Living out loud!
Conchita Pleasant is a woman on a mission. The natural hair
care line that she has worked on for the past several years
and has been a mainstay in her life through its ups and
downs is poised for national expansion.
Pleasant is a breast cancer survivor who is living life to the
fullest. Already devoted to her health, she took it to an even
higher level recently and lost 25 pounds, fi rming up and se-
riously defying the date on her birth certifi cate. The former
high school queen (Miss Miami Jackson, 1983), is determined
to live a life is fulfi lling and makes a difference.
The Sisterhood caught up with the bubbly, brilliant beauty
for a Q & A on sisterhood, gratitude and what she and Nefer-
titi’s Secrets – her hair care line – have in common.
Q. What are you most grateful for:
A. I am most grateful for my family, life, health and strength.
Q. Which three words best describe you?
A. Positive, Optimistic and Spiritual
Q. How does Conchita Pleasant differ from Lisa Harris?
Street Journal Japan, Miami Herald, Miami Times,
South Florida Times, Entrepreneur, Ebony, Vibe,
Essence Magazine and Black Enterprise.
If a word doesn’t already exist to describe what
she means, she has no problem inventing one.
The aforementioned assery, is an example; as
well as “extrovertedness,” which the “functioning
introvert” exudes random bursts of by stepping
outside of her comfort zone, “every single day, I
promise you. It scares the shit out of me and I do
it anyways.”
Felecia Hatcher,
an epic BAD ASS
By Michelle Hollinger
Felecia Hatcher lives in this world, but she’s not
of it. Wife to Derick and mother to Ori, Hatcher is
also a successful entrepreneur and author of eight
books that offer a glimpse into her thought pro-
cess and approach to life. She’s someone who, by
spending mere minutes in her presence, leaves
you feeling bolder, more focused and ready to do
the “epic shit,” the self-described potty mouth
regularly encourages women to do.
People fortunate enough to be in the audience
at one of the numerous speaking engagements
Hatcher commands several thousand dollars a
8
Word invention falls smack dab under her unapol-
ogetic resolve to “take up as much space as I need
to and want to in this world.” She wants women
entrepreneurs to take up more space by being
more competitive.
Hatcher begins to answer a question about what
women entrepreneurs must begin to do by saying
they should “become better story tellers,” but then
scraps that answer for, “they must begin to seek to
be more competitive than being just equal.”
pop to deliver might hear her say, “Tackle one
thing today that scares the hell out of you because
the world does not benefi t from you hiding your
bad assery!” She elaborates: “When we’re looking at building
ourselves to compete with any and everyone, we
raise the tide of what we’re looking for and I think
setting the bar for just equality is too low. Because
what happens when we achieve that? Then what?”
Hatcher’s bad assery has landed her at the White
House as one of the Empact Top 100 Entrepre-
neurs under 30 in 2011, and honored as a 2014
White House Champion of Change for STEM Access
and Diversity. She’s been featured in Forbes, on
the NBC Today Show, MSNBC and was one of the
Grio’s 100 African American’s Making History. She’s
been a TEDxMiami and TedxJamaica presenter
and was featured on the Cooking Channel, Com-
cast and WLRN/NPR; and in Inc Magazine, the Wall Competing with mainstream society on behalf of
the black community, she and her husband, Der-
ick, are co-founders of Code Fever and Black Tech
Week; two hugely infl uential companies deter-
mined to rid communities of innovation deserts.
Black Tech Week 2018 happens from Feb. 6 to 10
(go to blacktechweek.com). And this month, Black
History Month, the Pearsons are opening South
Florida’s fi rst black co-working space – Tribe – in
Miami’s Overtown community.
THE SISTER HOOD | FEBRUA RY 2018
A. Conchita Pleasant is my legal name and Lisa Harris is my
nickname and maiden name. Lisa was given to me by my
grandmother who was opposed to the name Conchita. My
friends and family call me Lisa.
She’s clear about the fuel for her magnifi cence.
“Growing up with both of my parents who are
amazing, strong and sacrifi ced so much helped
me to become a better human being on this earth
and a better mom to my daughter,” she shared via
an MP3 recording she provided to answer a list of
questions posed by The Sisterhood. (Now a cher-
ished part of the publisher’s motivational audio
messages).
Q. How is Nefertiti’s Secrets a refl ection of you?
A. Nefertiti’s Secrets is more than a haircare brand. It rep-
resents strength, courage, self-love and self-worth. It also
represents my passion to empower women to release and
embrace their inner goddess. I developed this brand while
fi ghting breast cancer. I do this for my queens because I be-
lieve they are worth it!
On the subject of life purpose, Hatcher said she’s
not sure she’s living hers, “but I defi nitely know
I’m on the right path. Everything that I do and the
mix of things that I’m able to do and how I’ve been
able to carve out this life defi nitely fi lls me up and
excites me in different ways every single day.”
Q. What does sisterhood mean to you?
A. Sisterhood means women coming togethe r to encourage
and empower each other to shine. It’s supporting each oth-
er’s visions and aspirations and having each other’s backs.
Q. How do you navigate fear?
Besides, she’s not so sure that a singular purpose
is a realistic outcome for anyone.
A. By admitting that it exists and then turning it over to God.
I ask God to remove all fear and doubt and then I move for-
ward with courage just like they no longer exist.
“Finding your purpose is a life long journey that
you never quite get to, ‘this is that thing.’ I think
it’s always going to be a number of things.”
Q. What are your thoughts on comfort zones?
As far as navigating fear goes, “I don’t feel like
you ever get rid of fear. It’s always there. You just
develop better ways of realizing that its creeping
up and you deal with it. You fi nd better ways to
deal with it or circumvent it or boost yourself up
in tough situations but, I don’t think you are ever
void of fear. I just don’t think that’s something that
happens or can exist as a human being.” A. The comfort zone gives you a false sense of security and
limits your personal growth. I set goals and make changes
that force me to step out of my comfort zone. In order to
achieve your dreams, you must step out on faith. I challenge
myself to embrace change, which can be uncomfortable but
very necessary for success.
Besides, she couldn’t succumb to it even if she
wanted to. A. Yes! I knew it when I was diagnosed with breast cancer and
my passion to persevere never diminished. In fact, I contin-
ued developing Nefertiti’s Secrets even while undergoing
chemotherapy and radiation. I will never grow tired of bless-
ing and empowering queens to look and feel their very best.
Q. Are you living your purpose?
“My daughter reminds me that you can literally
do whatever the heck or fuck you want to do in
this world without permission; without holding
back.
THE SISTER HOOD | FEBRUA RY 2018
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