WEBVTT - Ariana Pierce 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:06.960 I'm Sam Edis and I'm Amy Nelson. Welcome to What's 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:09.600 Her Story? With Sam and Amy. This is a show 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:15.400 about the world's most remarkable women, their professional and personal journeys. Together, 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.200 we'll hear from gold medalists, best selling authors, and leaders 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:22.840 of the world's most iconic brands. Listen every Thursday or 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:27.880 join the conversation anytime on Instagram at What's Her Story Podcast. 0:00:30.440 --> 0:00:34.559 Arianna Pierce is an entrepreneur turned Web three expert. She 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.319 has seamlessly transitioned from starting and growing a successful, now 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:41.879 polished business to becoming a pre eminent leader and educator 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:46.519 on the blockchain. One of the remarkable things about you 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:50.920 is that you transitioned from being this beauty entrepreneur to 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.680 being this sort of queen of Web three. How did 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:57.280 that come about? Really? I still do both. So I 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:03.000 love entrepreneurship. I love inspiring others to own businesses and 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:06.800 to have multiple streams of income. But through that I 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:12.400 also started investing. So I believe naturally investing came, you know, 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:15.600 just as a part of being in business. You know, 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:18.080 I'm in business now, I want to know how to invest. 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:21.520 So I was day trading and I was doing four 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.200 X trading and crypto trading, and I said, wow, this 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:29.120 is really awesome. And of course that is male dominated. 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:32.680 So I'm like, of course I'm getting into another industry 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:35.960 that is male dominated. I'm taught now. It was good 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.920 because I met my fiance, So maybe that was awesome 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:40.920 that it was male dominated, because when I went to 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.759 the meetings there was no competition, so no UM. But 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:47.720 on the other hand, I said, man, we need some 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:50.600 more women in this space to dominate, just like in 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.640 the entrepreneurial world, just like how I helped them to 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:57.440 build six and seven finger brands, Let's bring this over 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:02.320 into the investing world. So I got really good at that. 0:02:02.600 --> 0:02:06.040 I ended up creating a strategy that goes along with 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:10.519 trading and UM foreign currency and how to move in 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.320 the markets. I end up creating my own strategy, which 0:02:13.400 --> 0:02:17.639 led me to teaching and creating a group for young women. 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.560 And of course the men wanted to join as well, 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:22.440 so we let them join, and then which caused me 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:24.520 to get into n f t S because that comes 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.560 naturally with being in the crypto world. And so when 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.000 I got into n f t S, I said, okay, 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:35.320 yet again, this is a male dominated space. We need 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.480 to train up the ladies on how they can win. 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:41.160 Because I was talking to someone the other day and 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.240 I said, you know what, this really is an opportunity 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:47.320 for us to build wealth at a very early stage. 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:49.800 For example, what do I mean by that? You know, 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:53.079 there was the oil and gas industry. Those who took 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:57.680 advantage of that early they're uber wealthy. Right then you 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:02.079 had the car right industry. Then you had the software 0:03:02.200 --> 0:03:05.240 or internet or the tech industry that launched. And those 0:03:05.280 --> 0:03:09.600 that invested in that early, I mean now they're super wealthy. Okay, 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:11.880 Now I feel like we are on the brink of 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:16.520 another industry with Web three, with crypto, and those that 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:18.600 get in on it early, they're gonna be able to 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.840 change the financial legacy of their entire family. Why not 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:26.120 have women get involved in this because they can do 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:28.480 it now. In the past, there may have been some 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.519 restrictions and you know, restraints on women, But now they 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.080 can get involved with this because the one thing about 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:37.480 Web three and n f t S is that it 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:40.680 doesn't know your face, it doesn't know your background. It 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:42.680 doesn't know if you're a criminal or if you have 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.400 a squeaky clean background. And I'm not saying anyone should 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:47.760 be a criminal, right, But what I'm saying is is 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:50.400 that it does not know and you can really win 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:52.480 in this space, and I wanted to help my ladies win. 0:03:52.800 --> 0:03:56.320 I feel like you're constantly learning and you're constantly challenging yourself. 