We were lucky to catch up with NIKISHA REAGAN recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi NIKISHA , thanks for joining us today. If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment

The best investment I have ever made was in myself. I know you hear all of the celebrities on podcast and tv shows talk about them investing in themselves and how they became successful. And you wonder did they really do that? Well,I am literally just a normal female who really did invest in myself and it was the best thing ever. So now when I hear other peoples success stories on how they stepped out on faith I believe it. It has changed the entire trajectory of my life and how I operate. Becoming a business owner has not only put me in a different tax bracket but it also gave me the flexibility to live life on my own terms.

If you have ever had your back up against a wall in this life then you will understand my story.

NIKISHA , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Nikisha Reagan, also known as NR SWANKS, is the owner of Nr Swanks Freight Brokerage located in Houston, TX. Nikisha is a Black Business Owner Serial Entrepreneur who is seeking out other individuals like herself who are willing to invest in themselves. She takes pride in helping others in becoming the “Boss” they always wanted to be. Nikisha grew up in Houston, Tx in a neighborhood to which some may recognize as Trinity Garden—living in a two bedroom single family home with her elderly grandmother, who is now deceased along with her five children and older sister. Nikisha went through her adolescent years as the black sheep of her family. Having spent most of her childhood in and out of the juvenile system and later the adult correctional system, Nikisha decided that she had a bigger and better purpose in life outside of steel bars. She went on the complete her high school diploma at the age of twenty-two and received a certificate of completion for phlebotomy from Polytechnic. After spending thirteen years as a phlebotomist she decided to pursue her dreams in becoming a Nurse. Working and going to school online for four years Nikisha was one of 25 students chosen out of 230 applicants to be accepted into San Jacinto Nursing Program. The dream that was once vivid and so clear soon became a mere nightmare. Thirty days out from graduation she sat in to take the final exam that would put her into her new career as a nurse when her dream came tumbling down right in the front of her. She failed out by a tenth of a point devastated, frustrated and yet still faithful Nikisha had to return back into the healthcare world as a phlebotomist. Having returned to the school about four weeks later to see if she could redo her last semester is when she learned that all of her financial aid had been exhausted, all of her major classes that she needed to attend nursing school had expired. “There were doors closing right after the other all around me,” she states. At this point is when she decided to invest in herself and start her own business. In 2018 Nikisha stepped out on faith and used the monies that she was earning at her 9-5 as a phlebotomist to fuel her own company.

Becoming the middle-man or must I say middle-woman between shippers of different companies and carriers across 48 states, including Canada. Currently, Nikisha operates her business from the comfort of her home office. After five months of being in business, she generated a little over six-figures. Despite life’s challenges, Nikisha has maintained her focus on succeeding regardless of what life throws her way. Today Nikisha has created online training to teach individuals who are interested in becoming their own Business, Boss and Brand as a Freight Broker or Freight Dispatcher. When asked what motivates her to continue to push towards success in her career, she will always say God and Family.

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

In October 2019 I decided to create a course to help train individuals like myself to be freight brokers and dispatchers. The goal was to rent space in different areas of Houston and host a live class. At the top of 2020 but that was short lived because Covid hit world and took us by storm. People were getting furloughs and layoff from work and needed to find another way to make money so at that point that’s when the internet version was created. Covid brought so many people to me across the globe including West Africa, Caribbean, and Korea. Everyone wants to be apart of this $800 billion dollar trucking industry but, everyone doesn’t want to be a driver and that’s where I come in. Having to pivot during a state of emergency, the crazy part is I did it for other people not me. Trucking never stopped during Covid. But God knew it would happen so I became that new life for people.

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

I had to unlearn the words “me and I”. All my life I was also told to worry about myself and not other people. Becoming a business owner made me realize that it is not about me it’s about everyone else. It’s all about making sure someone else is happy with the services provided to them. It’s about making sure their needs are taken care of. It’s all about being that solution for someone other then myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nrsfb.net
• Instagram: @nr_swanks