Kenise Etwaru is an executive leadership coach, women’s empowerment strategist, entrepreneur, best selling author and motivational speaker. However, above all these successes, her greatest pride and joy is being a mom to an 11 year old daughter.

When her daughter was 2, Kenise became a single mom overnight and the sole provider. While she had a full-time job and was financially independent, Kenise was bored and started looking to start something new on her own. Slowly, she started consulting on top of her 40-hour a week “day job” and as a full-time single mom. 

That consulting side hustle turned into multiple more streams of income – from coaching to HR training to book publishing to singing and piano playing, Kenise quit her day job and today has created 7 income streams for herself.

In this episode we talk about how to develop multiple income streams, how to rebrand yourself (physically), and how to transition from being an employee to taking your side hustle to a full-time business. We also chat about her daughter’s new book on bullying and how Kenise is teaching her daughter to be financially responsible.

Follow Kenise at

• Website: keniseetwaru.com

• IG: @kenise_etwaru

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Ep. 67 – Kenise Etwaru Transcript

Stephanie: Hello. And welcome back to Mommy’s on a Call. Today, I’m excited to bring to you Kenise Etwaru. She is an executive leadership coach. America’s leading women’s empowerment, strategists, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and motivational speaker, but above all, she is an amazing mama to a beautiful 11-year-old girl. So welcome Kenise, so happy to have you.

Kenise: Thank you. Thank you for having me here Stephanie.

Stephanie: I wanted to start off by asking you, what is your biggest mom win of the week?

Kenise: My daughter just released her first book. So we’re like, it needs me last Saturday, she released it. And so we’re like reveling in the whole like, oh, this is amazing.

So we’re still reveling in that. So that’s my biggest win so far this year.

Stephanie: Tell me more about that. She’s 11 years old and she released her. First book, what is it about like what, I mean 11 year old releasing a book. That’s incredible.

Kenise: I know, I wish it was sooner. So I have very high expectations for myself and I think I pushed her as much as I possibly can in a positive way, not to do things based on what I want, but her book is called be you be cool, be kind.

And it is a book for eight 99 on Amazon, and it talks about her. Some scenarios that she’s had in elementary school where she is right now, she’s in fifth grade. So she talks about some experiences she’s had with some bullies during her time in elementary school and how she overcame it by just being kind and continuing to be kind.

So one of our chapters shows, you know, talks about forgiveness. And another chapter talks about, you know, how she was able to overcome when somebody told her something really not nice. And she was like, okay, I get it. Like, let’s move on. So it’s all about the focus of the book is being kind, but not losing yourself with it, you know?

And it’s for bullies and it’s for children who’ve who are being bullied or may one day be bullied. I think it’s a great thing. Starters, Stephanie for children who are entering into maybe, uh, elementary school. So this is a great conversation starter because at the end of each one over little short chapters has a question to engage the child, which can engage in conversation as parents.

So it’s pretty cute.

Stephanie: Oh, well, twofold. One bullying can start really early. I know some people in preschool who are being bullied by other girls. And it is crazy to think that like poor four and five-year-olds are even getting that. Cause you know, kids speak their mind. So sometimes they’re not necessarily being mean or bullying.

They’re just stating what they see, but it can come across like hard. And so that’s incredible. And know, I mean, to back it up a little, what inspired her to write a book? Like how does an 11 year old, Decide to do this. And how, if your child say, is interested in it, how does that come about?

How do you make it happen?

Kenise: So she said on our virtual release on last Saturday, that was one of the questions that was asked to her, like what inspired her, who inspired her? And she said inspired her. And she said, I did. She said, mommy did. So , my background, you know, was I been in human resources. That’s my career path, executive leadership for nonprofits.

I love it. I build HR departments from scratch. And then about four years ago, I wrote my first book, the good wife and the other woman. Therapy for myself. I just wrote, it was kind of my story. Like I was telling you, Stephanie, it’s kind of one day. I want my daughter to read my book to see what, what happened, you know, what happened with mom?

