June 17, 2025 • 52 mins
Episode Title:
Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/Burn the Playbook—It’s Time to Build Your Own Table
Episode Video Link:
In this episode of A Black Executive Perspective, host Tony Tidbit welcomes Okeatta Brown, the CEO of O & Company Interiors, as they delve into her journey from corporate success to bold entrepreneurship. Okeatta shares valuable lessons on pushing through fear, embracing change, and the importance of community impact. Please tune in to hear how she navigated her career, built her own interior design business inspired by her cultural roots, and continues to strive for excellence and legacy. This episode is filled with insights on resilience, purpose, and the power of believing in oneself.
▶︎ In This Episode
00:00 Motivational Advice to My Younger Self
00:40 Introduction to A Black Executive Perspective
01:30 Guest Introduction: Okeatta Brown
04:12 Okeatta’s Personal Background and Family
06:04 Early Life and Lessons on Change
11:07 Corporate Journey and Key Learnings
22:51 The Importance of Community Service
24:31 Entrepreneurship and Overcoming Fear
27:47 The Dream That Sparked a Business
28:38 Building the First Prototype
29:49 Finding the Right Manufacturer
32:37 The Victoria Lane Collection
36:55 Challenges of Entrepreneurship
40:38 Staying Motivated
47:01 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
🔗 Resources
Links and resources mentioned in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Okeatta Brown (00:00):
Keep pushing.
(00:01):
Right.
I love don't give up on yourself.
Don't fail yourself.
You can do anything.
Keep pushing and don't be afraid of it.
That's what I would tellmy 16-year-old self.
I was actually on a conversationhere recently and, um.
Someone asked me kind of whatwould I, what would I share?
And I said, you know, Iwould start earlier, right?
I would start this process earlier.
(00:23):
I would believe in the fact thatI could do this earlier so that
I'll move forward in my purpose.
Right?
I can do two things at once.
I can do three things at once, right?
But it's moving in your purpose.
And so I would, that's what I wouldtell ultimately, my 16-year-old self.
Moving your purpose and keep going.
We'll discuss race and how
Tony Tidbit (00:42):
it plays a factor and how we didn't even talk about
this topic 'cause we were afraid
BEP Narrator (00:48):
A Black Executive Perspective.
Tony Tidbit (00:51):
We are coming to you live from the new BEP studio for
another thought provoking episode ofA Black Executive Perspective podcast.
A safe space where we discuss all mattersrelated to race, culture, and those
uncomfortable topics people tend to avoid.
I'm your host Tony Tidbit.
So before we get started on thisfantastic episode, I wanna make
(01:14):
sure that everyone checks out ourpartners at Code M Magazine, whose
mission is saving the black familyby first saving the black man.
So check them out@codemmagazine.com.
That is code m magazine.com.
So today, Okeatta Brown, founderand CEO of O, and Company Interiors.
(01:37):
Joins BEP to share her journey.
From corporate board rooms to boldentrepreneurship, A seasoned leader
advocate, an HBCU graduate, she willdiscuss her personal roots that shaped
her professional ambition, her deepcommitment to community, and a decision
to launch a company that reflectsculture, heritage, and innovation.
(02:02):
We'll also explore the businessof design, the power of black
entrepreneurship, and what it means tolive with purpose from inside and out.
Lemme tell you about mygood friend Okeatta Brown.
Okeatta.
As I stated earlier, a dynamic leaderwho has seamlessly bridged the world of
business design and community impact.
(02:25):
With over two decades of successin corporate America, she has
brought her strategic acumen.
And passion for cultural expressioninto the world of interior
design and furniture production.
By launching her company Oand Company Interiors in 2025.
A proud HBCU graduate ofJohnson c Smith University.
(02:47):
EDTA is also a committed civic leader.
She has held influential roles onnumerous nonprofit boards included
in United Negro College Fund, theUrban League of Central Carolinas.
Well, guess what?
She made history as the youngestboard chair and the Carolina Community
Builders Initiative Advisory Board.
I.
She's also been on the CarolinasMinority Supplier Development Council,
(03:11):
where she serves as second vice chair.
She's a dedicated member of AlphaAlpha Kappa I Alpha Sorority and
continues to champion equity,empowerment and entrepreneurship
across every space she enters.
Okeatta Brown.
Welcome to A Black ExecutivePerspective Podcast, my sister.
Okeatta Brown (03:34):
Thank you for having me.
What an introduction.
Tony Tidbit (03:36):
That was amazing.
Yeah.
Um, it is your introductionand you're amazing.
Okay.
I mean, unless, unless youstole that from somebody else.
Right.
And you're like, oh, Idid, I really did that.
Oh my God.
I should have, I should havecame up with something a little
bit less, you know, perspective.
All right.
But that's you, Mike, girl.
So look, we excited to chat with you.
Okay.
(03:57):
And you like, look, you got a, a, a.
Fantastic background.
Um, we can't wait to dive in intothe things that you're looking to do.
You built your own company andlook, it takes a lot of courage,
especially as a black woman to do that.
So we're gonna dive into that.
But before we get into the heavystuff, why don't you tell me a little
bit about where you currently resideand a little bit about your family.
Okeatta Brown (04:19):
Well, thank you again.
Thank you for having me today.
Um, I am Okeatta Brown.
I currently reside inCharlotte, North Carolina.
Uh, I have, uh, I'm an awesome auntie.
I have a wonderful goddaughter.
I'm an amazing daughter and agreat sister to several, and a
wonderful friend, to several.
I don't have any children of myown, but that I, again, have a
(04:40):
wonderful, wonderful extended family.
I.
Tony Tidbit (04:43):
That sounds awesome.
See, you see that.
We should have threw that in the bio.
How amazing of a friend you areand how you got this and that.
You know what I'm saying?
But No, that's good.
That is all.
Hey, look, family's important and is,you know, regardless of where they fall,
cousin, uncle, kid, you know, it's greatto have people that love you, support you.
(05:03):
So that's awesome.
I've been to Charlotte.
Great city.
Um, so glad to hearthat you're down there.
So, question I wanna ask, look, and now wejust went through it in your bio, right?
Um, you got a lot going on.
You're working, you're buildinga big interior design business.
You are all over youon different platforms.
Uh, you are in high demand,people are reaching out.
(05:25):
They want you to come on andchat about what's going on.
So why did you wanna come onA Black Executive Perspective
podcast to discuss this topic?
Okeatta Brown (05:33):
I think you offer a unique point of view to your listeners, right?
I think you tell a different storythan some of the other podcasts that
I've been able to participate in.
And so I really wanted to comeinto, to your point, a safe space
to have a good, candid, real,authentic cultural conversation.
Tony Tidbit (05:51):
Well, my girl, you picked the right spot.
All right?
And that's what we gonna do today.
You know what I'm saying?
That's what we gonna do today.
So you ready to talk about it?
Okeatta Brown (06:01):
Let's talk about it.
Tony Tidbit (06:02):
Alright, my girl, let's talk about it.
So listen, let's back all the wayup because, you know, um, chairman
of all the different nonprofits,CEO of your own business, um,
civic leader, all those things thatdidn't just happen overnight, right?
That didn't just happen, you know,today you were, you know, somebody
(06:23):
told me this a long time ago.
They said, I never seen a a, ababy born that says, uh, born six
pounds, seven ounces, and a fist.
Full of hundreds.
Right.
Okay.
So at the end of the day,yeah, it don't work that way.
So let's go all the way back.
Tell us about a little bit where yougrew up, where you grew up at, and
the values and early lessons fromyour family that showed up, that
(06:46):
still shows up in your life today.
Okeatta Brown (06:49):
Yeah.
Uh, I grew up in Columbia, SouthCarolina, and I'm a product
of, uh, divorced parents.
It was a single mom.
My mom married young, and it's justmy mom, my brother and I up until.
He went to Howard University.
Right.
And so just growing up andwatching my mom just kind of
try to make a way for us, right?
We, I never felt likewe didn't have things.
(07:10):
I never felt like I went without, but Iknew that my mom was struggling, right?
My mom was making ends meet.
I figured, I learned very early what itmeant to Rob Peter to pay Paul, right?
So we knew all of thosethings very early on.
My brother started workingat the time he was.
13 years old.
Right.
And I followed suit shortly thereafter.
So we always, my brother and I and my mom,we always had a very strong work ethic.
(07:36):
We knew what a dollar meant,we knew what survival meant.
Um, but growing up I went to adifferent school every single year
from the time I was in kindergartenup until the ninth grade.
Mm-hmm.
So that constant change, right, issomething that still sits with me today,
but it helps shape the executive andthe leader that I am today because.
(07:56):
I'm okay with change, right?
Mm-hmm.
And we know the one thing thatremains the same is change.
And so going through all of that and thedifferent homes, because we moved every
single year, the rent went up, right?
So I know what that feels like too.
Right.
So mom was like, waita minute, we got to go.
Mm-hmm.
You know, that's right here.
Right.
So I was going to a differentschool, but it was okay.
(08:18):
It, it, it taught me a lot.
Right, right.
But what someone mentioned to me,and I didn't quite put it together
until, um, this person mentioned itto me, but the reason why I got into
interior design and the reason why.
It's so important to me is becausethere was a constant movement.
So I never truly had roots.
(08:39):
Right.
You know how some people cansay, that was my childhood home.
Right?
Or my teacher from this schoolat this age, I still remember
my kindergarten teacher, Ms.
Cunningham.
I can't do that 'cause I don't have thatlevel of, uh, stability, if you will.
But when I in, when I do interior designand when I work with my clients, it was
very important for me to understand whatthey wanted to feel when they came in
(09:03):
their home, but that their home was arepresentation of who they are as well.
Mm-hmm.
So I always say I'm, I'm amovie from house to home.
So you feel like you're walking through aspace that represents you and that comes
from this going from house to house tohouse and not really being able to paint a
wall or, you know, to, to make it my own.
So when I bought my firsttown house, I painted.
(09:26):
Regretfully.
I painted my kitchen electric blue,like my living room was purple.
There was some yellow in there somewhere.
It was a mess.
It was a stone.
But I could, I was like,Ooh, I can do this.
Right.
Um, but it really said for me whenI started that interior design work.
So I did that in about 2015when I started that work.
(09:46):
Right.
That's why it was so important to meto build homes so that people could
feel that sense of stability and feelthat connectedness to who they are to
their culture or whatever it was thatthey wanted to represent at the time.
Tony Tidbit (09:58):
Wow.
Wow.
So number one, thanks for sharing that.
And there's a couple of things I wannadive a little bit deeper when you talk
about change, um, because it's somethingthat most people struggle with, right?
Um, in terms of dealing with, youknow, getting out of a comfort zone.
Or you know, having to, you know,wake up one day and find out that
(10:21):
you gotta do something different oryou gotta move somewhere different.
Or you gotta think differently.
Right.
A lot of people struggle, andespecially in today's world, we're
dealing with a ton of change.
Yeah.
All the time.
Right.
And some people become immobile,so outside of the ability.
To be able to, to get a sense, 'causeyou didn't grow up, um, you know,
(10:41):
with roots that, that, that you know,you can plant and this and that.
And obviously that's what you loveto do now because with your interior
design, you're allowing people andhelping them create something that
can be a legacy or it can be planted.
Within their family, theirhouse, what the case may be.
(11:02):
But you've been a, a successfulexecutive as well, right?
So talk about some of the other values andstuff that you learned from moving around
all the time when it comes to change.
Okeatta Brown (11:14):
Hmm.
Um.
So to your point, that change allowedme to come into the corporate space and
be really just flexible, be amenableto change, understand that things
are not going to remain this way.
And if I needed to make a way,I needed to build that way.
Right.
Um, and so when I got into my careercoming outta South Carolina, um,
(11:36):
I had to unlearn some things interms of just some, the, the, the.
Juxtaposition between how I grew upwith a very racially charged space.
Columbia, South Carolina isn'tthe easiest place to grow up.
And then coming into Charlotte,which felt like a world away, right?
And then going to an HBCU, loveJohnson c Smith grew up there.
(11:57):
They taught me how to be an adult.
Right?
There was no, there were no violins.
There were no, there was no handholding.
They're like, you betterfigure that thing out.
