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

Nikia, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

To Know Thy Self LLC’s mission is to educate mompreneurs on how to create and sustain a healthy and harmonious balance between work life, family life, and mindfulness.
I will never forget the day I realized I did not know who I was and how I allowed the daily demands of life force me to neglect myself.
I divorced my ex-husband in 2018. During this time my three children, who were two years, ten years, and thirteen years of age, began visiting their father every other weekend.
They left for the first time on a Friday evening and I found it extremely easy to go to sleep that night. The next morning, I woke up, sat on the side of my bed, and thanked God for waking me up. I looked around my bedroom and realized that my house was extremely quiet. I mean, the silence was deafening. It was so loud, I couldn’t see! I began to panic a little and decided to make myself some breakfast. I stood in the kitchen and found myself lost. I did not know what to prepare myself because I always cooked what everyone around me liked. Even if I did not prefer what I was preparing, I would still eat it because I knew I needed it to survive. So, I decided not to eat that morning and sat in my living room. I didn’t even know what to watch on the television because child friendly content was always played in my home. I was unaware of what shows were available for adults to watch at that time.
Overwhelmed with emotions, I sat in my living room and bawled like a baby. I cried out to God and asked why this happened to me. I reminded God that I did everything I was supposed to as a wife and mother – I cooked everyday, I cleaned, I completed homework with the children, I paid half of the bills, and I even saved myself for my husband. I felt uncovered because as a Christian woman I was taught that my husband is my spiritual covering. I was afraid because I had no one to physically protect myself and the children. I was unsure how to navigate the world as a single and divorced mother. It was at this point I realized I was the shell of the woman I once was and quite frankly I didn’t recognize the shell. I did not know who I was, what I liked, what I yearned to do, what my personal goals were, etc. I knew nothing about ME!
As I continued on my divorce journey, I sat outside of bible study one evening waiting for it to begin. God spoke to me and said, “To Know Thyself.” I asked God what this meant and He told me that it was the name of my business and that I was charged with helping mothers who were suffering like I was at the time. I reminded God that I was a mess, trying to find myself, barely making ends meet as a single mother, and struggling to pay the thousands of dollars in legal fees pertaining to the divorce. Consequently, I respectfully declined the Lord’s instructions and told Him that I was not capable of fulfilling His request.
Fast forward six years later, To Know Thy Self LLC is a global brand positioning and empowering mompreneurs all over the world to understand who they are, know their worth, and never settle for a penny less. I conquered a variety of issues during my divorce and now stand as a confident mompreneur who lives a life of abundance. It is my job to equip other mompreneurs with the tools necessary to operate at their maximum potential.

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 am a forty three year old wife and mother of five. I married my middle school sweetheart in 2019. I have two bonus sons and three biological children. I am also an author, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, the former Assistant Deputy Director for the largest child welfare jurisdiction in the state of MD, and an international motivational speaker. I have been in the social work field for over twenty three years. I worked in public child welfare for twenty of those years and rose through the ranks holding positions such as a frontline worker, frontline supervisor, division chief, program manager, and ultimately the Assistant Deputy Director. My experience working with the children and families of Baltimore City taught me that the mother is the central hub of most family units. If the mother is not operating at her maximum potential, then most times the entire family unit suffers. I am still practicing social work, however I have shifted my focus from the family unit to the mother.
Being a mother myself and helping reunite mothers with their children for over twenty years, I found myself depleted and in need of refueling. One evening after everyone was asleep in my home, I searched the phrase, “inspiring black women” on YouTube. Videos of Lisa Nichols populated and I began listening to her every night before going to bed. As I continued listening to her, I remember thinking that I have what it takes to do what she was doing, but in my own way. From that point forward, I began writing my book and hired a coach.
I successfully wrote my book titled, Picture Perfect, which is a fictional story loosely based on my life and what I endured during my divorce and first marriage. It was an extremely therapeutic process for me as I was able to release pain and anguish through my imagination and creative writing skills. Every woman that reads Picture Perfect relates to the main character, Nina, in some way. Nina is a single mother whose life appears picture perfect from the outside looking in until everything comes crashing down and she is forced to rebuild her life from ground zero.
My coach at the time began booking me for different speaking engagements. My very first appearance was on an international platform. I was so excited and proud of the progress I was making within such a short amount of time. I was even afforded the opportunity to meet Lisa Nichols in person and take pictures with her. I expressed my admiration and told her she encouraged me to believe in myself and go after the life I deserved, which is a life of abundance.
Since this time, I have spoken on several different international platforms, hosted a variety of workshops, and started my very own “Moaching” program for mompreneurs. Mompreneurs who enroll into my moaching program experience exclusive strategic planning that is tailored to their needs. The goal for every mompreneur I work with is to help her understand who she is, align with her purpose, operate at her maximum potential, and unleash a life of abundance. My clients get the best of both worlds with me as a coach and therapist. As a therapist, I explore my clients behavior patterns and the origin of those behaviors. As a coach, I push my clients past their limiting beliefs and pull out of them what they did not know they had in them. To have a coach and a therapist is a winning combination.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I began my journey of getting to know who I was as a woman outside of my roles of wife, mother, social worker, author, and international motivational speaker, I explored three questions with my therapist. (1) What were my top three strengths? (2) What did I yearn to do? (3) If I were not afraid, I would… These three questions forced me to self reflect and take a deeper look into myself. It’s important to note that it took me some time to answer these questions – at least 30 days because I wanted to ensure I answered appropriately and thoroughly. I began to feel that shift in the atmosphere that I always heard the older women in church refer to. The only difference was that the shift was not in the atmosphere, instead it was within me. The shift was me aligning with my purpose. That shift ultimately led me to leave my twenty year career in public child welfare and pursue my purpose on purpose. My family and friends thought I’d lost my mind! I left a career with excellent health benefits, great fringe benefits, and a robust 401k and pension. However, I knew I had to make this very difficult decision to pivot from full-time corporate employee to a full-time mompreneur for my own sanity. While working in public child welfare, my health suffered tremendously. I experienced an enlarged liver, elevated liver enzymes, several kidney stones, anxiety attacks (3-5 debilitating attacks per week), and depression.
Today, I am living a life full of abundance because I chose ME. I know who I am, I have aligned with my purpose, I operate at my maximum potential, and my cup produces a consistent overflow. My health report is different now. I have a normal sized liver, my liver enzymes are no longer elevated, the kidney stones are gone, and I am no longer suffering from panic attacks or depression.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Being my authentic self and making meaningful connections with people has proven to be the most effective strategy for me. This is crucial to the integrity and success of any business, which is why it is important to know who you are before starting a business. You have to be personally invested in your business’ mission. Your investment must go beyond the financial piece of the puzzle. It has to be near and dear to your heart. You have to be emotionally, spiritually, and physically connected to the purpose of your business. When potential clients see you showing up as your authentic self then you will attract the customers that are a good fit for the services and/or products you offer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nikiknows.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moach4moms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToKnowThySelfLLC/

Image Credits
House of Photography Studio