KISH Magazine Exclusive Interview with Ramona Rodgers
Interviewed by Albrean Wordsworth
Transcribed by Novita S. George
Mrs. Ramona is a certified Executive, Personal, Entrepreneur Coach. She has more than 15 years of experience as a business owner. A skillful consultant to entrepreneurs, Mrs. Ramona has coached many first-time entrepreneurs to accomplish their dream of becoming business owners. She also consults entrepreneurs with existing companies when their business and those who are in need of restructuring or refocusing. Using the gifts that made her an exceptional entrepreneur – cleverness, strength, compassion, her think outside the box approach to life combine with her spiritual beliefs, Mrs. Ramona helps clients discover their inner strengths and unrealized passions which allows them to clarify and focus on their true life’s purpose. Ramona believes that knowledge is power and the more you know the better you can maneuver in any faucet of life. Without new knowledge the progression of life in any giving stage is halting.
Albrean Wordsworth: Hello, hi this is Albrean from K.I.S.H. Magazine!
Ramona Rodgers: Hello this is Ramona Rodgers! How are you this morning?
Albrean Wordworth: I am doing well! How are you doing Mrs. Ramona?
Ramona Rodgsers: I’m great! I’m great!
Albrean Wordsworth: That is good! I’m super excited to talk to you today on behalf of K.I.S.H. Magazine and Dr. Kishma George. We would like to thank you for taking time out of the day to talk to us. We really appreciate it!
Ramona Rodgers: Awesome! I appreciate you all as well!
Albrean Wordsworth: Mrs. Ramona, how did you discover your talent to be a coach and empowerment speaker for entrepreneurs?
Ramona Rodgers: I started out, in the chapter industry and that wasn’t even my calling. After I had my own kids after the age of 30, God kind of moved me in different directions. I ended up working with children and families mostly in low income areas. I saw a lot of deficiencies there. So, I kept trying to create programs for the kids but the more I dealt with the parents I started having to teach and help them too. So, in a sense I was educating children as well as adults. People kept coming to me and I kept helping them. So, I went ahead, and I got my certification in personal development and that led to doing executive coaching as well. I got all my certifications, so I was teaching community. for early childhood education through University of Oklahoma .I found a lot of other deficiencies of theirs as well as just with people and as I was growing my business and all that was new to me I was learning on my own not really having resources to push myself forward and so I was seeking out those resources for myself and in turn I started helping people as well. so I started using my coaching certification trying to move forward and trying to create things to help them move forward that’s how I got into that coaching space and helping entrepreneurs. I knew how much of a struggle it was for me because I didn’t have any one to help me I so I started reaching out to helping other people follow their passions.
Albrean Wordsworth: Awesome, awesome! That is wonderful! That’s like a really great thing that you took your experiences to help others. I like that. That is wonderful. How do you balance your different careers such as being an entrepreneur coach and being an executive director of a non-profit organization?
Ramona Rodgers: I have shifted some things a things a little bit, nonprofit I start using that one that coincide with some of the business things that I started doing like publish a book called Greatness in the Making. So, in personal development I use that also with the nonprofit all that is kind almost run ten and ten. That’s how I balance it I work on a regular nine to five job as well and I raised my children. I schedule stuffs for the most part. If it’s on my schedule, I can get it done. Sleep sometimes is not an option with me. It’s not an option. Anybody that is an entrepreneur can relate to that. I have a motto: No excuses, get it done. And so, sleep is not my friend sometimes. It’s all about scheduling and putting things in front of you that you know needs to take place. It’s getting a balance that way. I have days where sleep is just again does not get there. As long as I move forward with the things I need to do, I’m alright with that. I know this is the time for implementation. I have been doing a lot of creation. Now I’m implementing a lot of stuff, and workshops, for creating stuff for the nonprofit as well. It is just scheduling and getting it done and trying to change lives and impact lives. That’s my goal.
Albrean Wordsworth: Wonderful I totally agree with you. It’s all about organizing your time. And sometimes when you’re like getting a lot done that sleep is not even as important.
Ramona Rodgers: Right!
Albrean Wordsworth: I can agree with you on that. Awesome! What would you say is the highlight of your career?
Ramona Rodgers: The highlight of my career, I would say is the book that I published a few years ago, Greatness in the Making, in which I started figuring everything around that because the book came about because I was so much in need of reaching my greatness level. and for years I never thought that was possible for me because it was never an option to me. and I thought so many people… don’t give you words. I was put down a lot and told how dumb I was when I was growing up. I lived a life that went over my head for so many years. It was not until I had my own children, I’m like, “hey I’m not that person.” I got to make sure that my kids don’t follow the same pattern. So, I became so passionate about my kids as well as other kids, pulling themselves to a greater standard that people aren’t telling them that they are capable of reaching. And so, I wrote the book, Greatness in the Making, because we all have greatness inside of us and no one is talking about how to get there. It’s not a word that we use in our community, that you are born to be great, you are great and here’s how you get there. And that’s what my book talks about. I’ve created programs and workshops that teach kids, not only kids but women in transitions; how to get there because you have so much to offer the world. We don’t talk about that a lot for our kids and our community.
