We recently connected with Dominique Robinson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dominique, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I wanted to create a safe space where young ladies could go to fellowship with other young ladies in their age group, as well as receive guidance from mentors. This was something that I did not have when I was growing up but could have benefited from. In addition to that I did not like the representation of women that our youth were being subjected to, this was also a driving factor that ignited the idea to create a female youth mentoring organization.

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.

Starting out all I had was a vision, I had no background knowledge, experience, or resources regarding starting a non-profit organization. All I knew was that I wanted to create a safe space for young ladies. I took the vision and went to Google University and little by little began educating myself on what a non-profit entailed. I came up with the name “Pretty Me Inc,” because I believed that beauty began within and then radiated outward. I quickly discovered all of the fees that are tied to establishing a start-up business, however, I did not allow that to stop me. I continued to educate myself on all things non-profit. I taught myself how to file our legal paperwork, I became the lawyer, CPA, digital designer, merchandise maker, web designer, etc. I had to do that because I did not have the funds needed to pay the fees associated with establishing the organization, so I had to teach myself. For the first several years I was a one-woman show. Once the foundation was laid, it was time to get the word out. I created flyers and went to various mall parking lots and left flyers on windshields. I did whatever it took to get the word out. One day I decided to reach out to a school district’s superintendent to ask for a partnership, to bring my program into their schools. At the time I didn’t realize this was very premature and a big ask, however, the representative I spoke with loved the idea and saw the need. I was able to attend a school fair and present my organization to their students. It was there I had my first three mentees sign up to join Pretty Me Inc.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding a non-profit is a never-ending marathon, however, funding a start-up nonprofit is even harder. No one wants to give you money if they don’t know you or if there isn’t proof in the pudding. I prayed for someone to just believe in my vision and give me a chance, but that never happened. I received various invitations to corporate meetings to pitch Pretty Me Inc. but nothing ever came of those meetings. It seemed every door was slammed in my face, so for the first 5-7 years I was the organization’s sole sponsor. Our funds came from my personal bank account.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I quickly learned that you cannot allow naysayers or the lack of support from friends and family to discourage you from your passion. Everyone will say encouraging words, but when it comes down to donating, showing up, and supporting you will get let down if you place unnecessary expectations on people. Most times your biggest supporters are strangers. I learned to get out of my head and stop placing expectations on people. Once I did that and started solely focusing on my mission my feelings were no longer hurt.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prettymeinc.org and www.coachdominique.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Coach_Dominique
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/dominique-robinson-1b6a6a162