Business Is a Marathon—Here’s How to Push Through Uncertainty with Kieara Johnson

In this episode of Systems Rehab Podcast, I chatted with Kieara Johnson, an award-winning entrepreneur and founder of All Things Business Center. Kieara’s journey is all about pivoting—from launching her first fashion business at 18 to shifting into online business management during the pandemic.

We dive into the real challenges of entrepreneurship and the emotional ups and downs of changing directions. Kieara keeps it real about what it takes to stay resilient and adapt when things don’t go as planned. If you've ever felt unsure about your next business move, this episode is packed with encouragement and insights to help you keep pushing forward!

Follow my guest:

Kieara Johnson owner of All Things Business Center connect with her on social everywhere @atbcenter website: www.atbcenters.com

Books recommended Essentialism and Born to Multiply 

About Me! 

I'm Kenniqua, wife, mom, Systems Strategist, and HoneyBook Educator. I help online service providers organize and automate systems to simplify their business and confidently service dream clients. 

I would love to work with you! Visit my website HERE

Follow Kenniqua's YouTube channel, KenniquaJ for more insightful content focused on system strategy and entrepreneurship.

Give HoneyBook A Try!
I love HoneyBook! Save time & boost your client experience—get 30% off with my link! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Kieara Johnson
• 1:37 Entrepreneurial Journey Begins
• 3:26 The Pivot to All Things Business Center
• 11:33 Navigating the Challenges of Pivoting
• 19:53 Rediscovering Purpose in Entrepreneurship
• 28:37 Lessons Learned and Moving Forward
• 31:35 Books Kieara Recommends

Transcript

Kieara Johnson (00:00)
once I realized that once I stopped giving up, when things get tough, things get hard, things change, when you do have to pivot, and I always tell the entrepreneurs that I work with, you're going to pivot always. It's never going to stay the same. Life changes, things changes, you know, the economy change, technology change, everything changes, and we have to be in a position to evolve with those things.

Kenniqua Lewter (00:25)
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Getting Over the Home podcast. I am Kenniqua And today I am joined with a special guest, is Kiara Johnson. Kiara Johnson is an award winning entrepreneur. She's a corporate facilitator and a founder of All Things Business Center, which is a global virtual executive assistant and online business management agency. Her company provides premium services, including executive assistance,

online business management, marketing, and website design, all tailored to support high level entrepreneurs and business owners, achieving their goals. So I just want to go through and just welcome you to the podcast. How are you doing?

Kieara Johnson (01:08)
I'm doing awesome. Thank you for having me today.

Kenniqua Lewter (01:11)
Yeah.

Thanks so much for joining. So on this podcast, we talk a lot about systems. talk about strategies to basically help other entrepreneurs be able to, get through the ebbs and flows and to be able to simplify their businesses even more. So I just wanted to sit down and talk to you about your journey. How did you, how, first of all, take us back to like, when, when did you start your business? How did that all get started?

Kieara Johnson (01:37)
Okay, well, if I am truly honest with you all today, I started not this business in particular, but you need to know the story first of how it started back then to get to where we are today. But I actually started my first business when I was 18 years old, in college with a company called Leisure Fashions, which was named after my niece. And I was just in the fashion industry, I designed clothes, jewelry, and all of those things.

Kenniqua Lewter (01:46)
Yeah.

Kieara Johnson (02:05)
however, you know, things change, process changes. So I did that for about 10 years of my life. Yeah. And we were very successful. We did a lot of things. we were able to be in a lot of different fashion shows as far as Detroit fashion week, LA fashion week, Miami fashion week, Canada fashion week, all of the things. However, as I was growing and evolving and doing other things that

Kenniqua Lewter (02:10)
wow.

Kieara Johnson (02:30)
In that process, other people were coming to me and saying, well, you built a successful business. How can you help me? And then that led, and I was graduating with my master's, that led to something else. And then that business led to something else, and it led to something else. And I know we're going to get kind of more into that. But then eventually, I ended up by mistake with All Things Business Center. Believe it or not, it was not supposed to be what you read in the bio as an executive assistant.

Kenniqua Lewter (02:43)
You

Mm-hmm.

