“You can do anything you want with your life and no one can stop you…but you.” – Rosetta Thurman

So, how did I become the “Happy Black Woman?” Here’s the “Cliff’s Notes” version of my story…

In 2008, I launched my first business as a nonprofit consultant, speaker and coach. It started as a “side hustle,” where I ended up making an extra $10,000-$20,000 a year on top of my salary from my 9 to 5 at a nonprofit in Washington, DC.

But less than 2 years later, I was able to replace my salary and QUIT my job to work for myself full-time!

Then in 2010, I created Happy Black Woman as a personal blog to document my journey to transform my life and career.

As I began to write about my experiences from going natural to dating in Washington, DC to quitting my job to building 2 online businesses to traveling the world, I connected with so many other Black women who were on the same path.

The following year, I got rid of all my stuff, ended my apartment lease in Washington, DC and began traveling the world with just a suitcase and a laptop, living and working from my dream destinations of Hawaii, Thailand, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Bali and more!

Fast forward to today and I’ve been able to go from $0 to a multi-million dollar women’s empowerment brand, traveling to “bucket list” destinations around the world, publishing 2 books, hosting a podcast with over 1M downloads, and leading dozens of events and international retreats. 

But my life wasn’t always like this. I wasn’t always happy. I wasn’t always successful. And I certainly wasn’t always free.

From humble beginnings…

My desire to help others was born out of humble beginnings.

I grew up in the public housing projects of Painesville, Ohio, where I was raised by a single teenage mom and a very protective grandmother.

My father committed suicide when I was 6 years old.

Due to my mom being so young and my father not being around, we didn’t have much money. We lived in public housing. We got food stamps.

We were so poor that every year, a volunteer from a local nonprofit would come and take me shopping for school clothes because my mother could not afford to.

As a child I was surrounded by this prevalent mindset of lack and scarcity and not having enough. I was taught to be grateful for what I had, even though I wanted MORE for my future.

Yet – even as a little girl, I always knew that wasn’t the way I wanted life to be. Somehow, I knew that bigger things were possible for me.

To college and a career in the nonprofit field…

I was blessed to be able to attend good schools, learn from many kind teachers and participate in after-school programs, including the Girl Scouts (I was a Brownie!).

As a result, I became the first person in my family to graduate from college.

My childhood experiences sparked a passion for social change, leading me to work in the nonprofit sector for over 10 years as a fundraising professional and leadership development practitioner.

But after more than a decade of working in nonprofit organizations, I realized that my true purpose was actually in personal development and helping others improve their lives.

To quitting my job to work for myself and travel the world…

In 2010, I quit my 9 to 5 nonprofit job in Washington, DC to work for myself as a speaker, coach and consultant.

The following year, I got rid of all my stuff, gave up my apartment and began traveling the world with just a suitcase and a laptop.

I became “location-independent” which means I was able to live and work from anywhere – including my dream destinations of Hawaii, Thailand, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Jamaica, Mexico, Argentina and Bali!

To building a successful business that helps thousands of women…

Along the way, I launched Happy Black Woman as a personal blog to document my journey to transform my life.

As I began to write about my experiences from going natural to dating in DC to quitting my job to building my business to traveling the world, I connected with hundreds of other women who were on the same path.

Through the stories and lessons I shared, I discovered that lots of women wanted to live a similar lifestyle of happiness, success and freedom. In just a few short years, the website evolved into a supportive global community of like-minded women with big visions for their lives.
After a while, my tribe started asking me HOW I did it. So I began helping other Black women launch their own businesses as well!

Fast forward to today and I’ve been able to go from $0 and an ugly little blog to a profitable business and empowerment brand, publishing 2 books, hosting a podcast with over 700K downloads, leading dozens of events, speaking all over the country and being featured in numerous media outlets, including JET Magazine, Essence.com, Entrepreneur.com, Dr. Oz’ Good Life Magazine, BBC London and BlackEnterprise.com.

And honestly, I feel like I’m just getting started.

Throughout my journey to find my purpose, manifest my vision and create the life of my dreams, here is what I’ve learned:

I can do ANYTHING I want with my life and no one can stop me…but me.

And if you’re reading this right now – so can YOU.