Speaker 1: Ba fam we have another how to throw back for you,
Speaker 1: of course we do. We're looking back at some of
Speaker 1: our favorite episodes from days past for memorable guests who
Speaker 1: unforgettable moments. There's still so much to learn from the
Speaker 1: be A Vault. Take a listen, willya?
Speaker 2: You guys, this is a momentous day for Brown Ambition Podcast.
Speaker 3: It is we have the most brownest, the most ambitious
Speaker 3: person that I think my life joining us.
Speaker 2: She personifies Brown Ambition and I want to do a
Speaker 2: little intro because she deserves it. I mean, come on.
Speaker 2: Our guest today is Levey Ajay. She is an award
Speaker 2: winning writer. If you do not read her blog Awesome
Speaker 2: welovey dot com, I don't know what is going wrong
Speaker 2: with your life, but you must do it now. But
Speaker 2: she's not just a blogger. She is a writer, speaker,
Speaker 2: a digital strategist, and she says she thrives at the
Speaker 2: intersection of comedy, technology and activism. Lovey is a thirteen
Speaker 2: year thirteen year blogging so basically since the Internet was born,
Speaker 2: Lovey has been blogging. She has the voice behind Awesome
Speaker 2: Me Lovey, of course, the humor blog that covers everything
Speaker 2: pop culture. She also has a new book out now
Speaker 2: called I'm Judging You, The Do Better Manual, which is
Speaker 2: going to be released in September twenty sixteen. Unless you
Speaker 2: want to get out of the game, you can pre
Speaker 2: order it right now wherever books are sold. So I
Speaker 2: did too, and.
Speaker 3: Yeah, she's best friends with Oprah.
Speaker 4: I mean, now.
Speaker 2: This has been I feel like this has been the
Speaker 2: year of lovey but love Thank you so much for
Speaker 2: coming on Brown Ambition.
Speaker 4: I am glad to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: Are you calling us from Chicago?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 3: I love the Shy only in the summer though, because
Speaker 3: the winter is ignorant.
Speaker 4: Our winter is stupid.
Speaker 3: Yes, so tell us, like, you know what has been,
Speaker 3: because honestly, this has been the year of lovey. Every
Speaker 3: time I turn around, I'm like, well, gosh, darn it,
Speaker 3: this girl is just killing it in these streets. I mean,
Speaker 3: you were killing it before. And I hate when people
Speaker 3: tell me it's your year, girl, I'm like, it's my life.
Speaker 4: But come on to say that.
Speaker 3: Yes, but definitely this year you've got some major milestone.
Speaker 3: What probably is your what was your favorite or your
Speaker 3: most like momentous milestone that's far this year probably Interviewing
Speaker 3: Oprah that would do it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I gotta say.
Speaker 3: That, that must have been it. And when she grabbed
Speaker 3: my head, I was like, well I saw that picture.
Speaker 2: Wait, so for me, who's not an inner of this world,
Speaker 2: I'm like a hanger on. So I just ride Tiffany's
Speaker 2: delightful coattails. No, tell me, how did this happen? How
Speaker 2: did you get to sit next How does one sit
Speaker 2: next to Oprah and get to ask her question?
Speaker 3: So first Oprah did this. She chose one hundred people
Speaker 3: to be a part of her Super Soul one hundred lists,
Speaker 3: her first Super Sol one hundred list, and I was
Speaker 3: one of them. And that was in April, so that
Speaker 3: was when I first met her. And then her team
Speaker 3: at OWN was just like, you're dope and we think
Speaker 3: you're pretty cool. So they had me come to LA
Speaker 3: for the premiere of their latest show, Green Leaf, that
Speaker 3: Oprah stars in and executive produces, and they were like, yeah,
Speaker 3: so we want you to interview our cast.
Speaker 4: While you're here. What And I was like, okay, cool.
Speaker 3: I didn't think the cast will involve would include Oprah.
Speaker 4: I would think it was everybody but Oprah.
Speaker 3: You think they were the first person, right, Oprah was
Speaker 3: the first person who said next to me.
Speaker 2: They probably purposefully don't tell you though.
Speaker 4: Well they told me the day of. They were like, yes,
Speaker 4: so you are going to be introduewing Oprah And I
Speaker 4: was like wait what. I was like, I'm going to
Speaker 4: be interviewing who Oprah? Yeah? What did your mom say?
Speaker 3: She was watching because it was all going down on
Speaker 3: Facebook Live and she was watching it on Facebook Live
Speaker 3: as it was happening, and she was like, oh my god.
Speaker 3: I found out from my sister that she was texting
Speaker 3: my sister like, oh my god, I'm watching her right now.
Speaker 3: Like they all stayed up late because in La it
Speaker 3: was eight o'clock in La time, which was ten pm.
