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Speaker 1: Hey, Hey, Well I haven't done hey, hey, hey in

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Speaker 1: a while. I know remember in the beginning you was

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Speaker 1: hating on my Hey hey hey, I.

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Speaker 2: Don't remember ever hating on anything you've ever done. I'm

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Speaker 2: a Tiffany Stan So we're back.

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Speaker 3: Brown Ambition listeners, did you miss that.

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Speaker 4: We missed you?

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Speaker 3: I know we did.

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Speaker 4: Mostly I missed you. I don't know them.

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Speaker 2: I don't know them like that.

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Speaker 3: Whatever. Mandy loved you, guys.

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Speaker 1: She talked about you all the time, how great your

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Speaker 1: hair is and how you always dress so well.

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Speaker 2: You send the nicest tweets. Thank you, guys so much

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Speaker 2: for all the love and support, and yes, we're back.

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Speaker 2: And I had to say a quick shout out to

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Speaker 2: the Paychecks and Balances podcast because I was not We

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Speaker 2: didn't have an original show last week, but I was

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Speaker 2: on their show and a lot of BA listeners. I

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Speaker 2: think we're tuning into that. So thank you guys for

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Speaker 2: supporting and listening to the podcast. And if you haven't

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Speaker 2: heard it yet, my episode was on last last Tuesday.

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Speaker 2: And again it's called Podcast and Balances. That's a fun

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Speaker 2: show and we're gonna we're gonna have them on sometime soon.

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Speaker 3: Podcasts, Hey, did.

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Speaker 4: I say podcast?

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Speaker 2: Yes, I've been doing that pay checks and balances.

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Speaker 3: Oh that doesn't sound right.

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Speaker 4: Did I keep saying it again and again?

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Speaker 3: Okay, just for one time, I was like, that's a

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Speaker 3: weird name for a podcast.

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Speaker 2: I didn't have my afternoon coffee.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: But those it's funny because they're like they're two dudes,

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Speaker 2: and I was joking that they're like the other end

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Speaker 2: of the podcast spectrum, like they have the y chromosome

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Speaker 2: and like we're the kind of like dueling perspectives female

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Speaker 2: and male. So I think it'll be fun to have

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Speaker 2: like a crossover episode where they come on the show

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Speaker 2: and we talk about something fun like gender, you know,

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Speaker 2: ways just spued or something like that.

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Speaker 3: It would be fun.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: So what's are you in your new house yet?

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Speaker 4: What's happening?

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Speaker 3: Oh, Mandy, we're not getting the house.

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Speaker 1: I know, everything but so perfect until I've ever heard

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Speaker 1: well one.

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Speaker 3: So we got the home inspection.

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Speaker 1: Lord, this is I mean, if the lesson is for

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Speaker 1: anyone is to not get attached to a house until

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Speaker 1: you get the home inspection. Everything that could be wrong

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Speaker 1: was wrong. We had like foundation issues and needed a

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Speaker 1: new roof. Like the foundation was so bad that they

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Speaker 1: would have to lift the house, relay the foundation, and

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Speaker 1: put the house back down in order for it to

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Speaker 1: be fixed.

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Speaker 3: Like that's like one hundred thousand dollars worth of work.

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Speaker 3: It needs a brand new roof, which is crazy.

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Speaker 1: There was termites, like just anything that you think of,

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Speaker 1: Like you're like, as long as the house doesn't have this,

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Speaker 1: we could get it.

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Speaker 3: It was all of those things. I mean, the only

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Speaker 3: thing that could have had was laid right, just go

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Speaker 3: like that home.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, so I mean and then even then the

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Speaker 1: we had something like called like an oil tank. So

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Speaker 1: a lot of older houses used to well all old

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Speaker 1: houses for the most part, were heated by oil tanks.

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Speaker 1: So there's this big tank in the ground in your

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Speaker 1: front yard and then the oil man will come by

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Speaker 1: and fill you up and that's how you made it

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Speaker 1: to the winter. And so oil tanks are not the

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Speaker 1: safest because they're metal and they can corrode, and then

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Speaker 1: they can also like tank your soil.

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Speaker 3: So we asked for.

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Speaker 1: It to be removed and they were removing it and

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Speaker 1: it's looking like we might have had some seepage, which

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Speaker 1: means that the.

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Speaker 3: Soil is contaminated.

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Speaker 2: Oh god.

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Speaker 1: And then on top of that, like so, and this

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Speaker 1: is another thing that you everyone should get this. It's

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Speaker 1: called the Oprah oh pr A. I forget what it

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Speaker 1: sounds like, what it stands for. But go to your

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Speaker 1: county clerk's office. If you're interested in the house, you're

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Speaker 1: really interested, and you're gonna make an offer. The day

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Speaker 1: you make the offer, go and get your OPRAH report.

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Speaker 1: It's free from your county clerk for the most part.

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Speaker 1: Like sometimes they charge you like twenty cents for the

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Speaker 1: copies or something. Because our OPRAH report it takes sometimes

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Speaker 1: up to two weeks. We got it back today. This

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Speaker 1: is after we decided we're not gonna get it. Mandy,

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Speaker 1: what it says on there that they have so manys

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Speaker 1: because if anything city associated happened, the city has.

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Speaker 3: A report of it.

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Speaker 1: And you can get an OPRAH report of all the

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Speaker 1: things happening with that house or that has happened with

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Speaker 1: the house that has been recorded by the city.

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Speaker 3: So apparently they didn't disclose thiss what they were supposed to.

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Speaker 1: That two of the units are like sharing utilities and

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Speaker 1: they're not supposed to like wires are crossed.

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Speaker 3: He gased. Yeah, so if we would have moved in there.

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Speaker 3: I was wondering why there was no one on.

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Speaker 1: The first floor because the first floor the second floor

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Speaker 1: person apparently came for two units illegally by mistake, so

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Speaker 1: they just kicked out the first floor person.

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Speaker 3: It's just a mess.

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, I'm glad we know now although it

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Speaker 1: was an expensive not no, because you still got to

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Speaker 1: pay the lawyer.

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Speaker 3: We paid for the appraisal, which.

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Speaker 1: I know now not to get an appraisal before we

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Speaker 1: get the home inspection we paid for, Like, so it's

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Speaker 1: probably out honestly, like twenty five hundred dollars. Ou no,

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Speaker 1: but better twenty five hundred than one hundred and fifty thousand.

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Speaker 4: Amen.

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out, But I'm on

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Speaker 2: the other hand, I'm like relieved for you that you

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Speaker 2: took you did the right thing and didn't you know,

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Speaker 2: like did your inspection and all that, so now you know,

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Speaker 2: But what a bummer, I know.

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Speaker 3: But honestly, you know, like at first I was like no,

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Speaker 3: but then that's a tiffany.

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Speaker 1: Honestly, if you would have gotten this house, it would

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Speaker 1: have this is the type of decision that would have

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Speaker 1: broken our finances, like broken. So even though it's twenty

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Speaker 1: five hundred. I'm like, you know what, it's twenty five

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Speaker 1: hundred and not like I mean literally, we couldn't have

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Speaker 1: sold this house again, like we would have been stuck

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Speaker 1: with the house that is sinking and would have I

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Speaker 1: just can't even imagine whatul have done to our finances,

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Speaker 1: and so I just twenty five hundred honestly, seems like

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Speaker 1: nothing in comparison to what would have happened. So you know,

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Speaker 1: you're living, you're learning, You're just like h But aside

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Speaker 1: from that, honestly, not even the house that depresses me.

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Speaker 1: You're gonna say, I told you, girl, guess who's car

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Speaker 1: broke down?

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Speaker 2: You're oh no, actually I would have laughed, Like in

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Speaker 2: my head, I feel like I should laugh, but then

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Speaker 2: I just feel bad.

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Speaker 1: No, but you know, almost like Tiffany, this is why

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Speaker 1: you're supposed to have gotten the car before.

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Speaker 3: Everyone told you to get a Dagon car.

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Speaker 1: So me, while Superman sold his car like maybe, like

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Speaker 1: I don't know, six months ago, so we were down

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Speaker 1: to one car, and I kept saying.

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Speaker 3: Like, it's time to get a car. Tivity.

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Speaker 1: Everyone said that. Mandy said that everyone Dreamcatchers have told

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Speaker 1: have told me and we were like looking at houses

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Speaker 1: again this weekend, and we saw the car was overheating,

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Speaker 1: so apparently the fans are not turning on. And it's

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Speaker 1: like basically, so basically on Wednesday, I literally have to

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Speaker 1: get a car, like that's the only thing I have free. Like,

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Speaker 1: so I guess that's God's way of saying, I had

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Speaker 1: told you to get a Dagon Cardnesday, so we get

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Speaker 1: new cars.

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Speaker 3: So I have to get a car Wednesday.

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Speaker 4: But it's I'm so excited for you.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry I had to come to that. You really

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Speaker 2: did drive that car into the ground ever real last

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Speaker 2: cent out of that car.

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Speaker 3: I did, honestly proper burial for real.

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Speaker 1: Honestly, I'm gonna take a good picture of some video

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Speaker 1: of it and give it a hug and just feel

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Speaker 1: like you have you have done me so right, I

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Speaker 1: just yeah, So, I mean, you know, it's good and bad.

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Speaker 3: So that was my life for the week for cars.

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Speaker 4: I feel like I deserves.

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Speaker 3: I care.

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Speaker 2: Oh man, Speaking of cars, Mama got a nice tax refund.

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Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, I got a nice tax I got an

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Speaker 2: abnormally nice one because I switched jobs in the middle

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Speaker 2: of the year, and you know, when I was basically

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Speaker 2: getting tax at a higher income, but I didn't technically

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Speaker 2: earn the income for the year since I was earning

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Speaker 2: less at my last job. Anyway, long story short, got

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Speaker 2: a short got a really nice tax refund, and had

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Speaker 2: a call with our financial planner, and I was in

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Speaker 2: my mind, I'm thinking, la la la, honeymoon, gonna pay

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Speaker 2: off the last of the wedding with this money, and

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Speaker 2: this is awesome. And then, you know, talking to my

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Speaker 2: financial planner, she immediately we know, we forget about is

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Speaker 2: my fiance's student loan debt. Like, to me, it's there,

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Speaker 2: there's about twenty thousand dollars, but it never really felt

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Speaker 2: like the most important thing. He's making his payments. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's in the background, and until recently, you know, now

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Speaker 2: that we're getting closer and closer to being husband and wife,

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Speaker 2: I haven't really considered it my problem, you know, or

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Speaker 2: my debt.

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Speaker 3: And she's problems.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, you're gonna handle that right anyway, and

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Speaker 2: she was like, but she forces us to look at

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Speaker 2: it as part of our picture and as part of

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Speaker 2: our network, which is smart because it really is it's

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Speaker 2: negating our savings because you know, it's there but anyway,

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Speaker 2: so she was like, well, what have you thought about

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Speaker 2: putting it toward the student loan debt or toward your

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Speaker 2: car note. And we paid half of our car in cash,

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Speaker 2: so we don't have We only have like we were

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Speaker 2: going to pay it off within a year, no questions asked,

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Speaker 2: but anyway, so she had me thinking, and on paper,

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Speaker 2: it would have made sense to put it on the

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Speaker 2: h some of my fiancee student loans because some of

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Speaker 2: them were like six percent interests in our car note,

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Speaker 2: it's only like two point I don't even know, four percent,

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Speaker 2: very low rate. So the student loans are costing us more.

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Speaker 2: But in my mind I decided to go and put

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Speaker 2: it on the car note because I figured he has

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Speaker 2: federal student loan debt. We have all the protections that

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Speaker 2: come with that, so if anything happens we lose our jobs,

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Speaker 2: we can always put our loans his loans in deferment

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Speaker 2: or you know, income based repayment whatnot. But if and

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Speaker 2: for me, it felt like the car, like if you

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Speaker 2: lose our jobs, like we're gonna not be able to

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Speaker 2: pay the car and there's no you know, there's no

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Speaker 2: options for that. It's just you got to give the

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Speaker 2: car up or sell it or whatever.

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Speaker 4: Wow. So yeah, I don't know.

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Speaker 2: I I think it's smart. She said it was okay, but.

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Speaker 3: I've got a financial planner. I'm like that's good. I'm like,

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Speaker 3: oh wait, that's like the doctor.

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Speaker 1: You go into the doctor, Like the woman in the

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Speaker 1: nursing in the waiting room is like, ooh, good choice

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Speaker 1: with your health, and you're like, really because you have

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Speaker 1: no bay, no marriage.

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Speaker 2: Click, It's there's no wrong or right. It's really just

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Speaker 2: what what helps you sleep at night? And it's this

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Speaker 2: it's a mental thing. I mean, like I said, on paper,

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Speaker 2: it made more sense to get rid of his six

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Speaker 2: percent interest student loan debt. And but what I you know,

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Speaker 2: but but in my mind, you know, one this the car,

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Speaker 2: Like I said, there's there's no second. There's no like

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Speaker 2: safety net there for us if we lose our jobs

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Speaker 2: or I don't know, something crazy happens and our savings

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Speaker 2: are gone, like we don't have any sort of flexible

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Speaker 2: repayment options for that like we do with the loans.

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Speaker 2: And and you know, so I ended up going with

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Speaker 2: that decision, but that whole conversation started. Now now I'm

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Speaker 2: like obsessed, like I'm like, we're going to get rid

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Speaker 2: of those student loans.

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Speaker 4: Now they're my problem. Now we're going to do this.

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Speaker 3: Doesn't he work for the government.

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Speaker 2: He does, and we had her do the math. So

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Speaker 2: you're thinking about public student loan forgiveness. Yeah, yeah, so

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Speaker 2: public student loan forgiveness. Yeah, if you work as a

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Speaker 2: school teacher, nonprofit or public serve public job working for

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Speaker 2: any government, city or state basically or federal. Yeah, if

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Speaker 2: you make one hundred and twenty on time payments, which

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Speaker 2: is basically ten years worth of payments, you can qualify

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Speaker 2: for to have the balance of your student loan forgiven.

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Speaker 2: But his loans are such that we really aren't. He

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Speaker 2: won't have any loans to forgive after ten years. We

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Speaker 2: had her do the math, our financial planner, so really

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Speaker 2: there's not a huge benefit.

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Speaker 4: And honestly, I don't know.

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Speaker 2: I at least I at least because he does have

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Speaker 2: that six percent loan, like I at least want to

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Speaker 2: get rid of that one. The rest of them aren't

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Speaker 2: so bad. But I was looking at his I made

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Speaker 2: him print out his or send me all of his

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Speaker 2: his statements so I could really get a sense of

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Speaker 2: what we're dealing with and a lot of his half

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Speaker 2: of his payment toward that loan is just going to

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Speaker 2: interest and he's not making any progress. So I'm like,

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Speaker 2: we're going to start making additional payments on that as

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Speaker 2: soon as possible. And so I'm glad we brought I'm

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Speaker 2: glad that she forced me to like change my.

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Speaker 4: Mindset because now I got my.

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Speaker 2: On the prize man, just like we're gonna get rid

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Speaker 2: of those loans. The car's gonna be paid off, and

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Speaker 2: the wedding is, oh golly, the wedding is paid off.

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Speaker 4: The wedding's done.

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Speaker 1: Honestly to me, that that's been like my theme like

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Speaker 1: this week, like like I went live, but you know,

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Speaker 1: I have my literature academy, and I went live and

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Speaker 1: I talked about like the house and how you know we're.

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Speaker 3: Gonna get it.

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Speaker 1: But really the theme for me is like asking for

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Speaker 1: help because so many, so many times, you know, we're

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Speaker 1: making these decisions our own, and like getting professional opinions

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Speaker 1: about specific things you cannot even though you know you're

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Speaker 1: in the you're a financial professional.

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Speaker 3: You have a financial planner.

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Speaker 1: Who's like, wait, Mandy, like I want you to look

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Speaker 1: at this and look what that's done for you. And

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Speaker 1: it's like, you know, me having the home inspector guy

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Speaker 1: really come out and asking for help.

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Speaker 3: That so many times we struggle through things on our.

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Speaker 1: Own, and you know, it's it's not helpful and if

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Speaker 1: we would only ask for help, and sometimes help costs

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Speaker 1: money because I'm.

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Speaker 3: Cheap, oh number one. I mean, you see, I have

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Speaker 3: to literally wait for my car to die on me.

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Speaker 1: And it's not like Mandy, if you would see my

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Speaker 1: bank account, you'd be like, Sippy, are you kidding me?

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Speaker 1: Like I'm such a little like miser I have like

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Speaker 1: I spend like next to nothing, Like I'm like, ooh

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Speaker 1: a penny, Literally I picked.

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Speaker 3: Pennies up off the ground. I picked them up. I do.

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Speaker 3: And so it's not like I don't have any money

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Speaker 3: saved or anyone.

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Speaker 1: But it's just that, like I guess part of me

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Speaker 1: is afraid because I know what it's like to be

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Speaker 1: really broke, you know, post recession, and that was kind

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Speaker 1: of scary for me, So I really don't want.

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Speaker 3: To go back there.

