Meet Imani Marley-Husbands | CEO, I&C Empowerment Zone, Inc.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Imani Marley-Husbands and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Imani, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The most important lesson my business has taught me is that “nobody is going to love your business like you do”. Sure people will ask you if you need help, but they can only give you what they can, and sometimes, that is not exactly equivalent to what you need. People will often give you suggestions, offer advice and tell you how you are doing something hard and that there is an easier way. Now this does not mean the advice is “tried and true”, nor that their way is necessarily a better way; others just find it hard to watch somebody succeed at something that they failed at. Only you will get up at all hours of the night to close out inventory, write letters, return emails or create something fantastic for your business. It is your baby. You are going to nurture it, help it to walk and then one day run. In a manner of speaking, it is I that gave birth to my business, and it is my duty to help it succeed.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I retired from County Government as a Procurement Agent and decided to finally be my own boss. It was not an easy journey. Once I got the legal documents out of the way and decided on my first project, execution of the ideas from thoughts to paper was a challenge. In year #1, I learned how hard it was to get items donated if your company is not a 501c3. I got my paperwork done and became a 51c3 compliant entity. Year #2 I learned in order to get grant funding I had to have at least 2 years of company financials under my belt. I have just completed that task and found a new hurdle. In year #3; I have learned that there is not much funding for the community programs that I have. So I am back to relying on personal resources and ingenuity. My brand is community based, founded in fullfillment of a need. Our Prom Dress Fairy Project gives gowns, shoes, accessories and a day of positive reinforcement to underserved young ladies absolutely FREE. We provided 901 young ladies with dresses this year. These ladies came from as far east as Alabama and as far north as Rabun County, GA. We anticipate twice that number is 2024 as word spreads quickly.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hmmm, Monday we have got to go to the Georgia Aquarium because it is awesome and I have a donation fish on the wall. It is always fun for me to see if my friends can find it. We would lunch at Pashcal’s where I would encourage them to get the Jumbo Fried Shrimp meal and the peach cobbler. Tuesday we are going to The World of Coco-Cola. After the tour, you get to taste Coke from around the world. I will have to fool my friend somehow into thinking that the flavor Beverly is the best tasting coke, so you can see their facial expression once they drink it. For Lunch it’s the Slutty Vegan for a Fussy Hussy. Wednesday we will spend the day at Tocca Falls and just enjoy. On the way home we will hit Pings Grill for a fish basket and sit on the deck to watch the sunset. Thursday we are riding around Fulton County checking out the sites as the ATL has a fantastic city view from several buildings downtown. We have to stop by Mangos Caribbean Grill on Auburn Ave for a plate of curry chicken. Friday will be a sleep in day and in the late afternoon we are going to Food Truck Friday on Oak St in downtown Snellville. It is always a good time with a DJ and plenty of family fun. Saturday would be a kick back an catch up day. We are going to climb Stone Mountain and just sit at the top and rest. We will have to go to Weeyums Philly Style for a cheese steak and seasoned fries. I usually sit on the picnic bench by the Trolly and watch the joggers go by. Sunday we head to my church Berean Christian Church on Youngs Rd for early service, then on to First Watch on Scenic Highway for brunch. I am partial to the Tri-Fecta with a Purple Haze to drink. That would be a great time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My daughter Chantal Marley-Husbands deserves a great deal of credit as she is one of the reasons I created my biggest program, The Prom Dress Fairy Project; sits for hours and listens to me brainstorm and offers construction criticism, even when not asked (LOL). My daughter-in-law Deidra Myers gets 5 gold stars for letting me bounce creative ideas, scenarios and decor choices off of her. Our discussions get loud, funny and at times a mirror image of thoughts as we tend to think alike and lastly my spouse Alvin Husbands get the Oscar for letting me ramble on and on about business failures and things that I wish I could do with funding and just being at my side.

Website: www.ICEmpowermentZone.org

Instagram: @promdressfairy @Marleygirl8

Linkedin: Imani Marley-Husbands

Facebook: The I&C Empowerment Zone, Inc.; Imani Marley-Husbands; Prom Dress Fairy

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-i-and-c-empowerment-zone-decatur?osq=I%26C+Empowerment+Zone4

Image Credits
All photos were taken by Images by Alvin & Imani Photography