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Speaker 1: We are married and work right, we are like we

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Speaker 1: have a shared bank account for the company. That is

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Speaker 1: lots of zeros, lots of lots of We have multiple

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Speaker 1: comments in that thing. Right, we have to decide on

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Speaker 1: how to spend that money. Right, and we have to

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Speaker 1: decide on who let go, who to keep. We have

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Speaker 1: to decide on, you know, like what lawyer to bring in,

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Speaker 1: what this, what that, which business to take, which business

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Speaker 1: is not to take? And all that can be right

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Speaker 1: for confrontations, right for conflict. So make sure that if

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Speaker 1: you're partnering with somebody, make sure that your relationship independent

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Speaker 1: of the new business is tight and strong.

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Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Button Nomics. Tommy

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Speaker 2: host Brandon Butler found the CEO of Butter atl And

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Speaker 2: today we got a two for one. Yeah, not just one.

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Speaker 2: We got two amazing ladies in the building thiss days.

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Speaker 2: How y'all doing this morning?

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Speaker 3: Feeling amazing? Incredible, incredible?

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Speaker 2: Well, y'all are incredible because we got the one and

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Speaker 2: only missus Lorie Hall and Miss Jessica Laine of Popping Creative.

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Speaker 2: Y'all feeling all right, good, good well, Thank y'all for

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Speaker 2: hold up And how y'all enjoying Atlanta.

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Speaker 1: Oh my god, I love this Atlanta weather. Let me

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Speaker 1: tell you something, this weather is everything except for the

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Speaker 1: rain with the warmth is everything.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I agreed, that's gonna say.

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Speaker 4: Because I was coming back into town, so of course

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Speaker 4: I hid into the craziness of the airport. There's no

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Speaker 4: fun like getting Atlanta in the airport at midnight because heartsivil.

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Speaker 3: Jackson goes nuts after hours.

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Speaker 4: So me and baby girl three months old, we were

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Speaker 4: traversing the air train, walking or doing all the things.

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Speaker 1: I felt for you though I was, I was bleeding

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Speaker 1: for you. I was like, oh my god, not ground

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Speaker 1: stops delayed.

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Speaker 3: That's very adventurous. That's something I'd say. That sounds like

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Speaker 3: an adventure better than me.

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Speaker 5: I know.

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Speaker 2: When you get about the airport, it's like the bathrooms

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Speaker 2: over there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, look, for those who don't know, please tell

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Speaker 3: us what is Popping Creative? Yeah? When we started, yeah,

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Speaker 3: go far.

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Speaker 4: So Popping Creative is a multicultural agency, and so we

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Speaker 4: both started it in twenty twenty February of twenty twenty.

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Speaker 4: So that's that's the story, right before the pandemic, and

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Speaker 4: our goal was we both come from the entertainment space.

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Speaker 4: We both come from television. We both were very passed

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Speaker 4: it and bullish on just like multicultural space, multicultural marketing,

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Speaker 4: and we felt like we never could find an agency

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Speaker 4: or the right fit while we were on the brand side.

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Speaker 4: And I tried to nudge her like, hey, girl, I

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Speaker 4: think we could do this ourselves.

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Speaker 3: That's cute, all the questions we have. I think I

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Speaker 3: think we can build us ourselves. Let's let's do it.

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Speaker 4: And so, you know, I kept nudging over the years

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Speaker 4: because we worked together at TVs and C and T

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Speaker 4: and then we also worked together at TV one, and

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Speaker 4: finally she was like, Okay, I think we can do it.

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Speaker 1: Let's do it.

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Speaker 3: We got a little mad.

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Speaker 1: Creative, and it's like, you know, when you're in certain positions,

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Speaker 1: sometimes your creativity can be kind of dulled if everybody's

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Speaker 1: not feeling your ideas. You're like, oh, here's a great idea,

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Speaker 1: here's this amazing thing, and sometimes it might get cut

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Speaker 1: for budget, it might cut because priorities have shifted, et cetera.

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Speaker 1: And I just saw that we were coming up with

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Speaker 1: these dope ideas and we could never really get them

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Speaker 1: off the ground because of the economy or because of

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Speaker 1: what the company's priorities were. So when she came back around,

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Speaker 1: I was like, girl, we can't do times. So it

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Speaker 1: was time and thankfully I chose the right partner. Hopefully

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Speaker 1: she chose the right partners. But we met every week

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Speaker 1: for a year building the business, and we literally sat down,

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Speaker 1: went through rate cards, went through what the name's going

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Speaker 1: to be, went through trademark, went through this, went through that,

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Speaker 1: and for a year we built it and when we

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Speaker 1: were ready to launch, it was a no brainer. So

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Speaker 1: that really helped. But you have to have your complimentary

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Speaker 1: person with you. I think if you're going to have

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Speaker 1: a partner, make sure they compliment you, they're not exactly

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Speaker 1: like you.

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Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, And those like weekly meetups like what were

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Speaker 2: some of the things y'all discussed, Like you were using

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Speaker 2: like your experience working in you know, on the corporate side,

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Speaker 2: on the brand of the agencies, Like what was some

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Speaker 2: of the stuff y'all?

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Speaker 1: Sure? We were thinking about like all the problems that

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Speaker 1: other people needed to solve or we needed to solve

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Speaker 1: with agencies, and we were like, how can we create

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Speaker 1: an agency that would actually do all of that? A

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Speaker 1: lot of times people would ask us for recommendations and

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Speaker 1: we could never fully recommend a multicultural agency without caveats,

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Speaker 1: and that sucks, like we're dope as a people, But

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Speaker 1: it sucked that we couldn't really give a full recommendation.

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Speaker 1: So we set out to build the agency that we

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Speaker 1: wish we had. So we talked about rate cards. We

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Speaker 1: called agency people that we knew. We were like, hey,

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Speaker 1: can you tell us, like what the rate cards should

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Speaker 1: be because we have no idea. We asked somebody for mentorship.

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Speaker 1: We were like, hey, what are the top two or

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Speaker 1: three hires we need to make when we first start out,

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Speaker 1: and he was like legal accounting period, that's it. He's like,

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Speaker 1: get those two things tyed because the creativity is there

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Speaker 1: with y'all. So just getting advice so we didn't make

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Speaker 1: missteps was really big for sure.

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Speaker 4: And also market research, so especially because we've been in

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Speaker 4: the industry for a while and then I also went

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Speaker 4: to business school like Kellogg. We had tons and tons

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Speaker 4: of like brand marketers to kind of like compliment what

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Speaker 4: we had on the television side, just tell us like

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Speaker 4: what they're looking for, who, like what were some of

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Speaker 4: the holes there? How much were some of their budgets

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Speaker 4: in their spend because that was important too to help

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Speaker 4: size and scale the market that we were trying to

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Speaker 4: tap into. And so each week we were kind of

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Speaker 4: goind to dig down that path and try to figure

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Speaker 4: out and kind of shape what this kind of platform

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Speaker 4: and positioning should look like.

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Speaker 2: So y'all were doing the meetups and all that stuff

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Speaker 2: was coming together, and I think for again for a

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Speaker 2: lot of people. You know, everybody talks about kind of

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Speaker 2: going all in, but it was sound very strategic about

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Speaker 2: how y'all kind of backed into a writ It's like,

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Speaker 2: you got bills, you got insurance, you got needs like

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Speaker 2: being able to like parallel path and start building this

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Speaker 2: business idea while still do the doing your main job.

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Speaker 3: Right, and you got to got to a point where

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Speaker 3: y'all decided to kind of jump off.

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Speaker 2: Like what was that point for y'all said, Okay, you

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Speaker 2: ready to You had your first contract?

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Speaker 1: No, hell no, it was the pandemic. No no for me. Actually,

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Speaker 1: we had built the business and we launched it February.

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Speaker 1: So what's interesting is Jessica and I worked on the

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Speaker 1: same team. So she worked on my team in marketing.

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Speaker 1: She was ahead of my digital and social team, right,

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Speaker 1: and so she actually needed to move to Atlanta because

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Speaker 1: her husband had a job in Atlanta and they had

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Speaker 1: been living separately, but it was time to move. You know,

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Speaker 1: you got to keep the family intact, and so I

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Speaker 1: campaigned for her to stay on as the head of

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Speaker 1: Digital Social but at the time, the company didn't feel

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Speaker 1: like work from home was realistic.

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Speaker 3: Well that changed, listen, listen.

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Speaker 4: But honestly, that was the best Like at the moment,

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Speaker 4: I was kind of bummed. I was trying of crushed,

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Speaker 4: but that was the best setup because had they and

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Speaker 4: I said no, girl, you don't have this job anymore,

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Speaker 4: I wouldn't have had the initiative and I would have

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Speaker 4: had the like, oh, you know what, let me pull

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Speaker 4: it together and let's make this work, like let's make

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Speaker 4: pop and work. Because now I don't I don't have

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Speaker 4: a job. So now I had to figure out what

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Speaker 4: this looks like. And a couple of people offered some

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Speaker 4: really good advice and just really, you know, your network

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Speaker 4: kind of engaged. So first another agency owner, what works Martin?

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Speaker 4: He told me, he was like, Okay, this is how

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Speaker 4: you start. You need a contract that's going to give

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Speaker 4: you sixty percent of your revenue that you made prior

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Speaker 4: to and then you hustle for the rest. And so

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Speaker 4: then I went about getting that first contract to make

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Speaker 4: sure that I was good, to make sure we can

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Speaker 4: transition and jump into poping full force. And then Melissa

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Speaker 4: Ingram at Aspire TV, I was chatting with her and

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Speaker 4: she gave me that. She gave me that contract because

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Speaker 4: she was like, I'm looking for someone full time.

