WEBVTT - SUPPORT IS A VERB w/ DR. KEY HALLMON 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:05.240 Throwing it back to Black Tech Green Money episode two. 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:10.080 Brian Michael Cotton is a music producer and songwriter responsible 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.080 for more than a hundred million album sales, thirty five 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.759 number one hits, and twelve Grammy nominations, including nine wins. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.040 On one of the first episodes of Black Tech, Green Money, 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:22.959 asked Brian about the value of building a strong network 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.120 with people who are at or close to your level 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:28.040 firsts always reaching upwards to try to get put on 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.960 by someone much further down the road. The majority of 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:33.680 help Dive been getting in my life for the past 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:37.560 it Team sixteen years have been directed from people that 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.120 I came up with, whether it's the Shocks Lose, whether 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:45.280 it's the Delicia Butterfields, whether it's you know, John Johnson's, 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.159 whether it's you know what I mean, Chris Higgs. Like 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.120 these are people who six was a little He helped me, 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:55.120 he put me on. But if we look at it, 0:00:55.280 --> 0:00:56.760 you know, we talked about it all the time, like 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.200 we were learning that through learning together. I look at 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.319 the people around me and the people who's who helped me. 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:07.400 They were definitely ahead of me, but they weren't Jimmy 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:10.559 I V. You know, they couldn't just kind of check 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:14.600 and just saved my life. We had to literally work, 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:18.679 you know, learned together, and I needed them to guide 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:20.880 me to get to those places. You know what I mean. 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:23.480 I will say that, and then I looked at my 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:27.560 peers like a Volicia Butterfield, Christie Henderson. Any help that 0:01:27.640 --> 0:01:29.560 I need, I could just reach out for them. Yeah, 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.600 I mean, that's my network. And we came up together, 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.120 came from nothing. So I was telling to be your 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:38.600 net worth determines your net worth, right, So at the day, yeah, 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.600 you could like it. Moving up is a is a 0:01:41.640 --> 0:01:43.280 good thing, you know what I mean. If somebody can 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:46.840 help you, who's who's who's in position to help you? 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.960 If if a if you're able to get to a 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:53.720 puff or get to a you know, go be cocks whoever. Right, 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:55.680 it's cool, you know what I mean. But at the 0:01:55.760 --> 0:01:58.440 end of the day, I can help you get the point. B. 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:02.320 But the people that you surround yourself with all the words, 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:05.280 is gonna be your your direct anchor, you know what 0:02:05.320 --> 0:02:07.440 I'm saying, Because you're not the way to call me 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:09.280 for every little thing. I can't call card days for 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:11.800 every little bit. So I can't call Jimmy Ivan or not. 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:14.359 You know, I can't call you know man anything, anything 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:16.160 I gotta issue with anything. I want to bounce off 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:21.280 anybody as I can bounce off. I could call Chris Easy, 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:25.320 I would call Alicia Easy. I could call j Q Easy. 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:27.760 I could call John Tay Easy. You know. I mean, 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.400 he's all people that we all came up together. The 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:33.600 importance of having people around you and creating your network 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.440 around you is I mean, it's necessary because you might 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.200 you know if you don't, you know when the valley 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.320 is hit and you out there by yourself. Who my 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.200 valot is said I was. I was in a good 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:47.519 space because I wasn't there by myself. I have people 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.400 who came up with and we can help each other 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:53.919 and want each other. Though I'm on Lucas and this 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.959 is black tech, clean money. I'm gonna introduce you to 0:02:58.000 --> 0:02:59.799 some of the biggest names, some of the brightness of 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:03.320 mind and brilliant ideas. I feel black in building simply 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.360 using tech to secure your bag. This podcast is for you. 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.880 Dr Key Hallman is the founder at the Village Market, 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.840 a t L who's mission is to support the sustainability 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:21.520 of socially conscious, community minded black entrepreneurs and black owned startups. 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:25.200 I ask Dr Kid about the secret sauce to the 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:29.240 blueprint getting black entrepreneurs from different industries in the same 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:33.280 commercial space with the goal of not only building their businesses, 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:37.960 but our businesses. I think the blueprint is together. I 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.720 don't think I've created something that hasn't been done, and 0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:43.080 I would tell you in twenty sixteen, I wasn't up 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:45.560 against what we're all facing right now, and that's being 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:49.800 forced to be online so pre pandemic. I was teamed like, 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:51.600 we need to see each other in person. We need 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.560 to figure out how to use our best gifts. Like 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:56.880 if if your gift is whatever it is, will and 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:59.480 my gift what is whatever it is. My whole thought 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.440 belief is that you're more powerful if I drawn with 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:04.720 you and you're drawn with me. And so even in 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:06.760 this e commerce space, I think there are some very 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:11.559 unique opportunities for entrepreneurs, artists and great minds to collaborate. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:14.080 And a lot of that comes from conversations like this. 