Speaker 3: Actually was yeah, eight o'clock La time, so ten pm
Speaker 3: Chicago time.
Speaker 4: But it was incredible, It was It was incredible.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I could only imagine, you know, when
Speaker 3: you went down this journey. So, for those of you
Speaker 3: who don't know, Luvey is Nigerian.
Speaker 2: Yes, any of her blog.
Speaker 5: You know, So growing up in a niger household where like,
Speaker 5: you know, your your choices for careers are doctor, lawyer, engineer,
Speaker 5: pharmacists in that order.
Speaker 4: You know, how how was.
Speaker 3: That transition of being allowed to kind of be yourself
Speaker 3: and do this. Is it easy where your parents are
Speaker 3: always kind of on board or was it something you
Speaker 3: had to fight for? I think for me, So when
Speaker 3: I started college, I said I was going to be
Speaker 3: a doctor my.
Speaker 4: Watch McCall it my major coming in with psychology pre med.
Speaker 3: But then I dropped that pre med after first semester
Speaker 3: of college when I got my first d of my
Speaker 3: whole academic career, and I was like, I don't even
Speaker 3: like hospitals. But I didn't actually tell anybody in my
Speaker 3: family that I dropped the pre med.
Speaker 4: They just came to graduation. What they just came a graduation.
Speaker 3: I got my degree in psychology, so I kept the
Speaker 3: psychology piece. But then I think the whole time at
Speaker 3: that point, I basically proved that, like, I'm not ridiculously irresponsible,
Speaker 3: and I hadn't done anything up to that point that
Speaker 3: was crazy.
Speaker 4: So I was kind of left to my own devices.
Speaker 3: Course, when you when you were trying to be a writer,
Speaker 3: I mean, even though I was still fighting it tooth
Speaker 3: and nails, people just think you're playing on the internet.
Speaker 4: So I still had a full time job for I
Speaker 4: went until twenty.
Speaker 2: Ten that's good to know. How did you balance them both?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 3: I would come home at night and write because honestly,
Speaker 3: I just love writing and I love marketing, which is
Speaker 3: what I was doing full time.
Speaker 4: So it was like I was kind of enjoying.
Speaker 3: Both of it, but really writing is what I was
Speaker 3: supposed to be doing. And I think it became really
Speaker 3: really real probably twenty twelve, when I did press coverage
Speaker 3: of the Academy Awards red carpet and backstage. That's when
Speaker 3: it actually kind of like solidified for my mom that oh,
Speaker 3: she's not just playing on the internet.
Speaker 4: Okay.
Speaker 2: I mean you're the first person I go to when
Speaker 2: I'm looking for like a pop culture wrap up, like
Speaker 2: your game. I found you through your Game of Thrones reviews.
Speaker 2: That's like my favorite thing. I just love how you
Speaker 2: embrace the nerd, you know what I mean, Like you're
Speaker 2: so yourself, you embrace all like the little quirks. And
Speaker 2: then you were doing this Scandal reviews for was it?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 3: I actually started Scandal reviews for myself, like and then
Speaker 3: Comcasts had me.
Speaker 4: Do it for them for like six months.
Speaker 3: So I just everything I've been doing has kind of
Speaker 3: happened organically, So I just paid attention to what I
Speaker 3: loved doing, and I did it even when I wasn't
Speaker 3: getting paid to do it. That's an AHA moment for
Speaker 3: those of you guys who know what that means. Oprah
Speaker 3: lovers aha moment.
Speaker 4: Ah. I feel like everyone's always like, oh, how did
Speaker 4: you plan?
Speaker 3: I didn't plan anything, which is interesting. I didn't plan
Speaker 3: any of it. I didn't have any type of strategy
Speaker 3: on this. I'm going to become an amazing writer. I
Speaker 3: was just doing it every day. I was writing every day.
Speaker 3: I was blogging before it was popular to blog, just because.
Speaker 4: I had things to say and I wanted to say them,
Speaker 4: so I did.
Speaker 3: Let's get to like the real diitty gritty, because I
Speaker 3: think people look and they think like, oh, well, love
Speaker 3: it's funny and she knows all these people, and it's
Speaker 3: it seems like it's easy. But I always like to
Speaker 3: know what's the hard part, what's the part that you're like, yo,
Speaker 3: I still struggle with this, or if this part is
Speaker 3: not that fun? To give people like that, it's obviously
Speaker 3: it's awesome, but there are parts that are not so awesome,
Speaker 3: and how do you deal with them?
Speaker 4: With everything?
Speaker 3: People always see the glory with the without the grit
Speaker 3: behind it. You know, it's when you're a writer, there's
Speaker 3: no straight path, there's no blueprint.
Speaker 4: You don't necessarily Yeah, you can get a degree, that
Speaker 4: doesn't mean you're going to get a job.