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Speaker 1: And then too, I've always been kind of a cheap

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Speaker 1: on anyway, that's just like my personality. But you know,

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Speaker 1: but I'm learning that oftentimes that being cheap is actually expensive.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you know what if I would have gone

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Speaker 1: with like like our home inspector actually was on the

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Speaker 1: high side as far as expense, but as I was

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Speaker 1: like really looking up home inspectors, he was highly rated

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Speaker 1: five stars on like all the platforms you could think of,

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Speaker 1: Angie's List, Advisor, dot Com, all this kind of stuff, and.

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Speaker 3: So he was more expensive.

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Speaker 1: He probably was like two or three hundred dollars more

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Speaker 1: than the average home inspector, but it was so detailed

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Speaker 1: it was worth it and just learning, like you.

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Speaker 3: Know, like this whole car thing.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm not gonna rush, like, but I might

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Speaker 1: not get as good of a deal as I could

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Speaker 1: because now I have to get a car on Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: so I have to make a choice versus like, okay,

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Speaker 1: taking my time a little bit because I've been like

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Speaker 1: kind of dragging my feet. So yeah, that's been like

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Speaker 1: my theme for the for the week, really like paying

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Speaker 1: for help.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 2: So your next challenge would be to get a car

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Speaker 2: that's actually may cost more because it's reliable, right, So

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Speaker 2: how are you doing on that?

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Speaker 3: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: So I decided, so my my budget for the car

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Speaker 1: is between twenty to twenty five thousand dollars very reasonable.

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Speaker 3: Yes, And so I saw I think I know what

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Speaker 3: I'm gonna get.

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Speaker 1: It's I'm thinking I'm gonna get a Lincoln MKZ, which

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00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,920
Speaker 1: looks like luxury, but the price is like really good.

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Speaker 3: And I've seen one for it's like twenty three thousand,

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00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,120
Speaker 3: and it's a twenty.

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Speaker 1: Fifteen whoop whoop. So and it's I'm gonna get certified

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Speaker 1: pre owned. And with their certified pre owned, I don't

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Speaker 1: know if every every company or every car company has this,

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00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,280
Speaker 1: but their certified pre owned is one hundred thousand miles

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Speaker 1: or six years.

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Speaker 3: Whichever comes first.

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Speaker 4: So that's great.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it is great. So that's why I really like them.

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Speaker 1: And I was like, okay, so I'm definitely yeah, I'm

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Speaker 1: not skipping on the car. I'm going to get like

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Speaker 1: a good and I didnitize my reviews and looking at like,

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00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:55,840
Speaker 1: you know, which cars were good, and so that's kind

355
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:57,120
Speaker 1: of like the car of lan To cause I like

356
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Speaker 1: the way it looks. But also I like that certified

357
00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,040
Speaker 1: pre own, like that warranty and you know, and I'm yeah,

358
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Speaker 1: and I'm I have the money saved, so I'm paying cash,

359
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Speaker 1: so I'm hoping I can talk them down a little bit,

360
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,480
Speaker 1: but you know, I don't know because they're not making

361
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Speaker 1: any money, any extra money by like with my payments,

362
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Speaker 1: because there's no payments.

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Speaker 3: I'm just trying to get a cashier's check.

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Speaker 4: Nice.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so yeah no, because I'm like, ye, I'm not

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Speaker 1: going to get like a oh no, no, no, no, I

367
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Speaker 1: can't live that life anymore.

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Speaker 3: But I'm so embarassed, Like I got an award this

369
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Speaker 3: weekend from.

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00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:30,440
Speaker 1: The Zeta Omega Omicron Data Chapter in New Jersey, and

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Speaker 1: like I always park around the corner because I'm like, yeah.

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Speaker 3: I'm.

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Speaker 1: So.

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Speaker 2: I mean, your name is the Budget Neista, so you're

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Speaker 2: on brand.

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Speaker 4: You're on brand.

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Speaker 3: But I'm like, I don't want to live. I never

378
00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:45,680
Speaker 3: do valet parking because I'm like, you might not be

379
00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:47,640
Speaker 3: able to start. It means a little shake.

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Speaker 4: I'm so happy for you.

381
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Speaker 1: I know people are listening, like, wait, so she really

382
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:56,360
Speaker 1: so it's not like just like a gimmick.

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Speaker 3: This is her life.

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Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah, no, I she's not lying you guys,

385
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,440
Speaker 2: This is not exaggerating. This is not to make you

386
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,920
Speaker 2: feel better about her success. No, she's really struggling.

387
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:07,800
Speaker 1: Yeah no, my life like I really am, like truly

388
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,960
Speaker 1: the budgetia it came from like real life experience. So yeah,

389
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Speaker 1: so I'm just proud of myself, like teamwork and you know,

390
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,680
Speaker 1: paying people to help you and not making all decisions

391
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Speaker 1: on your own. I think women sometimes feel like you

392
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Speaker 1: really have to be superwomen all the time and you don't.

393
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Speaker 2: And imagine that had happened after you'd sunk all the

394
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:25,960
Speaker 2: down payment money into that house. You know, that would

395
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Speaker 2: have been like a double whammy.

396
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Speaker 1: Well, the good thing is that you put a deposit.

397
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,240
Speaker 1: So we put half the down payment, but you give it.

398
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:33,720
Speaker 1: We gave it to our lawyers. She put it in

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00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,440
Speaker 1: the XCRA account. And once we cancel, because you can cancel,

400
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,720
Speaker 1: like we had an in our That's why your contract

401
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,320
Speaker 1: is so important. Like before you leave attorney reviews, that's

402
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:44,920
Speaker 1: when both attorneys are going back and forth with the contract.

403
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,720
Speaker 3: You want to make sure that you have things.

404
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,760
Speaker 1: Like that in place, like we had things like, hey,

405
00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,360
Speaker 1: if these things are wrong, we can walk away.

406
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,520
Speaker 3: If the bank won't give us some mortgage, we can

407
00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:54,000
Speaker 3: walk away.

408
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,880
Speaker 1: So there are all these reasons why we can walk away,

409
00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:57,600
Speaker 1: and there's all these reasons why they could.

410
00:16:57,680 --> 00:16:59,200
Speaker 3: And so you put in the contract.

411
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,000
Speaker 1: So that way, if we walk away and it's within

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00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,640
Speaker 1: the contract boundaries that we get back are half our deposits,

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Speaker 1: so you know, we get that money back, thankfully, but

414
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:08,520
Speaker 1: just certain people that have to be paid regardless, like

415
00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,040
Speaker 1: the lawyer has done her due diligence, the appraisal was

416
00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:14,399
Speaker 1: done and the home inspection was done, so those have

417
00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:14,960
Speaker 1: to be paid for.

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Speaker 4: Gotcha. Yeah, well, bummer.

419
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Speaker 2: But everything happens for a reason, and you will find

420
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Speaker 2: your dream house.

421
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:23,240
Speaker 4: I know you will.

422
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:25,280
Speaker 3: Yeah, I believe so.

423
00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:27,159
Speaker 2: And we buried the lead on this one. We have

424
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:30,120
Speaker 2: an exciting guest tonight, Yeah, we do.

425
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Speaker 4: I might.

426
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Speaker 2: Actually, I'm such a stand of you guys know, I

427
00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:35,880
Speaker 2: don't know if you know. I've talked about it before.

428
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Speaker 4: My hair, my hair story has been tragic.

429
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Speaker 2: And I have been trying to figure out so from

430
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Speaker 2: the age five and I'm biracial for those of you

431
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:50,520
Speaker 2: who don't know, And from age like five, my mother

432
00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:53,879
Speaker 2: started relaxing my hair and I never knew what my

433
00:17:54,119 --> 00:17:56,600
Speaker 2: actual hair texture looks like except for photos of me

434
00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,440
Speaker 2: as myself was like a baby and a toddler until

435
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:01,840
Speaker 2: the last couple of years when I finally was like

436
00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:04,800
Speaker 2: weap but why am I torturing myself and burning my

437
00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:07,879
Speaker 2: scalp off for relaxers? And I'm just gonna stop. And

438
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,160
Speaker 2: it's been a rocky road. So much money has been

439
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,479
Speaker 2: wasted in the beautycare aisle at every drug store, every

440
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:16,960
Speaker 2: you know, big box store, trying to figure out what

441
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,280
Speaker 2: product I like until I found Miss Jessi's. And this

442
00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,479
Speaker 2: is not an advertisement. We're not getting paid for this.

443
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,360
Speaker 2: I'm not getting paid for this. I just genuinely love

444
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,560
Speaker 2: her products and it's helped me love my hair again.

445
00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:31,280
Speaker 2: And like I was at that, if you've ever tried

446
00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,960
Speaker 2: to transition from you know, to natural, like I don't

447
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,680
Speaker 2: know if you reach a breaking point at a certain point,

448
00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:38,520
Speaker 2: and especially if you don't do a big chop like me,

449
00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,800
Speaker 2: and you're like, I can't. I cannot sit here with

450
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,280
Speaker 2: this comb and my shoulder is always tired because I'm

451
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:49,600
Speaker 2: constantly detangling. And I reached that dark, dark, dark dark

452
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,399
Speaker 2: place so many times until I found her stuff. So

453
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,080
Speaker 2: I'm so excited to have Nico Branch, who's the co

454
00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:58,119
Speaker 2: founder of Miss Jessi's, on the show today.

455
00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, I honestly, I'm you know, I'm just a fan

456
00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,480
Speaker 1: of women who are running their own businesses because I

457
00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,920
Speaker 1: I'm like, just like how because I'm running a business,

458
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,560
Speaker 1: so I can only imagine and to run at a

459
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,040
Speaker 1: certain level, like the level that she's on with her business.

460
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:18,479
Speaker 1: Because when I was making my transition is when I

461
00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,720
Speaker 1: believe Miss Jesse's like first started to kind of hit

462
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,399
Speaker 1: the store, like you know, you could go in the

463
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,120
Speaker 1: store and see it, and I remember, like I used

464
00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,040
Speaker 1: to do a lot of research, and I remember that

465
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:28,560
Speaker 1: that was one of the things that was like, ooh,

466
00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,760
Speaker 1: new products, try Miss Jesse's. And I think, I don't

467
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,000
Speaker 1: know if they were on the forefront of like natural

468
00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,240
Speaker 1: hair shouldn't really be using like traditional shampoos and here's

469
00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:40,199
Speaker 1: like a no shampoo wash. I mean, I just remember

470
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,560
Speaker 1: being blown away that there was actual products for like

471
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:45,800
Speaker 1: natural girls like in the store.

472
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:46,840
Speaker 3: I was like, are you kidding?

473
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, it didn't exist before them. I mean they were

474
00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,480
Speaker 2: really at the forefront. And these her and her sister TD,

475
00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,199
Speaker 2: who's passed away in the last couple of years, like

476
00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,359
Speaker 2: they you know, Miko was the one who was the

477
00:19:58,359 --> 00:20:00,600
Speaker 2: hairstylist and TV was sort of the helping in the

478
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,600
Speaker 2: background with the pr and the marketing. But they start

479
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,320
Speaker 2: she started in one chair salon in her Brooklyn apartment,

480
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,080
Speaker 2: you know, in the early two thousands, and I was

481
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:10,960
Speaker 2: I've been reading her book. If you guys, if you

482
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,000
Speaker 2: want a really good book on just you know, how

483
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,400
Speaker 2: two sisters built this haircare brand. You got to check

484
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,200
Speaker 2: out their book. It's called Miss Jessie's Creating a Successful

485
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:23,119
Speaker 2: Business from Scratch Naturally by Miko Branch. It's such a

486
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,960
Speaker 2: good book. It's such a nice it's about sisterhood like

487
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,159
Speaker 2: at its core. It's it's and I can't wait to

488
00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,879
Speaker 2: talk to her about, you know, her influences and how

489
00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:32,680
Speaker 2: they built this business from scratch. You know, they didn't

490
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,800
Speaker 2: have an MBA, they didn't have angel investors, they didn't

491
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:36,520
Speaker 2: have anything.

492
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:37,000
Speaker 4: It was just.

493
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,679
Speaker 2: Blood, sweat, tears, guts all that. Just a great story.

494
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,080
Speaker 2: So I am such a stand I'm so happy to

495
00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:43,439
Speaker 2: have her on.

496
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,080
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, it's just it's just gonna cry.

497
00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:48,360
Speaker 2: I can feel it when you speak.

498
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:50,000
Speaker 1: To folks like that, you're just like, you know, because

499
00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:52,040
Speaker 1: one it just lets you, it makes you want I

500
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,199
Speaker 1: can do it, you know, Like it's like she's just

501
00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,280
Speaker 1: like me, Like I can do it. Regular girls who,

502
00:20:58,359 --> 00:20:59,800
Speaker 1: like you said, didn't go to school for all of

503
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,440
Speaker 1: this stuff, and it's just like, you know, it's possible

504
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:04,280
Speaker 1: and yeah, so I just love to see that. It's

505
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:06,320
Speaker 1: just I'm excited that she's going to be on because

506
00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,800
Speaker 1: I'm just from a business woman's standpoort. I'm just like,

507
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,040
Speaker 1: you know, what does balance look like? I just can't

508
00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:14,800
Speaker 1: wait to ask her like our you know, our question, so.

509
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:15,800
Speaker 4: Snaps for me go.

510
00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:19,840
Speaker 1: So, speaking of girls, we didn't talk about this, but

511
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,320
Speaker 1: I think we should at least, like, so, DC and

512
00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:23,720
Speaker 1: the missing girls.

513
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 4: Let's talk about that because I'm not sure what to believe.

514
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,120
Speaker 2: Yes, I've seen some things that have been like sensationalized

515
00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,560
Speaker 2: and they're actually Yeah, I've been like waiting for someone

516
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,399
Speaker 2: to do the big story that tells me what's actually true.

517
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,560
Speaker 2: So are there a bunch of brown girls in DC

518
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,520
Speaker 2: that are missing that no one or.

519
00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:44,680
Speaker 3: I don't know? And I've been looking.

520
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:46,840
Speaker 1: I've been like we say, and like you know, like

521
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,080
Speaker 1: I remember seeing like just a couple of days ago

522
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 1: an article with like two girls found and the people

523
00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:54,000
Speaker 1: were like, no, those were in Atlanta or I just

524
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,399
Speaker 1: like you said, it's been very unclear of like is

525
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,760
Speaker 1: is I know obviously there are some girls that are missing.

526
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,520
Speaker 1: I think that part is really clear, but like to

527
00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,000
Speaker 1: what expand like what's really happening is like what that's

528
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:08,879
Speaker 1: the confusion for me.

529
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,040
Speaker 2: The police are denying that it's true. So the and

530
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:13,760
Speaker 2: if you don't know what we're talking about. So there

531
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,120
Speaker 2: is this picture that went around, right, this viral image

532
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,520
Speaker 2: that said fourteen girls have gone missing in DC in

533
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,680
Speaker 2: the last twenty four hours. And this was sometime last week,

534
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:24,399
Speaker 2: and I was just I just found this. This is

535
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,639
Speaker 2: from today, and I trust, I trust NPR. They're my

536
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 2: jam And they say that the Metropolitan Police Department, which

537
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,040
Speaker 2: is DC police, are saying that in no recent weeks

538
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,880
Speaker 2: have fourteen girls disappeared from the city in a single day.

539
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:40,640
Speaker 2: But they do say that they have had over five

540
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,760
Speaker 2: hundred cases of missing juveniles, many of whom are black

541
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,879
Speaker 2: or Latino, but all but twenty two of those cases

542
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,840
Speaker 2: have been solved. So like the actual picture that's going on,

543
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,000
Speaker 2: may I'll be real. But the problem seems to be okay,

544
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,560
Speaker 2: seems to at least be like a problem that so

545
00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:00,880
Speaker 2: many black and Latino teenagers have gone missing and there's

546
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:02,800
Speaker 2: still twenty two unsolved cases out there.

547
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:05,560
Speaker 3: Okay, Okay, that makes more sense.

548
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, but that just that just blew up.

549
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:09,879
Speaker 4: I saw Tina.

550
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:12,600
Speaker 2: Once you see Tina Nole's posting about it, you have

551
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,080
Speaker 2: to ask yourself what's really happening, you.

552
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,160
Speaker 1: Know, Yeah, because that's why I said, I'm like and

553
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,480
Speaker 1: but I don't like to be the person that just

554
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,359
Speaker 1: was like, you know, something is like sensational and I'm like,

555
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:23,760
Speaker 1: let me repost it because I'm like, well, what if

556
00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 1: it's not true?

557
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 3: Yeah?

558
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,520
Speaker 4: I think that, I mean, fake news goes both ways.

559
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,160
Speaker 2: Like, you know, I think that people are taking advantage

560
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 2: of the racial tension right now that's happening, and you know,

561
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,359
Speaker 2: know that they can say something.

562
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 4: You know.

