OWN YOUR BRAND SHOW with Victoria Odekomaya

Transforming Pain Into Purpose: Tamise Cross on Building P30 | Epi 66

• Victoria Odekomaya • Episode 66

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This powerful Behind the Brand episode of The Own Your Brand Show features Tamise Cross, co-founder and executive director of P30, a coworking and community hub transforming Indianapolis’ Far East Side.

Tamise opens up about her journey from anger, rebellion, and even a suicide attempt, to hearing God’s voice and embracing her Kingdom Mindset. With raw honesty, she shares how faith and vision led her to create P30 — a space designed not just for entrepreneurs, but for families, youth, and community restoration.

If you’ve ever felt unqualified, stuck, or afraid to take the next step in your calling, this story will inspire you to move forward one step at a time.

🌟 Connect with Tamise Cross & P30 Indy

🚀 What’s Happening at P30
At the heart of P30 Indy is a mission to empower entrepreneurs, leaders, and community builders. One of the signature initiatives is the Real Estate Boot Camp (REBC) — an intensive program designed to give participants the knowledge, strategies, and confidence to thrive in real estate. Details here: p30indy.com/rebc

💡 Looking Ahead
P30 Indy regularly hosts gatherings, learning sessions, and networking experiences that bring together visionaries and changemakers. Keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to learn, grow, and collaborate with Tamise and the P30 community.

ABOUT

Victoria Odekomaya is a proud Nigerian American whose 23-year journey to U.S. citizenship shaped her belief that everyone has a purpose and that she is a vessel God uses to help leaders fulfill theirs.

She is the founder of LiMStudios, a full-service creative agency and state-of-the-art content studio in Indianapolis. Through LiMStudios, Victoria helps small businesses become known, paid, and remembered through high-quality photography, video, podcasting, and content marketing strategy. She is also the creator of Boss Ladies Magazine and host of The Own Your Brand Show, platforms dedicated to amplifying female leaders who are ready to step fully into their power and impact others.

With nearly two decades in drug research and her long journey to citizenship, Victoria understands the perseverance and clarity it takes to build something lasting. That same drive fuels her mission to help entrepreneurs show up, grow, and leave a legacy. Since launching the Boss Ladies Campaign in 2022, she has helped raise over $30,000 for local nonprofits while empowering women to feel confident, credible, and celebrated.

Follow Victoria’s journey through LiMStudios, Boss Ladies Magazine, and The Own Your Brand Show, and join her in amplifying voices, building legacy, and making impact.

📩 For sponsorship or business inquiries:
mtr.bio/limstudios | hello@thelimstudios.com | Text 260-777-7211

Tamise Cross:

It was a point in my life where I was so angry, I could not identify where the anger came from. And in my conversation with the Lord, I was like, I can't do this anymore. I can't deal with my own anger. Wow. So I attempted suicide. Oh, my

Victoria Odekomaya:

God. I did not know

Tamise Cross:

that. Yes. And I attempted to commit suicide, and the Holy Spirit said, you can't kill what I put inside of you. What is kingdom mindset? Yeah, kingdom mindset is shaping our mind around who creator is and what he created us to do. And he created us to be co-creators with him. And that's all we need to do is create. We don't have to compete. We just collaborate and create. We provide all this programming for young people and it's great. They get to experience it only for a couple hours. After 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, they go home with their families and you gotta reprogram their mind when they come back. And from that, I was just like, dang, these parents need help that's when i started writing out a vision what can i create for the whole family what does the whole family need i ended up sharing with a friend something that i wanted to do long term and three years later august 2020 he called me and he was just like i just want to invite you to be my business partner we have 30 000 square feet and we don't know what to do with it is this enough space for you to do what you want to do

Victoria Odekomaya:

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Own Your Brand Show. recently featured in an article of the Boss Ladies magazine, the new edition. So make sure you get that and read that story. But today I'm going to be talking to her and she's going to be taking us through that journey of how P30 became a reality and some of the things that she had to go through personally. And without much ado, let's just get into it. Yes. How are you doing today? Thank you. I'm great. I am great. Thank you so much again for coming. I am so excited to talk to you because I remember and I have a little bit of notes here. I don't want to go with the notes, but I want to, you know what, just introduce yourself. Let's start with that because I'm just excited. I'm like,

Tamise Cross:

ah, let's just dive in. Well, I am one of the co-founders and the executive director of P30, which is a co-working space, an entrepreneurial incubator, and a community resource hub. And essentially the culture of the space is really the fullness of my heart. And I'm really encouraged by all of the opportunities and experiences that have happened there. We're like one big family and it's definitely a dream come true. And I pinch myself rather often. I bet. Because I'm like, wow, it's just beautiful to live out something that I wrote a while ago and just to live it is just beautiful and it's just humbling. And yeah, I'm just excited. I'm strapped on my seatbelt and I'm just enjoying the ride. I love

