Jamarquan Houston

Introduction and Foundations in Education

Taryell Simmons: Welcome to another episode of Rise Urban Nation. I am your host, Taryell Simmons, where we elevate Black and Pan-African entrepreneurs transforming our world through passion and purpose. What if the secret to scaling your brand was not just your marketing budget or social media following, but your personal story? Today's guest lives by that philosophy. Jamarquan Houston is the founder of Upper Class Agency, a top tech consulting firm helping entrepreneurs and professionals build brands from the inside out. He is a Forbes BLK member, a leader in the LGBTQ+ and Black-owned business communities, and he is here to talk about how starting with self and scaling with story is the key to lasting success. Welcome to the show. Let us start at the beginning. You are an educator with a passion to teach, and you mentioned that what we have control over is our stories and education. Tell me about your background as an educator and where that passion comes from.

Jamarquan Houston: Thank you, Taryell, for introducing me to our lovely guests and podcast today. I am glad to be here to build community and give people platforms and voices. My first profession is teaching. I started as a sixth-grade teacher at Notre Dame School in Milwaukee with 26 scholars. Ever since then, I found my passion for teaching and realized knowledge is the only thing we truly pass down from generation to generation. It is what the next generation does with that knowledge that truly transforms. I started with myself and my story because I realized I could build that foundation and guide others to do the same. That led to my nonprofit, Dream Within Incorporated. I started hosting workshops in high school after winning eight scholarships, wanting to extend that same access, writing skills, and techniques to my peers for internships and scholarships. Due to high demand, that evolved into Upper Class Agency.

Self-Realization and Core Values

Jamarquan Houston: Dream Within is about going within to find internal knowledge rather than getting lost in external sources without guidance. As an educator, I guide people through self-assessments to discover who they are at their core, whether through astrology, numerology, or personality tests. We all have brilliant minds and wisdom that cannot be seen externally. Never judge a book by its cover or a person by the season they are in.

Taryell Simmons: That resonates with me. When I worked in workforce development with youth in San Diego, bridging the gap between career opportunities and students was essential.

Jamarquan Houston: Presence is the vital missing link. Language and value systems bridge that gap. One of my core values is compassion, which serves as my internal compass for how I navigate the world. We need to connect with people transformationally rather than transactionally, valuing people for who they are rather than merely what they do.

Taryell Simmons: My core values are family and community first, specifically connecting with people who share the same frequency and establishing necessary boundaries.

Representation and Embracing the Road Less Traveled

Jamarquan Houston: As a Black male educator, I am often the only one in many schools across Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, and Brown Deer districts. That representation is crucial because children are sponges. If youth do not see Black male teachers excelling and finding fulfillment, they will not envision themselves pursuing that path. We must uphold principles and boundaries, avoid feelings of entitlement, and recognize that real change requires action. My book, Entitlements: The Right to Be Happy, offers realistic narratives to reground individuals in truth. Choosing the road less traveled brings uncertainty, but learning to flow with the unknown gives you a superior vantage point.

Taryell Simmons: Why do you feel there is a lack of Black male educators in the educational system?

Jamarquan Houston: There is a lack of visibility, and teaching is often not perceived as a lucrative or valued career. Presence is a gift, and real-life wisdom and transferable skills must be valued. To change the game, do not be a one-trick pony. Creativity is our currency, innovation is our capital, and people are our planet. You must take calculated risks, embrace intergenerational leadership, and prove yourself to yourself.

Navigating Life Cycles and Internal Transformation

Taryell Simmons: What does realignment look like in practice?

Jamarquan Houston: Once you understand complexity, you can harness simplicity. Change is seasonal, mimicking nature's cycles of rebirth and renewal. Life is an internal process first; when you purify internally, it reflects externally. We must balance our intuitive, feminine energy with decisive, masculine action, trusting our divine purpose. Mistakes and roadblocks happen for you, teaching lessons and guiding necessary pivots toward sustainability and mastery of emotions.

Books, Community Power, and Upper Class Agency

Jamarquan Houston: My book, Entitlements: The Right to Be Happy, provides exercises like acrostic name poems to explore self-worth and purpose. I also wrote Visionaries, Conqueror, and Reunite, which guides readers on creating their reality, publishing books, and overcoming writer's block through inspired memory-making. Community and unity are our collective superpowers. Through Upper Class Agency, we provide comprehensive management consulting, branding packages, career development, business plans, and personal development services to help clients build their brands from the inside out.

Taryell Simmons: Thank you, Jamarquan, for sharing such powerful insights. Remember to start with self and scale with impact.