563
00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,520
Speaker 2: I think if someone tweeted tomorrow a fake person, a

564
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,800
Speaker 2: fake African American woman's name, and a fake city was

565
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:44,920
Speaker 2: shot by a fake police officer, I bet it would

566
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,159
Speaker 2: go viral before anybody realized it wasn't true, because it

567
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,600
Speaker 2: sort of feeds into the storyline that's become you know,

568
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,160
Speaker 2: that's that's become sort of like present, right. I think that,

569
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,359
Speaker 2: And there's a lot of fake news out there that

570
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,200
Speaker 2: that you know, tries to drum up controversy, which is

571
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,520
Speaker 2: unfortunate because there's so many I don't feel like we

572
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 2: need any fake stories. Like there's plenty of legitimate, horrible

573
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,160
Speaker 2: things happening. That homeless guy in New York, for example,

574
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,960
Speaker 2: who is just shot or sorry, stabbed by a you know,

575
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:14,119
Speaker 2: a white supremacist.

576
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:15,120
Speaker 4: That's real.

577
00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:19,080
Speaker 2: That shit happened in New York City. There's you know,

578
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:20,760
Speaker 2: there's enough crazy shit out there. I don't know why

579
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:25,000
Speaker 2: we have to make up or sensationalize, you know, falsehoods.

580
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,399
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, I guess when we get more info, you know,

581
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:29,200
Speaker 3: we'll definitely share it.

582
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,200
Speaker 1: And if you guys have some like intel, we'd love

583
00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,919
Speaker 1: to you could tweet us at the BA podcast, right,

584
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,199
Speaker 1: Is that what I expect her name is?

585
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:36,879
Speaker 4: Yes?

586
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,720
Speaker 2: Has it been that long at the BA podcast?

587
00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:40,920
Speaker 4: Yeah?

588
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just think it's you know, as a member

589
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,639
Speaker 2: of the media like I, it is so I have

590
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,840
Speaker 2: to say it is so important to just check your

591
00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:49,760
Speaker 2: sources and if you see a story going around, just

592
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,760
Speaker 2: find out where their sources is. And if you can't

593
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,040
Speaker 2: find it, then maybe don't spread it until you can

594
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 2: you know, if you until you can prove it. I

595
00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,600
Speaker 2: get I get these. My dad is the worst. Actually,

596
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,879
Speaker 2: both my parents. They'll send me the craziest links from

597
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:07,280
Speaker 2: like infonewsnugget dot com or with these these websites that

598
00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,000
Speaker 2: have like no basis in truth and they just they're

599
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Speaker 2: in the business of creating headlines that go viral, you know,

600
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,640
Speaker 2: on social media and it's completely false. But I think

601
00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:19,719
Speaker 2: if we just took liked, I think part of our

602
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,720
Speaker 2: civic duty now which maybe wasn't a part of it

603
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,160
Speaker 2: before in history, or part of our civic duty has

604
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 2: to be sure that the information that we're you know,

605
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,399
Speaker 2: that we're taking in is accurate and the information that

606
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,320
Speaker 2: we're sharing is accurate, because you can do a lot

607
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:35,719
Speaker 2: of damage. I mean, we don't have to tell you

608
00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:39,560
Speaker 2: what fake news has wrought upon our beautiful nation.

609
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,000
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, it's You're right, it has. And I think

610
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:44,840
Speaker 3: it is part of our.

611
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 1: Civic duty to make sure because there's so much going

612
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,760
Speaker 1: on and I don't want to flood like, you know,

613
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,040
Speaker 1: like my timeline with stuff that I'm not like, well

614
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:55,560
Speaker 1: is this real, Let's let's find out for sure. And

615
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:57,439
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, I just want to make sure for

616
00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: sure because I don't like to go back because I've

617
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,159
Speaker 1: done that before or I've seen something it's made me

618
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 1: really sad or I'm sad or mad and I posted

619
00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,600
Speaker 1: it and somebody be like, girl, that was from twenty fourteen.

620
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 3: And I'm like, oh yeah, let me do my due diligence.

621
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:22,639
Speaker 3: Oo chah. Are you ready for some brown breaking or

622
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 3: brown boosting.

623
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 4: I'm ready.

624
00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,800
Speaker 1: If you're ready, well, I'm ready for I think I'm

625
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:30,640
Speaker 1: gonna do a.

626
00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:32,640
Speaker 3: Boost.

627
00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,240
Speaker 2: Give the people what they want. I want boost.

628
00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 3: I'm going to do a boost to the descending Republicans.

629
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,240
Speaker 2: Like that shade queen in the House.

630
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 1: I'm like, hey, Republican, so I like the fact that

631
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,160
Speaker 1: you shaded your own president and did not vote for,

632
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:54,240
Speaker 1: you know, this overhaul of.

633
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:55,680
Speaker 3: Obamacare that did not make sense.

634
00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 1: So now some things I can understand, you know, like

635
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,920
Speaker 1: for example, like the penalty kind of not having health care.

636
00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 1: I could see that it's not like all that. And

637
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,679
Speaker 1: I'm not going to pretend like Obamacare is amazing. I

638
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,120
Speaker 1: have it, and you know there's some issues for sure.

639
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,880
Speaker 1: You know our president, well you're president, because he ain't

640
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,440
Speaker 1: no president of mine. You know this, like the president

641
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,760
Speaker 1: he you know, his healthcare bill. From just looking at

642
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,080
Speaker 1: some of the differences that he's wanting to make, I just.

643
00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:27,320
Speaker 3: It's just clear that's he's thinking.

644
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,600
Speaker 1: More like I saw this great article where it describes

645
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: the problem with hiring a businessman to be the president

646
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:39,040
Speaker 1: is that they come from different perspectives because when you

647
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:41,199
Speaker 1: own a business, it's really top down, like I am

648
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:45,119
Speaker 1: the boss and then I disseminate responsibility, like but it

649
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,200
Speaker 1: leads from my desires.

650
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:48,520
Speaker 3: And the president is literally the opposite.

651
00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 1: The desires are supposed to come from the people, but

652
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:53,320
Speaker 1: that is not the way this president works. And because

653
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,960
Speaker 1: he is not a politician, and so as a result,

654
00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 1: he's choosing what he thinks it ought to be versus

655
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,520
Speaker 1: that what the will of the people are. And so

656
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,480
Speaker 1: like I'm it's very very very taling and funny how

657
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,959
Speaker 1: you have control of the House and you have control

658
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 1: of the Senate and yet you can't get something passed.

659
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:10,359
Speaker 3: So it's like hm hm.

660
00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,600
Speaker 2: And they were going to take away emergency room services

661
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:19,479
Speaker 2: and maternity and mandatory maternity basic level maternity coverage. They

662
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,960
Speaker 2: were going to remove that that from insurance, like right

663
00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 2: now insurers have to offer basic maternity coverage and they

664
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:27,840
Speaker 2: were going to take away that mandate.

665
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,119
Speaker 4: Like that's insane.

666
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,000
Speaker 2: There's a picture going around of like everyone around the table,

667
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,800
Speaker 2: all these congressmen, men being the operative word, but like

668
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 2: just nothing but white dude. White dude are on this

669
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,960
Speaker 2: huge table discussing the future of maternity care, and that

670
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,240
Speaker 2: just like me and my blood boil because how in

671
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,200
Speaker 2: twenty seventeen in America can that be the case? Like,

672
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:52,160
Speaker 2: how can it even be remotely considered that we wouldn't

673
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:54,680
Speaker 2: need maternity? Do these people not have mothers?

674
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:56,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's why I don't understand.

675
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 4: You know where you came from.

676
00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:58,280
Speaker 3: No, they don't.

677
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,800
Speaker 2: Honestly, man levening maddening men.

678
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,640
Speaker 1: Sometimes, I mean, and no shade to men if you're listening,

679
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,240
Speaker 1: But I think people are so disconnected. I remember reading

680
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 1: this like this like article about a dude who this

681
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,280
Speaker 1: woman was at a pool and she was breastfeeding her

682
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,400
Speaker 1: baby and this guy walked up to her. It's like,

683
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 1: I can't believe you're doing this out here. It's disgusting

684
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 1: and like you should be ashamed of herself and cover

685
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:19,040
Speaker 1: yourself up.

686
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:22,080
Speaker 3: His mother overheard him? Did we talk about this? His mother?

687
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 1: Oh, his mother overheard of She was at the pool

688
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:26,080
Speaker 1: with him. It was like, what did you just say

689
00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:27,960
Speaker 1: to her? And he was like, my you know, like

690
00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,760
Speaker 1: leave it alone. I'm just she said no, no, are

691
00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 1: you telling this woman that she shouldn't be breasfeeding in public?

692
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:35,120
Speaker 1: I've breastfit you to you we're two years old. And

693
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:37,880
Speaker 1: he was like what she was like, are you crazy?

694
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: How do you think you got to be out like

695
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,960
Speaker 1: I breastfeed you and doing what she's doing now is

696
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,120
Speaker 1: exactly what I've done? How dare you speak to her

697
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:47,280
Speaker 1: like that? And he felt so stupid, like like you

698
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:48,320
Speaker 1: are literally.

699
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,720
Speaker 3: A product of the thing that you're telling this woman

700
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:50,120
Speaker 3: not to do.

701
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,720
Speaker 1: And I think I don't know how people disassociate themselves

702
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:59,480
Speaker 1: from like are you that rich that you've forgotten or

703
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,840
Speaker 1: you just can I understand that not everybody has a

704
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 1: ton of money to do to say, oh I don't

705
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:05,760
Speaker 1: work for six months and we can still support my

706
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: family like it just I just don't understand how you,

707
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 1: like how that connection is completely lost. Is every politician

708
00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,320
Speaker 1: where they all born to like wealth?

709
00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,400
Speaker 2: No they weren't, but they think of it. It's such

710
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:20,000
Speaker 2: a crazy meant It's like they they in their minds,

711
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,520
Speaker 2: you know. And I have them family members who do this.

712
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,720
Speaker 2: They tell themselves a story about these women. They tell themselves,

713
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 2: these are low income, uneducated minority women who are just

714
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,400
Speaker 2: sucking the system and taking benefits from other people when

715
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,760
Speaker 2: those tax dollars could be going into I don't know, buying,

716
00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,480
Speaker 2: you know, funneling into our defense you know budget, which

717
00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 2: is the biggest in the world. Like they tell themselves

718
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,600
Speaker 2: that story and they don't look at the facts of

719
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 2: who benefits from this. And you know, when you help

720
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:51,440
Speaker 2: a mother, You've said this before. I've said it before.

721
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,120
Speaker 2: When you help a mom, you're not just helping a woman,

722
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 2: like you're helping a family. You're helping the children that

723
00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,600
Speaker 2: she's raising. You're helping you know, the company that she

724
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,480
Speaker 2: works for that she can go contribute to, the business

725
00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,160
Speaker 2: says that she's going to shop at, like because she

726
00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 2: has money too, because she has you know, paid or

727
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,280
Speaker 2: not paid leave, but just maternity leave or a maternity

728
00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 2: not and sorry, we're not talking about maternity leave. We're

729
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,200
Speaker 2: talking about health care, like the the you know, the

730
00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:21,080
Speaker 2: pre prenatal visits, you know, in delivery and all that stuff,

731
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 2: all that crucial early life stuff. We haven't even gotten

732
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,120
Speaker 2: to the stuff that comes after that, the well visits.

733
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:30,680
Speaker 1: But people don't see how like through making sure that women, okay,

734
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 1: you make sure that the world is okay.

735
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,040
Speaker 3: How do you not see that?

736
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,440
Speaker 1: Like did you think you just you just were like

737
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,920
Speaker 1: artificially inseminated in like a robot you just hear like

738
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,960
Speaker 1: like like I just don't understand how you don't see

739
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 1: that it's through obviously it's meant too, but like that

740
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,040
Speaker 1: you cannot not help women and think that.

741
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:49,680
Speaker 3: The world is going to be okay, Like.

742
00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:51,680
Speaker 1: Even if it's like or like your wife is not

743
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,960
Speaker 1: your kids, you have a nanny, Well what do you

744
00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:54,960
Speaker 1: think she is a woman?

745
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,880
Speaker 3: Like if if women are not okay, the world is

746
00:31:57,920 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 3: not okay.

747
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:00,640
Speaker 1: And the thing I don't underst and why people don't

748
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:02,320
Speaker 1: think how connected we are, Like I used to think

749
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:05,080
Speaker 1: to myself when like when parents were like, oh you know,

750
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,280
Speaker 1: it's like it's those kids over there, I'm like, well,

751
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,920
Speaker 1: those kids over there are hanging out with your kids.

752
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:11,800
Speaker 3: So if those kids over.

753
00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:13,520
Speaker 1: There are not good, like the kids at Newark are

754
00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 1: not good, guess where they're hanging out.

755
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:17,280
Speaker 3: They're hanging out with the kids in Westfield too.

756
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,480
Speaker 1: And if you think that those kids are not gonna

757
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,360
Speaker 1: affect your kids, they are. So if you don't care

758
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,040
Speaker 1: about all kids, you're putting your child at risk as well.

759
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 1: And so I don't understand why people don't think. It's

760
00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,640
Speaker 1: like when I'm the AIDS epidemic, you know, first really

761
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: broke and people are like, well, it's gay, it's gay

762
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,120
Speaker 1: men who cares. But they weren't realizing it's not just

763
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,400
Speaker 1: gay men, because not every man who has sex with

764
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,920
Speaker 1: men only has sex with men. Some of them have

765
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,200
Speaker 1: sex with women, and some women are having sex with

766
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,120
Speaker 1: other men. I mean like, so it wasn't even if

767
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:51,400
Speaker 1: one community is highly effective, we are all interconnected because

768
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 1: there are always people in communities that cross over to

769
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,240
Speaker 1: other communities, and so no matter what, we have to

770
00:32:57,320 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 1: make sure that we're all okay if we want to

771
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:01,960
Speaker 1: all be okay. It's just sometimes so frustrating that people

772
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,920
Speaker 1: can't see that. And I'm like, you know, like what

773
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:05,760
Speaker 1: is it going to take for you to realize that,

774
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,320
Speaker 1: Like it's not just this kid or just that woman.

775
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 2: That tiffany globalism, empathy, those are very out of fashion

776
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 2: right now. It's an America first. It's America first. We

777
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:19,000
Speaker 2: need to worry about our own business and forget the

778
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,880
Speaker 2: rest of the world. They don't have any impact on us. Yeah,

779
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:24,600
Speaker 2: what I will say, you know, when my boost was

780
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:26,920
Speaker 2: going to be very similar. But I'll take the other side,

781
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 2: and I'll say I'm going to give a boost to

782
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,840
Speaker 2: everyone who've wrote letters to their congressmen, who tweeted at them,

783
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,440
Speaker 2: who spoke up on social media, who funneled record breaking

784
00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:40,440
Speaker 2: donations to Planned Parenthood, and all these organizations, to show

785
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:42,880
Speaker 2: that we have a voice and we will not you know,

786
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,960
Speaker 2: we will resist the types of policies that are going

787
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,959
Speaker 2: to take us back decades and centuries. Just you know,

788
00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:52,760
Speaker 2: so a demigogue can prove a political point or prove

789
00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,080
Speaker 2: that you know, he can, he can you know, make

790
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,720
Speaker 2: a deal. And I feel like this is just proof

791
00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:00,840
Speaker 2: that we do have a voice and that not all

792
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,600
Speaker 2: is lost, you know with him and the presidency, that

793
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,160
Speaker 2: we can he doesn't have control, you know, at the

794
00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:09,080
Speaker 2: end of the day, the people that he needs to

795
00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,720
Speaker 2: control are controlled by us. Yeah, and we can sway

796
00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 2: our local representative. So yeah, I just have to give

797
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,840
Speaker 2: a shout out. And I think that played a huge

798
00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,879
Speaker 2: role in the fact that this was not passed. Yeah,

799
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:23,279
Speaker 2: people don't they're gonna vote, you know. Of course they

800
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,160
Speaker 2: would have had no problem voting for that bill if

801
00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:27,520
Speaker 2: their constituents hadn't said, well, we will not vote for you.

802
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,920
Speaker 3: I am not vote for you. They see how wild

803
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 3: up people are, and they're like, at the end of

804
00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:36,239
Speaker 3: the day, I won't be here like because people are like,

805
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:40,520
Speaker 3: I can't wait till the next election, like do what

806
00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:42,520
Speaker 3: we don't believe it should you know, you should not

807
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,439
Speaker 3: do like see what happens to see if you're gonna

808
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,520
Speaker 3: be sitting in that seat. Like people aren't ready to go.

809
00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 1: They see that so many people stayed home for the elections.

810
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,319
Speaker 1: People are not doing that anymore. They're like, wow, I see,

811
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:54,719
Speaker 1: like what's happening in this country. Just I feel like

812
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:59,960
Speaker 1: we're gonna have record breaking voting for the next like election,

813
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 1: not in terms yep, I really believe.

814
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:03,160
Speaker 4: So thank you.

815
00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,480
Speaker 2: Okay, guys, it is a moment I have been waiting for. Selfishly,

816
00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:25,799
Speaker 2: you guys have been waiting for. We finally have her

817
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,160
Speaker 2: on the show. Miss Nico Branch, the co founder of

818
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:35,160
Speaker 2: Miss Jesse's Natural Hair Products, Miko, Goddess of the Earth,

819
00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:37,480
Speaker 2: thank you so much for coming on the show.