Victoria Odekomaya:

it. I was reading about your article and you said something along the lines of you you know you didn't have the education um you know there's a lot of fear that came into doing that but you just you know like you say I'm strapping your seat belt and you're like I'm going for it I am not you had the opportunity to quit but you were like no I'm not yes and now p30 is a beacon of hope yeah so oh my god if we could just go back and just walk us through the journey like before 2017 I know you had a lot of pain and lot of trauma going on. Tell us what your life looked like before, you know, 2017.

Tamise Cross:

Okay. To make a long story. I know, right? Because we can sit over here. So I grew up in Chicago in a single parent household. And my mom was just very passionate about making sure her girls weren't typical black girls. That's what she would always say. I don't want you to be a typical black girl. So Chicago is very multicultural. My mom was very intentional about making sure that we were aware of our cultures, that we tried different foods, that we went to different schools. Like, you know, and those things I really didn't enjoy. Because on the flip side, you know, I have, you know, my father's side of the family. It's just a lot of things that I just did not understand my mom's end goal. And so to actually live out everything that she has instilled in me right now today it's amazing and it's just because yeah out of rebellion just not really wanting to be all that she was pushing me to be I felt like she was pushing me too much I felt like she was challenging me too much but hindsight is 20-20 and now living it out I recognize that she saw potential in me she put something inside of me that maybe spiritually she knew that if I don't train her up in the way that she should go, she probably won't ever get there.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Right. So I know there's, first of all, ladies, if you have kids, they should be listening to this episode because I just want you to tell us an example of some of the, because I understand rebellion, right? And, you know, we're raising kids that they would get to that point. I think it's like a rite of passage. Yeah. You know, tell us an example of something that you're like, look, mom, no, I am not doing that. Listen, at 12 years

Tamise Cross:

old, the story pops up. My mom was big on summer reading program and so much so that she took us to the library and so like when I was 12 I wanted to be outside hanging with my friends but no mama wasn't playing that there in Chicago there's a library called the Harold Washington Library downtown and she took us down there weekly and we had to go and read the book sit with the person give the book report my mom made me write book reports on summer breaks yes oh my god and for punishment she made me write dictionary pages literal dictionary Wow. Because if I didn't articulate myself well at home, she would punish me with dictionary pages. Wow. And she did. And then made me write that word in that sentence 10 times a page. Like my mom was, yeah, she. And so a lot of people now is just like, oh my gosh, you know, you articulate yourself so well. Well, my mama wasn't playing. Like my mother made me use words that she knew that I would have to know and speak as I got older. So she started me doing that at five. I didn't recognize how impressed people were at eight years old when I said that. certain words. You know what I'm saying? How old are you again? Those were one of the things and it bothered me because when I got amongst my friends and this is just where racism, colorism, those things play in children. A lot of kids will say, you talk like a white girl. I struggle with having friends because I wanted to be so cool and I wanted to hang out with the cool kids who say mom and not mom. My mom did not like me to call her ma. She wanted mom. Or she almost made me call her mother. She was not playing. My mom, I mean, it was just something that she felt like she had to do to ensure that we would be successful. And so, yeah, those were one of the things. And you're right. For the mothers who feel like the tension with struggling with your kids to make them do something that they don't want to do, that's that tension is just natural. Right. I mean, it's the rite of passage to parenting. It is hard during the time, you know, when it's happening, but yeah, I think it's important. It's hard and you don't want to go through it. You want to just be, forget it, let them do whatever, but it's just, you know what's best for your child. Yeah. And I'm a product of hard parenting that was beautiful for me now that I know that as an adult.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Isn't that interesting that we always find out later on, like you said, anxiety is 2020, right? If we could just be like, okay, let's just go through the motion with mom, right? Right, yeah.