Speaker 3: I think it comes down to pushing past those hard
Speaker 3: times and really standing in your worst because one of
Speaker 3: the things about being a creative is people will constantly
Speaker 3: challenge you on your pricing. Photographers feel this, you know,
Speaker 3: artists feel this. Anybody who's working for themselves feel this. Yes,
Speaker 3: people feel like they can always negotiate you down. Like
Speaker 3: you can't walk into H and M and be like, hey,
Speaker 3: I know this shuir cost seventeen dollars. Can I pay
Speaker 3: twelve dollars for it?
Speaker 4: Can you? Can you preach it please?
Speaker 3: I'm like Jesus, So it's just like.
Speaker 4: No, you have to accept people's value is what it is.
Speaker 3: And it it got easier for me to say no
Speaker 3: to people and say no.
Speaker 4: But if you ever have the money, come back.
Speaker 3: And you know what's funny is a lot of times
Speaker 3: people are afraid to say no because they're afraid that
Speaker 3: they'll lose money. But a lot of the people who
Speaker 3: I've said no to hey, come back, have come back,
Speaker 3: just because they're like, you know what, I've got my
Speaker 3: money together and I.
Speaker 4: Understand that you are worth what you are.
Speaker 3: Charging because you have proving this over and over again.
Speaker 2: I hear some is that a little person in the background.
Speaker 4: That's my niece.
Speaker 3: I was just saying, I have no babies.
Speaker 4: I man, I just closed the door. Kids are like,
Speaker 4: damn your life. I'm over here.
Speaker 2: Basically, that's your niece. So what's your family? Like, let's
Speaker 2: talk a little bit about your family. They can switch
Speaker 2: scars for a little bit.
Speaker 3: I have a Nigerian family, I am. I mean, honestly,
Speaker 3: it's just regular, like I don't know. They are interesting,
Speaker 3: they're funny, they're shady. I have a very Nigerian mom
Speaker 3: who is amazing a cooking jelf fries because yellow rice
Speaker 3: is clearly better than Ghanaian rice. That's not even let's
Speaker 3: not even start because right, Jello, right, So there's a
Speaker 3: war going on many No I know about.
Speaker 2: That Guanians and the Nigerian wars.
Speaker 3: My two friends in college, somebody had the nerve to
Speaker 3: post y'all don't know nothing, Liberian Jello, I said, who
Speaker 3: librarian Jealouf.
Speaker 4: Don't even You're not even in this you don't even
Speaker 4: go to the same school as You're still taking a
Speaker 4: short bus. What no, off, that's the Liberians.
Speaker 3: I love y'all. We're talking about your rice.
Speaker 2: And wait, wait, lovey, you just said school.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 2: I heard a rumor that you went to school with
Speaker 2: none other than Michelle Obama. Not with Michelle Obama, but
Speaker 2: the same school as Michelle Obama.
Speaker 4: Can you confirm school with me? Young?
Speaker 2: So this school is a part of course, Yeah, oh
Speaker 2: my god. So this school is like what the Golden School.
Speaker 3: It is actually like, Whitney Young is known for being excellent.
Speaker 3: It's one of the best city high schools in the country.
Speaker 3: It's actually been ranked every year since its existence. So yeah,
Speaker 3: Like I think one of the first black astronauts went
Speaker 3: to Whitney Young too, So we're just amazing. Yeah, just
Speaker 3: pushes out winter. So I want to learn more about
Speaker 3: this book. I know, like I already pre ordered mine
Speaker 3: and I'm excited. So tell us about like your book
Speaker 3: and what people can expect and when they can expect it.
Speaker 3: So my book is called I'm Judging You, the Do
Speaker 3: Better Manual, and it is a collection of essays on life, culture,
Speaker 3: social media, and fame and.
Speaker 4: Why we are all ridiculous and why we can do better.
Speaker 3: So and I include myself in that, I'm also ridiculous
Speaker 3: and I can do better because as a Nigerian, I
Speaker 3: can't be on time for nothing.
Speaker 4: What I can't I'm terrible.
Speaker 3: I'm late for the most random things. I'm late for
Speaker 3: conference calls. I'm just terrible. So this book is just
Speaker 3: me turn the mirror on all of us. And it's
Speaker 3: basically my blog on steroids, but it's brand new content.
Speaker 4: It's like me at my best, So I'm excited.
Speaker 2: I don't think people get you know, as I'm a writer.
Speaker 2: I study journalism, that's my background. But what you do, Like,
Speaker 2: I don't want people to think that it's easy, Like
Speaker 2: it's not easy to be funny and smart as a writer.
Speaker 2: So who are some of your influences? Like when you
Speaker 2: sit down to write, Like who taught you to be funnier?
Speaker 2: To see humor in your writing?
Speaker 3: Honestly, my writing is who I am in real life.
