WEBVTT - Angela Yee, Way Up with Angela Yee 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.880 Afrotech is a global gathering where inclusive tech companies meet innovators. 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:05.880 It's the only tech event you need all year. 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:09.039 Get ready for Afrotech twenty twenty three in Austin, Texas. 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:10.520 I n first through the fifth. 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:12.320 We built a whole temple you can use to help 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.480 you get your employer to spond to your trip and. 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:16.960 Enjoy experiences built for every stage of your career. 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:19.640 Whether you're a college student looking for your next internship, 0:00:19.760 --> 0:00:21.479 or if you work in the vention capital looking for 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:23.799 your next business to invest in, and if you're looking 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:25.639 for a co founder of people that join your team, 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.400 there's no better place to be. 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I'm with Lucas miss Black Tech, Green Money. 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:53.840 I'm gonna introduce you to the biggest names, the brightest 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:55.560 minds and brilliant ideas. 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:57.240 If you're black in building or. 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.560 Simply using Texas secure your bag, this pockets for you. 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:06.720 ANGELAEE is a. 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:10.119 Radio Hall of Fame inductee and multi business entrepreneur who 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:12.280 runs companies in variety of industries. 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:14.880 She recently started her own solar radio. 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.640 Show Up with Angela Ye after a long tenure at 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:21.440 the Breakfast Club. As an entrepreneur with many holdings, I 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.880 asked Angela how she determines what kind of businesses interest her. Definitely, 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.800 she gets pissed all the time on new startups. What 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:29.960 catches her attention? 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.360 Well, I think for me, the core things that are 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:36.440 most important to me have to do with nutrition, and 0:01:36.600 --> 0:01:40.720 has to do with education and with finance, and so 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:44.759 I look at those different fields and if something. 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:47.360 And a lot of times I actually pursue things that 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:48.240 are interesting to me. 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.840 So it's not always that someone comes to me, but 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:53.520 if I see something that I think is interesting or 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:55.960 that I want to support, then I'll reach out about 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.600 that also. But like I started the Press Juices Company 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:01.800 on my own with the juice bar, that was my idea. 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.520 With the coffee company, that was an idea that got 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.600 sparked in a meeting, and then with Stellar Fie that 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:09.960 was something that I had been working with the founder 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:13.520 le Mean on other things that he was doing, and 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:14.040 then when that. 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:16.359 Opportunity came, I was all in. 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:20.240 So usually it's a combination of relationships with people, but 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:23.480 I think I make sure that people know what my 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:25.640 different fields of interests are. 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:28.720 So we've had a lot of conversations on this podcast 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.880 about you know, black people and people of color period, 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:35.360 having an opportunity just to be opportunists and so many 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:37.320 things that we're told. It's like, you know, you should 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:39.160 lean into things that you've been passionate about for a 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:41.080 long time, or like what did you grow up wanting 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.919 to do? But we're not told like our counterparts are 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.880 that you can just find an opportunity and jump on it. 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:48.919 When you think about that, like how do you think 0:02:48.919 --> 0:02:51.360 about the opportunities that do company you? And you're like, 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:53.359 you know, it could be a bag over there, or 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.280 it could be just something that could be fun. You know, 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:57.440 how do you think about those types of things. 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:00.600 I'm I'm great with getting a bag as long as 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.600 I don't feel like I'm compromising anything. 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:04.960 And so I don't want to get a bag. 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:08.040 Like promoting a cigarette company or something that I really 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.639 don't believe in, and certain things I feel like aren't realistic, right, 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.359 Like people know I don't eat pork and I don't 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:17.320 eat seafood, so it wouldn't even make sense. And so 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:22.200 if it's me endorsing something that everyone knows, hey, she 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.880 doesn't really do that, then that's I wouldn't do it. 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:27.960 But if it's something that maybe I don't know a 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:29.200 lot about, but I. 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.120 Feel like, okay, this could be you know, like, for instance, 0:03:33.680 --> 0:03:36.440 one of my friends Topeka, we're working on a project 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.240 together right now, and she has a whole program that's 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.160 based on women who are formerly incarcerated, and so I 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.480 know for people that's like a hot topic right now, 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.640 and it's not something I knew a lot about, but 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:51.920 after speaking to her, it's something that I did get 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:55.320 more passionate about. And that's just when my conversations with her, 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:58.480 and so I feel like we're always expanding and growing. 