Tamise Cross:

No, I made it hard for me. And so that's where I would say I think a lot of trauma not only did I just experience because that's just how some families, you know, just no family is perfect. But there's some things that I afflicted on myself. And that was just because I was rebellious. I was a knucklehead and I had to bust my head a couple times. And thankfully, I got tired of it you know I got tired of it and it was a point in my life where I was so angry I could not identify where the anger came from but I was very angry and I was so angry that I had a spiritual experience and in my conversation with the Lord I was like I can't do this anymore I can't deal with my own anger wow so I attempted suicide oh my god I did

Victoria Odekomaya:

not know

Tamise Cross:

that yes a couple days after my 27th birthday wow because I was just so angry and it was just a lot of things that just happened but I was just like I don't want to be here anymore I don't even want to deal with my own anger I don't even want I just I don't I want to be done so I locked the door to the bathroom I got into an argument with my husband went in the bathroom my son was about two and I attempted to commit suicide and the Holy Spirit said you can't kill what I put inside of you and this was in the midst of that and And I was like, what? And I'm just like, what did you put inside of me? So now I'm, you know, arguing. It was almost like if anybody reads the Bible, it's almost like a Jacob experience. Except Jacob was like, I won't let go till you bless me. I was like, I'm not going to stop arguing with you till you tell me what did you put inside me. And the Holy Spirit was like, if you seek me, you will find me. And that was it. So I went to Google and I just typed in, if I seek God, I will find him. And Jeremiah 29, 13 popped up.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow.

Tamise Cross:

And most people know Jeremiah 29, 11. Yes. But that's when my life illuminated. It's scriptures that we rely on from other people instead of going and seeking him for ourselves. And so when I started seeking the Lord for myself, I started seeing myself.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow. And

Tamise Cross:

I started seeing who he created. Wow. And I had to embrace that about me. And I had to just look at all the stories and it's always one person that that is hearing from like a Noah right right right right right Noah was crazy to everybody else right true true but he was obedient to God that's right and so the Lord showed me you could try to do everything to try to please everybody else I'm looking for obedience and obedience is better than sacrifice it is and so for that he transformed my heart I literally had a heart surgery wow okay so

Victoria Odekomaya:

oh my God This is so powerful. I just kind of want to touch on, if you could go a little bit deeper on, so you locked the door, ready to commit suicide. You heard that voice. The next day you jump on Google. What are some of the things that began to happen from that Google chat? Oh, Jeremiah 29,

Tamise Cross:

13 popped up. So then I went to the scriptures and then I was led to study more. It was because it was scriptures that were hidden that I was unaware of. I was going to church on I was only listening to what the preacher was saying. I wasn't going to church to listen and be inspired to go study for

Victoria Odekomaya:

myself. So did you still feel in that process? And I don't know if it's too soon, you know, doing that. Did you still feel anger? I was more inquisitive.

Tamise Cross:

I just became more inquisitive. And I was just like, okay, you said if I seek you, I'll find you. So now where are you? Where are you? And I started looking for him in the scriptures. I started looking for the Lord. I identified Moses. with the story of Saul who turned into Paul. Mm-hmm. He also was a murderer. Mm-hmm. I was able to learn how my anger was a form of murder. Right,

Victoria Odekomaya:

right.

Tamise Cross:

Because in anger, you hurt people hurt people. That's right. And you can devastate people to the point of your words and physical reactions. Yes. And seeing that story, so going from Jeremiah to seeing about Paul, I wanted to learn more about Paul. Mm-hmm. So then I went on to study on Paul and I started reading all his letters. Wow. And I would take a chapter a day and I would look for God in Paul's story.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow.

Tamise Cross:

Because he was out to murder

Victoria Odekomaya:

Christians. He was. Like he was serious about it too.

Tamise Cross:

Yeah. And then so after a while, that's when the Lord was telling me, I'm going to send you into places where I need you to tell people about me. So that's the reason why I can't, you know, and it could create fear because most people don't want to talk about religion. Yeah. I'm not talking about religion. Religion is brushing your teeth every day.

Victoria Odekomaya:

I'm not talking about religion. That's right.

Tamise Cross:

I'm talking about a source of faith. Yes. And so by that source of faith, the Lord began to show me how to live kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. And not only did he transform my heart, that's when after he transformed my heart, he worked on my mind. So now I have a kingdom mindset. I

Victoria Odekomaya:

love that.

Tamise Cross:

And P30 is a manifestation of a kingdom.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Okay, let's go into the kingdom mindset a little bit because I believe I have a kingdom mindset too. And I love that part of the Bible that says, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I think that is a definition of kingdom mindset. Like we are literally living on earth as it is. So like for people that are probably listening or hearing this for the first time, like what is kingdom mindset?

Tamise Cross:

Yeah, kingdom mindset is shaping our mind around who our creator is And what he created us to do. Yes. And he created us to be co-creators with him. Oh, sis. I am

Victoria Odekomaya:

loving this.

Tamise Cross:

Yes. And so that's why I say P30 is a manifestation of that. Because as a co-creator, I can encourage other creators to create. That's right. And that's all we need to do is create.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yes.

Tamise Cross:

We don't have to compete.