Speaker 3: Like people who know me very well in real life
Speaker 3: will read my blog inside I heard your voice because
Speaker 3: it is truly me, Like you can see you can
Speaker 3: read my blog and be like, this is a conversation
Speaker 3: I would have with her over brunch. So honestly, it's
Speaker 3: been me just being true to myself with my voice.
Speaker 3: But I of course have people who've inspired me, and
Speaker 3: one of them is Angela Nizzle. She wrote The Broke
Speaker 3: Diaries like ten or fifteen years ago, and I remember,
Speaker 3: back when I still had a full time job. I
Speaker 3: found her book and I was reading it on the
Speaker 3: bus cracking up, like you know, one of those laugh
Speaker 3: where you can't keep yourself from laughing at everyone around
Speaker 3: just looking at you funny.
Speaker 4: I'm one of those on the train. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3: It was one of those where I was just like,
Speaker 3: oh my god, I don't even care because I just found.
Speaker 4: Myself gufoying in different places.
Speaker 3: And she ends up being like one of the writers
Speaker 3: of one of my favorite shows ever, Scrubs.
Speaker 4: She's a black woman.
Speaker 3: Her and I end up actually finding each other online
Speaker 3: because I was like, I'm a huge fan.
Speaker 4: We actually end up becoming friends, so it's kind of crazy.
Speaker 4: It was like a full circle moment for me. She's
Speaker 4: one I'm.
Speaker 3: Inspired by anybody who really stands in there power as critics,
Speaker 3: as smart people who live in the world that has
Speaker 3: a lot to criticize, and.
Speaker 4: Just smart people in general inspire me.
Speaker 2: One of my favorite of your recent stories has been, well,
Speaker 2: you're really protective of the Obamas, as I think we
Speaker 2: all should be. Yes, But your post about Malia and
Speaker 2: what she's gone through because she can't she live, why
Speaker 2: do you feel protect mean? I can kind of guess,
Speaker 2: but why do you feel protective of Malia and Sasha
Speaker 2: and the Obamas in general?
Speaker 3: I'm protective of black girls in general because I think
Speaker 3: the world is too critical of black people, especially black girls,
Speaker 3: Like we get the brunt of everything.
Speaker 4: We are torn to pieces even more than anybody else.
Speaker 3: So for me, I want to be one of the
Speaker 3: people who's balancing it out, you know.
Speaker 4: So when black girls are being when people are calling
Speaker 4: themsel types.
Speaker 3: Names, I'm over here like, no, that that's not fair
Speaker 3: because when you compare the way people treat us how
Speaker 3: they treat other people, you see the discrepancy. So for me,
Speaker 3: it's a matter of oh, no, oh, no. I think
Speaker 3: standing up for black girls is one of my favorite hobbies.
Speaker 4: No, I love that.
Speaker 3: So where do you see yourself? Like what I know
Speaker 3: you said, you don't really plan. I remember hearing Oprah
Speaker 3: say that wants to think and she was bugging like
Speaker 3: she just kind of like leans into the experience's life
Speaker 3: throws her way in. But I totally get it now.
Speaker 3: But sometimes you do have an overarching like, well, this
Speaker 3: is kind of like what I'd love to do, Like
Speaker 3: is there anything huge or major that you have that
Speaker 3: accomplished that you're like, you know, this is on my
Speaker 3: vision board that I'd like to do in the future. Honestly,
Speaker 3: my book was like the biggest goal I had set
Speaker 3: for myself thus far, and for me, that goal was
Speaker 3: to become a bestselling author. So I'm hoping by the
Speaker 3: end of this fall, I will say check. Now what
Speaker 3: comes after that, I'm not sure because again I haven't
Speaker 3: planned for any of this, and thus far I've done
Speaker 3: pretty well by just kind of waiting and seeing what
Speaker 3: the universe.
Speaker 4: Has for me. So maybe TV's next. I thought that.
Speaker 2: I mean, you're you're sitting next to Oprah. Now Oprah
Speaker 2: and Ava Duverne are creating original content featuring you know,
Speaker 2: all black casts, mainly black cast I mean, do you
Speaker 2: see yourself getting into that world? There's been so much
Speaker 2: talk about the need for more black female writers, especially.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I think so. I think that might end
Speaker 3: up being the organic next step for me. That's the
Speaker 3: feedback I keep getting from people. People who are even
Speaker 3: in TV have been like, you should be writing for TV.
Speaker 3: So I'm open to it. I am very open to it.
Speaker 3: And you know, Shanda is like your BFF.
Speaker 4: Two. I was like, look at Shanda because you know, so.
Speaker 3: Shonda Rhymes is Bay Like I actually called her fairy
Speaker 3: Bay Mother.
Speaker 4: Because she she has taken a liking to my work
Speaker 4: that is.