Right?
Right.
But because I had experienced somuch change, I knew how to do that.
Um, and then going intothe corporate space.
And I went into that spacethinking I knew everything, right?
I had a undergraduate degree in marketing.
I thought I knew everything.
(12:18):
I was like, I'm ready to be thechief marketing officer today.
Let's do it right?
And some people sat me down andtold me and made me understand
that what I was, what I was tryingto do, I needed to learn a little
bit more, listen more, speak less.
You don't know everything.
So.
Growing up and being around thatand really trying to understand how
(12:40):
to get along with different people,meet people where they are, learning
different personalities, right?
All of those things came along with thatchange that then allowed me to apply
it into the corporate space, right?
Because you can't have the same exactconversation with every person, right?
You have to know who you'retalking to, speak the language
so that you can be heard, right?
(13:00):
So that's, that was very clear to me.
Tony Tidbit (13:04):
My girl.
I love what you said.
Right?
And there's people that'sgonna watch who's watching
this now or listening to it.
They needed to hear thatbecause at the end of the day,
it is about being a chameleon.
I.
It is about being flexible.
It is about shutting up.
It is about changing.
It is about, you know, all thethings that you talked about.
(13:25):
For you to become successful in anyendeavor, you have to embrace change.
Right?
And more importantly, what I'm hearingfrom you, which I love, it's not just
embrace it, learn from it, right?
Because that's the key right now.
Look, we could be talkingabout change all day long.
(13:46):
I mean, you know, and I'm nottalking spare change, okay?
I'm just talking change because you'vehad a lot of changes, you know, um,
and even starting your own business.
But let's just stay right here interms of your corporate life, right?
You've two decades in,in corporate, right?
What are you most proudof in that journey?
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Tony Tidbit (14:35):
of coming.
From Columbia, South Carolina, movingall the way from early years to ninth
grade, having a mother that's, youknow, hustled and made it happen, but
didn't have a lot of, you know, materialthings and stuff to that nature.
And now look where you are.
So what are you most proud of, of thatjourney the last two decades in corporate?
Okeatta Brown (14:58):
It is actually been three.
I know.
I don't look that long.
You know?
Tony Tidbit (15:02):
Ha.
Had you not said nothing I wouldn'thave had you not said nothing.
I wouldn't have thought nothing.
Okeatta Brown (15:07):
Oh no, it's because you look
Tony Tidbit (15:09):
good.
You look.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Okeatta Brown (15:11):
Well thank you.
I appreciate that.
Um, I learned a lot along the way.
Um, but what I will say, one thingthat's always stood out to me, well,
two in particular, and what I'm proudof is that I was a very matter of fact.
Person.
When I entered into the workforce, I waslike, I don't wanna talk about your cat.
(15:32):
I don't wanna talk about your dog.
Your children are none of my business.
That's how I was when I started.
Right.
Um, but then really understanding peopleand opening myself up to people and really
trying to figure out how to navigate thesespaces and being comfortable with sharing.
Because we know it's not easy to bevulnerable in a corporate environment,
(15:54):
particularly if you look like me.
Right?
Correct.
So how do I find thatspace where I can do that?
Um, but there were two women inparticular during my corporate
career, um, that I would point toas, um, very pivotal moments in
providing very sound advice to me.
One mentor said to me very early on,Okeatta, if it doesn't exist, build it.
(16:17):
And I didn't know I had the capacityto build until she said that.
And I sat down, she said, Okeatta,we need this particular strategy.
And I was like, well, shecalled me Keita Re, Keita Reef.
We need this ki in.
We in the office now.
Keita Re, we need this particularstrategy at such and such.
And I was like, okay.
She said, I'm gonna build it.
And she turned around, started typing.
(16:38):
Next thing I know, she was thehead of the thing that she built.
Right, right.
And she said, wow, that that's a thing.
Like we can do that.
And so I've always taken that approach.
If it doesn't exist, I'm going to buildit and I'm gonna build it in such a
way that there's shared value, right?
I'm gonna make sure thateverybody wins, the company wins.
What I'm trying to do, wins, andthe customer or the people we're
(16:59):
trying to serve wins, right?
So I always look for the stackedwin and the second critical moment.
I was very young in my career and.
Sister hemmed me up.
She was an attorney andI gave her something.
She said, she's a corporate attorney.
She said, um, she needed something.
She hemmed
Tony Tidbit (17:14):
you up, huh?
Okeatta Brown (17:16):
I never hemmed up before in my life.
She said I gave her something,like I threw something
together for her or whatever.
I was in marketing.
I threw something together.
She came down to my desk.
I don't know where she came from, whatbuilding she came from, but I ne Next
thing I know this person, this is astory that I have in my head, came to
my desk and told me not to ever sendanything out that had my name on it
(17:40):
that I wasn't fully proud of, becausemy brand will always perceive me.
Ooh,
that moment on, I waslike, Ooh, I'm so sorry.
And Ooh, right.
But from that moment on, I'm knew, andI think the people I work with now think
they probably think I'm a perfectionist,but I'm like, no, that stuck with me.
Your brand will always perceive you.
(18:01):
No matter where you are, where yougo inside or outside of corporate
America, your brand will proceed Youso always put your best foot forward.
Those are the two things that I takeaway from my corporate career because
it set the foundation for everythingelse that I've done since then.
And I apply that bothinternally and externally.
I apply that to the work that Ilead today 'cause I'm in service
(18:23):
of others every single day.
But I always put the best foot forward.
But then in building the business,right, owing co interiors, what is
it that I'm trying to do with thiscompany and how do I impact change in a
meaningful way, but also create somethingthat's beautiful and resonates with,
with everyone that loves it, right?
It, it should create a feeling.
(18:44):
How do I do that?
So I'm always thinking about.
What's the end opportunity there and howdo I create the stacked win for everybody?
Tony Tidbit (18:51):
I love it.
I love it.
Let me ask you this, you know, one ofthe things that we all deal with, and
I want to hear your thoughts on itbecause you talked about, you know,
the two things that you're proud of,um, and one is building and the other,
understanding your brand and makingsure that whatever you put out there is.
(19:12):
100% you, because like yousaid it, it goes forever.
But I wanna back up to whenyou said, um, what'd she say?
Or Rita, I said, what did she called you?
Ke Kitie.
Kitie.
Kitie.
Right.
And she said, we kitie.
Right.
Kitie.
And she said, we gonna build something.
Right.
Let me ask you this.
(19:32):
When she came and you said at thetime you didn't know that, that
you could build something, but nowyou in the middle of it, how much.
Did fear tie in to any of that?
And the reason I ask Yeah.
There we know, and just looking atyou, there are so many talented people.
Okeatta Brown (19:55):
Yeah.
Tony Tidbit (19:56):
There are so many people who are gifted.
There are so many people inthe walls of corporate America.
But even to the point whereyou even started your own
business, that people are afraid.
For whatever reason.
All right.
To take that leap, even when somebodykind of says to them, you had a mentor
(20:17):
that was like, we gonna do this.
Right?
So talk a little bit about thatbecause I can imagine people are want
to hear that because they need to getout of that for them to move forward.
Okeatta Brown (20:30):
Yeah.
I would say for me in particular, I havethe, the pleasure and the blessing of
serving in my gift in two spaces, right?
So I'm still in my corporate space, butI get to have this other space as well.
What I do in my corporate spaceis my heart's work, right?
So I get to be in service of others.
I get to drive change andimpact in my corporate world.
(20:51):
But then in this other space,I get to exercise my passion
around building beautiful thingsand creating beautiful spaces.
So I don't have to make thatdecision, if you will, of leaving
one space and going into the other.
I'm squarely in both and doingmy best, but to your point, fear.
Is the thing that willcripple you the most?
(21:13):
It will.
That's that doubt.
That's that talk that you give yourselfthat you can't, you don't know enough.
Uh, some would call it imposter syndrome.
Correct?
Correct.
Uh, that you can't moveinto these other spaces.
You have to overcome those things.
That happens on a daily basis.
For some, it happens for me as well,but I just move through it, right?
Because the fear of not doingsomething because I got in my own way.
(21:39):
Supersedes the fear of actually doing it.
Right.
Right.
So I'm more afraid of the me not eventrying and not realizing what my true
potential will be versus going out theretrying and failing or learning from that.
Right.
I go, I approach things with, you get a50 50 shot, you going win or you're not.
Right, right, right.
But in the process, you havethe opportunity to move forward,
(22:02):
and the true failure is whenyou don't take that opportunity.
Tony Tidbit (22:06):
Ooh.
Okeatta Brown (22:07):
That's the thing that I hold on to.
Tony Tidbit (22:09):
I love it.
I love it.
I learned this a long time ago.
The word fear spelled FEAR, standsfor false evidence appearing real.
Okay?
Okay.
And what does that mean?
That means 90%, and this is facts.
90% of the things that we'reafraid of never happen.
(22:30):
And the 10% that do happen.
It's better than what wethought it was, right?
So I love what you said in termsof continue to move forward.
So you know, Chad, withyou, you seem so grounded.
You, you seem, you were broughtup by a great mother and you know,
created and taught you core values.
(22:51):
Right?
So talk a little bit about how servingin the nonprofit or nonprofit boards
and champion community initiatives, howit's always been a part of your mission.
Why is that?
Talk a little bit about that.
Okeatta Brown (23:04):
There are so many people that need help, right.
Regardless if it's help because they areunhoused or it's help because they need
to build capacity to learn a trade orit's help because they're trying to get
their credit together so they can buytheir first home and generate wealth.
Because we know the path to wealthis through home ownership, right?
So I've always been in that space,but, but also because I grew up.
(23:28):
Understanding what itmeant to not have Right.
Or to not have a, a single home to go to.
Right.
I always knew what that meant.
And my mom had, she had a government job.
I knew what that felt like for her.
Right, right.
And so I've always been in aplace of give back, serve always.
I, when my nieces would come and visit mefor summer, they'd be right in my Urban
(23:52):
league meetings with me, learning all thethings that I'm saying and learning all
the things that they need to learn to.
To, to be successful, right?
And making sure they understoodwhat credit meant, right?
What does it mean tohave a good credit score?
Well, this is what it means, right?
And so going through all ofthat with them has been amazing.
But that because I was grounded inunderstanding what it means to not have,
(24:15):
but then what it means to have a little,and what it means to have a lot, I can
go through that, that life cycle, if youwill, and do my best to share my thoughts,
share, add value in whatever way I can.
So I've always been inthat space of giving back.
It's so important.
Tony Tidbit (24:31):
Tell me a little bit about entrepreneurship.
I mean, you know, again,it's a, it's a leap.
Okay.
In terms of, you know, starting,'cause you just finished talking
about, you know, generationalwealth and stuff to that nature.
Um, we do live in a countrythat is a capitalist country.
It is really, most people don'tknow this, but it really is about
(24:53):
you starting your own business.
Okay.
The laws and everythingis set up for that.
Right.
And the majority of people endup working for people for years.
And you know, that's why I went to theask you about the fear component as well.
Like, 'cause a lot oftimes people are afraid.
But talk a little bit about, did you growup seeing entrepreneurs in your community?
(25:15):
Did they inspire you?
Or talk a little bit about that.
Okeatta Brown (25:19):
I didn't grow up with entrepreneurs in my family, if you will.
Mm-hmm.
I learned more about it in my adult life.
I learned more about the opportunityto actually have your own and
what that meant in my adult life.
I think it was, what was interestingabout the scenario that in which
I grew up was really thinkingthrough or seeing the examples of.
(25:44):
Put your head down, do thejob, just get through it.
Right.
It was never a situation ofthis is what it means to own
your own or to build your own.
I didn't see that growing
Tony Tidbit (25:53):
up.
Right, right, right.
Most people don't,
Okeatta Brown (25:57):
and one of my roles, particularly in, in our community, right?
Correct.
Tony Tidbit (26:01):
Most people don't.
Okeatta Brown (26:02):
No.
And so I didn't see it.
I didn't know that that was an option forme, and that seemed like a harder road.
To take Correct.
Right?
Correct, correct.
But I, I can get the one, one good friend.
I can get this.
Good job.
Right?
A friend of mine said that.