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.480 If you ever get exhausted and not want to learn 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.960 the next definitely, oh yes. I mean there comes a 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.280 time where I'm just like, listen, I just want to 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:09.320 chill out. I want to watch some movies, and I 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:11.760 just want to do nothing. Don't bring a question to me. 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:14.200 I don't want to read an email. I don't want 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:18.479 to answer anyone today. That definitely happens. And what I 0:04:18.560 --> 0:04:21.359 try to do is, at least once a week have 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.880 a brain break right where you just say, you know what, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.320 I'm gonna chill out. I'm going to not answer any calls, 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.719 I'm not going to rush to do any emails. But 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.800 after that, I'm gonna get back to work. And I 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:36.200 look forward to those days. They're awesome. I spend time 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.120 with my family. We normally go out to a brunch 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.039 every single Sunday, so that gives us time to get 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:46.040 away from the office, focus on us, and really, you know, 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:49.480 what's really important and focus on our health and um, 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:52.960 you know, just our relationships with each other. So definitely, yes, 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:55.120 there are those times. But then I said, you know what, 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.520 I gotta get back to work because it's bigger than me. 0:04:57.839 --> 0:04:59.640 It's not you know, I have to get out there 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:03.320 and help others really understand this. So, Marianna, you referenced 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.279 that you were again in a male dominated industry. Were 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:10.080 you referencing the beauty industry. Well, funny that you asked that, 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:14.000 because the beauty industry really is, or at the time 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:19.039 was male dominated. I remember going to meetings and it 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:22.479 would be a meeting with maybe another cosmetic company or 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:24.919 maybe we were doing some type of deal, and I 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.760 remember sitting there one being the of course the youngest 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:30.039 in the room, you know, I'm at the head of 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:34.360 the table like you know, the youngest, and them looking 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:36.599 at me like oh, because they didn't really know my face. 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.920 I didn't put my face with the company, so people 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.120 didn't know who was running it because I knew being 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:48.240 a young minority woman, right, young girl. Really at that time, 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.880 they may not take me seriously, so you didn't see 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:54.640 my face. This wasn't oh, Arianna, No, it wasn't that. 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:58.440 So when they contacted us and said, oh, we would 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:00.280 like to do a deal with you all, or we 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.080 would like to discuss this with this reality TV show, 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:05.839 maybe doing some type of collaboration. I would go to 0:06:05.880 --> 0:06:08.880 the media with my assistant and they would be very 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.960 surprised and say oh wow, right, and it would be 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:13.760 a lot of men in the room, and of course 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:17.919 people to three times my age, So that definitely was 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:21.520 was something that was a factor. So you make Web 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.919 three seem like something that's approachable for anyone, right, and 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:29.240 you're encouraging everyone to participate. But what's the first step. 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:31.600 How do you get over that hurdle of feeling like 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:33.880 you missed the boat already? Well, let me tell you this, 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:36.039 you have not missed the boat. When it comes to 0:06:36.080 --> 0:06:39.159 Web three. We are still in the very, very very 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:43.279 beginning stages of it. But I would advise people to 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:45.479 get in on it now, because of course, the earlier 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:48.560 that you get in, the more you are going to 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:51.719 be able to absorb absorb it, and the more that 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.120 you'll be able to win in this space. But the 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.400 first thing that I tell people is one follow those 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:00.839 who are already in this space. You don't want to 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.640 go on this journey alone because there can be a 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.880 lot of hiccups that come along with doing this. I'm 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.720 talking about n f t s being stolen, crypto being stolen, 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:14.320 you know, weird things happening to your wallet. You're like, 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.720 what just happened? How did that happen? So definitely find 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.760 some people that you can connect with. One of the 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:23.360 people that I really love, her name is board Becky 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:25.600 and you can look her up on Instagram, but she 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:29.520 has a great podcast on you know, n f t 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:33.080 s and this entire space, so it's really really awesome. 