We recently connected with Chelsea Barnett and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Chelsea with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic stems from my childhood. Not only my personal experiences but the work that I witnessed from my parents and their friends. I grew up with 2 hardworking parents. Each of them in their own career fields, yet both entrepreneurs. My dad being a family physician and running a doctor’s office for 35+ years, I saw how dedicated to his work he was. He was also able to come home after a long day and help me with my homework, putting all of his priorities in the right places. My mom also ran her own event staging company for 10 years alongside a business partner. I saw how well they worked together and the massive growth of her business, affording her the opportunity to touch the lives of black people in Columbus at a large scale and produce the most beautiful designs and aesthetics from a warehouse. She also hired me to work and I learned so much about the amount of work that it takes to run your own business. So needless to say, I get it honest. I work so hard because it’s in my blood. My grandparents on both sides of my family were also entrepreneurs and still work hard to this day. We could be considered work-a-holics but the beauty in that, is that we get to help people and changes people’s lives everyday.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I wear many hats when it comes to work and fulfilling my purpose. 3 of those, are businesses I have designed. The first is that, I am a professional organizer and owner of OYA Organizes, LLC, helping individuals and businesses with decluttering their physical and even digital spaces for better functionality. I create systems that are custom to my client’s needs with also providing advice on the best ways to maintain organization. I like to think when it comes to organizing and building relationships with my clients, that I am the personal trainer of organizers. I like to create systems that are personal to my client’s needs but also systems that work. All of my clients know that they called me for a reason, they are dysfunctional. As some habits are hard to break, I work with my client to build systems that will work for function and my clients totally see the benefit and are willing to make the necessary changes accordingly. The second hat that I wear is my passion for media and entertainment. I have a degree in Communications and will forever have a passion for producing and creating art. For the past 8 years, I have been building an agency with my business partner, to spread positive and inspirational messages through mainstream media. There’s not much that I can share at this time, as we are in the launching phase of the company, yet currently we are building resources to support our mission in creating quality content for independent businesses and artists.
The third hat that I wear is serving as President of Rewriting the Narrative, INC a nonprofit based in Columbus, OH. We are an organization of 12 members and have been established since 2020 with the purpose of spreading knowledge and providing resources to black and brown communities that are underserved. We shed light on the issues that got us to where we are in history now and we strategically curate events and partnerships with businesses to rewrite those narratives. We host events consistently throughout the year; Conscious Conversations, Agenda Giveback, Agenda StandUp and WOVVEH weekend. Each event is tailored to a specific part of our mission and vision for our city. Our premiere event is WOVVEH Weekend, an annual community summit, where we bring together our city’s black and minority leaders to educate our audience on Wealth, Opportunity, Our Vote, Our Voice, Education and Health. Our goal is to widen our audiences’ perspectives on what it means to be black in America and how to best navigate that. We give away as many FREE resources that we can get access to, so this event is open to literally anyone of any age. We believe that the more we come together the more we can accomplish.
This year is our 3rd annual WOVVEH Weekend! November 11, 2023 in Columbus, OH at the Columbus Preparatory School for Girls from 10am-5pm. You can register for the event at WOVVEH3.Eventbrite.com
And my other many hats include, dancer, board member for the Lincoln Theater, and a mentor.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Leadership! Since I was in elementary school I have been in leadership positions and positions to mentor others. My parents always made mentoring and being mentored pivotal to my growth. As a Capricorn, leadership skills come naturally to me and I have always found myself excelling the most when I challenge myself to lead. My advice to becoming a leader is to be a good listener and to always go above and beyond what people expect of you. 2. Communication skills have always helped me to get ahead in life! Being confident in who I am and being able to hold a conversations that’s not dull, has helped me to build great relationships and interview and get jobs that I never thought would be possible. You have to know how to set yourself apart from other and that’s just by being the best version of yourself that you can offer. My advice is, don’t be afraid to communicate in spaces that you aren’t typically in and practice before you go, so that you are prepared for anything. The more you challenge yourself to communicate in unfamiliar environments, the more you learn about yourself and the world around you; you will find that in the process you are refining that skill of communication.
3. Goal setting! One of my greatest qualities is tenacity. No matter the struggle or change, I adapt. I don’t let anything get to me so much that I stop myself from reaching my goals. No matter how long it may take, if something is for you then go after it with every fiber of your being. There are so many times in my life when I have been ready to give up, but I pushed myself just a little bit further and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. If you know what you are working for then you will get there. My advice to goal-setting is to be ready to adapt and change your method or even yourself sometimes to get what you truly want in life.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I believe in everything that I do, my goal is the collaborate. I believe that exponential growth comes from collaboration. Nothing can be accomplished solely by yourself. Even in your personal goals, inspiration and knowledge comes from somewhere, to awaken what’s inside of you. In my media business, Koncrete Dreamz, collaboration is one of our business pillars. We are planning to base our agency on collaboration success. Being a huge funnel for resources that people offer and are looking for.
Within my professional organizing business OYA Organizes, I collaborate with other organizers and vendors to create my fully functioning organized spaces. In the future I would like to collaborate with manufacturing brands to create furniture that all of my clients can use. As well as offer other tools and resources that can help my client maintain an organized lifestyle and totally get away from feeling cluttered in their minds.
Within my nonprofit, Rewriting the Narrative INC, we are a team, consistently collaborating to reach our goals as an organization. None of us are being paid, yet we continue to come together and work, so its passion and being a team that keeps us stay consistent. We are in the process of also creating a funnel of resources that people offer and are looking for to better their overall health and wellness.
In collaboration with Voyage magazine, this being my 3rd article, I am extremely grateful to be a partner.
Contact Info:
- Website: oyaorganizes.com
- Instagram: @oyaorganizes @weare4theblackagenda @koncretedreamz