Tony Tidbit (26:15):
Well, also our parents bring us up there with that mindset, right.
To go out and get a good jobbecause they didn't have good jobs.
Okay.
Or, and sometimes they did,but that was the mindset.
It's not, you know, sofinish your thought.
But that has a lot to do with it as well.
Okeatta Brown (26:30):
100%.
You go in, you get the job, youkeep the job, you keep your head
down and do a good job, right?
Correct.
Correct.
Make ways, don't say anything.
Take the money they give you.
They don't.
We don't.
We didn't learn how tonegotiate our salaries.
Right.
We didn't know we couldnegotiate a salary.
401k.
What do you mean?
Right?
Oh, we didn't know those things,
Tony Tidbit (26:51):
but reason I'm laughing is because it reminds me you just
got finished saying, uh um, uh uh.
It's, it's a little different,but it was the same kind of
slogan when I was growing up.
When I used to go to the grocerystore with my mother and you, you
walk in the store first thing whenyou get ready to walk in, first thing
she said, I ain't buying you shit.
Don't touch nothing.
You ain't getting shit.
Okeatta Brown (27:13):
And you get the look.
My mama had a look flat out.
Got that look.
Tony Tidbit (27:17):
Don't even, right.
Okeatta Brown (27:21):
Oh, I remember that.
Look boy.
Woo.
Yeah.
No was the first thingbefore anything else, mama?
No.
Okay.
You.
Tony Tidbit (27:31):
So when did you, when did the bug become real for you to say,
because look, you, you, you've beensuccessful in everything you've done.
When did you finally have thatbug saying, you know what?
It's time for me to start my own thing?
Okeatta Brown (27:47):
Honestly, with Owen Co interiors, um, and starting the furniture
line, that vision came to me in a dream.
Mm.
Tony Tidbit (27:56):
Tall.
Tell us.
Okeatta Brown (27:58):
I saw it was COVID.
Everybody was spending their time at home.
I was spending time at home andI was looking at my furniture
like, I need some new furniture.
This, I want something different.
This, this how I've been living.
Oh my, I had stuff back, man.
Like, wait a minute now, wait a minute.
So I'm, I'm trying to find these piecesand I was looking for something that I
(28:19):
could connect to, something that I couldconnect with my culture, with my heritage.
Something that was beautiful,something that I would.
Fall in love with and stay in love with.
'cause I'm not a big fan of trends, right?
I don't want something in my housethat I'm gonna hate in a year.
So I want things that I'm gonna love.
And so I couldn't find thepiece that I was looking for.
And I had a dream.
(28:39):
And in my dream I saw this beautiful bed.
It had these beautiful, thebeautiful braid embellishment on it.
And I'm like, oh my gosh, where is that?
Right?
So I'm looking and I can't find that.
So through my interior design work, I havea general contractor that I typically work
with, uh, with customized construction.
And I said to him, I had this dreamand this and that and the other.
(28:59):
He and his wife built the frame for me.
And put this raw wood framein the middle of my living
room and said, go, no excuses.
Figure it out.
So I had to teach myself howto make this thing that I saw
in this vision that I had.
So I'm testing fabrics, I'm sewing thingsby hand 'cause I don't know how to sew,
(29:20):
use a sewing machine, I don't know.
And really didn't, I was just doingthings and, and trying to figure it out.
And I made a prototype.
And I looked at the prototype andI was like, wow, it's beautiful,
but it also looked like I made it.
So that won't make, that's notgonna go in anybody's house.
I wouldn't wanna putthat in anybody's house.
So then I realized I was, I hadsomething that was aesthetically
(29:41):
beautiful, connected to culture,something that people would
love because I loved it so much.
I felt like others wouldlove it equally as much.
Um, so I found a manufacturer toactually build the pieces for me.
And then that said to me, Ireally wanna get in this business.
I really wanna share these beautifulpieces with other people because if
it had this impact on me, it mighthave the same impact on others.
(30:04):
So that's actually the catalyst for me.
Starting a furniture line and reallytrying to get into this aspect of
design versus the interior design work.
It's brand new.
It's terrifying andexciting at the same time.
I'm stumbling throughit, I'm finding my way.
Um, I've got great people around me.
I have a great mentor in this spaceas well, and so it's still a work in
(30:28):
progress, but I'm really excited about it.
But that was the catalyst, this beautifuldream that I had of this beautiful
piece that I wanted to create and share.
Tony Tidbit (30:36):
Wow.
So you know what's funny though, and notfunny as I'm listening to your story,
um, and you probably know this, right?
How things come full circle, okay?
So as you were telling me you wereat work and your boss said, oh,
Rita, we gonna build something?
(30:58):
And you were like, I can't,I can, I can build something.
And they were like, yeah,we gonna build this.
And you saw her build it.
I didn't, now you were in a dream.
Well, no, excuse me.
You were looking for furniture, okay?
Mm-hmm.
And then all of a sudden you saw this,and then you started building it.
Think about that.
Okeatta Brown (31:18):
Isn't that
Tony Tidbit (31:19):
something?
Okay?
Isn't that something?
Isn't that right?
Going back to, oh, Rita,we gonna build this.
Okeatta Brown (31:28):
I'll never forget that moment.
I'm like, because, okay, sure.
Tony Tidbit (31:32):
And look at you now.
And look at you now.
Right.
So that bug, that moment didn't go away.
No.
That opened up something thatwas already inside of you that
you already had, and then.
It's what the same thing youdid to build your business.
Right?
And so tell us more.
(31:52):
Tell, okay.
Look, I'm a novice, you know, whenit comes to interior design, you
know, I, till my wife showed up, Ihad, you know, sheets, it's curtains.
Oh no.
Alright.
That out loud.
Tons of blowing it up.
No, I'm.
Being honest.
Right?
Had nothing wrong with that.
Right.
It look good to me, youknow what I'm saying?
Kept people from looking in my window.
(32:14):
Okay.
So talk to us a little bit about,you know, oh, and what you bring to
the table and what people would seeand your differentiation and why they
should, you know, come to you and whatare you bringing that you know is so
fascinating and so beautiful that's goingto make them, that's gonna blow them
(32:34):
away and make them wanna work with you.
Okeatta Brown (32:37):
My hope is that the, and I, I, it's called the Victoria Lane line, so
it's okay to, it's oh, and co interiors.
My initial launch, my collectionis the Victoria Lane Collection.
Victoria is named for my mother and mygreat-great grandmother, so I wanted
to bring them into this space becauseI, it is again, just beautiful pieces.
I've not seen anythinglike this on the market.
(32:59):
My manufacturer, when I found her, andit's a woman-owned manufacturing company
in High Point, which is almost unheard of.
Right.
Um, but when I shared with her what Iwas trying to do, she said, Okeatta,
I've been in this business for 30 years.
I've never seen anything like this.
That's why I'm agreeingto do this project.
Tony Tidbit (33:17):
Wow.
Okeatta Brown (33:17):
So what I'll say is, why come to me?
There's nothing like it on the market.
It is nothing that's going to connectto you the way that we know the braid
connects in the, in the community, right?
Mm-hmm.
The braid is, has been around forthousands of years and it has caught,
crossed boundaries in terms ofcountries and continents, et cetera.
(33:38):
It's used to date.
It's something that I learnedto do on my little Barbie head.
When I was, I don't know how long, howold my mama taught me how to braid.
Right.
And so you, you remember the bigBarbie head with the, I I remember.
I
Tony Tidbit (33:51):
mean, I didn't actually play with it, but I remember it.
My sister had it.
Right.
My sisters okay.
But I I got you.
I got you.
But
Okeatta Brown (33:57):
that's where I learned, right.
And that's where I was teachingmy nieces, uh, to braid as well.
But you see that in the work.
Every piece that we make is handcrafted.
It's solid wood.
Every braid is individually braidedand then we apply it, right?
And so when, why cometo Owen Co Interiors?
Why the Victoria Lane Collection?
(34:17):
You're not gonna find this anywhere else.
You're not gonna find piecesthat will resonate the way these
pieces do, just across the board.
Tony Tidbit (34:26):
Now talk is this.
What is this?
Living room furniture outdoor front.
Tell me a little bit more about whattype, and then more importantly,
um, you know, do people order it?
Do they, do you, you know, do talk alittle bit about the process as well.
Okeatta Brown (34:41):
Process.
Uh, so we have the, thisinitial collection, we have
a cate, a bed, um, a bench.
An ottoman.
Why are you smiling?
No, because you said,
Tony Tidbit (34:50):
hold on.
You said ate.
And I'm like, what the hell is that?
This is a fancy, I just told you Ihad, I had shit up in the window.
And you talking
Okeatta Brown (35:02):
ate.
Tony Tidbit (35:02):
No, I'm teasing.
I'm teasing.
I'm teasing.
Okeatta Brown (35:04):
Oh.
Oh.
But we have those pieces, all upholsteredpieces and so interior home pieces.
Um, but, so there's o and Co interior,so OA and d co interiors.com.
You can go out there andsee the pieces as well.
Um, but get in touch with me if you'reinterested in having a customized
piece, because again, these are allhandmade, handcrafted, I love it.
(35:27):
Individual custom pieces so wecan create whatever you like.
I just see the vision of so many differentthings that I wanna do with these pieces.
It's, it's endless.
Tony Tidbit (35:37):
So talk about what's what, give us that vision.
Where, where do you see you, wheredo you, where are you going with o?
Where do you want it to go?
What, you know?
Talk a little bit aboutwhat's your ultimate goal?
Where do you see this?
Are you looking to scale it?
Give us a little bit.
Okeatta Brown (35:53):
I absolutely am looking to scale it.
Um, I want to have multiplefurniture collections.
I want to be known as the go-to forthese types of customized pieces,
pieces that you will have in your home.
Four years to come that you can passdown to your gen, your family, um,
from generations to generation, right?
(36:13):
Um, so that's what I'd like to see.
I think about it in termsof restoration hardware.
Like I wanna be arestoration hardware, there
Tony Tidbit (36:21):
we go,
Okeatta Brown (36:21):
type company, right?
I wanna grow it to that levelwhere I am at one po when I get
to a place of being global, right?
I wanna be able to share this, thisvision and this beauty around the world.
So the intent is to grow it for sure.
Tony Tidbit (36:36):
I speak it into existence, my sister.
Right.
You speak it into existence.
Okeatta Brown (36:41):
God,
Tony Tidbit (36:41):
right?
No, he, he.
Now look, we can sit here and, youknow, obviously we can be visionaries
and we can talk about all the things,but let's be, and you spoke a little
bit about this a few minutes ago.
Yeah.
Talk, what's some of the toughestthings that you're, you have to deal
with in terms of being an entrepreneur,especially being a black woman
(37:01):
who's, who's building a business?
Okeatta Brown (37:04):
Yeah.
Uh, I, I wasn't shocked becauseI used to be the vice chair in
the Carolina, Virginia MinoritySupplier Development Council.
So I knew the struggle of.
Being an entrepreneur, I would goto the National Minority Supplier
Development Council conferences.
I used to be in supplierdiversity, so I knew what it
meant to have your own business.
And you know, some of the mistakes that Isaw some of our, um, vendors make, right?
(37:28):
So some of the vendors would comein and just, what do you need?
And I'll do whatever you need.
And it's like, no, what are you good at?
Right, right, right.
And do well that we both are successful.
'cause I tell.
I mentioned early on, I alwayslook for the stack win, right?
So how do you win?
Mm-hmm.
How do I win?
Tony Tidbit (37:43):
Correct.
Okeatta Brown (37:44):
And I don't win if you don't know what you're doing.
Right.
Because that's gonna makeit bad for everybody,
Tony Tidbit (37:50):
you know?
That's right.
Um,
Okeatta Brown (37:51):
but some of the challenges, when I thought about what I
wanted to do, there were a lot of nos.
There were a lot of not phonecalls not being returned still.
Um, and that's okay, right?
Because it only takes one.
Yes.
Correct, correct.
And yes.
Um, and it's all self-funded, right?
And so trying to get some of these grantsand, and some of these small business
loans or thinking about, um, you know,how I wanna move forward in this space,
(38:15):
and it's like, oh, you need to be making$75,000 in revenue in order to qualify
for this a hundred thousand dollars.
