00:00As a way to celebrate entrepreneurial prowess, Essence and Pinesol have partnered for the second year to release the Build Your Legacy contest, a $100,000 grant awarded to one black female entrepreneur to support her business, as well as six months of business coaching with Nicole Walters.
00:17The entries are in, and now it's time to introduce you to our finalists. Meet Kia Shine of Your Way Cleaning Service.
00:24My name is Kia Hope Shine, and I'm the owner and founder of Your Way Cleaning Service, LLC, established in 2018.
00:31Our mission is to provide eco-friendly products, as well as an educational, individualized cleaning experience for our consumer needs.
00:42One of our major goals is to provide employment to the homeless, as well as those suffering from disabilities, and to provide employment to the people within our community.
00:52One of the things that inspired me to start my own business is the fact that I come from a long, long lineage of housekeepers, janitors, superintendents, and watching my family work so hard, I really wanted us to establish something.
01:07And I realized, for me, in order to actually create a legacy, you have to be the owner.
01:13I'm in an environment where I see a lot of homeless people, and even though they like to say that it's an equal employer opportunity, these people are turned away.
01:23And I just wanted to be able to be in a position to give those people and those individuals a chance and an opportunity.
01:29This legacy award is going to help me provide not only employment to people who need it, but also provide equipment.
01:37I cannot expand the business if I don't have the appropriate funding for marketing and advertising.
01:42What I'm looking to learn from the Nicole Walters is learning how to run a successful business.
01:49So I'm looking to have mentorship and say, this is what you're doing correctly, this is what you're doing incorrectly, because I'm here to learn.
01:56Legacy is about creating an impact, creating a vision that no one could foresee.
02:01During the current pandemic is when I really knew that my services were needed because COVID hit everybody by a storm and people needed to have things sanitized and disinfected to make sure that even though I cannot eliminate COVID due to the pandemic,
02:20but at least I can do is provide safety and security to let people know that when you come into your work facility or if you come into your residential space, this is clean and this is sanitized.
02:32Pine Soul and Essence Collaboration and just having the black woman have a voice and have a platform to introduce their business helps me realize that we're being heard.
02:44When I first heard the news, I couldn't believe it.
02:46I just didn't think that in a million years, excuse me, that I would have reached this far in life.
02:51Where I come from, this is every little girl dream, you know?
02:56So for me, this is like we made it.
03:01To see me on this kind of platform, it shows little girls around me, boys, little boys around me to say like, oh my God, Kia came from my hood and she made it.
03:15Like she's doing it.
03:16And that's why I'm here to let people know they can do it.
03:19Because if Kia Hope Shawn could do it, anybody can.
03:22It's so true.
03:23Make sure to vote for Your Way Cleaner Service LLC.
03:26You've heard from Kia Shine.
03:28Now it's time that we hear from you.
03:30Please vote for the entrepreneur that you think should win $100,000 at essence.com slash your legacy.
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