Owning Every Opportunity

By Terry L. Watson

Chanitta Westbrooks is a serial entrepreneur. Her brands include the youth organization, Minds With Motives and Owning Opportunity Consulting, where she serves as a Credit Specialist and Business Consultant. She has her own wine brand, Amani Vines, and is the author of Monte Takes The Lead. In her role with With Motives, Chanitta offers one on one mentorship. As an author, her focus is to provide others with leadership development. With Owning Every Opportunity, she helps individuals restore and build credit, assists business owners in obtaining funding, and helps new business owners properly structure their businesses. All of her brands were developed during 2020 and 2021.

Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, Chanitta is the second born of four children. She graduated from Cleveland’s John Hay Early College and recently was inducted into her highschool’s hall of fame. She is also a graduate of Kent State University and a former Division One collegiate track and field athlete.

Chanitta describes himself as a free-spirited person. “I love spending time with my dog, cooking, and being in the kitchen. That’s my time away to relax. I’m also a foodie, so I often travel to try different tasting foods and cultures,” she says.

“Every business I own, I’m able to live out my God-sent purpose, which is to serve,” Chanitta shares. “I get to help individuals in different environments. This involves helping youth to become leaders and assisting others to become first-time home buyers. I love what I do because it brings others joy.”

With the help of her support system, Chanitta has been able to fulfill her dreams. She credits her grandparents with having the greatest impact on her life. She says, “I have a very supportive family and friends who motivates me to keep going and growing. I have amazing mentors who push me outside of my comfort zone. My high school coach Carmen Priester saved my life while I ran track in high school. After my mom passed away, I felt very confused and alone, yet nothing else mattered when I ran on the track. All I saw was peace. I was able to recognize what peace was for me, and I never looked back!”

Growing and scaling her businesses and brands, Chanitta says, has been one of the biggest hurdles she’s faced in business. “Scaling was difficult. I am still figuring out how to use every marketing platform.” She has also acquired a virtual assistant and shares that running various businesses can be difficult. “As an entrepreneur, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. I’ve missed family functions and stayed up for long hours (especially in the building stages). I have taken losses while trying to figure out what works for my business and what doesn’t. It’s tough but rewarding knowing that I am truly helping people become their best selves”.

As Chanitta described, her journey has come with several ups and downs, but she confesses she wouldn’t change anything about how things have happened. As she moves forward, her hopes and dreams are just as big as the moves she already made. “I believe in manifestation, so I will have a small wine eatery. From May-August 2024, I will conduct wine tours in several states. I am currently connecting with business owners and offering customer servicebased resources, and I am also working on getting wine in grocery stores and blackowned businesses,” she says.

Chanitta also plans to open a youth center within the next 8-10 years to provide a safe and fun learning space for others and offer information about life, financial literacy, self-accountability, self-respect, and more). She is also scheduling an author engagement tour for her children’s book “Monte Takes The Lead”. Her future also involves developing an app that houses all her brands. h