Why is mom single? Why is she a single parent? I don’t know where I would be. You know, like mindset wise, you know, when she would ever ask me that question, but I can just give her the book and be like, here, just read this and you’ll know everything. So I decided to write that book. And as in our virtual release on Saturday, she said, mom was my inspiration when she wrote her first book.

And now I’m like five books in three of them are best-sellers and she wants to be a bestseller. And I love that motivation. So I’m happy that, and I’ve never told her these things. I’ve never said you should be a bestseller and you need to write a book. She came up, it took her about a year to put this together and she was a little slow.

So I did push her in regards to encouraging and just saying, when are you going to finish this chapter? And when are you going to finish that chapter? So I did encourage her like that, but it took about a year and. I learned motivation.

Stephanie: What are some of her kid tips on being bullied? How to approach certain situations besides just being kind like any sort of phrases or things that other moms can maybe besides giving the book to their kid to help them out.

Kenise: Yeah. She, her big phrases is exactly in the title. Just be you. You just in like who you are you, if you’re different. Like, one of the examples is one of the boys in school came up to her, like you had said earlier, Stephanie, he told her your teeth are bigger than my dad’s. And this is like, you know, she lost her two front teeth and to others that are like coming in.

So they’re bigger. Her face is tiny. And her, you know, until her face gets bigger, you know, everything is like mismatch. So she looked at him and she was like, okay, thank you. Yeah. She was like, mom, this kid told me that my teeth are bigger than his dad’s. And I was like, well, you know what, at least you have teeth.

That’s important to know. There’s a lot of people out there that wish they had their real teeth in their mouth. And that was, and so I I’ve encouraged her. This is who you are. You never tried to be who the media has social media, has anyone you see on YouTube? Well, she follows like a ton of people on YouTube, but fun arts and crafts stuff.

You can never be them. They are who they are. You need to be who you are. So she would say be, you just love yourself for who you are. Your hair is short,  your, like hair is dark. Your hair is blonde, whatever it is just love who you are, then be cool about it. Be cool about it. It’s okay.

That you are you and be cool. Okay. And then practice that whole aspect of being kind.

Stephanie: That’s an a very, self-aware incredible little girl you have there. So let’s back this up a little to give the audience a little context of where you’re coming from. So you are a single mother. Give us a little bit of background about your situation there to anyone out there who might be also a single mama going through something.

Kenise: Yeah. So I’m not a single mom by choice. And I hate when people are like, oh, you’re a single mom. Did you have a child out of wedlock? No, I didn’t. No, I did it. I was married. I was happily married. Had my child after I was married. It all worked like Stephanie exactly the way I wanted it to work. You know, my, my great fairytale wedding, which was amazing.

I would never change any of that. Around, but four years, four and a half years into my marriage, unfortunately ended in a horrible divorce. And my ex-husband no longer was part of either one of our lives. So I quickly, like I went to bed, I tell people, I went to bed, married, happily married, being a mom and a wife and then I got up and I was like, boom, a single mom.

Now I think financially I was pretty secure, so that wasn’t a big deal. And I think that’s the first thing that people like, you know, single parents are moms, especially going through a divorce. That’s the first thing that you think about like, what am I going to do financially?

And I think that’s, that’s why it’s so important as women to set ourselves up financially. Whether before marriage, while if you’re engaged and you’re entering into a relationship, you need to be financially set for your self period. Cause I have a lot of people who’ve asked, like Kenise how did you get out of it?

Because I was financially secure. I did not need him to provide for me. And even if he did Stephanie, if he knew, even if I needed his paycheck, I wouldn’t be like, Nope. Still see you I’ll be in a homeless shelter. Thank you very much. So I just overnight went from being happily, married into being a single mom and having to now find out how to raise this child

Stephanie: and not even having a co-parent either. So people get divorced or lucky and have a good kind of co-parenting situation. Correct? Your ex husband was just

Kenise: gone. Yes. Abandoned were abandoned.

