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

Hi Sydney, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Starting the RSK Factor, pronounced risk factor, was all about believing that you are always worth taking a chance on. As a naturally creative person, I wasn’t sure what form my business would take when I first started. I just knew that Spirit had anointed me to be a healer and to show up for those who needed me.

After spending almost a decade working in nonprofits and completing several herbalism training, I began The RSK Factor, doing consulting for nonprofits, arts-based rehab, and holistic herbal interventions for clients dealing with stress, health challenges, and prenatal/postpartum care. As I grew my skill set, network, and desire for greater impact, I took a risk and added our product line, The Restorative Station of Kindness. I also stopped offering client-specific interventions and shifted toward providing herbal education through social media.

Another big leap was stepping away from non-profit consulting as the main source of income for the RSK Factor. I began working with small businesses and entrepreneurs in commercial real estate, and added massage therapy services so I could better connect with my clients.

These transitions were necessary. They allowed me to move beyond the limited growth I was experiencing in nonprofit work and step into a new spaces where I could grow alongside small business owners ready for real estate investment. These changes also allowed me to deepen long-term customer relationships through a blend of massage therapy and our Herbal Self-Care Product Line, The Restorative Station of Kindness.

Often, what we know the most, like nonprofit consulting, is the hardest thing to release. While I still offer art for sale, I scaled back curated collage and gallery events in favor of pop-up shops that included our art work, chair massage, and herbal wellness products. Taking risks didn’t just help me expand my reach; it made the potential for The RSK Factors growth infinite.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’ve had anything but a straightforward path. The blessings that Spirit intended for me required a journey through spaces where I could help the most. After the being active in the Memphis, community and during my undergraduate studies in Africana and African American Studies, I began organizing around the intersections of intercommunal care, reproductive health, and sustainable community development. My foundation was deeply rooted in the legacy of activists like Fannie Lou Hamer, who famously said, “Nobody’s free until everybody is free.”
This path through nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and resource diversification gave me invaluable tools and skills to fight for what I believed in, navigate financial barriers with confidence, and sculpt personalized solutions even in challenging circumstances. While it brought a level of comfort, status, and stability, I often felt like I was only showing up with a fraction of my gifts. I wasn’t just interested in helping people survive. I wanted to help them heal, achieve financial stability, and cultivate legacies.
I tried to leave the nonprofit sector three different times and moved my business through many directions. I had to draw hard boundaries so I could nurture the skills I knew I’d need for the future I was building. I enrolled in trade school for Real Estate and Massage Therapy, and earned three certifications in herbalism, totaling over 700 hours of education. Eventually, I realized I wasn’t fighting to move up, I was fighting to move out. And that clarity changed everything.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is persistence. You have to analyze the life choices that either propel or hinder your growth. No matter how strong your community or support system is, you’re ultimately responsible for bringing your vision to life. That means consistently nurturing it, especially in seasons of uncertainty.
My business began with nonprofit consulting and community event curation because those spaces were familiar. But I pushed myself to evolve. I used my education and experience to shift toward a model that’s focused on deep, personal relationships and helping individuals heal their minds and bodies through massage, herbalism, and financial empowerment with commercial real estate.
What I want people to know about me and my brand is this: faith and flexibility are at the heart of everything I do. I trust that even though the path may not be linear, it is righteous. I move with the courage to pursue my dreams fearlessly. My work in herbalism, massage therapy, and commercial real estate is rooted in the belief that each of us holds the power to transform our lives. I hope that it carries on to helps others see and reclaim that power within themselves.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting Atlanta for the week, we’d kick things off on the Southside, no question. First stop would be the ArtsXChange for volunteer gardening day. It’s such a peaceful way to start the morning, and it gives you a real feel for the heart of the community. After we get our hands in the soil, we’d slide over to Gochas on Cascade for a good southern breakfast, like shrimp and grits, biscuits, and maybe a mimosa if we’re feeling fancy. Since we’re nearby, we’d head to the Porsche Experience Center in Hapeville to take a little tour and maybe do a couple laps just to say we did. Then we’d check out Academy Theatre for some intimate local theater and storytelling.

We’d venture into the West End for a stop at Wadada those for Jamaican patties and smoothies. We would keep the good eats going with a plate from Rodney Scott’s BBQ. To walk it all off, we’d hop on the BeltLine, maybe grab a scoop from Jennie’s Ice Cream, and people-watch as the sun starts to dip. At night, we’d head to Kat’s Café or Apache XLR for open mic vibes live music, poetry, and soul all wrapped in one.
Toward the end of the week, we’d slow it down with a spa-like reset. I’d give them a massage and fix some tea from my herbal collection (healing hands and all). Then we’d hit a local Waffle Housr for a staple in Atlanta It’d be a mix of soul, scenery, and southern comfort exactly how Atlanta should be experienced.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The Black Matriarchy is at the root of my success. It has carried me, held me, and nurtured every risk I’ve dared to take not just with The RSK Factor, but in my life overall. My granny, grandmother, mother, sister, mentors, and friends have formed a web of unwavering support. Through their prayers, financial investment, and networks, they’ve created the foundation that continues to uplift me, my work, and the impact The RSK Factor is meant to have on our community.

There are specific names I must say out loud, like my grandmother Harriet, who encouraged me to go back to community college for massage therapy after I’d already earned my bachelor’s degree. Or my sister Crystal Kesler, who was the very first investor in The Restorative Station of Kindness product line. My mother, father, and brother served as advisors. For me, the Black Matriarch is more than a person, it’s the spirit of kinship, legacy, and unshakable faith.

While our services and products are made for everyone, the knowledge within our herbalism, the strategy in our real estate work, and the tenderness in our massage therapy are all rooted in the reverence and wisdom passed down by Black women. They paved the way so that Black girls like me could bloom with confidence and purpose.

So this shoutout is to us, to our lineage. To my mother and her mother, to my sister and my brothers, to all who’ve come from or been cared for by a Black woman. Truthfully, there are few in this world who haven’t been touched by us in some way. It’s my hope that The RSK Factor continues to be a place where folks feel as safe, seen, and cared for in their health, investments, and healing as they would in the arms of a Black Matriarch.

Website: http://rskfactor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rsk_factor?igsh=MXZiMzJtY3Fwb2k5YQ==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-kesler?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rskfactor

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/rskthepoet/?

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@rskfactor?si=YSQw50FiPMgiGrS9

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