The Journey...

I wasn’t prepared when I decided to step out on my own and start a business. I thought entrepreneurship was going to free me. I thought the money would flow, and everything would fall into place. I was wrong — at least at first.

Back in 2021, I opened my business while going through a “break-up” I wasn’t ready to walk away from and moving out on my own for the very first time. I didn’t understand what true independence meant yet. I was so used to having my family close — my mother, my brother — someone always had my back. But suddenly, it was just me. I had just left my job as an essential worker, helping children with autism — which was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. But I wanted something different for my daughter. I wanted to be the one who dropped her off and picked her up. My oldest didn’t even know what a school bus was until third grade. I wanted her to have the space and support to grow.

So I moved into my own space and, at the same time, opened a door I wasn’t sure I should open: I let my oldest daughter’s dad back into her life — without my family’s opinions hovering. There was a lot of trauma attached to that chapter. And while it didn’t work out long-term (I’ll tell that story in another blog), the beautiful part is that he showed up for her VPK graduation, and she spent time with his family. Those memories matter.

Even during that time, I was making art — but I wasn’t selling much. I wasn’t focused. My mind was crowded with everyone else’s life, everyone else’s opinions, everyone else’s chaos. People were trying to buy my pieces on social media, but I didn’t know how to run a business. I didn’t even understand what “going viral” meant or how to build momentum. I let people tell me what to do with my gift, and that’s where I messed up.

Because this journey wasn’t about them.

I started this business because I lost my god brother, Mark “Nuni” Birthwright, in 2020. Then, three months later, my god sister lost her grandmother — who was like a grandmother to me. Two losses that shifted my whole spirit. That was when I realized: I was officially on a spiritual journey.

The things I thought were true no longer felt true. The things that once felt safe no longer matched who I was becoming. I had to understand that this business, this gift God placed in my hands, was for me — not for anyone else to direct. If I needed a lifeline, I could reach out, but the path was mine to walk.

I did a few vending events, and in 2022, I went to the Noir Fusion Art Juneteenth event. That moment changed everything for me. It was the first time I saw so many Black artists in one room — and it took my breath away. That’s when I fell in love with abstract pours. I wasn’t selling much, but I found something deeper: a new part of myself.

Later that year, I met my youngest daughter’s father. And remember that “break-up”? Yeah… it finally ended. Then I found out the person I was dealing with in my own state had me as the side piece. Rolls eyes. That whole situation was its own spiritual awakening. My long-distance partner and this high school friend both knew about each other — I don’t play those games. But what I didn’t see was that I had trauma-bonded with one and formed a soul tie I didn’t know how to break.

By then, my journaling, meditation, running — all my coping tools — were being tested. My creativity was slipping. I stopped posting. My car got repossessed. I was procrastinating on orders. I was drowning in everyone else’s energy. My oldest was spending weekends with my parents a few blocks away, which helped and hurt at the same time. I had time but not discipline.

I kept searching for something in these men, thinking I was missing something. And I was — myself. So I wrote down everything I wanted in a partner. Not business-related, but necessary for my healing. And a few months later, my youngest daughter’s father came into my life… checking every box. Then I got pregnant. And right around that time, I was losing my place because my

business wasn’t getting the focus it needed.

And this is where the story gets good…

The Pregnancy Era

I lost my place because I wasn’t focused. My youngest’s father was still living with his mother and brother. Red flag number one. I moved back in with my parents… and that didn’t work out either. Pregnancy was NOT taking prisoners, and my mother’s boyfriend and I clashed. So I stayed with my godmother until I moved to Georgia — yes, where my “break-up” lived. (Don’t judge me.)

I got a job, saved everything I could, and moved to Georgia. Did I see the “break-up”? I’ll let y’all fill in that blank. I saw my cousin, saw my dad, and something kept telling me: go back to Florida. And I listened.

Nobody knew I was pregnant until I popped up at my grandmother’s 80th birthday with a baby bump — and a surprise plus one.

I gave birth on my birthday (yes, we share the same birthday). Her father wasn’t there. We barely spoke during the pregnancy. I was elevating spiritually, emotionally, mentally. I was also in school, trying to finish my last year. I was in a storm — housing instability, school, motherhood, healing — all at once.

But that baby… she changed me. She softened me. She elevated me. I didn’t see it until writing this.

2024–2025: The Breaking and the Becoming

My oldest, my baby girl, and I moved in with my youngest’s father and his family. He had a daughter around my oldest’s age. We were trying to blend families while building something new. We planned to eventually get our own place.

Everything was good… until it wasn’t.

January 2024, my oldest and I were in a major car accident on the highway — her first, my third. Traumatic doesn’t even begin to describe it. I quit my job shortly after because Art Basel showed me that my art could carry me. And quitting? Probably the worst timing ever.

I lost myself trying to build this business without structure. My partner and I needed communication, plans, emotional maturity — and we didn’t have it. He was set in traditional roles: women cook, clean, raise kids. We clashed. His mother’s energy was not for me, and he didn’t stand up for me. By 2024, something traumatic happened between us that became the real turning point. I finally learned the word for what I had always needed: emotional maturity.

I got into therapy. I suggested family therapy — only my oldest and I attended. I prayed. I journaled. I gave offerings. I begged God to help my family.

But God was showing me: this isn’t your family. Your family is your girls.

I kept telling my oldest, “We will not start this year the way we started last year.” And on January 10, 2025, at 5:30 a.m., I left. The mental and financial abuse had drained me. And my daughters deserved better.

2025 and Forward

Today, I am in a completely different space. I realized my focus was on the wrong things. Now, I’m in a relationship with my nervous system. I’m getting to know my kids again. I’m loving on my shadow self. I’ve learned that I was the problem in some situations — I lacked boundaries, in life and in business. I didn’t know what I truly wanted.

Now I know.

Running a business is freedom, yes — but also responsibility. You are your own customer service, marketing team, creative department, CEO, and everything in between. And you have to balance all of it.

I now have two daughters, and thank God for my family — they’ve been my backbone. I’m currently living at my grandmother’s house, grounding myself again.

I am finally in a place where I can confront fear. I can pause before reacting. I can teach my daughters the same emotional tools I’m learning. My oldest turns 10 this year. We’re honest with each other, and that honesty has shaped my business too. Our word for this season is accountability.

As of 2025, Create In July LLC has been:

– Featured in a City of Riviera Beach Black History Month exhibition– Part of a Black History Month vending event in Pompano– Hosting interactive art pieces– Collaborating with Jo’s Walking Foundation

I had to go through every part of this journey to realize my gifts are going to be what carries me to my destination.

The journey hasn’t stopped.We’re only getting started.