From Small Town to Big Tech Success with Janetta Dunbar | Episode 002

Episode Information Show Notes Episode Summary: In this episode of Career Downloads, Manuel Martinez sits down with Janetta Dunbar, a multi-talented professional with a diverse background. Janetta shares her inspiring journey from growing up near Fort Worth, Texas, to becoming a successful entrepreneur and tech professional in Las Vegas. With experiences ranging from serving in the Army to working as a TV technical director, Janetta provides valuable insights into career transitions, the importance of networking, and overcoming challenges in the tech industry. Host: Manuel Martinez Guest: Janetta Dunbar Key Topics: – Early life and education. – College experiences and switching declared majors. – Navigating career changes and expectations. – Starting a family and a home business. – Getting back into tech after learning about new technologies – Career transitions and growth – Personal insights and advice Memorable Quotes: “You quit before you quit, right? A lot of times, you quit in your head before you actually leave.” “Networking is huge. Schools don’t teach the power of it, but it’s often who you know that gets you in the door.” “I got a call from a recruiter who told me I was grossly underpaid.” Connect with Us: – Visit Career Downloads at https://www.careerdownloads.com – Join our community on YouTube, X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn & Facebook. Tune in next week for another episode of Career Downloads where we explore more inspiring career journeys and professional growth stories. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review. Transcription Manuel: Welcome, everybody, to another episode of Career Downloads. I have a very special guest today. So this is Janetta Dunbar, and I’m going to give you a quick introduction on her. So she is a wife, a mother, an athlete, an entrepreneur. She was a TV technical director, and she’s also an Army veteran. Apart from that, she was probably the first one that taught Beyonce how to break the internet. So with that, I have Janetta Dunbar. Janetta: Hi. Hey, Manny. Manuel: So I appreciate you. Janetta: Good to hang with you, man. Manuel: Yeah, it’s been a while. So we haven’t seen each other in person in a while. Janetta: Yeah, maybe a year or something. Manuel: It’s probably, yeah. Janetta: No, no, December. It was Christmas time. Manuel: Okay. Yeah. So it’s only been a few months. Janetta: Yeah. Manuel: It just feels like longer. Janetta: Yeah. Manuel: So I’m very excited to kind of have you on here and dig into your career, your background, skills that you’ve picked up. So I know some of them, but I’m sure they’re just like in the conversation we had probably about a week ago, I learned additional things that I didn’t know. So I’m pretty excited. So to start off, just kind of give me a general idea of kind of where you grew up. Janetta: Ah, I grew up in Texas. Yes. Fort Worth. So I was about 30 minutes from Dallas. Manuel: Okay. Janetta: So it was a medium-sized town, but the area I grew up, everybody kind of knew everybody. And the parents of the kids who went to the high school there, their grandparents went to high school there, that kind of thing, it’s kind of small town-y. Manuel: Small town-y. Janetta: Yeah. Manuel: Got it. And then eventually, obviously, you moved out of there and did keep up with the generational town. Janetta: Nah, no, no. Manuel: That’s not for you. Janetta: Well, you know, in my opinion, right, Texas people are special. They think Texas is everything. And so did I. I grew up that way. And I never thought I would leave, but then my dad got a job. He was a carpenter. Manuel: Okay. Janetta: And Texas is a right to work state and up here, there’s union in Vegas. There’s union. So when I was a freshman in college, I was at the University of North Texas. That summer, after my freshman year, my parents decided to move to Vegas.