820
00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 5: Wow, Mandy, it is so good to talk to you.

821
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,840
Speaker 5: I understand you are a curly girl and Tiffany is

822
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,759
Speaker 5: one two, so I'm happy to kick it with you

823
00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:52,040
Speaker 5: ladies about all things. Curls Kingston waves, Well.

824
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,799
Speaker 2: There's so much inspiration, so much, so much about your

825
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,560
Speaker 2: story that's inspirational. I mean, the success of the business

826
00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:59,919
Speaker 2: is one thing, but I mean you need to tell

827
00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:02,919
Speaker 2: people that you, you and your and your sister TV,

828
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:06,640
Speaker 2: who has sadly passed away recently. You guys built this

829
00:36:06,719 --> 00:36:12,640
Speaker 2: company from scratch, no nbas, no angel investors, no crowdfunding.

830
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 4: What was that like?

831
00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,239
Speaker 2: Building and before people even cared about natural hair or

832
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,160
Speaker 2: saw the potential there, what was that like?

833
00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:25,399
Speaker 5: It was two sisters just making it happen, making ends meet,

834
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:33,000
Speaker 5: being innovative, being teaching I against the world. That's what

835
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:37,080
Speaker 5: it felt like. And I don't think we really lifted

836
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 5: our heads up to understand what we were doing at

837
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,680
Speaker 5: the time, but we did. It was clear to us

838
00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,799
Speaker 5: that we were coming up with something that was going

839
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,680
Speaker 5: to be useful, so that made us feel really good.

840
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:52,640
Speaker 6: So it was actually fun while we were building.

841
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,440
Speaker 3: Did you ever like when.

842
00:36:57,640 --> 00:37:01,880
Speaker 1: Whoa like we have something here, They're like like, you know,

843
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,480
Speaker 1: like like I made it moment we were like wow,

844
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,239
Speaker 1: like we're really doing this.

845
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:08,160
Speaker 3: Like was there like a moment or was it kind

846
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:08,680
Speaker 3: of gradual?

847
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:12,920
Speaker 6: Well, Tiffany, there were many moments.

848
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:16,719
Speaker 5: There were many AHA moments, and some of the first

849
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,600
Speaker 5: AHA moments came when we discovered that we had curly

850
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:25,680
Speaker 5: but not kinky hair. And that discovery for me was

851
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:29,239
Speaker 5: at bath time with my son while we were struggling

852
00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,680
Speaker 5: in our business. My son splashed all around. I'm a

853
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,319
Speaker 5: single parent and it was very important for me to

854
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:39,360
Speaker 5: be in his life. So I did hair in the

855
00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:42,640
Speaker 5: house and I was also his mom in our house,

856
00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:45,600
Speaker 5: and I gave him baths on the fourth floor. He

857
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,000
Speaker 5: splashed around and I could no longer keep my straight

858
00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:52,440
Speaker 5: styled hair straight, and I just had to embrace it.

859
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:56,600
Speaker 5: That started a conversation, and in that moment, I knew

860
00:37:56,680 --> 00:38:00,760
Speaker 5: we had something. And then, you know, we other AHA

861
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:04,480
Speaker 5: moments with the product, But that was our very first

862
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:07,360
Speaker 5: understanding that it was going to get interesting.

863
00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,000
Speaker 2: And you started doing hair. So you were always you know,

864
00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,719
Speaker 2: in your heart you were a stylist, but you you

865
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 2: went through you went you were going to go to

866
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,200
Speaker 2: fashion school, right, you went to f I T before

867
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,680
Speaker 2: you went to beauty school. How did you, I mean,

868
00:38:20,719 --> 00:38:22,719
Speaker 2: how what was it that was driving you were making

869
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,279
Speaker 2: you think that maybe not hair isn't for me, maybe

870
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:27,520
Speaker 2: I should do something like go to fashion school.

871
00:38:27,880 --> 00:38:30,520
Speaker 5: Well, when I went to Fi t Uh it was

872
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:34,919
Speaker 5: it was very unpleasant. It was not a fun experience,

873
00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:38,960
Speaker 5: and my education at FIT made it very clear to

874
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:42,279
Speaker 5: me that this was something I did not want to do.

875
00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:48,400
Speaker 5: So the moment I graduated from FI T I signed

876
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:51,960
Speaker 5: up for hair school and I understood that it's time

877
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 5: for me to do something that I like. So I

878
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,280
Speaker 5: ran to hair school and I went to h school

879
00:38:57,280 --> 00:38:58,800
Speaker 5: on thirty fourth Street in the city.

880
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,480
Speaker 2: And you talk in your book, which I mentioned before

881
00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:05,080
Speaker 2: in the podcast, which is an excellent sort of the

882
00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,839
Speaker 2: story of Miss Jesse's and of your sisterhood and how

883
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,520
Speaker 2: you built the business. But you talk about the influence

884
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,400
Speaker 2: of your parents and in different ways, and especially your dad.

885
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,080
Speaker 2: You guys launched a cleaning company together. Is that right

886
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,560
Speaker 2: when you were like a teenager, you're running this company

887
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:20,200
Speaker 2: with your dad.

888
00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:22,200
Speaker 6: Yes, we did.

889
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:26,279
Speaker 5: Our dad, Jimmy Branch groom, Tity and I to be

890
00:39:26,480 --> 00:39:29,839
Speaker 5: entrepreneurs at a very early age. So by the time

891
00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,839
Speaker 5: we were in our late teens early twenties, we took

892
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:37,480
Speaker 5: our we took a stab at becoming entrepreneurs, and we

893
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:41,640
Speaker 5: were entrepreneurs. We were with our dad, and that was

894
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:45,640
Speaker 5: a very interesting business because we were cleaning and scrubbing

895
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:49,920
Speaker 5: toilets and doing all the dirty work. So that was

896
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,160
Speaker 5: a wonderful experience for me, in particular because I got

897
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:57,040
Speaker 5: a chance to again understand at a very early age

898
00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,200
Speaker 5: all the things that I did not want to do.

899
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:02,440
Speaker 5: So I was playing paying very close attention to that.

900
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,640
Speaker 5: So by the time it came to make a decision

901
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:07,320
Speaker 5: about what I wanted to do, it was very.

902
00:40:07,200 --> 00:40:07,680
Speaker 6: Clear to me.

903
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,000
Speaker 3: So, Mika, I have four sisters and I have my

904
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:11,919
Speaker 3: own company. They don't.

905
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,920
Speaker 1: We're not like partners or anyway, But slowly but surely,

906
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:17,680
Speaker 1: I'm starting to see the talents of my sisters and

907
00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:18,440
Speaker 1: how they're helping me.

908
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,759
Speaker 3: How do you How did you manage that with.

909
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,080
Speaker 1: T T like because like, so the baby Lisa, she

910
00:40:24,239 --> 00:40:26,239
Speaker 1: was my personal assistant. But you can guess all that

911
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:31,279
Speaker 1: worked out to eat my food and like like because

912
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,319
Speaker 1: she would literally be like, oh, you have mail at

913
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:34,160
Speaker 1: mommy and Daddy's house.

914
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:35,439
Speaker 3: I'm going to bring it and I'd be like yeah,

915
00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,520
Speaker 3: and then I get a bill Like that's not that's

916
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:38,320
Speaker 3: not how that worked.

917
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,879
Speaker 1: So how did you manage like working with your because

918
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,000
Speaker 1: I know, there's obviously some great upside, but what about

919
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:47,320
Speaker 1: the times when you guys had some like some difficulty.

920
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,400
Speaker 5: We were able to manage most of the downsides because

921
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:55,400
Speaker 5: in the upside there was a sister dynamic already in play.

922
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,879
Speaker 5: See t was my big sister, so we already had

923
00:40:58,920 --> 00:41:00,640
Speaker 5: pretty much of an under standing.

924
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:03,920
Speaker 6: The downside of that came when.

925
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,000
Speaker 5: We were really locked and stuck in our sister dynamic

926
00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:08,560
Speaker 5: of big sister, little sister.

927
00:41:09,239 --> 00:41:10,080
Speaker 6: So when it.

928
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,279
Speaker 5: Came time to place blame, you know, there was really

929
00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:16,040
Speaker 5: no room for a big sister or a little sister,

930
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,040
Speaker 5: you know, moment it was really that was the moment

931
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:23,040
Speaker 5: that we really had to be partners and be responsible

932
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,840
Speaker 5: for our role in the business. The only thing was

933
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:28,440
Speaker 5: that it wasn't really clear to us what our role was,

934
00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,240
Speaker 5: so we kind of felt our way as we crawled through.

935
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:35,480
Speaker 5: But you know, we we we managed to figure it out.

936
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:38,280
Speaker 2: How long do you think it took before you guys

937
00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:40,000
Speaker 2: felt like you were in a good place and you

938
00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:42,000
Speaker 2: knew what your role was and you knew what her

939
00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:46,040
Speaker 2: hers was. And did you did you put that in writing?

940
00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:47,960
Speaker 2: Did you put it on the wall, you know, draw

941
00:41:47,960 --> 00:41:49,960
Speaker 2: a line down the floor? How did you guys do

942
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:51,200
Speaker 2: that make that division?

943
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:54,400
Speaker 5: Well, at first we did not put it in writing.

944
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:59,320
Speaker 5: As I mentioned, we had a very special understanding as sisters.

945
00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:03,120
Speaker 5: That kind of it flowed over into our business. So

946
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:06,160
Speaker 5: for many years we did not have a written agreement.

947
00:42:06,680 --> 00:42:10,200
Speaker 5: But for tax purposes, we really needed to formalize our

948
00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:11,960
Speaker 5: business and that led.

949
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:14,680
Speaker 6: Us to what do we do?

950
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:18,520
Speaker 5: We did an LLC and that was our first partnership,

951
00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:22,200
Speaker 5: our first legal partnership, although Teethy and I didn't really

952
00:42:22,320 --> 00:42:26,680
Speaker 5: understand what that meant legally. We did it for tax reasons.

953
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:29,480
Speaker 5: But you know, as far as a division of labor,

954
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:34,040
Speaker 5: there was probably no one area that neither she nor

955
00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:37,440
Speaker 5: I couldn't do. I mean, we didn't have that luxury.

956
00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:40,920
Speaker 5: Although when we first started out, I imagine that I

957
00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:43,120
Speaker 5: would just be doing hair all day and my sister

958
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,839
Speaker 5: would be handling everything else. It didn't work out that way.

959
00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:51,280
Speaker 5: We had to divide everything up pretty much equally, and

960
00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:54,600
Speaker 5: most of the time that worked for us, and sometimes

961
00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:56,319
Speaker 5: it was really tough on us.

962
00:42:57,160 --> 00:42:59,560
Speaker 4: When were you able to hire people to help you?

963
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:01,160
Speaker 2: How long is it just you and your sister?

964
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:02,040
Speaker 4: Bloodstn't hear?

965
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,279
Speaker 3: I was literally just about the same.

966
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:08,360
Speaker 2: We need details, Mika, we need number of figures.

967
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:11,880
Speaker 5: So when we first opened our business in nineteen ninety seven,

968
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:14,680
Speaker 5: it was a two chaer salon, and within that first

969
00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:18,239
Speaker 5: year Tity and I were able to hire an assistant.

970
00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:22,640
Speaker 5: We made a profit in that first year, and we

971
00:43:22,719 --> 00:43:27,200
Speaker 5: tried to keep our prices at a premium and keep

972
00:43:27,239 --> 00:43:31,160
Speaker 5: our expenses low. With that formula, we were able to

973
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:33,759
Speaker 5: hire someone within the first year, and I think in

974
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:37,279
Speaker 5: the first year we went through maybe two or three

975
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:40,360
Speaker 5: assistants because there's a high high turn over an assistance.

976
00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:43,480
Speaker 5: And then over the years we always managed to have

977
00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:50,719
Speaker 5: an assistant in the salon. But when we started mixing product,

978
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:54,200
Speaker 5: Tit and I were paying attention to the signs, and

979
00:43:54,239 --> 00:43:57,280
Speaker 5: the signs for growth were, oh my god, our backs

980
00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:00,680
Speaker 5: are hurting, oh my god, we're staying up too late,

981
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:04,680
Speaker 5: and oh my god, people are ordering this stuff faster

982
00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:07,520
Speaker 5: than we can make it. So those signs, and we

983
00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:11,080
Speaker 5: call it common sense, we paid attention to them, and

984
00:44:11,120 --> 00:44:13,319
Speaker 5: that's when we understood we have to call someone in

985
00:44:13,360 --> 00:44:16,160
Speaker 5: here to help us. And before we knew it, we

986
00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:20,640
Speaker 5: were rocking every single floor in this brownstone, you know,

987
00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:24,080
Speaker 5: with some some some form of work, and we got

988
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,480
Speaker 5: our money's worth from this purchase that we made in

989
00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:30,520
Speaker 5: nineteen ninety seven in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

990
00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:31,920
Speaker 6: So that was a good investment.

991
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:35,960
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's where we held our business down.

992
00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:39,200
Speaker 4: Hold on to that with every ounce of strength have.

993
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: It reminds me of Newark, like how Newark is, Like

994
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:44,880
Speaker 1: that's where I live now, and I'm trying my best

995
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:47,000
Speaker 1: to buy property because I just don't want five to

996
00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:47,520
Speaker 1: ten years.

997
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:49,080
Speaker 3: I'm like, oh man, I should have.

998
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:54,320
Speaker 5: It's a great investment and particularly for you know entrepreneur,

999
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:57,799
Speaker 5: it's a wonderful place to start your business. And you

1000
00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:01,080
Speaker 5: can dual purpose that thing in so many way, triple purpose.

1001
00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:02,920
Speaker 5: So I encourage you to get your house.

1002
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:05,640
Speaker 2: I've got a question about that because in the book

1003
00:45:05,680 --> 00:45:08,480
Speaker 2: you in the same sort of section where you're talking

1004
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:09,200
Speaker 2: about buying the house.

1005
00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:10,640
Speaker 4: Right before that, you talk about.

1006
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,279
Speaker 2: A tax issue that you guys face, which I think

1007
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:15,800
Speaker 2: a lot of you know, new entrepreneurs can deal with.

1008
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:17,520
Speaker 2: Can you talk about the tax issues that you had

1009
00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:20,040
Speaker 2: early early on and then sort of where the buying

1010
00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:21,720
Speaker 2: property came into that later.

1011
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:25,560
Speaker 5: I honestly don't think TT and I had a real

1012
00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:29,680
Speaker 5: good understanding of how taxes work in this country.

1013
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:31,320
Speaker 6: And we also didn't.

1014
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:34,279
Speaker 5: Understand that we had a third partner. Tit and I

1015
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,120
Speaker 5: always thought that it was just she and I in business.

1016
00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,839
Speaker 5: And because we made a profit very early on, we

1017
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:44,239
Speaker 5: had to break the IRS off a piece, and that's

1018
00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:47,600
Speaker 5: a big, pretty big chunk. So in the beginning, I

1019
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,719
Speaker 5: think in the first year, we had to pay a

1020
00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:53,600
Speaker 5: tax bill of around seventeen thousand, and that was more

1021
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,239
Speaker 5: than she and I had ever paid the IRS. And

1022
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:59,439
Speaker 5: we were used to the IRS giving us money back.

1023
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:04,120
Speaker 5: And you know, I asked TT, because TT was t

1024
00:46:04,440 --> 00:46:08,239
Speaker 5: knew everything Mandy and Tiffany, I asked t T do

1025
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,640
Speaker 5: we have to always pay this kind of bill? And

1026
00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:13,399
Speaker 5: TV said, well, the more money you make, the more

1027
00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:16,120
Speaker 5: we have to pay in taxes. And that was new

1028
00:46:16,160 --> 00:46:19,640
Speaker 5: news to me, and in that moment, I realized that

1029
00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:23,520
Speaker 5: we had a third partner. So I said, TT, isn't

1030
00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:26,920
Speaker 5: there a thing where if you buy a house you

1031
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:30,759
Speaker 5: have some expenses, you can offset some of those taxes.

1032
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:33,879
Speaker 5: And she set up and then that's when we ran

1033
00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:37,560
Speaker 5: to Bedsty and we got that brownstone. But we purchased

1034
00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:41,120
Speaker 5: a brownstone as a result of this new understanding of

1035
00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:44,160
Speaker 5: how taxes work, and that it wasn't just she and

1036
00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:45,520
Speaker 5: I in business together.

1037
00:46:45,719 --> 00:46:47,320
Speaker 6: We had a third partner, the irs.

1038
00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:50,799
Speaker 2: So you were taking advantage of some tax breaks for

1039
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:53,280
Speaker 2: first time homeowners around that time, right.

1040
00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:57,839
Speaker 5: Yes, yes, And this is nineteen ninety nine when we

1041
00:46:57,880 --> 00:47:00,799
Speaker 5: bought our brownstone, when bedsty I was the hood.

1042
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:03,719
Speaker 2: At you guys, that's incredible. I mean, I don't think

1043
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:06,960
Speaker 2: a lot of people would have been so you know,

1044
00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:11,680
Speaker 2: scrappy or uh creative with when when faced with a

1045
00:47:11,760 --> 00:47:15,560
Speaker 2: challenge like that. I mean, to me, that's that's pretty extraordinary.

