I would define Linda Clemons as a servant. My educational background is in marketing.  By profession, I’m a sales consultant, a sales strategist, and a motivational trainer, but I am a servant, here to serve and to love.

I do that through my business, my organization, through my consulting.  My company is called Sisterpreneur - instead of entrepreneur, it’s Sisterpreneur.   It’s a diverse organization, made up of women of all ethnic backgrounds, all colors and races; and what’s so beautiful about it is that we are challenging and empowering women as entrepreneurs to change the world. 

I tell women that as their businesses begin to prosper and grow, there is an obligation – a universal and spiritual obligation to replenish from where the power comes.  We encourage women to give back to other organizations that support and build up women.

Well, one, as a woman, it’s easy to do that; and two, as women, we sometimes need that extra push to know that we can do it.  So many times, a woman will second guess herself.  So many of the women that I deal with need support to build and maintain a strong foundation – even women who currently run their own businesses.

Men get it when I do the seminars and workshops.  They get it; but I want women to really get it!

We’re all over the country.  As I go out to speak, women come up to me and say, ‘I need this kind of support group.’  We utilize the resources of other women’s organizations.  I try not to reinvent the wheel.  I partner with other organizations that have the same mission – to empower women.  I’m talking about organizations that help women set up businesses, develop business plans, and help them get financing.  We also offer sister grants.  So, if a woman is unable to get traditional financing through a bank, we offer sister grants, which don’t have to be paid back.  But once the recipient’s business becomes successful, we expect her to give back.  You have to give back to sow back.  I have found, throughout my life, that when you give with love, it is replaced by something greater.  Plus, it allows the Creator to rebuild the areas that may be defective. 

My mother, Louise Townsend.  My mother had a catering business, but as we were growing up, she also worked two jobs.  She taught me that no matter what you do, or what you’re going through, it’s important to finish the game. Being the oldest of four kids, I learned how to sacrifice. Recently, I was talking with a Japanese girlfriend about cultural differences, and she said a distinguishing aspect of Japanese culture is that they learn to deal with delayed gratification. In America, we want it all, now.  As a child, I learned the lesson of delayed gratification.  It’s a different kind of discipline, but it has helped me in a lot of things.  Sometimes we jump off on immediate feelings and that’s not the real deal.

What else did you learn from your mother?

My mother had the gift to endure great physical pain with grace.  She died of complications from diabetes and heart disease, but she never wanted her kids to see her in pain.  There was a lot of pride there.  I’ll never forget that before she had her second leg amputated, she was suffering so, crying in the pillow because she didn’t want us kids to hear her.  She never wanted us to see her engage in self pity.  That taught me a lot.  In business, there are times when we can’t do everything for our customers, our suppliers, or our employees, but we can give all that we have, and that’s all that a person can ask for.

My grandmother was very protective of me.  She said I had a special gift.  The old folks down South use to say ‘she was born with a veil over her face.’  It’s an intuitive sense.  I think that’s part of it, but I think we are all blessed with that gift.  We can develop that gift to help us in business and in our relationships.  As I grew up, I began to listen to that voice within.  I also began to have a dialog with it so I could gain greater clarity.  I think that’s what most of us miss, we don’t have a dialog with our inner voice.

I’m interested in creating successful businesses that leave legacies, businesses that contribute to their community, state, nation and that make a real difference in the world.  So many of us are so busy trying to build a house on a hill that we leave the home behind.  My focus is on the total package.

Yes, it is a big order, but on June 4, 1996, I was scheduled for out-patient surgery.  It was  no big deal, but the anesthesiologist gave me an overdose of drugs.  I went into a coma for seven days.  During that period, my heart stopped for 60 seconds; but Something greater than me that said, “Not yet!”  So, once you go through that kind of experience, you look at things differently.  You analyze things differently.  You focus on the real deal.  That was a wake up call for me.  I know that I’m here because the story is not done yet.  I’m just letting the Author order my steps.  That’s all I do now.

The problem, as I see it, is that these young women lack self love.  If there was self love, we would not allow anything to defile our temple, our mind and our spirit.  So many girls are the result of wounds that have been passed through the womb.  If you look back at the mothers, wounds have been passed along; and no one has tried to heal them.  So, these young women do things that are distractions.  They do them so people can’t get too close. Look at what they are doing.  Look at the body language. It’s not with joy.  If you turned down the music and really examine it, it’s not with joy.  There’s a lack of self love; not only among young girls, it’s among our race of people.

So, how do we turn that around?

Well, it’s like my grandmother use to say, “you can’t talk right and walk left.”  We have to demonstrate self love.  As a people, we need to focus on three levels of commitment.  There’s physical commitment where you are participating in a solution.  Then there’s the financial commitment; and then the emotional commitment.  All three are important.  Many people are willing to write a check, but a check is not the same as a woman befriending a young girl and showing her what a woman needs to be.  A check can’t make a man.  It can provide resources, but a man is needed show a young brother what it means to be a man.  And then there’s the emotional aspect.  While we all hand out business cards, we should also seek to leave our prints on the hearts of others.  We remember that someone who made a difference in our lives, years after the help was given.  That’s what we should be doing, leaving a legacy for others to tell long after we’re gone.

Absolutely.  From a purely business perspective, these troubled young girls are our future customers.  So, the question becomes, “How do you want to build your business?  How do you want your legacy to endure?”  It’s all a matter of what you plant.

Thank you, Linda Clemons.