Today we’d like to introduce you to Monique Muhammad.
Monique, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a 48-year-old single parent of a 16-year-old daughter born and raised on the south side of Chicago by a single mother also. My dad left our life permanently when I was five years old and I have not seen or heard from him since. This actually was a good thing because when I was only three weeks old, my mom came home from work and school, he was watching me because he was a lead singer of a popular local band in Chicago at nights, but she found that he had been putting his cigarettes out on my body causing burns which led her to put him out and find a babysitter for me. This brought Mrs. Cook, her husband and four sons, all older than me into my life on a permanent basis. I lived with the Cook family during the week while my mom went to school and worked to pay Mrs. Cook and then later for my Catholic schooling. We were living in one of the most impoverished areas of Chicago which is why it was important to my mother that I received a Catholic School Education but to afford it meant she would work as many as three jobs at times. I basically stayed home alone when I was at my mom’s house and when at Mrs. Cooks house I learned to defend myself, work hard and never let anyone tell me what I couldn’t do from my brothers.
When I was nine, my mom was lead by a Pastor and Wife to take me from Mrs. Cook and put me in the kind of like a foster situation with a family in their church. I was very hurt by that and my mom knew it because I didn’t know why she felt the need to take me from Mrs. Cook but I later found out that she felt I valued Mrs. Cook more than her which was not true. My aunt who is my moms younger sister who lived in a Suburb of Flint Michigan found out that I was staying with strangers and offered my mom for me to come and live there for a while. When I got there, I was unfortunately molested by the person who my aunt had watching her two children, one boy the same age as me and one girl who was one year younger. I told about the improper touching immediately and he no longer watched us but my cousins did not verify what I said until 20 years later. I stayed there having a better life than I ever had with material things for over three years.
I moved back to Chicago with my mom at age 13. This put me back in a more impoverished surrounding living for over four years with not Gas and weeks with no electricity as my mom worked to ensure I could maintain a Catholic school education because for her if she ensured this she was also ensuring myself and her future grandchildren would not have this same life. I remained in the Catholic schools until my Junior year when I got kicked out for behavior because, of course, I couldn’t be only an honor student who wasn’t also tough as that’s what was needed living and growing up in my neighborhood. I was then transferred to a suburban school that I say saved my life because even though I was always on two sports, singing in the choir and in other clubs, living in the inner city also made me be attracted to the street life.
Being at the suburban school, I was able to be who my mother was raising me to be but being low income, I began what was my first business at age 13 when my mom’s boyfriend who owned an ice cream distributing truck allowed me to work on it in the summers and I then would take a couple of boxes from the truck and sell them out of my house for lower than the ice cream truck to earn money, I also would cut grass, shovel snow and take orders from the bowlers at my uncle’s bowling alley to earn money to do the things that I knew my mother couldn’t afford to pay for. This working and always asking for it coined me the nickname “Money” and what is funny is it even suits me to this day. I graduated from high school with a partial Track scholarship to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale I ran track as well as worked in the cafeteria school dorm. My mom was in finance so she taught me at age 16 how to do simple taxes and my love for math led me to start a Financial aid preparation service in college because after doing my own, I was in a better financial situation. Moving forward, I also began doing the simple tax returns of my friends who worked while in school and after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree.
Once I returned home, I began going to school again for Cosmetology & Lawyer Assistant program I completed both as I always had a love for hair but my mom said college must go first. I completed both by 1998 but in that time figured out that I now loved working with children because I could not find a job and I began to substitute teaching which led me to go to school for teacher certification, I began working at the high school, I graduated from as an ISS supervisor and substitute for Algebra as well as became Assistant coach for Varsity girls basketball and track of which we were State Champions and History Making teams. I began there in 1993 and while working there, I also did hair in a salon in the evenings and started up my Tax Preparation business from home. I stayed at the school Thornwood High School until 2000 when I decided to resign and work to grow my Tax Preparation Business and become a fulltime cosmetologist.
In 1998, my love for working with and helping teenage girls led me to become a Foster parent of two girls, ages 9 & 11 while foster parenting and working to grow my businesses I had my first biological child in January 2002 of whom I soon became a single parent and one year after she was born, I was diagnosed with Stage IIB Breast Cancer in June 2003 and my mom was diagnosed one week later with Colon Cancer. Being a full-time entrepreneur and single parent, I had to work while taking Chemotherapy and Radiation for over nine months straight and also working to be there for my mom as she was still single and on her own as well. This time defined who I was, why I had gone through so much in my childhood and for me, it was because I was being prepared for one of the biggest fights and test of the strength of my life which was this time. We both fought and through the grace of God we were both told that our Cancers were in remission in May of 2004. I opened my own salon and Tax office in 2005 and for me, nothing was ever going to stop me from accomplishing anything I set my mind to.
After being told our Cancer was in remission, I began throwing a event titled “Celebration of Life” Cancer Awareness Event which began in May 2004 and led me to form what is now a Non Profit Organization Code Pink Productions Inc. to help with other Cancer patients and survivors as well as mentoring the youth and helping the community. I felt so blessed to survive that I wanted to help others doing all the things that I love through this organization. I worked and maintained all businesses in Chicago until the economy crashed in 2008 and I was forced to sell and let go of everything that I had there except for the tax business and that is when I relocated to the DFW area in Irving Texas with my then six-year-old daughter. I worked for a salon and worked to rebuild after losing just about everything, my mom soon followed 11 months later and was immediately re-diagnosed with Colon Cancer that had then spread to her brain in July 2009 and I was forced to make the decision of walking away from the job I had only been at for one year in a city I have only been in for one year and step out and open my own Salon suite, so I could be there for my mom when needed with doctors visits and everything else because we only knew two people when we moved here which were my two cousins who really were not as much of a help as the friends and co-workers I was blessed to meet in that year.
Due to complications from the Cancer my mom passed just three months later on October 12, 2009 she made me promise that I would complete the work I had started on my Masters in Accounting if anything happened to her and I did just that just one year later and began working to grow both businesses from that point forward. I later met some great people who helped me with getting Code Pink Productions, Inc certified as a Federal 501(c)(3) in 2011 and since then, I have managed to complete several community programs, start a girls mentoring program and AAU Basketball team as well as just celebrated the 15th Annual Celebration of Life Cancer Awareness Event. I know this is a lot and I probably left out some because I have had a very interesting yet inspiring life and to this day which is my 10th year here in the DFW and I have been able to take care of myself and my daughter as a business owner of two for profit businesses, so I must say I am blessed, I currently also began my 3rd businesses which is a Virtual Solutions Company that provides Work from Home opportunities for call center agents.
I have been brought up by three business owners my Mom who always maintained her own home-based business as a financial advisor, bookkeeper and tax preparer, my Uncle who owned two bowling alleys and co-founder of the 1st Black-owned Bank in Chicago, and my God-Father who owned his own Ice Cream Distributing Truck. Watching them since I was young for me showed me that it is possible to survive and make a good life as a business owner so much so that I now provide coaching to others who are considering starting their own business as well as became a Certified Life Coach in September of 2018. I currently hold a Masters Degree in Accounting, Bachelors in Paralegal Studies, Teacher Certification in Social Studies, Graduate Certification in Marketing, Cosmetology License and now Certified Life Coach Certificate.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Telling about myself detailed most of my struggles, so I am sure you probably don’t need more information here but I have unfortunately experienced growing up impoverished with a single parent, living in foster situation getting molested as a child, being diagnosed with cancer along with my mom, being a single parent myself and losing everything being made to start all over in a new city and then losing my mom.
Jene’s Professional & Tax Services Inc, Code Pink Productions, Inc. & JPTS Virtual Solutions Inc. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Jene’s Professional & Tax Services Inc: Bookkeeping, Accounting, Payroll, Business Coaching, Cosmetology Services, Motivational Speaking, Financial Services, Expense Reduction Programs, Life Coaching specializing in Personal, business, Financial & Spirituality lastly Tax Preparation Services nationwide.
Code Pink Productions, Inc.: Non-Profit Organization providing support and programs that benefit the underserved of the community, Youth, Low-Income families, and entertainment promotion/production. Focusing on Medical support, small business and Youth Mentoring.
JPTS Virtual Solutions, Inc: Work from Home Call Center Company staffing contractors to work with some of the countries largest companies.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I personally define success as being internally happy and at peace. I believe that if you are happy within yourself you will have the strength to pursue whatever goals you have for yourself and for me that comes from helping others through the knowledge and skill set that I have. I feel the most successful when I am spiritually at peace which I know giving and doing what I love and am passionate about will lead to financial long-lasting wealth and comfort. My criteria is self-love, desire to help others and hard working. I look out for people who look to use me because they see my huge heart and desire to help others through my gifts. I don’t look for others to define me based on their standards, I have always marched to the beat of my own drum and just working daily to be pleasing in the eye of God because I know if I do that, I will be blessed which also means success.
Pricing:
- Tax Preparation begins at $275 (Individual & Small Business Services)
- 90 Day Expense Reduction Program $225
- Consulting and Coaching Services starting at $50 and hour
- Motivational Speaking starting at $75 hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jptsinc.com
- Phone: 833-578-7462
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @jptstaxpros
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/JenesProfessional
- Twitter: @jptstaxpros
Image Credit:
Code Pink Lady Warriors Girls Basketball Team, Code Pink Girls Mentoring Program for Code Pink Productions, Inc.
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