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Empowering Women's Legacy: Tracee 'Frazier' Owens's '10 Entrepreneurial Journey

In 1987 the month of March was designated Women's History Month by a presidential proclamation. The month is to give homage to the contributions of women in American history. Hence in honor of Women’s History Month, it is imperative for us to celebrate the stories of our Saint Martin Alumna and the legacy they are building.

Our chosen feature this month is Tracee “Frazier” Owens from the tenacious Class of 2010.

Through laughter, Tracee shares that back in her high school days she never thought about taking an entrepreneurial route. Instead, she envisioned herself becoming a Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of someone else's company, but never her own. Now a business owner, Tracee attributes a great deal of her business experience and skill set to Saint Martin’s Corporate Work Study. She noted that her early involvement in the corporate world provided a solid foundation of what it took to conduct good business and be a leader in whatever role she chose.

Today, two of Tracee’s favorite chosen roles are being a stay-at-home mother to her three beautiful little girls and a great wife to her husband. Tracee tells us that leaving the traditional workforce was not something she planned to do. However after she and her family moved from Cleveland, Ohio to Charlotte, North Carolina, she found herself tending to the home and assisting her husband with growing their new family’s business. Balancing the three roles of mom, wife, and entrepreneur empowers Tracee to lead with grace as she governs her personal and business life. At the beginning of our conversation, Tracee said, “I think it’s important for women, specifically those who took some time off from the workplace to know it is okay to take a break, but don’t be afraid to jump back in because you still have employable, invaluable skills. So, take that break to focus on your children, school, or other endeavors.”

Presently, Tracee lives by her advice daily as she is now primarily responsible for implementing sales and marketing strategies, graphic design, and bookkeeping. She says, “My husband may be the face of the company, but I’m pulling a lot of strings behind the scenes.” Hence, Tracee taking on supportive leadership roles only attributes to her skillset as an observant and strategic businesswoman.

Tracee, alongside her husband, is the co-owner of Gold Level Spirits, a mobile bartending company that solely aims to employ women, with a focus on women of color. Tracee explains the company was created this way to elevate women of color because this particular group faces more challenges in the workforce than others. She goes on to mention that as an up-and-coming company, she and her husband decided women should be the driving force of their employee base because of the value they possess on a team. One strategic plan Tracee has for the company is to help women grow, which is why their business is completely operated by women. Tracee believes, “Women have an innate value they bring to any setting.” She refers to women as pragmatic thinkers who wear several different hats while demonstrating empathy and shedding invaluable insight into a multitude of areas. Yet, most importantly Tracee said, “Women buy in, and when women believe in something, women really give it their all.” Which Tracee knew to be true, because of her first-hand experience in Saint Martin’s evolution.

Watching Saint Martin transform in front of her eyes taught Tracee, “When you have a mission that you’re trying to set forth, and you include everyone in on the big picture, those people can visualize the idea, buy-in to the idea, and believe in their success and the company's success, and that’s when you know you’ve got something powerful.” Years ago, Tracee and her family bought into the late Mr. Richard Clark’s dream of creating a high school where teenagers could earn an education and corporate work experience at the same time. Now 21 years later, the Saint Martin dream is still going strong for those who dared to dream and believe too.

Alumna Tracee is still daring to dream and believe too, as she continues to dismantle the stigma society has placed on a woman’s success when women choose family over the workforce. Tracee’s progressive decision to redefine what success looks like for her led her to share this message with Saint Martin students and alumni who may be struggling with the homogenous idea of success. With much passion and sincerity, Tracee said, “Success cannot be defined in one way or even with any career or career path. The cornerstone of success is being able to switch gears. Even if you are on the same trajectory the entire time you may have to come at it from a different angle.” So, if you find yourself at a crossroads with two different paths, if you can afford to take the risk, take the road less traveled to define your dream of success.

When asked what the future holds for her and Gold Level Spirits, Tracee tells us that Gold Level Spirits is scaling quickly, with plans to incorporate catering options and the development of coursework designed to turn aspiring entrepreneurs into certified mixologists. “We want to create success stories, even if they are not working directly under our imprint.”

To follow Tracee’s journey, make sure you follow her on Instagram @bargoduniversity.