We recently connected with Marquetta Hemphill and have shared our conversation below.

Marquetta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

The most important lesson I gained in my career occurred during a period of significant professional challenge, and it has shaped me profoundly as a business owner.

Earlier in my corporate career, I believed that advancement came through patience, loyalty, and consistency. I trusted that if I worked hard, delivered results, and remained committed to my organization, leadership would recognize and invest in my growth. I expected that the environments I served would eventually serve me in return.

However, my perspective shifted during a role in which I reported to a manager who I expected would understand and support my development. Instead, I encountered consistent dismissal of my ideas, limited access to opportunities, and an overall lack of advocacy. I found myself minimizing my creativity, withholding my perspective, and reducing my presence in order to avoid conflict or criticism. This period required deep reflection, because despite my efforts to conform, the results did not change.

The turning point occurred after a meeting in which my work was minimized and credited to others. I left that room with a clear realization. I had been trying to earn validation in an environment that benefited from my contributions but was not designed to acknowledge them. The lesson became evident. Diminishing oneself does not create advancement. Silence does not guarantee stability. Conformity does not secure belonging.

This realization has guided my approach as an entrepreneur. It taught me several enduring principles that now underpin my work and leadership.

Authenticity is a strategic asset. A clear and confident voice strengthens both leadership and brand identity.

Legacy cannot be built in environments that restrict growth. It must be built in spaces that allow vision and purpose to thrive.

Talent and creativity must be protected. They succeed when guided by clarity, ownership, and intentional stewardship.

Purpose becomes most powerful when permission is no longer required. Confidence accelerates progress.

That experience ultimately motivated me to create what is now I Got Donuts. It pushed me to design spaces that elevate authenticity, leadership, and personal development for others. It refined how I lead, how I support communities, and how I empower professionals seeking transformation.

The lesson remains clear and foundational to my work. Restricting oneself does not produce excellence. Growth occurs when individuals stand fully in their identity, purpose, and capability. That belief continues to guide my decisions as a business owner and leader.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a woman who turned her story into a platform, her pain into purpose, and her voice into a brand that helps people rise. I am the Founder of “I Got Donuts!”, an Author, a Speaker, a Creator, and a guide for anyone who is navigating transitions, building something new, or trying to find their identity in the middle of uncertainty.

My journey did not begin in business. It began in rooms where I felt unseen and unheard. It began in seasons where I questioned my value. It began in moments that forced me to decide whether I would keep shrinking to survive or choose to stand in who I truly was. Over time I realized that so many people struggle silently with those same questions. They are talented, brilliant, full of ideas, and full of potential, but they do not always have the clarity, confidence, or community to activate it.

That realization became the seed for “I Got Donuts!”.

What started as a personal message for myself grew into a brand that now helps others reclaim their voice. It grew into workshops, books, coaching, content, consulting, and an entire ecosystem built around purpose, leadership, and authenticity. I help people navigate careers, build brands, start businesses, discover their identity, and communicate with power. I support professionals, community leaders, creatives, and emerging entrepreneurs who are trying to find their place and build something meaningful.

My work lives in four spaces.

– I help people get clear. Clear on their brand, their leadership, their direction, and their message.

– I help people build confidence. Confidence in their voice, their story, their gifts, and their next steps.

– I help people create structure. Structure around ideas, goals, strategies, and execution.

– I help people transform. Transform how they show up, how they lead, and how they see themselves.

I serve people who feel stuck. People who feel overlooked. People who are rebuilding after disappointment. People who want something more but do not know where to start. People who have always been the strong one but finally want to be supported. People who are tired of shrinking. People who need someone who understands the emotional side of growth as well as the strategic side.

What sets me apart is that my work comes from lived experience, not theory. I have been the woman trying to find her place. I have been the leader without support. I have been the builder with no blueprint. I have been the creative who knew she had something to say but had to fight to get the words out. My brand is not polished perfection. It is real, honest, and grounded in purpose. That is why people connect with it. They see themselves in my journey.

I am most proud of the fact that my work helps people feel seen again. I have watched clients rediscover their confidence, launch businesses, shift careers, lead teams with renewed purpose, and step into spaces they once believed were out of reach. I am proud that my voice has become a mirror that shows people the strength they forgot they had.

For readers who are meeting me for the first time, here is what I want them to know.

“I Got Donuts!” is not about pastries. It is about people. It is about resilience. It is about standing tall after seasons that tried to break you. It is about remembering who you are when the world tries to convince you otherwise. It is about creating spaces where authenticity is power and purpose is the strategy. It is about transformation that begins on the inside and reshapes everything around you.

My work is real. My message is real. My purpose is real. And everything I create is designed to help others rise with clarity, confidence, and identity.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What helped me build my reputation was the decision to show up as my full self, even when it was uncomfortable, unconventional, and unexpected.

In my market, people are used to perfect branding, polished corporate language, and leaders who hide behind strategy but never reveal their truth. I chose a different path. I chose honesty. I chose clarity. I chose authenticity even when it felt risky. I built my reputation by being the person who says the thing everyone else is afraid to say and by creating spaces where people feel seen, understood, and supported without judgement.

People connect with me because they can feel that my work comes from real experience. I do not teach from theory. I teach from the moments that stretched me, humbled me, and refined me. I share the lessons that cost me something. That level of transparency makes people trust my voice, my guidance, and my leadership.

I also built my reputation by delivering. When people come to me for clarity, they leave with direction. When they come unsure of themselves, they leave walking taller. When they bring chaos, I help them organize it. My work does not stop at inspiration. I give people structure, strategy, and the confidence to execute. That combination of heart and strategy has allowed me to stand out in a saturated space.

Another thing that strengthened my reputation is consistency. I show up for my community through writing, speaking, workshops, content, and the daily messages that remind people that they matter. My voice is consistent. My mission is consistent. My message is consistent. People know what to expect from me, and they know I will show up with intention every single time.

Finally, what sets my reputation apart is the emotional connection that people feel with my brand. I Got Donuts is not a slogan. It is a reminder that you can rise again. It is a reminder that your story has value. It is a reminder that you do not have to shrink. People see themselves in that message, and that creates loyalty that cannot be bought.

My reputation was built on honesty, consistency, clarity, and the courage to lead with my true voice. And that is what continues to sustain it today.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is watching something that lived inside of me become something that transforms someone else.

There is a moment that happens every time I release a book, a message, a workshop, a piece of content, or even a simple sentence. Someone reaches out and says, “I needed that.” Or “That made me feel seen.” Or “That pushed me to move again.” For me, there is nothing more meaningful than knowing that something I created from my own story, my own lessons, and my own healing is now helping someone step into their power.

Being a creative allows me to take the things I have survived, the things I have learned, and the things I believe in, and turn them into tools that others can use. It allows me to turn pain into purpose, clarity into confidence, and storytelling into transformation. I do not create for perfection. I create for connection. I create so people can see themselves in my journey and feel less alone in their own.

The most rewarding part is that creativity gives me freedom. It allows me to express, build, imagine, and reimagine. It allows me to show people that reinvention is real and that it is never too late to start over. It allows me to breathe life into ideas that once lived only in my mind and watch them become blueprints for others.

Creativity makes room for authenticity. It makes room for impact. It makes room for healing. And every time someone tells me that my work shifted something in them, I am reminded that this is purpose, not performance.

For me, the reward is knowing that my creativity does not just make something beautiful. It makes something meaningful. It makes something that lasts. It makes something that helps someone else rise.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.igotdonuts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igotdonutsofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577872627034
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquettahemphill/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WantDonuts-IGotDonuts

Image Credits

Kadesha Piece – KD Klassic Photography