The transition from healthcare to entrepreneurship rarely follows a direct path. Monique Rodriguez spent eight years as a registered nurse before entering the beauty industry—a career choice heavily influenced by family expectations.
“I became a nurse because it was really something that was kind of forced,” Rodriguez explains. “My mom highly encouraged me to go into the medical field. I think I’ve always been a nurturer by nature, though, just growing up.”
This background, initially seeming unrelated to her entrepreneurial future, proved invaluable. “Working as a nurse helped me hone in on those relationship building skills,” Rodriguez notes. “And then the science background, when I began to formulate, and I worked with the chemist to understand what formulations work, to understand how I wanted the products to perform… I had to have some type of knowledge of chemistry, and that came from my nursing background.”
Rodriguez now views her medical training as essential preparation: “I tell people, never take for granted any path or skill set that you have learned on your journey, because you never know if God is using that skill set to prepare you for something that’s in your future, that you may not be able to see or envision yet.”
The Unexpected Competitive Advantage of Spirituality
In the beauty industry’s fast-paced, trend-driven environment, Rodriguez took a dramatically different approach, grounding business decisions in spiritual reflection. This spiritually-informed business philosophy has become her competitive edge.
“The power of discernment is something that I honestly pray for every single day,” she says. “I pray for wisdom and discernment, because you have to have good observation and assessment skills.”
Perhaps most surprising in Rodriguez’s business philosophy is her embrace of surrender—a concept seemingly at odds with aggressive growth strategies often associated with successful startups.
“When you surrender and when you let go, you truly step aside and you let God do His work,” she explains. “I’ve witnessed it personally that He will show His power. But we gotta get out of the equation because He doesn’t need any of our assistance.”
This approach has informed major business decisions, including the landmark acquisition by Procter & Gamble in 2023—reportedly the biggest deal ever secured by a Black female beauty entrepreneur. “I have seen God’s hand show up several different times in several different ways, and then I look back in hindsight, and I’m like I couldn’t have done that on my own.”
Redefining Success Through Purposeful Storytelling
Modern entrepreneurs face constant pressure to present perfectly curated success narratives. Rodriguez has explicitly rejected this approach, embracing vulnerability as a leadership strength.
“When people look at Mielle or look at myself and what I’ve been able to accomplish and build, they see the highlight reel, they see the glory, but they don’t know the story behind the success,” Rodriguez says.
In her new book, “The Glory in Your Story: Activating a Fearless Faith to Change Your Life, Your Career, and the World,” she details experiences many business leaders might prefer to keep private.
“I feel like with me just putting my story out there and saying: You know what, I’m going to put it out there. I’m not going to care what anyone thinks… I’ve reached a new level of vulnerability that I didn’t have while I was in the building phases. But I do feel that vulnerability is the path to victory.”
This transparency serves a strategic purpose beyond personal catharsis. “I just want to help people identify that there’s always glory within their story,” Rodriguez explains. “They just have to dig within themselves deeply to figure out what is their glory in their story. No matter what pains, trials, and tribulations that they’ve gone through, there’s always purpose behind that pain.”
The Transformative Power of Intentional Mindset
Throughout Rodriguez’s journey, one theme remains consistent: success begins with intentional mindset shifts. Growing up on Chicago’s Southside with limited exposure to entrepreneurial paths, she first had to overcome the mental constraints of traditional career expectations.
“Success is really a mindset shift,” Rodriguez observes. “I think that it tackles all aspects of someone that’s even thinking about entrepreneurship, someone that’s in entrepreneurship.”
After launching her company, continued mindset development became essential for navigating obstacles. When faced with profound personal loss, Rodriguez turned to spiritual practices for perspective.
“One of the biggest conversations that I had with God was: what are you trying to teach me from this conversation? When everything initially happened, why did this happen to me?” she recalls. “But I also felt that God whispered to me in a still, small voice, and He said, ‘If you trust Me, I’m going to show you the way. I’m going to lead you and guide you to a place that you didn’t even imagine a place of promise.'”
Finding Strength in Community
Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive people who understand your vision. Her partnership with her husband has been particularly instrumental in Mielle’s success.
“It was a collaborative effort with my team, my husband and I. So, from the very beginning, when we launched our brand, my husband had this saying, the story must be told, and so it’s painted in our office. It’s been our theme all throughout us building Mielle,” Rodriguez shares.
This collaborative approach extends to how she views her company’s success: “When we say the story must be told. It’s not really our story, but it’s His story.”
A New Blueprint for Purpose-Driven Enterprise
What emerges from Rodriguez’s journey is a different model of entrepreneurial success—one that integrates personal purpose, spiritual practice, and business acumen rather than treating them as separate domains.
“I think, before anyone is an entrepreneur you go through the stages of, is this for me? Do I step out on faith? What happens if I don’t have enough money? What happens if people don’t support me? You go through a lot of self sabotage,” Rodriguez acknowledges.
Her experience offers a blueprint for building enterprises that create value across multiple dimensions. As she explains to aspiring entrepreneurs: “You always feel like you’re the only one that’s going through the situations that you’re going through when you’re going through it, and I think it gives hope for the entrepreneur to say, wow! She went through the same thing I’m experiencing right now, and this is how you navigate those situations.”
For Rodriguez, business success is inseparable from personal growth and spiritual development—a holistic approach that has taken Mielle Organics from kitchen experiments to beauty industry transformation, all while maintaining a perspective that transcends traditional business metrics.
“I tell my kids to always learn. I believe in diversity. I believe in having them try multiple things because I feel like it homes in on their skill set. It builds character,” says Rodriguez, applying the same principle to her own unconventional path to success.
