As a mom since she was 18, Texas Entrepreneur Ericka Bennett loved making her home cozy for her family.
As her kids got older, Bennett started doing do-it-yourself projects at home. She found she was good at interior design and making furniture. Bennett loved playing with fabrics and colors, and her creations got lots of compliments from friends and family.
Bennett felt confident about her skills after hearing positive comments. She decided to become an interior designer and started trying out different styles and ideas in the field.
That’s when Bennett launched EWorks Talents, based in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 2022. Nacogdoches is located within the T.L.L. Temple Foundation’s service area.
“This helps me create that space to make me feel good about myself,” Bennett said. “I never took this seriously until I started getting a lot of compliments. I was like, I’m going to go for it and see where it takes me. I went from there. I did little stuff at a time and now I’m trying to grow to see what era I want to be in and what direction I want to go with this.”
EWorks Talents provides a range of services, including upholstery, reupholstery, furniture restoration, engravings, designs of custom pillows, throw blankets, bonnets, and much more.
Bennett wanted to help people like her mom who appreciated stylish homes. Inspired by her love for design and fabrics, she made things like cornice boards, seeing them as storytelling pieces in interior design.
Bennett briefly looked into real estate but wants to focus on improving her interior design skills. Her main aim is to build a team to offer complete services to clients. She hopes to combine her talent for floor plans with her passion for making cozy spaces.
“There’s a lot I want to do,” Bennett said. “I get bored easily and I’m learning that I got to do one thing at a time and let it take off and then go on to the next. So, what I’ve been doing here now is just upholstery work and then the engravings, but they don’t take me much time on my machine. I do the design and my machine does the work on that. So, I’m flowing and taking it one day at a time.”
Bennett connected with Communities Unlimited’s (CU) Entrepreneurship Team at the RISE Pop-Up Market on September 16, 2023, in Nacogdoches. She has been collaborating with CU’s Management Consultant Trent Thomason ever since.
With guidance from Thomason, Bennett has strengthened her financial foundation by implementing more conscious cash flow management practices. These include separating business and personal finances, tracking and reducing expenses, and exploring income-maximizing strategies. Together with the goal setting and accountability from CU consulting, Bennett is building a business that generates long-term wealth for her family.
“Working with Communities Unlimited has been helpful because now I’m seeing a direction. I’m not moving blindly. I know the direction I need to go. I have grasped information that I can potentially pass on to my children. This has been great because these were skills I lacked. Now I get to add them into my temple. Learning these types of skills is a way for me to take my family to the next level."
— Ericka Bennett, Owner, EWorks Talents
Thomason says Bennett has a strong desire to learn and grow as an entrepreneur in Texas.
“Ericka has a vision of being a jewel of her community and genuinely aims to uplift those around her,” Thomason said. “She’s demonstrated remarkable resilience on her journey to improve her business and financial knowledge. She consistently shows up with a good attitude and is making steady progress despite having had some obstacles and adversity to overcome. She is inspirational, heroic, and has a bright future. I enjoy working with Ericka. She brings a lot of passion to her work.”
Bennett expresses her satisfaction with the journey her business has taken so far.
“I have been rolling,” the Texas Entrepreneur said. “Business has been popping off. I’m excited about it, and I can’t wait to see what the future is about. Let’s make it happen now.”