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

SeKeithia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I learned early on as a business owner that the work definitely outweighs the reward,at first; which can determine your happiness if you let it.

I believe in my businesses wholeheartedly however I also know that I cannot afford the risk that come with fully committing myself to my businesses without additional streams of income. In March of 2022 I made the decision to get a job. I was very strategic and wanted to ensure it not only aligned with my career path but also provided me with advancement opportunities both professional and educational as well as much needed benefits like life insurance and 401k that I’m currently not in position to pay myself. Plus the weekly pay allowed me to budget for any risk I may need to take in my businesses.

If I was going to give 40hrs of my week to another company it had to align so my focus could remain on the bigger picture. Generational wealth. I plan to leave my daughters multiple properties of CalmUnity Expressives Inc. Centers where families come to connect grow and learn together through guided artistic expression. I plan to have Mama Kei’s Kitchen as a family eatery for generations to come providing health filled flavorful meals that nurture our bodies and feed our minds.

I am a happy business owner. I am a happy employee. I redefined what my times means. Everyone works, even the owner. It’s levels to all of this, in real life. How hard are you willing to work to not have to word as hard? That’s like a infinite question because even in doing you may never reach that point. It’s all an illusion. We look at one position and assume it requires less or more when in actuality it simply requires, work. Once we understand our business is to do good work, own the work we actually do and be proud, happiness follows.

At least that’s what my journey is teaching me.

SeKeithia, 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?

Initially I began to copy and paste my bio here with all the glitz and glamour of my years as a creative and now also chef but it’s not my success that makes me who I am it’s my resilience. I want everyone reading this to know me for the work I put in and that isn’t limited to a particular field.

I need you to know I’ve faced trials and still facing them the beauty is in the tribulation. The way I got into business was literally a thought that I began to put into action. How I’m going to stay in business is keeping those same thoughts in constant action.

I love doing good deeds. I love poetry, I love writing, I love black history, I love teaching, I love cooking. I love helping. All this love I have to give has been made physical in so many ways.

After over 10 years as a performance poet and creative writing facilitator I wanted to expand my poetry career and become more involved in the community. March 2018 CalmUnity Expressives Inc, was birthed. A non profit organization that utilizes poetry as a tool to maintain mental wellness and help families connect, learn and grow through workshops, events, books, and creative art.

The non profit didn’t generate any income for me, actually it took four years before CalmUnity Expressives Inc. began to function as a 501-c3 tax exempt organization and even have its first check to deposit into the bank. A check that still didn’t generate any income for me. I love the community so much I didn’t consider my return on investment until I was invested. Business folks are reading this like “huh” but the creatives I know you understand.

My passion poked at my pockets profusely and not just mine but family, friends and supporters who also believed in the idea of Family Night Out ATL. After all where else were you going to find a free family event in Atlanta on a Friday night with free parking? Plus, Omenala Griot Afrocentric Museum gave Family Night Out ATL a home filled with history.

Pre-Covid Family Night Out ATL was a monthly event where families unplug from technology and engage in an interactive family night with the community that also showcased talent. If you’re in the ATL area and this event sounds interesting, keep reading because the return of Family Night Out ATL will be announced but first…resilience.

So I needed a team and passion with purpose is amazing but you still need knowledgeable professionals with expertise in areas you lack as well as committed individuals who share your vision and have the time to put in the work. Those needs need money, money I didn’t budget into this great idea. I had a very surfaced based understanding of the non profit industry and as much as I love learning I grew unhappy with the business I owned after realizing I was an unprepared owner….of a non profit.

I didn’t quit. I was determined to hold on and maintain until I figured out a way because passion will have you pushing beyond every limit you can imagine. The families loved it and my family and I were committed to doing the work and showing up monthly because we saw and felt the impact.

