Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ebanie Wilson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ebanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking your friends and family to support your business, but you shouldn’t feel entitled to it. I personally don’t ask my friends and family to support my businesses or personal projects. If your family and friends are aware of something you are starting or creating, they will support it however they feel moved to. Sometimes, especially when we are in the beginning stages of creating something new, we may be looking for the support of our friends and families as validation of what we are creating. An uncomfortable truth: that’s not their job. Of course, it would be ideal if our family and friends supported our business, but our validation and belief in our business shouldn’t be dependent on their support. When starting a business, you need to identify the people who need your product or service, and most of the time, our friends and family are not even our target audience. If you truly believe in your business, trust that the right people will find it and support it. You must be able to validate and reaffirm yourself, your decisions, and your abilities on your own. You cannot afford to have emotional reactions to business dealings. Give yourself the grace and space to grow as a business owner. It may be lonely initially, but if you stay committed to your vision, the connections, clients, customers, support, and resources will find you, and the bond will be much more impactful because it is organic.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my entrepreneurial journey in March 2021. My boutique, Fluuter Fashion, was the first business I started. I went to cosmetology school after I graduated high school, so I’ve always been connected to the beauty and fashion industries. After the pandemic hit and I saw how employment was being affected, I took a leap of faith and started my business. After starting my first business, the vision has gotten clearer. In September 2022, I started Three Seventeen Jewelry Co., a personalized jewelry company and my second project. I’ve always had a passion for beauty and fashion, and since stepping into entrepreneurship, I’ve grown a passion for business and financial literacy. I plan to take an inventive approach as I grow and establish my brands. I believe a million people can do what you do, but nobody can do it like you! I want to create household brands that deliver a high-caliber and captivating experience for customers. With Fluuter, I wanted to provide affordable fashion for women. I believe that when you look good, you feel good. (your outfit gotta make you feel good!) With Three Seventeen, personalized jewelry is such a unique and eye-catching way to express your style. I look to provide variety in my businesses while still being aware of and serving my target audience. I want my vision to properly translate through my work, and I want to create projects that are authentic and can be appreciated by my community. When people see my work, I want to leave them feeling inspired, encouraged, and anticipating more. I hope people see my work not just as a thing I do but as a part of who I am.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Finding resources that expose me to different philosophies, perspectives, and cultures has been very important for my entrepreneurial mentality. Social media is a great tool when used correctly. I started getting intentional with how I curated my social media algorithms. I began searching for people and spaces centered around business literacy, self-development, and entrepreneurship. Once you start generating a footprint of specific content or information, you start to get that content pushed to you. There are some excellent resources that can assist you on your entrepreneurial journey for free. Some of my favorite accounts on Instagram right now are Ellie Talks Money, CoField Advisor, EYL, High-Level Conversations, and 4bidden Knowledge. I also enjoy watching interviews and speeches on YouTube. Some of my favorite speakers are Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Alice Walker, James Baldwin, Eckhart Tolle, Maya Angelou, and Queen Afua. My favorite books this year are *The Alchemist* and *Black Privilege*. *The Alchemist* is such a fun book to read. I think it’s a book everyone will benefit from, especially if you are starting or want to start a new business or creative endeavor. This book will breathe new life into your dreams and goals and change the way you view the journey to reaching them. My favorite quote from the book is, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” Even though *Black Privilege* is an autobiography, it felt really personal to me. This book is for anyone, especially Black people, who is trying to forge their own, most authentic path. The lessons from the stories can help you recognize and tap into your own potential and authenticity and overcome the challenges on the way to achieving your goals. My favorite quote from *Black Privilege* is, “To reap the privilege that is divinely ours, we just need to remember it.”

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

For me, the biggest belief I had to unlearn was that struggle is an unavoidable part of life. The notion that I must struggle in some area of my life has been ingrained in me since childhood. Even today, when I hear expressions like “If it ain’t one thing, it’s another” or “You can’t have it all,” I am reminded of the deeply embedded narrative that struggle and lack are simply part of life. I’ve adopted the philosophy that unlearning or deprogramming certain beliefs is just as important, if not more so, than learning new things to be successful. Growing up, I saw people wear struggle like a badge of honor or an identity. The danger in identifying with your struggle is that it becomes a part of you. When new experiences, options, and opportunities present themselves, we often reject them because new experiences require us to evolve, and evolving means leaving our struggles behind. Since many of us have made our struggles part of our identity, abandoning the struggle feels like abandoning ourselves. But that’s not true; our experiences are not who we are. Our struggles present us with opportunities to learn lessons that can help us grow. We fear we are losing something when, in reality, we are releasing energetic blocks and creating space for the beauty and ease in life that we deserve and desire. The realization that whatever I give my attention to amplifies really moved me to evaluate the beliefs and habits I was holding on to. If I say I want a life of fulfillment and ease, but I always give my energy and attention to areas of lack and difficulty, then I am conjuring more of these experiences for myself. That doesn’t mean I’m ignorant or unmindful that challenges and difficulties exist. Quite the opposite: because I am aware of my choices and that I have a right to choose, I’m choosing to direct my focus to experiences that I prefer. I read a book that said, “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure,” and I couldn’t agree more. We tend to shy away from things we don’t feel capable of achieving. But that’s the irony of it. The only way to increase your threshold is to challenge yourself beyond your perceived capabilities. You never know what you are truly capable of until you have had experiences that challenge you. If you can’t beat the fear, do it scared. It may be intimidating, but it is necessary. I want to encourage others to reclaim their power of choice. You can have a beautiful human experience that is fulfilling and not lacking. Struggle does not have to be a life sentence. You get to choose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.threeseventeenjewelryco.com
• Instagram: @threeseventeenjewelryco/@thatgirleb_
• Facebook: Three Seventeen Jewelry Co

Image Credits

@swaggyb_photography
@c.the.flash