Today we’d like to introduce you to Ke’niya Wiseman
Hi Ke’Niya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I originally started following in the footsteps of my mother who is also an entrepreneur. We began the journey together establishing Ke’Chic Boutique in what I believe was 2008, in which I had the pleasure of it being named after me. My passion for fashion and bubbly personality made it easy to be apart of fashion shows, fashion weeks, stylings, photoshoots, movie sets, and more. As I got older, I realized life has no limitations and you do not have to be good or great at only one thing. I realized I wanted to do it all, whatever I set my mind to do I wanted to achieve it. When my little brother was born in 2012, which was also the year I graduated high school, my life and my families life changed. My brother Kj was born with a very rare medical condition called Poland Möebius Syndrome, and that became a new obstacle for all of us. Before I move forward, I’m extremely proud to say that 12 years later he is perfectly fine and thriving and my favorite person in the whole universe. But unfortunately life happened for me and at the time I was constantly worried about him and his well being, and I knew it was time for me to make a difference. Little did I know that my creative mindset would literally change everything for me from my work ethic, to school, and my life as an older sister. So I started my creative journey that has taken me from entrepreneur to influencer. My first business was Chic Therapy, that started out as my mobile massage therapy business, but then COVID-19 took over. I was limited on resources and the world was shut down, so I decided to rebrand and I started creating natural products. I created everything from body butters to bath bombs, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so. I held this business near and dear to my heart so much that I always just wanted it to be perfect and I did everything myself. I was determined to be this young African American small business owner, especially since it was my first business. I created my own formulas for products, created my entire website, set up shipping, created content, and more all out of pocket, no loans. I did all this without any help, which set off another lightbulb and I started creating logos and things for other small business owners. At this moment it’s still during the time of Covid and I have nothing but time to create and think of the next big thing, and I created EnvyKe’s Treats N Eats. This business is so fun and dear to my heart because who doesn’t love treats and desserts! I started out making candied fruit and flourished from there. I also started KNCW Enterprises which will become the umbrella for all of my businesses and future endeavors. My main business and brand right now is the one solely focused on myself, personality, and influence. That business is Envy Ke’ the brand. Of all the ideas I’ve had over the years, I didn’t realize the best business and idea was staring me in my face the entire time…ME! Over the years on social media and just in life in general I didn’t realize how much others followed my life and were inspired by the things I’ve done and accomplished since a teenager. I wasn’t aware that people wanted to see content about me meeting celebrities, the events I attended, and the bond between my brother and I until 2023. So that created a whole new niche for me that has happily taken over. My brother and I have since created a YouTube channel and a social media platform called “The Keke & Kj Show” about our lives as siblings with a 17 year age gap, and how we navigate our day to day lives. I will also be creating a YouTube channel for my brand Envy Ke’ to give exclusive content on things going on in my life as well. I’ve also taken on the role of a brand manager assisting my brother with achieving his goals of becoming a kid influencer, to let other kids know that it’s alright to be different because different is cooler than fitting in. So far I have helped him go viral on social media and he’s been able to meet many celebrities and have moments that every kid dreams of. Now it has taken some time to put all of my ideas together and for me to start thriving how I think I should, but I know that God has big plans for me. The road of entrepreneurial-ship is not easy and it has taken years to thrive and understand the do’s and don’ts. But I’ve been blessed with these creative ideas, personality, and beauty and I plan to use every part of it. I’m not one to limit myself, and I don’t dwell on failures. I look at everything as a lesson, and my life as an “entrepreneuHER” has taught me so much that I don’t even limit my title to just an entrepreneur any more. Allow me to re-introduce myself , my name is Ke’Niya. That’s it, that’s my title, I’m ME! I am a walking, physical business, and I am my brand. You guys can follow me on social media also @EnvyKe, I would love to have you apart of my journey because with me you never know what’s next.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
This journey has been rough and it still continues to be rough. In the midst of trying to succeed, I’ve lost jobs, almost lost my life more than once, my grandfathers became ill and passed, I lost my closest cousin and my uncle to gun violence, discovered I have multiple medical conditions, lived in 3 states so I’ve constantly had to start over, lost friends, broken bonds, plus more and mentally a lot these things should have broken me, but God! I pray a lot and I always ask God for clarity so that I don’t worry. I may not be where I think I should be yet, but Gods grace and mercy has shown that I meant to be here and that I’m meant to be somebody, so honestly the struggles are worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I actually just made myself laugh by choosing the category of “Other” because what I do and specialize in can’t be completely categorized. In the eyes of others, my business ventures are all over the place, but the one person it needs to makes sense to knows the true outcome. That’s what sets me apart, I have no limits. I’ve done work from modeling, to creating and formulating products, to massage therapy. Now I can teach others to not limit themselves by specializing in just being me. Me, Ke’Niya…Envy Ke’ the brand. That’s what I’m most proud of. I’m proud that I was able to create a brand not only for myself, but for my brother and we can build together. Being my brothers big sister is my biggest accomplishment. As long as that kid is proud of me, I’ve already succeeded.
How do you think about luck?
Never luck, always God.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/envyke
- Instagram: @EnvyKe
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/EnvyKe/61564156870407/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thekekekjshow?si=24eyZGp1CktZrTi9
