Birmingham Entrepreneur JoJo Smith Launches Second No.1 Book and Raises Funds for Care Leavers

JoJo Smith, a Birmingham-based entrepreneur with ADHD who grew up in the care system, has marked the release of her second No.1 best-selling book. The publication combines her personal experiences, creative direction, and business expertise to guide entrepreneurs on building a personal brand.

Alongside the book launch, JoJo raised over £500 for her community interest company, The Big Wishworks, which supports young care leavers aged 16 and over through mentorship and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Having endured challenging childhood experiences, including being locked in a care home toilet for talking too much, JoJo, 52, is the founder of CreativSAS®. Over recent years, she has deliberately made herself visible while developing her six-figure, award-winning brand strategy business on her own terms.

The launch event attracted a diverse audience of family, friends, colleagues, and entrepreneurs ranging from startups to multi seven-figure businesses. Notable attendees included Olympic medallist Marilyn Okoro, now a high-performance coach; Sam Teale, the 22-year-old award-winning founder of Sam Teale Productions; and burlesque performer Kiki Deville, who hosted the evening.

During the event, JoJo, Marilyn, and Kiki participated in a panel discussion reflecting on how their care experiences fostered resilience, a quality JoJo identifies as essential for business owners.

Drawing on over 25 years of experience in business development, branding, and strategic growth—including two decades in a corporate career working with TV production companies and Premier League football clubs—JoJo shared frameworks for creating successful, recognisable brands.

She recalled, “When I first started out I thought I was too much, too loud, too different. All things I had been told at some point in my childhood… so I dulled myself down. I tried to fit in. I tried to look corporate – but it just didn’t suit me – all that happened was I squashed my personality and therefore didn’t connect with people I was trying to help.”

Inspired by a 5am creative breakthrough, JoJo wrote this second book as a call to business owners and brands to embrace authenticity and be unapologetically identifiable.

At the outset of CreativSAS®, JoJo branded herself as “The Belief, Branding and Business Development Fairy Godmother,” complete with pink tutus, highlighting her playful side. More recently, she has adopted the title “The Godmother of Brand,” reflecting her role as a strategic advisor who fiercely protects the brands she works with.

Her new book introduces a bold framework focused on “building legacies over logos.” Using her CreativSAS® methodology—Creativity, Self Awareness, and Strategy—JoJo argues that many businesses face a self-awareness problem rather than a branding problem. She encourages readers to focus beyond logos and colours to understand what truly resonates with audiences and drives long-term commercial success.

“Not Your Average Brand Expert: BRAND: Stripped Back. Strategically Covered. Unapologetically Profitable” is the second volume in a planned trilogy, with the next installment expected next year. The book offers brand self-awareness exercises, strategic frameworks, guidance on positioning and messaging, and discussions on brand growth and commercial sustainability. It is designed for founders ready to build with intention rather than guesswork.

The book is available now in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon.

JoJo also shared her top five principles for building a profitable legacy brand:

• Prepare to be Loved or Loathed – “the middle ground is no man’s land and you can’t make impact from there. The most powerful brands are not universally liked but are deeply loved by their people.”
• Get the EQ Edge – “Emotional Quotient is everything when building human connection. This is about building trust that feels instinctive, when every touchpoint lands as care, not an interaction.”
• Your Values: Live Them Don’t Laminate Them – “Your values are not a section on your website but the architecture of your entire brand, and the most powerful decision making tool you can own. Every time you face a decision do a values check – does it align?”
• Roll out the Good Ego – “this is the one who knows their worth – you have something genuinely valuable to offer and are prepared to take up space to share it – this ego helps support your brand – just be sure to keep the ugly ego at bay -which is the one that makes it all about them, not the mission.”
• Create a HOME – “Create belonging via your brand thanks to leading from the heart, taking ownership of your expertise, leading from a place of meaningful purpose, and ensuring every touchpoint is an experience, a brand moment. When your brand feels like home people do not just buy from you they belong to something.”