I'm like, but wait, how does that work?
So it's self-funded, right?
I, I'm able to plan appropriately sothat I can fund this, so that I can do
my best to be successful in this space.
So I am invested personally, notjust creatively, but I am invested
(38:38):
in this to move it forward.
But some of those challenges and whatI'm finding difficult is finding the
right people to work with, right?
That was initially what my challenge is.
Now, it's moving from concept.
People love it.
I had people come from.
We showed in High Point Marketlast week, which is amazing.
So we had our space.
I've been trying to show at HighPoint Market for the last three years.
(39:00):
This, this has been something that I'vebeen working on for four years now.
So the last three years I wasdealing with a manufacturer that
kept deprioritizing my project.
So I missed three markets justdealing with that manufacturer.
So it got to the point with themwhere I said, it is clear to
me that you don't priorit, youdon't find value in this concept.
You're not prioritizing my project.
(39:21):
That's fine.
I'm small now.
I won't be small forever and that's okay.
Let's go ahead and we can part ways.
And then I found a manufacturerthat believed in the vision, right?
Um, so it's navigating someof those challenges as well.
'cause I didn't know what I didn't know.
So having a mentor in thisspace has been highly valuable.
But navigating this spaceis very challenging.
(39:41):
It's very difficult because my mentorsaid to me, he said, um, Okeatta,
you've been very successful over here.
You've done a lot of great work over here.
You're at the top of your game over here.
Over here.
You're starting from the bottom.
You're starting not knowing anything.
And typically people start hereand then open their business.
(40:02):
You didn't do that, so you haveto start at the beginning, right?
And that's the part where I'mlike, but no, I know how to do
this, this, this, this, and this.
That's not gonna work over here.
So that's another thing thatI'm navigating and I'm learning.
It's a test and learn as I continueto walk through this process.
Right?
Um, okay, this didn't work.
Let me pivot here.
I have a plan in place.
(40:23):
What do I need to pivot in this plan?
Right?
So that's what I've been finding themost difficult is breaking through
in the industry and moving fromconcept to, uh, generating revenue.
Tony Tidbit (40:37):
Got it, got it, got it.
What keeps you waking up?
Based on all those differentcircumstances, what keeps you waking
up and continually to have thesame vision, motivation, um, and
energy to continue to move forward?
Okeatta Brown (40:54):
I believe in it.
I believe in these pieces.
I believe in the Victoria Lane collection.
I believe in the impact of it.
I think, um, that's thething that keeps me going.
I believe in the legacy.
That I'm aligning to it, right?
Because it's named for my motherand my great great grandmother.
And it's like, hold on.
Now this can't fail because Idon't want my mama coming for
me and I don't need great, greatgrandma coming for me in my sleep.
(41:17):
I'm like, no, no, no.
Get it right little girl.
I don't need that.
So I wanna make sure it's good, right?
And so I wanna make sure anything I'mput attaching my family's legacy to is
successful and I'm doing every singlething I can to move in that space, right?
To move in that vein tomake sure it's successful.
That doesn't happen every singleday, meaning I don't wake up every
(41:37):
single day like, okay, let's do it.
But I get there.
BEP Narrator (41:41):
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Okeatta Brown (41:59):
Every single day.
Right,
Tony Tidbit (42:00):
right, right, right, right.
Well, listen, that's whatit takes just to be fair.
Right.
And it takes, but you have astrong mindset, which is the key.
Right?
And then we also know that consistencyshowing up every, if you just
show up every day consistently.
Yeah, you are good because, and Ihate to simplify it like that, right?
(42:24):
Yeah.
But just, just to be fair, right,because what's gonna happen is if you
are every day and you have the passion,you know, I always tell this story,
you know, I've been in sales for years.
I used to tell thisstory to my sales team.
'cause I used to always want themto know at the end of the day, when
a farm, if you think of a farmer.
And he sees a piece of landand it's got wood on it.
(42:45):
It's this and that.
But in his mind he's thinking, you knowwhat, I'm gonna plant corn, corn here,
and I'm gonna grow corn and I'm gonna sellit, and I'm gonna make a ton of money.
Right.
So what does he do?
He clears the land, right?
He works it,
Okeatta Brown (43:00):
yeah.
Tony Tidbit (43:00):
He puts seed in it and he waters it.
So he does all that.
Now the land is, you know, emptyand he's put all this stuff in it.
He goes to sleep.
When he wakes up the next morningand looks outside, what does he see?
Nothing.
Okay.
So what does he do?
He gets back up.
He works it some more water.
(43:21):
It puts seeds, wake ups.
The next day, what does he see?
Nothing.
Okay.
And that's the reason people fail.
It is because, oh, I put in thiseffort, but then I don't see no results.
See, here's the kicker, and thisis why the consistency is the key.
Alright?
The bottom line is, is this,if you perfect the process, I.
(43:44):
Hmm.
And you continually to work theprocess, the results will come.
Yeah.
Okay.
So he knows All I gotta do is keepdoing this over and over again.
Focus on what's in my control, andthat's me working this soil and
having a good attitude about it.
Now if a flood comes,I can't control that.
(44:05):
Right.
If a hurricane come, I can't control that.
If locust come, I can't control that.
But if I just focus and show up every day,one day he wakes up and what does he see?
Blo, bloop, bloop.
Little buds of corn.
Right?
And that's how we have to havethat mindset of our business.
And I'm so excited and just impressedwith you because you have that mindset.
(44:31):
There's always going to be trouble.
There's always gonna be roadblocks.
There's always gonna be tank traps.
There's always gonna be, I didn't know.
That's fine, right?
But if you just keep at it andyou said something earlier,
I don't want the audience tomiss it, and you learn from it.
Okeatta Brown (44:48):
Yeah,
Tony Tidbit (44:49):
and then you apply it and you just keep doing it.
It's just a matter of time.
You know, I learned this a long time ago.
Um, you know, uh, this was when I gotout the mill, this was years ago, and
eating and, you know, just got, becamereally, really outta shape, you know,
I was in shape, blah, blah, blah.
So what did I do?
I was fat and I was outta shape.
(45:11):
Okay, so I joined the gym likeeverybody else does, right?
Okeatta Brown (45:14):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Tony Tidbit (45:15):
Every day I went to the gym, worked out, worked out, worked out.
So after two weeks from going to thegym every day, instead of me being
fat and outta shape, I was sore fat.
And outta shape.
Okay.
So sometimes it gets worsebefore it gets better.
(45:37):
Right.
But as I kept continuing to workout, I ended up losing 30 pounds.
Yeah, okay.
So my point is it didn't feel good.
I didn't see instantresults, but I kept at it.
Right.
So let me, speaking of that, if you cansit down with 16-year-old Aita today.
Okeatta Brown (45:58):
Ooh,
Tony Tidbit (45:59):
what would you tell her?
My friend?
Okeatta Brown (46:00):
Ooh, it's gonna be all right, boy.
Get my Kendrick Lamar in there.
It's gonna be all right.
And also keep pushing, right?
I love don't give up on yourself.
Don't fail yourself.
You can do anything.
Keep pushing and don't be afraid of it.
That's what I would tellmy 16-year-old self.
(46:21):
I was actually on a conversationhere recently and, um.
Someone asked me kind of whatwould I, what would I share?
And I said, you know, Iwould start earlier, right?
I would start this process earlier.
I would believe in the fact thatI could do this earlier so that
I'll move forward in my purpose.
Right?
I can do two things at once.
(46:42):
I can do three things at once, right?
But it's moving in your purpose.
And so I would, that's what I wouldtell ultimately, my 16-year-old self
moving in your purpose and keep going.
Tony Tidbit (46:52):
That is awesome and you are a hundred every we, I would think same.
If I knew what I knew today, Iwould've started this a long time ago.
Right.
Totally agree.
Final thoughts, what do youwanna leave the audience?
Okeatta Brown (47:06):
Definitely check out Owen Co Interior.
Please come look atthese beautiful pieces.
We are on Instagram, we're on TikTok.
I think there's a Facebookout there as well.
Come check us out.
Look at these pieces, share these,share everything that you can.
If you can share it withyour networks as well.
Um, but come see us, come support us.
(47:27):
Please do.
It's o and co.
Ter, it's O-A-N-D-C-O-I-N-T-E-R.
IORS, is that right?
That sounds right.
Tony Tidbit (47:36):
I mean, it's yours.
I, I hope it's right.
Right?
I'm saying you gonna sit onsomebody else's website and like,
Hey, ok, I bought something.
Like, no, you didn't.
I
Okeatta Brown (47:45):
didn't see that.
Okay.
Um, but let's make sure that wecertainly come to owen co interiors.com.
I'd love to hear fromyou, share your thoughts.
Feed all feedback is a gift.
I'd love to hear from all of you.
If you have anything you'd liketo share, please do let me know.
Know.
Tony Tidbit (48:01):
Awesome my friend.
Well, listen, this has been a gift today.
Having somebody like you come on A BlackExecutive Perspective podcast and share
and really, really help people understandthat, you know, they can deal with
change, they can have a strong mindset,and then they can jump out on faith.
(48:26):
And build something special forthemselves and that their brand
and who they are and what they do.
Is the most important becausethat's what people remember.
So make sure you bring ahundred percent every day.
And I can tell you today, my sister,you brought a hundred percent here, so
listen, we're gonna put your website up.
(48:47):
Definitely check her out.
I, I, you know, I still got, I'mgonna chat with you after the show.
What is a cate?
I'll figure it out, right?
But once I find out, then I'mgonna have to look into it.
Okay?
I
Okeatta Brown (48:57):
listen, which, you know what I'm
Tony Tidbit (48:59):
saying?
Yes, but really appreciateOkeatta Brown, CEOO interiors.
Thank you for coming on ABlack Executive Perspective.
We're gonna have you come back asyou build your business, and so you
can share more with the audience interms how things are going, and you
can provide some insight, continualinsight in terms of entrepreneurship.
Okeatta Brown (49:22):
I would welcome that opportunity and thank
you for having me today.
Tony Tidbit (49:25):
You are welcome.
So now I think it's time for.
Tony's
Okeatta Brown (49:29):
tidbit.
Tony Tidbit (49:30):
So the tidbit today, success isn't just about climbing the ladder
sometimes the greatest leap is knowingwhen to step off and build your own.
And you heard a lot of that from mysister, Okeatta Brown, so don't forget
to check out the next need to know by Dr.
(49:51):
Nsenga Burton.
You don't wanna miss that.
Here on the Black ExecutivePerspective Podcast, Dr.
Burton dives into the timely and crucialtopics that shape our community and world.
You wanna tune in to gain insightand deepen your understanding.
She talks about the issues you don'thave, you don't have time to figure out.
You don't wanna miss it.
Every Thursday here on A BlackExecutive Perspective podcast,
(50:14):
and don't forget to meet.
Also, check out our next show.
Pull Up, speak Up, where our roundtable dives into a lot of the
most provocative issues that'shappening today in the world.
These are sharp perspectives, real talk.
A call to action.
This is not just anepisode, it's a revolution.
(50:34):
So don't forget to miss the next pull up.
Speak up on A Black ExecutivePerspective podcast.
For those who know, this is our timewhen we have our call to action.
If this is your first timewatching or listening, A Black
Executive Perspective podcast.
Our goal is to decrease all formsof discrimination, and for us
to do that and for you to do it,we ask you to incorporate our
(50:58):
acronym, which is called less.
L-E-S-S-L stands for learn.
You wanna learn about other racial andcultural nuances, people that you don't
know, so you can enlighten yourself.
Then after L, you have E,which stands for empathy.
Now, since you've learned, now,you can put yourself in their
(51:20):
perspectives because you know exactlywhat they've been dealing with.
The first S is share.
Now you want to share what you learnedto other individuals to enlighten them.
And then the final S is stop.
You wanna stop discriminationas it walks in your path.
So if Aunt Jenny or Uncle Joe sayssomething at the Sunday dinner table.
(51:43):
That's inappropriate.
You say, aunt Jenny, uncleJoe, we don't believe that.
We don't say that.
And you stop it right there.
