Katrina Carter, budding entrepreneur and owner of Kodesh Home Solutions, spoke at TREK on May 2. The following transcript is excerpted from her presentation.
Good morning. I’m Katrina Carter and this is my husband, Jomini Carter. We are partners in Kodesh Home Solutions. We offer residential and commercial cleaning, not organizing like Beth, but we do “cleanliness from heaven.” I believe the same as Beth; I always tell my children, however your room is, that’s how your mental state is. However your space is, that’s how your mind is.
My first job was commercial cleaning for a school district. I was the head custodian and Jomini was the grounds keeper, so I have been cleaning for years. I was always helping my friends with their space and their children and getting organized. The solution is having a schedule, a day where you clean.
“Cleanliness is Godliness”
I believe that cleanliness is Godliness. It sets the atmosphere. It sets the tone, and it defines you as a person. You not only want to have a clean home, but you also want to have a clean mind. You want everything to be clean, but you don’t always have the time and space. Not everybody is allotted the same time and space.
So, for me and Jomini, we are the people who come in and help make that successful for you. While you’re running your business, we’re cleaning your home or your business so you can be functional. It’s a community service. It’s an act of kindness.
Motivation for Starting a Business
What motivated me to start my business was my passion for helping my friends clean. My first client here was free. She was in a very bad space, and I would go to her house and clean it for her. I was like, “girl let me help you out…I can help you with this.” That’s who I am. That’s my humanity. I want to see other people thriving, so that’s what motivated me to start Kodesh Home Solutions.
I met my husband, Jomini here. He was from Greenville, South Carolina, but we met in Minnesota. We stayed because it’s the perfect place to raise a family. It’s not diverse, but maybe I could be a door for diversity.
So, I was working for a company. They’re actually a family-owned business, beautiful people. I was sitting there eight to five every day. I was just like, I give them all my time, but I have so many ideas. I’m so creative. I’m so talented. Every day that’s what my mind was going through as I was doing my work. One day, I just stopped, and I started a business.
I have four children who are homeschooled, and I wanted to show them that your possibilities are unlimited. It’s not just confined to a nine to five. You can do anything you want to as long as you put your mind to it. I wanted to show my children that, because where we’re from, our ethnicity is not as privileged. I wanted to show my children that you can be something in life. You don’t have to be a statistic. You can be whatever you put your mind to. That’s what motivated me to start my business.
What motivates me every day is basically grace and second chance. Every day you wake up is a new opportunity to do something better than what you did the day before. Even if I made a whole bunch of mistakes yesterday, I could learn from that. I’m going to do better than I did yesterday. That motivates me to keep trying and to be my authentic self every day.
What I Enjoy Most About Being an Entrepreneur
What I enjoy the most is a schedule where you can make your own choices. As an entrepreneur it gives me free space to raise my children the way I want to raise them. I get to make my own rules. I set the safety standard for the people that are around. I’m able to nurture new talent and get the best out of others.
The challenge for me in entrepreneurship is that this is a new location for me. You have to get to know people and you have to be able to receive and just put yourself out there. In South Carolina, it’s a big city. That’s where I’m from, but I know everybody. Here, I have to get to know people. That’s been the most challenging thing for me.
If someone asked me for the three most important things to remember if you want to be successful in business, I would say being able to manage your personal life and your professional life, having passion for what you do, and self-confidence. You have got to wake up every day and encourage yourself. Ultimately, it’s that self-courage, self-motivation, and being able to adapt to changes in difficult circumstances.
Visit the Kodesh Home Solutions Facebook page for more information.
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