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:36.400 So really getting that education so that way you can 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:40.920 do this journey with someone who's already have navigated this space. 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.680 So follow those who are already in this space. You 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:45.680 can follow me as well. I do a lot of 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:49.520 UM teaching on how the basics of this. And then two, 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:52.520 I would say setting up your wallet, which would be 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:56.000 something like a meta mask. That's the one that I 0:07:56.200 --> 0:08:00.360 recommended the industry standard learning how to set up meta 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.800 mask because if you're gonna be in web three, they're 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.920 always going to ask you, hey, where is your wallet? 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:07.960 So you want to be able to have a wallet 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.760 to participate in this space. Then the third thing that 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:14.000 I would say that's a basic is learning how to 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:17.680 buy ethereum. Now there are n f t s and 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:22.360 web three can be on many different block chains and 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:27.560 coincide with different cryptos, but the majority of them, again, 0:08:27.600 --> 0:08:31.600 the industry standard is ethereum as of right now. That 0:08:31.720 --> 0:08:35.000 may be changing, but right now ethereum. So learning how 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:38.440 to buy your ethereum would be something that's very important 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:40.080 as well if you're going to be in this space. 0:08:41.080 --> 0:08:44.480 You said you met your fiance in the crypto space. 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:49.320 How did you meet and how did you know he 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.400 was the one for you? So we actually met in 0:08:52.679 --> 0:08:55.600 New York City. I'm from Orlando, and so I was 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:59.000 traveling to New York for a tour that my mom 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:02.360 and I both hope it's our success tour. So we 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.439 host a success tour every single year, and we were 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.199 doing this one in New York at that particular time. 0:09:08.240 --> 0:09:12.439 I remember it was in May of that year, and um, 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.240 we went to New York and I was asked a 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:18.960 few days before our meeting to speak on fifth AV 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:24.240 at a trader's event. Okay, so it was day Traders. 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:26.920 So I went there and I spoke about my story 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:31.439 with day trading, how I got started being in the industry, 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:35.240 wanting to impact more women's lives in this industry. Just 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:39.280 giving my full story about how I started with day trading. Well, 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:41.760 after that, we ended up going to dinner, you know, 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:43.760 all of us, and I of course was the only 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.640 lady there. So it was nice, you know, there was 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:49.800 a lot to choose from, I'll say that. And Um, 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.320 I went to dinner and there was a guy that 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.440 was sitting across from me, and he kept looking at me, 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:57.480 and so I'm like, is he looking at me because 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.680 I have something on my face? Or is it because 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:03.079 he like me? And so we just kept talking and 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:05.800 you know, just sharing within the room about day trading, 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.240 about crypto and different things like that. Then afterwards he 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:12.600 came up to me and said, hey, you know, UM, 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:16.080 I really enjoyed talking with you tonight. Can I connect 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:19.320 with you on Instagram? Now? Why he didn't ask for 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.640 my number? I guess maybe that's our generation's way of 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.360 connecting with one another. So he did that and I 0:10:26.400 --> 0:10:28.520 said okay, and then I knew them when he asked 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.680 for the Instagram I said, oh, yeah, he really likes me, um, 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:35.280 and so and so we did that, and a few 0:10:35.360 --> 0:10:39.760 days later, I invited him to our event uh that 0:10:39.800 --> 0:10:42.679 my mom and I were hosting in New York, and 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:47.480 he was the only man that came, and I said, okay, awesome, 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:49.560 I'm glad you came. He was the only individual that 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:51.600 came from that group, and I said, all right. So 0:10:51.640 --> 0:10:54.760 we were just flirting the entire day, and then that 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:59.360 evening we all went to dinner with our staff to celebrate, 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:02.640 and I invited him to come along with me, and 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.040 so we sat there we talked all night. It was 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.360 like no one else was in the room. He lived 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:09.440 in New York, I was in Orlando. So in the 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:11.360 back of my mind, I'm like, okay, this is nice, 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:13.800 but I don't really know how this is gonna work out, 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:18.160 but I'll try it anyway. And so we talked and 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.600 we have never stopped talking since. Well fast forward about 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:24.600 six months later, he said, you know what, I really 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.120 am serious about this relationship. I want to be with you. 