So if everyone can incorporate lessLESS, we'll build a more fair, more
understanding world and we all will seethe change that we wanna see because less.
We'll become more.
(52:04):
Don't forget to follow A Black ExecutivePerspective of Tune in on YouTube,
apple, Spotify, or wherever you getyour podcast, and you can follow
us on our socials of LinkedIn, X,YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram
at a black exec for our fabulous.
Guests, the outstanding,phenomenal Edia Brown.
(52:26):
I'm Tony Tidbit.
We talked about it.
We learned about it.
We laughed about it.
We are going to continue to strive aboutit, and we're gonna thrive about it.
Now we're out.
We love you.
See you next time.
BEP Narrator (52:42):
A Black Executive Perspective.
Keep pushing.
(00:01):
Right.
I love don't give up on yourself.
Don't fail yourself.
You can do anything.
Keep pushing and don't be afraid of it.
That's what I would tellmy 16-year-old self.
I was actually on a conversationhere recently and, um.
Someone asked me kind of whatwould I, what would I share?
And I said, you know, Iwould start earlier, right?
I would start this process earlier.
(00:23):
I would believe in the fact thatI could do this earlier so that
I'll move forward in my purpose.
Right?
I can do two things at once.
I can do three things at once, right?
But it's moving in your purpose.
And so I would, that's what I wouldtell ultimately, my 16-year-old self.
Moving your purpose and keep going.
We'll discuss race and how
Tony Tidbit (00:42):
it plays a factor and how we didn't even talk about
this topic 'cause we were afraid
BEP Narrator (00:48):
A Black Executive Perspective.
Tony Tidbit (00:51):
We are coming to you live from the new BEP studio for
another thought provoking episode ofA Black Executive Perspective podcast.
A safe space where we discuss all mattersrelated to race, culture, and those
uncomfortable topics people tend to avoid.
I'm your host Tony Tidbit.
So before we get started on thisfantastic episode, I wanna make
(01:14):
sure that everyone checks out ourpartners at Code M Magazine, whose
mission is saving the black familyby first saving the black man.
So check them out@codemmagazine.com.
That is code m magazine.com.
So today, Okeatta Brown, founderand CEO of O, and Company Interiors.
(01:37):
Joins BEP to share her journey.
From corporate board rooms to boldentrepreneurship, A seasoned leader
advocate, an HBCU graduate, she willdiscuss her personal roots that shaped
her professional ambition, her deepcommitment to community, and a decision
to launch a company that reflectsculture, heritage, and innovation.
(02:02):
We'll also explore the businessof design, the power of black
entrepreneurship, and what it means tolive with purpose from inside and out.
Lemme tell you about mygood friend Okeatta Brown.
Okeatta.
As I stated earlier, a dynamic leaderwho has seamlessly bridged the world of
business design and community impact.
(02:25):
With over two decades of successin corporate America, she has
brought her strategic acumen.
And passion for cultural expressioninto the world of interior
design and furniture production.
By launching her company Oand Company Interiors in 2025.
A proud HBCU graduate ofJohnson c Smith University.
(02:47):
EDTA is also a committed civic leader.
She has held influential roles onnumerous nonprofit boards included
in United Negro College Fund, theUrban League of Central Carolinas.
Well, guess what?
She made history as the youngestboard chair and the Carolina Community
Builders Initiative Advisory Board.
I.
She's also been on the CarolinasMinority Supplier Development Council,
(03:11):
where she serves as second vice chair.
She's a dedicated member of AlphaAlpha Kappa I Alpha Sorority and
continues to champion equity,empowerment and entrepreneurship
across every space she enters.
Okeatta Brown.
Welcome to A Black ExecutivePerspective Podcast, my sister.
Okeatta Brown (03:34):
Thank you for having me.
What an introduction.
Tony Tidbit (03:36):
That was amazing.
Yeah.
Um, it is your introductionand you're amazing.
Okay.
I mean, unless, unless youstole that from somebody else.
Right.
And you're like, oh, Idid, I really did that.
Oh my God.
I should have, I should havecame up with something a little
bit less, you know, perspective.
All right.
But that's you, Mike, girl.
So look, we excited to chat with you.
Okay.
(03:57):
And you like, look, you got a, a, a.
Fantastic background.
Um, we can't wait to dive in intothe things that you're looking to do.
You built your own company andlook, it takes a lot of courage,
especially as a black woman to do that.
So we're gonna dive into that.
But before we get into the heavystuff, why don't you tell me a little
bit about where you currently resideand a little bit about your family.
Okeatta Brown (04:19):
Well, thank you again.
Thank you for having me today.
Um, I am Okeatta Brown.
I currently reside inCharlotte, North Carolina.
Uh, I have, uh, I'm an awesome auntie.
I have a wonderful goddaughter.
I'm an amazing daughter and agreat sister to several, and a
wonderful friend, to several.
I don't have any children of myown, but that I, again, have a
(04:40):
wonderful, wonderful extended family.
I.
Tony Tidbit (04:43):
That sounds awesome.
See, you see that.
We should have threw that in the bio.
How amazing of a friend you areand how you got this and that.
You know what I'm saying?
But No, that's good.
That is all.
Hey, look, family's important and is,you know, regardless of where they fall,
cousin, uncle, kid, you know, it's greatto have people that love you, support you.
(05:03):
So that's awesome.
I've been to Charlotte.
Great city.
Um, so glad to hearthat you're down there.
So, question I wanna ask, look, and now wejust went through it in your bio, right?
Um, you got a lot going on.
You're working, you're buildinga big interior design business.
You are all over youon different platforms.
Uh, you are in high demand,people are reaching out.
(05:25):
They want you to come on andchat about what's going on.
So why did you wanna come onA Black Executive Perspective
podcast to discuss this topic?
Okeatta Brown (05:33):
I think you offer a unique point of view to your listeners, right?
I think you tell a different storythan some of the other podcasts that
I've been able to participate in.
And so I really wanted to comeinto, to your point, a safe space
to have a good, candid, real,authentic cultural conversation.
Tony Tidbit (05:51):
Well, my girl, you picked the right spot.
All right?
And that's what we gonna do today.
You know what I'm saying?
That's what we gonna do today.
So you ready to talk about it?
Okeatta Brown (06:01):
Let's talk about it.
Tony Tidbit (06:02):
Alright, my girl, let's talk about it.
So listen, let's back all the wayup because, you know, um, chairman
of all the different nonprofits,CEO of your own business, um,
civic leader, all those things thatdidn't just happen overnight, right?
That didn't just happen, you know,today you were, you know, somebody
(06:23):
told me this a long time ago.
They said, I never seen a a, ababy born that says, uh, born six
pounds, seven ounces, and a fist.
Full of hundreds.
Right.
Okay.
So at the end of the day,yeah, it don't work that way.
So let's go all the way back.
Tell us about a little bit where yougrew up, where you grew up at, and
the values and early lessons fromyour family that showed up, that
(06:46):
still shows up in your life today.
Okeatta Brown (06:49):
Yeah.
Uh, I grew up in Columbia, SouthCarolina, and I'm a product
of, uh, divorced parents.
It was a single mom.
My mom married young, and it's justmy mom, my brother and I up until.
He went to Howard University.
Right.
And so just growing up andwatching my mom just kind of
try to make a way for us, right?
We, I never felt likewe didn't have things.
(07:10):
I never felt like I went without, but Iknew that my mom was struggling, right?
My mom was making ends meet.
I figured, I learned very early what itmeant to Rob Peter to pay Paul, right?
So we knew all of thosethings very early on.
My brother started workingat the time he was.
13 years old.
Right.
And I followed suit shortly thereafter.
So we always, my brother and I and my mom,we always had a very strong work ethic.
(07:36):
We knew what a dollar meant,we knew what survival meant.
Um, but growing up I went to adifferent school every single year
from the time I was in kindergartenup until the ninth grade.
Mm-hmm.
So that constant change, right, issomething that still sits with me today,
but it helps shape the executive andthe leader that I am today because.
(07:56):
I'm okay with change, right?
Mm-hmm.
And we know the one thing thatremains the same is change.
And so going through all of that and thedifferent homes, because we moved every
single year, the rent went up, right?
So I know what that feels like too.
Right.
So mom was like, waita minute, we got to go.
Mm-hmm.
You know, that's right here.
Right.
So I was going to a differentschool, but it was okay.
(08:18):
It, it, it taught me a lot.
Right, right.
But what someone mentioned to me,and I didn't quite put it together
until, um, this person mentioned itto me, but the reason why I got into
interior design and the reason why.
It's so important to me is becausethere was a constant movement.
So I never truly had roots.
(08:39):
Right.
You know how some people cansay, that was my childhood home.
Right?
Or my teacher from this schoolat this age, I still remember
my kindergarten teacher, Ms.
Cunningham.
I can't do that 'cause I don't have thatlevel of, uh, stability, if you will.
But when I in, when I do interior designand when I work with my clients, it was
very important for me to understand whatthey wanted to feel when they came in
(09:03):
their home, but that their home was arepresentation of who they are as well.
Mm-hmm.
So I always say I'm, I'm amovie from house to home.
So you feel like you're walking through aspace that represents you and that comes
from this going from house to house tohouse and not really being able to paint a
wall or, you know, to, to make it my own.
So when I bought my firsttown house, I painted.
(09:26):
Regretfully.
I painted my kitchen electric blue,like my living room was purple.
There was some yellow in there somewhere.
It was a mess.
It was a stone.
But I could, I was like,Ooh, I can do this.
Right.
Um, but it really said for me whenI started that interior design work.
So I did that in about 2015when I started that work.
(09:46):
Right.
That's why it was so important to meto build homes so that people could
feel that sense of stability and feelthat connectedness to who they are to
their culture or whatever it was thatthey wanted to represent at the time.
Tony Tidbit (09:58):
Wow.
Wow.
So number one, thanks for sharing that.
And there's a couple of things I wannadive a little bit deeper when you talk
about change, um, because it's somethingthat most people struggle with, right?
Um, in terms of dealing with, youknow, getting out of a comfort zone.
Or you know, having to, you know,wake up one day and find out that
(10:21):
you gotta do something different oryou gotta move somewhere different.
Or you gotta think differently.
Right.
A lot of people struggle, andespecially in today's world, we're
dealing with a ton of change.
Yeah.
All the time.
Right.
And some people become immobile,so outside of the ability.
To be able to, to get a sense, 'causeyou didn't grow up, um, you know,
(10:41):
with roots that, that, that you know,you can plant and this and that.
And obviously that's what you loveto do now because with your interior
design, you're allowing people andhelping them create something that
can be a legacy or it can be planted.
Within their family, theirhouse, what the case may be.
(11:02):
But you've been a, a successfulexecutive as well, right?
So talk about some of the other values andstuff that you learned from moving around
all the time when it comes to change.
Okeatta Brown (11:14):
Hmm.
Um.
So to your point, that change allowedme to come into the corporate space and
be really just flexible, be amenableto change, understand that things
are not going to remain this way.
And if I needed to make a way,I needed to build that way.
Right.
Um, and so when I got into my careercoming outta South Carolina, um,
(11:36):
I had to unlearn some things interms of just some, the, the, the.
Juxtaposition between how I grew upwith a very racially charged space.
Columbia, South Carolina isn'tthe easiest place to grow up.
And then coming into Charlotte,which felt like a world away, right?
And then going to an HBCU, loveJohnson c Smith grew up there.
(11:57):
They taught me how to be an adult.
Right?
There was no, there were no violins.
There were no, there was no handholding.
They're like, you betterfigure that thing out.
Right?
Right.
But because I had experienced somuch change, I knew how to do that.
Um, and then going intothe corporate space.
And I went into that spacethinking I knew everything, right?
I had a undergraduate degree in marketing.
I thought I knew everything.
(12:18):
I was like, I'm ready to be thechief marketing officer today.
Let's do it right?
And some people sat me down andtold me and made me understand
that what I was, what I was tryingto do, I needed to learn a little
bit more, listen more, speak less.
You don't know everything.
So.
Growing up and being around thatand really trying to understand how
(12:40):
to get along with different people,meet people where they are, learning
different personalities, right?
All of those things came along with thatchange that then allowed me to apply
it into the corporate space, right?
