Sierra Gates is living the life of many young women’s dreams as a multimillionaire beauty entrepreneur, a cast member on VH1’s reality series “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” and the newly engaged fiancée of BK Brasco. What most of her admirers don’t know, however, is that the beauty diva’s life started out very differently.
Pregnant at 15 and homeless at 16, Gates has pulled herself up by her proverbial bootstraps. She used her love for the beauty industry as a conduit to provide for herself and her child. Today, she is enrolling other young women in her Money Monsters Academy and empowering them to follow their passions all the way to the bank.
What is your definition of a money monster?
A money monster is someone who will not take no for an answer. They will push past any circumstance, whether good or bad, and just make a bad situation a great one. I feel like people fail because of circumstances. I could have fallen a lot because of my circumstances, but I kept going because I knew where I wanted to be.
Do you feel it’s your purpose to show other young Black women how to be successful?
I 1,000 percent feel like it’s my purpose to show other Black women how to be successful. My whole testimony [is about] how I had my daughter at 15, being homeless, dropping out of high school. I feel like it was those odds that were against and I made it through. I feel like I made it through those situations for a reason. God gave me the extra strength for a reason. He needs me to tell my testimony so other girls can know there is hope.
If beauty wasn’t your product, what would you sell?
I would do something with food. I cook pretty well. Cooking was my first love. I [would] probably be a chef or sell seasoning in that industry.
How were you able to turn your own situation around, going from homelessness to millionaire status?
Being consistent. If I weren’t consistent with my career when I was making $50 a week, I wouldn’t be making what I’m making now, $200,000 a month. So, you have to be very faithful over the small things and have big faith that God can really move mountains so you’re able to reap the bigger deed he’s trying to give you. You need to be consistent.
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