I was hooked. The adrenaline of being my own boss never left me and, as a teenager, I found myself surfing the punk scene and photographing bands like Title Fight, Joyce Manor and Seahaven which lead to an explosive, promising photography career. Life continued to trend upwards, I accepted a highly sought after role as a Communications Director for a non-profit and married my high school boyfriend. But after relentlessly pursuing what I thought was my true dream in life, I lost my way.

Young love soured and along with it, I decided to reject what I had held as the pinnacle of goals: acceptance into the exclusive School of Visual Art & Design in New York City. Divorce felt like the ultimate failure, why strive for anything else? At rock bottom, I abandoned E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

I landed on my feet in the unlikeliest of places for my life to take an upturn, bartending at a strip club. My sole focus was a cash infusion for my bank account.

Money rolled in and in the most unexpected way, so did the love of my life. Together, we’ve built a life set on our terms and with it, our own little family with my incredible step-daughter Addison Chanel and our sweet son, Joshua. Entering back into the world of entrepreneurship with fresh energy, I scaled a six-figure VA studio before founding Chanel & Lee in 2020 with leadership and innovation for the modern entrepreneur at the core, continually driving every decision.

Ultimately? My true success has stemmed from embracing the rough, not trying to polish the grit away. That led me to my dream job: serving you.