Kalimah Fiers also known as Money Coach is the Founder and CEO of Concrete Rose Life Coaching L.P. and Founder of the Rose Circle Elite Sisterhood Society- home to the W.I.F.E Project an empowerment group for women featuring mentorship/apprenticeship programs supported by a non-profit organization known as the Get on Track Movement.
Coaching and mentorship services are provided to solopreneurs and entrepreneurs in their start-up years getting ready to launch their businesses or need a re-launch.
Services help solopreneurs and entrepreneurs get on the right track by clarifying and organizing their personal and or professional goals, business ideas, and plans and empowering them via a gamified program built for competitors to train and compete in financial literacy training. This program is focused on curing “Money Depression,” mastering financial management via a healthy money mindset, so that they may start, manage, and grow their business financially empowered.
To learn more please visit concreteroselife.com or visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/kfiers
Here we sit down with Kalimah, to know a bit more about her journey as a life coach.
Q. Tell us a little more about your journey as an entrepreneur – how did you get started? What inspired you?
Kalimah: In 2017, Concrete Rose Life Coaching, was born to advocate for entrepreneurial minority women, in need of empowerment, and accountability for the achievement of personal and professional goals. It has now scaled to serve the youth, men, women, and families qualified in these areas of interest. Our coaching and mentoring program works through a gamified method to help challenge others to develop a strong sense of self-empowerment by designing custom accountability plans that ensure their personal and or professional goals can and will be achieved through financial fitness via healthy money mindset.
This journey was inspired after learning there was a gap that required a bridge in my own life. Here I was, a young mom, struggling with suicidal depression and anxiety, unable to keep a job longer than two years, in debt, the bank account overdrawn, and on the brink of homelessness. It was clear a shift was not only needed… it was necessary. In fact, it was already happening.
The seed of entrepreneurship was planted at the age of 13 when I worked for a network marketing company selling newspapers and magazines door to door between Philadelphia and New Jersey. I learned I had a talent not only for sales but also for training people in selling. Later, I would learn my talent was not limited to sales but in the development of the mindset that would drive the behaviour and the skillset to be successful at whatever goal one had in mind. After selling newspapers and magazines door to door I knew I would lead a life in business one day. Years followed that job, and after every job, I ever had laid me off or fired me I knew one day I would be my own boss.
It was after my last job working as a CNA in a Children’s hospital, I was invited to join an all-women’s empowerment group in Philadelphia to be a leader and something of a coach or mentor to other women who were willing to empower other women and travel. I felt like that was right up my alley, so I did not hesitate. With a negative $99 in my bank account, I accepted the offer to join the team leveraging my bank’s overdraft program. I took that leap of faith. Connected with a trainer who gave me all her leads. Day one I exceeded their expectations and for a time I did well. I became the “baby tiger” of this organization. I had succeeded in attracting the Founder of the organization as my mentor who then took me under her wing and highlighted my efforts with every win I achieved.
I felt like I had finally found a home where I could grow my talents. However, I learned once again if I am not the owner, I cannot call the shots. I was dismissed from this empowerment group after a disagreement and the seed of entrepreneurship was once again watered.
Remember, I had joined this group not on my last dime but on a dime I didn’t even have. That position with that empowerment group was my only stream of income. I was thrown back in a place of destitution. It was like history repeating itself. I no longer could afford my rent. My car ended up getting repossessed on a morning I was getting ready to take my daughter to school. It was funny, because just the night before I was in it crying to God for a sign and a helping hand. I was in a place of losing everything, including my mind and like so many before me and so many after me that’s when the seed of belief was nurtured. I believed I was designed to be my own boss and own my own movement. I decided to take the “bull by the horns” as they say. I learned to leverage my experiences and broker the knowledge which led me to becoming a champion life coach and entrepreneur.
Every part of my business has been shaped and molded from lessons learned. Lessons learned in failure, resilience, opposition, competition, healing, and empowerment. These lessons offered a bridge to close the gap on unworthiness. A feeling I had been carrying around since I was kid but wasn’t aware of. This was the mindset that corrupted the success I could have, and it was when I learned how to shift it not only did it clear a path that now allows me to coach and guide others but it trailblazed me and those that connect with me to even grander opportunities.
The blessing is knowing we can become the proof that is yet to be proven by being the change we desire to see and experience. This journey is a part of that.
Q. What’s one thing in your routine that you do consistently that has made a huge difference in your personal or business life?
Kalimah: The one thing in my routine that I do consistently that has made a huge difference in my personal and business life is PRACTICE. So many may look to perfect things, and I don’t blame them. Personally, I have learned perfection is only found in practicing. So, I practice as often as I can. Whether that is in investing in coaching, mentoring, and education that empowers and improves my overall capabilities. I practice words of affirmations over myself, my family, and my business. I practice showing up and playing full out with every challenge accepted.
I practice not comparing myself to others or judging myself on my past or even by my unknown future. I practice loving myself for who I am and who I am determined to become. I practice not burdening myself with the pressure of the outcome versus aligning myself with the assignment. I practice- PRACTISING because everyone falls off track at times and I am far from reaching my highest potential. The key is knowing how to control my own energy- mentally and emotionally which also influences financial energy which has been major!
Q. Who are your mentors and inspiration? and what knowledge or insight did they give to you that was valuable?
Kalimah: I have many but in the lead as my mentors, and people who have inspired me are as follows: Renee Toppin, Bob Proctor, Napoleon Hill, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Deborah Price, Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, Forbes Riley, Ellie Diop, and Dr. Marquel Russel.
All these coaches and mentors have and are currently training me in developing proficiency in building and maintaining a strong foundation mentally, emotionally, and financially. Valuable in the ways it nurtures and grows my potential to improve in every area of my life and is a comfort to me even when I fall off at times because of the reminders that I am more than capable of getting back on track.
Q. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Kalimah: The most satisfying moment in business for me was and is hearing someone say, “Thank you, that insight you offered made all the difference and helped me heal and or improve my life.”
Q. How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Kalimah: I market via word of mouth and via social media.
Q. What have been your biggest failures or challenges?
Kalimah: Marketing consistently and in a way that will allow me to grow my business beyond me has been one of my biggest failures and challenges.
Q. How did this failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
Kalimah: How has this failure set me up for later success…I believe it has set me up for success now and later by confirming the power, privilege, and prosperity in teamwork. Entrepreneurship is not a one man show. Together, we make everything better. Trying to do things on our own lacking the strength and skill quality to achieve goals marks our businesses for death unnecessarily.
If we only learned earlier on that we do not have to do everything all on our own. Help is available and we simply must learn how to qualify and delegate effectively. In my opinion and experience we may have more businesses within their first 5-10 years grow abundantly versus collapse and fail.
Q. If someone were to create a TV show about you, what would it be about and what would it be called?
Kalimah: If someone were to create a TV show about me it would be about a phenomenal Black woman, who self-learned how to grow from her hardships, re-discovered her superpowers by healing her mindset, and helped improve and advance the world.
The title that comes to mind at this time is “The Concrete Rose- an empowering story of transformation beyond expectation.” or should it ever be an independent film it may be called the “The Phoenix Rose”. Kind of sounds like a book though doesn’t it. Who knows – perhaps one day it will come to be.
To keep up to date with Kalimah and her journey, connect with her on Instagram.