Victoria Odekomaya:

We just collaborate and create. I love that. And, you know, like I always believe that I have the DNA of God. And I know that he created the earth and the earth with his words. And so I can create too because I have his deal. So, oh my goodness, I am so loving this. Look, if you're out there and you're wondering, this is what having power, using your words as powerful as it is, this is what it really means. Because we are called creators and we have what it takes to create. Yes, we do. And as

Tamise Cross:

entrepreneurs, especially. Especially. That is an act of faith. That's right. Now, however way you want to pass it. I package your faith. That's on you. I package my faith through the source of Christ. And so with that, you know, I'm able to confidently communicate who I am and what I'm here to do. And I'm here to be who he called me to be. And if that's love, then it's going to be love. And if it's an executive director, it's going to be that, you know, and that's how education couldn't qualify me for that. You know, however, I'm receiving opportunities to receive education to validate that. That's right. So And I'm going to pursue that. And some people feel like you don't have to do that. And that's good for them. But it's like for Noah, he had to be obedient. That's right. And for Tamisha, she has to as well. That's right. So

Victoria Odekomaya:

that's where

Tamise Cross:

I am with that. Right.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow. So at some point, you got the vision for P30.

Tamise Cross:

Now let me tell you how I got the vision for P30. So throughout my life, since I was 15 years old, and in two years it'll be 30, 30 years ago. Okay. So throughout my life, I have always done youth mentorship, youth programming. So at 15, I started with tutoring. My sister is eight years younger

Victoria Odekomaya:

than me. So 12 of you were rebellious at some point.

Tamise Cross:

Yeah. And so three years later, I was rebellious, but I was also a giver.

Victoria Odekomaya:

And I had a little sister. I guess you just didn't like what your mom wanted to do. I didn't want to do what

Tamise Cross:

she wanted me to do. I wanted to do what I

Victoria Odekomaya:

wanted to do. And some of the things You want to do our great things too. Like give me back. Yes. Okay. Go

Tamise Cross:

ahead. So I played basketball, you know, and so my sister was at an afterschool program and I would just go and be with her, you know? And so while I was there, the director was like, you might as well work here. Cause it seemed like all her friends like you. So that's how I got the job to be a tutor, tutor or whatever. So I started tutoring. And, um, from there, it of course just carried me on where I just plugged myself and always inserted myself and giving back to the youth primarily because because a lot of young people needed big siblings or whatever the case. I always wished I had a big sibling, but I'm the oldest. So anyway, I wanted to be that for other kids. And then it ended up growing into more things. So then I got inserted in nonprofit through the Boys and Girls Club and other programming and things like that.

Victoria Odekomaya:

What

Tamise Cross:

I began to notice is that young people, we provide all this programming for young people and it's great. They get to experience it only for a couple hours. After five o'clock, 6 o'clock, 6 o'clock, they go home with their families and you got to reprogram their mind when they come back. Every time. Because you got to, you know, you just got to remind them of who they are, but when they go back, what's going on at

Victoria Odekomaya:

home? And

Tamise Cross:

so I had the privilege of learning what was going on at home. And from that, I was just like, dang, these parents need help.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah, yeah, we do need help. So it's

Tamise Cross:

just like, oh my gosh, like, yeah, like the whole family needs help. So I was like, that's when I started writing out a vision. What What can I create for the whole family? What does the whole family need? The whole family needs restoration. But a lot of times these families are looking for opportunities for their kids. They're looking for scholarships and different things like that. Well, what can I do to help them create wealth so that they can afford it? Because a lot of times they say they can't afford certain things for their kids. So when I started thinking of that and I'm writing down my vision and stuff like that, I'm like, I want to create a community resource that's going to restore families, not not just focus on youth, but focus on their whole family. From the grandmother all the way to the sibling, to the aunt, uncle, not just the mom and dad, you know? So I started thinking like that. And so that's when I started telling people, like, I want to see families become whole. Because I'm working on being whole myself. So as I work on being whole, me and my husband, we working on being whole and having a healthy marriage. We working on creating a healthy household for our son. Like, there's different things that we were doing we was like and we want to show people what we doing because we were finding success yeah and creating happiness in our home you know we were no longer angry that's right like the the more I started learning about who I am through looking at Saul who turned into Paul who learned and who who he was to do you know so I started modeling my life after him you know I'm saying and it's like okay this is how we do this you know and so gradually I'm still learning and even to this day I'm still learning I'm not perfect but I'm just like Looking at all of these opportunities. And so, yeah, I meet someone at church. I went to a new church. And it was a predominantly white church. And we were focused on racial reconciliation. And in that, you know, you get to talking about stories and different things like that. I ended up sharing with a friend something that I wanted to do long term. I didn't know when it was going to happen. But I'm like, this is what I want to do one day. And three years later, August 2020, he called me. I'm having chills right now. He called me and said, hey, Tamise, can we go to lunch? Our favorite place was Chipotle. We meet at Chipotle. Of course, you know, it's COVID, but we were able to meet there. And he was just like, I just want to invite you to be my business partner. You remember what you've been talking about? A couple years ago, I'll never forget what you were talking about. And he was like, and I could feel the passion from what you wanted to create for your community. And I partnered with someone. We bought a space that we're going to create into a modular home factory. We we have 30,000 square feet and we don't know what to do with it. Because

