Domestic Abuse Survivor Turned Successful Business Owner
Nearly one in five women report experiencing severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. In fact, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) accounts for 15 percent of all violent crimes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many women who experience IPV, find it difficult to escape for various reasons. However, with only $50 in her pocket, LaFarris Risby decided to leave her physically and emotionally abusive husband and start a new life with her young children, a pivotal decision propelling her to both personal and professional success.
A successful entrepreneur with the largest African American-owned business in Junction City, KS., where her success journey began, Risby, a certified family life educator and founder of Loving Arms ™ Childcare and Pre- School, as well as LaFarris, Inc., a publishing, training and intellectual property development company, is sharing her tumultuous journey in her newly released book, “Dare to Dream.” In sharing her story, Risby wants to help inspire and motivate girls and women who may have also lost their identities and courage being trapped in abusive relationships, to find the strength and strategies to turn their lives around and find their own personal and professional successes.
“My book shares various aspects of my life from childhood through adulthood, including the mental, emotional, physical and even spiritual struggles of a young teenage girl who becomes a young mother, and ends up losing her self esteem and self worth, for what she believes is love,” shared Risby. “When I finally came to the realization that I wanted and deserved more for my life and the lives of my children, I had been in an abusive relationship for 14 years,” she continued. “I was in my late 20’s when I began my journey of searching for and finding my authentic self, which was someone who not only had a mind for business, but who wanted to leave a powerful legacy for her children. Then there was no stopping me,” she said.
Risby started Loving Arms Childcare 20 years ago and built it into a seven-figure earning business, which her children now run. She has recently added another business to her portfolio, as CEO of LaFarris, Inc., where she serves as a business strategist, author, speaker, consultant and executive coach. An alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, a prestigious small business development program, Risby’s expertise includes coaching childcare owners and directors on successful operations, and providing families with quality resources for education and empowerment. She also offers training for companies around the country on a variety of topics, including health, parenting, and family-related programs.
“Dare to Dream,” is Risby’s first print book, published by LaFarris, Inc. However, she has also recorded two instructional audio books, entitled “Quality Childcare on a Shoe-String Budget” and “11 Essential Keys to Quality Care and Profitability.”
Risby has been highlighting some key nuggets from her new book in book signing events in cities around the country. Her book launch event held recently in Atlanta, included a panel discussion on domestic violence featuring Risby, Roderick Cunningham, founder and executive director of the Beverly Cunningham Outreach Program, which provides advocacy, individual and group counseling and rehabilitation services to survivors of domestic abuse and Virginia Holland-Davis, programming director, supervising producer and radio show host for Cross Town Media 1, a multi-digital media platform that boasts three internet radio stations, including Book Café, the nation’s largest book club featuring global authors of non-fiction works. The event was hosted by Tamiko Lowery Pugh, a domestic violence survivor and founder and executive director of The Still Standing Alliance, a nonprofit organization that works to further awareness, advocacy and prevention of domestic violence.
“I am so thankful for the support being offered in the fight against domestic violence through advocacy and awareness from people like Mr. Cunningham, Ms. Lowery-Pugh and Ms. Holland-Davis,” said Risby. “I am also looking forward to making a positive difference in the lives of women and children around the country, who have experienced domestic abuse through the life changing and life enhancing lessons I’ve learned on my own personal journey,” she continued. “People need to know there is hope and there is life after experiencing domestic violence and ‘Dare to Dream,’ is not only about overcoming challenges and not allowing life’s negative circumstances to keep you from living your dreams and finding your purpose, it’s also about finding out just how awesome we all really are– if we are determined to be,” she said.
The end of 2019 was full of new accomplishments for Risby. Her childcare business was among 12 businesses honored at the 35 th Annual Minority and Women Business Awards Luncheon in October and was named Kansas Minority-Owned Business of the Year Service Industry Firm, by the Department of Commerce, Office of Minority and Women Business Development. In addition, she also launched a new national digital radio show called “Dare to Dream,” on BTalk 100 Radio. In 2020, Risby will also launch her first “Dare to Dream” success Conference.
“I am so excited about what God is doing in my life and look forward to positively impacting the lives of women across the country and around the world, by sharing both my personal and professional journeys with them, helping them to also ‘Dare to Dream,’” said Risby.
This article appears in the March/April 2020 issue of TODAY’S PURPOSE WOMAN.