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Speaker 3: I can't afford you full time.

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Speaker 4: And I was like, well, actually this might work because

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Speaker 4: i'm looking for something. I'm looking for something part time

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Speaker 4: and I can use my skill set.

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Speaker 3: She was like, this is gonna work.

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Speaker 4: So she was able to give me that first contract

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Speaker 4: at a shout out to Aspire TV.

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Speaker 3: That gave me that sixty.

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Speaker 4: Percent, so then I could hustle the rest and build

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Speaker 4: with Lori for Popping exactly.

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Speaker 1: So I was still working in TV one at the time,

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Speaker 1: so just launched Popping with the spire like doing that contract.

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Speaker 1: So she was launching it. I didn't work on Popping

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Speaker 1: yet because I was still fully employed. And so then

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Speaker 1: April hit, the pandemic hit. I got laid off in

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Speaker 1: the pandemic. I don't share that story a lot, but

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Speaker 1: I want to share it more because people need to

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Speaker 1: know that just because you're laid off doesn't mean that

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Speaker 1: you're not going to do something else. And so the

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Speaker 1: amazing part was we had built Popping over a year.

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Speaker 1: So as one door closed, the other one, I just

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Speaker 1: walked right through. And so Jack I told Jess. I

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Speaker 1: was like, yes, I got laid off, but all these

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Speaker 1: headhunters are coming after me. You know, Disney is trying

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Speaker 1: to shake out a big job to me, and and

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Speaker 1: just said, pop, it is my next chapter. So like

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Speaker 1: like we got to make this work together.

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Speaker 3: And just tell them to sit on to the side, right.

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Speaker 1: And I will say that initially I was kind of

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Speaker 1: like a little hesitant because being an entrepreneur, it's like

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Speaker 1: you have to eat what you kill. And we asked

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Speaker 1: one of our good friends, Romone Cortees. We were like, hey,

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Speaker 1: you had your own agency, how was it. He's like, look,

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Speaker 1: sometimes you might not have enough for Ramen, like it

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Speaker 1: is what it is. And so you know me, I

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Speaker 1: was like, not enough for Roma, like like not even

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Speaker 1: and like.

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Speaker 3: You know, the.

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Speaker 1: A couple of noodles great, but you have to have faith.

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Speaker 1: And so because we had built it for a year,

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Speaker 1: because we were ready, because Jess had started it, and

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Speaker 1: I was ready to walk through that door. Once I

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Speaker 1: got laid off, I was like, you know what, this

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Speaker 1: is it, This is it. I had a nice little,

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Speaker 1: you know, package that I was collecting on, so I

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Speaker 1: was good money wise for a little while, and I

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Speaker 1: use that to fund all my bills. So she and

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Speaker 1: I actually were able to self fund ourselves while we

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Speaker 1: built the business. So it's not like you're expecting a

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Speaker 1: profit immediately. You know, you have to actually get clients,

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Speaker 1: you have to get contracts, and her spoking contract was

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Speaker 1: for her because I was still working. So then we

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Speaker 1: went out together and had to pitch our very first client,

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Speaker 1: and I was so nervous because it was this badass

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Speaker 1: marketer that trained both of us named Tricia Milton, and

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Speaker 1: she said, let's go to her. She's head of marketing

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Speaker 1: and free Form and I was like to the form.

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Speaker 3: I was like, girl, let's just do this. We're just

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Speaker 3: going to go Torisia. We're gonna make it happen. She's like,

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Speaker 3: I don't think. I'm like we're doing this. We are

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Speaker 3: doing it.

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Speaker 1: Because I wanted to be ready, I wanted to be

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Speaker 1: like so tight. I was like, she could everything and

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Speaker 1: so we got tight.

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Speaker 3: We go out there.

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Speaker 1: Finally I was like, okay, let's ask Tricia. We go

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Speaker 1: out to California fly out. We have champagne bottles with

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Speaker 1: little orange striped straws. We had popping cupcakes, we had

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Speaker 1: all this stuff. We pitched her and her team fifteen

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Speaker 1: people in the room, very first pitch, and afterwards everybody

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Speaker 1: leaves and she says to us, she says, you know

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Speaker 1: how many people have y'all pitched before us? And we

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Speaker 1: were like, you're the first. She was like, damn, I

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Speaker 1: got no notes. That was great, and we're like, so

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Speaker 1: that's kind of how it kind of evolved. That was

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Speaker 1: our first client as Popping overall interns, a corporate client,

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Speaker 1: and we had that contract for three years.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it sounds like, you know, I think

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Speaker 2: a good thing I'm pulling away from this too, is

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Speaker 2: relationships really important? Because I hear keeper hearing y'all say,

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Speaker 2: is you know, you had people that you could talk

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Speaker 2: to in the industry to get context and background, but

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Speaker 2: then also getting to that first big contract, that big

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Speaker 2: first opportunity was another relationship. Like how critical relationship has

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Speaker 2: been and helping y'all really help build this business from

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Speaker 2: scratch because again, like especially in the agency space. Look,

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Speaker 2: I know I've worked in it too, right, Like, yeah,

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Speaker 2: you're doing biz dev, you responding to RFPs.

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Speaker 3: But again, and that can be a whole just workstream

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Speaker 3: in it within itself.

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Speaker 2: Oh for sure, the ability to actually be able to

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Speaker 2: pick up the phone call somebody and have you know,

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Speaker 2: have a kind of a friendly, warm lead goes a

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Speaker 2: long way. Like relationships kind of helped y'all build the business.

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Speaker 1: I mean I I didn't know this, and I tell

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Speaker 1: people this all the time that some of your former colleagues,

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Speaker 1: some of the former people that work for you, some

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Speaker 1: of your former bosses, are going to be the very

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Speaker 1: first people that hire you when you start an agency,

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Speaker 1: the very first people because they know your work ethic yep,

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Speaker 1: and they know who you are. They know whether you

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Speaker 1: have dope ideas or not. They know whether you can

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Speaker 1: execute or not. And so people that even were more

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Speaker 1: junior than I was when I was a turner ended

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Speaker 1: up hiring us, like Stacey hired us at Sony like

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Speaker 1: you know, like and we had a really great roundtable

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Speaker 1: with Gabrielle Union and you know, it was just amazing.

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Speaker 1: So I would say, do not burn bridges, do not

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Speaker 1: be an asshole. Like the people who are around you,

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Speaker 1: whether they're above, below, or to the side of you,

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Speaker 1: those are going to be the people that are going

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Speaker 1: to help you build your business, and you just don't

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Speaker 1: know what yet.

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Speaker 4: And I feel like added on to that, of course,

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Speaker 4: there is the relationships that help fuel the business, but

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Speaker 4: then there's the relationships that help fuel the work because

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Speaker 4: in the creative space, it's not just you, not just

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Speaker 4: the team. You partner with production, you partner with fighting,

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Speaker 4: you partner with fabrication, you partner with content creators, so

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Speaker 4: you partner with a kind of a whole ecosystem of

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Speaker 4: creative And we leverage a lot of our relationships, even

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Speaker 4: just from the television space to make sure that we

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Speaker 4: had the right creatives in place to make sure that

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Speaker 4: we can deliver on the.

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Speaker 3: Campaigns that we sold.

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Speaker 4: And so that is extra important too, to make sure

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Speaker 4: you're building up the network of people to go to,

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Speaker 4: like I have this project, I'm trying to build this

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Speaker 4: like you know, who can who can.

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Speaker 3: I call on to make this happen?

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Speaker 4: And who can I call on that that's going to

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Speaker 4: make it happen With excellence, the same excellence that we

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Speaker 4: are setting apart in the same excellence that we're expecting.

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Speaker 1: I think if you're a dope person, you're you're a

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Speaker 1: dope person. So you can just call people if you're

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Speaker 1: a good person. I think people recognize that and they'll

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Speaker 1: want to do business with you.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely.

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Speaker 2: Look, I've I've tried to make it a point of

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Speaker 2: mind to you know, just have good relationships people that

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Speaker 2: I work with, and like I don't ask for stuff much,

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Speaker 2: but if I call, I expect you to pick up

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Speaker 2: the damn.

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Speaker 3: Because yeah, because here's the thing I know.

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Speaker 2: For me, I've made it my mission over the years

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Speaker 2: to try to put as many people on as possible.

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Speaker 2: That's with no expectation, right again, because you never know

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Speaker 2: what people going to end up at. What you have

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Speaker 2: people that could have been junior one day and you

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Speaker 2: gave them an opportunity and all of a sudden they

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Speaker 2: overhear somewhere and that opens the door for you, right,

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Speaker 2: And so it's really important, like say, to not burn

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Speaker 2: those bridges. But like when y'all did start actually building

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Speaker 2: the team, like what was that moment you said, Okay,

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Speaker 2: you know what, we need some people in there we

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Speaker 2: need some help.

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: One of the things I hear about a lot of

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Speaker 2: times people that come on the podcast is building a

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Speaker 2: team is the hardest part of the learning their business right.

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Speaker 2: It's like finding those good people and then also keeping

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Speaker 2: them around. So, like, when it's time to make that call,

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Speaker 2: how did y'all do it was time to start bringing

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Speaker 2: people into help.

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Speaker 4: I think we do it with time because I feel like,

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Speaker 4: especially in the agency space, like it is all about

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Speaker 4: client service and the only way you can provide consistency

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Speaker 4: and client service if you have a consistent team. And

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Speaker 4: so when we started to kind of have a couple

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Speaker 4: of clients and wanting to make sure we had repeat clients,

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Speaker 4: we started to realize we need to have a team

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Speaker 4: in and then we also need to have almost like

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Speaker 4: an approach or a system on how the popping way

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Speaker 4: to treat clients, how often you're going to respond to clients,

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Speaker 4: how quick are you going to respond to clients, or

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Speaker 4: the expectations when you have an RFP and deliverables, what

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Speaker 4: does that deck look like, and making sure it's consistent

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Speaker 4: from points to point. So once we realize we're not

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Speaker 4: just at this point, you know, we're not consultants. We

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Speaker 4: are trying to build a sustainable business. We needed to

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Speaker 4: make that shift in terms of have people who can

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Speaker 4: make sure that they're in place to build and grow

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Speaker 4: with us. So we started with kind of like like

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Speaker 4: I guess, permoalances, if you will, like started with kind

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Speaker 4: of freelance contractors that we would have retainer based relationships with,

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Speaker 4: and then that eventually transitioned. I feel like that was

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Speaker 4: in twenty twenty, but by the end of twenty twenty

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Speaker 4: we started hiring people full time, and so that was

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Speaker 4: kind of that runway. So I feel like that whole

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Speaker 4: kind of summer leading into that early fall, it was

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Speaker 4: really kind of permoalence and freelance structure. And then I

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Speaker 4: can't remember when I exactly our first employee was, but

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Speaker 4: it was the end of it was the end of

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Speaker 4: the twenty twenty.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.

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Speaker 1: I think so because we first started because it was

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Speaker 1: a pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs, right,

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Speaker 1: and so Jess and I thankfully had the same level

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Speaker 1: of excellence when it comes to work, so we never

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Speaker 1: really had to like gut check whether what we were

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Speaker 1: doing was excellent. We didn't have to like follow behind

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Speaker 1: each other. But when the work got so big that

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Speaker 1: we needed more people. We had good friends that were

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Speaker 1: dope marketers that needed to just stay you know, creative,

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Speaker 1: and they were like, hey, I don't mind coming to

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Speaker 1: work with you. You don't need to pay me. I

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Speaker 1: just want to keep my creative shops going.

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Speaker 5: Yeh.

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Speaker 1: So literally, one of those women, Keisha Taylor Star, she

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Speaker 1: was working with us and then she went on to

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Speaker 1: be the CM of a network group. Right, So we

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Speaker 1: had that level of talent helping us work, right. So

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Speaker 1: we did that for most of twenty twenty, and then

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Speaker 1: at the end we decided to hire people because we

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Speaker 1: were like, hey, we need to have consistency of excellence,

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Speaker 1: consistency of work. And the great part is is that

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Speaker 1: we always made sure that we could afford them. Like

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Speaker 1: our biggest thing is we've never missed a paycheck.

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Speaker 2: We don't operate raggedy.

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Speaker 1: That's just a's word. I love that, just like we

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Speaker 1: can't be raggedy's raggy. So we've always paid people, paid

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Speaker 1: them on time. Even when you know you can get

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Speaker 1: kind of screwed as a entrepreneurs sometimes by people. We

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Speaker 1: do right by people no matter what, it doesn't matter

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Speaker 1: it's like, we want our name to be good and

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Speaker 1: we want to feel good about what we do. So

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Speaker 1: in the twenty twenty we did that and now we're

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Speaker 1: at fifteen people employed full time today.

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Speaker 3: No, it's amazing.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, as somebody that's again run an

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Speaker 2: agency before, like I took a lot of pride and

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Speaker 2: also just people taking that belief in me, especially from

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Speaker 2: a full time standpoint.

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Speaker 3: Sure, it's like you have.

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Speaker 2: People that have families and things that depend on and

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Speaker 2: like I took a lot of just pride and knowing

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Speaker 2: that we were kind of helping to put that out

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Speaker 2: there for them. I always have a rule too when

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Speaker 2: it comes to work, and I always say, like, you

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Speaker 2: can't work for me until you work for me, and

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Speaker 2: so so it sounds like again y'all kind of have

409
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Speaker 2: the same thing. We had a lot of people that

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Speaker 2: start off as you can work with in the past,

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Speaker 2: their work ethic, you were just you know, you hold

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Speaker 2: things to work out, right, work things work out, but

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Speaker 2: you never know. But like knowing the kind of the

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Speaker 2: quality of working on getting always helps out. But like,

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Speaker 2: how did y'all manage, you know, to keep the creative

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Speaker 2: vision tight while also have to now manage like HR

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Speaker 2: and all.

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Speaker 3: The back office stuff.

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Speaker 2: Again, like there's what they say like working on the

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Speaker 2: business and in the best Yeah, you get to do

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Speaker 2: those same things.

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Speaker 3: So how did y'all manage both of those things?

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Speaker 1: I think I think that you know, gosh, how do

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Speaker 1: we I mean, we've we outsourced for what we needed

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Speaker 1: somebody else to cover. So HR, thank god, we know

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Speaker 1: dope people in HR want to work with us, and

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Speaker 1: so we can outsource for that. And we have a

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Speaker 1: really good system now, really great person that is our

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Speaker 1: HR representative. We hire business people and then it start

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Speaker 1: off as our business people, right, They started off as

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Speaker 1: may be in an assistant role in this and that,

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Speaker 1: and you realize they have amazing financial chops and then

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Speaker 1: you're like, okay, well let's work on this because we

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Speaker 1: were doing finances on our own. And so then we

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Speaker 1: started to groom people into certain roles and now they're

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Speaker 1: able to handle a whole division of the business. So

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Speaker 1: we have our operations team, which we call our co

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Speaker 1: operations team. We have our account management team, and then

439
00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:20,000
Speaker 1: we have our HR. And so we still have some

440
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,880
Speaker 1: things that we need to fulfill. But what we can't

441
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,160
Speaker 1: fulfill from a full time role. We actually just outsource

442
00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,320
Speaker 1: so that's legal, that's accounting, that's HR, et cetera. So

443
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,600
Speaker 1: that freezes Jessica and I up to stay on the

444
00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,880
Speaker 1: creative vision because that's really important to us, is that

445
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,120
Speaker 1: we maintain dope creative right.

446
00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:35,640
Speaker 3: Yeah, first and foremost right.

447
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:37,920
Speaker 1: We want to hire dope creatives who are in our culture,

448
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,160
Speaker 1: of our culture, because that's what we started out to do.

449
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:41,680
Speaker 1: We wanted to make sure that we hire the dopest

450
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,360
Speaker 1: people in the business, right, And so that allows us

451
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,400
Speaker 1: to focus on the creative aspect, whereas all the other

452
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,280
Speaker 1: stuff that we don't really want to deal with, we

453
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,120
Speaker 1: can have other people to help inform us, and then

454
00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:51,040
Speaker 1: we made those decisions.

455
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:52,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, as co founders.

456
00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:53,800
Speaker 2: Just help me understand too, Like how do y'all kind

457
00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:56,920
Speaker 2: of split responsibilities, like who does what when it comes

458
00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:57,600
Speaker 2: to the creative stath.

459
00:16:57,720 --> 00:16:58,320
Speaker 1: Yeah.

460
00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,560
Speaker 4: Yeah, So I guess we really spent it on kind

461
00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,600
Speaker 4: of our expertise, especially because I came from like social

462
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:05,920
Speaker 4: digital world, so I kind of initially worked on a

463
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,280
Speaker 4: lot of the making sure that we had an approach

464
00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:10,600
Speaker 4: for like our social content projects or kind of content

465
00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:13,080
Speaker 4: management projects, as well as kind of video production.

466
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:14,080
Speaker 3: Because at TV one.

467
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:15,480
Speaker 4: That's kind of what I did there, and so I

468
00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:17,200
Speaker 4: was able to help build out and grow that part

469
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:20,359
Speaker 4: of the business. And then Laurie she her expertise and

470
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,880
Speaker 4: she was always a traditional television girl, so she kind

471
00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:25,280
Speaker 4: of did a lot of the on air and Laurie

472
00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:29,600
Speaker 4: is also a masterful team building, team structure, let's figure

473
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,439
Speaker 4: this out, and that sort of thing as well, So

474
00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:32,919
Speaker 4: she has a perfect vision an so how do we

475
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,320
Speaker 4: align resources and how we align assets, as well as

476
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,639
Speaker 4: kind of creative side on the on air side in

477
00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,240
Speaker 4: terms of how we do how we do big rich storytelling,

478
00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:42,240
Speaker 4: which is always important, and then of course you have

479
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,000
Speaker 4: your big reach storytelling, but how do you break that

480
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,600
Speaker 4: down into the pieces that our team can then go

481
00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:47,880
Speaker 4: and build and grow and.

482
00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:49,840
Speaker 3: Groom and turn into these wonderful campaigns.

483
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, and even from a functional perspective, like Jess does

484
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,000
Speaker 1: more of the business development, she also managed more of

485
00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,240
Speaker 1: the finances because that was kind of her world from

486
00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,399
Speaker 1: being business school at Northwestern. She kind of understood that

487
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,520
Speaker 1: a lot more and more detail than I did, and

488
00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:03,000
Speaker 1: then I was freed up to kind of do the

489
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:04,800
Speaker 1: sales stuff. So she was like, hey, I need you

490
00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,320
Speaker 1: to go out there and run these people down and

491
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,560
Speaker 1: get these clients. And I used to be like, because

492
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,199
Speaker 1: I had a little bit longer of a tenure than

493
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,080
Speaker 1: just just because I'm a little bit older, and so

494
00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,040
Speaker 1: I was able to reach out to people that i'd

495
00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,199
Speaker 1: even you know, known for a little bit longer in

496
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,560
Speaker 1: our history together. So I was able to kind of

497
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,280
Speaker 1: focus on sales. She focused on making sure the money

498
00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:25,840
Speaker 1: is working, so everything is running smoothly. Sure can't afford

499
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,480
Speaker 1: everything that we were setting out to do, so it

500
00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:28,320
Speaker 1: works really well.

