We were lucky to catch up with LAKESHA QUARLES recently and have shared our conversation below.

LAKESHA, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In 2020, I had a dream about Sunflowers and babies. It was shortly after my dad passed, the dream came to me. At first, I thought it was something that I had made up in my mind, due to the amount of research I had been doing about a certain topic. The dream then came to me again, but only this time it was so vivid, that I woke up and told my Husband about it. In the dream, I could see a big sign on a building named “SunFlower Births”, I was holding a small baby, and I was surrounded by many supporters. The dream felt so surreal! Weeks passed, and I was scrolling on Instagram and came across a post about training to become a Certified Holistic Doula, at that moment, I knew that it was a divine calling. Although, I didn’t know the proper terminology for a “Doula”, I knew that’s what I wanted to become and do in my community. I applied for the training and was later accepted, so I knew that this was the start of something amazing. Before I even started the Doula training class, I had my business name picked out and my LLC filed, I also had business cards premade, because I knew in my heart that this was a passion of mine. I remember telling the Instructor (Stormi) that I had all of those things ready to launch after my certification and she was amazed at what I had proactively completed. Fast forward to now when I look back from where I started, I can’t believe all of the many amazing things that I’ve accomplished since then. From more knowledge gained, more certifications, and thriving business. All it took was that leap of faith to get started.

LAKESHA, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Full Spectrum Doula, Midwife Assistant, Placenta Instructor, and the founder of SunFlower Births, LLC which provides Birth and Postpartum support to birthing persons and their families, along with Placenta encapsulation and Placenta Training to other birth workers. I am also a Clinical Instructor for Medical Assisting and Phlebotomy. With the many titles I have, I am also a community advocate and influencer which deemed me to be awarded the 2023 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award through Community Works in Greenville, SC, and The People’s Choice Award, presented by MommiNation in Atlanta, GA. I’ve been featured in many magazine articles and the Doula Effect Upstate Documentary. Last but not least I am a Mentor to many and I continue to strive to make an impact on my community.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When it comes to the word resilience, I feel like I am the epitome of resilience. I am a person who doesn’t view the word “no” as no, I look at it as “next opportunity”. I remember my 2nd year in business, and everything was going well for both the capital and clientele aspect. Things were going well in the business world, but in my personal life, it seems like everything started tumbling down and I started to feel a lack of motivation and found myself in a depressive state. I let depression consume me and in my mind, I wanted to give up everything but in my heart, I knew that I had too many people looking up to me for help and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone, even if it cost me my peace and little to no sleep. I then decided not to give up but to keep pressing forward, and I remember when my body forced me to shut down and rest. At that moment, I knew it was a sign from God to rest and take a step back to gain clarity. I was able to get clarity on all aspects of my life and if I was going to continue to work towards something great, I had to be okay in knowing that I couldn’t save everyone, and I had to stop pouring from an empty cup, leaving myself depleted. I made changes instantly so that I could be an all-around better person. Even though I had felt like a complete failure, I was reassured that I didn’t fail, I just had to pivot and take better care of myself. Now, I prioritize self-care and I always make time to rest.

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

A lesson that I had to unlearn was thinking that “busy means success”. Before becoming a business owner, I was taught to graduate high school, go to college, work a job, and repeat. Then when I joined the Military, I was taught that it’s better to be early than on time, because if you’re on time, then you’re late. Those life lessons have helped me excel and become the person I am today but it doesn’t tell you how overwhelming it can become if we are running in energizer mode, without pausing to catch up on self-care and rest. Having to unlearn some of the things I was taught was very hard for me because I felt like if I wasn’t busy then I’m not being productive, and not being productive means that I’m lazy and won’t succeed. 2023 has taught me that you can rest and still be productive, say no, and still want to help assist others, learning that you can’t save everyone, and everyone’s problems are not your burden to carry. Having to be forced to sit and rest due to my body shutting down has forever changed my perspective. Not only do I prioritize rest, I take days off at a time and have it penciled on my calendar as a nice reminder to not overbook myself. I also learned that as long as I am moving with integrity and good morals, I will always be one step closer to success my success doesn’t look like everyone else’s and that’s okay because what’s for me shall be mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunflowerbirthsllc.com
• Instagram: sunflowerdoula_kesh/trailblazerkesh
• Facebook: SunFlower Births
• Youtube: SunFlower Births

Image Credits
photo credit-Brandon Oatts IG-justcreate_thebrand