Stephanie: I mean, throughout this. So your daughter was two, you mentioned when you got a divorce and you were still working full time, financially stable.

How did you transition into feeling comfortable on starting your own company and leaving your job and doing that? Because then there are a lot of, you know, single moms out there who are like, or even Mary moms who were like, I can’t leave my job. Like we depend on that paycheck. Like, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

What did that transition look like? What switched in your head to be like, I can do this. And how did you make that happen?

Kenise: It was scary. Like any transition. I’m a big believer in being a finisher. Right. So I’m a procrastinator by personality. Okay. And I, so I think for me, I pushed myself to the limit only because I know in my mind, if I say Kenise like, oh, you’ll wait until tomorrow to get it done.

I would never get it done. So I was at my last position, built their HR department from scratch for 11 years. I built their HR department and had an amazing team. And it came to the point where I was just like, I was so bored out of my mind, the wheels are just turning and I’m like, there’s nothing exciting here.

I was just like, let me start, let me start doing some outside coaching and consulting work. So I started doing that for a year before I transitioned. So pretty much I was working full time as a consultant EHR consultant, being a full-time single mom and working full time in my 40 hour week job. Which is really sucks.

So I rarely slept. I knew that’s what I wanted, but I needed to build my clientele. I

Stephanie: need old was your daughter at the time? So my

Kenise: daughter disses now four years ago. Okay.

Stephanie: So at least she had, you had some childcare during the day. She was in school and. Well, I mean, you were working full time, so you had to have childcare, but she was a little less, I guess she was a little more independent than say, like a two-year-old or a three-year-old.

Kenise: And I think that’s difficult to do Stephanie, what do you have a two year old or three? They need you, you know, they need you at that time. And even now she’s 11 and I’m working all day. Whether it’s a coaching call or I’m publishing somebody’s book and I’m reading a manuscript and she wants basically like, mom, mom, when are you going to be done?

When are you going to be done? And it’s like, I have to. Stop. And it’s very difficult because I put her to bed. Then I come back and then I do like another three, four hours. That’s like 11 o’clock at night, you know? And I tried to do self care and, you know, try to keep her happy and do many trips. And then COVID on top of it, you know?

So I would say for moms out there who want to transition, do it slowly, do it slowly, get a game plan together, start writing down what. How, what you can start eliminating. So I started writing down, what are the things that I can eliminate? Is it grocery shopping? Cause grocery took a long time. Cause I, I walked through every aisle, you know, when I grocery shop, I have to see what’s on every aisle because you never know.

So I would have my groceries delivered rather than spending that time in grocery shop in the store. And so I kind of eliminated those things that took up a little bit more of my time.

Stephanie: I call those kind of low value activities to things that like you either are paying money to do or are like your one hour spending doing something.

For example, cleaners, I always say like, you know, house cleaners, that’s the one thing that you can outsource. I know COVID and stuff. It’s a little different, but. At the time, like the three hours you take to clean, you know, the bathrooms or whatnot, you could spend building a business or doing something that will make you more money than say what you’re paying.

And so a lot of times it’s time value of money. Like where are your resources? Best spent. So you started doing this onsite, then you finally built, built up your coaching side and your consulting side. And so you felt comfortable on leaving. What was kind of your next step? What propelled you into really deciding to work with women and, you know, continuing this?

Kenise: So after I went through my divorce and wrote my book, I. I received it just, I just fell into it. So people, women, especially a lot of moms, a lot of married women would contact me and say, how did you do it? How did you build a business? How did you go about getting multiple streams of income? So we started doing calls and it kind of like formulated on its own into group calls and then individual calls.

So it, it just, it’s something that I enjoy doing. I just spoke about my experience and then work with them on a game plan. On how they can best get the best out of their life without going crazy as just a mom.