Because you can't have the same exactconversation with every person, right?
You have to know who you'retalking to, speak the language
so that you can be heard, right?
(13:00):
So that's, that was very clear to me.
Tony Tidbit (13:04):
My girl.
I love what you said.
Right?
And there's people that'sgonna watch who's watching
this now or listening to it.
They needed to hear thatbecause at the end of the day,
it is about being a chameleon.
I.
It is about being flexible.
It is about shutting up.
It is about changing.
It is about, you know, all thethings that you talked about.
(13:25):
For you to become successful in anyendeavor, you have to embrace change.
Right?
And more importantly, what I'm hearingfrom you, which I love, it's not just
embrace it, learn from it, right?
Because that's the key right now.
Look, we could be talkingabout change all day long.
(13:46):
I mean, you know, and I'm nottalking spare change, okay?
I'm just talking change because you'vehad a lot of changes, you know, um,
and even starting your own business.
But let's just stay right here interms of your corporate life, right?
You've two decades in,in corporate, right?
What are you most proudof in that journey?
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Tony Tidbit (14:35):
of coming.
From Columbia, South Carolina, movingall the way from early years to ninth
grade, having a mother that's, youknow, hustled and made it happen, but
didn't have a lot of, you know, materialthings and stuff to that nature.
And now look where you are.
So what are you most proud of, of thatjourney the last two decades in corporate?
Okeatta Brown (14:58):
It is actually been three.
I know.
I don't look that long.
You know?
Tony Tidbit (15:02):
Ha.
Had you not said nothing I wouldn'thave had you not said nothing.
I wouldn't have thought nothing.
Okeatta Brown (15:07):
Oh no, it's because you look
Tony Tidbit (15:09):
good.
You look.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Okeatta Brown (15:11):
Well thank you.
I appreciate that.
Um, I learned a lot along the way.
Um, but what I will say, one thingthat's always stood out to me, well,
two in particular, and what I'm proudof is that I was a very matter of fact.
Person.
When I entered into the workforce, I waslike, I don't wanna talk about your cat.
(15:32):
I don't wanna talk about your dog.
Your children are none of my business.
That's how I was when I started.
Right.
Um, but then really understanding peopleand opening myself up to people and really
trying to figure out how to navigate thesespaces and being comfortable with sharing.
Because we know it's not easy to bevulnerable in a corporate environment,
(15:54):
particularly if you look like me.
Right?
Correct.
So how do I find thatspace where I can do that?
Um, but there were two women inparticular during my corporate
career, um, that I would point toas, um, very pivotal moments in
providing very sound advice to me.
One mentor said to me very early on,Okeatta, if it doesn't exist, build it.
(16:17):
And I didn't know I had the capacityto build until she said that.
And I sat down, she said, Okeatta,we need this particular strategy.
And I was like, well, shecalled me Keita Re, Keita Reef.
We need this ki in.
We in the office now.
Keita Re, we need this particularstrategy at such and such.
And I was like, okay.
She said, I'm gonna build it.
And she turned around, started typing.
(16:38):
Next thing I know, she was thehead of the thing that she built.
Right, right.
And she said, wow, that that's a thing.
Like we can do that.
And so I've always taken that approach.
If it doesn't exist, I'm going to buildit and I'm gonna build it in such a
way that there's shared value, right?
I'm gonna make sure thateverybody wins, the company wins.
What I'm trying to do, wins, andthe customer or the people we're
(16:59):
trying to serve wins, right?
So I always look for the stackedwin and the second critical moment.
I was very young in my career and.
Sister hemmed me up.
She was an attorney andI gave her something.
She said, she's a corporate attorney.
She said, um, she needed something.
She hemmed
Tony Tidbit (17:14):
you up, huh?
Okeatta Brown (17:16):
I never hemmed up before in my life.
She said I gave her something,like I threw something
together for her or whatever.
I was in marketing.
I threw something together.
She came down to my desk.
I don't know where she came from, whatbuilding she came from, but I ne Next
thing I know this person, this is astory that I have in my head, came to
my desk and told me not to ever sendanything out that had my name on it
(17:40):
that I wasn't fully proud of, becausemy brand will always perceive me.
Ooh,
that moment on, I waslike, Ooh, I'm so sorry.
And Ooh, right.
But from that moment on, I'm knew, andI think the people I work with now think
they probably think I'm a perfectionist,but I'm like, no, that stuck with me.
Your brand will always perceive you.
(18:01):
No matter where you are, where yougo inside or outside of corporate
America, your brand will proceed Youso always put your best foot forward.
Those are the two things that I takeaway from my corporate career because
it set the foundation for everythingelse that I've done since then.
And I apply that bothinternally and externally.
I apply that to the work that Ilead today 'cause I'm in service
(18:23):
of others every single day.
But I always put the best foot forward.
But then in building the business,right, owing co interiors, what is
it that I'm trying to do with thiscompany and how do I impact change in a
meaningful way, but also create somethingthat's beautiful and resonates with,
with everyone that loves it, right?
It, it should create a feeling.
(18:44):
How do I do that?
So I'm always thinking about.
What's the end opportunity there and howdo I create the stacked win for everybody?
Tony Tidbit (18:51):
I love it.
I love it.
Let me ask you this, you know, one ofthe things that we all deal with, and
I want to hear your thoughts on itbecause you talked about, you know,
the two things that you're proud of,um, and one is building and the other,
understanding your brand and makingsure that whatever you put out there is.
(19:12):
100% you, because like yousaid it, it goes forever.
But I wanna back up to whenyou said, um, what'd she say?
Or Rita, I said, what did she called you?
Ke Kitie.
Kitie.
Kitie.
Right.
And she said, we kitie.
Right.
Kitie.
And she said, we gonna build something.
Right.
Let me ask you this.
(19:32):
When she came and you said at thetime you didn't know that, that
you could build something, but nowyou in the middle of it, how much.
Did fear tie in to any of that?
And the reason I ask Yeah.
There we know, and just looking atyou, there are so many talented people.
Okeatta Brown (19:55):
Yeah.
Tony Tidbit (19:56):
There are so many people who are gifted.
There are so many people inthe walls of corporate America.
But even to the point whereyou even started your own
business, that people are afraid.
For whatever reason.
All right.
To take that leap, even when somebodykind of says to them, you had a mentor
(20:17):
that was like, we gonna do this.
Right?
So talk a little bit about thatbecause I can imagine people are want
to hear that because they need to getout of that for them to move forward.
Okeatta Brown (20:30):
Yeah.
I would say for me in particular, I havethe, the pleasure and the blessing of
serving in my gift in two spaces, right?
So I'm still in my corporate space, butI get to have this other space as well.
What I do in my corporate spaceis my heart's work, right?
So I get to be in service of others.
I get to drive change andimpact in my corporate world.
(20:51):
But then in this other space,I get to exercise my passion
around building beautiful thingsand creating beautiful spaces.
So I don't have to make thatdecision, if you will, of leaving
one space and going into the other.
I'm squarely in both and doingmy best, but to your point, fear.
Is the thing that willcripple you the most?
(21:13):
It will.
That's that doubt.
That's that talk that you give yourselfthat you can't, you don't know enough.
Uh, some would call it imposter syndrome.
Correct?
Correct.
Uh, that you can't moveinto these other spaces.
You have to overcome those things.
That happens on a daily basis.
For some, it happens for me as well,but I just move through it, right?
Because the fear of not doingsomething because I got in my own way.
(21:39):
Supersedes the fear of actually doing it.
Right.
Right.
So I'm more afraid of the me not eventrying and not realizing what my true
potential will be versus going out theretrying and failing or learning from that.
Right.
I go, I approach things with, you get a50 50 shot, you going win or you're not.
Right, right, right.
But in the process, you havethe opportunity to move forward,
(22:02):
and the true failure is whenyou don't take that opportunity.
Tony Tidbit (22:06):
Ooh.
Okeatta Brown (22:07):
That's the thing that I hold on to.
Tony Tidbit (22:09):
I love it.
I love it.
I learned this a long time ago.
The word fear spelled FEAR, standsfor false evidence appearing real.
Okay?
Okay.
And what does that mean?
That means 90%, and this is facts.
90% of the things that we'reafraid of never happen.
(22:30):
And the 10% that do happen.
It's better than what wethought it was, right?
So I love what you said in termsof continue to move forward.
So you know, Chad, withyou, you seem so grounded.
You, you seem, you were broughtup by a great mother and you know,
created and taught you core values.
(22:51):
Right?
So talk a little bit about how servingin the nonprofit or nonprofit boards
and champion community initiatives, howit's always been a part of your mission.
Why is that?
Talk a little bit about that.
Okeatta Brown (23:04):
There are so many people that need help, right.
Regardless if it's help because they areunhoused or it's help because they need
to build capacity to learn a trade orit's help because they're trying to get
their credit together so they can buytheir first home and generate wealth.
Because we know the path to wealthis through home ownership, right?
So I've always been in that space,but, but also because I grew up.
(23:28):
Understanding what itmeant to not have Right.
Or to not have a, a single home to go to.
Right.
I always knew what that meant.
And my mom had, she had a government job.
I knew what that felt like for her.
Right, right.
And so I've always been in aplace of give back, serve always.
I, when my nieces would come and visit mefor summer, they'd be right in my Urban
(23:52):
league meetings with me, learning all thethings that I'm saying and learning all
the things that they need to learn to.
To, to be successful, right?
And making sure they understoodwhat credit meant, right?
What does it mean tohave a good credit score?
Well, this is what it means, right?
And so going through all ofthat with them has been amazing.
But that because I was grounded inunderstanding what it means to not have,
(24:15):
but then what it means to have a little,and what it means to have a lot, I can
go through that, that life cycle, if youwill, and do my best to share my thoughts,
share, add value in whatever way I can.
So I've always been inthat space of giving back.
It's so important.
Tony Tidbit (24:31):
Tell me a little bit about entrepreneurship.
I mean, you know, again,it's a, it's a leap.
Okay.
In terms of, you know, starting,'cause you just finished talking
about, you know, generationalwealth and stuff to that nature.
Um, we do live in a countrythat is a capitalist country.
It is really, most people don'tknow this, but it really is about
(24:53):
you starting your own business.
Okay.
The laws and everythingis set up for that.
Right.
And the majority of people endup working for people for years.
And you know, that's why I went to theask you about the fear component as well.
Like, 'cause a lot oftimes people are afraid.
But talk a little bit about, did you growup seeing entrepreneurs in your community?
(25:15):
Did they inspire you?
Or talk a little bit about that.
Okeatta Brown (25:19):
I didn't grow up with entrepreneurs in my family, if you will.
Mm-hmm.
I learned more about it in my adult life.
I learned more about the opportunityto actually have your own and
what that meant in my adult life.
I think it was, what was interestingabout the scenario that in which
I grew up was really thinkingthrough or seeing the examples of.
(25:44):
Put your head down, do thejob, just get through it.
Right.
It was never a situation ofthis is what it means to own
your own or to build your own.
I didn't see that growing
Tony Tidbit (25:53):
up.
Right, right, right.
Most people don't,
Okeatta Brown (25:57):
and one of my roles, particularly in, in our community, right?
Correct.
Tony Tidbit (26:01):
Most people don't.
Okeatta Brown (26:02):
No.
And so I didn't see it.
I didn't know that that was an option forme, and that seemed like a harder road.
To take Correct.
Right?
Correct, correct.
But I, I can get the one, one good friend.
I can get this.
Good job.
Right?
A friend of mine said that.
Tony Tidbit (26:15):
Well, also our parents bring us up there with that mindset, right.
To go out and get a good jobbecause they didn't have good jobs.
Okay.
Or, and sometimes they did,but that was the mindset.
It's not, you know, sofinish your thought.
But that has a lot to do with it as well.
Okeatta Brown (26:30):
100%.
You go in, you get the job, youkeep the job, you keep your head
down and do a good job, right?
Correct.
Correct.
Make ways, don't say anything.
Take the money they give you.
They don't.
We don't.
We didn't learn how tonegotiate our salaries.
Right.
We didn't know we couldnegotiate a salary.
401k.
What do you mean?
Right?
