Arvilla Beckworth is the founder of AB Personal Development Firm. She is also a writer, speaker, author, and mentor to women who want to reclaim their time, discover their purposes, and rebuild their dreams.
Arvilla’s personal story is one of resilience and self-discovery. She spent her early twenties hiding the emotional and physical scars of an abusive relationship from her family. She endured that storm for seven years before gaining the resources and confidence to leave. With support from her family, church, and counseling, she began the tough process of redefining her purpose.
Through these and other valuable experiences, Arvilla has gained the wisdom and skills to help other women define their goals and create actionable plans. Her philosophy is that no goal is too small. Whether a woman dreams of writing her first book or planning a much-desired vacation, Arvilla offers the guidance and follow up needed to succeed. She credits journaling as being her go-to exercise for reflection and healing. Her love for writing has blossomed into her first book project, “How to Plan for a Successful Week! When being intentional pays off”.
Today Arvilla teaches women across the country how to rekindle their goals and ignite their passion for living. When she’s not working, Arvilla loves reading and spending time with her family in Colorado. She’s the proud mother of 6 children, and a beaming grandmother of 5 plus a grand pup! Arvilla is also a professional truck driver alongside her husband. She chronicles their trips on their YouTube channel Dis B TruckN, adding sparks of inspiration along the way.
LM: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
AB: I left my corporate job 2.5 years ago to become an over the road truck driver with my husband. I realize that there was more for me to see than just the gray walls in my cubicle. With me being a single mom, I have always wanted to travel but couldn’t because of money so when I had the opportunity to see the United States for free while I got paid doing it, I decided to drive a truck.
LM: Tell us about your business.
AB: My Personal Development Firm is geared to help women get a second chance at doing life right. As women, we put everyone else first and forget about our dreams and self-care to make sure everyone else is good. We help women bring the goals to fruition by finding their why and put together action plans to achieve them.
LM: What prompted you to start your business?
AB: I enjoy helping women and would do this for free but everyone told me that I should work with women who were stuck. Doing this business comes easy to me because this is my passion. I feel guilty charging women!
LM: Have you always aspired to be an entrepreneur? Why or why not?
AB: I have always been inspired to be an entrepreneur because the thought of me starting something and putting my energy behind it is exciting. There is something inside of me that believes what I have to offer will not only be able to help other women but will be a legacy for my daughters.
LM: What’s the best part of being an entrepreneur?
AB: The best part of being an entrepreneur is the freedom. Now, this can be a blessing and a curse because you have to be on top of you to get the work done. Being a self-starter is key and to be able to keep going when you do not see any other way. At the end of the day, someone is depending on your business to help their life.
LM: What’s the worst part of being an entrepreneur?
AB: The worst part of being an entrepreneur is spending money on things that will not elevate the business. In the beginning, I was spending money on things I thought I needed to run my business and after re-evaluating what I actually needed, I could have saved that money to attend conferences, furthered my training, or saved for other projects. So being mindful of your finances is number 1.
LM: Who’s your inspiration? Why?
AB: Bianca Shelley Robinson inspires me because she doesn’t take no for an answer. She knows exactly why she wants, how she is going to get it, and will then tell you she doesn’t have time for excuses. She says “ You either want this work or someone will get it.”. She just motivates me to stop waiting for a handout and go after what you want.
LM: List some of your greatest achievements
AB: 1. Mentoring young ladies that are starting their adult life with no life skills or experience. It feels good to give guidance to a young lady who doesn’t have that support system that will sit down with her and help her go through life.
2. Another achievement is having your clients tell you how much you been a blessing to their lives and help them see the value in themselves by being their accountability partner and believing in them when they didn’t.
3. Getting out of a domestic violence relationship and rebuilding my life over again. There no other feeling that picking yourself up when you been knocked completely down figuratively and physically. It was one of the hardest things I had to do while raising a child and keeping them sane.
LM: Name a time when things didn’t go right. What happened and how did you get past it?
AB: A time when things didn’t go right is when a client needed a project done sooner than later and I wasn’t prepared. I had just brainstormed some ideas I want to expand on but put the project to the side because I thought I had more time to develop it. Since the client needed asap, I was able to get a small extension (24 hours) and I had to put everything else hold even to the point of work longer ( and little sleep) than expected to get this done. The one piece of advice I will give anyone is to stay ready so you do not have to get ready.
LM: Where do you see your business in 3 years?
AB: I see my business in the next 3 years networking with other women to reach women internationally. I believe helping women shouldn’t stop in the United States so I want to put myself in position to be able to travel Overseas.
LM: What advice would you give a new entrepreneur?
AB: My advice to a new entrepreneur is to start. Sometimes we let fear make us wait before we launch something. You do not have to have everything perfect to start. Just do it and fix it on the way!
You can connect with Arvilla here:
www.arvillabeckworth.com