Today we’d like to introduce you to Nia Harper.
Nia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I grew up in a loving, supportive home. My parents remained together for close to 40 years and my most important job is as a mother of three beautiful daughters.
My academic background is in business, entrepreneurship, and human resources. I have 15 years of professional experience in economic development and strategic business development. I have worked with small municipalities, non profit organizations, government institutions and S.C.O.R.E. aimed at improving local community small business success. I have come to understand the critical role that small businesses have in boosting the overall economy established through
Additionally, as a private consultant to entrepreneurs I supported their HR functions including developing structure, preparing document templates and providing leadership development coaching.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been blessed to have had a smooth journey thus far. Both of my parents and several family members owned their own business so I have had some great lessons about the pitfalls to look out for along the way. However, like many small businesses, the recent COVID 19 pandemic was an unforeseen challenge.
I am shifting to offer services exclusively online and get ahead of industry demands so that I can now offer additional coaching services.
Please tell us about Be BossiHER.
Be BossiHER empowers women-owned small businesses (WOSB’s) with the leadership skills and human resources tools to scale efficiently and successfully as they transition from Entrepreneurs to Employers.
In Atlanta but also nationally, there are many programs to support women starting their business but the support lessens once they are out of the initial start-up phase.
Be BossiHER targets WOSB’s that have achieved consistent profits for three years or more; and are in position to increase capacity and profitability but are not doing so for a number of reasons. I want women to know that now is the time to scale their business into the next level and Be Bossiher is here to guide their transition.
When entrepreneurs go from being a one-person act to developing systems and creating a job opportunity, their capacity to stay in business and sustain profits is tripled. Be Bossiher improves the odds of WOSB sustainability by putting the structure, processes and people in place to achieve and maintain long term profit scaling.
Be Bossiher cultivates essential leadership qualities in women through leadership development coaching and systematic HR tools. We empower women to own, build and steer their company; illuminating a confident path to be trailblazing employers in a space that is traditionally male-dominated.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory is driving to the Million Women’s March with my mother. I am her only daughter of three; and she was the only girl in a family of 5. On top of holding several graduate degrees in education, my mother was very intentional about carving out time for us to bond through meaningful activities.
Later in life my mother became physically unable to drive, so the memory of our road trip together—traveling from Brooklyn to Philadelphia is dear to me.
Participating in The March and listening to many notable women of color be empowered and demand change had a significant impact on how I saw myself as a burgeoning woman in the world. It also changed how I saw my mother. I realized that she was radical!
The charge for women to go back to their communities, mentor youth and start businesses is a responsibility I still carry in my heart. My mother had been doing this for years already, but the experience elevated my perspective of my mother as a world changer and on our ride home, I hung on to every word she spoke.
My mother has since passed on, but her intentionality in allowing and sharing that experience with me will forever influence the way I parent my daughters, define myself as a woman of color, my entire career trajectory, and all of the potential I see in WOSB’s.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bebossiher.com
- Phone: 678-561-2160
- Email: nia@bebossiher.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bebossiher/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/be.bossiher
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bebossiher/
Image Credit:
Great Eye Media
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