Oh, we didn't know those things,
Tony Tidbit (26:51):
but reason I'm laughing is because it reminds me you just
got finished saying, uh um, uh uh.
It's, it's a little different,but it was the same kind of
slogan when I was growing up.
When I used to go to the grocerystore with my mother and you, you
walk in the store first thing whenyou get ready to walk in, first thing
she said, I ain't buying you shit.
Don't touch nothing.
You ain't getting shit.
Okeatta Brown (27:13):
And you get the look.
My mama had a look flat out.
Got that look.
Tony Tidbit (27:17):
Don't even, right.
Okeatta Brown (27:21):
Oh, I remember that.
Look boy.
Woo.
Yeah.
No was the first thingbefore anything else, mama?
No.
Okay.
You.
Tony Tidbit (27:31):
So when did you, when did the bug become real for you to say,
because look, you, you, you've beensuccessful in everything you've done.
When did you finally have thatbug saying, you know what?
It's time for me to start my own thing?
Okeatta Brown (27:47):
Honestly, with Owen Co interiors, um, and starting the furniture
line, that vision came to me in a dream.
Mm.
Tony Tidbit (27:56):
Tall.
Tell us.
Okeatta Brown (27:58):
I saw it was COVID.
Everybody was spending their time at home.
I was spending time at home andI was looking at my furniture
like, I need some new furniture.
This, I want something different.
This, this how I've been living.
Oh my, I had stuff back, man.
Like, wait a minute now, wait a minute.
So I'm, I'm trying to find these piecesand I was looking for something that I
(28:19):
could connect to, something that I couldconnect with my culture, with my heritage.
Something that was beautiful,something that I would.
Fall in love with and stay in love with.
'cause I'm not a big fan of trends, right?
I don't want something in my housethat I'm gonna hate in a year.
So I want things that I'm gonna love.
And so I couldn't find thepiece that I was looking for.
And I had a dream.
(28:39):
And in my dream I saw this beautiful bed.
It had these beautiful, thebeautiful braid embellishment on it.
And I'm like, oh my gosh, where is that?
Right?
So I'm looking and I can't find that.
So through my interior design work, I havea general contractor that I typically work
with, uh, with customized construction.
And I said to him, I had this dreamand this and that and the other.
(28:59):
He and his wife built the frame for me.
And put this raw wood framein the middle of my living
room and said, go, no excuses.
Figure it out.
So I had to teach myself howto make this thing that I saw
in this vision that I had.
So I'm testing fabrics, I'm sewing thingsby hand 'cause I don't know how to sew,
(29:20):
use a sewing machine, I don't know.
And really didn't, I was just doingthings and, and trying to figure it out.
And I made a prototype.
And I looked at the prototype andI was like, wow, it's beautiful,
but it also looked like I made it.
So that won't make, that's notgonna go in anybody's house.
I wouldn't wanna putthat in anybody's house.
So then I realized I was, I hadsomething that was aesthetically
(29:41):
beautiful, connected to culture,something that people would
love because I loved it so much.
I felt like others wouldlove it equally as much.
Um, so I found a manufacturer toactually build the pieces for me.
And then that said to me, Ireally wanna get in this business.
I really wanna share these beautifulpieces with other people because if
it had this impact on me, it mighthave the same impact on others.
(30:04):
So that's actually the catalyst for me.
Starting a furniture line and reallytrying to get into this aspect of
design versus the interior design work.
It's brand new.
It's terrifying andexciting at the same time.
I'm stumbling throughit, I'm finding my way.
Um, I've got great people around me.
I have a great mentor in this spaceas well, and so it's still a work in
(30:28):
progress, but I'm really excited about it.
But that was the catalyst, this beautifuldream that I had of this beautiful
piece that I wanted to create and share.
Tony Tidbit (30:36):
Wow.
So you know what's funny though, and notfunny as I'm listening to your story,
um, and you probably know this, right?
How things come full circle, okay?
So as you were telling me you wereat work and your boss said, oh,
Rita, we gonna build something?
(30:58):
And you were like, I can't,I can, I can build something.
And they were like, yeah,we gonna build this.
And you saw her build it.
I didn't, now you were in a dream.
Well, no, excuse me.
You were looking for furniture, okay?
Mm-hmm.
And then all of a sudden you saw this,and then you started building it.
Think about that.
Okeatta Brown (31:18):
Isn't that
Tony Tidbit (31:19):
something?
Okay?
Isn't that something?
Isn't that right?
Going back to, oh, Rita,we gonna build this.
Okeatta Brown (31:28):
I'll never forget that moment.
I'm like, because, okay, sure.
Tony Tidbit (31:32):
And look at you now.
And look at you now.
Right.
So that bug, that moment didn't go away.
No.
That opened up something thatwas already inside of you that
you already had, and then.
It's what the same thing youdid to build your business.
Right?
And so tell us more.
(31:52):
Tell, okay.
Look, I'm a novice, you know, whenit comes to interior design, you
know, I, till my wife showed up, Ihad, you know, sheets, it's curtains.
Oh no.
Alright.
That out loud.
Tons of blowing it up.
No, I'm.
Being honest.
Right?
Had nothing wrong with that.
Right.
It look good to me, youknow what I'm saying?
Kept people from looking in my window.
(32:14):
Okay.
So talk to us a little bit about,you know, oh, and what you bring to
the table and what people would seeand your differentiation and why they
should, you know, come to you and whatare you bringing that you know is so
fascinating and so beautiful that's goingto make them, that's gonna blow them
(32:34):
away and make them wanna work with you.
Okeatta Brown (32:37):
My hope is that the, and I, I, it's called the Victoria Lane line, so
it's okay to, it's oh, and co interiors.
My initial launch, my collectionis the Victoria Lane Collection.
Victoria is named for my mother and mygreat-great grandmother, so I wanted
to bring them into this space becauseI, it is again, just beautiful pieces.
I've not seen anythinglike this on the market.
(32:59):
My manufacturer, when I found her, andit's a woman-owned manufacturing company
in High Point, which is almost unheard of.
Right.
Um, but when I shared with her what Iwas trying to do, she said, Okeatta,
I've been in this business for 30 years.
I've never seen anything like this.
That's why I'm agreeingto do this project.
Tony Tidbit (33:17):
Wow.
Okeatta Brown (33:17):
So what I'll say is, why come to me?
There's nothing like it on the market.
It is nothing that's going to connectto you the way that we know the braid
connects in the, in the community, right?
Mm-hmm.
The braid is, has been around forthousands of years and it has caught,
crossed boundaries in terms ofcountries and continents, et cetera.
(33:38):
It's used to date.
It's something that I learnedto do on my little Barbie head.
When I was, I don't know how long, howold my mama taught me how to braid.
Right.
And so you, you remember the bigBarbie head with the, I I remember.
I
Tony Tidbit (33:51):
mean, I didn't actually play with it, but I remember it.
My sister had it.
Right.
My sisters okay.
But I I got you.
I got you.
But
Okeatta Brown (33:57):
that's where I learned, right.
And that's where I was teachingmy nieces, uh, to braid as well.
But you see that in the work.
Every piece that we make is handcrafted.
It's solid wood.
Every braid is individually braidedand then we apply it, right?
And so when, why cometo Owen Co Interiors?
Why the Victoria Lane Collection?
(34:17):
You're not gonna find this anywhere else.
You're not gonna find piecesthat will resonate the way these
pieces do, just across the board.
Tony Tidbit (34:26):
Now talk is this.
What is this?
Living room furniture outdoor front.
Tell me a little bit more about whattype, and then more importantly,
um, you know, do people order it?
Do they, do you, you know, do talk alittle bit about the process as well.
Okeatta Brown (34:41):
Process.
Uh, so we have the, thisinitial collection, we have
a cate, a bed, um, a bench.
An ottoman.
Why are you smiling?
No, because you said,
Tony Tidbit (34:50):
hold on.
You said ate.
And I'm like, what the hell is that?
This is a fancy, I just told you Ihad, I had shit up in the window.
And you talking
Okeatta Brown (35:02):
ate.
Tony Tidbit (35:02):
No, I'm teasing.
I'm teasing.
I'm teasing.
Okeatta Brown (35:04):
Oh.
Oh.
But we have those pieces, all upholsteredpieces and so interior home pieces.
Um, but, so there's o and Co interior,so OA and d co interiors.com.
You can go out there andsee the pieces as well.
Um, but get in touch with me if you'reinterested in having a customized
piece, because again, these are allhandmade, handcrafted, I love it.
(35:27):
Individual custom pieces so wecan create whatever you like.
I just see the vision of so many differentthings that I wanna do with these pieces.
It's, it's endless.
Tony Tidbit (35:37):
So talk about what's what, give us that vision.
Where, where do you see you, wheredo you, where are you going with o?
Where do you want it to go?
What, you know?
Talk a little bit aboutwhat's your ultimate goal?
Where do you see this?
Are you looking to scale it?
Give us a little bit.
Okeatta Brown (35:53):
I absolutely am looking to scale it.
Um, I want to have multiplefurniture collections.
I want to be known as the go-to forthese types of customized pieces,
pieces that you will have in your home.
Four years to come that you can passdown to your gen, your family, um,
from generations to generation, right?
(36:13):
Um, so that's what I'd like to see.
I think about it in termsof restoration hardware.
Like I wanna be arestoration hardware, there
Tony Tidbit (36:21):
we go,
Okeatta Brown (36:21):
type company, right?
I wanna grow it to that levelwhere I am at one po when I get
to a place of being global, right?
I wanna be able to share this, thisvision and this beauty around the world.
So the intent is to grow it for sure.
Tony Tidbit (36:36):
I speak it into existence, my sister.
Right.
You speak it into existence.
Okeatta Brown (36:41):
God,
Tony Tidbit (36:41):
right?
No, he, he.
Now look, we can sit here and, youknow, obviously we can be visionaries
and we can talk about all the things,but let's be, and you spoke a little
bit about this a few minutes ago.
Yeah.
Talk, what's some of the toughestthings that you're, you have to deal
with in terms of being an entrepreneur,especially being a black woman
(37:01):
who's, who's building a business?
Okeatta Brown (37:04):
Yeah.
Uh, I, I wasn't shocked becauseI used to be the vice chair in
the Carolina, Virginia MinoritySupplier Development Council.
So I knew the struggle of.
Being an entrepreneur, I would goto the National Minority Supplier
Development Council conferences.
I used to be in supplierdiversity, so I knew what it
meant to have your own business.
And you know, some of the mistakes that Isaw some of our, um, vendors make, right?
(37:28):
So some of the vendors would comein and just, what do you need?
And I'll do whatever you need.
And it's like, no, what are you good at?
Right, right, right.
And do well that we both are successful.
'cause I tell.
I mentioned early on, I alwayslook for the stack win, right?
So how do you win?
Mm-hmm.
How do I win?
Tony Tidbit (37:43):
Correct.
Okeatta Brown (37:44):
And I don't win if you don't know what you're doing.
Right.
Because that's gonna makeit bad for everybody,
Tony Tidbit (37:50):
you know?
That's right.
Um,
Okeatta Brown (37:51):
but some of the challenges, when I thought about what I
wanted to do, there were a lot of nos.
There were a lot of not phonecalls not being returned still.
Um, and that's okay, right?
Because it only takes one.
Yes.
Correct, correct.
And yes.
Um, and it's all self-funded, right?
And so trying to get some of these grantsand, and some of these small business
loans or thinking about, um, you know,how I wanna move forward in this space,
(38:15):
and it's like, oh, you need to be making$75,000 in revenue in order to qualify
for this a hundred thousand dollars.
I'm like, but wait, how does that work?
So it's self-funded, right?
I, I'm able to plan appropriately sothat I can fund this, so that I can do
my best to be successful in this space.
So I am invested personally, notjust creatively, but I am invested
(38:38):
in this to move it forward.
But some of those challenges and whatI'm finding difficult is finding the
right people to work with, right?
That was initially what my challenge is.
Now, it's moving from concept.
People love it.
I had people come from.
We showed in High Point Marketlast week, which is amazing.
So we had our space.
I've been trying to show at HighPoint Market for the last three years.
(39:00):
This, this has been something that I'vebeen working on for four years now.