Kieara Johnson (02:57)
an online business

management agency whatsoever. It was literally supposed to be a co-working space. And we were in a process of opening that the place that was in the Fisher building in Detroit, Michigan. And in that process, we heard of a thing of a shutdown happening of some type of disease called COVID that we had no idea of what that was. And that's why it's called All Things Business Center, because it was actually supposed to be a place. And then that led me to pivoting.

Kenniqua Lewter (03:03)
wow, okay.

Kieara Johnson (03:26)
to something else. And I don't know if we want to get into that right now, but I can kind of explain how we got into offering those services. And it really had to do with my job at the time in corporate America and just wanting to leave that position and do it myself, but they were not connected per se. And then they ended up blowing up during COVID. Like everyone needed help with their business or their business actually.

you know, expanded and growth started to happen and needed some support. And then it turned into the best thing that has ever happened to me. And I'm not talking about just financially, but really finding purpose and calling and all of that throughout the long, close to 20 year journey that I had in entrepreneurship before I got to this business.

Kenniqua Lewter (04:13)
Yeah. I mean, that sounds very interesting. Like even like the nutshell of the journey because really, mean, really take us back to, because I'm really curious the, the on the, the online, but the clothing business that you started and you had it for 10 years. How did that, because I've also been an entrepreneur for a while and I have done a lot of pivots and shifts and I've tried different things. always knew that.

growing up that I was going to be an entrepreneur. I never knew quite what it was going to be. I never knew what I was going to offer, what I was going to sell, but I knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur. And I started off someone, I didn't make my stuff. I didn't make my clothes, but I did have a boutique as well. I had a little shop and I also sew clothes for about three years until 20, what was it? 2008 when the whole shutdown with the market went down. Like people weren't buying anything at that point. And honestly, I was not a good

salesperson, like selling in person. It just wasn't my thing. I've gotten way better. But how, how did you come with, is that similar to like how starting your business at 18? Cause of course that's pretty young. Is that kind of similar of like how you thought about it when you started that business? Like

Kieara Johnson (05:26)
Yeah, absolutely. I always knew just like you just said that I wanted to be a business owner. My parents were the entrepreneurs, but they worked full time and they were the hustlers. Really, I kind of call them hustlers in one anthology book that I wrote. And they have just, they were selling clothes, they were selling coach bags, fireworks. They was in every MLM company that you can think of, but they were always striving for more. My dad was an inventor.

Kenniqua Lewter (05:46)
Okay.

Kieara Johnson (05:54)
you he would come up with different designs and all types of things. And so I kind of grew up seeing that and I knew that, and I didn't like being what I thought back then, because a lot of people get into entrepreneurship thinking, I don't like being told what to do. So I'm going to get into entrepreneurship until they learn the truth behind it. But that was part of like, I like moving on my own beat, my own pace. And this is what I would, you know, I want to do. just didn't know what to do, but I was always very creative. wrote poetry. I was a drawer.

Kenniqua Lewter (06:09)
Yeah.

Kieara Johnson (06:23)
I love drawing. love, you know, creating things out of my clothes. I would put bottle caps on my shoes, like I was tap dancing, just anything for that creative expression. And I would see outfits in the clouds, in the trees, and you know, anything that I would look, I would get a download of a design and I would actually sketch it out. Now I was not a sewer. Now you mentioned that you were a sewer. That was not my ministry. you sewed.

Kenniqua Lewter (06:31)
Mm-hmm.

No, no, no, I didn't. So I sold, but I just purchased like,

yeah. So I would just purchase our clothes wholesale and then, know, resell. no, I didn't have those. I tried. I tried. Now I thought I was going to be a sewer. got my parents to buy me a sewing machine and I never took any formal classes. I used to just work and get the little patterns and stuff like that. But I tried, but that wasn't, but that wasn't my calling.

Kieara Johnson (06:52)
Okay.

Yeah, I thought you said.

Yeah, that was definitely not my

ministry. In school, like I learned how and I would sew things in school because that was one of the classes. And I knew then like, this is not something that I'm interested in. But I was good with repurposing things. So in college, like I would, you know, I went to, I was in college in 2001 is when I started my freshman year in college. And I would take the pants. before this was a thing,

where people would wear, know, how we have the jeans now that has like the shredded part to it. I can't think of the term I'm looking for, but so back then that didn't exist. So I would take a safety pin and I would shred my jeans. And so people would say, I like that. Can you do it for me? So I started charging people on campus to shred their jeans. And I would like cut up the shirts and put the safety pins in. That was like the...

