Women’s History Month 2022 CELEBRATING “HER”STORY
I agree with social and mainstream media who are changing Women’s “His”tory Month to Women’s “Her”story month. His story is often the tip of the iceberg - the 10-20% you see and celebrate. Her story is often the big part of iceberg - the vital 20-90% we don’t see and seldom celebrate.
Women used to take pride in hearing men repeat that old saying “behind every great man there’s a great woman”. Successful men used that saying to try to give recognition to their wives or mothers. But they never said what the women were being recognized for. The whole story has always been - “behind every great man there is a great woman who can do great things.” I want to tell you two “her”stories that prove my point. These two women started with great ideas and determination and moved up and through and to the top. The stories of their journeys and the price they paid to reach worth and wealth can teach you how to BE WITH IT - open the doors (prepare yourself), get in the room (listen, take notes, and learn the players and the process), sit at the table (present yourself and your ideas), lead the meeting (build your team), and finally, set the agenda (own it!!!).
We all are familiar with BET and its founder Bob Johnson, but we need to know and celebrate the iceberg story of BET's unsung cofounder, Sheila Johnson. Sheila Johnson’s You Tube Video tells of her journey and accomplishments as a powerhouse in business and media taking risks and paying it forward. Her claim to fame includes being founder and owner of the luxurious 340-acre Salamander Resort in Northern Virginia that earned $210 million in revenue in 2017. In 2021 Forbes named her # 39 on its inspirational list of America's Richest Self-Made Women that includes Six Black Women. You can read more about Sheila’s inspiring insightful journey and what she has to say about her challenges and accomplishments at Recommend.com , She told MadameNoire that she does not consider being a billionaire her proudest achievement. To her it’s her resilience. “I think my proudest accomplishment is really being able to turn my life around after divorce. To be able to rediscover myself, to be able to reinvent myself, to rediscover my passion,” she said during our recent chat. “I’m discovering things about myself I never knew I could do. “
The second example is the iceberg “her”story of Jonnetta Patton - Usher’s entrepreneurial mom. She launched and guided Usher’s career for 27 years until he dumped her.
It is told on an episode of Oprah’s inspirational and motivational series "Behind Every Man" about the passions, struggles, and sacrifices strong Black women have made to support some famous men we look up to and admire in the entertainment and culinary sectors of the hospitality industry.
I can totally identify with Jonnetta Patton’s story. I receive so much encouragement from the last 5 minutes of the video beginning at 35:51. I watch it over and over with closed captioning on because it shows her resilience. Jonnetta emerged from her own “pandemic” and used her skills to evolve and launch a new business. Now she helps talented entrepreneurial young people own, establish and sustain culinary businesses.
I can relate to both herstories because they validate my vision to move WITH in a new direction. WITH International, is my new business, a non-profit organization whose programs include an incubator - WITH BUILDS- that will launch this year. Over the next few months, I’ll tell you more about WITH BUILDS and how you can participate. The program will officially launch at the 2nd annual WITH national conference being held September 8-9, 2022, at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. These are exciting times for us all!
Happy Women ”Herstory” month!