Life & Work with Christa Stephens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christa Stephens. 

Hi Christa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Thank you for allowing me to share my story. I started my career in college with wild aspirations as most 20 somethings do – I wanted to be a doctor. I quickly realized that wasn’t going to work when Cell Biology was unbelievable hard to pass. I bounced around in college for a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do with life while the impending danger of running out of student aid was looming over my head. On a whim, I took a Geology class and fell in love. I’ve always been into science since I could remember but I didn’t know anything about Geology – everything was so new and shiny – literally. I enjoyed everything about it – the field trips, projects, and graduating. After graduation, I wanted to be a Planeteer with my newly minted degree so I went to work as an Environmental, Health & Safety Manager (EHS). After shuffling through a couple of companies like a typical millennial, you guessed it – I couldn’t save the cheerleader or the world by working as an EHS manager. However, I did find solace in teaching. During my college days, I picked up Yoga as a form of weight loss and meditation. When I determined that my path maybe wasn’t being an EHS manager, I got serious about teaching Yoga and earned my certification to teach others while still working as an EHS manager. To ensure that my new career as a Yoga teacher was set up for success, I began to create a website – and I realize that I enjoyed creating websites and designing flyers. Funnily enough, I had to design lots of “flyers” and printed materials while being an EHS manager so I had plenty of experience in this area. The more I began to spruce up my website and create printed materials, I recognized that I could be a Yoga teacher and a web designer – because why not? Eventually, I took a class then a Bootcamp to refine my skills for what I know now to be product design. After much coaxing from my husband, I started my own company – Christa Stephens, LLC. Now I know that no one dreams of labor, but I enjoy what I do by providing business solutions to BIPOC entrepreneurs to grow and maintain their companies while creating a space for mentorship and education.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. I think the cool thing about me is that I will always find a loophole to get something done. During my road to building my company, I’ve given the typical blood, sweat, and tears but for me, I almost died a couple of times along the way. In college and even to this day I struggle with a blood clotting disorder where my blood can be too thin or too thick which would cause a DVT (deep vein thrombus) to form. This disorder was caused by birth control. The crazy part about this is that during that time, I still had to go to work, school assignments were due, bills were due, all while I was in and out of the hospital – recovering from a near-death experience (DVT & bi-lateral PE) while living alone, therapy much? 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What I’m most proud of is mentorship. I love giving back and helping other people. When I was in school (K-12), it was hard to find a mentor to help me figure out career choices, money, taxes – just adulting all around. I feel that if you have the knowledge to share, you should share it – that’s what I do and encourage others to do as well. 

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I’m always learning, growing, and expanding my team. To support other businesses or connect with me, you can contact me here: www.christastephens.info or [email protected] 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.christastephens.info
• Instagram: christastephensllc
• Facebook: christastephensllc
• Other: www.christastephens.info/shop

Image Credits
Tramaine Seay