Today’s guest is Quanisha Smith, founder and chief activator of the Black Women Rise Movement. Her mission is to help black women thrive and live authentically. Her vision is that women would step up to honor the calling on their lives, and fulfil their purpose to be the best leader and CEO they can be. She works with women to strengthen their leadership skills, grow their professional development, and encourage their economic development. Quanisha provides coaching, teaches strategies, and trains women to take charge of their lives and their careers. Her work was birthed out of the lowest point of her life. After traumas, death of loved ones, divorce, and miscarriages, Quanisha found herself writing a suicide note when she was just 28 years old. She wound up in a psych ward wondering what happened and how she got there. Listen in as Quanisha shares her story of rising up as a Happy Black Woman.
As Quanisha worked to rise out of her circumstances, she turned to writing. She wrote a declaration that she was “stronger than this.” She used this mantra and mindset shift to get back on her feet and into leadership roles. In graduate school, Quanisha became more and more aware of cultural struggles, specifically in leadership roles. She changed her thesis to examine the challenges black women were facing in leadership and organizations. She found disturbing statistics about qualified black women being overlooked for promotions. Quanisha’s findings and frustrations followed her into the workplace. She found herself bored, with the entrepreneur bug. She knew she wanted to help women and that it was time to work for herself. She combined her education and personal experience to develop and found the Black Women Rise Movement, rewriting her career and stepping out into a business opportunity. Listen in to this inspiring and familiar struggle to the Happy Black Women community.
Quanisha is a pioneer for using personal story as a basis for business. She started, as many women do, with the notion that there had to be more and she was smart enough to figure it out. Quanisha developed a vision of how to work for herself with no idea how she was going to get there. Maybe it was divine intervention, or maybe it was the act of writing out her vision. Quanisha made a list of what she wanted in a career, as well as what she wanted for all aspects of her life. She let her heart speak and simply wrote it down. The values that built her vision came out of that list. She finally felt that she was living and operating a business authentically. As opportunities arose, she went back to her list to see how they aligned with her vision and values. Quanisha took responsibility for her reactions and decisions, and the transformation took off! If this resonates with you, listen in to be encouraged in your journey to become the best leader you can be.
So, what if you have your vision? And you are already taking responsibility for your decisions and life? But you are still not seeing success? Quanisha’s advice is persistence, persistence, persistence. Her story shows that it does not matter where you are in the stages of growth, you might get stuck. Quanisha offers specific steps to get you moving into action again. Start with the support of a coach like Quanisha. Get someone to help you craft a plan and help you aim at a target. Quanisha loves thinking about bullseyes: you aim, take action, and then evaluate if you hit the target or not. This releases you from being tied to the outcome, and instead, allow you to be a woman of action. Learn how to fix your aim, and work with the various roles you have in your life. Wife? Mother? Sister? Listen in to accept your reality and ready yourself for the next step of your journey.
Your success is waiting for you. Quanisha asks you to invest in yourself through investing in other people. Her journey has been made easier because she has invested in coaching programs. She has listened to and learned from people she aspires to be like. Her strategies are all about proactively contributing to your journey. This starts with taking responsibility. Quanisha structures her day so she can be a good mom, fiance, friend, business owner, and supporter. She takes care of herself, schedules her tasks, and realizes she is still trying to figure it out. New seasons bring new adjustments. That’s the real deal. But if you are not putting your mind to your movement, you won’t move. Quanisha knows that she is valuable, and values herself, her time, and her vision. From that foundation she has propelled a movement. Get ready to build a new reality for yourself on this episode of Happy Black Woman.
Quanisha Smith’s website www.blackwomenrise.com - get your free leadership guide and sign up for motivation emails.