Victoria Odekomaya:

my joy is like, I'm just like, wow. Yeah, he's

Tamise Cross:

like, we have 30,000 square feet, we don't know what to do with it, but I'll never forget what you told me three years ago what you wanted to do. You've been talking about it for years. Wow. Is this enough space for you to do what you want to do?

Victoria Odekomaya:

Okay. Listen, Deb. First of all, I love some of the things, I just want to summarize it real quickly. You wrote down the vision, you started talking about it, and even though it took three years, you didn't even know when it was going to happen. but you kept talking about it with passion too. So I'm hoping that helps somebody because sometimes we're so afraid. Yeah, you want to keep it to yourself. Right,

Tamise Cross:

yeah, because people are like, I don't want nobody to steal my idea. One thing is, people can't steal your zeal. So it's like, people could steal your idea, but it still won't be what you're supposed to do. That's right. Because they ain't got your sauce. Your secret sauce. Yeah. Wow. So then you guys began to talk about? Yeah, we began to work on it. Wow. And initially I was just working on it as a developer. I didn't work on it with the intention to be the executive director because in my subconscious I knew I felt like I wasn't qualified to be the executive director. So I was like, I need to find this executive director. So I was looking for the executive director. I even thought one of my closest friends was going to be the executive director. I was trying to prepare her for it. I'm like, look, I'm developing this space and we're going to need somebody to Wow. And I think you'll be ideal because you have a master's in business. I think you'll be the perfect person.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Okay, let me tell you something about having a master's in business. Look, I have a master's in business and I will tell you, it is just theory. Because the real deal, you learn on the job. Yeah, you do, you do. Oh my,

Tamise Cross:

okay, go ahead. And so I'm trying, yeah, literally, I'm interviewing people. Shoot, it was one person. The person that I interviewed, she was going to be the executive director. It was like I was interviewing people, and then I put the board together, and we have this conversation, and the two co-founders that was with me said to me, why would we look for someone to run it, and everything that you created came from your heart? Why don't you run it? And I felt like I wasn't qualified. Wow. And then I had to get executive coaching, and the executive coach was like, you might not feel qualified, but you're the perfect person for it. You developed this space. Why would you want somebody else to run something that came from your heart? Right. He was like, you just need training and everybody needs training. Yes. And so he normalized professional development for me. Wow. And I took it.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow.

Tamise Cross:

And I'm still learning and growing. But I have to say, I feel so rewarded for receiving the challenge, fighting fear. I had to punch fear in the face. Yeah. And I punch fear in the face every day. Wow. But I definitely did. And so, yeah, by way of that, I'm grateful to be here with you to share my story and yeah, hopefully encourage someone else. I'm encouraged

Victoria Odekomaya:

because, you know, like I think that we think that we need to be a setting place or be a setting, like have all this degree or something before we can actually step into who we are called to be. You know, but your story is like, you don't need to have, like you need to prepare yourself and be willing to learn, but you don't, Even if you don't have everything, you can still pursue and look for resources to help you. It doesn't mean that you stop your dream from happening. Yeah. Wow. So I know you told me the story of how you developed P30 and it's really a community. You had a lot of community research. Tell us a little bit about

Tamise Cross:

that. So, yeah. So what was beautiful is one of the co-founders, his wife is a professor at Butler and she teaches social entrepreneurship.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Okay. And

Tamise Cross:

so we knew that we wanted the co-working space to model social entrepreneurship. And so in that, she introduced us to a research group. And so we partnered with that research group and they showed us how we can create human centered iterations and invite people from the community to come out and help us create it.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow.

Tamise Cross:

So it was beautiful. I mean, we spent three months together, 25 community leaders and residents came together at Nexus Impact Center over there on 96th and Michigan Road. And we met there, and we had an investor that offered an incentive. And it was like, hey, you go through this three-month design session with us, we'll give you a gift card at the end. That was the incentive. And it was beautiful because they got the gift card in December for Christmas gifts, okay? Perfect timing. Perfect timing. So, yeah, we had the three sessions. And, I mean, it was just the most beautiful experience because to have people sitting there and then even as they have been able to come back and see that we've implemented their thoughts and ideas.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah, I bet. Because, okay, for people that have not been to P30, first of all, you have to go there. Because literally, tell us where it's located so that they can get an idea of what we're talking about.