1046
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:18,640
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, it's it's it's it's a hurting thing.

1047
00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:21,000
Speaker 5: It's it hurts your feelings when you have to give

1048
00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:24,239
Speaker 5: up that money that you work so hard for, but

1049
00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:26,600
Speaker 5: you try to find ways to hold on to as

1050
00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:28,440
Speaker 5: much as you can. And that was what we were

1051
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:30,840
Speaker 5: thinking about. So I'm so glad we did it.

1052
00:47:32,320 --> 00:47:32,520
Speaker 3: Now.

1053
00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:34,400
Speaker 2: I talked about your dad earlier, and I wanted to

1054
00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:36,160
Speaker 2: bring him up because he's a big part of the book.

1055
00:47:36,200 --> 00:47:38,120
Speaker 2: He's a big part of your you know, he was

1056
00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:41,319
Speaker 2: your primary caretaker for a while. Him and and and

1057
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:44,040
Speaker 2: of course your your grandmother and the namesake of the company,

1058
00:47:44,480 --> 00:47:47,960
Speaker 2: Miss Jesse herself but I brought it up your dad

1059
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:51,719
Speaker 2: earlier because this resonated with me, because I feel like

1060
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:54,439
Speaker 2: I learned a lot from my parents' mistakes. And you

1061
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:57,960
Speaker 2: certainly talk about and are candid about watching your father

1062
00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:01,799
Speaker 2: struggle with his own you know, weaknesses or you know

1063
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,440
Speaker 2: his challenges that he faced, you know, as an entrepreneur.

1064
00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:07,560
Speaker 2: And what were some of the biggest lessons you learned

1065
00:48:07,600 --> 00:48:10,480
Speaker 2: from seeing him sort of half his ups and downs.

1066
00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:12,319
Speaker 2: He was in real estate for a while, and then

1067
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:14,799
Speaker 2: you guys, of course, you had that cleaning business, and that.

1068
00:48:14,719 --> 00:48:16,920
Speaker 4: Was sort of a struggle. And what did you take

1069
00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:20,160
Speaker 4: away from that and use as you were launching your

1070
00:48:20,160 --> 00:48:20,720
Speaker 4: own business.

1071
00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:26,360
Speaker 5: I learned that business is really about tenacity. I sat

1072
00:48:26,719 --> 00:48:31,920
Speaker 5: and witnessed my dad have aspirations and have dreams of

1073
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:36,560
Speaker 5: bettering himself, bettering us, and he kept trying, you know,

1074
00:48:36,760 --> 00:48:40,800
Speaker 5: my dad kept trying. My dad did not have formal training,

1075
00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:43,719
Speaker 5: but he had a desire to be free, and he

1076
00:48:43,840 --> 00:48:46,959
Speaker 5: had a desire to be his own boss. I think

1077
00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:51,799
Speaker 5: most of his aspirations, really, I think tity and I

1078
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:56,480
Speaker 5: were the fruit of his dreams and in his labor.

1079
00:48:57,000 --> 00:48:59,759
Speaker 5: I think for him, although he was not able to

1080
00:49:00,680 --> 00:49:03,799
Speaker 5: you know, that million dollar check or that million dollar deal.

1081
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:07,400
Speaker 5: My dad was grooming TT and I for us to

1082
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:12,880
Speaker 5: really hit home runs. So we saw a very proud

1083
00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:17,839
Speaker 5: smart man do his thing, but he wasn't perfect and

1084
00:49:17,920 --> 00:49:22,040
Speaker 5: we saw him make mistakes. Any entrepreneur can tell you,

1085
00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:26,040
Speaker 5: particularly the entrepreneurs who don't have formal training, it's not pretty,

1086
00:49:26,520 --> 00:49:29,319
Speaker 5: you know. So to be in business with, you know,

1087
00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:35,000
Speaker 5: your very strong minded dad, that wasn't always rosie for us,

1088
00:49:35,120 --> 00:49:39,760
Speaker 5: and you know sometimes our relationship suffered because of it.

1089
00:49:39,920 --> 00:49:45,239
Speaker 5: I could honestly tell you, in terms of training, there

1090
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:49,839
Speaker 5: is no better training course than TT and I could

1091
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:53,000
Speaker 5: have taken or did take then for us to work

1092
00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:56,120
Speaker 5: with our dad. He sparred with us and he trained

1093
00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:59,000
Speaker 5: us to be the best. So you know, I consider

1094
00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:01,879
Speaker 5: TCK and I to be very fortunate and we love him.

1095
00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:04,160
Speaker 5: He's an amazing man.

1096
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:08,320
Speaker 1: What advice do you give, like, because my biggest struggle

1097
00:50:08,440 --> 00:50:12,200
Speaker 1: is work life balance. I'm recently engaged, you know, and

1098
00:50:12,239 --> 00:50:14,680
Speaker 1: it's just like everyone's always pulling at you. Me and

1099
00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:17,160
Speaker 1: my best friend just had an argument like two days ago.

1100
00:50:17,239 --> 00:50:20,800
Speaker 1: I totally forgot that my god son on his birthday

1101
00:50:20,920 --> 00:50:23,400
Speaker 1: and she's like, what the hell Tiffany, and I just

1102
00:50:23,400 --> 00:50:25,719
Speaker 1: feel like I'm always stretched, like, well, how do you

1103
00:50:26,680 --> 00:50:30,280
Speaker 1: manage it all? You know, and without making yourself crazy

1104
00:50:30,320 --> 00:50:31,560
Speaker 1: or feel guilty all the time.

1105
00:50:32,640 --> 00:50:36,719
Speaker 5: I think something's going to give, and really it will

1106
00:50:36,760 --> 00:50:41,120
Speaker 5: go in order by itself. It really falls. It really

1107
00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:44,439
Speaker 5: balls down to what's important. What's most important to you.

1108
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:48,120
Speaker 5: If your boyfriend or your fiance is most important, that's

1109
00:50:48,160 --> 00:50:50,480
Speaker 5: going to get most of your attention. If your business

1110
00:50:50,560 --> 00:50:52,880
Speaker 5: is most important, that's going to get most of your attention.

1111
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:56,040
Speaker 5: I think for you, you know, in terms of well

1112
00:50:56,080 --> 00:50:57,919
Speaker 5: what do I do and how I do? I think

1113
00:50:58,040 --> 00:51:02,719
Speaker 5: using common sense is the key. And you mentioned the

1114
00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:06,279
Speaker 5: word balance. Balance is a wonderful tool, you know, to

1115
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,520
Speaker 5: put in play. But really it's about what's important to

1116
00:51:09,600 --> 00:51:12,520
Speaker 5: you and then you'll be able to prioritize how you

1117
00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:14,919
Speaker 5: want to handle things. So I think you should pay

1118
00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:18,400
Speaker 5: attention to what's important and then you'll be able to

1119
00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:19,560
Speaker 5: put everything in order.

1120
00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:22,640
Speaker 4: Do you have I mean you have a you have

1121
00:51:22,680 --> 00:51:23,000
Speaker 4: a son?

1122
00:51:23,120 --> 00:51:23,279
Speaker 3: Right?

1123
00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:25,000
Speaker 4: He's a how old teenager?

1124
00:51:25,080 --> 00:51:25,200
Speaker 3: Right?

1125
00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:26,480
Speaker 6: He's a teenager.

1126
00:51:26,520 --> 00:51:27,360
Speaker 5: He's sixteen.

1127
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:29,440
Speaker 6: He'll be seventeen in May.

1128
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:33,360
Speaker 2: And May, well, happy birthday to him.

1129
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:35,360
Speaker 6: Yeah, he's proud of his seventeen.

1130
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:36,920
Speaker 4: Oh God, good luck with that.

1131
00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:40,319
Speaker 2: I wanted to ask you because I and I want

1132
00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:42,080
Speaker 2: to be sensitive, because I know your sister. You guys

1133
00:51:42,120 --> 00:51:45,640
Speaker 2: were obviously very close, and she passed away only a

1134
00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:48,600
Speaker 2: couple or a few years ago, but you you talk

1135
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:50,319
Speaker 2: about in the book, you know she was more than

1136
00:51:50,440 --> 00:51:52,760
Speaker 2: your business partner and your sister. She was a co parent,

1137
00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:56,160
Speaker 2: she was a you know, a partner, and you know,

1138
00:51:56,239 --> 00:51:58,840
Speaker 2: I would love to sort of ask you if you

1139
00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:02,279
Speaker 2: have advice for people out there who are you know,

1140
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:04,560
Speaker 2: a lot of people go into business with family or

1141
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:09,000
Speaker 2: with you know, best friends or partners, and sometimes the

1142
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:12,600
Speaker 2: worst can happen and one of you may no longer

1143
00:52:12,680 --> 00:52:14,800
Speaker 2: be able to be a part of the company, or

1144
00:52:14,880 --> 00:52:18,839
Speaker 2: may unfortunately something may happen. Is there anything you can,

1145
00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:23,200
Speaker 2: you know, learn from your experience of you know, of

1146
00:52:23,239 --> 00:52:25,360
Speaker 2: your sister's passing that you'd like to pass on to

1147
00:52:25,560 --> 00:52:30,080
Speaker 2: entrepreneurs and how they can not prepare but protect themselves,

1148
00:52:30,200 --> 00:52:32,280
Speaker 2: or you know, any advice for what to do after

1149
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:35,279
Speaker 2: something like that happens that you you know, think might

1150
00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:36,880
Speaker 2: be useful or that you found useful.

1151
00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:44,160
Speaker 5: Yes, Teeth and I built our business together, so there

1152
00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:47,800
Speaker 5: wasn't really one area that she or I didn't know about.

1153
00:52:48,440 --> 00:52:52,480
Speaker 5: So in Tit's passing, It's not a new experience for

1154
00:52:52,520 --> 00:52:54,960
Speaker 5: me to do some of the carry out some of

1155
00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:57,480
Speaker 5: the duties that I would normally do if Tit were

1156
00:52:57,520 --> 00:53:01,480
Speaker 5: here in her absence, just so so fortunate. I'm just

1157
00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:04,360
Speaker 5: so fortunate to be able to carry that on. So

1158
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:07,520
Speaker 5: I'm really just doing what I've always done, just more

1159
00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:11,640
Speaker 5: of it. So that that was that was something that

1160
00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:16,000
Speaker 5: army with being able to carry on the business in

1161
00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:18,520
Speaker 5: her absence. But I just wanted to back up a

1162
00:53:18,600 --> 00:53:21,520
Speaker 5: moment before, you know, you get to that in choosing

1163
00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:24,440
Speaker 5: your partner, you touch a little bit on family businesses

1164
00:53:24,480 --> 00:53:29,400
Speaker 5: and partnerships. You know, Mandy, family doesn't always guarantee that

1165
00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:31,640
Speaker 5: you're going to get a good partner. You know, we

1166
00:53:31,800 --> 00:53:34,360
Speaker 5: just spoke with Tiffany, and you know, maybe out of

1167
00:53:34,360 --> 00:53:36,600
Speaker 5: the four sisters, one of the sisters might be a

1168
00:53:36,640 --> 00:53:41,040
Speaker 5: better business partner than than the other. It's just like that.

1169
00:53:41,160 --> 00:53:44,040
Speaker 5: It doesn't mean that anyone's bad or good. It's just

1170
00:53:44,200 --> 00:53:48,880
Speaker 5: really chemistry, and you know, choosing a partner, you have

1171
00:53:49,000 --> 00:53:53,440
Speaker 5: to find someone that you have chemistry with, someone who

1172
00:53:54,239 --> 00:53:57,600
Speaker 5: you trust, someone who there's a nice harmony going on,

1173
00:53:57,680 --> 00:54:00,479
Speaker 5: and I think from their decisions can be made.

1174
00:54:00,640 --> 00:54:02,480
Speaker 6: Sometimes the decisions will go your way.

1175
00:54:02,440 --> 00:54:05,160
Speaker 5: Sometimes it will go your partner's way, and then you know,

1176
00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:08,240
Speaker 5: sometimes you guys will both make decisions together.

1177
00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:09,600
Speaker 6: So I think that's.

1178
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:12,799
Speaker 5: Really important when you're choosing a partner, and then all

1179
00:54:12,840 --> 00:54:16,759
Speaker 5: the other stuff in terms of formalizing your business or

1180
00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:20,040
Speaker 5: you know, maybe disputes might come along, you know, later

1181
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:22,440
Speaker 5: on down the line. I think those things can be

1182
00:54:22,480 --> 00:54:27,040
Speaker 5: worked out. But choosing a business partner is kind of

1183
00:54:27,080 --> 00:54:30,080
Speaker 5: like choosing a boyfriend, you know, or a spouse. You

1184
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:32,600
Speaker 5: really want to find someone you like and someone you

1185
00:54:33,440 --> 00:54:35,080
Speaker 5: have good harmony and chemistry with.

1186
00:54:35,880 --> 00:54:38,239
Speaker 2: So we need to we've skipped around, I feel like

1187
00:54:38,280 --> 00:54:40,880
Speaker 2: with your story, and we haven't. Even so, you've started

1188
00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:43,239
Speaker 2: as a hairstylist in your salon, like you said, a

1189
00:54:43,280 --> 00:54:44,160
Speaker 2: two chair salon.

1190
00:54:44,239 --> 00:54:47,240
Speaker 4: You and t t when was it that? I mean, you.

1191
00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:49,960
Speaker 2: Weren't making your own products from the beginning, So how

1192
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:52,600
Speaker 2: many years when was it that you started making the

1193
00:54:52,680 --> 00:54:55,680
Speaker 2: Miss Jesse's hair care products? And how the heck do

1194
00:54:55,719 --> 00:54:58,040
Speaker 2: you just do that? Do you just mix it up

1195
00:54:58,040 --> 00:54:58,640
Speaker 2: in your kitchen?

1196
00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:02,279
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's a question, Titty, and I bought our brownstone

1197
00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:07,200
Speaker 5: in nineteen ninety nine. I had an aha moment at

1198
00:55:07,239 --> 00:55:12,080
Speaker 5: bath time with my son, probably in two thousand, during

1199
00:55:12,080 --> 00:55:15,160
Speaker 5: the year that he was first born. I couldn't maintain

1200
00:55:15,480 --> 00:55:20,080
Speaker 5: my straight styled hair straight and that started a conversation

1201
00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:23,280
Speaker 5: with our clients who were coming to our house. Because

1202
00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:25,960
Speaker 5: we'd gotten kicked out of a salon, out of our

1203
00:55:25,960 --> 00:55:29,440
Speaker 5: two chier business that I mentioned earlier, we had to

1204
00:55:29,520 --> 00:55:33,440
Speaker 5: refuge to our house. That was an opportunity for us, Mandy,

1205
00:55:33,600 --> 00:55:38,280
Speaker 5: because we were pressed, we needed to pay our mortgage.

1206
00:55:38,320 --> 00:55:42,120
Speaker 5: I was a single parent, and we were trying our

1207
00:55:42,160 --> 00:55:46,520
Speaker 5: best to think outside the box. That opportunity came at

1208
00:55:46,560 --> 00:55:49,880
Speaker 5: bath time. I was always a great hairstylist, so I

1209
00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:53,479
Speaker 5: got very good at styling curly, kinky and wavy hair,

1210
00:55:53,960 --> 00:55:57,000
Speaker 5: and quickly I became an expert. But at the time,

1211
00:55:57,200 --> 00:56:00,960
Speaker 5: there were no Miss Jesse's and Target, Walmart, Walgreen, CBS.

1212
00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:03,400
Speaker 5: So what we did was we took it to our

1213
00:56:03,480 --> 00:56:06,680
Speaker 5: kitchen table the way we saw our grandmother do as

1214
00:56:06,719 --> 00:56:09,520
Speaker 5: she made things from scratch, you know. Teky and I

1215
00:56:09,560 --> 00:56:11,879
Speaker 5: would sit there and mix a little bit of this

1216
00:56:11,920 --> 00:56:12,840
Speaker 5: with a little bit of that.

1217
00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:13,760
Speaker 6: We would use.