501
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, and again I remember y'all telling the story of

502
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,480
Speaker 2: how when you started, you kind of got everything running

503
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,320
Speaker 2: and then the pandemic hit, Like y'all got that first

504
00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,360
Speaker 2: big client in Woo and in the world stopped for a.

505
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,760
Speaker 1: Second, like client and we were going to Essence Festival

506
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:42,840
Speaker 1: doing an outdoor activation.

507
00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:44,639
Speaker 3: What happened? Tell me about that? I mean, it was,

508
00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:45,160
Speaker 3: It's funny.

509
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,440
Speaker 4: It's like the high and low of that whole time

510
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,400
Speaker 4: period is like my boggling. I was like, I feel

511
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,680
Speaker 4: like I'm getting sweat just talking about it. Because we

512
00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,520
Speaker 4: were so excited to get to again. We pitched our

513
00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,200
Speaker 4: big we piched our old boss stressa at free Form

514
00:18:57,240 --> 00:18:59,400
Speaker 4: and we got this big opportunity to bring Grownish.

515
00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:00,160
Speaker 3: Grownish was the.

516
00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,760
Speaker 4: Property they're like priority property at the time, down to

517
00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,640
Speaker 4: Essence Music Festival, and so we were so excited, got

518
00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,119
Speaker 4: everything locked, the contract inked, all sow all the things,

519
00:19:09,359 --> 00:19:11,439
Speaker 4: and the world started to crumble. So it's part of

520
00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,000
Speaker 4: the like NBA got shut down, correct and then everything

521
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,160
Speaker 4: was gonna shut down, and we kept thinking, oh, by

522
00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,040
Speaker 4: April it'll be fine, and then April came, was like, oh,

523
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:20,560
Speaker 4: I'm sure by July it'll be fine.

524
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:22,960
Speaker 3: And then the world was like, no, it's not going

525
00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:25,840
Speaker 3: to be fine. And then they was like no, this

526
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:26,680
Speaker 3: is not fine.

527
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:30,000
Speaker 4: They started you know, shutting people, people started getting laid off,

528
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,000
Speaker 4: and they were certainly like, this contract is gone, so

529
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:34,919
Speaker 4: this is what you'll have to you know, get what

530
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,200
Speaker 4: you can say, your services rendered, your hours worked, and

531
00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:40,639
Speaker 4: we'll have to figure it out another time. And I

532
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,119
Speaker 4: feel like that crushing, like you thought that this was

533
00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:45,520
Speaker 4: the moment and then it to just be snatched away

534
00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:50,560
Speaker 4: was humbling to say the least. Yes, definitely humbling to

535
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,719
Speaker 4: say the least. But I mean it definitely taught us

536
00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:54,280
Speaker 4: that again you do have to have faith and what

537
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:55,840
Speaker 4: you gotta believe at the end of the day, like

538
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:57,800
Speaker 4: I feel like crazy believe not. I mean, I know

539
00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,080
Speaker 4: this is controversial, but now I understand why Kanye. It

540
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,280
Speaker 4: was like why Kanye loves Kanye, Because if you don't

541
00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:05,080
Speaker 4: have that, you don't have that ultimate faith that you

542
00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:06,480
Speaker 4: are the dope is out and this is going to

543
00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,919
Speaker 4: work out, you will crumble. And so even though it

544
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,320
Speaker 4: hit us, we were like, you know what, we can

545
00:20:10,359 --> 00:20:13,159
Speaker 4: figure this out. We are smart, were intelligent, we can

546
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,080
Speaker 4: figure this out. We can figure out our next steps.

547
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:16,439
Speaker 4: And so that's kind of what we did. We had

548
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,520
Speaker 4: to we had to pull the pieces together and figure

549
00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:19,400
Speaker 4: out our next steps.

550
00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,960
Speaker 1: I mean thinking about how having to strategize in the

551
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,879
Speaker 1: middle of a pandemic that's never happened in the world before,

552
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,080
Speaker 1: and trying to figure out, well, what new services am

553
00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:30,159
Speaker 1: I going to offer? Right? And so for us it

554
00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,040
Speaker 1: ended up being that you know, March, the world shut down.

555
00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:34,960
Speaker 1: We were trying to figure out our new business strategy.

556
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,800
Speaker 1: And then in May when George Floyd was killed, we

557
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:41,320
Speaker 1: saw everybody trying to pop up and support Black Lives Matter,

558
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,680
Speaker 1: almost opportunistically, and we were like that's so performed, Like

559
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:45,879
Speaker 1: what amative?

560
00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:47,400
Speaker 3: What are you doing is convenient.

561
00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,600
Speaker 1: So we start to look at everybody that was posting

562
00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:51,239
Speaker 1: about Black Lives Matter and then go back to their

563
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,040
Speaker 1: websites and other platforms, say, okay, well, is what you're

564
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,200
Speaker 1: putting on social match what you're doing on the web,

565
00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,679
Speaker 1: because what you're doing on the web match with what

566
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,320
Speaker 1: you're doing in real life. And we saw such a

567
00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,199
Speaker 1: disconnect and we were like, oh, so it matters, but

568
00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,359
Speaker 1: not as much as it's twenty percent off sale, not

569
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,159
Speaker 1: as much as you know, other priorities that you have.

570
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,399
Speaker 1: And so we started to see people trip up. You

571
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,200
Speaker 1: saw it with like Starbucks when they tried to forbid

572
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:15,040
Speaker 1: people from wearing a Black Lives Matter pen because they

573
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:17,560
Speaker 1: thought it was political versus they always gave out the

574
00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,000
Speaker 1: pride pins right, So that you started to see all

575
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,240
Speaker 1: these rubs and we were like, these brands are doing

576
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,600
Speaker 1: it so wrong, like what are you doing? So we

577
00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:26,879
Speaker 1: ended up creating a white paper to show who was

578
00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,280
Speaker 1: doing it right, who was doing it wrong, and what

579
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,960
Speaker 1: the nuances were with how they got it wrong. Not

580
00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:32,760
Speaker 1: just you did it wrong, but let me show you

581
00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,360
Speaker 1: exactly where you messed up or exactly where it went

582
00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,879
Speaker 1: left for you. So the other brands could learn from that,

583
00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,720
Speaker 1: and we did that. We put it out. We didn't

584
00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,000
Speaker 1: even think about making money off of it. We were like,

585
00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:44,480
Speaker 1: we just want y'all to do it right.

586
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,320
Speaker 3: So we had a little time, We had a lot.

587
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,080
Speaker 1: Of time in the house, yes, and so we put

588
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:50,720
Speaker 1: it out there and it got all this press pickup

589
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,600
Speaker 1: that we didn't even expect, Like it was just unbeknownst

590
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,240
Speaker 1: to us that people start calling us for interviews. Brands

591
00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,440
Speaker 1: would start calling us to train their teams Black people

592
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:01,359
Speaker 1: would Then big brands would start to say, hey, I've

593
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,360
Speaker 1: been preaching the same thing for a while, but nobody's

594
00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:05,400
Speaker 1: listening to me. Can you come in from the outside

595
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,720
Speaker 1: until these executives it's the same thing that I've been

596
00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:10,160
Speaker 1: trying to tell them for years. So that actually ended

597
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,359
Speaker 1: up sparking a lot of buzz that popping, and we

598
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,919
Speaker 1: got so many write ups like Variety, like you know,

599
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,480
Speaker 1: like industry rags, and so that ended up propelling us,

600
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,440
Speaker 1: but in a direction of what people then thought was

601
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,200
Speaker 1: like D and I, which that wasn't necessarily our scope. Right,

602
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 1: We were a creative shop. Yeah, we did experiential, we

603
00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:31,440
Speaker 1: did social, we did digital, you know, we did marketing, strategies,

604
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,080
Speaker 1: but now all of a sudden, we're opening up to

605
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 1: this whole new world. But that also opened us up

606
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,600
Speaker 1: to new clients, so it kind of was a nice

607
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:38,280
Speaker 1: hand in hand thing.

608
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:38,720
Speaker 3: Yeah.

609
00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:40,439
Speaker 2: Again, it was one of those things that were you know,

610
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,040
Speaker 2: it's always interesting right when you just kind of do

611
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,479
Speaker 2: what needs to be done, right, and then opportunities kind

612
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,160
Speaker 2: of come from that because to your point, y'all didn't

613
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,720
Speaker 2: do that with the intention of, you know, getting into

614
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,240
Speaker 2: more of those those type of opportunities, right, It was like, no,

615
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 2: this just needs to be done, but all of a sudden,

616
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,720
Speaker 2: opportunity to started coming to you based on putting it

617
00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:57,000
Speaker 2: out there.

618
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,720
Speaker 3: And I'm thinking that's a lesson people can take away.

619
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,000
Speaker 2: It's like sometimes again, you just got to do the

620
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 2: thing and you'll be very surprised and how the world

621
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,520
Speaker 2: will kind of respond back because you're doing it just

622
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,719
Speaker 2: with like your own intentions about and that resonates with people, right.