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:16.960 So when we think, when we have these type of conversations, 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:19.720 then we start to understand, like what you're really about, 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.080 because what I know especial about black Folks is always 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.760 much more than just a T shirt. It's always much 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.360 more than than than the hair care products. There's a story, 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.200 there's a legacy behind that, and there's also an aspiration 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.880 to create something that we've never seen. So the point 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.000 of entry to me and collaboration, especially in this digital space, 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:42.000 is getting on zoom, getting cute, getting the lighting together, 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:45.919 and having a conversation about how we got started, what 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.680 we're doing, and what we can do together. I think 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:51.840 those unified efforts in these most intimate ways and also 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.360 convenient ways of being able to communicate, helps us start 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:58.400 to establish what the partnerships look like in the twenty 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.480 first century. Now when the world opens back up, there's 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.960 nothing like being in the space in a room that 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.960 synergy that you all do it at afro Tech, at Glavity, 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:10.360 we do it at the Village Market. There's nothing like 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:13.640 that vibration of being in a space of collaborative minds 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:17.000 to a future thinking but also who are so thankful 0:05:17.000 --> 0:05:19.320 to being a present moment together. There's nothing that's nothing 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:21.440 like that. So I look forward to being in that 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:25.160 space where we can comfortably convene together, but in the meantime, 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.039 how we can collaborate is literally doing what you and 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.120 I are doing right now. And I've asked you this 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:32.960 question before, but I want to make sure that people 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.719 really get this next answer, because what I don't want 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:38.080 people to leave here with after they hear your beautiful 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:39.960 words today, but I don't want them to leave with 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:42.920 is the idea what I'm gonna go support black businesses 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:46.560 because you don't go to Target to support Target. You 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.880 just go there because they got what you need. And 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.560 so how do we get over this idea that we 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.280 have to quote unquote support that our businesses need to 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:58.440 support versus they're looking for their consumers and they I'm 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:02.480 shopping there because they provide val you indeed, and good question, 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:04.960 and because I do truly believe support is a verb. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.880 But I also know there's a count of narrative how 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.480 we talk about words, and words have power. So when 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:12.359 you go on to buy from black it's because you 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.159 want the best on your body, want the best in 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:15.960 your house. So I think it's the way that we 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:20.880 think about and how we're normalizing our intentionality of making 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.479 sure we find in support of black owned business that 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.480 we intentionally buy from a black owned business. That's different 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.400 than support support says I can take it to leave it. 0:06:30.680 --> 0:06:33.880 When those things that we want, we heavily pursue those, 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:36.600 even if it's not conveniently around the corner for us. 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.720 So I think we start thinking about about black businesses. 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:43.279 What we've seen due to centuries of redlining and things 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:46.599 like that, it's not as quote unquote convenient to find 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:50.040 those black owned businesses, and so we're thinking about, like, 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:51.960 how do I do that in such a way. I 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.000 have to go and support and do this thing. But 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.240 what I tell the entrepreneurs in the village, and as 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:58.920 I tell entrepreneurs who are in this space, I mean, 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.400 folks are missing out if they're not rocking your product. 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.120 Both are not People are missing out if you're not 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:06.400 the black owned doctor that's taking care of their kids, 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.000 if this is not the black owned school that's educating 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:10.960 your young folks. And I think it's so it's the 0:07:11.000 --> 0:07:13.400 way that we talk about ourselves is the way that 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:15.960 we start normalizing the narrative of what it means to 0:07:16.000 --> 0:07:18.720 just be about black business. And I think that's beyond 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:22.360 quote unquote supporting, because that sounds more philanthropick in nature, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:24.440 and rather than making it just a part of our 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:28.800 lifestyle and what we do. What did you do at 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:33.560 the village to ensure the narrative around doing business with 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:36.000 black owned businesses was changing, because you know, we have 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:37.600 this whole thing. You know, I can't do business with 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.120 black folks because they ain't got good customer service, the 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.880 whole thing. What did you do at the village to 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.920 make sure, I, look, this is a place of excellence, 0:07:46.160 --> 0:07:49.120 and how did you how did you both inspire that 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:52.360 with your your vendors um and then how did you 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:54.560 shape that narrative with the people who would be coming 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:58.120 there to shop? Yeah? Good, super good question again, and 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.320 so even before we get to the vendors, even before 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:03.600 we get to the consumers, I made sure that I 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.920 had a good team. I made