Kenniqua Lewter (07:46)
yeah.

Kieara Johnson (08:03)
a style back then and I would do all of the things. I put their names on their shirts and all types of things of that nature. So it just continued to evolve over time and I would be in art class and I would draw designs and my teacher like you really should, you know, kind of focus on this. And for me, I was just doing a hustle. You know, I didn't really kind of consider it a business, but I was making money from it. But I only knew hustle. I didn't know business. just knew hustle, you know, at that time and

But then there were some trials, there were some tribulations in it. For one example with the industry was that I was working with the seamstress because I didn't know how to sew. And I had got picked to be a part of an amateur fashion show with BET. And she was to sew the designs for me. And I had my models. But then she disappeared a week before the show. And so she was no longer answering the door. I'm like literally banging, trying to get.

her to come to the door. see her car. She just did not do it. So I had to pull out, you know, of that. And then I realized at that moment that I never wanted to own a business that I didn't know how to do every part of just in case if anything ever happened, I need to be able to step in because my name is on the line. My reputation is on the line. And because of that, you know, I made some changes and that's when I got into doing the jury side of things and I was designing my own jury, but it was taken too long.

Kenniqua Lewter (09:08)
Hmm.

Kieara Johnson (09:26)
to do is a lot of work is very tedious and it has to be an easier way. So I went online and I ended up finding, you know, places out in China where I can, you know, import my jewelry and then I can resell it for a much bigger profit. I was probably spending maybe 50 cents to a dollar for earrings, bracelets, you know, all those necklace sets and things of that nature. And that really just took off. And I was in all of the malls here.

Kenniqua Lewter (09:49)
Mm-hmm.

Thank

Kieara Johnson (09:55)
I was in some the higher end downtown stores that we have. And then I also worked with a lot of clothing designers. And that's how we were able to do a lot of the fashion shows. Cause they were rent my jewelry and it will be in the show. And I'll have like a little credit, you know, in there that the jewelry was from Leisure Fashions. And so, but then after all of that, it was a very interesting industry really to be in, especially in the early 2000s, around the same time, 2008, 2009.

I started to exit out. was finishing again my masters and I just knew that there was a bit more than I also was shifting with my relationship with God. Like before I wasn't living for God at all. You know, I mean, I knew of him. I was the, what we call pure goer. I just was visiting, but no real relationship. Then once I came into relationship, it just really let me know that there was a different calling on my life than in the fashion business. So.

Kenniqua Lewter (10:33)
Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Kieara Johnson (10:50)
And that's when I started getting people coming to me and say, well, you built this and you did that. Can you help me? And I found the love for research. So then I started working like as a startup business coach and putting plans or what they needed in order to start their business and how to grow their business. I put in a binder and I'll sell it to them for a few hundred dollars. Like all the steps they needed needed to do. So that was that pivot, but I loved, you know, the fashion and

Kenniqua Lewter (11:11)
Okay.

Kieara Johnson (11:17)
you know, all the things creative and trying different things and going through different phases and, you know, it helped pay my way through college, you know, and all of those things. But it was time for something different after a while.

Kenniqua Lewter (11:33)
So how did the, because pivoting is hard. Like I've gone through numerous pivots, know, changing things. And even last year I changed over, I was offering different types of services last year to a totally different niche and completely kind of changed everything that I was doing. And so this pivot that I'm going through at this moment has probably been the hardest pivot.

So like when you were doing that pivot and especially when you're talking about pivoting, because you knew that you had a higher calling, which is some, another reason why I did do a pivot as well. How, how did it make you feel? Like, how did that pivot actually feel? Because a lot of times people say, just pivot. And it's like, in your mind, you kind of think about, then I'll just change directions. And then that's it. And then the pivot is done, but pivoting actually happens.

It happens in phases and it can also happen over a long duration of time. I mean, a pivot can actually take years to go from one end to that next end. So how did that feel when you started to kind of make that transition from the fashion industry to now you're starting to work with business owners?

