Some women build businesses. Others build legacies. Cindy Tawiah has done both.
From leaving a 13-year nursing career to answer a higher calling, to creating an award-winning natural hair care brand, a healing-centered spa, and a nonprofit dedicated to restoring hope to women, Cindy has spent her life proving that purpose is greater than profession. As the Founder and CEO of Diva By Cindy Hair Care, the owner of Diva Day Spa & Healing Center, and the founder of The Diva Project, she has a mission that extends far beyond beauty. Every venture she leads is rooted in healing, faith, and transformation.
In this SwagHer Spotlight, Cindy opens up about the defining moment that gave her the courage to leave nursing, how life’s greatest challenges have fueled her biggest innovations, why she believes true beauty begins within, and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. Through every chapter of her journey, one message remains clear: when you trust God’s calling and have the courage to pursue it, your purpose has the power to transform not only your own life, but the lives of countless others.
Fancy: You left a successful 13-year nursing career to become an entrepreneur. What gave you the courage to make that leap?
Cindy: Leaving nursing wasn’t an impulsive decision—it was the result of years of knowing that there was another calling on my life.
When I was just 16 years old, my chemistry teacher taught me how to formulate beauty products for a science fair project. Even then, I knew there was something special about combining science, beauty, and healing. But like many people, I took the practical path. I became a Registered Nurse and dedicated 13 years to caring for patients. Although I loved helping people, I knew deep down that I wasn’t living the purpose God had placed in my heart.
As I approached my 35th birthday, I asked myself a life-changing question: “Do I want to spend the rest of my life doing work that no longer feels aligned with who I am?” I had moved from Maryland to Florida and back again, thinking a change of scenery might change how I felt. It didn’t. I eventually realized that the problem wasn’t my location—it was that I was living outside of my purpose.
One morning, after praying for direction, I listened to a pastor on the radio who preached a message entitled, “Change of Focus, Change of Future.” It felt as though God was speaking directly to me. Before going into work, I prayed one final prayer. I said, “Lord, if this is truly my time to leave, please give me a sign. Help me not lose my courage.”
That very morning, a physician walked up to the nurses’ station, slammed a patient’s chart down in front of me, and demanded to know why orders had not been processed. In that instant, I felt complete peace. What many people would have viewed as a bad moment became my confirmation. I knew God had answered my prayer.
I resigned, stepped out in faith, and never looked back.
To every woman who is afraid to begin, I ask this: Would you rather reach your seventies or eighties—if you’re blessed with that time—and live with the regret of never trying? Or would you rather pursue the dream that’s been calling your name, even if you stumble along the way?
Failure isn’t the opposite of success—it is part of success. Every setback teaches you something that success never could. So try anyway. Bet on yourself. Trust God. You may discover that the life you’ve been praying for is waiting on the other side of your courage.
Fancy: How has your personal journey shaped your healing ministry?
Cindy: I believe that every authentic healing ministry is born out of pain.
You cannot truly understand brokenness until you’ve experienced your own. My life has included challenges, trauma, disappointment, and seasons that tested my faith. But instead of allowing those experiences to make me bitter, I allowed God to make me better.
As a Registered Nurse, I learned how medicine can help heal the physical body. But I also realized there were wounds medicine could never touch. Emotional pain, spiritual brokenness, grief, rejection, trauma, shame, and fear require a different kind of healing. Those wounds are healed through God’s love, His presence, and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.
That realization changed everything.
Women often come to me believing they need a massage, a facial, or a beauty treatment. While those services are wonderful, many leave realizing they needed something much deeper. They needed someone to remind them of their worth. They needed permission to release years of pain. They needed hope.
I’ve learned that beauty isn’t created by makeup, expensive clothing, or outward appearance. True beauty begins within. When a woman’s heart begins to heal, her confidence changes. Her posture changes. Her smile changes. Her relationships change.
There is an inner glow that no cosmetic product can create.
My mission has always been to help women heal from the inside out so they don’t simply look beautiful—they genuinely feel beautiful. When healing takes place internally, confidence naturally radiates externally. That kind of beauty never fades.
Fancy: How do you know when it’s time to take a risk on a new idea?
Cindy: Ironically, my greatest ideas are usually born during my greatest challenges.
Whenever I feel backed into a corner, whenever a door closes, whenever something is taken away, I don’t immediately see loss—I see an invitation to pivot.
I’ve learned that God often removes what is comfortable so He can introduce what’s possible.
Every major innovation in my business came after a difficult season. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening?” I ask, “What is this preparing me to create?”