sure that I had 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.200 a really good team that understood like what we were 0:08:08.240 --> 0:08:11.800 striving to build, because then it had to these thoughts 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:16.040 had to outlive me. Then we began to work with entrepreneurs, brands, 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:18.960 i e. Vendors, and so our job is if you 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:21.760 ever had issues with customer service, let us help you 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:24.680 out there. And so that programmatic piece before we are, 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.320 before we would do a marketplace, we work with entrepreneurs 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.360 over a course of thirty thirty to ninety days to 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:34.200 prepare them what I said, to just be ready to 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.720 be overwhelmed by a village of people who are seeking 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.000 to buy. And so I think that programmatic components what 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:43.800 made sure that the insurance that when you came to 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.320 the village market that these are these entrepreneurs, these brands 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.120 are well prepared to meet you, well prepared to make 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.720 sure that the POS systems are in place. Were prepared 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:54.800 to make sure that the meller system is locked in 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.160 so you can be able to communicate with them after that, 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:59.480 and that you have enough product, that your branding is 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.640 there that you're marketing there. And so that was that 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:06.000 multi pronged um process of ensuring that the entrepreneurs were 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.360 prepared to meet the village. And then the only thing 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:10.040 that we told the village that you don't want to 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.200 miss this. If you think you've seen the movie, were 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:16.120 kind of nothing like experiencing it, because that's what the 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.199 village market is. And I think, again, I am I'm 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.560 a former educator, but I truly understand the power of words. 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.280 But when you beyond words, then you have to be 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:27.640 able to meet that with a moment. I made sure 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:30.520 that the Village Market literally dripped an excellence from the 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.719 art on the wall, to the brands that were showcasing, 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.000 to the musicians that were playing and I and I 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.880 showed the plethora of what it means to be in 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:44.240 a black artistic space, from jazz brent bands, to kid 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.800 drummers to tap dancers to live art. All of that 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.120 is inside of the Village Market. And so I think 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:54.640 when we talk about excellence, excellence, it's not siloed. It's 0:09:54.679 --> 0:09:57.640 not a it's not a single narrative. And so it 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.240 should be beyond just entrepreneurs. We should create whole experiences. 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:04.080 But before we create that experiences, we have to make 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:06.440 sure that the entrepreneurs are prepared to meet their consumer 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:08.199 because at the end of the day, the only way 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:12.160 that we can really ensure economic mobility we have to buy. Well, 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.400 let's talk about that program, like what what do you 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:18.240 do when somebody comes to you with the fantastic product 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:21.400 on its face may not have the operational excellence, Like, 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:24.120 talk to me about that program, you know whatever that 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.440 when you's heavy word, that's curriculum, But talk to me 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:30.080 about what that looks like over those you know, periods 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.360 of times where you're taking them before you put them 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.640 on the floor. They're going through this process, sure, and 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.880 so the curriculum is our word former teacher and me, 0:10:39.040 --> 0:10:44.160 So we really build a curriculum around this. And also 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.160 that point of entry for us first is the application 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:51.160 and then we've created an amazing group break where we are. 0:10:51.720 --> 0:10:56.559 I have a council of thirteen scores who rotate every 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:59.120 every ninety days who are looking at applications and we're 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:02.000 looking at different things. We're looking at entrepreneurs to make 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.920 sure that they have a way to uh that the 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.040 audience and their buyers can buy outside of the Village market, 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.840 meaning they have an e commerce space that their separation 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.360 between their personal life and their brand identity and if 0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:17.440 it's merging, is merging in ways that makes sense. Um. 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.880 That is also very clear on message of what we're doing. 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:23.400 We're truly striving for the up, the up mobility for 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.719 all of us. So we're looking at these things that 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.880 once entrepreneurs get accepted into the Village or get accepted 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.840 into our Elevate program that's running now, then they then 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:37.040 entrepreneurs have one on one meetings and interviews with business 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:40.080 coaches and so the questions we ask what are your 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:42.559 wildest dreams and what is it? What is it gonna 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.560 take you to get there? If target is your wildest dream, 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.000 is it all is the only target because it's the 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:50.560 only thing you've seen? Or are you afraid to go 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.000 build your own thing? And so we we want to 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:56.560 know those answers because that helps us create a place 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.760 based curriculum that makes sense to that entrepreneur. And so 0:11:59.800 --> 0:12:02.880 one once the entrepreneurs are accepted into the village, and 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.280 once in the village, you're always a villager. Don't believe 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:08.360 in the council culture. Here we prepare. We make sure 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.640 that those entrepreneurs have honestly everything they need. So if 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.400 there is if there's a gap in their website, if 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.800 they're not checking, if they don't have s c OH 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.560 in place, if they're not looking at the analytics in 0:12:19.600 --> 0:12:22.480 their analytics, if they're not understanding their numbers, we have 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.440 classes and workshops around that, and then we do the 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.959 big reveal um and that is all before the pandemic. 