Acclaimed inspirational speaker, best-selling author, and business mentor, Dr. Venus Opal Reese has a powerful and inspirational life story. She went from living on the streets and eating out of trash cans, to obtaining a second master’s degree and a PhD from Stanford University. Today, she combines her real life experience and expertise from both worlds to empower women entrepreneurs to stop living in fear and create positive change in their lives.

Dr. Reese also has a podcast entitled Hot Mess Millionaire that aims to teach subscribers how to take the messiness of life and turn it in to something purposeful and profitable. The first installment of Dr. Venus’ Cash Flow and Coronavirus series entitled “Quarantine Love - 5 D’s For Doing the Impossible” is available now on Apple Podcasts.

Dr. Venus Opal Reese states, “Life as we used to know it, is gone. People are scared, but we have an opportunity right now that we didn't have before the Coronavirus started to fulfill our dreams. Many people have dreamt of having a lucrative home-based or online business but never had the time. So my way of showing love is to teach money-making strategies. This is the time to focus on taking care of each other the best way we can.”

Moms.com recently spoke with Dr. Venus Opal Reese on ways that women and moms can start utilizing the quarantine to create, leverage or scale their business online. Check out the motivational interview below.

Why is a pandemic the perfect time to start a business?

The main reasons have to do with the lifestyle that we all had before the pandemic. Everyone is always very busy. We're too busy to start businesses, or scale businesses or  focusing on balancing their time between work and family. The pandemic has given us the opportunity in a way for unaccounted for time. Yes, this is time that we didn't have booked or scheduled for something else. It gives us the opportunity to dream.  You get your time, and now you get the mental space to dream about things that you had given up. Women, moms--specifically moms who want to be home with their children, now have an advantage.

Due to the pandemic, everything is now moving online, and you can essentially start with almost zero capital. This is a great season to really follow up on your dreams, because you have the time, you can take action on your dream, and it doesn't have to have the same amount of cost that it would normally for the startup money that you would need if you were doing a brick and mortar business.

In the context of motherhood, why is it important for women, especially Black moms, to have their own business?

Women in general are still coming to grips with a business ownership mindset.  Many cultures are not taught financial literacy or conditioned to think about generational wealth. Women in general who are cultivating a family, it is truly a revolutionary act to start a business. Especially for black women, because we used to literally be the capital. Historically speaking, we were the workhorse and our bodies were 'used' as the fuel the economy.

So, when you have your own business and you make your own money as a woman, it is truly a revolutionary act in terms of history. When you're in a society rooted in capitalism, if you want to fight, you don't fight with marches. If you want to fight, you fight with your dollar, your money. Whether you're Indian, Asian, Latina, Pakistanian or Black-- it doesn't matter. Essentially, true change does not happen, and the world does not move --if a woman does not have her own.

Your brand is coined, Hot Mess Millionaire. In the context of inspiring women and moms to press in to the next level of living or business, how does one take a mess and turn it into a profit?

The curated way to do this is to create a heart connection with your dream clients. People can't buy from you, until they buy into you. So, the first step is being willing to gether your tribe, and then share your truth transparently to that audience in a way that's appropriate. Transparency does not mean showing your bikini wax. That's not transparency. Providing an authentic emotional transaction leads to real currency.

What are a few succinct strategies for thriving during the Coronavirus Pandemic? Can you please provide some tangible tips?

First, learn to bring in money from what you know, instead of what you do. That's the biggest shift. Generally, people are used to doing something or a task to earn money. You're used to doing something to earn money. We think that money is a function of effort, but it's actually a function of energy. But back to tangible strategies. So, write down what you are good at. Write it down. Make it a system, and begin to implement it.

What does it mean to transform the financial trajectory of your bloodline?

You're the first person to ask me that question, and I love it. If you know my story, then you know that I was raised on the streets and went on to Stanford to receive degrees. Well,  I'm the first person in my bloodline to ever graduate from high school. I was able to finish high school, and then go and get my bachelor's degree. I then earned my first masters and my second masters, and eventually my PhD from Stanford. This broke generational educational curses in my family.

So, now my nieces and nephews have graduated from high school. Yes, it's the same with financial literacy and spending habits with money. When you learn how to have your own money, you start cultivating a culture of people having their own money. You become that leader in your community, and people will start modeling you, because they begin to see that it's possible.

What's one lasting financial tip or bit of inspiration that you would give to a young mom or forthcoming business woman?

Always remember that you are just as important as the people you love. I've spent 13 years in school, and I am now 48 years old. So, I say to you, "Have more fun, and have more sex!"

In addition to the Hot Mess Millionaire Podcast, the accompanying series Hot Mess Millionaire will launch on Amazon Prime Video in the upcoming months.

Black Woman Millionaire (Hot Mess Edition), Dr. Venus' best seller is being re-released in the upcoming months as well. The 1st edition taught black women how the history of slavery was undermining their money. The “Hot Mess” Edition expands on this and shows women how to become the highest paid leader in their industry, transform the financial destiny of their bloodline and live a fulfilled life.

About Dr. Venus Opal Reese

Acclaimed inspirational speaker, best-selling author, award-winning performance artist, Marketing Alchemist™, and business mentor, Dr. Venus Opal Reese went from living on the streets and eating out of trash cans to obtaining two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Previously, she worked as a university professor before investing in herself and her entrepreneurial skills.

Her business, VenusOpal Enterprises, Inc., grossed $5 million in less than six years without government funding, loans, or investors by turning herself into a category of one. Her clients have grossed millions since implementing her strategies and systems.

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