Stephanie: So I think a lot of moms have that in their head and they say like, I, you know, I want to start making some side income.

I want to maybe leave my job that I’m unhappy about, but there’s a big mindset shift that needs to happen. And there’s a lot of barriers in their mind. I think that come about, especially like mom guilt or whatever that is. I know you talk a lot about. Kind of rebranding yourself as a mom explain, like, what does that process look like and what do you see as the biggest problems or excuses that moms make before making that transition?

Kenise: Well, first of all, the rebranding, Stephanie, I had to get rid of my mom clothes. And, uh, my I’m always on point. I mean, I’m all my makeup is on point. My hair is on point. Like I needed to shift it practically. Now I couldn’t say that I’m going to be making seven figures and I’m walking around, like I’m making four figures, you know, some my entire wardrobe changed over time. And I started really physically rebranding myself taking better care of my skin, taking better care of me, you know, making sure I’m getting enough rest, hydrating, water, all of that. Now I’m not like crazy vegetarian. Like I don’t like I don’t, I can’t, I love meat. I love food. I love pies.

I like, I didn’t go all the way out there, you know, to be like, oh gosh, but I, I rebranded myself physically. So that’s the first thing I tell women when I work with them, whether they’re single parents are just mommies and trying to get themselves up to speed with another stream of income is prepare yourself not only mentally, but now look the part, look the part of what you want to do. If you are a. Wellness type of individual. Are you looking well? Are you not looking well?

Stephanie: That’s such a good point. I’m going to make a side comment here. Every time I go to like a Pilates or yoga class or something, if my instructor, and this might be really sorry, shallow, but if my instructor doesn’t look like what I aspire to be.

I literally can’t go to the class. I can’t trust you. And I’m not saying you need to be this like hot yoga instructor, but if I’m supposed to be spending my time trying to get fit and like, I want to aspire to look like you. And so that totally makes sense. Like, if you’re, you want to be a seven figure, you know, entrepreneur, but you are dressing in like you rolled out of bed.

Although I guess to some people, they spend a lot of money to look like that, but if you don’t look like you take care of yourself, then how will I also trust you or look up to you?

Kenise: It’s not like expensive. I’m not saying to go to the Gucci store and buy everything and then, you know, bring out like your Christian Louboutins like not selling, I’m saying it just look good.

I mean, you could wear clothes from Walmart. Like I love Walmart, like $5 shirts. I love it. I have a t-shirt on right now. It’s just like, I love this. I mean, but it’s just looking your best because then you feel your best. You know, when I was in the corporate world and I was out there, like in the city, Going to meetings.

If I walked with flats, Stephanie, I would have a whole different vibe, like flats, like a sneaker. I would feel like, ah, like so lazy. I put on my pumps and I’m like, man, I’m ready to tear this boardroom apart. I like, you know, I’m not even just going to bring it to the table. I’m going to bring my own table like literally.

So I think that’s a practical tip. Like you want to start thinking it, but you want to start doing the small things by getting yourself prepared. Right. Physically how you’re looking, because it really adds to how you’re going to make yourself feel. And I know moms are like, I can’t, you know, make up, like, what am I wearing makeup?

What are you planning on doing? Now, if you’re going to be like a cupcake baker and you want to sell cupcakes night, you know, you’re not going to walk around the kitchen, like put some heels on, you know, that’s your business plan for a second income. You know, that’s not what I’m talking about, but you still want to look good.

So I want to feel good because you want to be able to prepare too, right? Get on that magazine cover to talk about your cupcake business. You know, you want to get in front of TV and talk about your cupcakes. You want to get on Instagram and you know, and you’re like, oh, here’s my cupcakes. And like, you know, your eyelashes are falling apart.

Stephanie: Good point to also for think, think about where you want to be and where you want to go and start acting almost that part because before you know it, I mean, it’s kind of like what manifestation is all about? Like all of a sudden. You become that. So I like that.