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.360 Since the pandemic has happened, all of that has changed, 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.760 and we have our Elevate program that runs every day 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.720 for so proprietors and so at the end of the 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.640 elevated program UM entrepreneurs have an opportunity to be in 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.920 our new retail space located upon City Market that's open 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:48.560 seven days a week. And but will the catalysts of 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:51.360 what we do and what makes the Village market extremely special. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:55.000 We don't just throw entrepreneurs out there like we're literally 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.079 hand in hand. We're on this journey together. If you 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.199 if we grow, that means you have UM And there's 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:05.400 honestly we what's so special about our work. And I 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:09.680 think other black lead organizations just not enough spaces created 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:14.760 when entrepreneurs can test, refined, fell forward, failed, completely flat 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.720 on their face, and then have counsel around them to 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.160 help them solve some of these big problems problems by 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:25.400 where capital problems, by where scaling operations problems. Was I 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.720 just have no idea what I'm doing. I thought I 0:13:28.760 --> 0:13:31.000 just wanted to sell a candle. Now I have all 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:33.600 these thousands of units that's going out of the door, 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:36.040 and I have to grow to meet this moment. And 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:37.880 so what we do is just make sure wherever the 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:40.280 moment is, that they're somewhere in the village that can 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.120 meet them where they are. This is a phrase you 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:47.480 used in there, and you called the upper mobility, and 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.400 I think too too often when we hear that phrase, 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:54.880 it's just about economics. And there's also a point that 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:58.439 you talked about, you know, uh in other interviews I've read, 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.959 when you talk about our food is import and our 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.160 education is important. Can you talk about your idea of 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.880 upper mobility with all those things holistically? Yeah, when you 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.800 said the word, I think our mobility anything over is holistic. 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:14.280 I think the only way that things can move it 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:17.120 must create a complete circle. And so for me, the 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:19.960 first point of entry is mental health. So before we 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:23.600 talk about economics, before we talk about even education. If 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.360 the mind isn't well, then it's hard to dream something 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:29.280 bigger for yourself. It's it's also hard to dream something 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.440 bigger where you can actually believe that collaboration won't cut 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.320 you out of the deal. And so it's like training 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.720 our minds that think differently, training our minds to understand 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.720 the general generational curses are very real thing, but we 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.280 don't have to live and stay there. So we work 0:14:44.960 --> 0:14:47.240 hand to hand with a number of mental health practitioners, 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:50.200 and we've done this for years to ensure that entrepreneurs 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.280 and we start normalizing what therapy is, and so we 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:57.760 can start literally trained here to start building. Now, the 0:14:57.840 --> 0:15:01.600 upward mobility is mental health, making sure that entrepreneurs have 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.960 the resources, the technical, technical assistance, to education and place. 0:15:06.480 --> 0:15:09.880 Then we start focusing on how the trust scale of business, 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:12.760 because what I don't want to happen is that we 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:17.000 rescale and then everything everything is thriving except for us, 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.320 that the money is sitting in the bank account. And 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.120 and this is the most isolated we've ever felt, the 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:27.120 most heartbroken and lonely we've ever felt, and also fear 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.920 of even outgrowing where we are. And I think all 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.480 of that goes to a place of wellness. Um, if 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:35.000 entrepreneurs are like myself, the things I'm doing well, I 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:38.400 have no relationship to it. In my family, UM, first generation, 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:42.160 my sister and I college graduates, first generation entrepreneur in 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:45.480 this way, with the exception of my great grandparents being 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.000 entrepreneurs in Mississippi. But in the way that I'm doing it, 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.400 I haven't. I haven't seen this before. And so another 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:54.160 part of that over mobility is understanding that to be 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.600 outward you have to have peers of like mind and 0:15:57.600 --> 0:16:00.760 and like intention and like enthusiast them to help you 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.080 figure this thing out that many of us are experiencing 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:08.320 for the first time. I would imagine you've had this experience. 