Dozie Oheri is the CEO/Founder of Choose to DO, Inc. from Houston, TX. Choose to DO, Inc. was created to build healthier relationships between nonprofits and the communities they serve to positively impact youth.
Give us a peek into your background? How did it start and where are you now?
I started my entrepreneurship journey when I was about fifteen years old. My mother owned a beauty supply store with a hair salon in the back. She “told me” lol that I needed to learn how to braid hair. Of course, I did not want to but eventually I learned how and stuck with it until I graduated college. It ended up teaching me the business management skills that I use today. Along the way, I created other businesses but being a hairstylist was where entrepreneurship began for me.
Majority of my professional career has been spent on working with children from newborn to high school age, in the roles of a teacher’s assistant, nanny, education assistant and a Sunday school teacher. I have been able to merge my passion for business and my love for children together in which I now use to build my youth organization Choose to DO, Inc.
How did you come up with the idea for Choose to DO, Inc.?
I created Choose to DO, Inc. because of the trauma I experienced as a child and because of what I learned from working with children. I wanted to build a business that catered to teach children how to love themselves. After I graduated with my master’s degree, I started working for youth organizations and similar nonprofits. Through my years of being an employee, I was unhappy with the lack of care these organizations had for their children and their employees. Because of those reasons, I quit my last corporate job in 2015 to become a nanny fulltime so I could pay my bills and start the process of building my nonprofit. With the help of individuals that have supported me with their expertise, Choose to DO, Inc. was legally formed on March 8, 2016.
What problem does Choose to DO, Inc. solve?
In 2017, Choose to DO, Inc. started an initiative to tackle low self-esteem in boys and girls 9 –19 years old. Breaking the Cycle is a program made up of 5 classes, that promote self-love and leadership amongst girls and boys ages 9 – 19 years old. In 2020, Choose to DO, Inc. started online classes to provide at home instructions, as an extension of our initiative to tackle low self-esteem in young adults 9 – 19 years old. Because we are a nonprofit, we are a mission-driven business. The problem we are solving is low self-esteem in young adults 9 – 19 years old.
Our solution is to provide programs that support and empower our youth and are fun for them to attend. We generate revenue by raising funds through selling our merchandise, hosting our annual fundraiser, having giving campaigns (businesses can donate a portion of the profits from their product/service) and through grants and corporate sponsorships.
Have you had to overcome any challenges as a women in business? Tell us about it, and how did you overcome.
Yes, I experience depression, fear, anxiety, imposter syndrome from time to time. Every day I get up to work on my business, I step into a new territory. There are moments where I question myself, there are moments that I want to give up. But I am blessed to have people in my circle that I can lean on, that let me download when I am having low moments and encourage me to instead celebrate the things I have accomplished as a business owner. I am a woman, I am an entrepreneur, which at times it can be and isolating journey, but I am lucky that I have people in my tribe that want to see me win.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?
Take time for yourself periodically. Your business will be there when you get back.
What is your health and wellness Hack?
This year I decided to move my body more, which to me means riding my bike, going for walks, dancing around my apartment. I also picked up a guitar that I am hoping to learn how to play by the end of 2021. Lastly, establishing healthier eating habits.
What is something you can’t live without?
Chocolate!
Tell us a book that you have been inspired by recently?
Lovescaping by Irene Greaves
Where can our readers find more about you?
https://www.instagram.com/choosetodoinc/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/choosetodoinc
https://www.facebook.com/choosetodoinc
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEmsc2PY2D63QF8G3jaSUeg