We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sierra Devoe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sierra below.
Sierra, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Do you know what it feels like to work 40 plus hours a week, bust your a*s at an employer that do not even acknowledge you half of the time, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, do all the right things, have your degrees, yes plural DEGREES, and still not be able to make ends meet. And you cannot apply for assistance because your income is over the Federal Poverty Level threshold yet you are struggling! You know how dehumanizing it feel like you don’t have the freedom of choice. You do not have the choice to leave a toxic work environment, or go on a vacation, or even something as little as buy yourself a cup of coffee because you do not have any money. It sucks when someone have to choose between their rent or the lights or eat ramen for the rest of the week so they can afford something for their child. That is why Project Rise exist. To help the working class overcome from living paycheck to paycheck and experience self autonomy. It is was never the money we were putting emphasis on but the freedom that comes from being financially literate and secure.
Sierra, 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?
Of course! Project Rise was birthed when I realized despite having my degree, I was still subject to financial struggle and it was others going through the same thing as me. That is when I first learned the term, working class. I had no idea it was this subpopulation of people going overlooked and struggling to get by. I was really taken back. It was even more frustrating when I was continuously rejected from resources because my income was over the Federal Poverty Level threshold. I was even more frustrated, that the same resources I was handing out to my clients were the very resources I needed yet didn’t qualify for. I just asked myself, “How can I truly help anyone as a Social Worker, if my own needs aren’t met? How can I be of service if I too am experiencing the same challenges as my clients. It’s like the blind leading blind.” I started Project Rise to be a resource for those who didn’t have a resource, the working class. As I worked various nonprofits and human services jobs I realized how enabling they were, uncoordinated, and used a transactional method that resulted them in being a revolving door for their community. I just knew Project Rise could not be that. It could be like other traditional nonprofits. Quite frankly, I did not need to put another nonprofit into the world. I needed to create something that was center around my community needs. My community needed something that was not only going to initiate change but sustain it. That is what Project Rise evolved into. Project Rise provides financial coaching and expands the knowledge of financial and investor education so people can be equip with the proper tools to build and sustain themselves.
I am most proud of how we start where the client is and remind them of their power. We truly believe personal finance is just that, personal.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are so many, but I think the one I want to leave here today is that just because they might be considered an expert or a guru in your field do not mean their strategies will work for you and your business. You are your best guru. Do what works for you because that is what is going to warrant the results you want. Of course advice is useful but not all advice is good advice and tailored towards your needs. Always, always, use discernment. What brought forth that lesson was when I was trying to take in and absorb every and anything I could about personal finance and running a business. I was open to being mentored by whoever would have me, sitting under anyone for a day or even an hour and what I realized in one particular event is how so many people really are just winging it and dressing it up to look. I didn’t want that for myself or my business. I always want to be genuine and authentic. So sometimes the best person to sit up under and learn is simply just yourself as you experience your journey and let the lessons from that guide and shape you.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
A time I had to pivot in my business was when I had to start charging for my services, change the way I delivered my services, and collaborate with another community-based organization to facilitate our financial and investor education webinars. I was extremely upset because I just felt like I was uprooting the very foundation God laid before me and my beautiful friend and owner of Nkay Solutions (who helped build Project Rise into the nonprofit it is today), Kyndal M. said, “Do not confuse pivoting as reconstructing your foundation.” And I needed those words, because the truth was Project Rise was expanding and me being a one person team, I had to pivot in a way where I was still a reliable resource in the community. Sometimes you have to go back to the drawing board and that is not always a bad thing. 
Contact Info:
- Website:www.projectrise.net
- Instagram: Projectrise18