exclusively for women . And obviously , with all of these events , I noticed there was a need for event spaces , right ? I ’ m booking all of these event spaces , and I ’ m taking notes about what exactly is needed in the event industry . I was looking for an open concept . A lot of the places may have different rooms . I needed to create my own experiences . I was looking for a place that had natural light because oftentimes it ’ s dark and the pictures aren ’ t looking good . The pictures are important because of sponsorship . If I ’ m getting sponsored , they ’ re going to want clear pictures . So , I need to have a space with open lighting . I was looking for a place that has parking because I want to be central in downtown . Because I didn ’ t see what I was looking for , I created that space .
Moving to Houston was a major turning point in your career . What challenges did you face in that transition , and how did it influence your path forward ? Yes . So originally , being from the DMV area , there were a lot of Black people . I ’ ll just be honest . My doctors were Black . My lawyers were Black ... What I learned in the DMV area was that your success is a choice . It has nothing to do with your demographics , where you live , or who you are because we were all black . So that to me was not something I had to worry about . When I came to Houston , I remember someone asking me if I was some kind of Black activist because I was looking for like Black spaces . I wanted to support people who looked like me . That was a challenge for me . Oftentimes , when you ’ re starting something new , a lot of people look for people that they know , relatives , or friends that they ’ ve grown up with for advice . Unfortunately , I was here by myself . So I had to just go blindly speaking to strangers , like , hey , this is what I want to do . What do you guys think ? Even though it was kind of challenging , I appreciated it because they didn ’ t know me and they had nothing to lose by telling me the truth . So that sense of community was something I realized that not only I needed , but most people needed as well .
Now , your husband has been a strong supporter and partner in your journey . How has his background in hotel development complemented your entrepreneurial goals ? You know , that is a great question . He has been definitely a strong supporter and partner ... When I told him I was ready to open a venue ; he was like , okay , let ’ s do some feasibility assessment . He opened up Excel and did a lot of scenarios like we can make this amount of money if we have this many spaces if we charge at this price . This is how many spaces and how many events we need to break even , et cetera . Even before we opened , he helped me to understand the need . I think oftentimes we don ’ t know exactly what it means to
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