Let me tell you about this journey God has me on.I come from a small town in Virginia, the youngest of 11, yet God has me being the first in everything I’ve done. I was the first African American gymnast in my town, the first to get a cosmetology degree in my family, the first African American to own a Cosmetology and Barbering School in our town.Now, I’m the first African American to own a national pet product line.I’ve trusted God every step of the way.At 18, I started working at different salons. I was a leader and would tell my instructor how processes and procedures could be done better. One day she told me, “Maria, you are a true entrepreneur. You need your own business.”I opened my first salon, Re-Ons Designing Impressions, at 19. That’s where God had me for a while, getting me ready. More than two decades later, when I owned a children’s salon in Pennsylvania, God had me start creating products. My clients loved my all-natural Oria’s O’shay products, which could be used by patients with diabetes, eczema, and psoriasis. In 2010, I got into my first Whole Foods Market. That expanded to five stores, then 10 … 20 … 23. But that wasn’t the end of my journey. God had something else in mind. I was living in North Carolina when it was time to take action on something I had been thinking about for awhile: a pet product.I created a formula people could spray on their pets to get rid of odor. People loved it. I was invited to take my product to the largest in the country, SuperZoo 2020 in Las Vegas.Everyone loved the product.At my booth, people kept coming up to me and saying, “Maria, I’m so glad you’re here.” “We’re glad to see you here.”I had no idea what they were talking about.Then a friend of mine said, “Maria, you know you’re making history.”It turns out I was the only African American there with a booth. Out of 1,000 booths. The only one.Now, I’m launching Fresh Mink Pets on Chewy as the only African American with a national pet product line.God is good.Get ready.He’s not done yet.