Public relations—God really does have a sense of humor!
Let me tell you—I literally cringed every time I had to
stand up to deliver the announcements before they were
automated. And the looks (good, bad, indifferent) from
the audience didn’t make it any easier. In summary, I
had no earthly idea that God was using “it all” to develop
character, gifts, skills and moreover transferrable skills
to use in the marketplace. Never despise small
beginnings and never despise your personal process.
But experiencing and living the Dream is
well worth it—FREEDOM on every level is
the reward at the end of the day. Over the
past 7 years, I have invested thousands and
thousands of dollars to live my Dream, and
the investment never ends. I sacrificed
beyond measure to get to where I am
today. I’ve paid a personal price that very
few are willing to pay.
In 2011, God told me to take everything that I learned in
communications and turn it into a business. I started
with a hobby-type business called, Oh! That’s Write,
offering creative content development and messaging.
God opened doors of opportunity to write for Gospel
Today magazine, followed by Black Enterprise, followed
with an exclusive interview with Tamela Mann for
ESSENCE magazine all over the course of about 18
months. In 2012, I knew I wanted to work in the
branding and media relations space, and that’s when
The Rated Gee Agency was birthed and the rest is still
history in the making!
Faith Heart Magazine: Being a trailblazer
for other women isn't always easy.
Describe to our readers the defining
moment that made you rewrite your life’s
story?
Roz A. Gee: For the past decade or more, I
compare my life to the life of the biblical
Joseph. I’ve had a plethora of pitfalls,
setups and setbacks, heart-wrenching
disappointments, family sicknesses, and
financial woes that at times I really
wondered, if I would ever re cover. My
Faith Heart Magazine: Open up to FHM readers about Faith has been tested to the metal. My
your biggest struggle when starting your own business? family wore mud on our faces for many
years—completely losing EVERYTHING
What painful lesson did you learn? How did you
that we ever owned! My last salaried,
recover?
corporate position as a Senior Software
Roz A. Gee: Oh boy, I will be the first to tell you that I’ve Quality Engineer was with General Electric
had MORE than my share of pain points in business. But in 2009. Due to downsizing, I was laid off
to summarize, the ability to attract and retain clients was and didn’t land a job in my profession for
almost 3.5 years, two of those years
a pain, and furthermore to attract the right client who
without unemployment benefits. I
could afford my services. I had no idea of the required
discipline, education, and continuous learning it takes to remember when my husband James and I
being laid off around the same time, 30
have a profitable business; not to mention the setbacks,
days apart. A few years after that, we were
disappointments, failures, mistakes, and emotional
temporary contractors at two different
shockwaves that come with generating your own
companies and got laid off in the SAME
paycheck week in and week out. There was no direct
hour, one hour apart. My family has
deposit showing up every Friday or every other Friday.
suffered insurmountable hardships, too
This is what I admire the most about entrepreneurship;
many to name here. But here’s the point.
it takes insurmountable fortitude and courage. It’s not
for the faint of heart. It’s not for the feeble-minded. Your When God has entrusted you with great
destiny, the enemy tries to assassinate you
armor has to be iron-clad to go after your dreams
before you ever reach the Promise.
because you are going to be faced with adversity from
the onset.
FAITH HEART MAGAZINE I 16