We were lucky to catch up with Antoinette Holmes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Antoinette, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

I’m sure you know the saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” My first experience with this, to my knowledge, was when I graduated from nursing school. I told my OB/GYN that I was interested in delivering babies. He pulled out a prescription pad and started scribbling. He handed me the prescription and said to take it to the manager on the 8th floor at Centinela Hospital. I read what he had written on the prescription and it read “Hire this young lady.” I thought to myself, is it really this easy? Well it’s worth a try. So I drove over to the hospital, went up to the 8th floor, asked to speak to the manager, and handed her the prescription. She offered me a position as a mother/baby nurse right there on the spot. Oh my gosh!

Now I didn’t accept that position. I decided to keep that in my back pocket just in case I didn’t get hired on my own. I wanted to start off as a medical/surgical nurse to get a good foundation. Start off learning a little about everything to get a good knowledge base, before focusing on a more specific field and transferring over to the mother/baby unit. Well, actually I wanted to transfer to L&D, but they only wanted experienced nurses and didn’t want to pay for my training. So I ended up working mother/baby for a few years until I moved to Georgia and had to start all over again. I was hired on the medical/surgical unit at Wellstar Cobb Hospital, but informed my hiring manager, Rhonda Howell, that I wanted to eventually transfer to mother/baby or L&D, and eventually go back to school to become a midwife.

Once again I worked med/surg for a few years before a position opened up and I was finally able to transfer to mother/baby. I attempted to get into L&D, but was getting the same response that they wanted someone with experience. I’m not sure how you’re supposed to get experience if no one ever hires you and trains you, but it is what it is. While I was working in the mother/baby unit, I applied for and was accepted to graduate school at Georgetown University. Although no longer my manager, Rhonda Howell, was still instrumental in career advancement. As I progressed into my program, I had to reduce my work hours to the weekend shift. She even created a per diem position specifically for me. With the help of my village I was able to graduate with my Masters’ Degree in Women’s Health and Midwifery.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I pretty much grew up in the medical field. My uncle, Donald Stevenson is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine. My mother, Vivian Baldwin, was his office manager. Everyday after school, I was in his office (Stevenson Orthjopaedic Medical Clinic in Inglewood, CA) and I always wanted to be useful. I started off as a file clerk, putting away charts. Eventually I worked my way up to receptionist. By the time I was in nursing school, I was serving as his medical assistant whenever I was home on breaks.

Between working with my uncle, Dr. Donald V. Stevenson, and caring for family members when they were sick, it was a no brainer that I wanted to pursue a career in nursing. You may ask why not a doctor. Well, I always remember my aunt bragging about her nurses and how well they took care of her. She would say “the nurses are the ones that spend the time with you. The doctors are just in and out.” We would always go back after she was released and take them treats. I also recall helping out with her dressing changes and emptying out her drains and this was just so exciting for me.

I’ve always been the type of person that loves to do for others. I love to make people smile or laugh. I’m happy when I can make someone else happy. I’m a firm believer in the golden rule, treat people the way you want to be treated. When I see a patient, I think to myself what if that were my mom, or aunt, or grandmother. Another attribute is the fact that I also grew up in the church, so by working in this field I’m operating in my spiritual gifts. I pray for my patients and my coworkers daily. To this day I’m still in touch with one of my first patients as a new grad. She asked for my address so that she could write me a thank you letter for saving her life. I was skeptical and gave her the address to my uncle’s office at first, but 21 years later we’re friends and she has my cell number and home address.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve been a registered nurse for about 21 years now, a certified nurse midwife and women’s health nurse practitioner for 4 years. After graduate school, I told myself I was never going back to school again. That was quite a task working full time, being head of household, and taking care of my son. However, I started getting that itch again. There’s always that question “now what?” Sex therapist just kept popping up in my mind. I’d have patients come in and I’d have to refer them out for help. I’ve noticed that there’s a gap and that there’s no one in my area offering these services. So I made up my mind that I was going to go back to school for this, but when? When would I have time? I didn’t know when I would go back, but I said I need to do it while my mom is around to help out. My mother moved to Atlanta after the COVID-19 pandemic to assist with my son. It was great while it lasted, but then the unthinkable happened. She passed away from a heart attack on Christmas Eve, 2021.

This was a turning point for me. I’d lost my best friend and no longer had my safety net. I’ve always been spoiled rotten, but I didn’t realize just how much I depended on my mother until she wasn’t there anymore. So I began to pray, asking the Lord to give me guidance. My counselor advised me to start paying attention to the signs around me, which I really didn’t do at first. I was just going through the grieving process, trying to make it through. I decided to decorate my office at work. Nothing fancy, but just a little something so that it wouldn’t look so dull. I bought a desktop mat that reads “She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25).” Just a little something to keep me uplifted. Unknowingly, I started to hear/see this verse more and more. There was a women’s real estate investing group I kept seeing on Facebook. I signed up for the September masterclass and by the end of the class is when I noticed the name “Without Fear of Her Future Masterclass.” Then it hit me that this was the Bible verse on my desk. Hmm, could this be my sign? I sure took it as a sign.

The amount of information I learned in this 1 week masterclass was mind blowing for me. Who knew you could jump into real estate investing and purchase a house with no money? They don’t teach this stuff in schools. All this talk about financial freedom, being your own boss, and generational wealth never crossed my mind before. I’m learning it’s all about exposure and not being afraid to do something different and taking risks. Jumping totally outside my comfort zone, I signed up for their mentorship program and by the 1st week of October I had gotten my first LLC, 2911 Property Solutions. This name I chose from a Bible verse I learned in Sunday school when I was a teenager and it just stuck with me. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Shortly after getting my first LLC, I met Dr. Sean Harris. His son Caden was at my son’s school with his financial bus, teaching financial literacy to kids. While the kids were outside checking out this amazing bus, his father was inside talking to the adults. One thing I learned in the masterclass was that you have to network and start mingling with like minded individuals. The more he spoke, the more I said to myself “He’s speaking my language. I need to get to know him.” So I asked for his business card and few days later I had signed up for coaching from him and his wife. If I hadn’t joined that masterclass and mentorship program, I wouldn’t have been exposed to the financial language that caught my attention that day at my son’s school. The information would’ve just gone in one ear and out the other. I believe in divine intervention and divine connections, and things happened the way they did for a reason. Now here I am a few months later with my 2nd LLC, opening up my own home health agency, Unconditional Love Home Health where I provide families with RNs, LPNs, and/or CNAs to help care for their loved ones in their own home. With the aging population growing, it’s definitely a necessity. I have put all my focus into starting up my agency, but once everything is operating smoothly, I will build my real estate portfolio by adding long term and short term rentals. With the guidance and support from Dr. and Mrs. Harris and my dad in the background cheering me on, I know I can do this.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your firm or practice?

How did I fund my businesses? Credit cards. I hate being in debt. The thought of running up my credit cards drove me crazy. However, I knew that if I started off with wholesaling, I could get that money back. I wasn’t anticipating that I would start up a 2nd business and not have time to focus on the 1st though. I also had a nice amount stashed away in my savings account. Plus I knew that I had money coming from my mom. I didn’t want to be one of those that get an inheritance and run through it and end broke before the end of the year. So starting a business was my way to invest and grow and create generational wealth for my family,

Contact Info:

• Instagram: unconditional_love_hh
• Phone Number: 404-446-0514
• Website: www.ulhh.org
• Email: [email protected]