November 23, 2015
The Rucker Sisters Talk Managing Careers, Entrepreneurship, and Motherhood
The Rucker sisters are the heiresses to one of the most prominent Southern families in the Carolinas. With a recent reality TV show that aired on WE TV and a growing natural haircare line called Rucker Roots, the sisters have a full plate.
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But education has always been the focal point for success in the Rucker family. Born into a legacy of educators, they were taught at an early age to make education their number one priority. The educational influence of their grandparents, Aaron and Ruth Wright Rucker, not only impacted their lives but led to the opening of the A.R. Rucker Middle School in their hometown of Lancaster, South Carolina.
Today the number of women juggling careers, motherhood, and entrepreneurship continues to grow. These successful, beautiful, and business savvy sisters provided BlackEnterprise.com with their advice on business, leadership, and upholding a family legacy.
BlackEnterprise.com: Who are the Rucker Sisters?
Ione: The Rucker Sisters are God-fearing southern belles raised by parents who taught us that the world is limitless. We are sisters dedicated to motherhood and entrepreneurship, and determined to be role models for our children. We are not perfect, but we have a faith in God that is unmatched and perseverance that shows us nothing is unattainable.
Ellen: We are mothers, we are business owners, and we are a faith-based family. We set out goals for ourselves and won’t stop until they are achieved. Is the road always easy? No, it is not. But we know nothing worth having comes easily and has its own set of challenges. We strive to set an example for our children every day, and when they witness obstacles arise in our lives, they see how we continue to push through and meet our goals.
What does work/life balance mean to the Rucker Sisters?
Ione: It is definitely more challenging, especially when your children’s activities can fill up your entire schedule, but luckily we are family of eight and all of us live close by. There are times when Ellen and I have to take business meetings or attend trade shows, but our parents and siblings will step in to make things easier.
Ellen: We are able to balance work and life because we are fortunate to have the support of our families and also the ability to work from home so that we can be there for our children and work on our business, Rucker Roots. We test out our products on our daughters and they enjoy being our models.
Ione: Overall it means being able to be there for our children without having to sacrifice our goals to become one of the biggest haircare lines in the world. However, we know our most important job is being mothers to our children. We also remain active in our community. Â So in addition to Rucker Roots, we also have the Rucker Education Scholarship Fund. Our family values are rooted in education, so it is important for us to give back to young individuals from our hometown of Lancaster, SC, Â pursuing their dreams of going to college.
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