From Roots to Rise

Before Roots & Rise was a business, it was a belief. A belief that where we come from matters. That the lessons our parents teach us — even the ones we do not fully understand when we are young — can become the very foundation we stand on years later.

I believe our gifts are not given to us simply for ourselves. I also know now that the road to success is rarely a straight line upward. Sometimes we fall. Sometimes we lose. Sometimes we have to start over. Sometimes we grieve people we thought would always be here to see us win. And sometimes, we have to find our way back to ourselves.

This is my story. But I know parts of it belong to many women who have had to keep building while life was still teaching them how to rise.

I was raised by parents who believed in taking care of the whole person — mind, body, and spirit. In our family, vitamins, herbs, natural healing, nourishing the body, and paying attention to how we lived were simply part of life. I learned early that how we feel, how we live, and how we care for ourselves are connected.

Those lessons became part of me long before I understood what they would eventually mean.

I also grew up around the things that would become some of my greatest gifts. I cooked. I did hair. I created. I cared for people. I learned that there is something powerful about using what is already in your hands to make somebody else’s day a little better.

Somewhere along the way, those gifts became skills. The skills became businesses. And the businesses became a life. But not without a price.

We often tell stories about success as if somebody simply decided to succeed and then everything worked out. That has not been my story.

There were seasons when life became heavier than I knew how to carry. I reached for ways to escape what I was feeling, and some of those choices created struggles of their own. There are decisions I wish I could have made differently. Moving forward required honesty, strength, healing, and a willingness to begin again.

There were businesses I built and later lost. Doors opened, and other doors had to close. There were times when circumstances required me to step away, regroup, and eventually reopen. There were disappointments, financial pressures, and moments when starting over was not part of the plan — it was simply what had to be done.

And there was grief. I lost my father when I was young. Later, within the past decade, I lost my mother — the woman whose values helped shape so much of who I became.

Loss changes you. It reminds you that life is not promised. It makes you look differently at what you are building. Eventually, it made me ask myself a question that now sits at the center of Roots & Rise:

What I am most proud of is not that I never fell. I did. What matters is that I kept finding my way back.

Even through difficult seasons, I kept building relationships. I kept connecting with people. I kept learning. I kept working. I kept finding ways to provide.

I stayed connected to people who believed in me, people who trusted my work, and people who had known me through different seasons of my life. Those relationships became part of the way forward.

Sometimes the thing that carries us through a valley is not money. Sometimes it is relationship. It is the person who answers the phone. The client who comes back. The friend who says, ‘I believe in you.’ The colleague who opens a door. The family member who reminds you who you are. The customer who continues to support your business. The woman who says, ‘Come on. We’re going together.’

There is something powerful about Black women continuing to build because so many of us understand what it means to carry things that are not always visible.

We build while grieving. We build while raising families. We build while figuring things out. We build after setbacks. We build when people underestimate us. We build when the resources are not equal. We build while trying to heal. We build while learning. We build while becoming.

Sometimes we even build businesses out of the very things that helped us survive.

I do not see anything I have built as mine alone. Every loyal client, employee, stylist, caterer, customer, person who purchased a product, referral, prayer, piece of advice, and person who believed in me played a part. The people who stayed connected through the valleys are part of this story too.

Natural by Nature Hair Salon grew from my love of beauty and healthy hair into a space centered on premier hair care, maintenance, and styling, with a specialization in natural hair and locs.

Kat Locs grew from my work with locs, my experience, artistry, and belief that healthy hair is a journey, not a destination.

Natural by Nature Products grew from what I learned through my family, my own journey, and years in the beauty industry. Today, it is a collection of hair, body, and wellness products made by me and thoughtfully selected for the natural, spirited beauty of the family.

Smothered With Love Catering grew from a love of cooking that has been part of my life since high school. For more than 25 years, food has been another way for me and my team to serve, gather, and love people — from weddings and family reunions to corporate events and intimate gatherings.

Serene Passage International reflects my love of meaningful travel and experiences: thoughtfully crafted escapes and group journeys designed around what matters most to the people taking them. Escape. Explore. Experience.

Sistahs Spa Retreat became a destination experience centered on holistic healing, relaxation, and communing with like-minded women — with spa experiences, fine dining, scenic lodging, and intentional space to restore, reconnect, and recharge.

Different businesses. Different experiences. Different people. But one common thread: they all grew from the same roots.

Eventually I realized these businesses were not simply separate branches. They were part of a much larger story.

My parents planted things in me. Life tested those things. Experience developed them. People helped nurture them. Now I want to plant something again — into other people.

That is what Roots & Rise Enterprise means to me.

ROOTS are our families, history, lessons, culture, faith, experiences, the people who came before us, and the things that grounded us.

RISE is growth, healing, entrepreneurship, opportunity, purpose, community, legacy, and the people who come after us.

Roots & Rise is what happens when we take what was planted in us and use it to help somebody else grow.

For me, family has become more than a story about the past. It is a responsibility for the future.

I want to honor my mother and father not only by remembering them, but by living out the values they planted in me. I want to take the lessons, the gifts, the wisdom, and even the hard-earned lessons from my mistakes and turn them into something that can serve other people.

Something my family can be proud of. Something future generations can build upon.

The legacy I want to leave is not simply a list of businesses. It is not simply a name or financial success. I want to leave a legacy of purpose, entrepreneurship, service, wellness, resilience, family, and creating opportunities for others.

Roots & Rise is not meant to be a story where I stand at the top and everybody else watches. I want it to become a place where people bring their own gifts to the table.

Maybe you have an idea. Maybe you are an entrepreneur. Maybe you are building something. Maybe you have a community program. Maybe you have a skill that could help one of our businesses. Maybe you have a vision that nobody has given you the space to explore. Bring it.

I do not know exactly what Roots & Rise will look like ten years from now, and that is intentional. A legacy should have room to grow.

Community is an important part of the vision. Within it, The Village is a program we hope to grow as an invitation to share ideas, collaborate, support, teach, learn, create opportunities, and build something bigger than ourselves.

Have an idea for the community? I want to hear it.

To the woman who is starting over: keep going.

To the woman who lost a business: your business is not the only measure of your ability. You can build again.

To the woman who is grieving: your story is not over because somebody you loved is no longer here to see the next chapter.

To the woman who made mistakes: your mistakes can become wisdom.

To the woman trying to figure out how to turn her gift into income: start somewhere.

To the woman who has been successful but knows she has more to give: there is more room to grow.

And to every Black woman who has ever had to be strong when she really wanted somebody else to carry the weight: I see you. I celebrate you. We need you. And I want to see you win.

When one woman rises and reaches back, another woman does not have to climb alone. That is how a village grows. That is how businesses grow. That is how families grow. That is how legacies are built.

Roots & Rise exists because people have supported these businesses along the way. I want the Journal to create room for us to give something back too.

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There is something beautiful about realizing that a story does not have to be perfect to be powerful.

My story includes success, but it also includes struggle. It includes businesses, but it also includes loss. It includes growth, but it also includes starting over. It includes family and community. And it includes the people who stayed, believed, helped, and became part of the journey.

For a long time, the question was, ‘What can I build?’ Now the question is: