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Daily Inspiration: Meet Ms.Dee

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Ms.Dee

Hi Ms.Dee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In the 1st or 2nd grade, I got left-back. When I was in middle school, I was told to act “crazy,” so I could get a “check” and could be put in dance or cheer. The doctor had labeled me as being bipolar. By 12, I was labeled as a student with learning disabilities, bipolar and was facing the fact that I wouldn’t graduate from high school but would get a certificate of completion because of me being in slow learning disability classes. So I decided that enough was enough and I would not be another statistic. I promised myself I wouldn’t be another young lady that would be pregnant and living off the government. So every time we had to take a state test, I would pray heaven down. I prayed my way through! I graduated from high school early, got accepted into the national honor society and was in dual enrollment for college while in high school. When I was 16 years old I was trying to find a job and I applied everywhere. If you can name it, that’s where I applied to. But nobody reached back out to me. I didn’t receive a callback, no email, nothing. So I asked God what was going on? And it came to me quickly he told me to get my hair license.

So, I Googled how to get my natural hair braiding license and called the first number that came up. The lady told me that it would be about $250 in order for me to obtain my license. So I had always done hair but I was doing hair for like $10- $25. I decided that I was going to save every penny to obtain my license so I could be a professional. Around this time, my high school was having homecoming and my uncle sent me money to go to homecoming, so I spent all of the money except for $50 on obtaining my license. I stretched that $50 and got everything I needed for homecoming and to pay for my license. So while I was in high school, I became a professional hairdresser, and I obtained my license from the state. Now I had to find a shop to work in. Finding the salon was hard because everybody has different attitudes and different environments. I remember working at an African braiding shop and they would come in and be like this light skin girl do hair. They thought I was a customer. So I called the lady that I got my license from and I asked her if she knew of anyone that was hiring and just so happened there was a salon that she knew of that was a couple blocks up from me that was in between my house and my high school so it was in the perfect location. So I called the lady to set up the interview. I ended up working for her from 16-18 years old. Right after I graduated from high school, my old boss decided that she was going to close down her store and move to a salon suite in a different city. I was living in the hood and had a little bucket. There was no way my little bucket would be able to travel in and out of town to go to work every day. I told my boss I was going to ask God about it and see what he wanted me to do. Mind you at this time I had my own apartment. I was married at the age of 18.

Responsibilities were on my plate that needed to be taken care of. So I asked the Lord what he wanted me to do when he told me to go ahead and open up my own store. I only had 400 dollars to my name. I didn’t know how God was going to work it out, but I believe that he brought me this far that he was going to keep his word with me. So I went back to my boss the following day and I told her that I was going to go ahead and open up my own salon. So my boss had turned around and said can have this, that, this that. Little did I know the location that she was going to provide everything that she needed and everything that was in her salon she did not need, so she gave me all the equipment that I need to in order to start my business. So at this point I had the equipment and still got my $400 but no location. God told me to talk to one of my friends at his store. So I went to the store. I didn’t know what was about to happen. So I was walking around in his store, and he had heard that the owners were closing down the store so he asked me what I was going to do and so I told him I was going to go ahead and open up my own store. So he asked me if I had a location and I told him no. He said go to the flea market and tell him that I sent you. So I went to the flea market the following day. He was close friends with the owner of the flea market, so I was able to get a discounted rate in order to get into the flea market. I only ended up paying $250 for my first location. So within four days, God put together the equipment and location. After I got the salon open I went back to my previous boss. I said hey I want to let you know that I open up my salon if you can let my customers know where I am and she said that they were not my customers but the brands.

For a split second my mind began to race and I thought to myself Lord now I have more responsibilities and I spent half of my 400 getting this store but now I had the store with no clientele. But his Spirit grabbed me quickly, and God let me know that he didn’t bring me this far to leave me. I showed up to work like a million people were waiting at my store. At the end of each workday, if one person showed up and nobody showed up. I thank God I had everything I needed for that day. For food, a place to sleep and a job. Now it has been over ten years, and I currently own and operate five different businesses successfully. I still have a Hair Salon located in Tampa, FL called Unique Hair also I have a Millionaire Club, which is an online school where I help entrepreneurs establish their businesses and get the ball running. Released an album called Hype Praise. Also Commendable which is a trademark approved hair care line, and we are currently in 30 different retail stores. And many other great things. I share this story to let someone know that no matter where you come from, you can make it! And you have the power to come out of environments that you were born into. We can’t choose where we were born, but God has given us the power to decide where we would end up at. Visit The Link To See My Projects https://linktr.ee/Ms.Dee

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the things that I struggled with along the way were knowing that everything that I needed was inside of me. Not depending on other people to encourage me but mustering up enough faith and confidence in myself, knowing who I am without the agreement of anyone. And as a business owner, your life is dependent on your business. People come and go employees come and go family friends come and go but this is your lifeline. So walking away was never an option for me even if I felt like it, but I always had to do all I could do in order to stand and maintain. Often times I had to remind myself of who I was, what I was doing, and why I was doing what I was doing. Because you have to understand that your assignment is bigger than just you. And that what you would do on the Earth would affect more than just you. That my position in this world is powerful. And that I’m chosen to serve my community.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So, I currently operate many different businesses. One of them is called Ms.Dee’s Millionaire Club and Program. Our mission is to help others find their God-given purpose as an entrepreneur, providing services to impact the nation and create generational wealth. Also I’m a music artist. I recently released my first EP album called Hype Praise and it’s available on all major platforms. I’m a Female Hip Hop Gospel Trap artist. I use trap beats and put Jesus in it. If you wanna experience this new wave of Gospel Music, check me. This is about the spreading of the Gospel. I created this album for people to freely praise God. No matter where you come from or who you are, we can all praise God in our own way. So it expresses that freedom. My music will get you up and moving. This is a new sound for the Gospel Industry. Google Hype Praise by Ms.Dee Commendable is a hair product line I designed and tested to better serve my customers from my hair salon. I thought instead of just having this item in my hair salons, how about I give this gift to the whole world. So I got my ducks in order to cater to the nations! So Commendable is my blood, sweat, tears, and love. I put everything in this product line to make people happy with their hair! www.commendablehair.com Also, Unique Hair strives to satisfy every customer meeting their expectations. The mission is “WALK IN A MESS LEAVE LOOKING TRULY BLESSED” We are a one-stop-shop for all your hair needs. What sets me apart from everyone else is that I’m unapologetically me. I believe that we are all created differently, and it’s our differences that make us unique. Many times people don’t embrace their differences, but they try to blend in. It’s your differences that make you unique and different and cause you to stand out amongst the crowd. The thing that I’m most proud of is that I haven’t given up. I’m still here. I’m still standing.

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