Kieara Johnson (12:44)
Yeah, honestly, it was not an easy pivot. And because I was I loved what I did. I just knew that it was no longer for me. So to walk away from something that's working, that you actually enjoy doing, and then deciding that this is not what you want to do any longer. You know, there were a lot of tossing and turning and sleepless nights and then even rebranding.

was a very hard thing to do because everyone, you know, especially within the city of Detroit knew exactly who I was and what I stood for. And I had built such a reputation. And now people are calling and say, I need this. There was, I didn't feel like a failure because I didn't feel at it. I just felt as if, I doing the right thing? Is this really, did I really hear right? Am I really understanding? Am I giving up? You know, am I really giving up? Cause there was also,

some things personally that was happening during that time as well that was very overwhelming for my life. so it was just divorce, just different things that was happening. So I questioned, I making this decision because of others things that's going on or is it really because there is more or something different that's out here for me to do? So it was very uncomfortable, but it was, I knew that

In the inside, I knew that it was more. So I was willing to let go of what we think may be big at the time to something larger. So you'll see for an example, there was a clip that's going around right now, the lady sitting at the game, at the baseball game, and she has, they give her a small bear. Then he takes away the small bear and bring a bigger bear and it takes away, they bring back this huge bear. So a lot of times we tend to hold on to things because we think that this is it.

Kenniqua Lewter (14:26)
yeah.

Kieara Johnson (14:35)
But then there is something bigger and better for us. And because I knew that and I trusted my instincts when it came to that, that it wasn't as hard to let go, but it was uncomfortable. You know, it pushed me out of my comfort zone, out of the trust that I put in what I've already built and things of that nature. But I think because I slowly started pivoting, like you were saying before, before I let it go,

I was already helping the business owners do the things that they needed to do. I just didn't make it a business. It was just something because I love helping people. So it was just something that I just was doing. So when I made the transition, I had already had something in place that now I wasn't making as much money, but I still had something that I can put my new energy thought process and strategy towards.

Kenniqua Lewter (15:25)
Yeah, that's good. Because even when pivoting, so in that season, because like you said, it's very uncomfortable to start going through and pivoting. And a lot of times, like you said, you go through, you question, okay, am I doing the right thing? Because a lot of times when you're going through the pivot, I know just for myself, one of the first things that's impacted is you emotionally, because you feel like, like you said, that you're quitting or that you're letting down the people that you once helped.

And then also too is your money. know, sometimes your money, it goes down before it goes back up. And so you're like, my goodness, you know, this is, is this right? You you question it whether or not it is right. Cause you're like, hold on, I'm leaving some things behind. But then also too, what I found that I just want to know if you've experienced this is during that season when you're trying to go through and you're pivoting is that some of the old things try to bring you back.

Like some of the old clients, they're like, no, no, no, no, you can't do that. I need more fashion things. You know, I need this. Did you find like that part happening? And then also too, that struggle when you have to go through and tell them, I don't do it anymore. I'm just not, you know, have you experienced that?

Kieara Johnson (16:39)
Yeah,

I have and if you don't mind, I'll share it because I have some that's a little bit more deeper. Yes, with that one as well. And it really wasn't from a previous client, but I met a new friend at the time and this friend, I was just kind of telling her about my journey and what I was able to do and accomplish. And she was like, well, why not do it again? You know, and I did, I kind of fell back in it for a second. I got we, you know,

Kenniqua Lewter (16:53)
Mm-hmm.

Kieara Johnson (17:08)
She came in as a partner and we bought all this jewelry and all this stuff and it did not go well. I mean, I did not have the same effect that I had before. We were not selling, know, pieces was breaking. It was like all kinds of disaster happened. And it was literally because that's not where I was supposed to be. And I allowed someone else to come in and convince me.

that this is where I should be and should still be and things of that nature. And so that did happen. However, when, and I wanna take it back a little bit when you're talking about how did it feel to pivot, I started a company called Wealthy Beginnings, which was a startup business, business coach business, business coaching company. And in that,

I really felt like I found my purpose and what I was doing was fulfilling and I was right on target. So with the company,

with Wealthy Beginnings, I ended up getting a coach. Someone introduced me to this coach who was a multimillionaire and this individual decided that he was going to mentor me personally. Now he has a team of coaches, but he wanted to mentor me personally to really help me get to that million, multimillion dollar thing just like he had.

And my eyes like, this is less than this. You know, I moved here and I have the right connections now and this is going to happen and all of the things and in it started off very good. And then it started, then it went downhill because he started to tell me to do things in my business that I didn't feel was the right thing to do. And, and he started to me, well, you're there's no money and working with startups. You're not going to make any money. You're going to stay stagnant. You're going to this and like with my heart.