Any other tips on rebranding yourself?

Kenise: I journaling. So journaling is something that I, I do a whole class with my, with my moms or my, my lady is I like to call my Queens is a strategic journaling. So how do I go about journaling and writing down these things that I’m planning make deliberate plans? And I, you know, we talk about goals, right? So setting up every week, at least one goal, this is something that I want to do.

So if you have a business plan in your mind, You want to start networking, clubhouse, Instagram, finding other women or other people that are doing the same kind of business that you’re doing, talking to them. That takes a little bit of time. You wanted to find out how did eights evolve? How did he get to where they are?

And most times people love talking about themselves. So if you contact them on Instagram, because they have a thriving, losing just a cupcake business, using that as an example, You send them a message nine out of 10 times, they’re going to respond and be like, yeah, I want to tell you, I’m like, I’m excited to talk about how I became so successful.

See, like, that could be one of your goals that you write and you want to have a great planner or journal one or the other. I have both and daily. I write daily, Stephanie daily or write down my goals for the week. I write down my goals for the day. If I don’t do it, I procrastinate and I’m like, I’ll do it tomorrow.

I’ll do it tomorrow then before you know it, 2021 is over and it’s 20, 23 and I’ve done nothing

Stephanie: exactly. Do you journal in the morning? Do you have like a morning ritual morning routine in place every day?

Kenise: So in the mornings, I do start off my day at six o’clock with prayer. I do have prayer in the morning and after I’m done with prayer at eight o’clock, I do a strategic business journaling.

So during that time I have a group that I’m on in an clubhouse on the clubhouse app from eight to nine 30 in the morning. Now it’s pretty easy on clubhouse because. I just fell into this group very recently and I love the group and they do strategic business journaling and it’s an hour and a half. I, most of the times, I’m not there for the whole hour and a half, but it’s easy because I don’t have to look pretty.

I don’t need to show up, like on video. They don’t see me. I have it on play. It’s just playing and I could be doing a million other things. And then I do journal. For the business day and then in the evenings is when I do kind of like my preparation for the next day. If I don’t prepare Stephanie for tomorrow, I’m not going to get anything done.

Stephanie: I mean, my favorite quote is I think if you fail to plan, you plan to fail that’s, but it’s totally true. And I’m such a procrastinator too. So that really resonates with me because I’m always like, oh, I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do it tomorrow. And so for me, I have to, I told my husband, this is the reason I pay for accountability is because that’s like my double accountability.

So to be part of a mastermind or to have a coach or something, if I’m not paying for it, I don’t value it. And then on top of that, if I don’t have that, that I’m paying for, then I’m not even accountable to it. And so for me, that helps me with procrastination a ton, and I’m addicted to clubhouse too. I’m trying to wean myself a little.

It’s like, it’s so addicting. You just like listen to so much stuff or be involved, but it’s really, it’s an interesting platform.

Kenise: But it’s great for, you know, your, your podcast is about helping moms getting into second and third streams of income. If they have an idea, I think it’s a great place to find great people to, to begin networking, join different groups, you know, find who they are, uh, search for them.

Stephanie: For sure. So speaking of different streams of income, I know you have a ton, how did you develop those and what are your current streams of income now?

Kenise: Oh boy. Okay. So how did I develop them? It’s all about talent and, and risking your talent and just saying that I’m going to just jump in and just do it.

And then all of a sudden you’re getting paid for it. And it’s like, why am I getting paid for, I didn’t realize that I was going to get paid for this. So besides my coaching and then publishing, and then I also do HR consulting for corporations. I do trainings. As well. So all of the EOC trainings and sexual harassment trainings, employee relations training.

So I do leadership training. So I try to do them probably once every month I would do like one or two trainings for an organization. So that’s four, and then I also sing and play piano. So my church to lead worship on Sundays, that’s my fifth stream of income. And then myself.  stream of income is working with a friend of mine.

