Lakeysha Hallmon is a social entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of The Village Market, Village Retail, and the nonprofit Our Village United. She also created Support Is a Verb, a fundraising partner for socially conscious entrepreneurs.
What’s the big idea?
Entrepreneurship needs to be redefined as collective progress rather than individual achievement. A legacy of wealth, health, and purpose only comes from building villages that flourish, and that’s why nourishing community is critical for anyone ambitious. Our greatest work is achieved when it is pursued in support of collective power.
Below, Lakeysha shares five key insights from her new book, No One Is Self-Made: Build Your Village to Flourish in Business and Life. Listen to the audio version—read by Lakeysha herself—in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Self-made is a myth.
Entrepreneurship often feels lonely, and the world loves to celebrate the self-made individual who seemingly defied all odds on their own. Headlines often read “The Self-Made” woman or man. We hear this title connected to some of our favorites: Oprah Winfrey, Robert Smith, or Mark Cuban. While I am an advocate of self-determination and know firsthand the grit and tenacity it takes to be successful, I’m also aware that no one achieves greatness alone.
Every success story is supported by mentors, friends, advocates, colleagues, and even the quiet strength of loved ones who cheer us on in the background. Think about the teacher who first believed in you—I certainly have several. Consider the friend who encouraged your idea or the colleague who introduced you to that important connection. Think about the loved one who wiped away your tears on tough days, sent you funny memes, or called to say how proud they are of you. These people are within the fabric of your success. Support doesn’t always come in a monetary form. Sometimes, it’s the person who listens to your struggles, celebrates your wins, and challenges you to dream bigger.
No One is Self-Made rejects the myth of individualism and embraces interdependence. A thriving entrepreneur knows that building a community of multi-vested supporters and partners is critical. Let’s normalize giving credit to the people who have helped us along the way and intentionally pour back into the villages and the communities that nurtured us. Let’s normalize writing supporters into the entrepreneur story—the true story of layered support. We are not self-made. We are village-made.
2. When to say yes and when to say no is all about alignment.
Purpose is a sacred calling that connects our work to something greater than ourselves. Living in purpose requires alignment. Alignment means to be in flow. There’s a healthy cadence, a rhythm, to your life and decisions. When you say yes to things that reflect your values and vision, you find a rhythm where energy flows naturally. That’s alignment. Conversely, when you say yes out of fear (of missing out or not being seen) you step out of alignment, and it costs you peace, creativity, and joy.
Alignment requires self-awareness, and self-awareness requires discipline to do the internal work. Purpose is our north star, and alignment is our compass. I remember when I was on my teaching journey, a teacher whom I adored asked me to start volunteering to support her special education students’ reading and writing skills. I said yes. I did not know that yes would lead me to get an additional special education teaching certification. It also led me to my next job and my big move to Atlanta.
“Purpose is our north star, and alignment is our compass.”
My saying yes was in alignment with where my purpose was leading me. It was leading me to who I would blossom into in Atlanta. The right yes has a ripple effect, putting you in flow toward your highest self. The wrong yes has a ripple effect as well, but less harmonious.
Consider the invitations you’ve accepted because you thought you should. Now, think about opportunities that lit a fire in you. The difference is palpable. To build effectively, we must protect our alignment fiercely. Honor your no when it doesn’t serve your purpose. Say yes to what fuels your vision of the future.
3. Mission-aligned does not mean values-aligned.
It’s possible to share the same mission with someone and still not be able to build well together because values are the foundation of every strong collaboration. As I built The Village Market, I learned to focus on working with people who shared my core values of honesty, integrity, and a willingness to listen and grow.
Being open to constructive feedback is a value I hold dear. It’s not easy to hear critique, but true community requires reflection and growth. One time, I said yes to an invitation for a partnership because it was shiny. I totally thought I had arrived to wherever the it place is where successful entrepreneurs arrive. I ignored my gut, and it became one of the most painful and stressful lessons I learned in business.
While we were mission-aligned, we were not values-aligned. We were disconnected in our belief of how people should be treated, how partnerships should be established, how healthy communication should be at the core of partnerships, and how mutual respect should live in the roots of the work. Just because potential partners appear to be mission-aligned, it does not necessarily mean they are values-aligned. Deeper questions need to be asked, and realistic expectations need to be set. The hard truth is that my gut told me to say no, but my ambition made me shout yes.
For entrepreneurs, sometimes the lesson is to say no to the shiny and trust that more aligned opportunities await. A healthy no reflects discipline and awareness. Building differently means prioritizing values over short-term gains. Mission alignment gets us in the same room, but values alignment keeps us working effectively side by side. Ask yourself: Are the people in your village aligned with the principles that guide your work and your life?
4. To be a well, we must be well.
Entrepreneurship often comes with a focus on financial success, but wealth without wellness is not sustainable. We’ve all heard the lonely and often unhealthy stories of success in which an entrepreneur reaches the pinnacle of success and finds themselves despondent. Or you finally achieve all that you envision, but because of your pursuit without boundaries, relationships have suffered. You’re too depressed and too hardened to enjoy.
“Your business can’t thrive if you are depleted.”
Building well means prioritizing health: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. Your business can’t thrive if you are depleted. In my own journey, I’ve learned to center self-care, rest, nourishing relationships, and mindful practices like journaling and meditation. Forging a holistic path requires mindfulness regarding what we watch, read, listen to, pursue relationships with, and what we allow in proximity to our peace.
During a challenging season in business, I was deflated because things were not growing fast enough. I was not getting the funding support that I needed to scale. I lost a great deal of zeal. After advice from my therapist, I found clarity by stepping back and taking time to nurture myself with self-care. Time in nature, breath work, musing, going slow, and laughing with friends were all medicine for my soul. These were exactly what I needed to recharge and reconnect to my purpose.
That clarity led to a pivot strategy that transformed my business. After this radical recharge time, I opened Village Retail and launched Our Village United. Imagine if all entrepreneurs prioritize wellness. Imagine businesses built on foundations of healthy relationships, clear minds, clear expectations, and rested bodies. When we center wellness, we create a model that sustains ourselves, our teams, and our communities.
5. Support is a verb.
Actions show values. Support is an action. How we show up for others and invest our time, energy, and resources defines us. Our actions are a mirror of who we are, what we believe in, what we care about, what we value, and what we are willing to fight for. Think about your daily actions. Are you supporting local businesses? Are you civically engaged? When was the last time you mentored someone or volunteered? When was the last time you attended a city council meeting?
I challenged readers to reflect on their verbs. When you choose to shop at a local store instead of a major chain, you are supporting your village, your community. When you mentor a young entrepreneur, you’re building the future, and that future is interconnected and intrinsically bound to your future. Building differently means being intentional about the actions we take. Our actions ripple outward, creating change far beyond what we can see. Let’s not talk about supporting each other. Let’s do it.
To listen to the audio version read by author Lakeysha Hallmon, download the Next Big Idea App today:
