June 2024 will forever hold a quiet space in my heart. A month that reminded me how fragile life is, how precious connections are, and how deep the journey of entrepreneurship can go — beyond strategy, sales and success.
This month marked a chapter I wasn’t ready to write: navigating grief after losing my beautiful friend Joellah Olivia Williams.
To know Joellah was to love her — unapologetically herself, fiercely creative, and full of light. We laughed, we dreamed, we hyped each other up, and we shared those unfiltered, raw conversations that only real sisterhood can bring. She was the kind of person who saw your magic before you fully saw it yourself. Losing her to suicide shook something in me that no business course or motivational book could prepare me for.
In the middle of running brands, parenting, paying off debt, and showing up online… everything just stopped — I had to sit with pain. Deep, soul-shifting pain. And in that quiet space, I started to ask myself some serious questions about the way I build.
Who am I doing this for? What legacy am I really leaving? And am I checking in on the people I love?
Joellah’s passing reminded me that success without peace is empty. It reminded me that even the strongest, most vibrant people can be silently carrying battles we don’t see. It reminded me that my businesses — every brand I run — must be built with more than just ambition. They must be built with compassion, humanity, and room for healing.
So this month, I slowed down. I cried. I reflected. I journaled. And I reminded myself why I started any of this in the first place — to create space. For voices to be heard. For people to feel seen. For communities to be strengthened. For women like Joellah, whose light still lives on in everything I do.
Grief doesn’t come with a manual. But what I’ve learned is that you can hold purpose and pain in the same hand. You can keep building, even when your heart is heavy. And sometimes, the most powerful businesses are born from the deepest losses.
To every entrepreneur navigating grief: I see you. Whether you’ve lost a loved one, a friendship, a version of yourself — know that your feelings are valid, and you’re allowed to move at your own pace. Business will wait. Healing matters too.
And to Joellah — thank you. For your laughter, your lessons, your loyalty, and your legacy. I’ll honour you in every room I step into, every brand I grow, and every Black girl I remind that her life has meaning — beyond the metrics.
You are missed. You are remembered.
And your light lives on.