She has a business. And so I’m a co-partner with her, and then I’m working on my seventh stream of income. I haven’t figured out exactly what I want, but that would definitely take us in, take me right into middle of like seven figures, which, um, I’m dying. That’s what I want. I’m 42. And by the time I’m 45, I definitely have that in mind to get done.

Stephanie: And how did those, I guess, streams of income come about? Like you weren’t intentionally setting out to do that or were you just like, oh, that’s, that’s something I’m good at. Maybe I can make money off of it or how, I guess what was your thought process on getting there.

Kenise: I think for me, because I said, when I became a single parent, a single mom, especially, I’m like, oh my gosh, I have to send her to school all by myself.

I have to, I want to make sure she has a great life. She’s not spoiled. My daughter’s not spoil at all. I don’t believe in spoiling children, but I want to make sure that she has a house when she graduates in my mind when she graduates college. I would like to have a house for her. That’s paid off a hundred percent.

I want to make sure that her car is paid off a hundred percent. So when she’s ready to start life, she has zero debt. And because I paid cash for everything, and that’s a methodology that I’ve used, you know, for the last three years now. So no debt, zero debt pay cash for everything. If you can’t pay cash for it, don’t buy it.

You can’t afford it. But, so that’s the process that I want to leave for her. So the multiple streams of income is really leaving wealth. For her. So even if she doesn’t have to work a single day in her life, which she will still have to work, I want her to work. She has to work. She’s able to build her empire without ever having to think about like, I gotta live paycheck to paycheck.

Stephanie: So that’s actually an interesting point. And a question I had is by having our start off debt-free and starting from this like, place of almost comfort. How are you teaching her about building wealth and making sure that she, I know you don’t spoil her, but if she thinks, oh, it’s okay. I have like the safety net.

How are you instilling those values of financial independence and, you know, women empowerment in her into. Maybe making multiple income streams also, like how are you teaching her at a young age to do this?

Kenise: She has a little credit card it’s called Greenlight. And I had seen it like posts posted on Facebook, where you can get set up the childhoods again, it’s a debit card. They have their picture on the card and then you have an app and you pay them for her chores. So every Thursday she does chores. She gets paid $20. And out of that money, she has to give her tides and offering to church because that’s important. She knows the principles of giving.

And then also she saves, she has to save a portion of that. So really she ends up like would $5 to really spend, and then if she wants to buy anything, she knows that she has to save up for it. We do have this thing going that if she gets of 90 or above on any of our tests, I get her a gift. And so she knows that’s a freebie, but outside of that, she has to save up these.

She has like $200. Saved up. That’s where she buys all of her Christmas gifts. Valentine’s gifts, stuff that she needs. And then I talked to her about the multiple streams of income as well. So she does art. So I talked to her about, let’s start your art business, get some of these canvases ready. And let’s try to price it out. How much of the canvas costs, how much did a pin cost? Because that’s how we are going to determine how much we’re going to charge your customers without overcharging them, because you’re not Picasso is yet. So teaching her those

Stephanie: little, you’re not losing money because your expenses, you don’t want your expenses to outweigh your revenue.

Kenise: Coming out of her college fund. Yeah. So just teaching her those simple principles, but sometimes her attention is like, okay, that’s enough. I don’t know what you’re talking about there. And I guess she has her book now she has to pay me back because I did front the money for the illustrator and a publishing and stuff.

So I said, you know, this is how much, you know, I paid for everything. So once you gain back all of that, yeah. Then you can keep the profit after you paid back mom. So she understands that she has to pay me back. They did front the money. It was my investment. I was angel and her angel investor. So, but teaching her wealth creation into teaching her to wealth creation and how to save as very important for me.

I mean, I definitely don’t want her. She doesn’t see me using a credit card. And that’s important because she knows, I be like, if we go shopping and I say, you know, look at the price on this. And she was like, no, mom, I know you can get it for me, but can you afford it? I can afford it. I work hard. You can afford kids, get your hands off of that.

