We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Lee-Okonya and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success without a doubt would have to be my support team. Many people, especially in our society, have a very individualistic (in contrast to collectivistic) outlook on things. While I believe the bulk of the work is on the mastermind behind the brand; accomplishing anything worthwhile solely alone I personally do not think is feasible or possible really. As a wife, mother, mental health therapist, business owner, doctoral student, adjunct professor, daughter, friend and the other titles that may be fitting to describe me, there is no way I could manage it all without having my village who provides paramount support. My husband specifically has been monumental in the success and continued growth of my brands. He has been a true partner and supporter in a multitude of ways. His continued words of affirmation, stern talks, helping to manage the kids and other household responsibilities and just his belief in me as a person and the heights he foresees my brands can reach has given me the fuel to keep going when I have wanted to give up. My friends and family have also played a crucial role through their support and encouragement when things have been turbulent. Just having the mental understanding that there is a village backing me goes a long way in building a successful brand. Because let’s be real entrepreneurship is HARD and building and maintaining a brand that is successful is even harder. There are long and late nights, early mornings, financial sacrifices, self-doubt, periods of isolation and a bunch of other things in between that I could name. It is truly a process and a journey that not everyone can endure. And as long as the brand is successful you will continue to have to put in work to support that success and to ensure it continues to thrive. It is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. Imagine running a marathon and along the way having people on both sides of the road rooting you on and cheering for you, offering you water and other nourishment along the way. As that runner, I find the intrinsic motivation to keep going and to push forward to finish and win the race because I know I have a village that believes in me; their support is shown through action in various ways. Without a shadow of a doubt, the fuel to my fire is my village; I owe the success of my brand to them. For this I am blessed and forever grateful.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Life Begins Here Therapeutic and Counseling Services, LLC is a mental and behavioral health private practice located in the Suntrust (now Truist) Park area. We work with individuals, couples, and groups and we serve teens and adults experiencing anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. My niche personally is relationship issues, couples, pregnant women and mothers. I am a Gottman trained couple’s therapist so I also offer relationship, premarital and marital counseling as well. I work primarily with African American mothers who need support and assistance with navigating motherhood. I have completed training in Advanced Perinatal Mental Health Psychotherapy Training and have a certification in Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders. I am also a DONA trained birth doula and I work with mothers and families on the mental weight that comes with pregnancy and being a new mom. We explore in-depth how that affects the relationship between partners. These are things I find most people do not talk about when learning they are pregnant and as a result, many moms suffer in silence and isolate themselves while pregnant and after birth some experience Postpartum Depression, etc. With all of the alarming statistics about black women and birth/ pregnancy (i.e., we are 12.4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women and 49% more likely to have premature births, etc.) I have made it my mission to be a resource, an advocate and a champion in providing safe spaces for African American mothers to address the mental impact of the journey to motherhood and actual motherhood as a black mother. Black mothers have a unique set of circumstances to face. Look at what is happening currently and historically when it comes to the disparities and the social injustices black people face. Because of this black mothers have to raise their children differently than any other race. Think of things such as why did a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr even need to exist, or why Rosa Park got arrested for not giving her seat up on the bus that she had first, or how to respond to a normal traffic stop and the list goes on. This is a unique weight that mostly black mothers have to carry. As a result of this and other factors, I have created The Melanated Mommy Tribe which is an organization that provides a safe space for black mothers to have their voices amplified, be seen, educate, find support, resources, inspiration and to process the mental impact of motherhood in America. It is still in the beginning phases of creation but this is what I am most excited about currently because I know the positive impact this will have on so many mothers.