623
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:11,960
Speaker 5: Yeah.

624
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:14,520
Speaker 1: Too many times today, I think people when they're thinking

625
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,959
Speaker 1: about being an entrepreneur, they're trying to think about how

626
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:18,640
Speaker 1: to make the money, how do I make the money,

627
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:19,960
Speaker 1: how do I make sure that I do this, And

628
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 1: they'll say, oh, I have a great idea. I want

629
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:23,679
Speaker 1: to go ahead and trademarket that costs money. I want

630
00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:25,200
Speaker 1: to go ahead and do this, And you're worried about

631
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:26,800
Speaker 1: all these other things. But it's like, what are you

632
00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,000
Speaker 1: passionate about? Yeah, because that's what fuel you when nothing

633
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,480
Speaker 1: else is going to feel you right, Like you're going

634
00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:33,440
Speaker 1: to go full speed ahead with something you're passionate about,

635
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,240
Speaker 1: versus let me just try to make the next buck.

636
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:37,479
Speaker 1: So I would say, like, focus on what you're passionate

637
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:39,280
Speaker 1: about and then try to make sure that you're doing

638
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,159
Speaker 1: that first, and then everything else will kind of be

639
00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,480
Speaker 1: built and it'll come right. So I think that's the

640
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:45,320
Speaker 1: challenge for entrepreneurs today now.

641
00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:46,960
Speaker 2: And I'll be wanting to ask us for a second,

642
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,040
Speaker 2: but where did the name popping creative come from?

643
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 4: That's funny because I feel like it's funny because we

644
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,879
Speaker 4: feel like we went back and forth for this, and

645
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,360
Speaker 4: I always remember how you said your husband say was like, oh,

646
00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:57,200
Speaker 4: how very urban.

647
00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:01,200
Speaker 3: Of you are? Yes, yeah, because it wasn't like were.

648
00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:02,760
Speaker 3: I feel like we had tried on a bunch of

649
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 3: different words.

650
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:04,640
Speaker 1: We had tried to switch.

651
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:06,359
Speaker 3: Both, which I feel like it was for a while.

652
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:08,560
Speaker 3: I'm so glad we didn't do that, So that's that's

653
00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,720
Speaker 3: real whack. But five days yeah, but I feel like

654
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,520
Speaker 3: the code switch had rose to the top. And then

655
00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,359
Speaker 3: all of a sudden, I think you might say, you

656
00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:16,600
Speaker 3: were like, what about popping?

657
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:18,199
Speaker 4: And I was like, oh yeah, And I feel like

658
00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 4: who came up with the apostrophe in? I did, because

659
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:22,760
Speaker 4: that's when it started. That's where it started get real.

660
00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 4: Urban took credit for it.

661
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 1: I was like, no, no, no, no, But I was like,

662
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,439
Speaker 1: what if we did it with p O p apostrophe in?

663
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,280
Speaker 1: And I thought it was gonna be a dumb idea,

664
00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 1: but I was like, I'm gonna throw it out there anyway.

665
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,240
Speaker 1: And I was like, I like that and that was

666
00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:39,399
Speaker 1: that was literally it's because we're popping. And so then

667
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,159
Speaker 1: we got a logo we gotta you know, and it

668
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:42,040
Speaker 1: just all came Yeah.

669
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,200
Speaker 3: I spend after that. So, you know, people ask me

670
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,720
Speaker 3: what name butter comes from all the time. I'm like,

671
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,920
Speaker 3: I don't even remember come from?

672
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:48,360
Speaker 5: You know what.

673
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 2: Look, it's the same thing we brainstorm and somebody just

674
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:53,879
Speaker 2: said butter and I was like, you know what, I

675
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 2: like that, And ever since then, I've like backed into

676
00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,840
Speaker 2: what it means yeah, yeah, honestly, I didn't really. It

677
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,159
Speaker 2: was just like I was on this like yeah, I

678
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,080
Speaker 2: was on this like one word thing for a long time.

679
00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 2: Yeah Butter, like you know what I mean, And everybody

680
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:08,679
Speaker 2: was like, my last name is Butler. I did not

681
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 2: name that, Like I keep killing people this. But then

682
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:13,720
Speaker 2: I started doing research.

683
00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,960
Speaker 3: And I was like, oh, yeah, you know, but Freme

684
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:17,920
Speaker 3: place to the top.

685
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,040
Speaker 2: Listen, you know the brand story, but it Butter makes

686
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:22,719
Speaker 2: everything better, It goes on everything.

687
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 3: Oh yeah I made I made all that sh up

688
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:29,800
Speaker 3: like like what you're creative? But it worked. But it

689
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 3: works and it's been working for exactly.

690
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,400
Speaker 2: So let me ask you, like, what does it look

691
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,439
Speaker 2: like when a brand is doing multicultural marketing right in

692
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 2: twenty twenty five?

693
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 3: Like what does that actually seem like from you all's perspective?

694
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:40,320
Speaker 1: Now?

695
00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:42,040
Speaker 3: It's interesting because I feel like we're in a new

696
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:42,600
Speaker 3: world order.

697
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 4: So it's like, especially in this like where we are now,

698
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,119
Speaker 4: to come from twenty twenty to what's happening in twenty twenty.

699
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 3: Five is why complete. It's wild. It's like the complete opposite.

700
00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:53,639
Speaker 4: And so we're still trying to figure out what this

701
00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 4: is going to look like and what it's going to

702
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,400
Speaker 4: shake out like for the end of the year, because

703
00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 4: you know, like d I all of a sudden, d

704
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,200
Speaker 4: I suddenly all of a sudden, that work yeah and

705
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 4: it means black.

706
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,200
Speaker 3: And I was like, sins, what y yeah black.

707
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,200
Speaker 4: I feel like y'all are saying something that that y'all

708
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 4: are really trying to say but not saying. And so

709
00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 4: we're trying to figure out what that's going to look

710
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,000
Speaker 4: like in this new space. But at the end of

711
00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,880
Speaker 4: the day, I don't think brands have forgotten as much

712
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,160
Speaker 4: as I feel like the world is kind of going

713
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,760
Speaker 4: after people using DEI. But at the end of the day,

714
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,240
Speaker 4: you still have to reach target customers. We still have

715
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,879
Speaker 4: to reach target consumers. And your targets are going to

716
00:26:23,960 --> 00:26:27,800
Speaker 4: look like your targets like African Americans, Latino, the world,

717
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,919
Speaker 4: the multicultural space they buy, and you still have to

718
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:32,439
Speaker 4: find them. You still have to reach them, and you

719
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,199
Speaker 4: still have to have conversations with them authentically. And so

720
00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 4: what we've been lucky enough that a lot of our

721
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,520
Speaker 4: partners that we still working with, they were like, well,

722
00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:39,960
Speaker 4: I still need to find them and I still need

723
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,159
Speaker 4: to reach them. So still keep building these campaigns because

724
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:45,080
Speaker 4: that's not going away. And the minute that I don't

725
00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:47,320
Speaker 4: reach them, well, they will start going away.

726
00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:48,520
Speaker 3: And then my numbers are down.

727
00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:50,359
Speaker 4: And then I'm looking then my boss is looking at

728
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:52,120
Speaker 4: me in terms of like what are the consequences there?

729
00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,800
Speaker 4: So we still have to fuel growth, and we still

730
00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,440
Speaker 4: have to fuel those drive those numbers.

731
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:57,800
Speaker 3: We still have to feel those results.

732
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,800
Speaker 4: And so in multicultural, whereas I feel like DEI is

733
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,000
Speaker 4: breaking down, I feel like there's still this parallel path

734
00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 4: that people aren't really super vocal about. This says no,

735
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:08,600
Speaker 4: I still need to connect with my relationship with my

736
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:09,560
Speaker 4: consumers that matter.

737
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 1: I think it's like performative in the opposite way. Right,

738
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,400
Speaker 1: So you have to ask yourself, why would you roll

739
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,159
Speaker 1: out a press release saying that I'm rolling back my

740
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,480
Speaker 1: DEE and I initiatives when it can cut off an

741
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,080
Speaker 1: entire market segment for you, Like, why would you do that?

742
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,800
Speaker 1: Why would you purposely and intentionally harm your business just

743
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,439
Speaker 1: so you can say we're rolling back du and I.

744
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,440
Speaker 1: It's performative. It's they want they want to look good

745
00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 1: to whoever is at the top, right the administration, whoever

746
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,000
Speaker 1: it is. And so it's like there are a lot

747
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:41,680
Speaker 1: of companies that might be rolling back DU and I

748
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:43,760
Speaker 1: that we don't know about, We have no idea about.

749
00:27:43,760 --> 00:27:45,720
Speaker 1: It might be internal policies, it might be employees, it

750
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,720
Speaker 1: might be their hiring practices, et cetera. But they don't

751
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,000
Speaker 1: they don't go out and you know, they're not vocal

752
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:51,639
Speaker 1: with it. But the ones that are vocal with it,

753
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,800
Speaker 1: I'm like, what is the real reason behind that? And

754
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 1: I think that's the challenge because now they're leading the

755
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,600
Speaker 1: pack with other companies pulling back. We've heard that even

756
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,639
Speaker 1: grants are getting killed for anybody that's targeting D and I.

757
00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:05,920
Speaker 4: And so now I'm funding education, funding universities. As I said,

758
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,240
Speaker 4: there was a big radical min I'm Northwestern. They got

759
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:09,960
Speaker 4: a big amount of money that was pulled back from

760
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,920
Speaker 4: the government based on what policies they had in place exactly.

