“You have a little red on your teeth and you need to get it off like this”, she gestured with an index finger.
“You, know, we girls, we got to look out for one another,” she smiled candidly.
That’s actually how the conversation started, right in the middle of the afternoon, at the Dunkin Donuts on Freedom Drive (Charlotte, NC).
I licked the remnants of ruby-red lipstick from my teeth, and thanked her; relieved and embarrassed at the same time because I showed up at our interview looking like I was dipping red snuff.
Katrina Walker, self-made millionaire, reminded me of the auntie that gave you a head-to-toe spot check, to make sure wild hairs were smoothed in the right places, and ashy spots were covered in lotion—Lord, your clothes better be wrinkled-free before you walked out in public, because she was the one who let you know otherwise.
That special aunt gave advice, even when you didn’t ask for it because she understands that life is all the more sweeter when you gain wisdom from someone that’s been through it all, and lived to talk about it.
Since we're in mid discussion about living to tell a story, the Memphis (TN) native recently published her first non-fiction manuscript entitled
“UnBreakable”.
The book hit Amazon and Barnes & Noble January 1, 2017.
“Unbreakable" is exactly what it is. Nothing broke me,” she explained.
“It’s about my life, you know? Even when I was a little girl, I always wanted to know why I couldn’t have certain things. I always asked, “Why did we have RC soda and not Coca Cola? Why do we have hot dogs and no hotdog buns? Why can’t we have the real Frosted Flakes instead of the cereal in the black and white box?”
Although defiantly curious, Walker expounded on life from a child’s gaze, but with a raring –to- go spirit. She didn’t want to accept the lesser of things.
Walker disregarded anything and anyone who denied her of what she felt was rightfully hers.
“At nine-years-old, I was working and ironing sheets.
I got married at a young age… I thought I was gonna have a “Leave It to Beaver,” husband and children… It didn’t end up that way, like the television,” she resounded.
Walker said that she wasn’t ready for an abusive relationship or a promiscuous partner that stayed out all night long.
She had to leave, to get out from under him, and so she took her kids and fled.
“Enough was enough—in my mind , I didn’t want anyone else raising my children. Back then, women gave out bad advice. They would tell me, ‘You don’t want to leave your good husband or another woman is going to get him.’ I’d feel compelled to say, he’s cheating. Someone already has him.”
Rebuilding a new life took time—Walker humbled herself by driving back and forth in a bread truck to her newest job daily.
“Finally, I landed a job through the temporary services at the Federal Express,” she said proudly.
Walker confessed that women spoke poorly of her, about the way she dressed, and the type of shoes she wore.
Although those snide remarks ticked her off, it added fuel to the fire, and Katrina Walker built a multi-million dollar conglomerate.
“When I got that job, Fred Smith, the manager would come out there and talk to us. I took advantage of that moment and soaked up all the information that he was willing to give.”
Walker decided to open her own daycare by putting five-thousand dollars down as collateral. The money grew and so did the demand for her (24hr) childcare services (Rainbow Kidz Learning Facility).
In addition to the successful child care center, the whimsical author and entrepreneur, owns a lucrative amount of real estate in addition to a non-profit organization for struggling young men and women called, “Blind Eye (BE).”
Limitless in her journey, Katrina Walker continues to mentor and aide others that were like her, fighting for their second and third chance in a world where opportunities aren’t given, they’re taken.
Speaking of seizing a moment and making solid connections, Katrina Walker is in Charlotte, NC this week for an all-woman’s brunch that she’s hosting alongside Love & Hip Hop star, Yandy Smith.
She’d love for people to come out, talk, eat and network.
As she mentioned above, her book, "Unbreakable" is available for purchase on Amazon in addition to: