The Joy (& Pain) for Black and Brown Moms with Sarika Jain & Jezebel Paulino

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We’re in conversation with two of my dear friends Sarika Jain and Jezebel Paulino-McFadden who are telling their journeys of motherhood. As women in business, oftentimes it’s hard to choose between your career and becoming a parent. Sarika and Jezebel talk to us about their process of embracing motherhood and the literal role of birthing the next generation of human beings. 

Socially, there is a blatant disregard for the value of moms, especially black and brown moms who are disproportionately impacted by maternal health. All of which leads to anguish, sickness, harm and death.

When I think of motherhood, I think ‘labor of love’. And that’s something we as a society have to value. We cannot expect our economic system to value that, I think that we as individuals have to start waking up to that. To make love work, requires a labor of love. - Sarika + Jezebel

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In this episode, Sarika & Jezebel share their lessons learned in:

  • Choosing motherhood over ambition of growing your career

  • Grappling with your identity as a mom and partner while still staying true to your own passions and interests.

  • Challenging gender norms and social expectations of motherhood

  • The lack of support of basic needs for mothers within this country compared to other countries

Join us for this candid conversation. Grab your favorite glass of wine and join us for this super inspiring conversation!

You don’t want to miss this episode. Grab your favorite glass of wine and join us for this super inspiring conversation!

Want to work with one of our mentors? Click over to join us at The Mentors Circle -- the career and business mentoring platform for women of color. Get matched to a mentor to build your dreams in 2020. Applications are open! https://forms.gle/qN3dT9XGqm2CDDAo6

Going Beyond the Paycheck -- How Black Women Can Build Generational Wealth

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A new podcast episode is up y’all!

Brought to you by the Build Your Business Baby in 2020 training. My dear, you do not want to sleep on this because this training will give you everything you need to know to start your business this year in an inspiring and strategic way. You know how I do! Click this link to purchase for just $25!

Ok, now on to the episode:

Today, we’re in conversation with Karen Mitchell, Owner & Founder of True Indian Hair -- a hair extension company with clients such as Rihanna, Taraji P. Henson, Serena, Kelly Rowland, Lil Kim, Zoe Kravitz, Naomi Campbell and so many more. Karen hails from her home town in Jamaica who became an entrepreneur and set up shop in Brooklyn, NY. 

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Karen opens up about getting laid off from her job and what she did next. She takes us through the ups and downs from day one of starting her company to how she built her now 7-figure business. We talk about the sacrifices and risks our black immigrant parents took to provide opportunities for us.

In this episode, Karen shares how we can set ourselves up to not just get by financially but to really create financial wealth as black women in business through home ownership and investments. Despite having bankruptcy on her record, Karen did what others would tell you not to do in order to make her dream work. As black women founders, we traditionally have less access to capital and resources to start our own business. Shifting our mindsets around long term building and going beyond the paycheck positions us to thrive and create sustainable success within our community.

You don’t want to miss this episode. Grab your favorite glass of wine and join us for this super inspiring conversation!

Want to work with one of our mentors? Click over to join us at The Mentors Circle -- the career and business mentoring platform for women of color. Get matched to a mentor to build your dreams in 2020. Applications are open! https://forms.gle/qN3dT9XGqm2CDDAo6

Episode 2: Creating Certainty to Build the Business of Your Dreams

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A new podcast episode is up y’all!

Brought to you by the Build Your Business Baby in 2020 training. My dear, you do not want to sleep on this because this training will give you everything you need to know to start your business this year in an inspiring and strategic way. You know how I do! Click this link to purchase for just $25!

Ok, on to the episode:

Episode 2: Creating Certainty to Build the Business of Your Dreams

We’re in conversation with Jessica Perilla, Creative Director and Founder of the Award Winning Branding Agency JPD Studio. Jessica opens up about her decision to go from full time employment to starting a business from the ground up. Her dreams were fueled by a desire to have artistic vision and work with her own clients using technology as the gateway. She tells us how having both fear and excitement when starting a new path is absolutely normal and that having a mindset of certainty helps build confidence and attract new opportunities.

We also get into much deeper conversation about being a woman of color entrepreneur in a traditionally male dominated field of technology. As a minority women owned business, Jessica's company is sought after and continues to attract clients who specifically want to work with women like her.

You don’t want to miss this conversation!

Want to learn from the best and work with Jessica as your business mentor? Click on over to join us at The Mentors Circle -- the career and business mentoring platform for women of color. Applications are open! https://forms.gle/qN3dT9XGqm2CDDAo6



EPISODE 1: Owning Your Corner -- What Women of Color Can Do to Blaze a Trail in Career and Life

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Today, we’re in conversation with Tumi Soyinka, Head of Marketing at Mizani/Loreal. Tumi opens up about her career path from Music Technology to her serendipitous opportunity that led her to now be the head of one of the largest textured hair care brands. The path to doing work you love and finding a career that aligns with you is often a squiggly line and life will take you in different directions than we originally intended. Tumi shares how to be open to that process.

We also get into much deeper conversation about navigating the workplace as a woman of color. How do we navigate microaggressions and insensitivities from our well intentioned colleagues? We talk about loving our natural hair and proudly owning the pieces of identity that make us who we are. 

Grab a cup of tea and join us for this super inspiring conversation!


Want to work with Tumi as your mentor? Click on over to join us at The Mentors Circle -- the career and business mentoring platform for women of color. Applications are open! https://forms.gle/qN3dT9XGqm2CDDAo6

How To Find and Work With the Right Mentor

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Why is it so hard to initiate a mentoring relationship?

Sometimes knowing the right person and having access to people who can mentor you can be difficult to find. Sometimes initiating the conversation can be awkward; it can be intimidating to make yourself vulnerable to someone further along than you. And sometimes we just don’t know where to start.

Thanks to technology, mentoring comes in many forms. We can find mentorship through social media by following our favorite Youtube person or stalking, I mean researching people who we admire and inspire us. Then we have mentoring relationships that involve actually sitting down with someone on a consistent basis through personalized conversations and working towards real, tangible goals. Today, we’re discussing how to build a relationship with a mentor your trust.

Finding a mentor takes time and intention to make sure you are picking the right one. Here are the ways I recommend to align with the best one:

  1. The best places to look for mentors are: within your company’s leadership chain, local chamber of commerce and through networking events, workshops or conferences. Get into the practice of introducing yourself to speakers at events.

  2. Follow up via email or LinkedIn. This lets the person know you are serious about continuing the conversation.

  3. Share your goals and exactly what you’re working on. This helps the person know how they can help you.

  4. Do your research about the mentor. Know their background and how it fits into your goals. Reflect what you’ve learned back to them. This helps them know you are paying attention and have done your HW.

  5. Email to initiate a conversation about mentoring. Ask to meet them in person by treating them to lunch or coffee. If meeting in person is not possible, speak by phone or video.

Below is the email I used to initiate the conversation with my mentor:

[...] I am inspired by your work, the story of building your empire, and philanthropic pursuits.

I want to explore a conversation with you around mentorship. I think of you as someone who embodies powerful leadership and business acumen. I am sure there is much I can learn from you. If there is an opportunity to be your mentee and learn from you, I wholeheartedly welcome the conversation. I understand your busy as well so no worries if now is not the right time.

Please do let me know your thoughts I look forward to hearing from you. All the best, - Ariane

This email effectively help me connect and work with the woman whom I so eagerly wanted to learn from and helped me learn how to be a better business woman and build more confidence.

Looking for a mentor doesn’t have to be hard, but it does require commitment. The mentoring relationship is a very rewarding one. Through it you gain not only confidence and direction in your career but sometimes true friendship with someone who is invested in your success.

The Mentor Circle was created for you to succeed. Designed for women of color who want to learn from each other. The way towards success, is if we rise up together.

Applications are open, enroll to The Mentors Circle today!

Let’s Get Visible, Visible -- What introverted women can learn about being seen

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Being seen is a struggle for a lot of us. If we are more on the private side or are introverted, putting ourselves out there can be an uphill battle.

Some of us are even hiding in our businesses or behind the screens of our laptops instead of breaking away to be in the world and connect with those around us. Sometimes it’s easier and more comfortable to be an observer or hope that people will notice us by working hard and letting the results speak for themselves.

That kind of thinking won’t work here.

In my corporate days, I wouldn’t speak up at meetings for fear of saying the wrong thing then would kick myself when much louder, extroverted person next to me (usually a dude) would say what I was thinking and get all the credit.

This bad habit followed me even as I became an entrepreneur. The truth is I truly enjoyed interacting with people and speaking; I just chose to do it in a one on one format. Unfortunately, we don’t always have those opportunities in the work setting or when running a business. I had to unlearn those old behaviors if I ever wanted to advance in my business and challenge myself to take center stage.

Ladies we have to become more comfortable with being seen. Especially as women of color and being the only person of color in the room most times, it’s essential that we let others see us and be a recognizable player in our industries. This is the best most effective way to build visibility and become recognized in your field. 

In my coaching sessions with clients, I sometimes share mystical teachings to help my clients build their confidence and comfort in being seen. We do this by taking on the qualities of certain planets. In the cases of building visibility, the ideal planet to emulate is the Sun. The Sun is bright ball of light in the sky that shines unapologetically, is seen by all without embarrassment or shame, and brings joy to everyone who is touched by it’s glow. These are qualities that if we are short on, we can learn to cultivate.

Think how taking on these qualities can help you become a better speaker, magnetic, and shine your light without care for what others might think. Think about the people in your life and work right now who possess these qualities. Do they struggle with being seen? Didn’t think so.

So how about you?

The idea of being seen is very much a mindset thing. The good news is there are some very practical ways to boost your visibility. Here they are:

  1. Challenge yourself to speak up at least 3x in a large meeting. 

  2. Publish a blog or write an article on LinkedIn

  3. Publish a video of yourself speaking into the camera

  4. Comment on posts and engage with your online community

  5. Go to networking events and introduce yourself to three people

  6. Build expertise in your industry and share your ideas regularly

  7. Be a guest on a podcast

  8. Practice speaking publicly at least once a month. Volunteer to present material or lead a workshop.

  9. At meetings, sit towards the front of the table rather than the back

  10. Volunteer to say a toast at dinner gatherings

Cultivating our relationship to speaking up and being seen, we can learn how to powerfully take up space and share who we are with the world without sacrificing our true self. 

How to Become Confident With Money -- the practice that changed my life.

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Sometimes when we embark on the entrepreneurial path, our darkest money messages rise to the surface so that we have to deal with them.

After years of believing that money was this elusive thing that was never around and constantly living that reality, I realized I needed and quite honestly deserved better. I took matters into my own hands and I started doing Financial Fridays.

Let me tell you about Financial Fridays.

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