You are bigger and more powerful than you have been taught to believe, read the inscription on the bottom of the gift, a diamond sitting on a base.  The young woman stood with it in her hands and began to cry.

While this is not the way that most business relationships begin, it is a prototype of the way Lethia Owens, personal branding strategist and speaker with Lethia Owens International, begins a mentoring process.  That moment she shared with a young woman at a conference was just the beginning of a journey for both Owens and her new protégé.

“I decided to mentor her,” says Owens. “I told her that, for the first year, everything I know, she will know.  I will be completely transparent about my business.  The second year, she will become a joint partner in my company.  And, by the third year, I kick her out of the nest, and she’s on her own.”

This unconventional model of mentorship stems from a belief that Owens says comes naturally to her. 

“Helping people to be effective is in my DNA.  It is how I am wired.  I was the same way when I worked in a corporate setting,” says Owens who got her start at State Farm Insurance’s IT department.  After seeing that her communication skills helped to separate her from her cohorts, she began to realize that leadership was her natural gift.  After a few years, she saw that she needed to strike out on her own and started Lethia Owens International. 

“By 2005, it was clear to me that I could use my talents to help professionals and small businesses that were trying to improve morale, quality, customer service within their organizations,” says Owens.  “I have been taught that paying it forward is a way to do business.  Throughout my career, I have walked through doors that I did not have to open.  It is a natural part of my business mindset to work to do that for other people.” 

After years of getting unselfish support from others, Owens is led by a spirit of collaboration and community as opposed to one of isolation.  Her selflessness has manifested itself in all her relationships.

“We have an obligation to be supportive of others.  One of my sayings is, ‘Collaboration is the fastest path to success.  Isolation is the fastest path to insanity,’” says Owens.  “Through working with other people, the opportunities are so much grander.  A lot of entrepreneurs hoard information and ideas, and they think that is where their power comes from.  My power comes from giving my knowledge away.”