That jacket. Just keep it moving girl until you can afford it. Oh, that’s

Stephanie: funny. Oh, wow. So did that. All of this kind of like. Spark or to like really build this and build this, you know, wealth in your mind and building this legacy to this, come from, you know, your youth, your parents, or did this come from going through this divorce?

Kenise: I think it really came from the divorce because I had to set myself up, Stephanie, you know, being in a relationship, never thought I would ever have to be divorced ever, ever. And then I’m like, oh, two incomes for everything. My life is perfect. This is great. And then all of a sudden, like, Bam in your face.

It was just like somebody took like a brick wall and just slapped me with the wall in my face.

So for me, I was just like, well, I need to teach her. And I didn’t want to teach her to hate men or hate marriage. And that’s another, you know, that whole aspect of it. I don’t want to hate love, you know, that no, those are not the things that I want to teach her.

I want her to know that just because something’s happened to me, doesn’t mean it will happen to her. And even if it did. How do you move through it? How do you go through it? Without letting that pain turn into more purpose, then more prosperity than just leaving people just stay right. They go through their pain and they stay there.

They stay in their pain years and years after. And hopefully she’s seen that mom. Has gone through pain, but she’s able to turn that pain into purpose.

Stephanie: So I also wanted to talk about that. Pain turned into your book, which is incredible that you, you know, you started this book as just your own journal and then didn’t realize it would kind of take off, but a lot of, you know, moms out there are looking to do things, but maybe not, not have the educational background or knowledge to say, write a book.

How do you suggest women go about that in you just decided to write a book? Like how did you do that? And then you wrote another book and you wrote another book like, how did, did you take courses? Like how did you learn how to do all that?

Kenise: YouTube videos?

Stephanie: Really?

Kenise: Yeah. YouTube videos. Yeah. I watched one video cause I had so many ideas, Stephanie, and I think that’s most difficult part when people are writing a book because right. They don’t know how am I going to put it all together.

It’s just so much stuff in your head. Where do I start? How do I start? And I watched one video on YouTube and I just love those methodology. Processed and this person, you know, I just put into YouTube, like just searched, how does start planning to write a book? And I looked at a bunch of videos and I was like, Ooh, I liked this one.

I liked his process. I liked his angle. It worked for me. It worked really well for me. And now I train other people on how to do that. I use it all the time.

Stephanie: Wow. And do you mind sharing who this YouTube star was?.

Kenise: You know, I don’t even remember that. It was so long ago. I don’t even know. I don’t even know who it is.

I w I just watched a video and it’s totally resonated in my head, the whole process that he did. And I was like, oh my gosh, I can still use it. And I started using it and just, it works so well for me, so well, for me,

Stephanie: So it’s going to start to wrap this up and ask you for all of the mamas and especially single mamas out there surviving this time.

You know, hopefully this pandemics over soon and everything, what is one piece of advice you would give to them right now in

Kenise: regards to being a better mom or for business

Stephanie: two? I think surviving this period and coming out on becoming a better version of themselves.

Kenise: I would say, be a finisher, be a finisher.

Don’t let the pandemic stop you from your dreams, your aspirations, your goals. I know during this time people have lost loved ones, lost friends, and that grief can really set you back. Especially people. A lot of people are terrified to go out travel. You know, you’re constantly sanitizing and you’re, you’re not able to live when you really think about it.

I try not to think about it. You know, you can get really depressed. Very quickly, especially when you read, he read the newspaper and you see on the news, the different variants there to mutations. It’s like, oh my gosh, it’s just never ending.

Continue pushing yourself. Keep showing up, be a finisher. Don’t let it stop you because now it’s the best time, more than ever to push yourself to your extreme limits and don’t let a pandemic stop you.

