We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Nerissa White recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie Nerissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?

I began a business of teaching children how to read because I had lost my job and refused to just do nothing. So, there I was with a son who had just turned two years old and had been relieved of my job. I had some ideas of wanting to do so many things, but I knew I had to take it one step at a time. I decided I would get started with tutoring children ages 2 to 8 (about 3rd grade) to become better readers and writers.

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

A graduate of Lambuth University with an undergraduate degree in sociology and a master’s degree in instruction, curriculum, and leadership I had no desire to teach. Nothing against the profession – I just wasn’t interested in doing it. But, in a sense that is what I have ended up doing. I started with tutoring and then moved into a service of mentoring young girls and women. On top of that I started working as a publicist for an R&B artist – oh yeah and let’s not forget my son and husband went viral with a video regarding careers which was turned into a recorded song and book. I felt like I was all over the place and yet in a zone I understood. So, I was trying to figure out how could I put all of these things under one umbrella. Stephanie’s Advanced Mentoring was born. The business title enabled me to do all of the things that were on my plate; I just have branches to the business – the tutoring branch, the mentoring branch, and the publicist branch.

With one arm of my business, children are supported and ushered into developing better comprehension, enunciation and pronunciation, writing skills, speaking skills; the mentoring of young ladies ages 16 – 35 is the soft skills training, socialization strategies, and molding actions and reactions during challenging situations to optimize opportunities; and finally as a career and organizational consultant work is done with new, independent entertainers and small business owners to brand and promote themselves.

Sounds like a lot, I know, but I love what I do. My personal and business motto is I refuse to offer or accept mediocrity in exchange for excellence.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first began my business with tutoring, I had two parents of clients who did not pay me. One said I did not work with the child. The other just stopped paying, and I was not able to get in touch with the parent; therefore, I cannot speak to the issue with that situation. However, with the first incident, the child was scheduled to be tutored later in the afternoon at an educational facility I was working with (which is what the parent signed up for). However, the designated pick up person frequently came early, cutting into the child’s tutoring time. I decided I would be proactive. I asked the person who worked with the scholar if there was any way I could work with the child earlier in the day. That way the child would receive all of the designated time and could be picked up with no delays.

Unfortunately, my being proactive backfired on me. The person picking up the child relayed to the parent I was never working with the child when it was time to be picked up. I thought I was doing a good deed because the child was missing upwards of 20 minutes of instructional time. The parent had a trusted relationship with the pick up person and did not ask me anything regarding the situation. I just knew communication ceased with the parent, and no money was paid. I was later informed that the reason was I did not deliver on my service. However, I had then and still to this day have videos of my working with the scholar. The parent offered a settlement of payment when we finally communicated which I refused to accept. If I had accepted the altered arrangement of payment for service I had rendered, then I would have been agreeing I was negligent in performing my job. I was hurt. It was as though the innocence of trusting was stripped from me.

If I were to have changed anything, I would have (and should have informed the parent of how I had moved the time to ensure the child received full time for the service. So, despite my efforts, it backfired on me because I did not effectively communicate. I just felt that since I had video of progress and work done, I had something to prove the work I had done which the parent did not bother to see. But, to be asked to take a smaller payment for work I had done was not acceptable for me. It compromised the integrity of my business. It hurt even more considering the parent had a business and should know I would not compromise my business any more than he/she would have.

But, I am an extreme stickler for communicating and being professional; I have never had another parent not pay me.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

As I started to expand my business with Stephanie’s Advanced Mentoring, I realized how much I enjoy being behind the scenes. I began working with R&B artist Terrance Love, and I put a major focus on rebranding and establishing his brand. The work we have done received recognition at a conference we attended that dealt with music and marketing.

So, if someone had told me the guy I met at the public library who was walking down the hall singing and I told, “Stop giving away free concerts” would end up being my business partner and we’d travel the United States, I likely would not have believed it. If you had told me I would be creating content, writing and directing music videos, I ABSOLUTELY would not have believed it. But, I am thankful to have someone who allows my creativity to be a part of his vision for his future.

We also have a podcast that will is slated to come out February 2023, AND he just recently was featured on a song that has made it to the first round ballot for the Grammy’s.

Contact Info:

•   Website: StephanieNerissa.com and StephaniesAdvancedMentoring
• Instagram: @StephanieNerissaTutoring and @StephaniesAdvancedMentoring
• Facebook: Conversations With Stephanie and Terrance

Image Credits
Circle of Life Photography Artistry by Angela