Kenniqua Lewter (18:30)
Yeah.

You

Kieara Johnson (18:56)
is with the startup. you're telling me to go over here and that's not who I want to work with. And it's not, you know, that's not who speaks to me. And I felt like, because I was so young, I think I may have like 25, 26, somewhere in there at the time. felt like that, well, I may a little bit older, 25, about 26, but I felt like he knew more because he had a ride financially that he knew what was best. And I actually walked away from the business in general.

I said, well, why am I doing it? Because I'm not going to be making any money. You know, why waste my time? I'm just going to walk away. And for about five years or so, I didn't do business at all. And I felt so empty and I felt like such a shell, you know, walking around because I love entrepreneurship. This was been a dream since I was a kid. And now I'm not doing it any longer because I'm being told that the very thing that I love to do will never make.

Kenniqua Lewter (19:25)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Kieara Johnson (19:53)
any money. So I'm like, well, maybe this is not what was meant. And talk about being discouraged, talking about feeling like lost identity, you know, talk about all of the emotional breakdown of what my life had become because of what somebody has spoken over me and me believing exactly what it is that he said. And I definitely felt defeated. went through, you know, a very

interesting phase, you know, in my life. And there are people around that was trying to encourage me. But I just went back to work. I worked, you know, a regular nine to five job. And I'm like, well, this is my life. This is where I am. And maybe my dream as an entrepreneur is not what I thought that it was going to be. Maybe I'm not called to entrepreneurship.

Kenniqua Lewter (20:40)
Yeah, that is so, that's so interesting because that really thing about it is, like, that's why I think it's so important that we have to go through. And like you said, he checked the coach, checked all the boxes. He was exactly where you want it to be. And sometimes what happens is we all, go through and we choose those people, but then we later find out, okay, they

It's not that they don't necessarily have the best for you, best intentions, but sometimes they don't fully understand like what your goals and your actual core desires are, which I think really kind of hurts. Like when you're going through and you're trying to, to go through and figure out who's going to be your mentor, who's going to be your coach. Um, because I, even during the time, like, so when I had my, um,

my fashion business and it stopped in 2008 when you is, it's funny cause that resonates with me when you're like, you just felt so empty inside because when I had to close that business in 2008, it was that three year period where I wasn't doing anything either. And I was working at a call center that I hated that I absolutely hated. And I felt exactly that same way.

Kieara Johnson (21:54)
Thanks.

Kenniqua Lewter (21:58)
It's totally empty. felt like I was just running the world aimlessly. Like I had nothing. All I was doing was going to work and answering calls. And it just felt like this is, this is it because I didn't know what I was going to do next. So I definitely resonate with that feeling. But even when it comes like kind of going back to the, to the business coach, I think sometimes too, and I'm not sure. I guess I kind of understand why people, why coaches tell people this to a certain degree. Cause I've had people tell me those similar things.

I'm not sure why people want to leave startups alone because we all have to start somewhere. And, and, and even with my business now, that's who the people that I help, I help you at the bare bones because I feel like if you can't get past the first five years of your business, you'll never get to be a millionaire anyway. So why do I need to start at the people that are five years plus and they're making six figures?

Who's going to help the people that need to actually get there? If everyone decides that don't help those people, because those people aren't going to help you make money. mean, there's definitely ways that you can still be able to run your business, still be able to make money and still be able to go through and service startups. In my opinion, like I said, that's what we do. That's what we do here as well as well too. So that's, that's so interesting.

Kieara Johnson (22:59)
Yeah.

Kenniqua Lewter (23:17)
So how did you, so you had the friend, I'm just gonna kind of recap it. So you had the friend that kind of dragged you back into it. So what happened next? So how did you get out of it with the friend and kind of move past that and.

Kieara Johnson (23:31)
Well that was an easy thing I just thought I'm not doing it it's not working here's your stuff back and I moved on she is or you know as the engineer that really wasn't her thing she just was looking for another stream of income and I am very much so of a blunt person so I'm not going sugar-coated I'm going to say exactly what it is that needs to be said and this I knew that I shouldn't have been here I allowed

Kenniqua Lewter (23:34)
You

Okay.

