RESPECT.: How long have you been in business?

KD: I started my first International brand – The Single Wives Club in 2012 and my latest project WERK University was Founded Winter 2019.

RESPECT.: What inspired your business?

KD: WERK University was developed when I realized that women don’t need anymore empowerment, they need to know how to get paid.. then they’ll be able to empower themselves. Over the years, I’ve developed three successful women empowerment brands but I officially retired in 2019 to focus on providing more of a blueprint to get to their money goals.

RESPECT.: What were you doing prior?

KD: I taught 2nd-3rd grade for 4 years – my Bachelor and Masters degrees are in Education. From 2012-2017 I owned The Single Wives Club – a women empowerment brand that connected single women and happy wives in hopes of helping them prepare for marriage. From 2013-2019 I hosted a women empowerment weekend in Atlanta – WERK Pray Slay 2015-2019 I ran a travel-based empowerment brand (Busy at the Beach) that took women from around the country to different beaches around the world. (I still own a travel agency but I don’t host group trips anymore.)

RESPECT.: What’s the biggest challenge you faced in your personal life?

KD: Believing in myself long enough to build something outside the “box” I once believed I was stuck in. I had so many people around me to tell me that the classroom was the ‘safe’ place to stay, but I managed to make my own way.

RESPECT.: What are the rewards of entrepreneurship?

KD: I’ve been able to create a freedom-based lifestyle doing the things I love educating! Being able to help other black women find freedom by using their existing skills to develop new streams of income.

RESPECT.: What are you most proud of regarding your business? How’s it doing? Can you provide numbers of revenue, sales or growth?

KD: I managed to turn my $32k teaching salary into a multi-six figure brand

In the first 2 months of 2020, my WERK U program assisted our students in making over $120K. WERK U welcomed 415+ women during our first 10 day enrollment. We currently have over 800 students in 8 countries.

This month, one of our students earned a $45k contract for 6 weeks of work using one of our resources.

RESPECT.: How was your childhood? What were your parents occupation?

KD: I had a childhood that I cannot complain about..grew up middle class suburbs of Chicago. Both of my parents are former marines.

RESPECT.: How do you believe your childhood shaped your future?

KD: I had an obsession with money and serving as a child. I had dreams of working a cash register but I also spent my allowance to sponsor kids in need.

I got my first job at McDonalds at 14 and I’ve been working ever since.

RESPECT.: When it’s all said and done, what do you want to be known for?

KD: I want to be known as a media powerhouse who educates black women on ways to save themselves.