I’d go to open mics and sell my poetry book, Color Me Moor Royal. Eventually I ended up booking features and landing on a poetry slam team using any and all monies to keep the event going. My mother and I handcrafted jewelry at the time so we’d book events where we could perform as a duo and sell product to also keep things afloat. Family Night Out ATL events continued and then the Corona virus cancelled every plan I thought I planned.

I visited my hometown when I first got wind of Covid. A week later flights began to cancel everywhere in the United States and my daughters and I were over 700 miles from our home in Georgia. With no job, no home and no vehicle of my own I had to become extremely resourceful especially after becoming aware I was pregnant with my fourth child just two weeks after flight cancellations. Still I was so grateful I was visiting my hometown during this time and not on vacation.

Being born and raised in the DMV, specifically born and raised on W Street Southeast DC later moving to Seat Pleasant, Maryland with a grandmother who lived in Clay Terrace, Northeast my resilience was built early. If you know you know if you know any hood. However nothing could’ve prepared me for 2020…nothing.

The pandemic placed me into homelessness and put my passion on pause, or so I thought. Knowing there was yet another human growing inside of me that I not only had to be responsible for but set an example for; while these other three pair of eyes stared me down daily, enabled me to push aside my fears and take the leap of faith I always back stepped on, my culinary career.

Money was surely the motivation and I definitely needed it so I took my love for cooking, my family recipes and years of restaurant experience as a line cook. I created a menu and sent it to family and friends who sent it to family and friends and their weeks of support provided me the funds to get chef certifications, register for a business and business licensing.

After running a non profit and working events as if I was getting paid, actually getting paid was like an adrenaline rush. Being in kitchen with me and just looking at me in motion may drain you. I am a ball of energy when its time to cook and this for profit is surely for me and mainly because I love to work but I really love to cook.

Every business owner has parts of their business they love and the parts they’d love to delegate to someone else. As a small business owner working my way up to employees I began realizing I needed to be able to duplicate myself or at least in certain areas. I needed standard recipes, operations procedures, food cost and inventory list on top of the food actually being cooked properly. Literally everything in my head had to come out on paper, concise and understandable. Here lies a long winded poet with a problem.

Ironically the same problem I encountered with the non profit. Passion meets purpose without proper preparation. You can change the business it won’t change the issue, I assure you. Just like the non profit there’s no quitting, just reassessing.

I believe everything God gives us is good and sometimes we just don’t give it enough time to bloom. I’ve stopped watering many things just to return and realize if I would’ve remained consistent I’d be in a garden of abundance. So now I don’t stop watering the ideas I’ve planted I leave room for harvest and I don’t neglect, I patiently look forward to their season.

Just as I’ve been putting the pieces together to CalmUnity Expressives Inc. I realized I needed to add more pieces to the Mama Kei’s Kitchen, LLC puzzle and as a creative these two ventures were just enough to keep my passion empowered and far from boredom.

As my fourth daughter was preparing to make her arrival I began to seriously reflect on what I had to offer and provide and even leave my children upon my departure from this life. The pandemic changed my family dynamic and I was forced to adjust and really focus on not just my future but my children’s.

The long term goal is now true ownership and not just business but property. The only way that’s going to come is through consistent action and a strategic plan that has room for an open mind.

I am preparing my businesses to have a home in the next 10 years. As of now CalmUnity Expressives Inc. has expanded its reach to the DMV area where we’ve done both coat and food drives, ‘Parking Lot Poetry’ and ‘Cookout for a Cause’ in 2021 and 2022 as well as several virtual and in-person poetry workshops for youth through partnerships with local organizations and schools.

Our workshops include but not limited to ‘Poetry as Activism’, ‘Express Yourself’, and ‘Speaking Love to Myself’. Each workshop allows youth to dig deeper into their thoughts and really question their understanding, motivations and reactions and find helpful ways to express themselves.

We service schools, churches, youth detention centers, community centers, mental health facilities, etc. We’re always seeking new partnerships and collaborators and currently looking for a home for Family Night Out DMV in 2023 and happy to announce the return of Family Night Out ATL December 28th, 2022 which will now be a yearly event in Georgia.