Kieara Johnson (23:59)
Influence to put me back here in the fashion business. We're not going to do that. Here's your part I you know, I made sure she had her money and what she invested and that got back in anything additional that happened So she was made whole and then I moved on and I went to make sure that I stuck with The startup business at that time because it was in that transition of starting that business in this one. How I ended up getting back into entrepreneurship

overall was actually by happenstance and believe it or not, I was in a call center as well. I worked for a private jet company and then I worked for Southwest Airlines and then back to the private jet company. But in that time I had got laid off and I was outside selling makeup and flat irons on the street for a company and we were to sales people and I would walk up to people that was sitting in Wendy's or

Kenniqua Lewter (24:50)
good.

Kieara Johnson (24:57)
at Target where they went in and said, hey, I have these sweaters and makeup for sale. Do you want to buy it? And there was just a point I'm like, come on out. Why am I out here like this? I'm like, I have the degrees. I have the know-how. I have the education. I have a lot of experience, a lot of skills. What is going on with my life that I'm out here in the rain? That's when I really had my breakdown.

I'm in the rain selling flat arms and makeup to strangers in parking lots. Like that's so crazy to me. And I said, I quit. Today's my last day. And then, you know, I had that night, I had this restless said, no, go one more day, go one more day. And I'm like, I don't want to go one more day. Like, no, go on. Like my body hurt. I'm tired. I've been working, walking for miles. I'm done. It said, no, go one more day. So I go one more day and I meet a man and this man changed the trajectory.

you know, of my life and got me back to the place where I am today and needed to be. But he started telling me his story, which was very similar to my story and how he had experienced homelessness. And we were living in a hotel at the time, how he experienced homelessness. And he went through this and he went through that and how he was presented this opportunity. And he wanted to present this opportunity to me, which was opening a farmers insurance business.

And so I said, I didn't know what I'm like. I never even thought about insurance, but if it gets me out of the streets, I'm definitely willing to do. I started my own agency and that just reminded me of what was in the inside of me. And I did it for three years. I didn't, I was living in Texas at the time. And I definitely, when we moved back to Michigan, I moved back because my mom.

Kenniqua Lewter (26:21)
Okay.

Kieara Johnson (26:47)
was sick, she was diagnosed with cancer and I came back to take care of her and I was going to do Farmers Here and that's another story I don't want to be sued but it just ended up not going out on Farmers It somehow come across as I'm defaming them but it was not a good experience with transitioning from Texas to here and I ended up having to let my insurance, let my license, lapse so I can get out of the contract that I was in.

Kenniqua Lewter (26:50)
Okay.

Kieara Johnson (27:14)
in order to do the next thing that I wanted to be able to do, which was to have the agency here, but that's another story for another day. But it woke back up the things in me to get back into entrepreneurship. And it reminded me of what I was capable of and being out there and selling and talking to the people and just how happy they are and inviting all their people and all the referrals that we were getting.

and letting me know that no, there's more to you than just working in a call center. You know, that there is, you was not wrong. There is greatness in the inside of you. You might've lost it for a minute, but now it's time to get back into position. And that's exactly what I did. It went into another business and now we're here in this business. But I'm very solid and firm of where I am today because everything that I learned

from the fashion business, from the startup business with Wealthy Beginnings, from Farmers Insurance, from Chargebot, which is a technology company that me and my husband started, which went out of business due to COVID. And because they did require in-person for us to work with organizations in-person for events, like you needed to have events and things like that, that wasn't happening.

But everything I learned, all the ups and downs, all the challenges, all the things and just persevering through it all, life challenges, not just business, but things that just happen in life. There's a lot of this, you know, that goes on. And I realized that it takes commitment. It takes dedication. It takes discipline. There's a lot of things that need to happen in order to walk this entrepreneurship life.

Kenniqua Lewter (28:47)
Mm-hmm.

Kieara Johnson (29:00)
And once I realized that once I stopped giving up, when things get tough, things get hard, things change, when you do have to pivot, and I always tell the entrepreneurs that I work with, you're going to pivot always. It's never going to stay the same. Life changes, things changes, you know, the economy change, technology change, everything changes, and we have to be in a position to evolve with those things.