Speaker 3: Like it's beyond flattering, Like there needs to be a
Speaker 3: different word beyond flattering. She's shared like my she's tweeted
Speaker 3: randomly by my book. She's talked about my book while
Speaker 3: she's been in rooms on panels.
Speaker 4: So it's been it's been crazy. Yeah, has it sunken in?
Speaker 3: People ask me sometimes when something big happens, like how
Speaker 3: do you feel? And honestly, I don't know, Like has
Speaker 3: it sunken in? You know that these things are happening
Speaker 3: or are you still kind of like yeah, just like
Speaker 3: you know, living life, this is how it is. Or
Speaker 3: do you actually feel the magnitude of like what's happening.
Speaker 3: I don't feel the magnitude of what's happening, which sounds
Speaker 3: weird to even say.
Speaker 4: I don't because I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't think I take enough time to sit there
Speaker 3: processing like holy smokes, that just happened. Like last night,
Speaker 3: for example, the head of the Writer's Guild of America
Speaker 3: and like I think the Northwest tweeted that he loved
Speaker 3: my book and I was like what, And I did
Speaker 3: what for like ten minutes and then moved on. So
Speaker 3: I think, one, I don't want to be I don't
Speaker 3: want to lose myself.
Speaker 4: In the magnitude of what's happening.
Speaker 3: And I don't want to be like oh man, spending
Speaker 3: days congratulating myself. But I do sometimes kind of scroll through.
Speaker 3: I use my Instagram in my face acount now kind
Speaker 3: of like a yes. And honestly, there are some evenings
Speaker 3: when before I go to sleep, I scroll through my
Speaker 3: Instagram to remind myself of what's happened, and that those
Speaker 3: moments I'm like, wow, okay, we're like now wow, like
Speaker 3: you know, yeah, that's crazy. It's just yeah, it's crazy
Speaker 3: but awesome. And when I look at what you're doing,
Speaker 3: I was, I was telling her Mandy, I was before
Speaker 3: we had our little mixed up in earlier. I was
Speaker 3: just telling Lovely like it's that lovey, Like when you're
Speaker 3: a Nigerian kid, like your parents don't want to hear
Speaker 3: anything about any other possible major. But when you can
Speaker 3: show another Niga kid that had succeeded without going to
Speaker 3: the traditional ride of doctor, lawyer, engineer, then they give
Speaker 3: you kind of like, well, okay, so Lovey, Like literally,
Speaker 3: there's gonna be hundreds of thousands of kids, Nigerian kids
Speaker 3: in the next unforeseeable future saying like, but Mommy, look
Speaker 3: at Lovey.
Speaker 4: She didn't go to medical school and she's killing it.
Speaker 3: And you know, Mom's like, oh, well, you know, okay, Lovely,
Speaker 3: that's real. Because part of the reason why I thought
Speaker 3: being a writer for so long is because I hadn't
Speaker 3: seen anybody who had made a great living at it
Speaker 3: while they're not like writing if they're not Tony Morrison,
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. So not having that example
Speaker 3: was part of the reason why I was like, nah,
Speaker 3: I can't do this. So like the idea that I
Speaker 3: could be somebody's example of like I can do this,
Speaker 3: that's that's incredible.
Speaker 2: Now speaking and making a living as a writer on
Speaker 2: you know, you have you have a couple of different
Speaker 2: websites now awesomely Techy, which focuses more on tech entrepreneurship businesses,
Speaker 2: and then you have your pop culture blog awesomely Levy.
Speaker 2: But I mean, as you're scaling up to business and
Speaker 2: you're like earning an income, how do you learn how
Speaker 2: to manage that and budget when you're you know, going
Speaker 2: from a full time job to just you know, owning
Speaker 2: your own business.
Speaker 3: Well, you learn quickly because if you spend your money,
Speaker 3: if you get a check and you spend your money
Speaker 3: and the next time you get a check is in
Speaker 3: four months and you're like, oh shoot, I shouldn't spend
Speaker 3: all that money, you will learn quick to manage your
Speaker 3: cash flow. That Like, you might get windfalls of money,
Speaker 3: but you better save that money so you're not you're
Speaker 3: not going to be broke and eating Ramen noodles three
Speaker 3: months later. But that's also one thing that people don't
Speaker 3: teach enough is when you work for yourself.
Speaker 4: You might feel like you.
Speaker 3: Balling when you get a check, but you just know,
Speaker 3: thirty percent of that check does not belong to money. Yes,
Speaker 3: like thirty percent of that check is not yours, that
Speaker 3: is the irs. But one of the hardest things I
Speaker 3: would say about being an entrepreneur is.
Speaker 4: When you get your tax bill. Holy smokes.
Speaker 3: You know it's cool to get money taken at your
Speaker 3: check every two weeks, you don't feel it as hard.
Speaker 3: But when you see it like a bill that is
Speaker 3: over five figures and you have to write a check
Speaker 3: for the irs, that stuff will make you sit down
Speaker 3: real quick.
Speaker 2: Do you have help there or do you have accountants?
Speaker 2: I mean, how much of it is you and how
Speaker 2: much of it are you? Are you getting helpless?
Speaker 4: Oh? I have an accountant that I've been using for
Speaker 4: the last seven years.
Speaker 3: I haven't really use her like a bookkeeper like I should.
Speaker 3: I was actually talking to somebody the other day that
Speaker 3: I need to do that next, like because she probably
Speaker 3: needs to like check me on my spending. So yeah,
Speaker 3: well you can even get a separate because my account
Speaker 3: was like, oh these received that's cute. But I don't
Speaker 3: do that. And so I have a separate bookkeeper where
Speaker 3: literally she lives in LA. Once a month I mail
Speaker 3: her all of my receipt I'm petty, Like if I
Speaker 3: go through the toll for fifty cents, I'm like a
Speaker 3: receipt please, I spend all my receipt and then if
Speaker 3: somebody sends me an invoice, let's say I pay like
Speaker 3: my designer to make up of to make like a
Speaker 3: logo or something. Then I forward her those email invoices
Speaker 3: and then I send her to the receipts. And every
Speaker 3: month she puts together a quarterly report or monthly report,
Speaker 3: and then every quarter a quarterly report. And I sit
Speaker 3: with my accountant every quarter, like I just sat with
Speaker 3: him literally last week, brought the report and that I
Speaker 3: was able to pay because I pay every quarter now
Speaker 3: to write a check and say okay, because it's easier
Speaker 3: to write, you know, like a three thousand dollars check
Speaker 3: or four then like at the end of the year
Speaker 3: you have, like, you know, a twenty thousand dollars check.
Speaker 4: So that's what I did.
Speaker 3: Actually, I've been saying that I was going to I'll
Speaker 3: send that I was going to be on quarterly, but
Speaker 3: I just haven't done it. It's been such a crazy
Speaker 3: year that I've been like, oh man, shoot, I just
Speaker 3: missed three quarters all shoot want to see Yeah, now,
Speaker 3: that's normal, but you the sooner, especially once you get
Speaker 3: to a certain tax bracket. You literally, you're gonna have
Speaker 3: to pay quarterly because yeah, because the government is like that, now,
Speaker 3: we want our money up front.
Speaker 4: He told me.
Speaker 3: This last year was the last year that I could
Speaker 3: get away with my pay. If you're looking for a bookkeeper,
Speaker 3: just let me know, because I see too many entrepreneurs
Speaker 3: who are so dope at what they do, but their
Speaker 3: business failed because of the back end, not because of
Speaker 3: their talent.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 3: Yeah, see who I was like, uh uh I rs
Speaker 3: I did not play with them.
Speaker 4: They all will get your money. Yes, here you go.
Speaker 2: Who taught you about money growing up? What was that?
Speaker 2: Who are your sort of financial influences?
Speaker 4: None? I had zero?
Speaker 2: Oh, I don't feel a long.
Speaker 3: Yeah, having conversations about money was not really what I
Speaker 3: did growing up.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think I kind of self on that.
Speaker 3: She was like, Nope, nope, they didn't talk about in
Speaker 3: my household except for to say there's no money exactly exactly.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't want to. I don't want to let
Speaker 2: you go before we talk about a project that's really
Speaker 2: near and dear to your heart and I want to
Speaker 2: hear more about it. It's the Red Pump project, which
Speaker 2: correct me if I'm wrong. But it benefits HIV AIDS
Speaker 2: for women and girls.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so reference any nonprofit that I co founded seven
Speaker 3: years ago with a friend of mine, and uh yeah,
Speaker 3: we do raise awareness by the impact of HIV and
Speaker 3: AIDS on women and girls. And we started it because
Speaker 3: I met somebody who had twenty cousins who were living
Speaker 3: with her grandmother in Malawi because their parents had died
Speaker 3: from age related complications. And she had a friend who
Speaker 3: had told her a close friend who was who told
Speaker 3: that he was HIV positive. And we were like, oh man,
Speaker 3: we didn't even know this epidemic was still this.
Speaker 4: Bad because we don't even hear about it anymore.
Speaker 3: So for us, it was important to generate conversation. We
Speaker 3: wanted to decrease stigma about it because we're like, if
Speaker 3: we're not hearing about it, everyone else isn't hearing about it,
Speaker 3: and nobody's talking about this issue, So let's do it.
Speaker 3: And we started as a social media campaign. We started
Speaker 3: by getting bloggers to talk about it on National Women
Speaker 3: and Girls HIV and AIDS Awareness Day, which is March
Speaker 3: tenth every year.