1218
00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:16,480
Speaker 5: Products that were on the shelf and add this and

1219
00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:20,960
Speaker 5: add that to it. But it was Teethy, around three

1220
00:56:20,960 --> 00:56:24,160
Speaker 5: o'clock in the morning that cracked that nut and came

1221
00:56:24,200 --> 00:56:27,520
Speaker 5: out with curly pudding. She showed me what we would

1222
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:31,520
Speaker 5: all know to be as curly pudding. And that product

1223
00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:35,279
Speaker 5: was a wonderful product because it did everything it said

1224
00:56:35,280 --> 00:56:37,560
Speaker 5: it was going to do. And the good news is

1225
00:56:37,600 --> 00:56:41,600
Speaker 5: it did it without chemicals. So that was a new discovery,

1226
00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:45,640
Speaker 5: particularly for the woman with the tighter coil curl. And

1227
00:56:45,719 --> 00:56:48,759
Speaker 5: not only were Teit and I, you know, whipping up

1228
00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:52,759
Speaker 5: curl magic at our kitchen table, but before we knew it,

1229
00:56:52,840 --> 00:56:55,840
Speaker 5: not only were we you know, offering solutions for women

1230
00:56:55,880 --> 00:56:59,160
Speaker 5: in their hair, we realized that we were helping to

1231
00:56:59,400 --> 00:57:04,000
Speaker 5: restore or maybe some esteem that maybe had been bruised

1232
00:57:04,040 --> 00:57:08,879
Speaker 5: over the years, either intentionally or unintentionally, you know, and

1233
00:57:08,920 --> 00:57:11,200
Speaker 5: we were told that maybe our hair was bad and

1234
00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:14,000
Speaker 5: not good. So we were doing a lot of things

1235
00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:17,080
Speaker 5: at once, and it was a labor of love, and

1236
00:57:17,440 --> 00:57:20,480
Speaker 5: slowly but surely, you know, we built our business and

1237
00:57:20,520 --> 00:57:22,920
Speaker 5: tried to do the best work we could with service

1238
00:57:22,960 --> 00:57:23,520
Speaker 5: and product.

1239
00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:26,240
Speaker 1: You know what really touched me is when I went natural,

1240
00:57:26,320 --> 00:57:28,240
Speaker 1: like nobody was really going now and I have like

1241
00:57:28,360 --> 00:57:32,120
Speaker 1: my parents are both Nigerian, so I have like really tight,

1242
00:57:32,280 --> 00:57:35,880
Speaker 1: kinky curls like you know. And when I went natural,

1243
00:57:35,920 --> 00:57:38,480
Speaker 1: there was like I was just literally just typing stuff

1244
00:57:38,480 --> 00:57:41,520
Speaker 1: on my computer, using honey in my hair, using anything

1245
00:57:41,600 --> 00:57:44,480
Speaker 1: that you know, anyone you know shared I think it.

1246
00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:48,080
Speaker 1: Like I said, it was Naturality was literally the only website,

1247
00:57:48,160 --> 00:57:50,600
Speaker 1: and so I'd be like making like products in my

1248
00:57:51,120 --> 00:57:53,439
Speaker 1: kitchen and then my hair would look crazy, and I'm.

1249
00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:54,320
Speaker 3: Like, I don't know what to do.

1250
00:57:54,440 --> 00:57:57,880
Speaker 1: And when I couldn't believe when I saw your products,

1251
00:57:57,960 --> 00:57:59,160
Speaker 1: I thought, wait.

1252
00:57:59,000 --> 00:58:02,040
Speaker 3: Someone's actually making something like for us.

1253
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:05,120
Speaker 1: It blew me away, honestly, and it's it's surreal to

1254
00:58:05,160 --> 00:58:06,880
Speaker 1: have you here because and I just want to thank

1255
00:58:06,920 --> 00:58:09,560
Speaker 1: you for that, because when I went natural, people would

1256
00:58:09,600 --> 00:58:10,080
Speaker 1: tell me why.

1257
00:58:10,120 --> 00:58:12,000
Speaker 3: I remember my mom telling me, I guess you never

1258
00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:12,720
Speaker 3: want to get married.

1259
00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:14,400
Speaker 6: Huh oh no.

1260
00:58:14,320 --> 00:58:16,400
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was like really mommy, because you know, like

1261
00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:19,280
Speaker 1: natural hair was not. It wasn't like now everyone's doing it,

1262
00:58:19,280 --> 00:58:22,640
Speaker 1: it's so cool, But back then it wasn't something that

1263
00:58:22,640 --> 00:58:25,720
Speaker 1: that you know, that women did without ridicule. You know,

1264
00:58:25,760 --> 00:58:27,880
Speaker 1: women with older black women would stop me on the

1265
00:58:27,920 --> 00:58:29,640
Speaker 1: street and say baby, You're so cute.

1266
00:58:29,680 --> 00:58:31,280
Speaker 3: Why would you do that to your hair? I'm like, dude,

1267
00:58:31,280 --> 00:58:32,720
Speaker 3: what it literally grows like this?

1268
00:58:33,040 --> 00:58:35,760
Speaker 4: Like talk to God?

1269
00:58:36,320 --> 00:58:38,800
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, exactly, bring it up with Jesus, you know,

1270
00:58:39,200 --> 00:58:42,680
Speaker 1: so like what I mean? What made When did you

1271
00:58:42,760 --> 00:58:46,640
Speaker 1: kind of realize, wow, so many women are are needing this.

1272
00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:48,200
Speaker 1: Was there a moment when you were just like I

1273
00:58:48,200 --> 00:58:51,280
Speaker 1: remember like a watching this like story with Lisa Price

1274
00:58:51,320 --> 00:58:54,840
Speaker 1: when she realized whoa that like Oprah had ordered her products?

1275
00:58:55,000 --> 00:58:57,000
Speaker 1: When did you realize, like, wow, we really hit on

1276
00:58:57,040 --> 00:59:00,000
Speaker 1: a nerve here that there's nothing like this out here

1277
00:59:00,040 --> 00:59:01,480
Speaker 1: for women with hair like ours.

1278
00:59:02,080 --> 00:59:05,280
Speaker 5: Well, our products came out during the time that women

1279
00:59:05,600 --> 00:59:09,560
Speaker 5: just started a conversation online, and at the time, they

1280
00:59:09,600 --> 00:59:12,000
Speaker 5: were called chat rooms, So you know, some of the

1281
00:59:12,040 --> 00:59:16,840
Speaker 5: sites you visited are where many of our customers came from.

1282
00:59:17,320 --> 00:59:20,880
Speaker 5: And because women were chatting, if we got a customer here,

1283
00:59:21,360 --> 00:59:24,440
Speaker 5: we would actually post before and after pictures and we

1284
00:59:24,480 --> 00:59:27,080
Speaker 5: would share that information and then they would share it

1285
00:59:27,120 --> 00:59:30,360
Speaker 5: and would go up on these message boards and before

1286
00:59:30,440 --> 00:59:33,160
Speaker 5: you know it, before we knew it, our phone was

1287
00:59:33,280 --> 00:59:36,439
Speaker 5: ringing so much we couldn't you know, there wasn't enough

1288
00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:38,600
Speaker 5: hours in the day to take on everyone.

1289
00:59:38,760 --> 00:59:41,440
Speaker 6: So the booking, you know, was way.

1290
00:59:41,280 --> 00:59:44,760
Speaker 5: Far out, so we can accommodate all the interests. But

1291
00:59:45,320 --> 00:59:48,680
Speaker 5: you know, tity and I understood that women with a

1292
00:59:48,720 --> 00:59:52,160
Speaker 5: tighter coil curl. There was nothing for her in the market.

1293
00:59:52,200 --> 00:59:53,240
Speaker 5: There was nothing.

1294
00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:53,920
Speaker 6: Speaking to her.

1295
00:59:54,040 --> 00:59:57,080
Speaker 5: There were no real, you know, solutions. She had to

1296
00:59:57,120 --> 00:59:59,560
Speaker 5: go online and try to find someone to have a

1297
00:59:59,560 --> 01:00:03,360
Speaker 5: conversation with. And that bad time. It just it was

1298
01:00:03,480 --> 01:00:04,280
Speaker 5: right on time.

1299
01:00:04,480 --> 01:00:04,720
Speaker 3: You know.

1300
01:00:05,520 --> 01:00:10,840
Speaker 5: We didn't intentionally, you know, set out to create products

1301
01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:14,480
Speaker 5: like this. It just kind of happened while a conversation

1302
01:00:14,680 --> 01:00:17,360
Speaker 5: was going on, and also during the time that the

1303
01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:20,800
Speaker 5: Internet really just started to kick off. So I think

1304
01:00:20,840 --> 01:00:24,560
Speaker 5: we were blessed and we were just armed with the

1305
01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:28,480
Speaker 5: right information and the right intention and I think that

1306
01:00:28,560 --> 01:00:31,080
Speaker 5: combination put us in a position where we were able

1307
01:00:31,120 --> 01:00:31,760
Speaker 5: to be helpful.

1308
01:00:33,000 --> 01:00:35,840
Speaker 2: Now I want to talk a little bit about the

1309
01:00:35,840 --> 01:00:39,480
Speaker 2: business side of things. So you create this amazing curly putting,

1310
01:00:40,000 --> 01:00:42,800
Speaker 2: you are excited, you've maybe you know, went out and

1311
01:00:42,840 --> 01:00:45,200
Speaker 2: got some packages and you started bottling it up and

1312
01:00:45,720 --> 01:00:47,520
Speaker 2: sharing it around. But how do you go from that?

1313
01:00:47,560 --> 01:00:50,560
Speaker 2: I mean, did you need investments eventually? When did you

1314
01:00:50,600 --> 01:00:53,360
Speaker 2: go big leagues? And how did you sort of bootstrap

1315
01:00:54,400 --> 01:00:56,760
Speaker 2: the venture because, like you said, you had a sun

1316
01:00:56,800 --> 01:01:00,280
Speaker 2: to raise, you had a mortgage, you had bills. Yeah,

1317
01:01:00,280 --> 01:01:02,400
Speaker 2: can you kind of speak about that.

1318
01:01:03,160 --> 01:01:03,440
Speaker 6: Yep.

1319
01:01:03,560 --> 01:01:08,240
Speaker 5: So early on, Mandy TT and I learned a good lesson.

1320
01:01:08,320 --> 01:01:09,480
Speaker 6: It was a hard lesson.

1321
01:01:10,000 --> 01:01:13,600
Speaker 5: We learned that it is in our best interest to

1322
01:01:14,040 --> 01:01:18,840
Speaker 5: have a manageable business. When we first experienced our our

1323
01:01:19,640 --> 01:01:23,640
Speaker 5: first success in the two chair salon, we expanded to

1324
01:01:23,720 --> 01:01:27,880
Speaker 5: a salon around two blocks up. We had two blocks

1325
01:01:27,960 --> 01:01:30,720
Speaker 5: up and we ended up getting a place that was

1326
01:01:30,760 --> 01:01:34,320
Speaker 5: three sides, three times a size, three times the rent,

1327
01:01:34,840 --> 01:01:37,640
Speaker 5: and it was just too fast and too soon, and

1328
01:01:37,680 --> 01:01:40,400
Speaker 5: we lost it all. And that's we lost our business

1329
01:01:40,480 --> 01:01:43,600
Speaker 5: and we had to refuge to this brownstone. I mean,

1330
01:01:43,600 --> 01:01:46,880
Speaker 5: that failure later turned into a success. But there was

1331
01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:50,840
Speaker 5: a lesson that always stuck with us, and we understood

1332
01:01:50,840 --> 01:01:53,840
Speaker 5: that we needed to have a manageable business. So what

1333
01:01:53,880 --> 01:01:56,360
Speaker 5: we did was we kept we put a premium on

1334
01:01:56,360 --> 01:01:59,800
Speaker 5: our services and our products, and we tried to keep

1335
01:02:00,080 --> 01:02:03,280
Speaker 5: our expenses down. So TK and I did a lot

1336
01:02:03,280 --> 01:02:06,960
Speaker 5: of sacrificing. Although I was a single parent, you know,

1337
01:02:07,360 --> 01:02:10,720
Speaker 5: TT and I we were roommates. We shared the same car,

1338
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:15,360
Speaker 5: we shared clothes. TT co parented with me during the

1339
01:02:15,440 --> 01:02:18,919
Speaker 5: time in the nineties. That was a very exciting time

1340
01:02:18,960 --> 01:02:21,640
Speaker 5: in New York City. Many of my friends were out

1341
01:02:21,680 --> 01:02:24,840
Speaker 5: at the party, but you know, TK and I stayed back.

1342
01:02:24,960 --> 01:02:28,480
Speaker 5: We reinvested whatever money we made back into the business.

1343
01:02:28,960 --> 01:02:32,560
Speaker 5: And the business happened to be in the brownstone and

1344
01:02:32,640 --> 01:02:35,240
Speaker 5: the house that we lived in, so we were able

1345
01:02:35,280 --> 01:02:38,400
Speaker 5: to dual purpose many things, and we were able to

1346
01:02:38,440 --> 01:02:42,800
Speaker 5: be resourceful until finally we were able to hire more

1347
01:02:42,840 --> 01:02:45,600
Speaker 5: people to help us with our business. But that in

1348
01:02:45,680 --> 01:02:50,080
Speaker 5: combination with us creating a winning product and also creating

1349
01:02:50,160 --> 01:02:54,200
Speaker 5: real solutions that worked for people like Tiffany and for

1350
01:02:54,440 --> 01:02:57,760
Speaker 5: people like Miko and TD and Mandy. You know, there's

1351
01:02:57,800 --> 01:03:00,600
Speaker 5: so many of us out here. And that's the thing

1352
01:03:00,680 --> 01:03:04,040
Speaker 5: about here. With texture, it's not just one way. There's

1353
01:03:04,080 --> 01:03:07,840
Speaker 5: something for everyone. And I think God just gave us

1354
01:03:07,920 --> 01:03:11,640
Speaker 5: the magic formula to come up with something that was

1355
01:03:11,680 --> 01:03:16,280
Speaker 5: going to be helpful. All those ingredients together served us

1356
01:03:16,320 --> 01:03:20,160
Speaker 5: well and we were able to build our business slowly

1357
01:03:20,240 --> 01:03:23,760
Speaker 5: but surely. Now. You know I talked to you about,

1358
01:03:24,280 --> 01:03:27,800
Speaker 5: you know, manageability. You know, by the time that we

1359
01:03:27,880 --> 01:03:31,440
Speaker 5: partnered up with large retailers, we understood that it was

1360
01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:35,960
Speaker 5: important for us to grow into the business slowly. A

1361
01:03:36,000 --> 01:03:39,280
Speaker 5: lot of us don't understand that when you partner up

1362
01:03:39,280 --> 01:03:42,880
Speaker 5: with a wal Mart or Walgreens, it can be very expensive,

1363
01:03:43,680 --> 01:03:47,800
Speaker 5: you know, to partner up with the retailer like that.

1364
01:03:47,920 --> 01:03:49,560
Speaker 5: You know, you may have to take out a loan

1365
01:03:50,000 --> 01:03:52,960
Speaker 5: in order to make you know, enough curly putting to

1366
01:03:53,080 --> 01:03:57,080
Speaker 5: fill all seven thousand stores. So growing into the business

1367
01:03:57,120 --> 01:04:00,960
Speaker 5: slowly was something that we were being very mind full of,

1368
01:04:01,360 --> 01:04:04,320
Speaker 5: and I think that was part of the key to

1369
01:04:04,520 --> 01:04:08,640
Speaker 5: us keeping our shirt on as we learned this new business.

1370
01:04:09,240 --> 01:04:12,520
Speaker 5: So Tity and I were excellent at making curly pudding,

1371
01:04:12,840 --> 01:04:17,320
Speaker 5: excellent at styling hair, but knew nothing about dealing in

1372
01:04:17,560 --> 01:04:23,280
Speaker 5: in retail. So what an education there? But taking baby

1373
01:04:23,360 --> 01:04:26,360
Speaker 5: steps really helped us out a lot.

1374
01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:30,280
Speaker 1: What would you say, like was your biggest mistake, Like,

1375
01:04:30,320 --> 01:04:32,040
Speaker 1: you know, a mistake that and then how do you

1376
01:04:32,040 --> 01:04:35,080
Speaker 1: get over those things? Like because I think especially with women,

1377
01:04:35,200 --> 01:04:37,880
Speaker 1: we make these mistakes and then you know, if you're

1378
01:04:37,920 --> 01:04:40,280
Speaker 1: starting a business and you let that be the thing

1379
01:04:40,320 --> 01:04:43,720
Speaker 1: that makes you stop. So what was your biggest challenge

1380
01:04:43,760 --> 01:04:45,800
Speaker 1: that you had or one of them? And how do

1381
01:04:45,880 --> 01:04:47,960
Speaker 1: you get past when you have these challenges.

