Check Out Raven Celeste Queerly’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Raven Celeste Queerly.

Hi Raven, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Thank you! So like any Entrepreneur id love to say my journey here has been easy but again like any entrepreneur I cant do that. I was adopted as a child but even after that my childhood wasn’t one of ease. When I learned I was adopted I remember being hurt by that but not knowing why it hurt. Looking back now likely the hurt stemmed from the not knowing and such but you know when you’re a parent it’s really hard to tell sometimes what to say to your kid or when to say it. I eventually learned my biological mother was a paranoid schizophrenic who gave birth to a child while in a schizophrenic episode. So I spent a lot of time obsessing over the disorder trying to learn what i could in case I got it. When I became an adult I thought life was going to be some sort of piece of cake. Turns out it’s not exactly a walk in the park. I was in multiple abusive relationships and each one came with their own financial pressure. Being the girl that always works, I was used to the stress of anything financial but none of the stress really impacted my life until later on when I actually got in a healthy relationship. This healthy relationship came after I was almost murdered at the hands of an ex. After the thousands of dollars dished out to attorneys trying to get one of my kids back. After the financial weight of having a second child on my own. This relationship did come at a price though. My partner lost his job. We worked together at a cascino and he actually at one point was my boss. We started close to the same time, he got promoted rather quickly making him one of my managers. My progression to the top was more slow but steady. Within a couple months I was promoted to vault then I was promoted to dual rate supervisor but he still had authority over me the entire time and I guess that’s frowned upon so he ended up getting fired and I ended up applying to a daycare teacher position and when I got hired there I left. So our income just got cut 75 percent from what we were making. With only one income we ended up getting evicted from where we were so we moved in with his grandma. My parents aren’t exactly on board with my relationship because he’s trans so our only help in terms of financial stuff was his grandma. We still live with her though we are now married. Both of us are jobless at this point which actually ended up being the course of eviction because I was having a miscarriage and work left me with an ultimatum and I chose my health over their ultimatum so naturally here we are im jobless and I have to make money I got two kids you know. So I started Mias Above and Beyond Babysitting. The goal was ultimately to become a daycare. But i had no idea who to go to to even get clients so I made no money and discarded the company. I then did online things that pay you to take surveys or play games, things like that. It made us money and it still does but that money is generally only enough to put gas in the car, buy some basic necessities or support our nicotine habit. Outside of that it doesn’t pay the bills. I kept getting LinkedIn emails and decided to actually use the platform since I had an account already why not. I was given a free month of their premium and decided to utilize it. I’ve always loved writing. So I decided to offer my services as a writer. Within a couple days I landed my first Client who paid me $200 to edit her completely outdated resume, get a few jobs to apply to, and give her a linkedin page edit. I did these things. I actually gave her 3-4 different resumes, a whole LinkedIn page edit, and sent her multiple jobs to which I got no response. She told her bank she didn’t buy that and literally my bank account is still negative 200 because of it. I wasted hours on that client. My month of premium over I can’t get any more clients. At this point I’m beyond frustrated. I’ve always been the type of girl that goes through creative spurts. Randomly I’ll just be full of creativity and be inspired and do a bunch of artsy things. When Ravens Androgynous Design popped in my head I was like bro. I’m sitting on money right here with this idea. Now here we are.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing about this journey has been easy. My life has been far from easy but it’s not like the most difficult one either you know. I feel like I tend to have horrible luck or something. My life has been full of abuse. So I have a lot of trauma. I’m diagnosed with multiple different mental health disorders, my physical health has progressively declined since my last miscarriage, I got two kids one which is most likely autistic though the test hasn’t been done yet. But like we just have a lot of stress. Getting out of bed alone has been hard. I ran out of money building RAD so I’m sitting on a million dollar idea with no way of implementing it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For those unfamiliar with Ravens Androgynous Design, RAD’s primary objective is to establish an androgynous clothing company. The term ‘Design’ in the name encompasses a broader spectrum. RAD provides an array of services, including writing (poetry, songs, ghostwriting, research), woodwork (customizable, crafted by my husband, and soon to be promoted under his company), eventually tattooing (performed by my husband, operating under his own company, and endorsed by RAD), brand affiliation, content creation, editing, photography, and babysitting. RAD’s long-term vision is to transcend the boundaries of a single company while maintaining a unified presence. RAD prioritizes topics such as addiction, mental health, Early Childhood Education, Adolescent Mental Health, SA, and DV, adhering to values that align with the principles and codes commonly associated with these subjects. 💖🌈🎨📚💫

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m one of those take a risk or don’t take a risk kind of people. Sometimes I take the risk sometimes I don’t. I got 4 grand back in taxes and I spent a lot on that on reinvesting myself. I got the LLC I got the EIN I got the webpage all except the product I ran out of money. That to me is a huge risk and now I’m sitting here with nothing to show and RAD just being there in limbo. It’s all still a risk and it’s all still work in progress but I’m also one that doesn’t like to stray from comfort and to me the biggest risk is going outside of your comfort zone which I did building RAD. Freelance is a risk of it’s own as well which I’ve clearly shown I haven’t won on that risk yet.

Pricing:

• Freelance writing starts at $65 flat rate. But each case is unique and pricing varies given on the complexity of each one.
• My husband’s woodworking is also the same as my freelance. Each project is unique and can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars or as little as $100.
• Clothing is not yet for sale but when I do get our first item running which I’m really excited about I’m estimating those will cost about $45.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravensandrogynousdesign?igsh=MWpvbmFybXQ5b3E3cw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573836549657&mibextid=ZbWKwL
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaterry1
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@loner4areason?_t=ZP-8wgjqSKVszu&_r=1