“I’m a hustler, I just want you to know.”

In 2008 Jay Z wrote a song that I truly believe is my theme song, my walking music, and the song that has defined my professional career. He hit the mic with the words “I’m a hustler and I just want you to know … it’s not where I’ve been … it’s where I’m about to go.”  Let me tell you something. I loved that song and to this day, I can sing it word for word. It is my anthem for business.

I truly believe I was destined to be an entrepreneur. When I was a teenager my mother would often say, “Denise could sell snow to an Eskimo.” I would often laugh when she said this, but deep down in my soul, I knew she was right. Not only could I sell the snow, but I could also turn a steep profit as well. 

The Urban Dictionary defines a hustler as a person who is very ambitious when it comes to their survival. Webster’s Dictionary defines a hustler as an aggressively enterprising person; a go-getter. Looking back on my journey to entrepreneurship, I have moved with grace and ease between these attributes of a hustler. As a college student, I would hoard cereal and milk from the cafeteria and sell it to my classmates for a nominal fee. In an effort to make a little extra cash, I launched a balloon company every Valentine’s Day. Setting up a table in the yard, I took orders from students, hired workers and delivery drivers.  Renting helium tanks, purchasing balloons, string, and notecards, I set up shop in my dorm room and filled orders from sunup to sundown. The workers and drivers were paid (and I fed them too), and we had a really good time making our classmates' Valentine’s Day just a little sweeter. 

Running my Valentine’s Day delivery service was my first taste of the joys of hustling, but I needed some experience. So for the first half of my career, I worked in the corporate and non-profit sectors. While these are traditional work environments, I was able to sharpen my hustler skills because I was always the first in my new assignment. This gave me the opportunity to pave the way for those who came behind me and break new ground. I constantly bent the rules and always tried to push the boundaries to see what doors I could open or what new opportunities would lie ahead.

I LOVE the thrill of being a hustler - both the urban and traditional versions. There is something exhilarating about it. Hustlers - entrepreneurs, visionaries and risk-takers. There’s a fire that burns in our bellies and until I became a business owner myself, I didn’t understand that sensation I felt every time I embarked on a new hustle. 

So yes, I’m a hustler and I just want you to know … it’s not where I’ve been … it’s where I’m about to go. Buckle up because it’s 2022 and here I go - are you ready?