by sounding off the 3-in-1 stun gun’s alarm to touchless door opening with our kitty defense keychain. It has taken more word of mouth and in-person demonstrations to market SOS Indeed due to restrictions on various selling platforms and social media, but we’re still making impactful changes to the improvement of public safety and personal wellness. We’ll continue to put the work in for the next person who may need us to help them “Distress-Less” in stressful situations with SOS Indeed self-protection.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a solopreneur, I’ve had to dedicate myself to working another career on top of my aspirations. That “solo” part comes with more responsibility than I thought I’d take on fresh out of undergrad. SOS Indeed self-protection started from ground up, so that comes with challenges in itself. When I say I am THE Owner & Operator, it means THE CEO, marketing manager, CFO, receptionist, COO, inventory overseer, quality control, shipper, and handler, you name it. I knew a little bit before I sailed ship but I could only hold tight after I left shore. There wasn’t a mentor or coach guiding me along the journey to become small business owner, but I did have tools in my pocket from watching shows like Shark Tank or looking back on old notes from school when I minored in business. When I think about it, most of how I learned to operate my business came from seeing other business owners indirectly and saying to myself things like “quality is a choice” or “presentation is everything” or “first impressions last long”. In the self-defense market, people first think of the lethal weapons such as semi-automatic guns. I’ve faced biased debate with pro-guns, anti-violence, and overall skeptical critics. Each time I explain the purpose of SOS Indeed self-protection, it’s never been to convince that their opinion is wrong but to simply shine a light on the alternative. Even the media tries to silence the importance of non-lethal self-defense strategies (that’s an obstacle in itself), where we find ourselves banned from reaching our full potential.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
SOS Indeed is a Texas-based eCommerce business specializing in Distress-less Self Protection packs. We started up in early of 2020 with the goal of providing self-defense options to those who feel the need to protect themselves. Most of our products don’t require a whole lot to pack the power. Unfortunately, with restrictions to promotion through social media, it takes word of mouth and in-person demonstrations to reach our market but we’ve seen how impactful our business is to public safety. Each one of our products is heavy-duty, yet lightweight and multi-purposeful for any of those “ready or not” self-defense situations. Not everyone wants to carry the serious defense tools like automatic guns, so our niche is promoting non-lethal self-protection that will indeed handle up on those threats. Keep in mind that the user has to have a response plan and a level of confidence when defending themselves. SOS Indeed is like a best friend that will handle the heavy and the lightweight situations. Distress-less with SOS Indeed self-protection. It’s less than just a saying, it’s our motto and we don’t take it lightly. If it’s not you, there’s someone who’s walking around distracted, distressed and defenseless. Until that last person is reached, we will work to be a bridge to reassure public safety. Protect Yourself like you protect *fills in blank*!
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Fact: It takes risks to get results. SOS Indeed self-protection was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken and I can say I’m grateful with the progress we’ve made from our debut in 2020. Don’t get me wrong, there are days where I’m contemplating how deep I’ve gotten myself into my business but it circles back as a deeper motivation to keep going. Those struggle days are definite as an entrepreneur, and those downfalls do have an impact. It depends on your perspective. My biggest lessons were learned after what some may see as losses. It’s important to step back, analyze and re-write my plan every few months. It’s been worth it though, even in the dry times. In the end, my goal is to help someone protect themselves better, and as long as I am able to do that we’ll continue to be on the grind. Every idea, business, trend, etc. is based off of somebody taking a risk. We wouldn’t have the variety of products and services if everybody thought inside of the box. We plan to keep taking the risk because at the end of the day, we know the impact we have to communities everywhere. Can’t stop, Won’t Stop! SOS Indeed for life!
Contact Info:
- Email: ShopSOSIndeed@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.shopsosindeed.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sos_indeed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOSIndeed/