1382
01:04:49,000 --> 01:04:52,960
Speaker 5: I think our biggest challenge happened very early on when

1383
01:04:52,960 --> 01:04:56,040
Speaker 5: we lost our business. I mean, you have to understand

1384
01:04:56,080 --> 01:04:59,240
Speaker 5: as an entrepreneur, that is the ultimate form of failure

1385
01:04:59,640 --> 01:05:02,960
Speaker 5: when you lose your business. So that happening to us

1386
01:05:03,000 --> 01:05:07,400
Speaker 5: early on was memorable to us. But along the way, Tiffany,

1387
01:05:07,520 --> 01:05:11,400
Speaker 5: there were so many We stumbled a lot. You know,

1388
01:05:11,440 --> 01:05:14,520
Speaker 5: we had to learn a new business. And one thing

1389
01:05:14,560 --> 01:05:17,840
Speaker 5: that comes to mind is when we got the opportunity

1390
01:05:17,920 --> 01:05:23,560
Speaker 5: to be in our first largest retailer. We ended up

1391
01:05:23,760 --> 01:05:27,560
Speaker 5: going in and we were so excited we signed every

1392
01:05:27,640 --> 01:05:33,440
Speaker 5: contract with no attorney present and yeah, and you know,

1393
01:05:35,160 --> 01:05:38,600
Speaker 5: that industry has been an industry that's you know, everything

1394
01:05:38,720 --> 01:05:42,480
Speaker 5: is pretty much in place, and people have ways in

1395
01:05:42,560 --> 01:05:46,200
Speaker 5: which they've they've they've done business and who are tity

1396
01:05:46,280 --> 01:05:51,480
Speaker 5: and I to come along and say anything. But we

1397
01:05:51,720 --> 01:05:57,040
Speaker 5: managed to create a space where we can survive while

1398
01:05:57,080 --> 01:06:01,040
Speaker 5: doing business with some of our large retailers, and we

1399
01:06:01,040 --> 01:06:04,080
Speaker 5: were able to go back in and renegotiate terms that

1400
01:06:04,360 --> 01:06:07,680
Speaker 5: made sense for a small business of our size, and

1401
01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:10,880
Speaker 5: I think that, you know, those terms made all the

1402
01:06:10,960 --> 01:06:13,720
Speaker 5: difference when it came time for us to do business

1403
01:06:14,040 --> 01:06:15,280
Speaker 5: with our new partners.

1404
01:06:16,320 --> 01:06:19,000
Speaker 2: When was the first time you saw Miss Jesse's in

1405
01:06:19,040 --> 01:06:21,040
Speaker 2: a store?

1406
01:06:21,080 --> 01:06:24,160
Speaker 5: Okay, so the first time I saw Miss Jesse's in

1407
01:06:24,240 --> 01:06:27,760
Speaker 5: a store. It was actually a store that Tt and

1408
01:06:27,800 --> 01:06:31,760
Speaker 5: I chose. People were ringing our doorbells, like late in

1409
01:06:31,800 --> 01:06:34,600
Speaker 5: the evening, early in the morning when we lived here

1410
01:06:34,600 --> 01:06:35,400
Speaker 5: in Brooklyn on.

1411
01:06:35,400 --> 01:06:36,440
Speaker 6: On Hancock Street.

1412
01:06:36,880 --> 01:06:40,400
Speaker 5: So we needed to find a place a retailer, and

1413
01:06:40,440 --> 01:06:43,959
Speaker 5: we ended up going to this place called Soda Finn

1414
01:06:44,040 --> 01:06:46,840
Speaker 5: in the Fort Green section of Brooklyn. But it was

1415
01:06:46,840 --> 01:06:50,440
Speaker 5: a thrift store, a cool thrift store on decalb Avenue,

1416
01:06:50,880 --> 01:06:54,040
Speaker 5: and that was the first place that sold our product.

1417
01:06:54,480 --> 01:06:57,440
Speaker 5: Then there was a store that I loved. It was

1418
01:06:57,520 --> 01:07:01,520
Speaker 5: called it is called Ricky's. And Ricky's had everything from

1419
01:07:01,520 --> 01:07:06,880
Speaker 5: like cost Halloween costumes to cool makeup or rare you know,

1420
01:07:07,400 --> 01:07:10,160
Speaker 5: a hairstyling products. It had a little bit of everything.

1421
01:07:10,720 --> 01:07:13,720
Speaker 5: And one day we went in there. I had my son,

1422
01:07:13,800 --> 01:07:16,360
Speaker 5: he was around five, and we went in there and

1423
01:07:16,520 --> 01:07:21,080
Speaker 5: we bum rushed the stock man and we asked them

1424
01:07:21,120 --> 01:07:24,400
Speaker 5: why he didn't have Miss Jesse's there, and we asked

1425
01:07:24,440 --> 01:07:25,520
Speaker 5: him to hook us up.

1426
01:07:26,040 --> 01:07:29,080
Speaker 4: And he did not, telling him that it was your product.

1427
01:07:29,280 --> 01:07:31,919
Speaker 5: Oh, we told him this is he did, Yeah, hook

1428
01:07:31,920 --> 01:07:33,880
Speaker 5: a sister up, we want to be in here.

1429
01:07:34,280 --> 01:07:35,400
Speaker 6: Who do we talk to?

1430
01:07:36,040 --> 01:07:36,640
Speaker 3: Let us know?

1431
01:07:36,960 --> 01:07:40,200
Speaker 5: Blah blah blah. And he told us everything he knew

1432
01:07:40,440 --> 01:07:43,040
Speaker 5: and we gave him a case of product and we

1433
01:07:43,160 --> 01:07:46,400
Speaker 5: told him to pass it on and he did. Next thing,

1434
01:07:46,440 --> 01:07:49,400
Speaker 5: you know, we got a call and apparently Ricky's they

1435
01:07:49,440 --> 01:07:53,360
Speaker 5: had a meeting every Tuesday where they analyzed you know,

1436
01:07:54,160 --> 01:07:57,640
Speaker 5: new product or you know, had those kinds of meetings,

1437
01:07:57,680 --> 01:08:01,880
Speaker 5: and they made their first order and they had twenty

1438
01:08:01,920 --> 01:08:04,720
Speaker 5: five stores. So that was huge for us. That was

1439
01:08:04,760 --> 01:08:08,160
Speaker 5: our first large distribution. So that was our next step

1440
01:08:08,160 --> 01:08:12,280
Speaker 5: of growth. And then ultimately when we saw our product

1441
01:08:12,360 --> 01:08:16,240
Speaker 5: on the end cap in Target at the Atlantic Terminal

1442
01:08:17,880 --> 01:08:21,880
Speaker 5: location in Brooklyn, that was that was larger than life

1443
01:08:21,880 --> 01:08:24,320
Speaker 5: for us, and you know, the rest is history.

1444
01:08:24,680 --> 01:08:26,559
Speaker 2: Do you feel like it's been a couple, I mean

1445
01:08:26,600 --> 01:08:31,120
Speaker 2: nearly two decades since you know the beginning of Miss Jesse's.

1446
01:08:31,520 --> 01:08:33,360
Speaker 2: Do you feel like you're in a place now where

1447
01:08:33,400 --> 01:08:37,040
Speaker 2: you are you're comfortable financially, you don't have to worry anymore,

1448
01:08:37,160 --> 01:08:41,440
Speaker 2: or do you sort of still feel that early you know, entrepreneurial.

1449
01:08:42,920 --> 01:08:44,720
Speaker 2: I don't know if anxiety is too strong of a word,

1450
01:08:44,760 --> 01:08:47,080
Speaker 2: But yeah, where's your what's your mindset like now with

1451
01:08:47,200 --> 01:08:47,719
Speaker 2: the company?

1452
01:08:48,280 --> 01:08:48,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, so.

1453
01:08:50,400 --> 01:08:51,959
Speaker 6: It goes, It goes in phases.

1454
01:08:52,040 --> 01:08:57,160
Speaker 5: There's days I feel like a brand new entrepreneur and

1455
01:08:57,240 --> 01:09:00,200
Speaker 5: I feel really scrappy, and then there's other days is

1456
01:09:00,240 --> 01:09:02,519
Speaker 5: where I realized that, you know, Tky and I have

1457
01:09:02,680 --> 01:09:05,639
Speaker 5: put in the hard work and today's a day where

1458
01:09:05,680 --> 01:09:08,960
Speaker 5: we're to enjoy the fruits of our labor. So it

1459
01:09:08,960 --> 01:09:11,920
Speaker 5: all depends on the day. And I mean, what a

1460
01:09:11,960 --> 01:09:13,439
Speaker 5: wonderful position to be in.

1461
01:09:13,520 --> 01:09:13,760
Speaker 3: There.

1462
01:09:13,800 --> 01:09:16,880
Speaker 5: There are times when we're able to enjoy it. But

1463
01:09:17,320 --> 01:09:20,919
Speaker 5: as an entrepreneur, the work is never done. And because

1464
01:09:20,960 --> 01:09:25,120
Speaker 5: we still own our business and I don't know if

1465
01:09:25,160 --> 01:09:28,599
Speaker 5: you guys know, I still refer to our business as

1466
01:09:28,880 --> 01:09:32,479
Speaker 5: our and wei because Tek's still here with me. But

1467
01:09:34,680 --> 01:09:37,559
Speaker 5: you know, I I've just lost track of my thought

1468
01:09:37,720 --> 01:09:41,120
Speaker 5: right now, just thinking about t t Let's see where

1469
01:09:41,200 --> 01:09:41,400
Speaker 5: was I?

1470
01:09:41,520 --> 01:09:41,840
Speaker 6: Mandy?

1471
01:09:41,880 --> 01:09:44,600
Speaker 2: What what we're just talking about? How you have to

1472
01:09:44,640 --> 01:09:47,400
Speaker 2: take time to enjoy all the work you put in.

1473
01:09:48,080 --> 01:09:52,400
Speaker 5: Yes, as an entrepreneur, it's not uncommon for you to

1474
01:09:52,479 --> 01:09:56,479
Speaker 5: be working twenty four hours a day. It's not uncommon

1475
01:09:56,520 --> 01:09:59,439
Speaker 5: for you to be a multitasker, and there were so

1476
01:09:59,560 --> 01:10:02,200
Speaker 5: many where Teaky and I were making the money, but

1477
01:10:02,320 --> 01:10:07,439
Speaker 5: we weren't enjoying it. And now, particularly after Teachy's passing,

1478
01:10:07,920 --> 01:10:16,160
Speaker 5: I make happiness and health and enjoyment a priority right

1479
01:10:16,280 --> 01:10:20,640
Speaker 5: up there with business, because you know, business can be

1480
01:10:20,720 --> 01:10:24,280
Speaker 5: good one day and be bad the next, and you know,

1481
01:10:24,360 --> 01:10:26,800
Speaker 5: while you have it, you have to enjoy it. So

1482
01:10:28,200 --> 01:10:30,600
Speaker 5: I have you know, I'm fortunate to be able to

1483
01:10:30,680 --> 01:10:33,080
Speaker 5: pick my mood, you know, all depending on how the

1484
01:10:33,160 --> 01:10:33,880
Speaker 5: day is going.

1485
01:10:34,840 --> 01:10:35,200
Speaker 4: What's that?

1486
01:10:35,280 --> 01:10:37,439
Speaker 2: What's your guilty pleasure? What do you like to treat

1487
01:10:37,439 --> 01:10:37,920
Speaker 2: yourself to?

1488
01:10:38,680 --> 01:10:40,800
Speaker 6: Oh my god, I love to eat.

1489
01:10:43,160 --> 01:10:44,639
Speaker 4: I respect you so much more.

1490
01:10:45,360 --> 01:10:49,720
Speaker 5: I love to eat and I love sweets, and you know,

1491
01:10:49,880 --> 01:10:52,600
Speaker 5: I you know, it's not just eating just to you know,

1492
01:10:52,720 --> 01:10:57,480
Speaker 5: do something like I really enjoy like textures and flavors,

1493
01:10:57,840 --> 01:11:03,599
Speaker 5: so I really enjoy the experience of eating. And yeah,

1494
01:11:03,680 --> 01:11:06,360
Speaker 5: that's that's my thing. And I don't I don't. I

1495
01:11:06,400 --> 01:11:09,679
Speaker 5: love salt and I love sugar too, So I love

1496
01:11:09,720 --> 01:11:10,360
Speaker 5: the whole thing.

1497
01:11:11,000 --> 01:11:15,800
Speaker 4: Back to this thing about health, well.

1498
01:11:15,560 --> 01:11:19,120
Speaker 5: You know, it's so it's so funny. I've been I

1499
01:11:19,200 --> 01:11:22,760
Speaker 5: love to walk too. So living in Brooklyn, we have

1500
01:11:22,880 --> 01:11:26,240
Speaker 5: the bridges, so I walk over the bridge. Our business

1501
01:11:26,320 --> 01:11:29,160
Speaker 5: is now in the city, so it's not uncommon for

1502
01:11:29,200 --> 01:11:31,600
Speaker 5: me to walk over the bridge to the city and

1503
01:11:31,680 --> 01:11:35,600
Speaker 5: back home. I try to walk in between because you know,

1504
01:11:35,680 --> 01:11:37,960
Speaker 5: it's not uncommon for me to have, you know, eaten

1505
01:11:38,040 --> 01:11:41,120
Speaker 5: some dark chocolate with some almonds that I love. So

1506
01:11:41,200 --> 01:11:43,840
Speaker 5: I'll try to offset that with a good walk. And

1507
01:11:43,880 --> 01:11:45,240
Speaker 5: I love to ride my bike.

1508
01:11:45,320 --> 01:11:45,880
Speaker 6: Those are my.

1509
01:11:45,920 --> 01:11:50,800
Speaker 5: Two the workouts and the classes. That's so challenging for me.

1510
01:11:50,920 --> 01:11:53,559
Speaker 5: I hate that stuff, but I try to push myself.

1511
01:11:54,080 --> 01:11:56,720
Speaker 5: But I just try to keep moving, you know, the

1512
01:11:56,720 --> 01:11:57,479
Speaker 5: best I can.

1513
01:11:58,200 --> 01:12:00,679
Speaker 2: I love that you're just out there in Brooklyn biking around.

1514
01:12:00,840 --> 01:12:03,080
Speaker 4: I might need to. I'm not going to be weird.

1515
01:12:03,920 --> 01:12:07,559
Speaker 5: Every listen, every every everyone in Brooklyn. I mean, you

1516
01:12:07,600 --> 01:12:11,000
Speaker 5: know everyone in Brooklyn. It has a community feel. We're

1517
01:12:11,040 --> 01:12:13,280
Speaker 5: all trying to do something and it's cool to be

1518
01:12:13,360 --> 01:12:16,960
Speaker 5: out and to be seen in Brooklyn. So it's it's

1519
01:12:16,960 --> 01:12:19,720
Speaker 5: you can style and look cute while you are on

1520
01:12:19,760 --> 01:12:22,519
Speaker 5: your bike out here in Brooklyn. So don't don't get

1521
01:12:22,520 --> 01:12:22,960
Speaker 5: me wrong.

1522
01:12:24,200 --> 01:12:27,760
Speaker 3: Said that finding time to exercise, God is so challenging.

1523
01:12:28,360 --> 01:12:31,400
Speaker 5: Mm hmmm, yes it can be, but you know, as

1524
01:12:31,400 --> 01:12:34,559
Speaker 5: we're getting older, it is a priority and I say

1525
01:12:34,560 --> 01:12:36,840
Speaker 5: that with all my heart. As much as I hate it,

1526
01:12:37,320 --> 01:12:40,519
Speaker 5: I try to move move it around because I want

1527
01:12:40,560 --> 01:12:42,519
Speaker 5: you know, if you don't use it, you'll lose it.

1528
01:12:43,120 --> 01:12:45,280
Speaker 5: And then, like I said, you know, life is short.

1529
01:12:45,400 --> 01:12:48,360
Speaker 5: So when I get to be in my sixties or seventies,

1530
01:12:48,720 --> 01:12:50,439
Speaker 5: you know, I I do want to be I want

1531
01:12:50,479 --> 01:12:54,120
Speaker 5: to have my mobility. That that's become a new concern

1532
01:12:54,200 --> 01:12:56,040
Speaker 5: of mine. So I'm trying to keep it moving.

1533
01:12:56,880 --> 01:12:58,040
Speaker 3: Well. I hear it in your voice.

1534
01:12:58,040 --> 01:13:00,000
Speaker 1: I mean, because I know a lot of business women

1535
01:13:00,040 --> 01:13:04,400
Speaker 1: who have gotten very successful and somehow have like lost

1536
01:13:04,479 --> 01:13:07,360
Speaker 1: touch with you know, the why of why they started,

1537
01:13:07,479 --> 01:13:10,599
Speaker 1: and they've kind of like there's no humility left. I guess,

1538
01:13:10,600 --> 01:13:13,160
Speaker 1: for lack of a better word, how do you I mean,

1539
01:13:13,200 --> 01:13:14,880
Speaker 1: I can hear it, and I'm sure you can feel it,

1540
01:13:14,960 --> 01:13:18,680
Speaker 1: Mandy that you know, Miko, you seem so humble and

1541
01:13:18,720 --> 01:13:20,960
Speaker 1: so down there, Like how do you maintain that with

1542
01:13:21,080 --> 01:13:22,479
Speaker 1: all the success.

1543
01:13:24,439 --> 01:13:28,240
Speaker 6: I come from a very humble family. My mom is

1544
01:13:28,400 --> 01:13:29,439
Speaker 6: a Buddhist monk.

1545
01:13:29,760 --> 01:13:34,360
Speaker 5: Now, our dad struggled, you know, as he tried to

1546
01:13:34,439 --> 01:13:37,599
Speaker 5: figure out, you know, all the ins and outs of

1547
01:13:38,640 --> 01:13:42,320
Speaker 5: being or becoming a different entrepreneur because he tried many

1548
01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:46,000
Speaker 5: different things. Our grandmother was a woman who.

1549
01:13:47,400 --> 01:13:48,280
Speaker 6: Was down to earth.

1550
01:13:48,479 --> 01:13:52,759
Speaker 5: She kept it absolutely one hundred and I think Tiky

1551
01:13:52,800 --> 01:13:56,439
Speaker 5: and I we're a product of those kinds of people.

