Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Gray.
Hi Angela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I believe God called me to work with girls and women. When I attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 1993, I, along with other members of the Black Student Association, wanted to have a space for the female sororities and groups to talk to each other. We called it “Let’s Talk Sista 2 Sista.” We held the meetings every semester. It was a huge success! Then, I graduated and returned to my hometown in Alton, Illinois, to develop the groups for girls living in the Joesting housing projects, the neighborhood I was raised for 10 years. The girls learned tools to help them socially and emotionally for a summer program. Then, in 2006, I developed various programs with my colleagues at Alton High School to help girls struggling with anger and self-esteem. We held various assemblies such as “Stop the Drama.” This involved a conference in 2013, “I am Empowered.” We had over 100 girls attend from the Alton School District. Some of the women who assisted me were Rosa Burton and Linda Wittman.
I have been a School Social Worker for over 20 years, working with Kindergarten through High school students. I am passionate about working with girls with challenging attitudes. In 2019, I stepped out on faith and started my own consulting business, “Empowered2BE, LLC”. I provide consulting for school districts and organizations. I will also provide counseling and mentoring shortly.
As a result of working with these girls by providing individual and small group counseling, I wrote my first book in 2019, “Girl, Check that Attitude! Best Practices for Working with Girls with Challenging Attitudes”. I wrote the book for Educators to help them while working with girls with challenging attitudes. Later that year, I wrote a self-help book and journal to help the girls themselves, “Help! I Have an Attitude Problem. A Self-Help Book and Journal to Help Teen Girls Overcome Negative Attitudes.” I did several workshops on this topic for Washington University, Madison County ROE, St. Clair ROE, Roxana School District, Alton School District, East Alton School District, Rockwood School District, Missouri Institute of Mental Health Conference and Web Conference, Illinois School Social Workers Conference,
I have always had a love for empowerment t-shirts. For our girl meetings, groups, and conferences, we always had motivational shirts developed to fit our theme. In 2020, I called my friend, Marissa, while she was shopping for a Cricut. I told her I always wanted to make shirts. She encouraged me to start making t-shirts. I purchased a Cricut, which sat in the box for three months. I finally pulled it out and watched a lot of Youtube to learn how to use it. On May 13, 2021 (my deceased Mother’s Birthday), I launched our family business, Luv 2 Express Tees and More. It has been successful. We have repeat customers who buy from us.
In 2021, my then six-year-old daughter, Amoriah, came home from school and asked me, “Why she doesn’t have straight hair like her friends?” My husband, Chris, and I were not ready to answer that question. We ordered various books on Amazon, and we stressed how beautiful her natural hair is. We encouraged her to enter the Young Authors program at Eastwood Elementary a few months later. She wanted to write about how much she loves her afro puffs. She wrote her book, “Amoriah’s Magic Afro Puffs” one day. Her book was one of the books selected to represent their school. We later illustrated and self-published her book in 28 days. That painful question evolved into my daughter’s own business, Amoriah’s Blessings (her first and middle name), a successful book launch, book tours, and selling her coloring book, hair bows, t-shirt merchandise, on her website, www.amoriahlove.com, and Youtube page, “Amoriah’s Adventures.”
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I faced some challenges along the way. The lack of finances has been a big barrier. I need so much more for all of our businesses, but I make them work. I work out of a small space in our basement for the craft room. I would love to have more space. I would also like to take more crafting classes, but investing in other parts of our businesses puts that on the back burner. The entrepreneur journey is sometimes a lonely road. I only talk to a few of my friends who are also entrepreneurs. It would be nice to meet other positive entrepreneurs without a competitive spirit. I wish we had a bigger team to work with. It is mainly my husband, daughter, and myself. Working a full-time job and juggling all of our businesses can be very exhausting. My friend, Kelsia, helps out when she is available but is very busy with her businesses. It can become overwhelming when juggling all the businesses and having a full-time job as a School Social Worker in the East Alton School District, wife, and mother. I get up at 4 am sometimes to work on the businesses. It helps to have the summers off, but I use that time to work on my businesses.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about EMPOWERED, LLC, Amoriah’s Blessings, Luv2Express Tees, and more?
I love all of my businesses. They all started around the same time between 2019-2021. They all focus on uplifting and encouraging women, girls, and families. I started EMPOWERED, LLC. in 2019 to empower youth, girls, and families; provide professional development, and I will soon be providing individual and group counseling and coaching. I will specialize in providing a direct and practical approach to counseling. I will also use humor to help my clients to address past traumas. I am most proud when I receive positive feedback from participants who attend my workshops. I am revamping my website, but it is still available for review-www.empowered2bme.com. I love t-shirts, and I started Luv2 Express Tees and more in 2020 because I wanted to share my love for t-shirt designs with others. We specialize in women empowerment, Afrocentric, and Social work/ Counseling and Educator designs; I am still learning to use the Cricut machine. I watch Youtube videos and attend workshops to help me grow professionally. I am very interested in learning sublimation. I have the equipment needed, but I have yet to have the time to learn it, but I will. My husband, daughter, and I participate in various vendor events for this and our daughter’s business. We also specialize in pillows, canvas, and affirmation pillows. Our business is located on Facebook. The 3rd business is our daughter’s business, Amoriah’s Blessings. Amoriah sells various items on her website-www.amoriahlove.com, such as her book, “Amoriah’s Magic Afro Puffs,” coloring book fun pack, and t-shirt merchandise; in person, we sell hair bows and affirmation mirrors. I am most proud that she is helping other girls to love her natural hair. Amoriah is developing into a great entrepreneur. I love watching her interact with customers. Amoriah also has a Youtube channel, Amoriah’s Adventures, to share her adventures and talk to her subscribers. As far as what sets me apart, I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t compare myself to others. I focus on improving myself personally and professionally. I like to have good customer service, so I hope our customers would say they enjoy that about our businesses.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Everyone should have a Mentor. They are valuable in one growing professionally and personally. I have been blessed with having four amazing Mentors: Dr. Venessa Brown, my former Professor, and Soror; Debra Pitts and Ladonna Whitner-my, former Supervisors; and Benjamin Golley-former co-coach and Entrepreneur. They all have the same characteristics of honesty and transparency, even if it hurts my feelings. My mentorships have been organic, and I believe God appointed me. They all came into my life in various stages of growth. I truly appreciate having great Mentors who will tell me the truth, not what I want to hear. One should watch those around you and see if your energy matches theirs. If it does, ask the person to mentor you. I want to network more but don’t have the extra time. I would appreciate finding a group of positive women I could connect with monthly.
Pricing:
- Amoriah’s Magic Afro Puffs-$10
- Amoriah’s youth tshirt-$10
- Amoriah’s coloring fun pack-$3
- Luv2Express Tshirt-$20-25-It depends on the design
- My books-$10 each
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amoriahlove.com and www.empowered2bme.com
- Instagram: Amoriah Love
- Facebook: Amoriah Love and @Luv2Express Tees and more
- Youtube: Amoriah’s Adventures
Image Credits
Angela Gray