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:10.200 But I talked to a lot of people who run 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.560 like small business and maybe they make candles, maybe they 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.400 you know, do shade better like you just whatever, you know, 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:18.200 the thing that they can whip up in their kitchen, 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:20.960 And too many of them in my mind, because I 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:22.520 want to get your opinion and I don't want to, like, 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.600 you know, spoil the water before I put this over 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:28.440 to you. Just you know, they're happy with just selling 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:31.320 a few, They're happy with just making enough with their 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.720 things to say they did a thing. What do you 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:39.160 think is the root of that number one? And this 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:41.320 is something that needs to be solved, And if so, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.240 how do we solve this idea that we can only 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.640 be as big as this? Yeah, I don't know if 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.560 it's a thing that you solve like an equation. I 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:53.360 think it's a journey of wellness. I think as we 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.000 love ourselves more, we know the capacity and wish that 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:59.280 we can achieve things. I think we are almost sometimes 0:16:59.280 --> 0:17:01.840 a little afraid that if this grows to something else 0:17:01.880 --> 0:17:04.919 that's more exposure to me, This more opportunity for me 0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:08.520 to fail. Limited thinking is something that is ingrained due 0:17:08.560 --> 0:17:12.040 to deep oppression. It's hard for us and many people 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:15.480 to start visualizing themselves being like a mogul in the 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:18.720 industry because they have never seen and they think that's 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:20.919 only for a select few that has to be in 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.560 sound a certain way and come from a certain thing. 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:27.320 But all of it again goes to mindset, and mindset 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:31.520 is only that relationship to environment. And so the solution is, 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:34.199 how do we nurture our environment, how do we nurture 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:37.359 ourselves that it can be more than it can be 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:41.200 more than a candle. We can literally create the jar 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.320 that every coundle needs. We can create the wax that 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:48.200 I'm sure I'm soory free. I'm hoping sort candles and 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.320 and and all these countles out there that people are 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.199 looking for, that we can be, We can be on 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:56.119 the manufacturing in so, I think that proximity of seeing 0:17:56.119 --> 0:17:57.840 people who have done it. And I shared this to 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.119 a good friend of mine um just this past weekend. 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:03.080 He talked about the things that he wanted to do 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.400 and the reason why he believed he can do all 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.359 these things just because he's had a vast number of 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:12.600 experiences that's being so close to proximity to it. And 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:14.600 so I don't think the solution is something is one 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.600 plus one equals too. I think it's the journey of 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:19.840 understanding that there's a parts of us that need to 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.000 be healed, parts of us that we don't even know 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.160 how great we can be our And I actually talked 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:26.879 to my doctor and she shared that many of us 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:29.720 have no idea how great we can feel because we've 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:33.960 never experienced being a healthy before. And I think visions 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:37.280 and aspirations are the same, so it'll be a side 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:39.480 hustle because you don't know you can do anything else. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.040 And I press upon everyone that the gift of vision 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:47.000 is already anointed. I won't folks to truly understand that 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:50.040 everyone everyone does not get the vision to create a 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.520 path for themselves. And when you get it, you don't 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.480 even have to worry about imposter syndrome. You have already 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.160 been given the first thing that you need, and that's 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:01.680 the seed of a big vision. So just I mean, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:07.560 go after it. I unapologetically go after everything that is 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:11.800 in my mind because I know that it is divinely protected. 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:14.520 What I don't do is go after things that I 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.119 know are not for me though, and you can feel it. 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:21.719 I love that. I love that. Um. How closely tied 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:28.280 is civil rights? UM, social equality, closely health disparities to 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.960 economic power? And I want to ask a specifically of you, 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.240 because you know you like almost self proclaimed social entrepreneurs, 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:36.280 which means you're not just in it for the money. 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:41.640 But how closely tied are those things to economic power? Yes? 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.119 I mentioned earlier about redlining, and that was created to 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:51.080 literally starved communities. And so if a community does not 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:55.040 have a place where people can eat healthy foods, if 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:57.760 there is no way the kids can be educated, then 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.960 that that community would always be a as and deserters 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.960 with without things that people can do to survive and live, 0:20:04.560 --> 0:20:08.560 and so economic mobility, that whole picture again, all of 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:11.760 that has to be included, and that social entrepreneur in me, 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:16.399 I'm always thinking about beyond the foods that we're eating, 0:20:16.600 --> 0:20:18.520 what type of foods are we eating and what is 0:20:18.520 --> 0:20:21.120 it doing to our bodies? What type of things are 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:24.879 we reading, How we're educating our children, how we're educating ourselves, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:27.239 Because what is going to take and what is going 0:20:27.280 --> 0:20:30.720 to require for us to really move our community forward. 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.080 Is that we're thinking about all these things all the time. Now, 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.879 you don't have to be the magician. You don't have 0:20:36.960 --> 0:20:39.080 to be the one that has the magic in that area. 0:20:39.200 --> 0:20:41.440 That's why we have the village. But I do think 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:46.639