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.680 I see myself marrying you. So I'm gonna move from 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:33.440 New York to Orlando so that way you can know 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.840 that I'm serious about this. Because he said, I know 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.000 that if I don't move You're gonna find someone else 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.200 and I'm gonna lose you. And I said, okay, So 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:46.480 I never told him that he had to move. I 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.560 just let it be his decision, and he did it 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:52.480 within that first year of us being together, and the 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.720 rest is history. And now we're engaged. So what is 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.800 a success tour? You said that you and your mom 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:00.920 were going to New York and success to her? What 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.800 is that? This is our tour that we host every 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.559 single year, and it's our tour where we inspire ladies 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:11.520 from around the world and we teach them about business 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:15.880 and marketing and branding, and so that's really our specialty. 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:19.960 We have an entire business school where we teach women 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.600 how to do this with taking their businesses from you 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.400 know where it is today to leveling up to that 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:30.319 next um you know, profit bracket or whatever that may 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:34.520 be for them, creating products, creating digital products, marketing in 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:38.080 their brands, getting into stores, all of those types of things. 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.760 We help them with that. And so we decided, Okay, 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:43.560 this is awesome. We love having our business school, but 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:46.240 let's take that on the road. And so we took 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.440 it on the road and we were able to travel 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.440 with that and so we call it our success tour 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:54.280 because we're helping them to be successful in their businesses 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:58.079 and in their brands. And now a quick break. Are 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.120 you a woman owned business looking for a new sales channel. 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:04.000 I'm so excited to tell you about our newest partner 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:07.120 in the W Marketplace. Founded by two women, it's a 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.800 nationwide e commerce site for women entrepreneurs and the shoppers 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:14.000 who support them. It offers favorable terms and is a 0:13:14.040 --> 0:13:18.280 supportive community for female founded companies. With over five hundred 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:22.000 women owned businesses selling thousands of products and services, the 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:26.040 W Marketplace might be your favorite new sales channel. Intrigued 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:30.240 learn more at Join the W Marketplace dot com. One 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:32.800 of the threads start what you've done is really the 0:13:33.040 --> 0:13:36.880 marketing to all of these customers. How do you attract 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.200 the people on your success tours? Or how did you 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.480 attract your nail customers, your no polish customers? How do 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.959 you attract your now crypto audience? Well, of course, like 0:13:47.000 --> 0:13:50.800 I mentioned with starting that nail polished company, it all 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:55.560 started with realizing, Okay, if I can connect and build 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:59.679 relationships with people who I have never met online, then 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.199 that that I can also attract people into my business 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:06.000 that I have never met through social media as well. 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.920 Of course we have ads that are going out, but 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.280 really under all of that, because you can have the ads, 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.920 you can make the social media post and still attract 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:20.680 little to know people. But really it's building a lifestyle 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.360 around your product and service. And that's been something that 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:27.240 has really helped us and really helped me go to 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:30.200 the next level with my um business. So what do 0:14:30.240 --> 0:14:34.120 I mean by that? Not just delegating or telling people 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.440 what they should do, but really demonstrating it in our 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:40.800 own lives. And when they say okay Ariana or Dr 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.200 Station that happens to be my mother, um Ariana and 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:47.920 Dr Staa, they're doing this. They're succeeding in this there, Okay, 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.040 they are building wealth in this area as an entrepreneur. 