Tamise Cross:

So P30 stands for 30th and Post Road.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah, 30th and Post. Did you hear that? Yes, yes. Because if you're far inside, you know 30th and Post is, you know. The

Tamise Cross:

narrative has been long overdue for restoration. Exactly. The narrative of the post-roll needed to be restored because there's a lot of beautiful people and beautiful opportunities on the Far East side that have been overlooked by the negligence of some people that have just, you know,

Victoria Odekomaya:

did

Tamise Cross:

whatever they did in order for it to be what it is.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Right. That's amazing. So you invited the community members and then you wanted to create this space where, like you said, empowers the entire family. Absolutely. So some of the things that are there, I know, like you have Like a gym is over there. We have

Tamise Cross:

a fitness room. Kitchen. Keep going. We have a kitchen. We have a photography studio. A podcasting studio. We have an arcade room. We have a laundry room.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Laundry. That was interesting for me because that's new. So let me tell you, in the

Tamise Cross:

session, we had a blank piece of paper. We had all of these little construction pages. And you have to rip it up and just put on this blank document where things should be.

Victoria Odekomaya:

You know,

Tamise Cross:

it was a thought like where the outside courtyard was. It was a thought to make it a mini golf course. Oh, wow. But Victoria, we on post-roll. Who coming out there to play golf? Like, and this is supposed to be an entrepreneurship, you know, or somebody was like, well, let it be a dog park. We on post-roll.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah.

Tamise Cross:

We don't want no stray dogs coming through. You know, I mean, so we was like, make it an event space, you know, so that's how it was. I'm just telling you just to help visualize. But some Somebody was like, well, what about the single moms who want to start businesses and they have a lot of chores at home? You should put a laundry room in there so that they could just come and do household work while they build their business. And I was like, oh, that's brilliant. And so it's like, yeah, let the community donate detergent and stuff like that so that the families could come and wash their clothes. And I'm like, yeah, teach their kids how to do the chores. So wash your clothes. That's what we say during the tour. We're like, you can wash your clothes take it home have your kids fold them so yeah that's what we say or we will say if you only have one workout outfit

Victoria Odekomaya:

we got a

Tamise Cross:

shower in the fitness room take a shower wash that workout outfit and use it for the next day like you know we just trying to just show people like most people put a lot of hours into work so we wanted to create the space so that it could be a home away from home that's right so that's why you got the furniture inside the 465 hub so it could be comfortable. Yes. You know, and a lot of people don't understand the concept of co-working, so we communicate it as, it's a library without books. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You just come into the space, you find a place to work, and you just make it happen.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah. Right. Wow. And then you also have a green room to a green area, right?

Tamise Cross:

So we did have a tower garden room. Okay, okay. Yep, and so just managing that space with the company that was managing it, it just became a little strenuous, so we are now developing it into an AI studio. Ooh, that's good. Yes, so we partnered with Emil They donated 20 laptops. Wow. And so we are going to have accessible laptops with the extended version of the AI GPT. Right. So that people can come and utilize it for their entrepreneurial support.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Oh, my

Tamise Cross:

God. Yes. Then there will be trainings and things like that that will be happening at the AI studio. So people who don't have access to Wi-Fi or the paid versions of the GPTs that give you just a little bit more. Right, right, right. They'll have access to that at the AI studio.

Victoria Odekomaya:

That is incredible. Yes,

Tamise Cross:

yes.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow. Okay, so you've built this. It's thriving, right? I know you have a ton of examples of success, testimonials. Just share with us some of them.

Tamise Cross:

Oh my goodness. So I'll tell you one. So, and this is going to connect back to another story. When I was 18 years old, I was in a coma. And remember, I was rebellious. So the fact that I survived the coma and my room was right off of a window right off of Lakeshore Drive. So if anybody been to Chicago, it's just a beautiful scenery when you get to drive on Lakeshore Drive. My hospital is right off of Lakeshore Drive. So my room had the Lakeview.

Victoria Odekomaya:

And

Tamise Cross:

so I woke up and when I was able to finally get out of the bed, because it took a while, I had to get, you know, some training and stuff to be able to walk again. I just asked the Lord, why did you keep me here? Because, you know, life is hard. You must have me here. for a reason. And he confirmed that. Of course, again, had to confirm it again. But to me, someone who is 25 years old, knowing that 25 years ago, the doctors told my mom to prepare for me to transition. And my mom put a Bible underneath the pillow, and I was able to wake up three days after my 18th birthday. So I was in a coma on my 18th birthday. How long

Victoria Odekomaya:

were

Tamise Cross:

you in a coma

Victoria Odekomaya:

for?