At Life Begins Here, we offer workshops for couples called The Seven Principles to Making Marriage Work, which is based off the book by the leading relationship and couples expert Dr. John Gottman and Bringing Baby Home which teaches couples skills, sets expectations and opens the door for conversations post life with a new or additional baby at home. I am most proud that my practice has taken the challenge to break the stigma of mental health within our community by increasing awareness, normalizing therapy and to fill a gap for black mothers. We all can benefit from having a safe, nonjudgmental, fully confidential, comforting space to process our emotions, past unresolved issues or a current event that we may be struggling with amongst other things. Seeking therapy does not mean you’re crazy; it simply means you’re human. What sets me apart from other therapists and practices is my past experience and training, my doula background, my strengths-based and psychodynamic perspective coupled with just being me. I am truly a fun loving, laid back individual that marches to the beat of my own drum. I inspire people to challenge themselves to live their best lives authentically, whatever that looks like to them. And I find many of us live for who we think others believe we should be; so learning what makes us truly happy can be a difficult task. But I am there with my clients to navigate those difficulties and teach them the skills to find and maintain that authentic happiness. I am also sure not to create a fairy tale, meaning life does have some hard times but the goal is to ensure we know the storms are not forever and that the peaks should be way more frequent than the valleys. I also create and design therapeutic stone beaded bracelets! Many believe certain stones have healing properties and I hand make beaded bracelets for men, women, and children. Hard work, persistence, prayer, growth, gratitude, self-care, research, mentors, determination and my support system are a few of the things that got my business where it is today and that I utilize consistently. As mentioned in a previous section, anytime you are trying to start, grow and maintain a business it is a journey. I am not sure I have personally ever met an entrepreneur who said it was easy. But what keeps most of us going is that we are doing something we are passionate about and fulfilling a need which keeps the flame burning even when things get challenging.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ohhh this is a tough question because I am a homebody LOL! I Especially since it’s a pandemic going on and social distancing practices are in place. But even if there was not a pandemic occurring, I love a night out on the patio with a nice adult beverage and some smooth vibes like some Jheno Aiko, Summer Walker, H.E.R. or The Internet. A game and finger food nights with friends is also my ideal night of fun! So we would definitely have a few of those nights planned. But in addition to hanging out at the house, we would hit the town for brunch and dinner at a few of my fave places. For a good steak, thirst quenching drink and a nice ambiance we would go to The Capital Grille and Stoney River, Scotch Bonnet, The Tasty Crab, Another Broken Egg, West Egg cafe, The Green Manor, Mary Mac’s, The Beautiful and Big Daddy’s are a few of my neighborhood faves we would surely visit for some good soul food and tasty ethnic cuisines. And we would most definitely have to hit Negril Village for the banging brunch buffet and live DJ on Sundays. For upscale drinks and a good vibe on Friday or Saturday night we would venture to Peter Street and visit The Parlor. For some physical activity, we would hike Stone Mountain and go for a walk on the Silver Comet trail and maybe get in a bike ride on The Atlanta Beltline followed by frozen yogurt at Yoforia in midtown. I must admit although I am an Atlanta native I need to venture out and re-explore Atlanta to see what some of the new fun spots are in Atlanta for my demographic. But this sums up a perfect week for me and my friends!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As I mentioned previously, my husband specifically has been monumental in the success and continued growth of my brands. He has been a true partner and supporter in a multitude of ways. His continued words of affirmation, stern talks, helping to manage the kids and other household responsibilities and just his belief in me as a person and the heights he foresees my brands can reach has given me the fuel to keep going when I have wanted to give up. My friends and family (this includes colleagues) have also played a crucial role through their support and encouragement when things have been turbulent. Just having the mental understanding that there is a village backing me goes a long way in building a successful brand. Because let’s be real entrepreneurship is HARD and building and maintaining a brand that is successful is even harder. There are long and late nights, early mornings, financial sacrifices, self-doubt, periods of isolation and a bunch of other things in between that I could name. It is truly a process and a journey that not everyone can endure. And as long as the brand is successful you will have to continue to put in work to support that success and to ensure it continues to thrive. It is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. Imagine running a marathon and along the way having people on both sides of the road rooting you on and cheering for you, offering you water and other nourishment along the way. As that runner, I find the intrinsic motivation to keep going and to push forward to finish and win the race because I know I have a village that believes in me; their support is shown through their actions in various ways. Without a shadow of a doubt, the fuel to my fire is my village; I owe the success of my brands to them. For this I am blessed and forever grateful.

Website: LifeBeginsHereTherapeuticAndCounselingServices.com TheMelanatedMommyTribe.com
Instagram: @LifeBeginsHereTCS and @TheMelanatedMommyTribe
Twitter: @Kimlo_therapist and @themelantaedmommytribe
Facebook: Kim LO The Therapist of Life Begins Here TCS, LLC and The Melanated Mommy Tribe
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj678nthl68OJndLyaqPamQ

Image Credits
Howell Designs