Black Business Spotlight: Respect the Queen

I recently had the chance to purchase and interview with the wonderful woman behind the Respect the Queen brand. Everyone that is a part of this blog knows how much I love black businesses and she is one of the first female black business owners I have had the chance to come across.  I'm really excited about this interview and hope everyone enjoys it.

The woman behind “Respect the Queen” is Terra J. I’m a 35-year-old single mother originally from Saginaw, Michigan. However, I currently reside in Dallas, Texas.  I recently received my MBA in Public Administration.  By day I am a litigation clerk for a local law firm. By birth I am a Queen! I am a mom! I am human! I am transparent! I am authentic! I am a work in progress.

1.) What made you want to create your brand?

I was born in to chaos and I struggled all of my life to maintain my Queen stature. I lacked the fatherly role model every “Queen in Training” deserves as a child. I became very rigid and cold. Against all odds I continued to move forward in my life! About a year ago I began to look deep within myself and through this journey I realized I deserved so much better in life. I realized I had lost the Queen within! I began to tap into a power beyond my understanding. I started to talk to other Queens who also experienced trials and tribulations. I’m a business major so I began to ponder on how I could use my experience, strength and hope to help every women tap into her inner Queen.  I ran across a beautiful Queen by the name of Kellie Brew and the magic began.  In the meanwhile I have met a variety of African Queens who just happen to be artist and they have helped my vision come to life. My vision is for African Queens to see themselves on all sorts of apparel because I feel as though we are underrepresented and/or exploited in the industry.  Success means many things to many people but for mean success is when a Queen is empowered and uplifted after a “Respect the Queen” experience.

2. How long have you been designing your items (shirts, dresses, leggings, etc.)?

Respect the Queen was established in November of 2013.  I haven’t been in business for a full year . The difference today is I have evolved into a better woman. I’ve been able to dig deeper into my soul and identify with my customer’s on a deeper level. I’ve been able to establish actual relationships with my customer’s. My customer’s have full access to me outside of a business relationship. We chit-chat about life and I make an attempt to impact their lives. The difference between “Respect the Queen” and other ‘s is I truly want to establish life, long relationships with my Queens. I really don’t see myself as a “Boss” but as an advocate for Queens all over the world. A “Boss” leads people to help him or her live their dreams. I personally want to uplift and empower Queens to live their own dreams.

 3. Would you ever want to have a store front?

I’m not sure if I want to have a store front. I’m not nor do I define success in the same manner as most people. There are a lot of highs and lows when running a business. Some days I receive very negative attention and it hurts my soul because I know my hearts  true intention. Prayer and meditation keep me grounded. I read a lot and I stay involved in my community. The Queens that I’ve been able to establish relationships with truly uplift and inspire me more than I do for them. At the end of the day if I just help one Queen tap into her inner Queen then I know I’ve done what My Creator intended for me to do and that for me is enough.

4. How much does social media play into your business?

 

Social media is everything but I love being in the community. Talking to folks face to face is the best way to get your message across. Social media can have folks hating you for doing something good but loving those who promote hate. It’s funny how that works. 

5.)What areas would you want to expand to?

 

 I want to get into more high end fashion as well as more apparel for the “Queen in Training.” I envision having the ability to provide everything she needs from the top of her crown to the bottom of her feet. I believe tapping into the minds of our youth is where it starts. 

6.) Where do you see your brand in five years? 

 

I see Respect the Queen running mentor programs for our youth, developing an at risk home for Queens ages 10-17 as well as being in a position where I can provide better service for my clients. Running a small business can be tough and in five years I expect Respect the Queen to have gained the financial power it takes to conduct business on an international level let alone holding community and social events of my own. 

7.) What does respect the queen mean to you personally?

 

Respect the Queen means healing, growth, change, maturity, love, life, transforming, and trust for me personally. Respect the Queen helps me to heal in more ways than many could imagine. 

8.) What would you want women of younger generations to take from your clothing line?  If you could tell the women of today's generation and the future generation one thing, what would it be?  

Being a bad bisssh is very expensive. It robs you of your morals and respect for yourself an those around you. It robs you of your womanhood! It takes special gifts from you that are very hard to get back. Being a bad bisssh forces you to exploit yourself and your body in order to fit in. Being a bad bisssh sells sex, drugs and poisons our community. Being a bad bisssh is not a requirement in life. Being a bad bisssh gets old. Transforming your mind into the mind set of a Queen will last you a life time. Dress and act in the same manner you want to be addressed. 