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.200 You know, they're doing their conferences, they're teaching women this, 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.040 they're starting their business school. I want to do that, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.880 so let me connect with them. I think that is 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.640 my secret sauce that I'm letting out today with more. 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:05.360 You know, of course you want to do those other 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.800 things when it comes to marketing and branding, but when 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:13.040 you can really show people the lifestyle that you are 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:17.120 also I guess quote unquote selling that is really where 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.080 you take your business to the next level. How do 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:22.920 you show people that lifestyle? What are they looking at 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:27.240 if they go to your Instagram or follow you? So 0:15:27.280 --> 0:15:29.480 when you come to my Instagram, you see a lot 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:34.480 of travel, right, because I love being able to travel. 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:38.960 I love being able to really live a freedom based lifestyle. 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:41.160 What do I mean by that? You know, because we're 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:44.280 building our wealth portfolios because we have our own businesses. 0:15:44.720 --> 0:15:46.960 That means that in the middle of the week, something 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.280 as simple as I can go get my nails done 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.400 and it's not bragging. So I don't want it to 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.360 sound like, oh, she's just bragging on her page. No, no, no, 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:57.400 that's not it. I want to show them that it's 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.960 real because I can tell you what to do all day. 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.320 But if I don't show you how it's done and 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:05.960 what it's done for me, then one you're probably not 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.080 gonna believe it, and too you may not believe that 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:10.520 it's possible for you. And again, I don't want to 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:12.760 sound like I'm bragging. So when you come to my page, 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:15.760 you're gonna feel motivated and not defeat it because I'm 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:17.600 not just showing you that I can do it, or 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:19.400 that we can do it, but that you can do 0:16:19.440 --> 0:16:24.720 it too. Are you ever afraid of failing? Absolutely, especially 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:31.640 when I am launching something new, when I am maybe 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:36.120 introducing something new, when I have to get on stage 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:40.360 and tell others something about maybe I'm invited in to speak, 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:43.359 I'm like, man, I really hope that I don't disappoint 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:45.640 the crowd. I really hope that they get, you know, 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.240 what they came for. So definitely I do have that fear. 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:53.480 But then I also remember that I personally believe that 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:57.440 we were all created to help inspire others, and I 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:00.920 believe that when you're being authentic to what you know, 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.680 authentic to your destiny, authentic to your purpose, then you're 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:09.520 always gonna show up and deliver because you're being authentic 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:12.040 to you. It's only the times where I try to 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:15.560 be something else or someone else that I really end 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.320 up failing. And so I go back and I tell myself, Okay, 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.719 remember you don't have to try to compete against this 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.880 person or them because of their industry. You show up, 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:28.040 do what you were called in to do, and you're 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:31.080 going to be successful. How did you end up in Orlando? 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:33.119 Did you grow up in Michigan, which is how you 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.440 ended up at Michigan State. So I did grow up 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:39.040 in Michigan. I'm originally from Grand Rapids. Went to Michigan 0:17:39.080 --> 0:17:43.520 State University, and then once I graduated from college, I 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.560 ended up moving down to Florida. And so my parents 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:50.320 always had this dream of, uh somewhat being in Florida. 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:52.399 I don't want to stay retiring in Florida because they 0:17:52.400 --> 0:17:56.200 still are very active and busy and entrepreneurs, but they 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:58.240 always had this dream. You know. We would come on 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.800 vacation all the time when I was young girl, and 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.560 they said, I would love to live in Florida. We 0:18:03.560 --> 0:18:06.760 were in the heat, There's Disney, there's Universe, so you know, 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:08.840 there's all these different things, and we're like, oh my gosh, 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:12.760 we would love to be in Florida. And it manifested 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.679 for us later on, and so the opportunity came up 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.280 and we ended up taking that dive and moving to Florida. 