One-time single mom seeks to help others with cosmetics company

Denise Wiggins has been there, done that. She's the mom of three, stepmom of two, grandma to three. And, for a period in her life, she was doing it all on her own - raising her kids and struggling to make ends meet.

Eventually, she was able to pull herself up and out of that life, turning to God and finding women who were doing well and following their paths.

"We need that push," she said. "We need something to lift us up and encourage us."

Now Wiggins, who lives in Knightdale, is working to help women who were just like her - single moms who are trying to do better for themselves and their children.

But it's more than that. Wiggins is positioning the company as a women's empowerment brand where single moms can find a way to make some extra income. She'd like to build a sales force of single moms across the country to sell the brand and spread the message of women's empowerment.

"So many women are looking for jobs, unstable," Wiggins said. "This is the brand for them to be that ambitious person. My target market is single moms because I was that."

Wiggins self-published a book, "My Struggle God's Glory," in June that details her early life. Living in Washington, DC, she had no college education, two bad marriages and kids to raise. But she always had ambition. In her mid-30s, she decided she was done.

"Enough is enough," she remembers thinking. "You have to know the decisions you're making are not profitable for you and your children. I always had the drive. I just needed that extra boost."

Wiggins said that turning her life to God and finding women to emulate helped get her back on the right path. Today, she's married to Daryl Wiggins, who she said has encouraged her every step of the way. The couple attend Raleigh North Christian Center. Two of her children are following her own dream of a college education and attend Winston-Salem State University.

Now, with an empty nest, the Wiggins often are on the road, selling cosmetics and spreading her message. She also works on projects to makeover women who are struggling, using her products. The line includes 52 lipstick colors; 17 lip glosses; 14 nail colors; 8 foundations and 8 blushes.

"It's just us," she said. "I'm living life."