Meet Rukiya Robinson of e2s Coaching

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rukiya Robinson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Rukiya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Entrepreneurship began when I was a child. In my pre-teen years, I made string bracelets and boondoggle keychains and would sell them. I was fascinated with creating and loved the multitude of color options that I could create. Then when tie-dyed t-shirts were a thing, my parents would give me money and I would purchase various colors of fabric dye, white t-shirts, and rubber bands and would create different color patterns of tie-dyed t-shirts on our front porch. I took orders from kids my age and they would come by and pick them up. I also always participated in some sort of fundraiser for the school, organizations, and extracurricular activities I participated in, selling products, girl scout cookies, collected money and delivered the products. That was the seed to entrepreneurship. I’ve always been a dreamer, fascinated with how people achieved success but not fascinated enough to focus on school. I got bored really easy as I was a visual and kinesthetic learner. I played the piano but couldn’t read music. I learned to play by ear. I couldn’t play basketball or run track but could swim like a fish and do gymnastics.

I was fascinated with creative things and writing.

Being raised in Arkansas, there weren’t creative schools available to us. I attended a parochial school up to the 9th grade and entered a public school for the first time in life in the 10th grade. It was a culture shock for me and life shifted from the innocent, curious young girl to responding to the attention of guy in my 10th grade year.

Being a bit sheltered, I was naive to a lot. When I should have been focused on school and working on a path to college, my attention shifted to the attention I was receiving. I got pregnant my Senior year of high school and had my first child a month after high school graduation in 1992. I had my second child in 1994, and third child in 1996.

By age 22, I had 3 children. I was lost, sad, depressed and believed life was over. I didn’t attend college like my peers, I didn’t have any skills and by that time, I was burned out of working two jobs. My outlook on life was grim and I believed that no one would ever want me with 3 kids and that was the lie I told myself repeatedly.

I was often downcast and didn’t have many friends as most were off to college and the few friends I did have weren’t in school or had children as well. Not sure of the direction I should take in life, I had a heart to heart discussion with my dad. With the obvious challenges being a young mother with 3 kids would bring, I recall him saying: “You can do anything on this earth you put your mind to. I know it’s going to be hard, and it may take you a little longer, but don’t you ever give up. Me and your Mom will help you.”

When my dad told me that. I believed him and that was a seed that took root.

I knew I needed a change and need to get an education to have any chance at a successful life. I moved to Dallas the second time at age 23 with the intentions of going to school. I enrolled into a college in Dallas. I left my kids in Arkansas in the care of my parents and their dad but after a few months of attending school, my daughters father began giving me a hard time about custody of the kids. The judge began questioning if I could take care of them. I had to demonstrate I could care for them so that I wouldn’t lose custody of them. That caused me to have to come out of school, secure employment and housing for 3 young children.

Here the struggle begins.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Entrepreneurship was never a thought again. I just wanted to live and be able to take care of my kids without being on assistance.

Being a young parent, every life event was new for me thus, I didn’t always know the solution. I was born and raised with both biological parents with education yet my life was the opposite. I didn’t really live out the teenage years because I was so distracted by teenage love and in my early twenties, I drifted through life trying to figure it all out. I never lived in an apartment in my life until I moved to Dallas. I never knew the process, never had to pay rent every month, never had to budget money, never had to secure daycare, never had to pay a list of bills every month let alone feed 3 small children. My first corporate job at age 23 was as a customer service representative.

I quickly slipped into a depression. Everything seemed to be a struggle. Never having enough money. Having to teach my kids to be latch key kids. Having to be late for work, teach the kids to catch the bus, teach them to watch out for each other, what to eat when I wasn’t home so that they wouldn’t have to cook, not open the door to anyone that may knock on the door and to act quiet if a knock ever came to the door. My kid’s wellbeing meant a lot and I was learning to be a mom as time went on and praying for their safety daily.

I dealt with depression, then alcohol abuse. I abused alcohol for years so much that it affected how I functioned. Thankfully because of Gods’ grace, I was saved from several deadly situations.

After floundering around through life, in and out of school not being able to gain traction as a student because I would have to drop out to be a mom.

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur but with my life, there’s was no way I could. But in 2009 the opportunity presented itself. Frankly, it happened by force. I was laid off from a great company back in 2009 working in the Human Resources department. At that time, the economy wasn’t doing well, companies froze their recruiting efforts, and companies just weren’t hiring. After sending out tons of resumes and not ONE company returning a call, I contemplated what could be done to transfer my corporate skills into entrepreneurship because the income reduced and unemployment wasn’t enough to cover expenses.

I researched business ideas with low startup costs and finally settled for a luxury concierge service. I thought this was a great idea! The business could run errands for business owners and families, pick up dry cleaning, coordinate events, and provide a myriad of lifestyle services that could be offered to make life easier for families and business owners. Yes! This is it! This is a great idea! Right?

I worked this business for about 5 years. I created a website, got business cards, got the DBA, a company phone number and was in business! YEAH!
​
As time progressed, things didn’t go as planned. There was not enough that would sustain me, my family or the business. I worked hard and met many people yet no business. What was going on?

Long story short, this great business idea (so I thought) was not a viable business opportunity. I didn’t know anything about running a business and trial and error was taking too long. I didn’t know my market and didn’t know what the market wanted or needed. I took any business that came her way and was all over the place. I scanned the business environment seeing many successful companies and small business owners and would ask myself time and time again “how in the heck do I make this work?”

Simultaneously meeting more and more business owners and in conversing with them learning their needs & their pain points in their business. And guess what? They didn’t need a luxury concierge service at all.
​
I took contract positions here and there to supplement income. But when my youngest child started his junior year in high school, I realized my kids weren’t as reliant on my as they once were. That was my opportunity to go back to school and after going around and around trying to run a business, finally decided to stop the insanity and go back to school.

That brings me to 2014.
​
After researching degree programs, I was a bit frustrated because all of the programs weren’t interesting to me. I already worked in corporate America and quite frankly, I felt a greater calling on my life.

I found an entrepreneurship business program and couldn’t believe it! I prayed and asked God if this was for me to make a way for me to get into the program. Days after submitting an inquiry to the advising office, they contacted me saying that I qualified for discounted tuition because I had obtained my Associates degree at a DCCCD college.

Answered prayer! After enrolling in the business program, everything I inquired about while operating my first business was being answered through curriculum, being mentored & guided by successful business owners, conducting and reviewing tons of case studies, studying & analyzing business models and working as a consultant. That’s when the AH-HA moment happened! All of the many mistakes that were made years ago were made because of incompetence! I realized she was incompetent in entrepreneurship/business ownership and just didn’t know what to do!! Thus, engaging in the wrong activities preventing business success.
​
That’s when revelation happened: The reason why so many business owners fail is because many are not Equipped 2 Succeed!
​
I started writing coaching programs in 2014 and today, I have 2 businesses and a few more to be launched in the near future! That’s just a few of many stories that could be shared.

Some of my greatest struggles in life were learning how to be a mom, working through depression and alcoholism and certainly struggles in business.

Thankfully, God took care of us.

I refused antidepressants that were prescribed to me because I was afraid of taking pills (even though I ironically abused alcohol).

God delivered me from an abusive relationship, depression AND alcoholism. I’ve been sober since 2012.

I’ve experience great challenges and losses included being homeless in 2015 as a result contract job assignment ended. Once again after actively seeking employment, not having income resulted in the inability to pay bills that resulted in being evicted and ultimately homeless. The domino effect that changed my life and my thinking forever.

This was one of the greatest tests of faith. Ever. During this season of my life, I also made the decision to NEVER rely on one source of income ever again. The disruption of once source spiraled me into homelessness and money or lack thereof should not have that kind of power to disrupt someone’s entire life. Thankfully my kids were in college at the time so I walked this homeless journey of faith. This experience also contributed to my desire to succeed in entrepreneurship.

I graduated with a BS in Business with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management in Spring of 2015.

Yayyyy. I did it.

Please tell us about e2s Coaching.
I created e2s Coaching as a result of my many years of struggles in entrepreneurship and having an “ah-ha” moment mentioned. Many entrepreneurs fail because they aren’t equipped to succeed in business.

e2s Coaching is a coaching business that is part of the “e2s” Brand and a division of e2s Strategies (my consulting firm that serves corporate clients).

e2s Coaching provides coaching programs through online mastermind’s programs, retreats, and one on one coaching. Additionally, providing tools and resources to aid to the success of a viable business opportunity.

I am the Founder of e2s Coaching and most known as being a Faithpreneur, a Vision Igniter, a Survivor, an Inspiration, Influential, and a Transformational Business Coach.

e2s Coaching provides transformative Coaching for aspiring entrepreneurs needing clarity on how to execute the vision into a business and/or where to start in launching a business. e2s Coaching is also for existing entrepreneurs with businesses that aren’t growing. Our transformational coaching is results & outcome driven and provide strategies and concepts that can be immediately implemented into the business intended to change the trajectory of business success in the desired direction.

Focus areas include Mindset Reset, Vision, Purpose, Accountability, Business Strategy, Business Models, Business Planning (not the business plan document), creating Customer Experience & Growth Strategy.

Our motto is: “Don’t just start a business, stay in business with a coach that EQUIPS YOU to SUCCEED in business.”

We are NOT exclusively for online businesses.

We are NOT marketing coaches, we seek to clarify and validate the business concept prior to marketing the business.

We are NOT cookie cutter or provide blanket solutions.

The Mission:

To equip women to run profitable, sustainable, and scalable businesses through comprehensive coaching programs. e2s Coaching isn’t for everyone & not for every business idea and because of that, this program isn’t for everyone. e2s Coaching not only wants to prepare our clients for success but we want to partner with them throughout the journey so it has to be a fit for the client and our company.
​
Our goal is to Equip you to Succeed and give you the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to not only execute your business idea, but also to maintain, grow and sustain a business. We even encourage multiple business ownership.

This program is NOT for everyone & it is NOT for every business idea. This is NOT a get rich quick program (because there’s no such thing). This is NOT a “we guarantee an increase in high paying clients, profits, blah blah blah if you do these 5 things” program.
​
We are focused and the coaching program is focused and tailored to the business concept, which enables us to be successful. Just like a football coach isn’t coaching a swim team and likewise, all coaching programs aren’t a fit for all businesses.

We LOVE to work with women business owners, have cultivated many relationships in the business community and have had the pleasure to work with many businesses including aspiring entrepreneurs that are now walking into and living out their vision.

That is one of our greatest satisfactions and such a great thing to witness.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Whew. This is a thought provoking question for sure. Hummmm. Well, I certainly would not be the woman, mother, daughter, sister, friend, prayer warrior, overcomer, woman of faith, business woman, and visionary that I am today without my life experiences. That’s for sure. 🙂

I certainly experienced challenges in my life but thankfully, I have been surrounded by mercy, grace, a loving and supportive family, awesome kids who are now in college and not one following in the path I took in life, I have wonderful friends, peers, mentors, and colleagues and I don’t have any complaints. I am very thankful for those that stuck around especially during the season when it seemed like life was a living hell for a few years.

My greatest lesson learned is despite how dismal and destitute a situation looks, feels, or appears, we must hold on to faith and hope and trust God that it HAS to get better. We can NEVER give up despite the magnitude of the fight, trial, tribulation or challenge.

God says “All things work together for the good of those that love Him.”

All storms pass and the sun shines in the end. All of the water from the storm. waters the seeds of strength, endurance and greatness preparing you for a greater calling of serving those that need to hear and learn from your story to strengthen and empower them on their journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.e2scoaching.com
• Phone: 214-308-1305
• Email: coachme@e2scoaching.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiyarose74/
• Facebook: facebook.com/e2scoaching.com

Image Credit:
Rukiya Robinson

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.