Tamise Cross:

For 12 days. Wow. My eyes began to sink, my mom said. And like the doctor said, like, you know, we don't think, you know, she's going to make it. So they put a Bible underneath my pillow and through the Lord, you know, I'm here, right? So I'm looking on the lake like, why, why? You know, but anyway, to hear my why is to meet a 25-year-old young man who said, I'm so glad that you're here because you're helping me create impact in my own community. This young man grew up with the narrative that the Far East side is a no hope, you know, a place of no hope. And so there's just been something in his heart that, nah, it's something more out here because I'm here. That's right. And so he began to do his own work. But he said that coming to P30 has allowed him to have a space and opportunity for him to continue to impact his peers and people who are younger than him. Wow. So he experienced so much living in that community. And he always talks about how blessed he is to be a part of P30 and thanks me all the time. And I think about it because he's 25. And I know 25 years ago, God did not have to keep me here. But he did for me to support Keanu, that's his name, along with his group, Deshawn and Stack Over Shine. This young group appears to be a gang to people who don't know who they are. But man, they're not trying to do nothing but empower their peers to do something opposite of what the Far East side is known for. And now let's build our community up. So that's one powerful story. And he's having plenty of events at P30 and we sponsor him and support him. Another thing is the fact that the space was gifted to the community. So we have opportunities where we can support people from our community who are who have no funds to just even launch off their plans. So we've been able to sponsor and support a lot of people who've been able to just have a space to do what they feel like they're called to do. We have another woman. I love her so much. Her name is Wendy West. And I talked about her in my article. But she's a powerful story. And I'll tell you how powerful it is because in February, her job was calling her back to work in person. And she said, I pray to God, I want to be a full-time entrepreneur. I don't want to go back to that job. We prayed in that podcast studio, and five days later, she come back telling me, I was able to retire from that job, and I'm a full-time entrepreneur, and she's 62 years old. You know, so it's just like, age doesn't stop anything. You know, and so I have a lot of older people in my life who's like 50, 60 years old, would say they're too old to start something new. But for Wendy to do that,

Victoria Odekomaya:

that's a powerful story. And that podcast studio I know firsthand is an incredible space. Yes. And she's doing such incredible work impacting the next generation of the community too. She has a lot of programs and that is incredible.

Tamise Cross:

Yep. Another powerful story is we have the editor of the Indie Farm Eastside Magazine. He's a member of P30. Him and his business partner also opened up the photography Click, yes. business in photography. That's a powerful story because we get to see life through the lens of these teenagers who can use this for their portfolio to continue to give them, you know, opportunities in the future. That's a beautiful story to tell. Another one is the coffee shop. We don't have a good coffee shop on the far east side. So we have good quality coffee at Two Cups a Day Cafe. So that's a beautiful story A beautiful story is that some of the employees of Volumar, which is a modular home factory, they employ second chance opportunities. These gentlemen back there are building homes, but they're also learning how to build their trade into a small business because of P30. You know, Shu, we had another family that was on the parking lot before. Car broke down. They was traveling from, they were traveling, but their car broke down because we had a shower inside of our space. We were able to go knock on their window, ask them if they needed anything. They said they hadn't eaten. They needed somebody to help repair their car so that they can get back on the road. Through the resources that we have at P30, not only did we help them get their car repaired, we got enough funds to bless them with an Airbnb so that they could sleep peacefully overnight. We invited them in to take a shower inside the fitness room, and they were able to just be on And that's just a one-off from not just entrepreneurship, but just people that's willing to give back. I mean, it's a million stories that has happened in that place, you know, with the cohorts, Anthony Murdoch and his mastermind program and all the beautiful opportunities that he had for people to come into that space, learn how to build their side hustles

Victoria Odekomaya:

in

Tamise Cross:

order for them to continue to thrive and grow. And now you get to look on social media and see people just promoting themselves. Business is growing because of community support. Wow. And so it's just the power of togetherness that's happening at P30 and just the power of people knowing that you don't need permission. You have this space. Yeah. You have the opportunity. Right. Permission granted. That's right. Created.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Wow. Now, I know another program that's coming on probably already is the One Million Cops. Oh,

Tamise Cross:

yeah. Yes. Let me get some of my T-shirt. So, yeah, we just launched today the 1 million cups entrepreneurial support, basically. And so it's where two cup sponsors coffee. So you can come and get free coffee and you can share your business. So entrepreneurs can come and share their business amongst another group, a community of entrepreneurs. Share your business, communicate barriers so you'll be able to communicate three barriers and you get free business consultation with the room. And so they're offering feedback on what you can do in order to tear those And it was just a beautiful experience. I was able to present my business today and man, it was just a beautiful experience. So we're creating a community of collaboration, a community that's willing to give feedback in order to see people prosper

Victoria Odekomaya:

and thrive. That is so powerful. So as you're speaking, I was thinking in my mind that there are a lot of people that unfortunately don't get the chance to see the impact that they are making for generations to come. You know what I mean? But to me, it's like you are literally seeing the fruits of your labor. Yes. How does that feel? Oh.

