Meet Pennie Mitchell | Author & Motivational Speaker (my daughter is my business partner her name is Kinsley Jade)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pennie Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pennie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Tackling the dark cloud! Our brand is all about encouraging others to take care of their mental health. Success for us means that we are helping to defeat the dark cloud that has been hovering over our community. Our goal is to help as many people as possible, however helping just one person through a tough time is success to us. Our focus has been children so far, but we have more material on the way. Early next year we will be publishing our first mental health journal. This journal “MENtal Health Matters” is geared towards men, the ones often left out of the mental health conversation. We have so much in the works to reach everyone in the community.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My professional journey has been a rollercoaster ride, with many highs and just as many lows. I started my brand while serving in the military. I watched as many of my friends were silently losing their battles with depression. I remember feeling so helpless, so I began doing a lot of research trying to find creative ways to help. Coming up with creative and relatable ways to reach people in the center of their storm is a big part of our brand. This requires continuous research and open dialogue with the community. I attended college right after the military to continue my studies and learn more about mental health. In 2017 I welcomed my daughter to the world and let me tell you the roller coaster was going full speed. I eventually dropped out of college in my senior year to spend more time with my daughter. It has always been important for me to maintain a healthy work/home life balance.  Between working full time and going to school full time I didn’t feel like I was giving her enough of my time and she was growing so fast. The next year or so was emotionally draining and that’s when I began to experience a lot of the lows mentioned earlier. Once I felt myself slipping too far into the darkness I began to really pour into my brand. I wrote my first children’s book during this time “Kenzo Lorenzo Defeats the Dark Cloud”. I used my darkness to help shine light on depression and anxiety for others which also helped me pull myself back into the light. It was not easy at all. I was able to overcome my failures by being honest and transparent with those around me but most importantly with myself. Along the way I’ve learned to be more patient with myself and give myself grace the same way I do for others. I’ve learned the most from my failures … from going into survival mode. I want the world to know that your failures don’t have to be periods in your life’s story … they can be semicolons.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t actually live in Houston, shoutout to the 409 (laughter), however Houston is the closest major city. Younger me used to live in these Houston streets, now I’m such a homebody. I’m that corny mom that’s always doing corny mom things with her kid. I would encourage them to pick somewhere they’ve never been, put their phones on silent, and enjoy each other’s company. Life has no rewind button; we must rely on our memories. I will say that I’m itching to check out Trill Burger and all the other good eats Houston has to offer. Keith Lee was recently in Houston, if you haven’t watched his Houston TikTok series check it out. I think he’s ready to pack up his family and move to Houston, especially after his Atlanta reviews. Houston had this man in a chokehold, if you’re familiar with Keith Lee you know that’s a high honor. There’s also a place called “The Park” here in Beaumont that has had the city jumping. I haven’t been there yet, but the reviews are all good. Shoutout to them I’ve added them to my list.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Most definitely! There are so many people that come to mind. The support has been so amazing. My family with an emphasis on my siblings, friends, and social media family show out for me every time. Thank you all so much. I say it often, but you all don’t know how life changing your support has been. There are three people that I must name drop because I wouldn’t have made it this far without them. My mom Waldeen Lewis! My very first shipment of books were misprints, the company refused to refund me, so my mom sent me half of the money I lost. Like most proud mamas she has told anybody that will listen about our business including you all (laughter). This isn’t even the half of it but shoutout to you for all that you do. My next shoutout is my cousin Dreika. She is the most selfless person that I know. I got my first speaking event less than a week after my book was published, shout out to Ms. Thibodeaux and Bingman HeadStart, to say I was nervous is an understatement. Dreika drove an hour to help me with my event; She helped me prep, set up, and even stood on stage with me. All while speaking words of encouragement and motivation. She has helped at speaking events, vendor events, she’s my marketer, my shoulder on the tough days, I could literally go on forever. Shoutout to you for simply being you, nothing goes unnoticed. Kinsley Jade! Baby girl gets the biggest shoutout ever. My inspiration and motivation come from you. I’ve never cared how someone views me as much as I do you. I feel like I owe you everything. There’s been so many late nights/early mornings, meetings, events, phone calls, etc. that takes away from our time together, yet you’re a trooper through it all. I may be the CEO of the company, but you are the face of our brand and the real boss for sure (laughter). Shoutout to you mommy loves you to the moon and back sweet girl.

Website: penniemitchell.com

Instagram: _pretty_pennie_

Twitter: Kenz0_Lorenzo

Facebook: Kenzo Lorenzo