Speaker 4: And that first year, which was in two thousand and nine,
Speaker 4: and we had like one hundred and thirty five.
Speaker 3: Bloggers join us, so that was cool, and then it
Speaker 3: became a nonprofit organization and we've been going for seven years.
Speaker 3: We do events around the country around like safe sex
Speaker 3: and teaching women and girls that it's okay to be sexual,
Speaker 3: but here are the tools you need to know to
Speaker 3: be safe. So and we would have red shoes by
Speaker 3: the way, So that's why we call the Red Pump projects.
Speaker 3: We use red shoes to kind of grab people's attention.
Speaker 3: So a lot of people see me in red shoes,
Speaker 3: They're like, I.
Speaker 2: Guess, well, I mean I heard you might like shoes
Speaker 2: a little bit.
Speaker 4: Yes, I have a shoe problem.
Speaker 3: In fact, my accountant Okay, see I think it's my
Speaker 3: accountant's fault too.
Speaker 4: Let me tell you.
Speaker 3: Why, because she told me that red shoes are tax
Speaker 3: deductible expenses for me. Now yeah, And I was like, well,
Speaker 3: then I am doing business every time I buy a
Speaker 3: pair of red shoes. No, but she's right though, like you, yeah,
Speaker 3: just being able to write off every little thing.
Speaker 4: Right off, like I can write off.
Speaker 3: Certain clothes up by because I'm always speaking, so your haircut,
Speaker 3: my haircuts are now business expenses, y'all. What I'm like
Speaker 3: if we talk about business eat ice creabe. I'm like,
Speaker 3: I need that cone receipt.
Speaker 4: You're like, that was part of my business meeting.
Speaker 3: Thank you. My dad would say more grease to your elbow,
Speaker 3: and you know, you make such a nice oh my god,
Speaker 3: your elbow. And we're just like really really like proud
Speaker 3: of you. And just because when what I love most
Speaker 3: about you, I forget where I was. I was just
Speaker 3: it was a group of black women. I don't know
Speaker 3: where I was, but your name came up and oh,
Speaker 3: you know what, I don't know if you know a
Speaker 3: Vita from No Madness, Oh yeah, yeah, so she she
Speaker 3: just moved. She had a housewarming and there were so
Speaker 3: many dope women in the room. Glinda from Black Girl's
Speaker 3: Rock was there. Oh, just a bunch of doulte black
Speaker 3: women here because Avita moved to Newark where I live,
Speaker 3: and your name came up and across the board, everyone
Speaker 3: was like, you know, what's so dope about lovey like yo,
Speaker 3: from people who knew you from way back to people
Speaker 3: who know you now, just always the same, funny as hell,
Speaker 3: cool as hell, just never any heirs or arrogance or
Speaker 3: any of that. And you know, and that's saying a
Speaker 3: lot for Nigerians because I mean, if we if we're
Speaker 3: nothing else, we're prideful.
Speaker 4: And yeah, so it's just dope to like.
Speaker 3: When I first met you, because Mandy, I first met
Speaker 3: love you in person in Barbados last year. Yeah, yes,
Speaker 3: my cousin had a she owns this bridal magazine called
Speaker 3: Munuluchi and she had this retreat.
Speaker 4: And oh my god, I never laughed so hard. We
Speaker 4: had a good time.
Speaker 3: We did, and I can't wait for it to do
Speaker 3: it again in November. I mean remember this year in
Speaker 3: New Orleans. But yeah, I just want to one thank
Speaker 3: you for always just being so downstairs and cool and
Speaker 3: just continue to rise. Where can people find you? Like
Speaker 3: if they want to follow you, they want to follow
Speaker 3: your shoes, if they want to get your book.
Speaker 4: On the down to Earth thing.
Speaker 3: People always tell people that, Like, honestly, it's what happens
Speaker 3: when you don't take full credit for.
Speaker 4: Everything that's happening for you.
Speaker 3: It is basically when you understand that you are standing
Speaker 3: on the shoulder of God, is in God notices and
Speaker 3: basically you're a product of God's great So I don't
Speaker 3: have a right to be all arrogant and trifling because
Speaker 3: I have enough people in my life who'll be.
Speaker 4: Like girls, sit down.
Speaker 3: So but yeah, so everyone can find me on the interwebs.
Speaker 3: I am all over the place, Lovey on Twitter, Instagram, and.
Speaker 4: Facebook, and that's l U v v I E.
Speaker 3: I've actually trained Google to where if you actually type
Speaker 3: in just my first name, all my stuff comes up.
Speaker 4: So that's cool.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I'm easy to find. And then I have
Speaker 3: my shoes to gram my shoes. My Instagram account is
Speaker 3: dedicated to my addiction to shoes, shoes m U s
Speaker 3: T l U v V shoes, So yeah, people can
Speaker 3: see my kicks of the day and.
