Barbii

Barbii embodies the spirit of taking control of your life and creating a mindful path towards progress. “Despite everything I’ve lived through,” she says, “I’ve created a whole new way of understanding the world for myself and formed a new existence. And now, I want to lead by example and pay it forward through my businesses.”

This powerful mindset stems from years of hard work and therapy to overcome a series of childhood and young adult traumas. She recalls, “I grew up in the system, and they misdiagnosed my PTSD as bi-polar disorder. I never received the proper care for what I went through, which made things even harder.”

After a difficult young adulthood, Barbii sought a fresh start. She relocated to Delaware with her sister to raise her newborn son. Eventually, they settled in Philadelphia, where Barbii built a life for her growing family. She gave birth to a daughter and secured a home through the Philadelphia Housing Authority, where she's resided for the past nine years.

Barbii shares, “Through all of this, I didn’t want to be a person who was bitter. I wanted to flourish and grow. And I really wanted to get my life together for my children and myself.” Her desire for positive change fueled her active pursuit of resources. She enrolled in a variety of programs with multiple nonprofits and organizations, including an intensive financial literacy course. This opened the door to an entrepreneurship course in 2018 through the Women’s Business Enterprise Center, igniting her passion to start her own business. Upon completing the program, she was able to obtain grant money through Section 3 in 2022 to help her start the business.

“My mission in life is to be a representative of betterment for myself and others,” Barbii explains, “I want to show people it’s not just what happens to you, it’s how you react. And to never be ashamed of what you’ve been through. You can ask for help. Some people haven’t created that space for themselves, and what excites me is showing people cool, alternative, holistic ways to achieve it.”

This vision is the driving force behind Barbii’s businesses, Tha Barbii Boxx, an umbrella LLC encompassing a variety of services and products. It offers alternative fitness programs, pole fitness, HIIT classes, mindfulness and motivational coaching, custom crystal and jewelry creations, and a product line of balms, oils, and candles. Her entrepreneurial spirit doesn't stop there – she's developing a five-class course focused on spirituality and holistic living.

Barbii has also earned an impressive combination of professional certifications, including a license in cosmetology from Empire Beauty School, certifications from the International Sports Sciences Association in personal training and nutrition coaching, has completed a workshop in trauma healing through The Network at Drexel University, and completed a mental health conference with mental health partnerships.

While Barbii has been building her business, she hasn’t neglected the other parts of her life, including her financial stability. In 2021 Barbii joined the FSS program with Philadelphia Housing Authority to master budgeting, raise her credit score, and achieve homeownership. With a fluctuating income as a small business owner, budgeting presented a unique challenge. However, with her supportive FSS financial coach, Jonae, Barbii has made significant financial progress. She has established an emergency savings account and increased her credit score by over 250 points!

They also crafted her resume and refined her interview skills, which helped Barbii secure a part-time job at Supercuts – a job she loves because she can brighten other people’s lives and boost their confidence. Barbii explains, “I take my job as a stylist very seriously because I’m in charge of their self-care. You never know what someone is going through behind closed doors, and their hair is their self-confidence. Their physical look can sometimes be all a person has.”

About her financial coach, Barbii passionately states, “She is the definition of a ‘resourceful support’ – she is like my cheerleader, and she always sends me lots of resources and opportunities that I wouldn’t have found on my own. I’m very grateful.”

Beyond her financial and business achievements, Barbii is also proud to celebrate four years of sobriety as of March 14th. “With everything I’ve been through, I’m so proud of myself for not ever giving up. I may have been cold, or hungry, or felt like I messed up, but I never felt like I wouldn’t make it. My resilience and the fact that I just keep building is something I feel extremely proud of. And now I’m teaching my children and others how they can take anything the universe throws at them.”

Barbii opened her own studio in Northeast Philadelphia to expand her services and create a universal space for healing. Unfortunately, the landlord decided to not renew her lease and Barbii. Unfazed, Barbii is positive and optimistic, seeing this as another opportunity to grow and adapt. Recently, she attended a mental health conference, received certification, and is now training to become a certified recovery specialist.

You can learn more about Barbii, Tha Barbii Boxx LLC, by clicking here.

Barbii is deeply grateful to her family support team who, “rocked with me through thick and thin,” especially during some of her most traumatic experiences.

She is also appreciative for all the programs she’s utilized that have helped her on her journey, sharing, “They’ve taught me that all experiences can be used as lessons and blessings, and to be kind to yourself. There’s always someone who is going through what you’ve been through, or even worse, and that always inspired me to push through. What happens can’t be controlled but how we allow it to affect us is under our control. You don’t choose what people do to you, but you do choose how you react.”

Specifically, Barbii thanks:

• Philadelphia Housing Authority

• Compass Working Capital & the Family Self-Sufficiency program

• Women’s Business Enterprise Center East (WBEC)

• Merakey

• Women Against Abuse

• The Building Wealth and Health Network (The Network) at Drexel

• Section 3

• PA Careerlink Philadelphia

• Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

• Families Forward

• SCORE Philadelphia

• SBA