Meet Lakia Williams | CEO

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

Hi Lakia, how do you think about risk?
I have always believed that, a life without risk is a life not worth living! The things you regret the most in your life, will be the risk you decided not to take! It takes courage and perseverance to be able to be successful in life! I constantly remind myself, “That you don’t have to be successful to get started, but you do have to start in order to be successful.” With understanding this, you just have to be willing to sacrifice your normal habits, daily distractions, and the situations that are standing in the way of your success. I realized at a very young age that I was a risk taker! I wasn’t afraid to sing out loud, dance in front of a crowd, or do something spontaneous. As far back as I can remember; I have always been outgoing, unique, and courageous. I knew that I was capable of creating the life of my dreams. In doing so, it would require faith, passion, and hard work! It takes extreme focus and determination to execute your goals. In the famous words of Steve Harvey, “You have to jump. The parachute of life will not open unless you jump!”

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Since I can remember, I have always had an entrepreneurial mindset, with the desire to start my own business. My passion has always been in fashion, beauty, and empowering others. I started serving others at a very young age, and I knew that it was my divine purpose in life. At the age of 17, I gave birth to my daughter. My daughter was born with only 44% of a brain which caused her to be medially fragile. I was so lost and I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to follow my dreams. I started to lose my since of hope, shortly after I gave birth to my son in 2012. I prayed to God for guidance and a since of direction and he answered my prayers. I decided in 2015, to step out on faith and start a non profit organization called Broken Hearts to Open Hearts Inc. My desire was to start a women empowerment organization, to empower and elevate every women in my community. Broken Hearts To Open Hearts Inc. has inspired and encouraged women in regards to improving their self-respect and self-empowerment! Although, I knew that helping women was my purpose and passion, I knew it didn’t stop there. In March of 2019, I started a new jewelry and accessories line called Lavish Looks Collection! The women in my organization encouraged me to start a jewelry company because they loved my lavish style. I felt that it would be an excellent way for me to express my unique style, while also making extra money. I was able to cultivate the lavish look while staying within the price range that I knew the women in my community could afford. My company offers great quality and high fashion style accessories for the entire family! What sets us apart from any other brand, is that Lavish Looks Collection allows our customers to express themselves through their very own eccentric style. Our jewelry and accessories enhances our customers appearance and boosts their confidence. Lavish Looks Collection sales increased significantly so we decided to add a jewelry line for girls, called Jayla’s Jewels. Jayla’s Jewels was established in June 2019 and was named after my beautiful daughter, Jayla Jefferson. My daughter Jayla is a 13 yrs old teenager with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy. Jayla is a fashionista with a ravishing style. Although, Jayla faces many adversities in her daily life; she still manages to capture the hearts of others with her gorgeous smile and adorable appearance. Not only was this line for girls created for fashion, but it was created to inspire others with disabilities to believe in themselves. I also desire to motivate other little girls all over the world to follow their dreams as well. We are most proud of our determination to keep pushing forward, despite the unforeseen coronavirus pandemic! We knew that jewelry wasn’t a necessity at the time; so, we wanted to offer something that we felt our customers could use during the pandemic. This led to the addition of an all- natural bath and body product line called Naturally Lavish. This new addition, allowed us to keep the business going! We felt that relaxation and peace was definitely essential, while being at home. We created handmade soaps, body butters, as well as gift baskets for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. It was a huge success and the business continued to prosper! Lavish Looks has improved tremendously in sales, but it hasn’t always been easy. We have experienced so many challenges which forced us to be consistent in the creation of new products, to be active on social media to provide relevant content, and forced us to practice self- discipline! I am working daily to reach my target goals, and be intentional with my audience! Some lessons I have learned, are to trust the process because nothing happens overnight and the only way to see results is by being consistent! Although many people want to be successful, they don’t want to struggle and that is apart of the process! It doesn’t matter how slow your business grows, just as long as you don’t stop! Broken Hearts To Open Hearts Inc. and Lavish Looks Collection will be successful businesses due to my determination. I am so proud of how far my businesses have come, and I look forward to what the future holds. I am constantly manifesting and praying for rapid growth and financial prosperity over my life and businesses.

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 would always recommend the city of Atlanta, to be a great place for visitors to check out! The city of Atlanta has so many wonderful options to choose from. I really haven’t seen truly what Atlanta has to offer, so I would look up places that I would like to visit while my friend was in town. That way we both will experience something new. I love to be spontaneous and try new things as well!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to first give a huge shout out to my God for creating me, blessing me, and keeping me and my family thus far. Thankful to God that he has directed my path and always moved mountains on my behalf. I would like to give thanks to my parents, Wesley Williams and Annette Williams for raising me to be a good woman with a good heart. Thank you for allowing me to be true to who I am. Special thanks to my mother, Annette Williams for always being my biggest supporter, and encouraging me to never give up on my dreams. She truly is my role model and has always set a wonderful example for me and my siblings. I would like to thank my family and friends for always supporting my visions and businesses. Your love and endless support has helped me make it thus far. I am so fortunate to have you in my life! Special thank you to Nylea Monet Productions for your beautiful photographs and support! I want to thank my two beautiful children for being my Why? Because of my children I have been willing to go to the end of the world to conquer all my possibilities. I would like to give a special shout out to my significant other, Mike (fatdawgbeatz) for always speaking life into me, holding me accountable, and uplifting me in my darkest times. Huge thank you to my loyal customers that support me, my dreams, and my businesses. Thank you Voyage Atlanta for this opportunity to be able to share my story with the world! God Bless!

Website: www.lavishlookscollectionstore.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lavishlookscollection2019
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lavishlookscollection
Other: www.facebook.com/Brokenheartstoopenhearts www.instagram.com/brokenhearts2openhearts lavishlookscollection@gmail.com brokenhearts2openhearts@gmail.com

Image Credits
Nylea Monet Productions