The SAVEDpreneur™ Spotlight: Katesha Reid, Licensed Professional Counselor & CEO of Aligned & Well with KD

Katesha Reid knew God was calling her to do more long before she accepted it — and she is honest enough to tell you there is a difference between those two moments. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, she had spent years keeping her faith out of the room because the profession required it. Then one day, a man in the audience at Talladega College asked her a question that changed everything: what if the tension she felt doing that was God’s way of showing her that the Holy Spirit needed to be in the room? That was the moment she accepted the call. Since then, she has never looked back. Today, through Aligned and Well with KD, she holds up mirrors for the women she serves — helping them reconnect with themselves, destigmatize mental health in the church, and step into who they were always meant to be.

Let's lean in.

Tell us who you are and when did you know God was calling you to do more and be more?

My name is Katesha Reid. I am a licensed professional counselor, author, speaker, mom, wife, and more. For me, it is more about when I accepted that God was calling me to do more — not just when I knew — because those are two different moments.

When I accepted it, I was speaking to a group at Talladega College, sharing how as a professional I had kept God and faith out of the room even when it was hard. An audience member — whom I am convinced was being used as God’s voice — asked me what if I could not do that. What if the tension I felt was God’s way of showing me that the Holy Spirit needed to be in the room. He followed up by affirming that if God is the one who led me to the field, through the requirements and through the licensure process, should I not have faith that He would protect that license. From that day forward I have allowed the Holy Spirit to have His way in whatever room I am in — and it has never failed me or the person I am serving.

What does it mean to be saved and how do you live a saved lifestyle?

To me, being saved means to be covered by God even when we do not know it, acknowledge it, or deserve it. To always be working toward being more Christ-like in every aspect of our lives.

I find myself in awe when people share how kind and gracious I am — I am not in awe of myself, but rather of God’s cleansing and saving grace.

It is often uncomfortable to hear, and it immediately reminds me of what God has done, because I know all versions of me — and so does God. Yet He never gave up on me, even when I had given up on myself. He allows me to now live in what feels like the truest version of me.

Success in the Kingdom looks different from the success of the world. How do you explain the difference?

Success in the world looks like money, fame, and power at any cost. The more I grow in God, the more I realize that is not the goal and that is not true success. Do I want money? Of course. But I want it God’s way. I want it with my heart still right and my morals still intact. I want it with impact on myself, my family, and others. The Kingdom should benefit from my success, because it is the source of my success.

What does having “vision” mean to you? What is your vision?

This question hit hard because I am in a season of a lot of reflecting and planning — reflecting on all the ups, downs, and roundabouts that vision has included, and planning for the next phase. Vision is seeing parts of the goal but not the journey. I am learning that vision also means that no matter what part of the journey you are in, the focus has to stay on God.

My vision is to destigmatize mental health in the church, to provide a safe space for women to reconnect with themselves, and to provide a safe space for employees to work and launch.

What does being a SAVEDpreneur™ mean to you? What is your kingdom assignment and how are you carrying out your assignment now?

Being a SAVEDpreneur™ means not having to segment my life. It means that God gave me the vision, He is the resource for the vision, and He is the operations manager for the vision. Being a SAVEDpreneur™ means that the risks entrepreneurship requires are backed by the Original Entrepreneur Himself.

My Kingdom assignment is to hold up the mirror for the women I am called to serve — and along the way I am finally understanding that the mirror is also held up to me. I am carrying out the assignment by embracing the journey: being an employee at times, making sure I am feeding myself spiritually as well as in business, staying connected to the right people and rooms, and disconnecting when God says so.

What did God call you to build, and how did you know? What steps did you take to be obedient? How quickly did it take you to answer the call?

God called me to build spaces where women can reconnect with themselves — whether at work, at home, or at church — a place where they can become aligned and well.

I know this because of the experiences I have had and the things He has shown me. I have been in a place where I felt unfulfilled, uncertain, and emotionally unsafe because of things I was carrying, expectations I was striving for that were not mine, and an identity I was operating in that was not aligned.

The steps I have taken to be obedient have been to always bet on myself — which I now know is always betting on God — even when the stakes were high and the resources were low. I want to say I answered the call quickly, but if I am honest, the call has been answered in phases. I think that is because it is shown to me in phases so that I do not get overwhelmed or try to control it.

Where did obedience cost you something—money, time, identity, approval? And how did you handle the tension?

Obedience has cost me the approval of others. There have been many people who were attracted to certain things about me and then became intimidated by those same things. My dad always told me they were jealous of the light within me. In the thick of it — losing friends, losing jobs, shedding the ugly parts of myself — what he said was not immediately comforting. But with maturity, you learn that this is the definition of being set apart. And sometimes you have to be set apart even from who you thought you were supposed to be.

What upcoming projects are you working on that you want our readers to know about?

I am working on taking the work I do with women into the corporate space — because the women I serve are leading and working in spaces where they are not being honored or nurtured. That is about to change.

What is the best way for our readers to keep up with you?

Facebook: www.facebook.com/iamkdreid

Instagram: @iamkdreid

Website: www.alignedandwellwithkd.com