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:20.480 And I'm so happy that we did because I love 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:22.879 it here. I love having, you know, the warm weather 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:25.639 all the time. One of the most incredible things about 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:30.040 your story is how early it began. You started your 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:33.480 first business in high school. What made you think you 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:37.080 could do that? Yes, I did, so I started this 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:41.840 journey very very early. And what inspired me was seeing 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:45.440 my mom really as a female entrepreneur, I mean ever 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:50.040 since I can imagine growing up just UM, seeing her work, 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:53.160 seeing her be a mom, seeing her be a superhero 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.280 to myself and my younger brother. I wanted to be 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:58.560 just like her. And so when I was younger, I 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:01.760 would put on those Lemonates ends and I would ask 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:04.640 her to buy me the entrepreneurial books from American Girl 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:07.679 Doll and all of those things, and she said, Okay, 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:10.280 you have a bent that you want to go into, 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.200 and I see that it's entrepreneurship. And so of course 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.600 that's what launched UM. What made me launch my business 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:18.720 as a teenager, but really seeing my mom being this 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:22.040 superwoman made me want to do the same. What was 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:23.959 the first business and how did you come up with 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.399 the name. So my first business was the Billionaire Girls Club, 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.160 And we came up with that because we wanted every 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.679 young girl to feel rich, to feel wealthy. But also 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:40.880 this was a business UM that was centered around proper etiquette, 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:44.439 how to relate to your teachers, how to relate to 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:47.480 your parents, things that young girls go through. So what 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:52.240 happened was, over time, chapters almost like a sorority. Chapters 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:55.200 were started around the country, which was really awesome. We 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.240 would go and speak at these various events where young 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:01.919 girls would be, their teenagers would be, their high school 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.320 students would be there, and it really just exploded around 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:08.000 the country and we started chapter. So that's where the 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:10.920 name came from. And really just wanting, like I said, 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.400 wanting every every young girl to feel like they were wealthy, 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:16.639 that they were queens, that they were princesses, and that 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:20.280 they were worthy of success in their dreams. How did 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:22.760 that all become important to you? When I was younger, 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:27.359 I was bullied somewhat in school, in middle school and 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.520 in high school because of my weight at the time. 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:32.919 You know, young boys would come up to me and 0:20:33.000 --> 0:20:34.760 laugh and they would say, oh my gosh, you look 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:37.160 like this, or you look like that, or we don't 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:41.080 like you because you know you're overweight or whatever those names, 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:43.600 and they would call me me names or you know, 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:45.240 I would go to class and they would say, why 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:47.800 do you look like that? Or why is your hair 0:20:47.920 --> 0:20:51.120 like that? Right? Um, and so it it just made 0:20:51.119 --> 0:20:53.479 an impression on me, and I said, I would come 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:55.080 home and I would talk to my mom about it 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:57.680 all the time, and really both of my parents and 0:20:57.680 --> 0:20:59.600 I would say, I don't like how this makes me feel. 0:21:00.160 --> 0:21:02.960 I'm sure I'm not the only person going through this, 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:06.359 and um, because of that, that's what inspired me to 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:11.160 really do this. How did you handle the nays I mean, 0:21:11.240 --> 0:21:13.840 definitely it did come with some naysayers. It came with 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.119 people saying, oh, you think you're better than us because 0:21:16.119 --> 0:21:19.000 you have a business now, or you know, I was 0:21:19.080 --> 0:21:22.640 traveling at a very young age. I remember organizations would 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:24.959 bring me in to speak maybe to their young girls, 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:27.479 to say, oh, you know, this is what we can do. 0:21:27.520 --> 0:21:29.879 This is an inspiration and they would say, oh, you 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:32.919 think you're better than us. But again, that came to 0:21:33.160 --> 0:21:37.320 having an open, open conversation with my mother. And I'm 0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:39.840 glad that she was in my face. Let me just 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:42.679 say that, I'm glad that she didn't just send me 0:21:42.760 --> 0:21:45.880 off to school and just say, Okay, whatever happens happens, 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:48.680