Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Renee.
Hi Patrice, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My Story:
I’m Dr. Patrice Stephanie Renee, and I help entrepreneurs build smart businesses, not just busy ones.
But that clarity didn’t come easy. It came from loss. From mistakes. From rebuilding a life I didn’t recognize anymore.
In November 2019, I stood on one of the highest moments of my life, earning my doctorate degree. And five days later, I experienced one of the lowest. My mother, Regina Stephanie Wilder, passed away suddenly.
Just a month before that, my husband of six years had filed for divorce. So, in a matter of weeks, I lost the two people who anchored me, the one who raised me, and the one I thought I’d grow old with.
And before I could even fully process that grief, the world shut down.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit, and everything — everything — became still.
Except my thoughts.
Life didn’t gently nudge me to change. It demanded it.
It said, recalculate.
And this time, I listened.
My mother was a woman of service, of community, of quiet strength. She spent years working for the USPS, but she dreamed beyond that. She dreamed of entrepreneurship. She would jot down business ideas on the backs of envelopes, scraps of paper, anything she could find. Ideas that deserved more than just margins.
When she passed, I had to make a decision:
Let those dreams go with her… Or bring them to life through me.
So, I became her legacy in motion.
I dropped my last name with my divorce. I took my mother’s middle name as my own. And I stepped into a new
identity — not just in name, but in purpose.
Dr. Patrice Stephanie Renee was born out of grief… but also out of intention.
In January 2021, I launched P.S. Renee, LLC.
In the beginning, I was building from a place many entrepreneurs don’t talk about — pain. I was pouring myself into work because it gave me something to hold onto. Something I could control.
But passion without structure will wear you out.
And I learned that firsthand.
Despite nearly two decades in education and over 15 years in HR leadership, entrepreneurship humbled me in ways my career never did.
I underpriced myself because I wanted to be accessible.
I overworked because I thought exhaustion equaled success.
I said yes too often, when I should’ve said, “invoice attached.”
I trusted without contracts.
I relied on talent when I should’ve been building strategy.
And at some point, I had to be honest with myself:
Being good at what you do is not enough.
You have to be intentional about how you do it.
That realization changed everything.
I stopped building from emotion and started building from alignment.
I stopped chasing opportunities and started positioning myself for the right ones.
I stopped operating like I had something to prove and started moving like I had something to protect.
What I’ve built now is different.
Today, I am a confident Black woman entrepreneur who understands both the emotional weight and the operational demands of building something from nothing.
I know what it feels like to create from grief.
I know what it feels like to pivot when life doesn’t give you a choice.
And I know what it looks like to go from surviving… to leading.
Through P.S. Renee, LLC, I help small businesses and nonprofit organizations do something many struggle with — I help them become ready.
Ready for funding.
Ready for growth.
Ready for sustainability.
Yes, I specialize in grant writing, government contracts, and strategic business consulting. But what I really do is teach people how to think differently about their businesses.
How to think like an owner — not just an operator.
How to price based on value — not fear.
How to build systems so they’re not the system.
How to protect both their peace and their profit.
Because I’ve lived the alternative.
I no longer build from desperation.
I build from discernment.
And I teach others how to avoid the mistakes I had to learn the hard way.
My mother gave me the blueprint for service.
Life gave me resilience.
Business gave me boundaries.
And entrepreneurship revealed who I really am.
A visionary.
A strategist.
A storyteller who turns ideas into opportunity.
A woman who made mistakes — and turned them into curriculum.
Because the truth is, the hardest thing isn’t dreaming new dreams.
It’s finding the strength to rebuild when the first one falls apart.
I’m not just dreaming. I’m building with intention, with clarity, using my gift for storytelling to help others bring their stories to life while creating a legacy that lasts.
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?
Has it been a smooth road? Not even a little bit. Hahaha.
Entrepreneurship has been many things: refining, stretching, humbling, but smooth? Never.