761
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,600
Speaker 1: And it's such a shift, it's such a one hundred

762
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 1: and eighty degree shift from you know, after George Floyd

763
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,919
Speaker 1: was kill everybody's saying black lives matter. So now it's like,

764
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,639
Speaker 1: so they don't matter. But then when this community, our

765
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,520
Speaker 1: community boycotts, now you're like, oh, well never mind, you

766
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,080
Speaker 1: do matter. So I just it's so performative and it's like,

767
00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:29,680
Speaker 1: what's the real rationale behind that? Because you need everybody

768
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:32,440
Speaker 1: if you're a brand, you need everybody you do right,

769
00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 1: and black people are the biggest consumers. They are the

770
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,760
Speaker 1: biggest spenders, you know, like like we have buying power.

771
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:39,600
Speaker 1: So what's the purpose of you really trying to say

772
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 1: we're rolling it back?

773
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:41,040
Speaker 3: It was interesting.

774
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:42,360
Speaker 2: I was talking to a friend of mine who she

775
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,560
Speaker 2: works for a very large corporation, and she had an

776
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 2: interesting respective on it because what she was saying was

777
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 2: she was like a lot of these people also kind

778
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:51,760
Speaker 2: of in and again I one her to agree, like

779
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,320
Speaker 2: I think it's crazy what's happening. Yeah, but she was saying,

780
00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:56,080
Speaker 2: it's interesting because a lot of these people are in

781
00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 2: tough positions because legally what they've done is almost like said,

782
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 2: if you, if you, if you, if you say this,

783
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:03,720
Speaker 2: they will take money for it, right, And so you

784
00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:07,080
Speaker 2: have to your point, you have to get on, you know,

785
00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,280
Speaker 2: just so people can like try to like avoid not

786
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 2: getting targeted. But like what's interesting is that even though

787
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:14,720
Speaker 2: and again some of them are more active, but there

788
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:16,200
Speaker 2: are some that have actually put it out there and

789
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,080
Speaker 2: they are not doing a thing or they're just trying

790
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:19,479
Speaker 2: to be quiet about it. So I put it out

791
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,120
Speaker 2: there and be like, yeah, we're ruining this back. So

792
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,920
Speaker 2: like no, actually business is still as usual. Yeah you

793
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,920
Speaker 2: know so in this commercial. Yeah, so I was talking

794
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 2: about it and she was like, yeah, some people are

795
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 2: can really in a tough position with it because of

796
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,760
Speaker 2: just how they've like the language of it is like

797
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 2: so vague that it's like a lot of leeway and.

798
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 3: How it can kind of be interpreted.

799
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,240
Speaker 2: And so you have some companies some organizations that are

800
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,760
Speaker 2: kind of just overkill and being like exactly. But at

801
00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,160
Speaker 2: the same time, you have some people that are like

802
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:45,800
Speaker 2: saying it, but they're like, all right, we're just gonna

803
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 2: say it, but we're still gonna sit here and make

804
00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 2: it happen. We're gonna make it happen. And so it's

805
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:50,840
Speaker 2: gonna be really interested to see how it all kind

806
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 2: of comes together. But like, you know, look, they told

807
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,320
Speaker 2: y'all what they were gonna do and put them in there.

808
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 3: They did, they really did, So we can't act surprise,

809
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:00,320
Speaker 3: I know.

810
00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,480
Speaker 1: But why is the D and I equals black? Right?

811
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 1: So they are women, they're veterans there, right, there's a

812
00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 1: queer community, you know, Like but largely. You know, when

813
00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,480
Speaker 1: people say D and I, they automatically.

814
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 3: Think exactly, yes, it's convenient, it's unfortunate.

815
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,720
Speaker 1: Remember you're propping up your businesses. But we're gonna show you.

816
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:17,760
Speaker 3: Look the old heads.

817
00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,960
Speaker 1: Like Al Sharton was like, look, nobody buy anything from

818
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 1: Target from what you know, and those types of taxes,

819
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:26,320
Speaker 1: whether they work or not, it still sends somewhat of

820
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:28,520
Speaker 1: a message. And I think that that it's good, you know.

821
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 2: Like I tell my daughter all the time, because whenever

822
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,600
Speaker 2: stuff happens, I say, look, I'm gonna tell you one

823
00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:36,560
Speaker 2: thing that I know and that I've learned is it's

824
00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:37,560
Speaker 2: always about the money.

825
00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:41,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm very interested to see is media.

826
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,320
Speaker 2: Q one results come in, results come in, and these

827
00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,120
Speaker 2: people see how much money they actually lost. I would,

828
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:56,000
Speaker 2: I would, I'm telling you start you know, totally agree.

829
00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:58,120
Speaker 2: I'm very interested to see what happens is as all

830
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,320
Speaker 2: these Q one results start coming out and learnings and everything.

831
00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:02,640
Speaker 3: And because again they.

832
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,160
Speaker 2: Were so you know, so performative, so big, and so

833
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 2: vocal about it, and let's see what happens on them shareholders,

834
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:09,440
Speaker 2: you know, and when all of a sudden, you know,

835
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,640
Speaker 2: they can't they can't put as much gas in the Bentley,

836
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:13,640
Speaker 2: you know, because what our community.

837
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 1: Did was we went to social media and we're like, okay,

838
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 1: let's listen out everybody who is supporting us and everybody

839
00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 1: who is not right. And so I think it's so

840
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,080
Speaker 1: interesting because people forget about the power of social like

841
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,160
Speaker 1: you can reach the masses. Now, it's not like it

842
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:25,680
Speaker 1: is back like it was back in the day where

843
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,120
Speaker 1: it's like you had to make phone calls and this,

844
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 1: and that. We can reach masses across the world, right

845
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,440
Speaker 1: and you guys are global brands, so we can literally

846
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:35,760
Speaker 1: shut this down. Yeah, you know if we wanted to.

847
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:37,840
Speaker 1: So I think it's interesting. I agree when the reports

848
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:39,920
Speaker 1: come out, you see who's winning, we.

849
00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:50,440
Speaker 5: Go to see.

850
00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:54,959
Speaker 3: Now, look all seemed to get along. Really will it happened?

851
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,640
Speaker 3: But each other? Like any business, like in situations, I'm

852
00:31:58,640 --> 00:31:59,280
Speaker 3: sure there are things.

853
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 2: That y'all don't always agree on or don't have the

854
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,239
Speaker 2: same perspective on, Like when it just comes to like

855
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,400
Speaker 2: having different perspectives or disagreements, like how do y'all manage

856
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:08,600
Speaker 2: that as a as a team to make sure that

857
00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:10,720
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, you're still servicing your

858
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:12,800
Speaker 2: clients even if you don't necessarily agree on the same

859
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,000
Speaker 2: approach or something for sure, and.

860
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:19,320
Speaker 3: We do get out right out.

861
00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:21,120
Speaker 4: I mean, the great part is I feel like we're

862
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,120
Speaker 4: lucky enough because our skills are kind of complimentary.

863
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,120
Speaker 3: A lot of things that I feel strongly about she

864
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:26,000
Speaker 3: might not care about now.

865
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,880
Speaker 4: So I feel like sometimes we have conversations and I'm like, well,

866
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 4: this is what I feel, but I don't feel strongly

867
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:31,040
Speaker 4: about it.

868
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,000
Speaker 3: So if you feel, if.

869
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 4: You feel like this is the way to go go forth,

870
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:37,040
Speaker 4: And so we have to have those real conversations about like,

871
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:39,240
Speaker 4: you know, cause you don't care about everything equally, like

872
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,120
Speaker 4: you've give an opinion, you give a thought, like whether

873
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,960
Speaker 4: it be our HR. And I'm gonna say I feel like,

874
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,280
Speaker 4: especially in this week, where like we're kind of concerned

875
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 4: and kind of talking about like where the cash flows

876
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:51,000
Speaker 4: look like, especially go on the start of a potential recession.

877
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:52,480
Speaker 4: So we're trying to feel, like, you know, trying to

878
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,800
Speaker 4: build our plans around making sure we safeguard the business,

879
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,680
Speaker 4: to make sure that we have sustainability, and so thinking

880
00:32:57,720 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 4: through what do we do here where we place money here,

881
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,320
Speaker 4: It's like, well, you know, I maybe we should go

882
00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,080
Speaker 4: this way, and we give our opinions, we put them

883
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:05,720
Speaker 4: out there, and then you know, we have a passionate

884
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:07,840
Speaker 4: soap box. And then sometimes it's like, well, I really

885
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,520
Speaker 4: don't care that much about that one. So if you

886
00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,520
Speaker 4: feel if you like it, you love me, rock with it.

887
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:13,360
Speaker 4: And so I feel like we're lucky enough and we've

888
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 4: been friends and we were friends and colleagues enough that

889
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:17,960
Speaker 4: we can have tough conversations with each other. And the

890
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 4: funny enough because we're also we're also good enough that

891
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,760
Speaker 4: we we both are not super confrontational, and so like,

892
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:25,440
Speaker 4: at the end of the day, we're still both trying

893
00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:26,880
Speaker 4: to make sure how you feel about this?

894
00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:28,760
Speaker 3: Though I said this, but how do you feel about it?

895
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,400
Speaker 4: And so we also are very aware of each other's

896
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,960
Speaker 4: feelings at the same time that we are also looking

897
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,160
Speaker 4: out and being very passionate.

898
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 3: So it just kind of it kind of works.