And

And I always tell people, let's say Apple didn't start off with iPhones, tablets, computers, all these different things. They started off with one thing. They pivot to additional things and they got the hands and this and that. That's going to be your business. You're going to realize this was a good start. Now there's going to be something else and then there's going to be something else and then there's going to be something else. You're going to continue to grow. But if your business is not growing or you're not pivoting, you're going to be out of business. We see it with Blockbuster.

We see it with a lot of these stores that's closing because they refuse to pivot. They refuse to change as the world that we live in changes. But the thing is, is that you have to be in a position to not give up, to keep going, to work through, even when you feel like giving up, when you cry and cry, go ahead, cry, let it out and keep going and like move on and just know that everything that you need in order to make this successful is already in the inside of you.

You just have to believe that you have to tap into it and then any external things that come is just going to build on. It's not going to be something that's new. It's going to resonate with what's already in you to move you forward. And we just cannot give up. We just have to stay, you know, in it and evolve as we go through.

Kenniqua Lewter (30:46)
I love that. I love that. I was going to ask, you know, what would you tell people? You've already answered all of that. You've already answered all of that. Well, I want to know about, the last question I do have, actually have two more questions, but one question I do have is how can people go through and connect with you from this episode? How could they work with you?

Kieara Johnson (31:06)
Yeah, so we are all things business center again. We are an executive assistant in OBM agency, but we're in the middle of a pivot as well. So make sure that you stay tuned. If you go to our website, there is a way to be able to sign up for our emailing list and you're actually going to get our freebie that teaches you or tell you about the different systems that we use or feel like the entrepreneurship or entrepreneurs can use in order to help their business grow. So you can fill that information out so you can stay on our emailing.

list where we provide real tools for you that you can implement that will help accelerate your business without even having to sign up for a service. But if you do choose to work with us again on our website, which is atbcenterswithns.com. So all things business centers, just abbreviate it atbcenters.com. You go there, you can find out everything that you need to know about what services we offer. You can book an appointment with us directly from our website. And then we are

Everywhere on social media if the social media account exists or a platform we're there and we're there at ATV Center. No s everywhere on social media

Kenniqua Lewter (32:12)
Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much for that. And I will close out. just want to know because I have been reading a lot of, trying to start reading a lot more books here lately. So if there was a book that you would recommend to an entrepreneur to really help them, it could be anything. I wouldn't even say get over the ebbs and flows. What would be a book that you would recommend that an entrepreneur that you just check this out and read it.

Kieara Johnson (32:38)
So as an avid reader, I love reading. have so many books. I actually started a book club for entrepreneurs called Accelerated Thinkers, where we do come together to read books. So the first book that I recommend, if you don't mind, I'd like to share too. But the very first book that I would like to recommend is called Essentialism. And I wish I would have had it next to me, because I love to be able to show you that book. But Essentialism is a phenomenal book, because it does talk about the one thing.

that you should be focusing on and doing a thing that is essential, you know, and turning down things that are not. A lot of times as entrepreneurs, we plug so much into our calendars. We think that being busy means that we are growing or that we're productive and it doesn't. It's just a bunch of fluff. A lot of times when we spend time on stuff that really doesn't matter, that's not moving the needle or getting the sale. So I always recommend the essentialism. That's always the greatest. And then this book I actually do have.

next to me because I am in the process of reading it right now. And it's called Born to Multiply by La'Shaun Holley. And this is one of the greatest business books that I have read. I'm still in it. And I've read them all. And this one is so good. I feel like she definitely need more recognition in what she has. And if you're looking for ways to really understand finances and breaking off things that may be holding you back financially,

This is definitely the book that you want to read. And if you want to see an increase in your, your intellect around finance and then your actual finances.

Kenniqua Lewter (34:18)
Okay awesome so I took notes of both of those so i'll put them in the show notes so essentialism and born to multiply both those are probably on Amazon are they on Amazon I can link them. Okay.

Kieara Johnson (34:29)
Yes, both of them are.

Kenniqua Lewter (34:31)
All right. So I took note of those. If you guys want to check out those books, they'll be in the show notes or in the description of the video. And so we'll just go ahead and just wrap this up. I appreciate you coming and sharing your information and your story. It was definitely inspiring. I love like the story that you gave. It's like, I can see that again, entrepreneurship is in you and you are definitely, you have that hustle mentality. Like you're like, okay, I'm not going to give up. and I,

I absolutely love that. absolutely love that.