Meet Jay Carter: Entrepreneur | Recording Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Since I was young, I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduating from college, I began working some internships in marketing but would always come home and research different ways to generate money online. Since I had a good background in graphic design, I decided that website design would be a good place to start developing some skills and I started out building websites for free for some local businesses . While I was at my internship, one of my coworkers became my first paying customer. After that, I knew that I was up to something but I didn’t have the confidence I needed yet to start a business full time. Until I came across Gary Vee on social media. His content gave me the confidence and extra push I needed to go for it. I took a leap of faith and I haven’t looked back. It’s been an amazing journey of growth, relationship building, and personal development. I am excited for what the future has in store.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Dream Dedicated, a social media video advertising agency. We focus on producing social media video commercials for local and online businesses and then managing social media advertisements to help our clients generate more sales and leads online. I am most proud that we’ve had the opportunity to work with some pretty amazing brands such as The University of Florida, Chick-Fil-A, Ford, and Watson to name a few. Our video production has also been featured on The Ellen Show. Getting to where we are today wasn’t easy. It took a lot of trials and tribulations. Long days, sleepless nights, and the persistent and continuous drive to just keep trying to figure things out. The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is that if you really want something, keep working on it and never give up. I’ve had a lot of ideas of what I envisioned Dream Dedicated would be as a brand. I wanted to create something that related to the idea and culture of a group of like minded people dedicated to making their dreams a reality. As you know, everyone has dreams, but not everyone dedicates themselves to achieving them. I personally just wanted to be remembered for making an impact with my businesses and talents. I am a music artist and speaker as well so I use my voice as a channel to communicate. Being a cancer survivor, I just want to share my story and become an example to others that you can achieve anything that you focus your mind, heart, and spirit on.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I grew up in St. Augustine, Florida. So the first thing that comes to mind is bringing my best friend to downtown St. Augustine. There’s so much to do, but I would definitely take them to check out The Castillo de San Marcos, St. George Street, Ripleys Believe it or not, The St. Augustine Winery, The St. Augustine Lighthouse, St. Augustine Beach, Take them on a Trolley Tour, and to Potter’s House of Wax Museum. As far as eating, my favorite restaurants are The Columbia, Harry’s Seafood, and Pizzalleys. I’d also take them out to some nightlife at No Name’s, White Lion, & Dos Gatos. It would be a very exciting and action packed vacation week.

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’d like to shoutout my business partner and one of mu best friends, Andrew Holness. He is an incredible video and music producer and one of the most talented individuals I have ever met. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am at today.

Website: https://www.jaycartermartin.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaycartermartin
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaycartermartin/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaycartermartin
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaycartermartin
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi2DqhCZL5j8PgnK0nAP0kQ