One of my biggest struggles has been learning how to take something I’m deeply passionate about and treat it like a business instead of a hobby. Passion will have you overdelivering, undercharging, and answering emails at 11:47 p.m. “just because.” Business requires structure, boundaries, pricing models, contracts, and consistency. I had to learn that the hard way.
I also balance a full-time 9–5 career while running a growing, in-demand consulting firm. That means early mornings, late nights, weekends, and extreme discipline. There were seasons when I was exhausted but still showing up polished. People see the wins; they don’t always see the calendar juggling, the proposal deadlines, or the mental load of managing multiple clients at once.
And being a grant writer and government contract writer adds another layer of complexity. I don’t have a physical product to showcase. I can’t hold up a candle or a T-shirt and say, “Here it is.” My work is intellectual capital. It’s strategy. It’s compliance. It’s positioning. It’s storytelling backed by data. It’s waiting months for funding decisions that are completely out of your control.
In this field, wins can be few and far between, and then suddenly, several land at once after months of silence.
The unpredictability can test your confidence if you let it. Nothing in grant funding or government contracts is guaranteed.
Except my dedication.
Another tough lesson? Trust. I trusted friends and family in business decisions and didn’t always receive the same professionalism in return. That forced me to mature quickly. Contracts became non-negotiable. Deposits became mandatory. Boundaries became firm.
Scaling was another challenge. I’ve wrestled with discounting my services because I genuinely want to help small businesses and nonprofits, especially minority-owned organizations that are under-resourced. But I learned that constantly discounting doesn’t serve anyone long-term. It creates burnout, not sustainability.
And then there’s the commission conversation.
In the grant and government contract world, people often want you to work solely on commission… “You’ll get paid if we win.” That model is not feasible or ethical in many cases within my profession. Grant writing is labor-intensive, research-heavy, and strategic. It requires expertise regardless of outcome. I had to get comfortable saying, “No, that’s not how this works.”
Consistency in promotion has also been a growth area. It’s ironic — I can help clients secure six and seven-figure opportunities, but promoting myself required a different level of vulnerability. Showing up online. Talking about my wins. Repeating my message. Owning my expertise without shrinking.
People often say, “When we get things together, we’re coming back for you. You’ll be rich and won’t need this job.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I might actually retire early. But what I’ve learned is this: you can’t build a business on potential promises. You build it on paying clients, sound strategy, and consistent execution.
The journey has been tough because entrepreneurship exposes you. It forces you to confront your money mindset, your boundaries, your discipline, and your resilience. It will show you where you over give. It will show you where you doubt yourself. And it will absolutely show you who supports you for real.
But what keeps me coming back is impact.
When a nonprofit secures funding to serve its community…
When a small business wins its first government contract…
When an entrepreneur tells me, “I didn’t know how to position myself until you walked me through it”…
That’s what makes the struggle worth it.
This road hasn’t been smooth, but it has been defining.
Every mistake sharpened me.
Every delay strengthened me.
Every “no” refined my strategy.
And now I don’t just survive the road, I navigate it with intention.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about P.S. Renee, LLC?
Let me tell you what I do — and what I don’t do.
I don’t “fill out paperwork.”
I don’t “just write grants.”
And I definitely don’t work on vibes alone.
Through P.S. Renee, LLC, I specialize in grant writing, government contract strategy, and positioning small businesses and nonprofit organizations to compete, and win – in spaces that weren’t always designed for them.
As a Black woman-owned firm, my work is deeply rooted in leveling the playing field. I understand firsthand what it feels like to be brilliant, capable, and overlooked. So, I help my clients show up structured, compliant, competitive, and undeniable.
Grant writing and government contracts are not just about writing. They’re about:
• Strategy
• Eligibility positioning
• Compliance alignment
• Budget development
• Data storytelling
• Infrastructure readiness
You can’t submit a proposal and hope for the best. That’s not strategy, that’s gambling.
What I’m known for is helping organizations get “funding ready.” Many people want money, but they’re not structurally prepared to manage it. I help clients tighten their operations, clarify their mission, align their programming, and build budgets that make sense, not just sound good.
