Wanda Childs Is All About Business

By Terry L. Watson

Photos Provided by Wanda Childs

When it comes to business, Wanda Childs of Washington, DC, knows something about it. She shares that her desire for independence was evident at a very young age.

Today, Wanda is the owner of several businesses. These are Printing Express & Designs, LLC, Blessed 24:7® Gift Shop, and Blessed 24:7 Foundation, Inc., Mentoring Program. Her printing company was launched in 1995 and still operates with the motto “We help YOU Brand YOUR Brand”. They can accomplish this with custom-printed promotional and marketing products. There are over 300,000 blank products, and Wanda works with over 500 factories.

Her second company was launched in 1996 as a retail business and exclusively online. Fourteen years later, Wanda opened a retail brick-and-mortar location. Thirteen years passed, and she says God told her to move everything from the building and return to an online operation. The Blessed 24:7® brand consists of inspirational and motivational retail merchandise that makes perfect gifts for friends and family. This brand is sold in nine different languages and has reached several other countries.

I learned that being fired was part of God’s plan for the journey I’m on now.

With her third company, Wanda serves as President and Founder of a Mentoring Program, a (Non-profit 501c3 organization), and mentors youth and adults. She also conducts training seminars on entrepreneurship, titled, How to Start YOUR Business From Ground Zero. She also teaches another seminar on Self-Publishing, titled, How To Write YOUR First Book). She has also published her own book, Pushed Into My Purpose, which is her testimony on how God moved her from a place of fear to victory after being fired from her corporate job with 21 years of service. “I learned that being fired was part of God’s plan for the journey I’m on now,” Wanda says.

Wanda’s beginnings are a testament of her fortitude and determination to succeed. She says, “I started my printing company out of the need for additional income. As a single parent and owning a home, the paycheck from my day job was not enough to make ends meet. I started Blessed 24:7® out of passion, and the desire to inspire and motivate others. Starting my mentoring program happened after people in my circle wanted to know what I did to get my business legally set up and registered. I started having training sessions at my home with friends and family. After becoming an official IRS-approved Nonprofit 501c3, I was invited to teach seminars at Colleges, Schools, Corporations, Churches, and more”.

All of Wanda’s companies began from scratch. From scratch, this means that she had minimal resources or startup funding; however, God was there, serving as the source of her inspiration. While being a business owner, author, mentor, and motivational speaker, Wanda says her relationship with God is important. “I’m a faithful believer in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” she says. Wanda is also a mother of one adult son who she describes as incredibly smart, handsome, and independent.

Reading and studying God’s word every single day is something that Wanda says inspires her. “His word keeps me grounded and focused and give me hope for my future and my loved ones. Even more, knowing that my immediate family has my back and they will not allow me to fail and never allow me to give up, is powerful.”

Challenges in business are to be expected, yet Wanda says she feels as if she’s had more challenges than anyone else. “With each challenge I was faced with, God provided a way around, over and through the challenge. It’s like the challenge caused me to rethink or change my direction and helped me see a better way and better opportunities.”

Wanda describes how some friends and family didn’t support her as she thought they would. Life still went on, and she no longer allowed that to bother her. She says, “God sends me total strangers who not only support me, they also become regular customers. Strangers have referred my businesses to their friends and family. I have learned that sometimes God’s blessings are packaged differently. Most importantly, I am grateful for everyone, friends, family, and strangers who support me.”

Looking ahead, Wanda says she plans to keep thriving and build a legacy that her family will be proud of and will also create generational wealth. Her advice to others thinking about starting a business is to be openminded to what your customer base might look like and not be surprised or disappointed if the people you think should be supporting you are not. “Know that God will send you blessings packaged differently than you expected. Love what you do and do what you love. Also, have the passion and drive to see your dreams all the way through, and do it with a spirit of excellence,” she says.

To learn more about Wanda Childs, please visit her website.

www.wandachilds.com