1552
01:13:57,000 --> 01:14:00,400
Speaker 5: I raised my son that way. I think it's it's

1553
01:14:00,479 --> 01:14:06,000
Speaker 5: best and I don't think money should change that dynamic.

1554
01:14:06,240 --> 01:14:09,759
Speaker 5: I think money is a tool that you can use

1555
01:14:09,960 --> 01:14:13,840
Speaker 5: to do many things. But I don't think that money

1556
01:14:13,920 --> 01:14:18,160
Speaker 5: has much to do with character or your personality or

1557
01:14:18,200 --> 01:14:21,080
Speaker 5: your decision making when it comes to.

1558
01:14:23,160 --> 01:14:24,400
Speaker 6: Many things. How about that.

1559
01:14:26,160 --> 01:14:29,160
Speaker 2: I feel like money almost brings out exactly who you are,

1560
01:14:29,760 --> 01:14:32,479
Speaker 2: how you what When you put a pile of money

1561
01:14:32,560 --> 01:14:35,280
Speaker 2: or success in front of somebody, you'll find out very

1562
01:14:35,320 --> 01:14:39,200
Speaker 2: quickly sort of what kind of person they are, Yeah,

1563
01:14:39,200 --> 01:14:41,560
Speaker 2: based on how they how they use that and approach it.

1564
01:14:41,600 --> 01:14:45,160
Speaker 2: And it sounds like you've got such a good sense

1565
01:14:45,200 --> 01:14:48,320
Speaker 2: of that and what matters and and all of that.

1566
01:14:48,439 --> 01:14:52,000
Speaker 2: And I mean one of the things that we're candid

1567
01:14:52,080 --> 01:14:53,960
Speaker 2: on the show. We're very candid, almost to the point

1568
01:14:54,000 --> 01:14:56,880
Speaker 2: of it's it's you know, it's borderline TMI, but.

1569
01:14:57,920 --> 01:15:00,439
Speaker 4: Let's be let's be real. People know to much.

1570
01:15:00,560 --> 01:15:03,439
Speaker 2: I sometimes I forget how candid we are, and then

1571
01:15:03,479 --> 01:15:06,320
Speaker 2: someone's like, Mandy, I'm so glad you talked about couple's therapy.

1572
01:15:06,360 --> 01:15:07,559
Speaker 2: And I'm like, say, how do you know that about

1573
01:15:07,600 --> 01:15:07,920
Speaker 2: my life?

1574
01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:09,800
Speaker 4: Oh? So I do.

1575
01:15:09,960 --> 01:15:12,400
Speaker 2: I have been talking about you know, you know, I'm

1576
01:15:12,400 --> 01:15:14,519
Speaker 2: planning a wedding and we sort of both are in

1577
01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:17,400
Speaker 2: you know, Tiffany's an entrepreneur and I'm I'm a manager

1578
01:15:17,439 --> 01:15:21,400
Speaker 2: for a personal finance news site, and it's you know,

1579
01:15:21,400 --> 01:15:23,559
Speaker 2: we talk about the anxieties and the ups and downs.

1580
01:15:23,600 --> 01:15:27,760
Speaker 2: And I've found this year, more than ever, it's been

1581
01:15:27,800 --> 01:15:30,479
Speaker 2: important for me to kind of protect my brain, protect

1582
01:15:30,520 --> 01:15:34,080
Speaker 2: my mind and like take some like mental self care.

1583
01:15:34,160 --> 01:15:36,200
Speaker 2: And I just wonder if there's anything that you do

1584
01:15:36,320 --> 01:15:38,720
Speaker 2: to sort of like keep your mind right or are

1585
01:15:38,760 --> 01:15:43,040
Speaker 2: you always just so zen and wise and like balanced.

1586
01:15:43,920 --> 01:15:49,600
Speaker 5: No, not always anything. I'm still growing and I'm still changing.

1587
01:15:50,080 --> 01:15:54,080
Speaker 5: But I'm very protective of my mind and I'm very

1588
01:15:54,120 --> 01:15:59,639
Speaker 5: protective of my space, and I like to choose wisely

1589
01:15:59,720 --> 01:16:02,559
Speaker 5: when it comes to the people that I surround myself around.

1590
01:16:03,160 --> 01:16:06,000
Speaker 5: I find people with good hearts, whether they're the people

1591
01:16:06,000 --> 01:16:07,400
Speaker 5: that I work with, the people that.

1592
01:16:07,360 --> 01:16:08,360
Speaker 6: I do business with.

1593
01:16:08,840 --> 01:16:12,760
Speaker 5: In my personal relationship, it really affects me and it

1594
01:16:12,800 --> 01:16:15,800
Speaker 5: affects me in more ways than I realize, and as

1595
01:16:15,800 --> 01:16:20,720
Speaker 5: I get older, I find that it's important that I

1596
01:16:21,080 --> 01:16:26,640
Speaker 5: I'm mindful of who I surround myself with and what

1597
01:16:27,880 --> 01:16:31,599
Speaker 5: kinds of environments I've placed myself in. So if I

1598
01:16:31,640 --> 01:16:34,519
Speaker 5: were to have any control over anything like that, I

1599
01:16:34,640 --> 01:16:38,400
Speaker 5: try my hardest to manage that space.

1600
01:16:39,000 --> 01:16:43,240
Speaker 6: But you know, therapy is something.

1601
01:16:42,920 --> 01:16:49,080
Speaker 5: That I've been enjoying. I've done it for the past

1602
01:16:49,200 --> 01:16:53,479
Speaker 5: two years, and particularly after Teki died, I thought it

1603
01:16:53,520 --> 01:16:57,040
Speaker 5: was really important that I speak with someone. But what

1604
01:16:57,160 --> 01:17:02,360
Speaker 5: I found about therapy is that it's not just a

1605
01:17:02,400 --> 01:17:09,160
Speaker 5: place for people who are having major issues challenges, although

1606
01:17:09,160 --> 01:17:11,920
Speaker 5: it's a wonderful place for people if they are having

1607
01:17:12,000 --> 01:17:16,559
Speaker 5: those those you know, those challenges, But it's a wonderful

1608
01:17:16,600 --> 01:17:20,160
Speaker 5: place just to have a standing appointment for you to

1609
01:17:20,479 --> 01:17:24,280
Speaker 5: let your hair down and talk about whatever you want

1610
01:17:24,360 --> 01:17:28,840
Speaker 5: to talk about. Hopefully the person you're talking to you

1611
01:17:28,920 --> 01:17:32,519
Speaker 5: don't have too much of a personal relationship with them

1612
01:17:32,520 --> 01:17:35,920
Speaker 5: where they'd be offended. Although it's not uncommon for us

1613
01:17:35,960 --> 01:17:38,840
Speaker 5: to get attached to our therapists, but I find it

1614
01:17:38,840 --> 01:17:41,840
Speaker 5: it's been very helpful to me, and it's therapy has

1615
01:17:41,920 --> 01:17:46,839
Speaker 5: helped helped me to articulate how I feel, what I want,

1616
01:17:47,520 --> 01:17:50,640
Speaker 5: and it's been It's been a helpful tool for me

1617
01:17:50,680 --> 01:17:54,080
Speaker 5: in many areas, including business. So it's a way for

1618
01:17:54,200 --> 01:17:58,400
Speaker 5: me to practice how to articulate what's in my mind,

1619
01:17:58,439 --> 01:18:02,120
Speaker 5: and it made me a better communicator. So therapy has

1620
01:18:02,160 --> 01:18:08,240
Speaker 5: been it's been great. But as I'm getting older, I

1621
01:18:08,320 --> 01:18:11,040
Speaker 5: feel like I'm getting wiser because I feel like I'm

1622
01:18:11,080 --> 01:18:14,160
Speaker 5: able to look at things more three dimensionally, and I

1623
01:18:14,280 --> 01:18:17,679
Speaker 5: have more context now and I'm able to look at

1624
01:18:17,720 --> 01:18:22,040
Speaker 5: things more dynamically. So I try to apply it as

1625
01:18:22,080 --> 01:18:22,960
Speaker 5: best as it can.

1626
01:18:24,040 --> 01:18:26,120
Speaker 2: If you could go back and talk to yourself when

1627
01:18:26,160 --> 01:18:29,000
Speaker 2: you were twenty, maybe when you were miserable in f

1628
01:18:29,080 --> 01:18:31,559
Speaker 2: I T. Or when you were you know, just trying

1629
01:18:31,600 --> 01:18:34,400
Speaker 2: to start your haircare business, or you know, in beauty

1630
01:18:34,439 --> 01:18:36,560
Speaker 2: school dealing with the drama that you talk about in

1631
01:18:36,600 --> 01:18:40,920
Speaker 2: your book some cat fights in beauty school. It was

1632
01:18:40,920 --> 01:18:44,479
Speaker 2: actually really funny. But what would you what advice would

1633
01:18:44,479 --> 01:18:46,519
Speaker 2: you give to your younger self? I know, I like

1634
01:18:46,680 --> 01:18:49,000
Speaker 2: I like asking people that question. I feel like it's

1635
01:18:49,840 --> 01:18:51,360
Speaker 2: I think we'd all like a chance to kind of

1636
01:18:51,360 --> 01:18:54,479
Speaker 2: go back and give our younger selves a hug. But yeah,

1637
01:18:54,479 --> 01:18:55,880
Speaker 2: what would you tell your younger self.

1638
01:18:57,280 --> 01:19:01,840
Speaker 5: I would tell a younger Miko that it's okay to

1639
01:19:01,960 --> 01:19:07,920
Speaker 5: be me, And for many years I felt ashamed. I

1640
01:19:08,120 --> 01:19:14,000
Speaker 5: felt embarrassed about being pink. I'm really really pink and

1641
01:19:14,439 --> 01:19:17,960
Speaker 5: very girly. And I was raised by a dad who

1642
01:19:18,040 --> 01:19:20,880
Speaker 5: I think he was scared to death of my pinkness.

1643
01:19:21,240 --> 01:19:26,040
Speaker 5: He thought that that may have been weakness, and I

1644
01:19:26,080 --> 01:19:29,080
Speaker 5: think he didn't want anyone to really hurt me, And

1645
01:19:29,280 --> 01:19:31,720
Speaker 5: as a result, I think my dad might have been

1646
01:19:31,760 --> 01:19:33,120
Speaker 5: a little harder on me.

1647
01:19:34,720 --> 01:19:35,760
Speaker 6: In those areas.

1648
01:19:35,840 --> 01:19:40,720
Speaker 5: So I was ashamed of being a girl girlish and feminine,

1649
01:19:41,400 --> 01:19:46,040
Speaker 5: and some of the areas that I really excelled and were,

1650
01:19:46,800 --> 01:19:50,720
Speaker 5: you know, beauty, you know, hair, beauty, makeup, And I

1651
01:19:50,800 --> 01:19:55,559
Speaker 5: wish that I owned it and embraced it as a

1652
01:19:55,600 --> 01:19:58,080
Speaker 5: younger me go and I think that would have given

1653
01:19:58,200 --> 01:20:02,439
Speaker 5: me a different kind of confidence. My sister was always

1654
01:20:02,640 --> 01:20:06,960
Speaker 5: very smart. U T read every single encyclopedia.

1655
01:20:06,080 --> 01:20:06,679
Speaker 6: In our house.

1656
01:20:07,120 --> 01:20:09,760
Speaker 5: And I think that t T had a wonderful confidence

1657
01:20:09,760 --> 01:20:12,439
Speaker 5: and posture as a younger t T because she was

1658
01:20:12,479 --> 01:20:15,400
Speaker 5: able to attach herself to something she was good at.

1659
01:20:15,880 --> 01:20:19,320
Speaker 5: And I would have liked to have known that it

1660
01:20:19,400 --> 01:20:21,960
Speaker 5: was okay for me to be me, and I think

1661
01:20:22,040 --> 01:20:23,960
Speaker 5: that I would have been a more confident Meeka.

1662
01:20:24,439 --> 01:20:26,920
Speaker 2: Well, it has been such a pleasure talking to you

1663
01:20:27,560 --> 01:20:30,559
Speaker 2: and has been I'm such a fan. You have no idea.

1664
01:20:30,680 --> 01:20:32,599
Speaker 2: Mss Jessie's is such a big part of my life

1665
01:20:32,600 --> 01:20:36,080
Speaker 2: and it's it's and when you know I it's easy

1666
01:20:36,160 --> 01:20:39,160
Speaker 2: to like kind of roll your eyes at you know,

1667
01:20:39,240 --> 01:20:40,920
Speaker 2: black women when we talk about her hair and how

1668
01:20:40,920 --> 01:20:43,760
Speaker 2: important it is, but it truly is life changing when

1669
01:20:43,800 --> 01:20:46,400
Speaker 2: you have when you feel like, you know, you can

1670
01:20:46,439 --> 01:20:48,760
Speaker 2: take pride in your hair for once, and you know,

1671
01:20:48,840 --> 01:20:51,400
Speaker 2: and just so thank you for taking a chance and

1672
01:20:51,439 --> 01:20:54,360
Speaker 2: for making these products and for you know, keeping Tet's

1673
01:20:54,360 --> 01:20:58,439
Speaker 2: spirit alive and continuing on. Yeah, thank you so much

1674
01:20:58,479 --> 01:21:00,920
Speaker 2: and for coming on our little show especially.

1675
01:21:01,400 --> 01:21:03,000
Speaker 6: Oh no, it's my pleasure.

1676
01:21:03,120 --> 01:21:08,559
Speaker 5: I enjoy meeting and talking with particularly women and hearing

1677
01:21:09,080 --> 01:21:11,280
Speaker 5: how you guys are doing your thing.

1678
01:21:11,520 --> 01:21:13,919
Speaker 6: I wish Tit and I had.

1679
01:21:15,600 --> 01:21:18,559
Speaker 5: Had more friends like you guys as we were building

1680
01:21:18,560 --> 01:21:22,600
Speaker 5: our business. When we were building it, it just it

1681
01:21:22,720 --> 01:21:24,320
Speaker 5: seemed like it was just she and I.

1682
01:21:24,960 --> 01:21:28,200
Speaker 2: But if you ever need to test me, I'll sign

1683
01:21:28,320 --> 01:21:32,719
Speaker 2: right up. Are you available for Savannah April seventh? Would

1684
01:21:32,720 --> 01:21:34,879
Speaker 2: you like to come test my hair and my.

1685
01:21:45,840 --> 01:21:46,400
Speaker 3: Randy.

1686
01:21:47,040 --> 01:21:48,519
Speaker 4: She's so sweet? Is she real?

1687
01:21:49,080 --> 01:21:50,880
Speaker 3: I know? Honestly, I was like I wanted to be like,

1688
01:21:51,120 --> 01:21:52,559
Speaker 3: can you be my friend? But I was like, let

1689
01:21:52,600 --> 01:21:52,760
Speaker 3: me not.

1690
01:21:53,280 --> 01:21:55,320
Speaker 2: Can you just keep you in my pocket when I'm

1691
01:21:55,320 --> 01:21:56,280
Speaker 2: having a bad day.

1692
01:21:56,240 --> 01:21:57,959
Speaker 3: Like do you want to go to dinner or coffee?

1693
01:21:58,640 --> 01:22:00,360
Speaker 4: I want to be like, I'll be your friend. Looking

1694
01:22:00,360 --> 01:22:03,720
Speaker 4: for friends, I'm free, I'm available.

1695
01:22:04,040 --> 01:22:07,200
Speaker 1: That Like, it's that's what I you know, she is

1696
01:22:07,360 --> 01:22:10,640
Speaker 1: a reminder of that's what I want to aspire to.

1697
01:22:10,720 --> 01:22:13,160
Speaker 1: That like despite the you know, as you've become more

1698
01:22:13,160 --> 01:22:16,160
Speaker 1: and more successful, that same energy that she gives us,

1699
01:22:16,200 --> 01:22:19,160
Speaker 1: that same genuineness and kindness and you could still feel

1700
01:22:19,160 --> 01:22:21,280
Speaker 1: it and see it. And I'm like, you know that

1701
01:22:21,400 --> 01:22:24,720
Speaker 1: it's possible to maintain that and be wildly successful.

1702
01:22:24,840 --> 01:22:25,679
Speaker 3: And I'm just so glad.

1703
01:22:25,680 --> 01:22:29,160
Speaker 1: She's an awesome example, Like what an awesome, awesome, amazing

1704
01:22:29,400 --> 01:22:31,040
Speaker 1: like spirit Wow.

1705
01:22:31,240 --> 01:22:33,400
Speaker 2: Y well, I can't wait to use my curly pudding

1706
01:22:33,400 --> 01:22:36,519
Speaker 2: in the warning. How often do you get to meet

1707
01:22:36,520 --> 01:22:37,800
Speaker 2: the person who changed your hair?

1708
01:22:37,840 --> 01:22:40,479
Speaker 3: I'm like, I know that's yeah, that was a good,

1709
01:22:40,680 --> 01:22:41,400
Speaker 3: good choice.

1710
01:22:41,479 --> 01:22:46,400
Speaker 6: Mandy