0:03:58.600 --> 0:04:01.920 But it is hard for me to only be opportunistic 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.680 and see a bag usually I have to have, and 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.920 I know it's not financially the smartest thing. I'm more 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:12.160 like somebody told me, I'm an emotional financial person because 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:13.760 I have to feel some type of connection. 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.320 But it has been working for me thus far. 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.719 But I do feel like I could have, you know, 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.240 passed up onto opportunities. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.440 You know, there's a lot of people who have really 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:28.360 really great jobs, maybe golden handcuffs, and see like they 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:32.200 may have to take a leap and not not do 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:34.520 that anymore and jump into an entrepreneurship. 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:36.400 But can you talk a little bit about how. 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:40.159 You think about leveraging your current opportunities to fuel the 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:42.680 opportunities that you want to pursue and you don't necessarily 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.479 have to quit what you're doing today. 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:47.560 Yeah, I feel like me having the platform that I 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:50.239 have only amplifies all the other businesses that I'm trying 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:52.760 to do. And really I'm trying to take advantage of it. 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:54.080 And so it's. 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.120 Great because I'm on the air every single day and 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.919 I have my social media platforms, but we also have 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.400 partnerships with people who want to endorse different things, and 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:06.039 if I can cross promote my product with something else, 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.320 then that's an ideal situation for me. If I can, 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:11.840 you know, get my coffee to be part of a 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.279 program that someone else is doing and now they're paying 0:05:14.320 --> 0:05:17.040 for the coffee and I'm getting free advertising. That's like 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.280 a win win win across the board, and so I 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.120 think I would be remiss not to do that. I 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.479 feel like later on, I don't want to look back 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:26.680 like we look at some of say a reality television person, 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.239 and some of them have had things that have blown 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.080 up just from being on that show and having something 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:34.120 to put out. And I think it's silly not to 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:37.000 have something to promote or to do while you're having 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:38.440 that platform. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:40.280 And you know, you are somebody that's in the public eye. 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:42.760 But if an entrepreneur or would be entrepreneur comes up 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:44.120 to you, it's like, you know, I think I got 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.479 to quit my job to go chase this thing. What 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:48.320 would your advice be for somebody who's not in the 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:51.640 public eye necessarily that maybe you don't need to quit 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:53.279 your job, but maybe you need to figure out how 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:55.599 to do it from five to nine, you know, instead 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:56.280 of nine to five. 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:58.799 I always feel like it's important to make sure you plan, 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:01.520 and that means that you. 0:06:01.360 --> 0:06:02.360 Have to have a business plan. 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.720 You have to have strategically figured out this is how 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:07.159 I plan to launch. I'm a big fan of starting 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:11.480 something while I have my little cushion, So starting small 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:12.760 and then letting something grow. 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:15.640 So put it out there, launch it do. I love 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:16.720 a soft launch. 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:18.880 Because that's a great way to find out what's working, 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:21.479 what's not working, so that you can fix those things 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:24.080 before you go full force out to the public. And 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:26.400 so I would tell them, launch whatever it is that 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.200 you want to do, and make sure that you're saving 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:31.960 and aggressively saving, because I've had to do that too. 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.120 You know, when I bought my first house, I was 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.200 working NonStop because I had a goal in mine and 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:39.200 a number that I knew I needed to hit. I 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:42.560 knew I needed to get to. I think it would 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:44.279 I could tell you exactly what it was. I had 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:45.839 to get twenty five percent. I knew I had to 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.680 get to like two hundred and thirty five thousand dollars 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:50.960 in order to be able to put down the down payment. 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.239 And so for me, that was like two. 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.719 Years of just going really hard and getting money, stacking money, 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.800 doing extracid gigs and everything. So I think stead of 0:06:59.839 --> 0:07:01.960 going set a number and then when you hit that goal, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:02.599 it's time to go. 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:04.000 But in the meantime, launch it. 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.120 And let's take the opposite of approach of that, because 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.000 there are sometimes you do need to take a gamble 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:11.920 on yourself and you know, possibly give up something that 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.560 other people would see as a really coveted thing. 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:15.920 So what would you. 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:17.800 Say to those folks whore like you? Noah, if you 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.640 really believe in yourself and you really are passionate about 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:22.160 this thing, you might have to give up what other 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.280 people will be like, you're crazy to give that up. 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.920 Yeah, and listen, there's times that I've done things spontaneously 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:31.120 because my gut instinct told me to do it. 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:33.560 I feel that I trust that. 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.520 It's like I love to gamble, right, and when I 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:39.920 play blackjack, there's certain times when you have to figure 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.000 out am I gonna hit or am I gonna stay? 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.720 And you have an option because you could go either way. 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:47.680 You could bust or you could beat the dealer. You 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:50.239 don't know, and so sometimes you do have to jump 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.000 out there and take that risk. But I also say 0:07:53.720 --> 0:07:56.440 that you have to know a like try to make 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.560 sure that you lessen whatever chance of failure, that there 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:01.840 is everything that you can to get your ducks in 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:03.480 a row. If you are going to just leap out 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.640 there and do it and be trust your instinct is 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:09.520 everything is telling you don't do this, and this happened, 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:13.440 and then this unfortunate thing happened, and you know, then maybe. 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:14.560 It's not the right time. 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:17.640 And I do pay attention to science because it's helped 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:18.680 me a lot. 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:20.800 You know, there was an interview I was watching that 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:22.640 you did and you're talking about, you know, there. 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:23.840 Was a previous job you had. 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.360 Where you had a bad manager days it yelled at 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.280 you at one point and you were like, you know, 0:08:28.480 --> 0:08:30.880 you were you were doing marketing, I think, and you're like, 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:31.520 you know, I'm out. 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:33.679 And the clients you were working. 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:35.920 With like they going with Angelot, Like they left that 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:39.320 company and decided to work with you, separate from your 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:40.640 relationship with that company. 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:42.880 So can you talk a little bit about knowing your value. 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:44.920 It's particularly in the world we live in today, to 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.560 where there's so many people who could work freelance and 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.120 work for themselves, but feel like, you know, they need 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.160 that security of an employer. 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:55.040 You know, at that time, I didn't know my value. 0:08:55.080 --> 0:08:57.439 I had no idea that would happen. That was an 0:08:57.440 --> 0:09:01.280 emotional decision. I never one thing that's like a deal 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.560 breaker for me when it comes to work, when it 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:04.040 comes to. 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:05.840 Relationships is don't. 0:09:06.720 --> 0:09:10.480 I don't deal with people speaking to me in a 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:13.920 disrespectful way or yelling at me, because that's not the 0:09:14.080 --> 0:09:16.079 energy that I give. I know, some people are okay 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:18.640 with that, and some people, you know, communicate that way. 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.079 That's not me, and I'm very clear about that. And 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:22.800 so I had been working. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:25.160 Really hard and not getting paid a lot and bringing 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:26.080 in a lot of business. 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:27.560 And he was just. 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:30.000 Upset that I was doing these side gigs because I 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.040 wasn't getting paid a lot. But I was honest about it. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:33.920 He only knew about it because I told him, and 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.400 he said, that was fine, because you're not paying me 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.320 what I should be making. And so when he blew 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:41.560 up on me because of the same thing that I 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.160 had been honest about came to him about and that 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.240 he had approved, I just got my stuff and left. 0:09:47.240 --> 0:09:50.120 I already was fed up, and so I just walked out, 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.520 took my laptop because he didn't even have computers for us. 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:53.760 So I took my laptop. 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.360 It got out of there, and you know, to me, 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:00.640 I did bring in a lot of the clients, and 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.920 I did write up the whole marketing proposals, and I 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.600 was the person everybody was talking to on a daily basis. 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:09.079 So when I left, everyone was reaching out to me like, well, 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:11.720 we really enjoyed working with you. And that was a 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:13.960 learning lesson from me to know that I could do 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.760 something on my own, because you know, I had always 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.120 worked at a company. So after that, I just started 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:22.680 freelancing because I had got three good clients from him 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.079 that were paying me a monthly fee, and I had 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.360 gotten two on my own outside of that, so I 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:29.240 was making a nice amount of money and not having 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:30.120 to be in the office. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:33.600 Wow, yeah, you've been in radio. I think what twenty 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:34.480 seven years now? 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:35.440 Are more? 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:39.520 How long have I? No, I've been in radio for nineteen. 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:43.520 Years because you did morning shows, afternoons shows, and other 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.760 things like. There's an important part of research that you 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.079 have to do daily to be up on what's happening 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:51.400 in the world, and it requires you to know a 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.760 lot about a little You know a little about a 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:54.400 lot of things. 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.559 I should say, you know, how. 0:10:56.480 --> 0:11:01.400 How would you say that research experience that you've had 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:03.720 has helped you in business? Knowing a little bit about 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:04.800 a lot of different things. 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:06.840 It is great. 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:08.960 Like I had a meeting with somebody the other day 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.520 and we were talking about boxing in the meeting because 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:15.160 he owns a league, and so I know, you know 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:17.280 a bit about boxing because I enjoyed the sport, but 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.040 because I've also interviewed a lot of boxers and I 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.240 pay attention to that, and I watch the fights, and 0:11:22.320 --> 0:11:26.600 so you get in certain situations where just being able 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:27.600 to add to the conversation. 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:28.559 That's why I tell people. 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:30.680 When I was younger, I really didn't watch the news 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:32.800 and pay attention to what was going on. But I 0:11:32.840 --> 0:11:35.079 tell people all the time, just make sure you keep 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.560 up on current events. You don't have to, you know, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:40.600 deep dive into everything and know all but be able 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:42.600 to have a conversation, know what some of the main 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.800 headlines are, because those things really do help when you're 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:47.560 at a dinner and people are talking and you don't 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.320 want to just be there, have no idea what's going 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:51.040 on in the world. 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:52.640 And I used to be like that. I used to 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:53.560 not have any idea. 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:55.280 I used to not pay attention to the news when 0:11:55.280 --> 0:11:57.800 I was younger, and when I started doing radio, I 0:11:57.840 --> 0:11:59.840 had to do all kinds of research just to know 0:11:59.840 --> 0:12:02.920 about the current events and the headline topics. 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.920 Yeah, there's this quote that I love from Steve Jobs, 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:09.440 and he says, you can't connect the dots looking forward, 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:11.840 you can only connect the dots looking backward. And what 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.360 I get from that is you never really know why 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:16.720 you're doing something in the moment until like later on 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:18.760 it's like, oh that's you know, had I not done 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:20.760 this thing, I wouldn't be able to be prepared for 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.520 what I'm doing today. And so if you look back 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:26.600 on your life with that lens, what were you know, 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.040 one or two critical moments where you were in the 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.960 moment like what the heck am I doing? But then 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:36.000 you look back and you're like, now it makes sense. 0:12:38.040 --> 0:12:38.600 Let's see. 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.720 Well, definitely the time when I quit my job and 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:44.920 there was a I mean, let's see, there's so many 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:46.800 times that I've just done. There was a time when 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:50.319 I got offered a job, you know, at Hot ninety seven, 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:54.160 and I didn't take it. And at the time, I 0:12:54.200 --> 0:12:56.680 really didn't take it for practical reasons. It was less 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.160 than what I was already making. My name wouldn't have 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.800 been on the title for the show, and so it 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:05.160 was like kind of to me and my head to 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:07.839 step backwards. But I feel like everyone else was like, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:10.199 you're crazy, how could you not take that? An opportunity 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:12.559 like that never comes. There's people who have been doing 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.400 radio their whole lives and would die for something like that. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:19.520 And I made a practical decision, and you know, now 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.319 that I look back, it was the right decision. At 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.319 the time, I was like second guessing myself, And now 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:29.080 that I look back, I realized that what they offered me, 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:31.520 it's so much harder to climb out when they start 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:34.280 you so low, and it shows like how they feel 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:36.439 about you and what they already think about you. And 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.280 so that wouldn't have been the right way for me 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:41.600 to embark on a situation when I was leaving a 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.640 place that really wanted me, right, Like, they offered me 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:47.240 more money to stay, they offered to give me the 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.640 show with my name on it, to name it whatever 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.560 I wanted to. And that's where you want to be, 0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:55.360 someplace where somebody really really wants you, That's where you 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:55.839 want to be. 