Albrean Wordsworth: Yes, I totally agree with that, that is something that is very true. Kids don’t really know or hear encouraging words. So, it’s good that you were able to publish a book, a project that teach kids about being the best that they can be and as well as women. That leads me to my next question. You are also a writer; you are in the process of writing several books about your experiences in teaching. You also published a financial literacy book for children to learn about money principles of earnings, savings and spending money wisely. Basically, how did you come up with that project?
Ramona Rodgers: When I had my business early child education in low income area, I came across a lot of education deficiencies in my area. Well, I couldn’t get the parents who were generally subsidized payment , I couldn’t get them to understand that I’m running a business I need your payment…Your kids are basically going for free but I need your potion. And so, it just became a lightbulb experience for me that the kids are direct impression of the adult child. While I was looking for a tool to teach the kids while they were in my present the difference in how they needed to conduct themselves as far as in finances. Now at the time I was in a master’s course in Oklahoma State University. We studied it intensively about how that community operated and how that dollar turned over a hundred times before it ever left the community. Well, I used that scenario in that story line to create this book. At first, I only intended to use it at my center. I really didn’t have the intention to write a book. But I ended writing a book so they can see that this is how you do this; this is how you start this process and it’s about working. You start with chores; it talks about chores and how you can start there with the work ethic. I also made a workbook to go with it because my intention was that the parents will sit down with the child and do it so they can learn together. So, it’s really a “black wall” story of how they came to wealth and how that wealth started to circulate a number of years before it was destroyed.
Albrean Wordsworth: Awesome! I like that! That’s great, that’s wonderful! What advice do you have for someone who is struggling to start their own business and doesn’t know if this is no, wait for a better time, or to start right away.
Ramona Rodgers: I think people have to understand who they are and what they bring to the table and if that’s right for them. A lot of time I run across people who have the idea of running the business. They say this is what I want to do but they have no concept of actually what it takes as far as— Are you a self-starter? Are you a hard worker? Are you a go getter? Are you a self-initiative? Do you have those qualities? And some people might have the money part of it, but then they don’t have the drive or but then they don’t have the whole other part to make up their attributes to make them a business owner. Some of them are like self-assessment…examine selves to see where you are and then move forth that way. Again, you have so many things out there that say, do x, y, z to create your business. You can create that stuff but then, the day to day grind of it, if you don’t have that part of you, it just frizzles out. Self-assessment of what your attributes are part of a business owner. What that takes are talking to people about things you want to do. Find a mentor to talk to you, to kind of lead you or guide you, before you actually go down that path, to understand what it actually takes from somebody who been there, done that, every day.
Albrean Wordsworth: I agree I definitely agree. Now like you say, it takes a lot. You have to take basically that boss in you, to take that leap of faith and just do what you have to do. So, I definitely agree. How could our readers connect with you on social media?
Ramona Rodgers: On social media, on Instagram, I’m Ramona Rodgers, Facebook, I’m also Ramona Rodgers. I’m starting to do Twitter and Snapchat. I’m a little new to that but I’m getting a fresh me with the older generation. But I’m learning those things being added to me, my learning curve. I’ve been learning and so I will continue with those things that they put initially is Ramona Rodgers. My website is RamonaRodgers.com and Instagram as well is Ramona Rodgers.
Albrean Wordsworth: Awesome! Mrs. Rodgers, I know that you are in the process of writing. Do you have any upcoming books been ready to be published or anything coming up pretty soon?
Ramona Rodgers: What I have coming up, I’m finishing up touches on an online course which is “Unlocking Greatness.” It basically takes you through the greatness process of understanding your mindset concept and then taking you through the greatness process of how you make a blueprint for your life. You live a life with purpose and on purpose because you know what your goals are. That is being finished up this weekend to be honest. We start launching it April 1st. As well I’m creating a course going unto the online, especially people being in the house now. We don’t know how long we are going to be stuck inside. For entrepreneurship, I’m creating a course about the mindset, a part of being the things that you need to do. it’s called Entrepreneur in Training. I have workshops that I wanted to get out. I was trying to do a greatness while going to school. Schools are not in now! Don’t know if it could be in the fall, that will be on the back burner. I want to get the message out —that you are better than anyone one ever told you, you are going to be great, especially for our youth. The next book I’m working on is raising greatness; teaching parents how to raise their children to think differently and to live their lives on purpose and for purpose at their greatest potential.
Albrean Wordsworth: Indeed, that sounds great! Well, congratulations Mrs. Ramona on all your upcoming projects. Very motivating, I like the topic. I just like the direction you’re going in with all that. I just want to congratulate you on that again. Thank you again, that wraps it all up for my questions today. On behalf of K.I.S.H. Magazine and Dr. Kishma George I would like to thank you again for taking the time out of your day just to chat with us and to tell us a little bit about what’s going on in your career and the upcoming project that you’re doing right now. We just would like to thank you so much.
Ramona Rodgers: I appreciate you all so much. I’m looking to impact lives. You guys are going to help me do that, the exposure but I am honored. I am so honored I’m like jumping up and down. I’m about to cry because I’m so honored.
Albrean Wordsworth: Oh, we’re honored to have you as well and yes you can look forward to this article being published in the magazine. We’ll have it published right away. So, keep on the lookout. Again, you a wonderful and a blessed day.
Ramona Rodgers: Thank you so much. Bye, bye.
