MK: Who is Joi-Marie McKenzie?
JMM: I'm a journalist by trade and a writer at heart. I'm a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a line sister, a friend. I'm love personified...as long as I've have my coffee by 10 a.m.!
MK: What fuels your passion for entrepreneurship?
JMM: It's really my passion for service that drives me. I was taught at an early age that we're here to be of service to others in big and small ways -- so whether that means opening someone's door, or cleaning up the neighborhood, it's up to us to do it. We can't wait for someone else to create better conditions for us. That's something passed down from my great-grandmother to our entire family.
So in Washington, D.C., I created a website called The Fab Empire because I was sick of wasting my money on nightclubs and lounges that didn't provide good service. So we became known as party critics, but it was really my passion to be of service to my peers and other party goers that fueled that site's creation. Creating The Fab Empire gave me the platform to honor others in D.C. through The Fab Awards, hold a book drive for elementary schools with no libraries, or even creating an annual a coat drive for the homeless called Coats and Cocktails.
MK: What inspired you to write your new book, “The Engagement Game?”
JMM: I honestly had no idea I was going to write a book. I journal as a practice since I was 8 years old. And I was home on another Friday night, watching another episode of "Say Yes to the Dress," frustrated that my boyfriend of five years wouldn't propose. This drove me to writing my first memoir, The Engagement Game, to encourage other women frustrated in love.
I started writing about how I thought it was unfair that women bear the burden of getting married and the judgement of not getting married, when there's two people in every relationship. Twenty pages later, I felt that I had something special.
After my mother sent those pages to an editor she used to work with, that editor just so happened to be at Hachette Publishing Group, and wanted to buy it immediately. Getting a book deal doesn't happen like that, so I'm extremely blessed.
MK: What do you believe is your soul purpose?
JMM: It goes back to service. I'm here to be of service. And if I can change lives in the process than I think God will be pleased. I recognized at an early age that we're not here on this Earth for a long time. And I'll tell you a secret -- I'm deathly afraid of dying. It scares the crap out of me. But I get solace from the fact that I'm a writer. I'm documenting. I'm carving out a piece of time that will tell my future descendants that I was here. I existed. I made an impact. I changed the world.
Ask yourself why do we know about Anne Frank? Why do we know about Solomon Northup, who wrote 12 Years a Slave? Because they had the audacity to write their lives down for us. They felt their lives special enough to write down. So, I'm writing my life down because I want to leave my mark.
MK: How are you empowering other girls and women?
JMM: My book, The Engagement Game, is changing the lives of women. I just got a message on Facebook today from a woman who said, 'Thank you for writing my life story,' because she resonated so much with the memoir. The book is a hilarious critique of getting engaged and dating as a black woman. But it also reminds readers how important deepening your spiritual practice is in order to get what you want.
It reminds women that you have a choice in who you love. It's reminding women that they come first in every relationship in order for it to be successful. It's reminding women that it's okay not to personify black girl magic every day. It's reminding women that it's okay to break down. It's reminding women the dangers of seeing your value through the lens of men. It's reminding women to have the courage to be the authority on themselves.
MK: What is one virtue you would like to see more of in the world?
JMM: I would like every person to be compassionate and see others lives through their own eyes.
MK: What is in the future for you?
JMM: I rarely plan anything anymore. I just accept what God allows, as the song goes. There's a prayer in my book that I'm currently obsessed with. The simple prayer reads, "God, surprise me." In this season, I want to take my hands off the wheel and allow God to have his way in my life. Let's see what she comes up with.
MK: How do you live your bliss?
JMM: I live my bliss in every breath, in every heartbeat, in every word and every embrace. I hope to leave every spirit that touches mine better than before.
Learn more about Joi-Marie on her website; on Twitter @DCFab; Instagram: @DCFab and on Facebook at JoiMarieMcKenzie!