9.) What mark do you want to leave in the world?

 

My personal and professional life is always intertwined. I tend to try to separate the two but they go hand in hand. If I only had one thing to leave behind in this world, I would want to leave my people with the ability to uplift and empower each other without exploiting one another. This is the legacy I will leave for my son and his family. That for me is something money cannot buy!

 

10.) what inspires you to keep going every day?

 

My son first and foremost. He saw me as the self proclaimed bad bissh. I want him to see me as the Queen I was naturally designed to be. Furthermore the plight of our people is in a very sad state. I cannot turn my back on the people that would be like turning my back on my family. 

Spiritual Saturday: Book Review

Hey King's and Queen's,

It's Spiritual Saturday.  So each Saturday or Sunday there will be a new post from myself or my blog partner on a way to enhance, boost or add to your spiritual practice. I understand that not everyone has the same beliefs as myself of my blog partner but it doesn't hurt to learn something new and do your own research.

So obviously this post is going to be a book review.  A lot of us read the same books but don't get the same thing from them.  So this is going to my review and what I took from the book.

This weeks featured book is Strengthening Her Essence by Fila McMillan-Antoine. I found this book because she follows one of my Instagram accounts (@intellectual__badass). For a while I avoided buying the book purely because I didn't know how it would fit into my journey.  At the time I was just getting to learn more about Kemeticism and that was all I focused on, I didn't leave room for anything else. After months and months of seeing her post about the book and some other women commenting on how much it helped them, I finally bit the bullet and went to look for the book.  I hopped on Amazon and found it.  3 days later it arrived on my doorstep.  I carried it around with me for two additional days before I cracked it open while I was at work.

I can honestly say I devoured the book. Its short and gets to the point quickly. Fila helps you identify what type of woman you are and points out the issues in that character type.  She then lists what can be done to help with those issues and how you can heal yourself.  She also touches on sex and how its a sacred act and how you should only allow the energy of someone you want to be with to have your energy linked with .

What I loved about the book is that she leaves your entire self-healing book up to you.  In order to heal yourself, you have to want healing.  She doesn't hand you the exact path and tell you what to do.  She makes mention to some of the things she dealt with and suggests ways you can begin your own healing process. I hate being told what to do, so to have a book that is suggesting what I could be doing instead of telling me what to do made me enjoy this short book even more. 

I hope you pick this book up and share your experiences on what you took from it.

Sisterhood

                                   

THE ALL works in mysterious ways. I feel like I am constantly being reminded of the love and assistance needed to further walk on my journey. At times I have felt alone. The kind of alone that is surrounded by mobs of people yet feels like there's no one to relate to. But the universe has sent me a gift from an unexpected source..

I want to thank Shavonne for reminding me in a moment of weakness that I was wrong. I thank her for being the inspiration for my topic tonight. She was the link. While down and out about matters of the heart she reached out to me. I wasn't expecting it at all. Not only did she consistently ask me how I was doing for the days thereafter but she left her hand out (metaphorically) for whenever I needed to lean. She was no longer my "blog partner"...she became my friend.

To "lean" (or to seek emotional guidance) is an important tool I learned how to do while in college with my sorority sisters. However, I forgot that the importance of sisterhood is not how we console our closest friends/ loved ones, but how we are able to extend our love to those who we don't know as well or at all. 

As (black) women, we tend to be harsh on each other. We criticize each other for the way we look, how we talk, where we are from, how we dress, and how we choose to conduct our everyday lives. But we often forget that we are ALL one. Our differences are only branches to a single tree that we are ALL rooted in. We share the same struggles one way or the other. But in a world where it is "survival of the fittest"; and we look down on the "weak" (or "weak-minded") let us strive to be the link. The strength that is willing to be the rock for another. The link of encouragement, love, and understanding that we all need to grow and ultimately teach to one another.

We are not here for ourselves alone. We are here to heal...to inspire...and to encourage one another. Even though society has corrupted our minds into the idea of competing for men, money, attention, prestige, etc. we must remember that a true woman of THE ALL is here to be source of strength. 

Remember...WE ARE THE SOURCE!!!