We actually, my sister and I are writing or our book together, it’s called prospering during the pandemic. And we’re going to be talking about, and it’s going to be released in April is setting up yourself to prosper during this pandemic. And I know so many individuals that have prospered in this pandemic in the middle of this pandemic and continue to show up, continue to be a finisher and continue to push until they get their goals.

Stephanie: Oh, that’s great. And so to wrap it up, I wanted to ask, what is your mom’s super power that you gained once you became a mom?

Kenise: Patience. Yeah. Patience. I’m very, I’m very impatient. I’ve always been very impatient all my life. I want things now and I must get it now. I hate waiting. I guess it’s a new Yorker thing too.

Stephanie, I don’t know. In LA. But I mean, most of my life, 90% of my life, I’ve been here in New York and it’s just like, ah, I have zero patience for slow people’s zeros just to slow

Stephanie: your progress. Yeah, there’s do move very, very quickly. I was going to say, I am to live in New York during the pandemic. I didn’t even think about that part, but wow.

There’s a lot that was going on there

Kenise: and being a mom has caused me to be super patient with people and just love people when they’re slow. You know, I work with clients and they’re not finishing their book because they’re so slow and I’m like patience Kenise, patience.

How do

Stephanie: you encourage them to be a finisher then besides your own patience?

Kenise: I sometimes I yell, I had one author that we had a deadline because her book is about married life and, and she was just very scared to just hit that release button, just to have the even marketing flyer go out. She was just so scared and I’m like, shut up. Let’s do this. I’m going to do it now. This is after multiple weeks of coaching or like, this is the date.

Oh yeah, we’re good. Can we use for good? Oh no. So finally, like that person on the coaching field, you know, when you’re playing football yeah. I’m sure the coaches are not during like the playoffs and they’re not like saying I’m going to be your best friend. Right. And they’re like, oh yeah, go ahead and try to kick the ball.

If you can, you know, try to get a touchdown and not doing that during the super bowl. So it was kind of like super bowl end game. You got to do this. So it was like, you’re going to do it. You’re going to do it now. You’re going to do, I’m going to sit right here until you get it done. She’s like, okay, she’s getting here to make me cry.

I was like, yeah, go ahead and cry. I want to see you cry. Go ahead. And it said it was just like, she was like Kenise, as I’m going to pass out. I was like, yeah, go ahead and pass out. That’s fine.

Stephanie: You just finished your marathon. You’re good.

Kenise: I was just like, you did it. And now she was like, oh my gosh, I feel so amazing

Stephanie: Do you do that to yourself too? Or do you push yourself or do you have someone that pushes you?

Kenise: No, I have my sister, my sister. Pushes me. I do have a coach that I work with again, and she is, she is frightening, you know, and there’s not a lot of people that can work with her. I hear it a lot. People are like, oh my gosh, she’s terrifying.

She terrifies me. But she, she works for me. You know, she scares me and it’s like, okay, I’m going to get it done. I’m going to get it done door. I’m going to get it done.

Stephanie: Well, perfect. Thank you so much for joining today. Where can we find you?

Kenise: Sure you can find me on my website.  Kenise Etwaru dot com. Instagram Kenise Etwaru Facebook, Kenise, clubhouse. Kenise Etwaru is pretty simple. My first and last name can, you can pretty much find me

Stephanie: anywhere. I’m going to have to look you up on clubhouse too, and join the room with you.

Kenise: Yeah. Yeah. I’m not addicted like you are so far probably, but yeah. Well, I dunno,

Stephanie: I listened to it in the background kind of like podcasts.

So I’ll either be listening to a podcast or if there’s an interesting clubhouse room that I want to listen into, and then sometimes I’ll like go into a room that I can speak at, but for the most part I’m just listening, but there’s a lot of, yeah, you got to pick and choose.

Kenise: Definitely have to be very selective, but this was great. Stephanie, thank you so much for having me on here.

Stephanie: Thank you.