899
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 4: But I am learning a lot about just like my

900
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,400
Speaker 4: communication style, just about communication in general. I feel like

901
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,360
Speaker 4: I'm going to shout out to my therapist. I feel

902
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,120
Speaker 4: like this is it's working through all the things that

903
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 4: I'm not doing well that I feel like it's coming

904
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:51,560
Speaker 4: in real life. I have to talk it out and

905
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:52,960
Speaker 4: I have to say, well, how you feel about this?

906
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:54,320
Speaker 4: And we got to work. We gotta lay out all

907
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 4: the options. We got to get passionate and open and

908
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:57,320
Speaker 4: honest about how we're feeling.

909
00:33:57,640 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 3: So yeah, I love that, I love that.

910
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:03,280
Speaker 1: Thank you to your care. No, but she's right, what

911
00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 1: Jess might care about I might not care about, right.

912
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,040
Speaker 1: And so it's interesting because we've only had a couple

913
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,680
Speaker 1: where we were kind of like both pushing and then

914
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:13,319
Speaker 1: one of us always relents. But what's interesting is when

915
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:15,680
Speaker 1: we first started our business, our lawyer told us like, hey,

916
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:17,359
Speaker 1: it's tough that you guys have a fifty to fifty

917
00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:20,040
Speaker 1: business because of a tiebreaker. So this is something if

918
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,440
Speaker 1: you're going into a business with just one partner that

919
00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,399
Speaker 1: you have to think about who's the type briker tie break, right,

920
00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,200
Speaker 1: And so we came up with the rubric that if

921
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:32,839
Speaker 1: the decision has more legal implications, than our lawyer would

922
00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:35,560
Speaker 1: be the tiebreaker, if it has more financial implications, and

923
00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:38,319
Speaker 1: our accountant would be the tiebreaker, right. And we've never

924
00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:40,640
Speaker 1: had to actually use any of them for a tiebreaker

925
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:43,799
Speaker 1: because to Justice's point, like when she feels passionately like

926
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 1: I usually will say like, oh, I don't care that much,

927
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,920
Speaker 1: then you rock with it and then vice versa. So

928
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:49,600
Speaker 1: it actually works out for us. But I don't think

929
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,319
Speaker 1: everybody does business that way. But we're fortunate enough that

930
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 1: you know, even when we're strong about it, we can

931
00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,200
Speaker 1: clearly state what our feelings are and then we just

932
00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,600
Speaker 1: figure out like, well are you fifty forty nine? And

933
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 1: it just works out for us.

934
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:04,200
Speaker 2: No, That's why I ask again, you have a lot

935
00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:06,320
Speaker 2: of people that especially you know in Atlanta, people that

936
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:08,960
Speaker 2: listening to are like solopreneurs. Yeah, and even they do

937
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:10,880
Speaker 2: have a co founder a partner, they might not be

938
00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:12,759
Speaker 2: fifty to fifty, right, And so I think, like at

939
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,919
Speaker 2: the end of the day, and we use the word

940
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,200
Speaker 2: conflict because there's nothing else kind of common disagreement, but

941
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:18,200
Speaker 2: like the end of the day, you know, it is

942
00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:21,359
Speaker 2: important to understand how you'll manage those things. Sure, even

943
00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,040
Speaker 2: within other people in the organization. You know what I'm

944
00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:25,520
Speaker 2: saying again, like there's you know, it's all about what's

945
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,200
Speaker 2: the what's the book I love is called radical candor

946
00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,279
Speaker 2: And like talking about life, you don't have tough conversations

947
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,000
Speaker 2: because especially when you have employees and people that you

948
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:33,960
Speaker 2: have to you know, there's this conversations that you have

949
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,200
Speaker 2: to have, you know, and like, look, look especially when

950
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:40,160
Speaker 2: when you to one, you know, paying to pay separate lights,

951
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:41,719
Speaker 2: you know, and it's like, look, we need to talk

952
00:35:41,760 --> 00:35:42,120
Speaker 2: about this.

953
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:42,720
Speaker 3: Sure.

954
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:45,560
Speaker 1: It's like we are married and work, right, we are

955
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:47,680
Speaker 1: like we have a shared bank account for the company.

956
00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 1: That is lots of zeros, lots of lots of we

957
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,560
Speaker 1: have multiple comments in that thing, right, but we have

958
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:54,680
Speaker 1: to decide on how to spend that money, right, and

959
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:56,799
Speaker 1: we have to decide on who's let go, who to keep.

960
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,040
Speaker 1: We have to decide on you know, like what lawyer

961
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,200
Speaker 1: to bring in, what this that, which business to take,

962
00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:03,440
Speaker 1: which business is not to take, and all that can

963
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 1: be right for confrontation, absolutely conflict. So make sure that

964
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:09,960
Speaker 1: if you're partner with somebody, make sure that your relationship

965
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,480
Speaker 1: independent of the new business is tight and strong. Like

966
00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:15,240
Speaker 1: if you don't like the way that you guys argue

967
00:36:15,239 --> 00:36:16,040
Speaker 1: in real life.

968
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 3: You're the come on the table exactly. Absolutely not for sure.

969
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:23,560
Speaker 1: So we've been in this for a minute and you

970
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:24,600
Speaker 1: know we picked right.

971
00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:26,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you gotta take the ego out of it.

972
00:36:26,239 --> 00:36:29,759
Speaker 4: I feel like, especially in entrepreneurship, it tends to be

973
00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:33,680
Speaker 4: the egos tend. The egos tend to seep into entrepreneurship

974
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,400
Speaker 4: and in a very real way, and it can blind

975
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:38,680
Speaker 4: you to making sure the business is okay.

976
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:39,920
Speaker 3: So at the end of the day, we want it

977
00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:40,239
Speaker 3: to work.

978
00:36:40,320 --> 00:36:42,000
Speaker 4: So we got to take an ego on ourselves out

979
00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:43,880
Speaker 4: to really just trying to understand, like what can make

980
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:46,160
Speaker 4: it work. And if this fight, in all this conflict

981
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:47,560
Speaker 4: is not making it work, we're gonna have to pull

982
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:48,879
Speaker 4: back because at the end of the day, we want

983
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:49,880
Speaker 4: the sustainable business.

984
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:52,000
Speaker 1: That's a natural when ye and you don't know everything.

985
00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:53,520
Speaker 1: I think we have a healthy amount of we don't

986
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:55,920
Speaker 1: know everything. Like so Jess is like, we should do

987
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,760
Speaker 1: it this way. I'm like, hu, it could work okay,

988
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:00,560
Speaker 1: you know. Or if I say, hey, why don't we

989
00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:02,360
Speaker 1: do this thing and she doesn't feel strongly against her,

990
00:37:02,400 --> 00:37:04,520
Speaker 1: she's like, hey, roll the dice. Yeah, And there's a

991
00:37:04,560 --> 00:37:06,840
Speaker 1: healthy you know, as an entrepreneur, there's a healthy amount

992
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,239
Speaker 1: of let's see, yeah, we don't know, we're gonna so yeah,

993
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:11,560
Speaker 1: So I think that's that's a good thing.

994
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 3: Well, look y'all have made it five years and that's

995
00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:17,720
Speaker 3: no small fee. Yeah, congratulations. Well the next five years,

996
00:37:17,719 --> 00:37:20,480
Speaker 3: look like in all's opinion, Oh my goodness. Yeah, I

997
00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,200
Speaker 3: mean I feel like I feel like everyone says growth.

998
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,000
Speaker 4: Going up to the right correct exactly, So I want

999
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:31,799
Speaker 4: growth and I feel like and we are. So we

1000
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,279
Speaker 4: started and we definitely started really in the entertainment space

1001
00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:37,200
Speaker 4: and working with a lot of television network, streamers, cable,

1002
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,359
Speaker 4: that sort of thing, and we're just starting to kind

1003
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:43,000
Speaker 4: of branch out into other areas CpG, beverage.

1004
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 3: Companies, wine and spirits.

1005
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:46,560
Speaker 4: So I know from just like a vertical standpoint that

1006
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,359
Speaker 4: we want to grow into other verticals and we want

1007
00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,480
Speaker 4: to and we want to take that uh storytelling, that

1008
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:54,960
Speaker 4: video entertainment storytelling foundation and be able to spread that

1009
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,160
Speaker 4: into other verticals and kind of work that in those angles.

1010
00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:59,320
Speaker 4: So I know that that is where we're pressing, especially

1011
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 4: in this year from a dead perspective, like how we

1012
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,040
Speaker 4: how do we crack the nut into getting into those

1013
00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:07,319
Speaker 4: other verticals that we've identified as like ideal verticals for

1014
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,279
Speaker 4: us and ideal verticals for what we do best.

1015
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:10,480
Speaker 3: So I know that's my area.

1016
00:38:10,680 --> 00:38:13,120
Speaker 1: I agree, and I think that you know, when people

1017
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:15,680
Speaker 1: can finally understand that, you know, black culture drives pop

1018
00:38:15,719 --> 00:38:17,520
Speaker 1: culture and that what we do is going to be

1019
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,640
Speaker 1: mainstream by virtue of us targeting the culture, right, Yeah,

1020
00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:23,279
Speaker 1: and so like doing as like what Google did with

1021
00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:25,800
Speaker 1: you know, the best Ever or the Biggest Ever. I

1022
00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:28,080
Speaker 1: think it was one where you search for like the

1023
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,319
Speaker 1: best artists, the best athlete, the best listen. They were

1024
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:31,960
Speaker 1: all black people, but they didn't say, hey, this is

1025
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,600
Speaker 1: a black ad. It's just the best, you know. Like,

1026
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,160
Speaker 1: when we can get to that level of marketing with

1027
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:37,880
Speaker 1: some of our partners and some of our clients, I

1028
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:40,080
Speaker 1: feel like that's where we want to be in five years,

1029
00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:42,040
Speaker 1: where it's just it's mainstream. You're not coming to us

1030
00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,799
Speaker 1: for targeted marketing. You're coming to us for marketing and

1031
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:46,520
Speaker 1: we give you these ideas that are going to drive

1032
00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:49,080
Speaker 1: the culture or just you know, be in parallel with

1033
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:49,440
Speaker 1: the culture.

