We take care of us.The line the whole site is built on.
Meet Jaquan
I live in Hopewell, a rural town in central New Jersey, with my wife Mikaela and our three daughters. I grew up in a military family, moving across the United States and the Caribbean before my family settled in the Adirondacks, where we still hold 80 acres. Mikaela and I met at Princeton, and when it was time to put down roots we chose a place close enough to community and far enough to ride.
By training I am a chemical engineer (Princeton, 2003). By trade I have spent more than twenty years in pharmaceutical research and development, helping carry medicines from the lab to patients. Today I lead digital strategy and data platforms as a scientific director at one of the country's largest pharmaceutical companies. Building things that work, at scale, with real accountability, is the day job.
The rest of the time I run a couple of small businesses of my own: two short-term rentals in the Adirondacks, Blue Bear Cottage and Hiker Delight Cabin, on that family land, and a children's book, Pedal Pedal, that puts a Black girl at the center of her own adventure. Running them is how I learned what owners around here are up against, and how much one good referral can matter.
Why I started this
Out here the Black community is small and close-knit, and more of us run businesses than most people realize: contractors, caterers, farms, studios, shops, rentals. We are also living through a moment when the country feels less sure about whether communities like ours are welcome to thrive. I do not think the answer is to wait and see. I think it is to make sure our dollars, our attention, and our referrals land with each other first.
Generations ago, a guide told Black travelers where they could safely eat and sleep. That kind of safety still matters. But the question today is also economic: where can we spend so that the money stays in the community, funds a family, and comes back around? JaquansList is my answer for central Jersey, and for anywhere else it grows.
How a listing gets here
- 1Anyone can suggest a business. It appears on the full list right away as Community identified, unverified, and neighbors can say whether it is still open and really Black-owned. Suggest one.
- 2The owner lists it, or claims it. Your name, your email, and a website or a social media page is enough. A person reads every submission before it changes the card.
- 3Community confirmed. Black-owned and open, confirmed by neighbors or a trusted source. The owner has not yet claimed or listed it.
- 4JL confirmed. The seal. The owner is engaged with the list and I know the business. This is what the landing page shows. Listing is free during the launch period; paid options will come later.
An invitation
If you own a business, list it. It takes your name, your email, and a website or social page, and I read every submission myself. If you live here, spend here first. Check the directory before you search anywhere else, leave a review, and tell a neighbor. That is how a list becomes a community.
Say hello
Corrections, a business I should know about, or just a note: email hello@jaquanslist.com.