So the last three years I wasdealing with a manufacturer that
kept deprioritizing my project.
So I missed three markets justdealing with that manufacturer.
So it got to the point with themwhere I said, it is clear to
me that you don't priorit, youdon't find value in this concept.
You're not prioritizing my project.
(39:21):
That's fine.
I'm small now.
I won't be small forever and that's okay.
Let's go ahead and we can part ways.
And then I found a manufacturerthat believed in the vision, right?
Um, so it's navigating someof those challenges as well.
'cause I didn't know what I didn't know.
So having a mentor in thisspace has been highly valuable.
But navigating this spaceis very challenging.
(39:41):
It's very difficult because my mentorsaid to me, he said, um, Okeatta,
you've been very successful over here.
You've done a lot of great work over here.
You're at the top of your game over here.
Over here.
You're starting from the bottom.
You're starting not knowing anything.
And typically people start hereand then open their business.
(40:02):
You didn't do that, so you haveto start at the beginning, right?
And that's the part where I'mlike, but no, I know how to do
this, this, this, this, and this.
That's not gonna work over here.
So that's another thing thatI'm navigating and I'm learning.
It's a test and learn as I continueto walk through this process.
Right?
Um, okay, this didn't work.
Let me pivot here.
I have a plan in place.
(40:23):
What do I need to pivot in this plan?
Right?
So that's what I've been finding themost difficult is breaking through
in the industry and moving fromconcept to, uh, generating revenue.
Tony Tidbit (40:37):
Got it, got it, got it.
What keeps you waking up?
Based on all those differentcircumstances, what keeps you waking
up and continually to have thesame vision, motivation, um, and
energy to continue to move forward?
Okeatta Brown (40:54):
I believe in it.
I believe in these pieces.
I believe in the Victoria Lane collection.
I believe in the impact of it.
I think, um, that's thething that keeps me going.
I believe in the legacy.
That I'm aligning to it, right?
Because it's named for my motherand my great great grandmother.
And it's like, hold on.
Now this can't fail because Idon't want my mama coming for
me and I don't need great, greatgrandma coming for me in my sleep.
(41:17):
I'm like, no, no, no.
Get it right little girl.
I don't need that.
So I wanna make sure it's good, right?
And so I wanna make sure anything I'mput attaching my family's legacy to is
successful and I'm doing every singlething I can to move in that space, right?
To move in that vein tomake sure it's successful.
That doesn't happen every singleday, meaning I don't wake up every
(41:37):
single day like, okay, let's do it.
But I get there.
BEP Narrator (41:41):
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Okeatta Brown (41:59):
Every single day.
Right,
Tony Tidbit (42:00):
right, right, right, right.
Well, listen, that's whatit takes just to be fair.
Right.
And it takes, but you have astrong mindset, which is the key.
Right?
And then we also know that consistencyshowing up every, if you just
show up every day consistently.
Yeah, you are good because, and Ihate to simplify it like that, right?
(42:24):
Yeah.
But just, just to be fair, right,because what's gonna happen is if you
are every day and you have the passion,you know, I always tell this story,
you know, I've been in sales for years.
I used to tell thisstory to my sales team.
'cause I used to always want themto know at the end of the day, when
a farm, if you think of a farmer.
And he sees a piece of landand it's got wood on it.
(42:45):
It's this and that.
But in his mind he's thinking, you knowwhat, I'm gonna plant corn, corn here,
and I'm gonna grow corn and I'm gonna sellit, and I'm gonna make a ton of money.
Right.
So what does he do?
He clears the land, right?
He works it,
Okeatta Brown (43:00):
yeah.
Tony Tidbit (43:00):
He puts seed in it and he waters it.
So he does all that.
Now the land is, you know, emptyand he's put all this stuff in it.
He goes to sleep.
When he wakes up the next morningand looks outside, what does he see?
Nothing.
Okay.
So what does he do?
He gets back up.
He works it some more water.
(43:21):
It puts seeds, wake ups.
The next day, what does he see?
Nothing.
Okay.
And that's the reason people fail.
It is because, oh, I put in thiseffort, but then I don't see no results.
See, here's the kicker, and thisis why the consistency is the key.
Alright?
The bottom line is, is this,if you perfect the process, I.
(43:44):
Hmm.
And you continually to work theprocess, the results will come.
Yeah.
Okay.
So he knows All I gotta do is keepdoing this over and over again.
Focus on what's in my control, andthat's me working this soil and
having a good attitude about it.
Now if a flood comes,I can't control that.
(44:05):
Right.
If a hurricane come, I can't control that.
If locust come, I can't control that.
But if I just focus and show up every day,one day he wakes up and what does he see?
Blo, bloop, bloop.
Little buds of corn.
Right?
And that's how we have to havethat mindset of our business.
And I'm so excited and just impressedwith you because you have that mindset.
(44:31):
There's always going to be trouble.
There's always gonna be roadblocks.
There's always gonna be tank traps.
There's always gonna be, I didn't know.
That's fine, right?
But if you just keep at it andyou said something earlier,
I don't want the audience tomiss it, and you learn from it.
Okeatta Brown (44:48):
Yeah,
Tony Tidbit (44:49):
and then you apply it and you just keep doing it.
It's just a matter of time.
You know, I learned this a long time ago.
Um, you know, uh, this was when I gotout the mill, this was years ago, and
eating and, you know, just got, becamereally, really outta shape, you know,
I was in shape, blah, blah, blah.
So what did I do?
I was fat and I was outta shape.
(45:11):
Okay, so I joined the gym likeeverybody else does, right?
Okeatta Brown (45:14):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Tony Tidbit (45:15):
Every day I went to the gym, worked out, worked out, worked out.
So after two weeks from going to thegym every day, instead of me being
fat and outta shape, I was sore fat.
And outta shape.
Okay.
So sometimes it gets worsebefore it gets better.
(45:37):
Right.
But as I kept continuing to workout, I ended up losing 30 pounds.
Yeah, okay.
So my point is it didn't feel good.
I didn't see instantresults, but I kept at it.
Right.
So let me, speaking of that, if you cansit down with 16-year-old Aita today.
Okeatta Brown (45:58):
Ooh,
Tony Tidbit (45:59):
what would you tell her?
My friend?
Okeatta Brown (46:00):
Ooh, it's gonna be all right, boy.
Get my Kendrick Lamar in there.
It's gonna be all right.
And also keep pushing, right?
I love don't give up on yourself.
Don't fail yourself.
You can do anything.
Keep pushing and don't be afraid of it.
That's what I would tellmy 16-year-old self.
(46:21):
I was actually on a conversationhere recently and, um.
Someone asked me kind of whatwould I, what would I share?
And I said, you know, Iwould start earlier, right?
I would start this process earlier.
I would believe in the fact thatI could do this earlier so that
I'll move forward in my purpose.
Right?
I can do two things at once.
(46:42):
I can do three things at once, right?
But it's moving in your purpose.
And so I would, that's what I wouldtell ultimately, my 16-year-old self
moving in your purpose and keep going.
Tony Tidbit (46:52):
That is awesome and you are a hundred every we, I would think same.
If I knew what I knew today, Iwould've started this a long time ago.
Right.
Totally agree.
Final thoughts, what do youwanna leave the audience?
Okeatta Brown (47:06):
Definitely check out Owen Co Interior.
Please come look atthese beautiful pieces.
We are on Instagram, we're on TikTok.
I think there's a Facebookout there as well.
Come check us out.
Look at these pieces, share these,share everything that you can.
If you can share it withyour networks as well.
Um, but come see us, come support us.
(47:27):
Please do.
It's o and co.
Ter, it's O-A-N-D-C-O-I-N-T-E-R.
IORS, is that right?
That sounds right.
Tony Tidbit (47:36):
I mean, it's yours.
I, I hope it's right.
Right?
I'm saying you gonna sit onsomebody else's website and like,
Hey, ok, I bought something.
Like, no, you didn't.
I
Okeatta Brown (47:45):
didn't see that.
Okay.
Um, but let's make sure that wecertainly come to owen co interiors.com.
I'd love to hear fromyou, share your thoughts.
Feed all feedback is a gift.
I'd love to hear from all of you.
If you have anything you'd liketo share, please do let me know.
Know.
Tony Tidbit (48:01):
Awesome my friend.
Well, listen, this has been a gift today.
Having somebody like you come on A BlackExecutive Perspective podcast and share
and really, really help people understandthat, you know, they can deal with
change, they can have a strong mindset,and then they can jump out on faith.
(48:26):
And build something special forthemselves and that their brand
and who they are and what they do.
Is the most important becausethat's what people remember.
So make sure you bring ahundred percent every day.
And I can tell you today, my sister,you brought a hundred percent here, so
listen, we're gonna put your website up.
(48:47):
Definitely check her out.
I, I, you know, I still got, I'mgonna chat with you after the show.
What is a cate?
I'll figure it out, right?
But once I find out, then I'mgonna have to look into it.
Okay?
I
Okeatta Brown (48:57):
listen, which, you know what I'm
Tony Tidbit (48:59):
saying?
Yes, but really appreciateOkeatta Brown, CEOO interiors.
Thank you for coming on ABlack Executive Perspective.
We're gonna have you come back asyou build your business, and so you
can share more with the audience interms how things are going, and you
can provide some insight, continualinsight in terms of entrepreneurship.
Okeatta Brown (49:22):
I would welcome that opportunity and thank
you for having me today.
Tony Tidbit (49:25):
You are welcome.
So now I think it's time for.
Tony's
Okeatta Brown (49:29):
tidbit.
Tony Tidbit (49:30):
So the tidbit today, success isn't just about climbing the ladder
sometimes the greatest leap is knowingwhen to step off and build your own.
And you heard a lot of that from mysister, Okeatta Brown, so don't forget
to check out the next need to know by Dr.
(49:51):
Nsenga Burton.
You don't wanna miss that.
Here on the Black ExecutivePerspective Podcast, Dr.
Burton dives into the timely and crucialtopics that shape our community and world.
You wanna tune in to gain insightand deepen your understanding.
She talks about the issues you don'thave, you don't have time to figure out.
You don't wanna miss it.
Every Thursday here on A BlackExecutive Perspective podcast,
(50:14):
and don't forget to meet.
Also, check out our next show.
Pull Up, speak Up, where our roundtable dives into a lot of the
most provocative issues that'shappening today in the world.
These are sharp perspectives, real talk.
A call to action.
This is not just anepisode, it's a revolution.
(50:34):
So don't forget to miss the next pull up.
Speak up on A Black ExecutivePerspective podcast.
For those who know, this is our timewhen we have our call to action.
If this is your first timewatching or listening, A Black
Executive Perspective podcast.
Our goal is to decrease all formsof discrimination, and for us
to do that and for you to do it,we ask you to incorporate our
(50:58):
acronym, which is called less.
L-E-S-S-L stands for learn.
You wanna learn about other racial andcultural nuances, people that you don't
know, so you can enlighten yourself.
Then after L, you have E,which stands for empathy.
Now, since you've learned, now,you can put yourself in their
(51:20):
perspectives because you know exactlywhat they've been dealing with.
The first S is share.
Now you want to share what you learnedto other individuals to enlighten them.
And then the final S is stop.
You wanna stop discriminationas it walks in your path.
So if Aunt Jenny or Uncle Joe sayssomething at the Sunday dinner table.
(51:43):
That's inappropriate.
You say, aunt Jenny, uncleJoe, we don't believe that.
We don't say that.
And you stop it right there.
So if everyone can incorporate lessLESS, we'll build a more fair, more
understanding world and we all will seethe change that we wanna see because less.
We'll become more.
(52:04):
Don't forget to follow A Black ExecutivePerspective of Tune in on YouTube,
apple, Spotify, or wherever you getyour podcast, and you can follow
us on our socials of LinkedIn, X,YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram
at a black exec for our fabulous.
Guests, the outstanding,phenomenal Edia Brown.
(52:26):
I'm Tony Tidbit.
We talked about it.
We learned about it.
We laughed about it.
We are going to continue to strive aboutit, and we're gonna thrive about it.
Now we're out.
We love you.
See you next time.
BEP Narrator (52:42):
A Black Executive Perspective.
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