For me, pivoting means refusing to be confined by what has always been done. It means creating solutions no one else has imagined. It means having the courage to explore ideas others may think are impossible or too risky.
Whether it was creating one of the nation’s first natural hair care vending-machine concepts in an airport, expanding healing services, or continuously reinventing my businesses, every breakthrough began with the willingness to move rather than remain stuck.
Innovation requires courage.
The biggest risk isn’t trying something new. The biggest risk is letting fear keep you in the same place while your purpose waits for you elsewhere.
Fancy: What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned through The Diva Project?
Cindy: The greatest lesson The Diva Project has taught me is that the spirit is a currency.
In business, people often focus on profits, revenue, and financial success. Those things matter, but I’ve learned that people matter more.
Every customer who walks through your doors is carrying something you cannot see. Some are carrying grief. Others are carrying anxiety, disappointment, loneliness, or exhaustion. They don’t simply need a product or a service—they need to feel seen, valued, and appreciated.
Businesses should exist to make people’s lives better.
When you serve people with kindness instead of attitude, generosity instead of inconvenience, and compassion instead of indifference, they remember how you made them feel.
I’ve also learned that character is revealed by how we treat people who seemingly have nothing to offer us in return. It’s easy to be kind to someone influential or wealthy. True character is demonstrated by how we love the forgotten, the hurting, and the overlooked.
Through The Diva Project, I’ve witnessed volunteers give freely of their time, talents, and hearts without expecting recognition or reward. Remarkably, they often leave saying they received far more than they gave.
That’s because generosity changes the giver just as much as it changes the receiver.
People often ask why I feel so blessed. My answer is simple: You cannot receive with a closed fist. When your hands are tightly holding onto everything you have, nothing can enter, and nothing can leave.
God blesses open hands.
I believe we each discover our purpose when we identify what we love, use it to serve others, and trust God with the outcome. That is where true fulfillment begins.
Fancy: What do you hope your legacy will be?
Cindy: When people speak my name years from now, I don’t want them to remember me simply as a businesswoman or entrepreneur.
I want them to remember a woman who persevered.
A woman who prayed.
A woman who remained passionate, hopeful, and faithful through every challenge life placed before her.
I hope my legacy tells the story of someone who encouraged others to believe in themselves even when they couldn’t yet see their own potential.
I want to be remembered for helping survivors of domestic violence, homeless women, and women from every walk of life discover that their past does not define their future.
I want my legacy to say that I helped people uncover their purpose, embrace transformation, and become the person God created them to be.
I’ve often described myself as a Metamorphosis Mentor and a Purpose Pusher because nothing brings me greater joy than watching someone step into the life they were born to live.
If I have taught people anything, I hope it is this:
Trust God.
Keep going.
Your greatest purpose is often hidden inside your greatest pain.
And if my life has inspired even one person to believe that healing, transformation, and new beginnings are possible, then I will know I fulfilled the assignment God placed on my life.
Fancy: What keeps you motivated every day?
Cindy: Every day, I wake up ready to put my hands to work and my “Super Diva Cape” on because I believe someone has to answer the call.
Someone has to encourage the woman who’s ready to give up.
Someone has to remind another woman that her past does not determine her future.
Someone has to help restore hope, confidence, healing, and purpose.
Why shouldn’t that someone be me?
I don’t wait for perfect conditions or the perfect moment. I simply show up each day asking God, “Whose life can I impact today?”
Whether I’m serving a client at Diva Day Spa, developing products for Diva By Cindy, mentoring women through The Diva Project, or speaking on a stage, I approach every opportunity with the same mindset: if I can leave one person better than I found them, then the day was well spent.
Purpose is what gets me out of bed each morning. Knowing that someone’s breakthrough may be connected to my willingness to show up keeps me passionate, focused, and grateful. My mission has never been about building businesses—it has always been about building people.
So every morning, I put on my “Super Diva Cape” and get to work, because someone is waiting for hope, and I believe God has called me to be one of the people who delivers it.
Fancy: How can readers connect with you?
Cindy: I would love to connect with readers who are looking for encouragement, healing, entrepreneurship inspiration, or natural beauty and wellness solutions.
You can find me on:
Instagram: @divadayspa and @divabycindy
Facebook: @divadayspa and @divabycindy
TikTok: @divabycindy
You can also reach my team by phone at 410-429-4729 or 1-800-929-4057.
Https://www.thedivaproject.org
Whether you’re interested in healing sessions, wellness experiences, corporate wellness programs, natural hair care solutions, speaking engagements, or simply need encouragement on your journey, I would be honored to connect with you.
Remember, your purpose is too important to postpone. The world is waiting for the gift that only you can give.