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:59.200 No matter what if it's worked or reship. Yeah, to 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:00.240 show me you care. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.760 And then when I left, I'm serious to go to iHeart. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.920 That was something that everybody was like, Oh my god, 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:09.280 FM radio is dying. 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:10.960 Why would you do that? 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.120 You barely get to talk, and I was just ready 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:14.880 to start something new. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:16.200 They were the underdog station. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:19.160 You know, if the breakfast club hadn't done well, that 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.360 station was going to flip to a whole nother format. 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.200 And so a lot was writing on that. But I 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:27.200 feel like that's when you really are the best, when 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:31.440 you can go with a company that is the underdog 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:34.120 and come out on top, and then after that the 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:36.480 sky is the limit. And so for me, that's what 0:14:36.520 --> 0:14:39.240 it was just to be able to go and leave 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:43.320 a situation that was comfortable, but I just didn't see 0:14:43.360 --> 0:14:46.400 any growth there for me to go in someplace where 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:48.160 I could be uncomfortable but grow. 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:51.080 You know, you said something there where you talked about, 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:52.840 you know, it's really hard to climb out when you 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.680 start somewhere so low. Can you talk a little bit 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.000 more about that and just conceptually talk about that. 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.160 Well, one thing I did learn is that a lot 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:05.120 of times when we get offered something, people don't negotiate, 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.200 and so it was really important to be able to negotiate. 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:09.760 And so. 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:15.480 When you start off, say somebody offers you fifty thousand 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:18.600 dollars a year and you're like, okay, I'll take it. Well, 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:20.600 then now next year, when I'm asking for a raise, 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.640 I can't say I want one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 0:15:24.040 --> 0:15:26.800 That just sounds like wow, you know, how did that happen? 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:29.920 So now you're like, okay, can I get sixty five thousand? 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.240 And then the next year and so now you're climbing 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.200 out of a situation where when they first offered it 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.400 to you. If somebody offers you fifty thousand, that means 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:38.560 that they have way more than that. 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:42.320 You know, That's what I always assume. And so even when. 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.840 Negotiating for bookings for different things, you know, people generally 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.280 tend to start low because they anticipate that you'll come 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.200 back high and that you'll meet somewhere in the middle. 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:55.480 And so there's times that I've you know, negotiated and 0:15:55.520 --> 0:15:57.680 then they accept it too fast and I was like, damn, 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.840 you know, and then there's sometimes that it's not about 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:06.000 the money. And so if it's not about the money, 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:07.840 then cool, But you also want people to know your 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.240 value and worth. You don't want somebody to say, well, 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:13.080 I offered her, you know, five thousand dollars and she 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.240 took it. Why would you pay her twenty thousand dollars, 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:17.760 and so it's just important for you because people do 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:18.920 talk to each other and they. 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:19.520 Ask each other. 0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.560 You know, early in your career, you started out as 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:25.360 an intern for the Wu Tang clan. Can you first 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:28.200 talk about how you found yourself in these roles and 0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:30.560 what you feel like was the reason you took that 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.000 role and why they accepted you in that role. 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:36.520 I think, well, for a lot of it was always 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.120 relationships for me when I was starting out. So one 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.760 of my good friends, Scottie, he actually owns the studio 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:45.200 engine room where I do my podcast lip Service. 0:16:45.880 --> 0:16:48.840 I knew him when I was in high school. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.960 He went to Howard University and he was really good 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.240 friends with my boyfriend at the time, and so that's 0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:58.160 how we met. Now, mind you that guy, you know, 0:16:58.160 --> 0:16:59.960 I don't talk to him at all anymore, but Scott 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.160 and I kept in touch, and when I was in college, 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.359 he was like, Hey, my friend worked at Wu Tang 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.399 for Wu Tang Management and they're looking for an intern 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.879 and I recommended you, So I think you should. 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:11.840 Go, you know, go do that. 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:15.480 And so I was a little nervous because Wu Tang 0:17:15.480 --> 0:17:18.200 didn't have the best reputation at the time. I was like, oh, 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:19.879