Tamise Cross:

oh wow I don't know how to put it in words how I feel but I will say it's rewarding to see my value right before my eyes it's rewarding and it's restored me so much and yeah I'm just I'm humbled by it I give God all the glory yeah But I'm very, I feel, I feel, it's just a tremendous feeling.

Victoria Odekomaya:

Yeah,

Tamise Cross:

it's a tremendous feeling. And often I have to sit in it. Wow. And when I sit in it, it's just like, wow, like, look at value right in front of your eyes. And yeah, I don't really know how to, yeah, that's the only thing I'm at a loss for words. you're

Victoria Odekomaya:

blessed you are blessed you are blessed oh my god okay so for people that are just thinking you know I'm stuck maybe they can relate with some of the stories that you've shared or they have big dreams in their hearts what words can you share with them today before we close out

Tamise Cross:

yeah I would say one step at a time but take that step it's one step at a time though we want to run and we want to keep up with people. And we got to be careful with that because you don't know what people had to go through in order for them to have the capacity to do what they're doing. So it's just like weight training. You can't start lifting 50 pounds and you hadn't even mastered five.

Victoria Odekomaya:

That's right.

Tamise Cross:

So one step at a time. Master the five. And then like weights, you move up to eight. That's right. And then 10 and then 12. So it's like one step at a time. time. Look at people and be inspired by the way that they are able to uphold. But don't put the weight on yourself to keep up with them. That's right. So just take it one step at a time because it's not your time yet. But when your time happens, like I'm experiencing, it was not my time. But now that my time is here, I just want to remind people to just keep up with your pace. That's right. Don't outrun. Don't try to keep up with the Jones they run too fast. That's so

Victoria Odekomaya:

true. That is so true.

Tamise Cross:

So if you have to walk, if you have to crawl, if you have to scoot, whatever you have to do, make the move that you have to make, but don't try to keep up with nobody. That's right. Just do what you need to do. And it all comes in time. And as I'm learning, because I just was able to, I'm getting a coaching certificate right now. Congratulations. Thank you. And so I was able to coach a 60-year-old professor that That lives in L.A. and is a professor at NYU. Wow. And she teaches journalism. Wow. Right. Exactly. I'm like, how am I coaching you? Wow. But to sit there, and she's Asian, too. So to sit there and coach her through her barrier, it let me know everybody has a barrier. That's right. It doesn't matter how grand you think they are.

Victoria Odekomaya:

That's true.

Tamise Cross:

It's like, no, they are grand in their own right. But everyone is human. Everyone has to release. Yes. And everyone has to grow. That's right. You know, and the fact that she's 68 and she's like, I want to do more. That was beautiful and inspiring for me because it doesn't stop. The motivation and determination does not stop. Regardless of age. Regardless of age. And also experience. Experience, yeah. No matter how much experience it is, somebody has a barrier.

Victoria Odekomaya:

That's right.

Tamise Cross:

So that means that We all have flesh and blood and we all have, we all need each other. Right. And so we need to be reminded that it only takes one step at a time or one scoop at a time. Whatever it is, have movement, whatever that movement is, keep going. Wow. Thank you so much for your time. Thank

Victoria Odekomaya:

you for this time. This is so, so blessed me so much, right?

Tamise Cross:

Thank you. Thank you.

Victoria Odekomaya:

So, if, I mean, look, this was a powerful episode. And I would love for you, I'll put all the details about P30. I would love for you to go out there and experience it for yourself, what's possible for you and your dreams. I would like for you to connect with Tamise. I know you're open to that, right? Yes, I am, very much. You gave me your calendar link. Is it okay to put your calendar link in there? Yes, absolutely it is. I'll put all of that in the description. You already know how that goes. So please check it out and connect, because you never know. Writing down your vision, saying it out loud, and surrounding yourself with community that can actually help you get there. And regardless, remember, one step at a time. Yes. Even if you have to scoot, like Tamin said. Make that move. Make that move. Because somebody is counting on you to use your gifts and talents. So until next time, keep building your brand. Thank you. Bye. Bye.

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Victoria Odekomaya

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