Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenya Pope.
Hi Kenya, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Starting as an entrepreneur, I have developed business teams in traditional models, network marketing, a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and a service-based coaching business over the last 11 years since receiving my ICF training as a Professional Coach. Seeing firsthand the challenge humans face in implementing sound strategy, I am inspired to develop curated support. I am grateful for my former life in social work, with the Tau Upsilon Alpha national honor society award for human service because it guides me in curating trauma-informed spaces for entrepreneurs to build their leadership capacity while building big businesses. I am excited to be on the other side of my Master’s in Policy Management from Georgetown University where I poured deeply into economic development, and thrilled now to be a 2026 Wells Fargo Small Business Fellow continuing to create pathways for globally minoritized founders to build sustainable businesses.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. There have been seemingly insurmountable obstacles along the way. Being a woman is a gift for me as a leader, yet it requires a new world that adjusts to the power of a woman in the marketplace while maneuvering gently in relationships. This is antithetical to the boss babe or the idea that women operate as men when we lead.
Having to source my own joy while building and creating impact for others – a silent struggle that only gets to be shared up to those who have built similarly. There are those who credit their marriage and family life for their successes and there are those who created for themselves without family as their foundation. It would be helpful to have more access to those, because they mirror my story.
I have built international teams, giving people opportunities to meet their personal goals while supporting our business growth – and i have had to let people go because they had not learned how to manage their personal challenges and still create impeccable deliverables.
There have been joys and rewards in the middle of storms.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Guiding For Greatness Coaching?
Guiding For Greatness Coaching, aka GFG Coaching or Greatness Coaching, is an impact entrepreneurial leadership development company offering bilingual coaching programs and services. We coach the global majority to grow big businesses ethically, with respect for legacy on a continuum (the one we inherit and the one we create for our future generations).
Greatness Coaching understands that other business development training is based on principles of exploitation and extraction (i.e., imperialism). Our unique value is evidence-based coaching methodology that is human-centered business development, based on mindfulness – not just for wellness’ sake but for greatness in creativity, connection, & execution. We build intentionally addressing the historic harm today’s founders have experienced. Culturally competent
We are witnessing a global resurgence of Black and Brown business owners. So far, Greatness Coaching has been blessed to serve founders in Hawaii, NY, DC, MD, GA, Haiti, Panama, Gambia, Puerto Rico, and London. We aim to work more deeply in the Caribbean (considering PM Mottley’s Free Trade announcement in October 2025) and to lend support to West Africa.
Some of our signature programs are: M.E. Academy (Magnetic/Manifesting Enterprise Academy); Wealth Build; Return of the Warrior King; Florecitas Negras; Breathe, Son; The Goddess Build; 5 Steps to Generate Money Without Hustling; 9 Steps to Manifest Bold Balance & Big Business; Born to Build with sections – Self-Worth and Scalability, Sacred Success Space, Simplifying Your Systems, or Monetizing Your Mess; and much more.
GFG Coaching stands on the shoulders of ancestors who began these efforts: W. E. B. Du Bois for informed leadership and economic strategy, Madame C. J. Walker for community-built prosperity, Sarah Anesta Pond Samuel for community entrepreneurship and philanthropy, and Dorothy Kirwan Thomas for liberation-centered regional development.
“We champion self-determination through informed leadership—helping entrepreneurs read the landscape, understand the systems, and build strategies that dismantle exploitation rather than feed it.”
“Our coaching is not just about profit; it is about power—shifting who gets to make decisions, hold resources, and shape the future of our communities.”
“Like Madam C. J. Walker, we believe true economic empowerment is not about one person ‘making it out,’ but about building opportunity into the fabric of community.”
“Her legacy of developing hundreds of agents informs how we help entrepreneurs build systems, teams, and networks—so their success multiplies, creating income and leadership opportunities for others.”
“We honor her example of self-advanced success by helping our clients design businesses that can travel—across cities, across borders, across generations—without losing their roots.”
“We also draw inspiration from leaders like Sarah Anesta Pond Samuel, a Panamanian entrepreneur and community organizer who built business and beauty spaces into hubs for connection, leadership, and opportunity.”
“Her work shows us that small businesses can be classrooms, organizing hubs, and launchpads for scholarships and community care.”
“In that spirit, Guiding for Greatness treats every coaching session, webinar, and workspace as a place where entrepreneurs sharpen their skills and expand what’s possible for their communities.”
“We walk in the legacy of women like Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, who transformed her circumstances to become one of the wealthiest women in the Caribbean, building businesses across islands and across borders.”
“Her story reminds us that Black women have always been economic strategists—creating multiple revenue streams, navigating hostile systems, and still finding ways to provide for their families and communities.”
“Guiding for Greatness channels that same scale of vision, but toward trauma-informed, non-extractive models of wealth that free, not exploit, our people.”
Recently published in the Baltimore Times, https://baltimoretimes-online.com/detail/kenya-pope-launches-greatness-business-builder-system-to-help-entrepreneurs-build-sustainable-businesses
And asked to pitch her new product launch in Chicago through Wells Fargo Watson Institute in June 2026
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Rest As Resistance
Trello
Abundance Now – Lisa Nichols
Get Good With Money – Tiffany Aliche
Pomodoro Technique videos
Contact Info:
- Website: https://GFGCoaching.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/GFGCoaching
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/GFGCoaching
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/guiding-for-greatness-coaching