Speaker 4: All that stuff.
Speaker 2: I need to follow that right now, Lovey, before we
Speaker 2: let you go, I want to do a quick, little
Speaker 2: rapid fire question round. This is the first time. This
Speaker 2: is the first time we're doing it, and I.
Speaker 3: Feel like, hell, this is new.
Speaker 2: I got ideas. I got lots of ideas behind the scenes. Okay,
Speaker 2: so got about I don't know eight or so questions,
Speaker 2: but you have to answer the first thing that comes first,
Speaker 2: first thing that comes to mind? All right, you ready, yep,
Speaker 2: Barack or Michelle Fierce, Game of Thrones or scandal unmissible. No, no,
Speaker 2: oh no, I didn't explain the rules of the game, right, gagging. Sorry,
Speaker 2: it's my fault. I said the first thing that comes
Speaker 2: to but I meant choose one.
Speaker 3: Here's the first thing that comes to mind. And I
Speaker 3: was like, hilarious. Sorry my face, like, wait, what's happening?
Speaker 4: Freaking hilarious? Okay, let's do it. That's funny.
Speaker 2: Don't worry. This is just the startup phase. This is
Speaker 2: this is We're still in beta testing. We're still in
Speaker 2: a B testing. All right, try again? All right, Barack
Speaker 2: or Michelle Michelle? Game of Thrones or scandal, Game of Thrones? Why? Okay, Okay,
Speaker 2: this is gonna be easy for you. Probably new shoes
Speaker 2: or food.
Speaker 4: New shoes unless the food is rice.
Speaker 2: A right, oprah? Oprah? Or Gail?
Speaker 4: Oh, come on, oprah?
Speaker 2: Oh for Gail? All right? Nighttime or daytime? Nighttime Texter
Speaker 2: call call Instagram or Facebook, Facebook, breakfast or brunch brunch.
Speaker 4: Yep, because I'll be lated to all the types of breakfast.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, last one, Kim or Taylor?
Speaker 4: Oh hell no, neither.
Speaker 1: This question?
Speaker 4: Like what neither one of them?
Speaker 2: Okay, fine, there's an answer. Answer B is none. Of
Speaker 2: the above.
Speaker 3: Yes, you have to keep the misunderstanding in the beginning.
Speaker 3: That's just oh yeah, no, please do Your people will
Speaker 3: be like why our people who are supposedly so smart.
Speaker 3: Oh my god, this was like my favorite interview ever.
Speaker 3: Thank you so so so so much for joining us, Lovey.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, this is super fun.
Speaker 2: You just made my day. Thank you, Lovey. Everyone go
Speaker 2: to awesomelovey dot com right now.
Speaker 6: Indeed, all right, so you're.
Speaker 2: Welcome for that interview. I feel like we just made
Speaker 2: your Tuesday. So we're gonna piece that a little bit
Speaker 2: early on this week's episode. But before we go, Tiffany
Speaker 2: has a reminder for you all.
Speaker 3: Remember we have a contest in that we want to
Speaker 3: know what is Brown Ambition mean to you? And we
Speaker 3: are going to pick anywhere from five to ten listeners
Speaker 3: to join Mandy and I for dinner in.
Speaker 4: New York City on us.
Speaker 3: I mean, the transportation is on you, but the dinner
Speaker 3: is on us, and we're just gonna sit talk be
Speaker 3: brown and fabulous and fun. So if you can email
Speaker 3: us at.
Speaker 2: Brown Ambition Podcasts at gmail dot com.
Speaker 3: What Brown Ambition means to you and I guess in
Speaker 3: the subject line. What should they put?
Speaker 2: Just like put anything you want just for Grown Ambition contest.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and so yeah, we want to eat because it's
Speaker 3: our one year anniversary, returning one soon and we want
Speaker 3: to meet like some of the listeners and just have
Speaker 3: a good time with y'all. So make sure that you
Speaker 3: email us, make sure you share you know what Brown
Speaker 3: Ambition means to you, not necessarily the show, just in
Speaker 3: general what Brown Ambition means to you. And we will
Speaker 3: pick our top phades and we'll have dinner.
Speaker 2: I can't wait. Food booze, brown buzz.
Speaker 3: I don't even drink, but honey, I don't need to drink.
Speaker 2: Final I'll have yours.
Speaker 3: Man, Today was just such an awesome day that was
Speaker 3: just so so much fun with Lovey.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I hope you guys enjoyed for making it happen.
Speaker 3: Oh, no, no problem. Honestly, I didn't even have to
Speaker 3: do anything. She was looking to be interviewed.
Speaker 4: So okay, all right
Speaker 3: Y'all, we will see you next week and I don't know,
Speaker 3: keep it Brown, keep it ambitious, Brooker, Brooker, Okay, bye bye,