Meet Atoya Follins | She's Empowering Overwhelmed Professionals to Live Their Life’s Purpose

What’s a quote that fuels your passion?         

 Purpose Over Everything: I believe to live your life’s purpose is one of the most beautiful journeys that you can ever take. When you identify the divine gift that has been given to you – you’ll naturally choose intentionality over everything. 

 Atoya, your Humble Takeover is your story. Tell the family where you started and how you got to where you are today. 

 My name is Atoya Follins. I’m originally from Starkville, MS. After quite a few years I’m FINALLY starting to identify Louisiana as my home. I’m married to an amazing black man and the mother of two. I’m the owner of a women’s empowerment company, A. Follins LLC, author of the book, Girl, You Have Purpose, and a certified Purpose and Mindset Coach. I work with organizations to strengthen emotional intelligence within the workplace and with high potential individuals to equip them with strategies to expand their life’s big vision of living a purposeful and fulfilling life without burning themselves out.

 Which chapter in your story inspired your current venture?

My journey started with my love for fitness and wanting to see women lead healthier lives. While helping clients take control of their physical health and dial in on their nutrition, I realized that as women we had an even greater need for support in all of the many roles that we play. Many of my clients were overwhelmed professionals who were struggling to live their life’s purpose outside of their 9 to 5 and needed to find the balance between their professional and personal lives.  

This led to me creating a motivational lifestyle brand called The Work Then Werk Movement. Under the umbrella of the brand, I began hosting both in person and virtual events in Louisiana and Mississippi to provide women with community and the framework they needed to change the trajectory of their lives. I eventually self-published my first book and this literally birthed my coaching program, speaking opportunities, and more.

When you are living in purpose, you don’t necessarily choose the journey, the journey chooses you. So here I am helping organizations connect and better serve their employees through improving EQ (emotional intelligence) and assisting women in learning to stress less and leave more by prioritizing the things that are important and creating healthy balance and boundaries in their professional and personal lives.

What keeps you Humble through your success and failure in Life? 

Honestly – everything the world has seen over the last two years has definitely put a lot in perspective. Living through both a racial and health pandemic is humbling in itself; however, in regards to my brand and business, we’re all doing our part in making an impact in the world – so even our losses are a win because they give us the chance to learn and try again. 

What advice would you offer our conquerors who are writing their own story? 

My advice would be to stay the course, pause but don’t quit, and always remember why you started. There’s a ton of noise in the streets of social media and it’s so easy to get discouraged or thinking you aren’t doing enough. There are people waiting on you to show up in your purpose as the push they need to show up in theirs. So when things get hard, because they will, regroup if necessary but keep going. 

Do you have any upcoming events or projects you’d like to share?

We’d love to hear more stories, please suggest 5 other persons writing their own story 

Leann of Crowned Photography - @crownedphoto

Brandi S and Charlotte T of BeCe Chic - @becechic

Cassie Cole - @theprogram2013

Geralyn Turner - @geralynturner

Courtney Miller - @kourtnimiller

 Contact Info: 

• Website: www.atoyafollins.com
• Email:abf@atoyafollins.com
• Instagram: @atoyafollins
• Facebook: Atoya Follins
• Other Social Platforms:N/A
• Image Credit: Leann of Crowned Photography