Meet Keya Erving | Budding entrepreneur and artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keya Erving and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keya, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
I read the book “Understanding the Purpose and Power of Women” by Dr. Myles Munroe. I like this book because it is based on the Bible and full of solid, down-to-earth, useful information. One of the reasons this book impacted me so much is because Dr. Myles Munroe did an excellent job of describing why women are equal to men, why women are so valuable, and how we are powerful. As I was growing up, I struggled to believe any of these things. I remember often feeling like I was somehow “less than” because I was a woman, and powerless for being a black woman. Deep down, I always felt the need to be more and do more, but the world was always telling me I was not important and I should consider myself lucky if anyone found the slightest value in me. This book let me know it was okay for me to want more, dream bigger, and do the things that seemed off limits, not only that, but that it was God’s original idea anyway. I know now that I am valuable and I have power to influence the world I live in.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The name of my business if Faithful Creations (on Etsy it’s Faithful Creations 100). Faithful Creations is a Print-on-Demand business that specializes in faith based items for everyday use. Right now, only mugs and tumblers are offered for sale but the goal is to have t-shirts, journals, and canvas prints for sale too. What I’m most excited about is the growth potential, not just for the business but for myself too. I’m learning so much about myself and what it means to be an entrepreneur by having this business. I’ve come to understand that the success of a business is directly tied to the personal development of it’s owner. I’m not the same person I was when I started this business a little over a year ago. Even though the sales are not there yet, I know they are coming because of the growth that I have experienced. One of the things I have learned to do is to spend time every day seeking out knowledge on how to run a business. I like to listen to people like Myron Golden and Myles Munroe speak about business from a biblical perspective. These two are phenomenal! What I want people to know about Faithful Creations is that the business was born out of a desire to provide items that are cute, functional, and express the goodness of God. Life can be tough and sometimes the inspiration to push through can come from something as simple as a coffee mug. Faithful creations is about giving encouragement and comfort in the every day things.

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?
I’m in Gwinnett County so all of my favorite spots are North East of Atlanta. If my best friend was visiting the first spot I’d take her is Peachtree Corners Town Green. I love to hang out there because there’s so much to see and do. We would start out by getting some drinks and a good meal at Firebirds Wood Fired Grille. Then we’d walk across the street to the Forum and do some shopping. By the time we finish shopping we would head back over to the Town Green in time enough to catch one of the free music concerts or take in a movie at the cinema. The next place I would take her is Downtown Lawrencville. We’d go to Masterpiece Mixers for a fun painting class and then head over to Scum-did-dly-umptios for the best fried chicken and carrot cake waffles ever.

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?
I would like to dedicate this shout-out to everyone who has ever spoken an encouraging word to me or over me, with a special shout out to my mother who has always been my number 1 champion.

Website: https://faithfulcreations100.etsy.com