We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Latonya Garth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Latonya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

The mission of the IMAGINE Mentoring Program is to teach young women who have experienced trauma to imagine the power of their potential, increase their self-esteem through self-awareness, and encourage them to pursue their dreams in spite of the obstacles they face in their lives. I spent much of my life working with young people, and those experiences brought me into contact with so many children that needed guidance and an opportunity to express themselves. While we support all children, our primary focus is young girls.

IMAGINE really began as an opportunity for me to express my love and share my experience with those who need it most. After suffering through several life altering situations, I realized that the best way to heal my emotional wounds, was to help someone else heal theirs.

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 background and context?

I grew up in Detroit. I got my bachelor’s degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Higher Education from Michigan State University. I’m an author, an entrepreneur, a mentor and a motivational speaker. In addition to IMAGINE, I own a multi-purpose event space, a table & chair business, and an educational enrichment organization. I’m also a mom. My daughter keeps me grounded, and at the end of the day, she is my motivation…my Why.

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

Even though she’s been gone for over 10 years, I still really struggle with the loss of my mother. I’ve always believed that our deceased loved ones talk to us through dreams. Well one day my Mom came to me in a dream. It was during a particularly difficult time in my life, and she was telling me not to give up and stay focused on my purpose. She said, “Keep going.” It was an inheritance of faith that she left me. That encounter inspired me to write my first book, which of course I called, Keep Going. The book, and the renewed focus it gave me, led to the positive outcomes you see today.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I mentioned earlier, one of my businesses is an event space, and when the pandemic hit I had to close my doors. Given that all of my businesses relied on face to face interaction, that was a scary time for me. In the spirit of Keep Going, I knew that I couldn’t just give up. So I began to think about how I could prepare my businesses for a world that didn’t allow for people to meet in person. For my mentoring and education businesses, I learned how to provide services remotely. I formed a partnership with a bank to deliver virtual financial education to the parents of my mentees and students. I even took a Zoom class so that I could make the best use of the technology. While my event space was closed, I restructured my operations and created a web-based booking and payment system. We even offer virtual tours of the facility, which is really convenient for me and the client. I believe that all these adjustments give me a competitive advantage. Because of the “COVID pivot”, I can now provide stellar customer service, in a safer and more efficient way.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.imaginementoring.com
• Instagram: the_imaginementor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImagineMentoring
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-imagine-mentoring-program-of-michigan/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0NE-89jHEv0ZE3xUxYy5qw
• Other: www.latonyagarth.com

Image Credits
Cre8tive Media and Guudvision Media