Mama Kei’s Kitchen LLC, is a meal prep and personal catering company that specializes in heart healthy foods that look, taste and make you feel great.

If you are in the DMV area and in need of a chef that cares about the food you put into your body and how it will react to you look no further. I plan to grow this business with love and patience just as I cook my food. We’re not rushing this process, it’s in the slow cooker.

Our catering favorites are the Wellington Lasagne made with homemade tomato sauce and the ultimate party in your mouth Teriyaki or Jerk Pineapple bowls. Our meal prep menu changes periodically to suit our clients needs, feel free to check us out.

Im not selling my story, my products or even my services, I want you to buy into my greatness because that’s what I exhibit no matter what I do which means you will always get the best value for your money. My passion has purpose that meets preparation every single day.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My side hustle as a poet definitely turned into a full time career. Poetry honestly was a hobby of mine as a teen that took a life of its own.

I placed on Prince Georges Counties first Maryland youth poetry slam team at 17 later becoming a coach the following year. Also at that time I had the opportunity of being the youngest poet-in-residence with Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission. I was a contracted artist as a teenager and I truly didn’t take interest into what that meant until my mid 20’s.

After over five years as a contracted artist in residence I began to realize I wanted to inspire and educate all of the time not just some of the time. I began strategizing my career as a professional poet and teaching artist. I had performance agreements made, booking manager, marketing strategy, book release and performance dates. My goal was to see if I could get paid for poetry outside of my contracted position with Parks and Recreation. I wanted to be booked and busy.

My book became my merch along with the handcrafted copper jewelry I made at the time. I would hit open mics several times a week. At first I’d spend a few weeks observing…everything. Once I’ve got a feel for the type of open mic it is I set my plan in motion. I’ve rehearsed so much the poem is a production and the moment I open my mouth I mean business.

The more I performed in public the more my bookings grew including private. The private bookings I began to favor over feature bookings however the features were where I gained a lot of my supporters and merch sales.

At one point I had a digital media kit I’d send out to organizations, event host/organizers, directors, etc and that also generated leads for more bookings.

I’d post the fliers to the events I’d feature at or even the open mics I’d be attending to gauge my following and who’d actually show up. I had a perks package for supporters that came to events I’d offer discounts on my jewelry and free show passes.

In this industry the more you’re out and about in peoples faces the further you go. Ultimately as an artist I found the many ways in which my spoken word artistry could make money; performance, education, publishing, products, events. Once you know what your industry can offer you will find many ways to thrive with patience and persistence.

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 way in which I think. I’m still unlearning it actually. Learning how to let go of the survival mentality, release the lack mindset and trusting my intuition over my overthinking.

See, coming from the hood is all good until you realize all the trauma trapped in it that imprisons you even once you escape.

Studying my subconscious mind and the power it has to direct or redirect my path has me really focused on what I say and think and even what I don’t say and think. I’m consciously paying attention to what I’m putting out into the world and how.

This is one of the biggest lessons of my life and I know once I master my subconscious mind I will unlock all of my abundance. Through consistent positive reinforcement I will soon have the life I desire and deserve. I’m in the process of creating a plan of positive affirmations that I will say daily that will speak life into me and my surroundings at all times. These affirmations will go along with my prayers and I will be intentional. To see the results you’d have to follow me on this journey, I’m certain it will be a rewarding one.

We all battle with negative thoughts but rarely are we given lessons on how to unlearn these processes. We must create the process and become the progress. Speaking greatness into ourselves and our desires is the first step. I’m leaping into a new train of thought.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/sekei_thia
• Instagram: @sekei_thia
• Facebook: Sekeithia Johnson
• Linkedin: CalmUnity Expressives Inc.
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/SekeUnRapped

Image Credits
Tobe Ajiboye