1034
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,560
Speaker 4: And that's what we really want, and then be backed

1035
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:53,920
Speaker 4: by still creatives of color because that's important to us too.

1036
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:56,400
Speaker 4: It's like, yes, we want the campaigns to drive the culture,

1037
00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 4: but we want the people building the campaign to be

1038
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,000
Speaker 4: a part of the culture. So because like we're always

1039
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,439
Speaker 4: passionate about making sure like all the vendors that we use,

1040
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:05,200
Speaker 4: like you know that we're putting on to your point,

1041
00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:07,760
Speaker 4: like putting on people that don't always get a shot

1042
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,520
Speaker 4: in mainstream traditional Madison Avenue type of advertising, and so

1043
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:13,440
Speaker 4: that that Longeve, we want to still be building the

1044
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:18,000
Speaker 4: relationship with those communities, especially Atlanta atl creatives to make

1045
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,279
Speaker 4: sure that we are as we are growing there growing

1046
00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:20,680
Speaker 4: as well.

1047
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:22,879
Speaker 3: Absolutely, Yeah, I mean look at them the day.

1048
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:26,799
Speaker 2: I think the people that make the culture have the

1049
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:28,720
Speaker 2: best opportunity of sorry, people that are in the culture

1050
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:30,600
Speaker 2: have the best opportunity to make things that land in

1051
00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:33,640
Speaker 2: culture authorically, right, and I think too often those things

1052
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:34,400
Speaker 2: get separated.

1053
00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:34,640
Speaker 3: Right.

1054
00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,120
Speaker 2: So again, when you see moments where you look at

1055
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,279
Speaker 2: the team that made you, like you've seen things that landing,

1056
00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:41,520
Speaker 2: you're like, okay, yeah, and I don't know who was

1057
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:43,640
Speaker 2: in that room when that got approved, you know what

1058
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 2: I mean, the right, folks, I've told you, I've told

1059
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 2: people over my career, I've stopped a lot.

1060
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:52,080
Speaker 3: Of bullshit from happening just from being in the room.

1061
00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:54,040
Speaker 1: Absolutely, But you also know that these things go the

1062
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,839
Speaker 1: rounds of approval. If it goes to the top, nobody on.

1063
00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:58,239
Speaker 4: Your squad, you know what I mean, it's like, who

1064
00:39:58,360 --> 00:39:59,920
Speaker 4: how did this get made?

1065
00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:01,239
Speaker 3: Well, look, before we got out here.

1066
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,760
Speaker 2: Let me ask you if there's another Jessica, another Lorry somewhere.

1067
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:06,560
Speaker 2: They want to they want to build something, they want

1068
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:08,279
Speaker 2: to launch their own brand, they want to launch their

1069
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:08,800
Speaker 2: own agency.

1070
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,800
Speaker 3: What do you hope they take away from you all's journey?

1071
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:12,000
Speaker 5: Oh?

1072
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:13,840
Speaker 1: I would say, well, first of all, shout out to

1073
00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,600
Speaker 1: the popping squad that we have, because popping is nothing

1074
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,600
Speaker 1: without the popping squad. Like, we have dope women who

1075
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:22,480
Speaker 1: are all within the popping ranks and they are literally

1076
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:24,600
Speaker 1: helping us drive this business. So I would say, pick

1077
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:28,080
Speaker 1: the right squad, pick the right partner, and don't let

1078
00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,080
Speaker 1: your ego get the best of you, like, just have

1079
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,400
Speaker 1: a healthy amount of I don't know, but let's figure

1080
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:32,680
Speaker 1: it out.

1081
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:35,960
Speaker 4: Oh what would I say in terms of that was

1082
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,239
Speaker 4: so good? What would I say in terms of where

1083
00:40:38,239 --> 00:40:40,080
Speaker 4: they need to go and where they need to plan?

1084
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:42,919
Speaker 4: I feel like you got a plan, You have the plan, plan, plan,

1085
00:40:43,080 --> 00:40:45,160
Speaker 4: but then also be uncomfortable when the plan starts to

1086
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:48,520
Speaker 4: fall apart, because in true fashion, it starts to disintegrate

1087
00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 4: and you're gonna have.

1088
00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:51,240
Speaker 3: To figure it out that the pivot is real.

1089
00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:53,680
Speaker 4: So I do definitely think you can't jump in without

1090
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:55,239
Speaker 4: having a really solid plan, but you got to be

1091
00:40:55,280 --> 00:40:57,759
Speaker 4: flexible enough to know that. Don't drive your plan all

1092
00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,600
Speaker 4: the way into the ground when it starts to crumble

1093
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:03,000
Speaker 4: and it starts to change, be willing to get asked questions,

1094
00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:05,640
Speaker 4: get feedback, and shift and adjust so you can have

1095
00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:08,560
Speaker 4: a sustainable business so you can be around those five years,

1096
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:11,680
Speaker 4: ten years, fifteen years, and also get you know, obviously

1097
00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:14,239
Speaker 4: get acquired, bought sold in. You know, that's the dream

1098
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:15,720
Speaker 4: for any We would not be here.

1099
00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:18,279
Speaker 1: Without Jessica planning. I'm not the planner. Jessica is an

1100
00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:21,959
Speaker 1: amazing planner. I'm like the visionary if you will. She's

1101
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,359
Speaker 1: creative as hell, but she's also like, but it's gonna

1102
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:26,879
Speaker 1: be tight. Let's put this down on as the plan.

1103
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,520
Speaker 1: And so make sure that you're thinking of complimentary skill sets.

1104
00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:32,279
Speaker 1: If you are the creative person and you suck at

1105
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:35,120
Speaker 1: details and you suck at planning, do not get another U. No,

1106
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,080
Speaker 1: go get you a planner. Go get you Jessica Lane,

1107
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,120
Speaker 1: Go get you an amazing person who's going to compliment

1108
00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:42,400
Speaker 1: that so that you can build something great. Two of

1109
00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:43,359
Speaker 1: you is one too many.

1110
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:50,040
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a bar bar far right there, y'all.

1111
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:50,320
Speaker 1: Stop.

1112
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:52,840
Speaker 2: Well, look This has been an amazing conversation before we

1113
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,480
Speaker 2: get out of here. How can people find out more

1114
00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:56,719
Speaker 2: about Popping Creative? How can they support you all? How

1115
00:41:56,719 --> 00:41:58,360
Speaker 2: can they find y'all give them all the things.

1116
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,279
Speaker 4: Yeah, so you can find us at our web site,

1117
00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:03,080
Speaker 4: popincreative dot com. But of course all the social channels

1118
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:05,759
Speaker 4: at Popping Creative and then of course each other. Yes,

1119
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,800
Speaker 4: so I'm Jessica Lane, Alexander at at Lane jes d

1120
00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:10,440
Speaker 4: and and my I.

1121
00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:12,800
Speaker 1: G is at LORI j A y l O r

1122
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:15,399
Speaker 1: I j A Y. So when you spell popping, don't

1123
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,279
Speaker 1: forget it's p O p n Okay, do not spell

1124
00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:20,719
Speaker 1: the whole word out pop n creative.

1125
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,279
Speaker 2: Well, just Laurie appreciate y'all so much for coming up,

1126
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 2: pulling up and sharing. You'll journey with us. Congratulations on

1127
00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:30,279
Speaker 2: hitting year five. Can't wait to see what happens y'all

1128
00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:31,920
Speaker 2: for the next five to ten.

1129
00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:36,200
Speaker 1: We've gon do some stuff together too, because.

1130
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:40,480
Speaker 3: You boy, I'm always down.

1131
00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 1: We really came because I gonna work a Brandon, So like,

1132
00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:44,359
Speaker 1: just let's let it is just.

1133
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,480
Speaker 2: A strategic move, you know what, I'm trying to get

1134
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:52,719
Speaker 2: into TV. But no appreciate y'all, thanks for coming out,

1135
00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:53,560
Speaker 2: and that's the pod.

1136
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,839
Speaker 1: Y'all we out, Thank you, thank you.

1137
00:42:56,840 --> 00:42:58,640
Speaker 2: You've been listening the Button Nomics and I'm your host,

1138
00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,920
Speaker 2: Brandon Butler. Got comment feedback? Want to be on the show.

1139
00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,240
Speaker 2: Send us an email today at hello at butternomics dot com.

1140
00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:06,799
Speaker 3: Butter Nomics is produced.

1141
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:10,160
Speaker 2: In Atlanta, Georgia at iHeartMedia by Ksey Pegram, with marketing

1142
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:11,320
Speaker 2: support from Queen and Nikki.

1143
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:13,120
Speaker 3: Music provided by mister Hanky.

1144
00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:15,719
Speaker 2: If you haven't already, hit that subscribe button and never

1145
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,880
Speaker 2: missed an episode, and be sure to follow us on

1146
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:21,239
Speaker 2: all our social platforms at butter dot atl Listen to

1147
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:24,360
Speaker 2: betteron Nomics on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

1148
00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:25,560
Speaker 2: you get your podcasts