In a world where entrepreneurship is too often packaged as luxury and exclusion, Starsheema (Star) Chapman is bringing it back to what matters: Ownership, Impact, and Community Healing. The Kinston, North Carolina native is the visionary behind Star The Accelerator, a revolutionary program designed to help others launch their own home care agencies—without gatekeeping, gimmicks, or guesswork.
“I came from public housing. I didn’t have a trust fund, a Rolodex, or a roadmap—but I had a knowing,” Chapman shares. “I knew I wanted more, and I wanted to bring people with me.”
That knowing became a movement.
With her husband, she co-founded First Choice Care, a thriving home care agency rooted in the heart of Kinston. But what sets Starsheema apart isn’t just her success—it’s her insistence on bringing others with her. Through her self-paced Home Care Agency Builder program, Star is helping people—particularly women of color—launch six-figure agencies with clarity, strategy, and soul.
What inspired her? “I knew there were people just like me—smart, capable, passionate—who just needed the how. That’s what I provide.”
Chapman’s approach is comprehensive, covering everything from navigating licensure and building teams to Medicaid billing, branding, and compliance. But what makes her program revolutionary is her lens: entrepreneurship as empowerment, business as liberation.
“You’re not just starting a company—you’re reclaiming your time, your finances, and your future,” she says.
And that future is rooted in home. While many entrepreneurs seek to leave their hometowns behind, Chapman doubled down on hers. Kinston, often overlooked as a launchpad for major enterprise, shaped her resilience—and now, she’s shaping its legacy.
“I tell people all the time—don’t sleep on the soil that grew you,” she says. “This town raised me, so I’m pouring back into it.”
That pouring looks like job creation, mentorship, back-to-school drives, food distribution, and financial literacy workshops. It also looks like a future-facing vision: HBCU scholarships, policy advocacy, and upcoming children’s books designed to uplift foster youth. One project, The Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Traveling Suitcases, is a deeply personal initiative that replaces trash bags for foster kids with real luggage—because dignity starts early.
“I’m building something bigger than me,” Star says. “Because when you empower one, you empower many.”
Her work is relational, not transactional. She stays connected with her program alumni, many of whom have gone on to build thriving businesses of their own. “We don’t toss you to the wolves. We walk with you,” she affirms. “That’s the Star Accelerator difference.”
In an era that often confuses profit with purpose, Starsheema Chapman is showing that the two can—and must—coexist. Her business model is built on accessibility, integrity, and results. She doesn’t just talk impact—she lives it.
What sets her apart from traditional coaches or franchise consultants? “I’m not selling dreams. I’m showing systems,” she says. “And I don’t just tell you what to do—I teach you how to build it with confidence.”
With eyes on franchising First Choice Care, Chapman is creating a plug-and-play model that will help others leap over the barriers she once faced. Her vision includes educational partnerships, private-pay expansions, and state policy reform—all from the vantage point of someone who’s lived it.
For the countless women watching her rise, wondering if they can do it too, Star has a message:
“You don’t have to be born into access to make an impact. You just need the right support and the right mindset. And I’m here to help you get both.”
In Starsheema Chapman’s world, success is shared, service is sacred, and leadership looks like lifting as you climb.
And that’s the kind of entrepreneurship our communities—and our future—deserve.
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