“Any woman can be broken but existing, and she may think it's too late, or it will never be here when it comes to a better life, but I am here to say you are broke, you still can,”
Written by Dominique Huff
Nowadays, everyone wants to empower women, but most are only seeking to enhance their social media presence and bank accounts.
Not Tanisha Bowman.
She has been there, done that. She is a teen mom who dropped out of high school and, sadly, was part of a generational legacy of such failures.
“I was a teen mom with no high school education. So was my mother and her mother. My grandmother’s mother was a slave,” she said. “I was a mother at 15, then again at 20, and then I adopted my younger brother as my mother was unable to care for him at 24. I was a struggling mother with three children who was broken and just over broke.”
Bowman’s inspiration came from her daughter, who became the first to graduate high school and go to college to become an attorney.
“It’s important for women to empower each other rather than compete against each other. We get so embarrassed and ashamed to show the world what is going on,” she said. “When we are open to sharing our testimony and pain, we realize that it's so many women dealing with pain and being broken; we need to remind each other that we still can.”
Her initial project was WeSmile, an acronym for Women Entrepreneurs Seriously Making Intentional Lives Everyday. The project was simple: help guide women in business from entrepreneurship to direct sales. Bowman stumbled into this when she was working for a direct sales company.
“I wanted to change the mindset of women in business. If you want to be stressed, get a job,” she said. “When I use the gifts and talents that God has given me, it does not cause sorrow and pain. I am not saying stress is not real, but it’s not for me.”
She remembers that during her early days in direct sales, she encountered many hurting women, and God spoke to her about her assignment, hence WeSmile.
“I was there initially to make money, but I saw many women hurting, and I knew we had work to do. This gave me my purpose,” she said. “I had to remind women that obstacles were not roadblocks.”
She is passionate about women in business and about being focused, balanced, and accountable. She is not a typical business guru who tells women to quit their jobs now and start a business, but she encourages women and works on their mindsets.
“Keep your job or career until you are ready to walk in entrepreneurship fully, but this is time for your business after work or before work,” she advises. “You can work both until things are tight and right. While you are waiting, don’t sleep on you.”
With that, she doesn’t want you to have a ‘dream deferred’ or ‘forever dream’ but ‘bet on yourself.’ In her version of Hustle, while you work, she reminds women to think from the mindset of ‘it’s okay to stay up all night for your dreams if you are up all day helping someone else build their dream!’
From that foundation, on July 22, 2023, WeSmile evolved into BrokeCan. This transition was a result of Tanisha's desire to reach a wider audience and her belief that all women, regardless of their circumstances, can achieve their dreams.
While WeSmile is centered on women in business, BrokeCan brings all women, regardless of their walk or journey, to the table for empowerment.
“Any woman can be broken but existing, and she may think it's too late, or it will never be here when it comes to a better life, but I am here to say you are broke, you still can,” she emphasized. 'BrokeCan' is a reminder that no matter how broken or disadvantaged you may feel, you still have the power to change your circumstances.
Some of this foundation goes back to being a single, struggling mother with three kids looking for a savior and an escape. She had to recognize that she had to heal herself to find her purpose and be a better mother and a suitable candidate for a wife.
“When God created you, he only made one of you. He threw away the mold used to make you,” she said. “So embrace those talents and gifts and put them to work.”
From business to life, Bowman believes that all women can. It’s never too late.
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