July is National Black Family Month. Black Family Month encourages individuals and communities to come together in support and solidarity, promoting unity and empowerment within Black families. I have the story of an amazing woman doing the work to keep families and marriages together and happy.
Bonika Wilson is a renowned advocate for change and diversity with over 26 years of experience in guiding businesses through complex organizational challenges. Now, Wilson is leveraging successful business practices to guide high-power couples in the application of these strategies to maximize results in their relationships and marriages. With a firm belief in the power of strategic planning, she brings her unique perspective from the corporate world to marital relationships.
What was the inspiration behind your brand?
Bonika: My brand is about leaving a legacy, making an impact, and enhancing communities by sharing a blueprint of creating and obtaining healthy families that can be shared and reproduced to change the trajectory/direction of our culture and our country.
Why are healthy marriages so important?
Bonika: Healthy marriages are the foundation for healthy families, healthy lives, whole children, strong finances, and safer more inclusive communities. Solving most problems, we are faced with mental health, mass shootings, drug abuse, suicide, crime, economics, education, and more start with healthy individuals leaving healthy homes. Currently, we are dealing with broken people leaving broken homes and until we solve for whole people entering our communities, we will never be able to really tackle all the other items. But broken parents often create broken children and broken people create broken communities. Healing families will ultimately heal communities.
What makes your approach to helping marriages unique?
Bonika: My solutions-oriented approach, combined with a true passion for inclusive communities, and healthy families. I have developed a one-of-a-kind blueprint for couples to tackle day-to-day challenges, plan for them strategically, build a legacy, and leave a dynasty.
Do you believe in work-life balance? If so how do you maintain it?
Bonika: I believe in prioritizing what is important. There is no true balance, however, I make my family the priority and most often if there is a conflict, then family wins. Last, when your work is your passion and it is in alignment with your family’s overall mission, then you have a collaborative effort for accomplishing the mission and oftentimes the family is on board with the times when work must be the priority.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Bonika: Follow your passion and align your businesses with your gifts, talents, and knowledge. And of course, develop a strategy (business plan) for accomplishing your vision. Last, align yourself with knowledgeable mentors and an amazing team who believes in your mission.
In addition to it being Black Family Month, it’s also Minority Mental Health Month. Why is the conversation surrounding mental health so important especially in minority communities?
Bonika: Access to Mental Health in the minority community is ultimately about life or death. For years, the minority community has been plagued with a stigma around mental health. This stigma has precluded many from receiving the help that they need and because of that minority communities continue to be disproportionately impacted by drug abuse, crime, and death. Many of us don’t have familial support and encouragement and others don’t have the resources (money, health care insurance, and transportation). The Mental Health discussion is critical because depression and death by suicide have increased tremendously because of people feeling isolated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our community has also been impacted by severe trauma from racial and social injustice and this also causes increased anxiety, stress, fear, and hopelessness.
Stay connected with Bonika online-
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebusinesswithb?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Website: https://www.bonikawilson.com/
Photo Credits: Photo Provided
This was a very enlightening perspective I believe more conversation is needed to empower black families to aspire toward greater so we can build our families with legacy in mind. Well done Bonika. Thank you for leading the way!
Thank you Chantal! The work you are doing around legacy building is apart of the solution! Your support has been and inspiration are a true blessing!