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

Hi Tia, what do you attribute your success to?
I love this question! The most important factor behind my success is deciding to move through fear and not give up. Everything I have accomplished up to this point has been the direct result of deciding not to quit and moving through fear. That’s it! And that’s major for me. Something I struggle with to this day. So many roadblocks and disappointments as you move through life make it easy for anyone to quit and walk away. It’s been one of the hardest things to stay put and see things through. Every day, I continue moving forward despite the challenges I am faced with, and I’m so proud of myself for that.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m a non-profit leader and a realtor in Maryland, soon-to-be licensed in DC.

I am the founder and Executive Director of Fresh Start Project (FSP). FSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that builds meaningful construction career opportunities for discouraged workers in Washington D.C and the surrounding area through quality job training, industry mentorship, and wrap-around community support. I’m super proud of our work where we connect individuals with careers they love. This work is personal in that we walk hand in hand with those we serve daily. We find out the barriers to employment and use that as our starting point to provide essential support and services that lead to sustained employment over the long haul. We’re putting people in positions to connect with great careers, and I love that for them & us!

Some of what I’ve learned along the way in my non-profit work is that it’s challenging and ever-changing. With the best intentions, our goals aren’t always met. Things don’t go as planned. Your clients aren’t always ready for change. You run into roadblocks with providing the most effective resource, and you can burn out easily if you don’t properly care for yourself.

With all that said, though, I’ve found ways to press forward. It’s not always been a priority to care for myself first, but I’m making it THE priority these days. I can only be as helpful, supportive, loving, and caring in my non-profit work, as I am all those things to myself. That has been a struggle for me, but understanding its importance in my personal and professional life has been a game changer.

As a real estate agent, I’m excited about this new career path. This is another opportunity to serve my community in a huge way that allows them to learn an industry that can set them up for long-term success in multiple ways. If you want to buy, sell or invest in Maryland, look me up. (insert wink emoji here)

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 mom has inspired me to go after my dreams, but not for reasons some would think. Growing up, she always said, “I want you to be better than me.” I never understood what she meant by that. The statement felt extremely self-deprecating and didn’t reflect how I indeed viewed my mom. She’s my hero, the most significant person in my life. But I realize today that she wasn’t perfect and had to contend with life’s trials like anyone else. My mom deserves all the credit for where I am today. Her success and failures are the roadmaps to how I intentionally move through life today. It’s more about what she didn’t teach than what she did. I intend to use what I didn’t receive to create the life I want to live. I think that’s what she may have meant when she said, “I want you to be better than me”.

Website: www.freshstartprojectdc.org

Instagram: misstia82

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-watkins-mba-realtor%C2%AE-8ba4b56b/

Other: Instagram for my real estate business: tiawatkinsrealestate

Image Credits
Higher Level Photography (this is for the picture of me with the headpiece and black gown with the wine glass)

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