And yes, I write strong, competitive proposals. But more importantly, I teach my clients how to think like funders and contracting officers.
What sets me apart?
First, I bring executive-level HR and compliance experience into this work. That means I understand internal infrastructure, staffing models, policy development, and risk mitigation, which funders absolutely care about.
Second, I don’t romanticize the process. I tell clients the truth. If you’re not ready, I’ll say so. If your budget doesn’t make sense, we’ll fix it. If your organization needs structure before it needs funding, that’s where we start.
I am strategic, not sentimental.
Third, I genuinely care about access. I intentionally scale my pricing to support small businesses and nonprofits, especially minority-led organizations, while still protecting the sustainability of my firm. It took growth and maturity to find that balance, but I’m proud of it.
Brand-wise, what I’m most proud of is the reputation.
My brand stands on:
Professionalism.
Integrity.
Confidentiality.
Results-driven strategy.
When people hire me, they know they’re getting someone who will be thorough, ethical, and fully committed. In a world where people want commission-only work or overnight miracles, I stand firm in doing things the right way.
I also take pride in being transparent about the realities of this field. Wins can take months. Funding is competitive. Government contracts require patience and precision. Nothing is guaranteed.
Except the excellence of my effort.
I want readers to know this about my brand:
If you’re serious about growth — I’m serious about helping you build it properly.
If you’re looking for someone to “try something real quick,” I’m probably not your girl.
If you’re looking to build systems, increase capacity, and position your organization for long-term funding success — welcome.
At the end of the day, I’m not just writing proposals.
I’m helping small businesses and nonprofits move from survival to sustainability, and occasionally reminding them that contracts pay the bills, not discounts and favors.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’m big on structure and continuous growth, so I lean into resources that sharpen both my strategy and mindset.
For business and productivity, I live by tools like Claude, Calendly and Canva, because if it’s not organized and positioned well, it doesn’t exist in my world.
Book-wise, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene challenged me to think strategically, while Atomic Habits by James Clear reinforced the power of discipline and systems, which are essential in both grant writing and entrepreneurship.
I also intentionally pour into content created by Black authors and thought leaders. Books like We Should All Be Millionaires by Rachel Rodgers push me to think bigger about wealth and ownership, while Get Good with Money by Tiffany Aliche reinforces financial discipline, something every entrepreneur needs when managing funding and scaling responsibly.
I also enjoy podcasts like How I Built This because hearing real stories about how businesses were built, mistakes and all, reminds me that growth is rarely glamorous. Shows like Side Hustle Pro by Nicaila Matthews Okome highlight Black women entrepreneurs building real businesses, and The Table with Anthony ONeal by Anthony ONeal offers practical conversations around money, mindset, and business.
Most importantly, I stay connected to communities of other entrepreneurs. Iron sharpens iron, and in my field, staying informed, inspired, and culturally grounded is not optional.
Pricing:
- Grant Writing Fees: $50/hour
- Government Contracts Fees: $75/hour
- Professional Certifications: $250+ (Additional $100 per additional certification) ✓ Small Business Certification (SBE) ✓ Minority-Owned Business Certification (MBE) or ✓ Women-Owned Small Business Certification (WOSB) ✓ Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business Certification (EDWOSB) ✓ Veteran-Owned Business Certification (VOBE)
- Business Service Fees: ➢ Business Plan Development: • Basic Business Plans: $350+ (excludes strategic plan) • Comprehensive Business Plans: $450+ (Includes strategic plan & Market/Financial Analysis) ➢ Strategic Business Plan Development: $450+ ➢ Packages (Business Plan & Strategic Plan Development): Customizable Packages starting at $550
- Business Registeration/ Formation ➢ State LLC/ Sole Priorietier/ Non-Profit Registration/Formation: $50+ (State Fees not included) ➢ State Formation Amendments: $50+ (State Fees not included) ➢ IRS 501c3 Non-Profit Tax Exemption: $550 (IRS Fee not included)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://psreneellc.merlin-site.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psreneellc/
