Speaker 1: Hey, BA fam, So we're doing things a little bit
Speaker 1: different this week with a bonus episode. We are going
Speaker 1: to be doing a series of how To throwbacks. That's right.
Speaker 1: If y'all haven't heard, BA has been around for a
Speaker 1: hot minute, and some of y'all might be overwhelmed looking
Speaker 1: at our back catalog thinking how am I going to
Speaker 1: get through five hundred plus episodes. Well, we have done
Speaker 1: some of the work for you by digging through our
Speaker 1: archives and on Mondays we're going to start doing a
Speaker 1: special how To series. So in this first inaugural how
Speaker 1: To throw Back, this is one of honestly one of
Speaker 1: my favorite memories from the show. I don't know if
Speaker 1: Tiffany even remembers this, but hilarious, hilarious episode on how
Speaker 1: Tiffany's I think it was an admin someone that budget
Speaker 1: needs to inc got fired within twenty four hours, and Tiffany,
Speaker 1: it must have happened the day before we tape this episode,
Speaker 1: because you came in hot and predably to share and
Speaker 1: put her business out there. I wish we could tell
Speaker 1: you an update on what happened to this woman, but
Speaker 1: you have to hear the story.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I wish her well though, because I think I
Speaker 2: had asked her for a very simple task. It was like,
Speaker 2: you just started, you know, this is your best foot forward,
Speaker 2: and it was the worst foot. She didn't do what
Speaker 2: I asked. I think I asked her to do like
Speaker 2: a power point or something like that, and I think
Speaker 2: she said, like basically she intimated. I think that she
Speaker 2: was busy or something. I'm like, oh, too busy for
Speaker 2: the job you just got yesterday. It was the fastest
Speaker 2: hire and fire I'd ever ever.
Speaker 1: Ever, that's that on being decisive.
Speaker 3: Yes, so you know I've never been fired.
Speaker 1: Have you ever been fired that quickly?
Speaker 3: Like, No, I don't think I've ever been fired.
Speaker 1: I've definitely ghosted some jobs. Yeah, before I could be
Speaker 1: fired minimum wage, you know what I mean? Yes, Like
Speaker 1: I think Cole's Department store might think that I'm coming
Speaker 1: back for the holiday.
Speaker 3: I'm like, this be why hey, hire a teenager. We're
Speaker 3: so raggedy, But.
Speaker 1: Like, don't expect us to keep the job forever. Like
Speaker 1: I'm eighteen for me.
Speaker 3: And let's still got Mandy on the schedule.
Speaker 2: But anyway, if you want to listen to how I
Speaker 2: had to, you know, coick old girl to the curb
Speaker 2: with kindness, I'm sure take a listen and let us
Speaker 2: know what you think. Hey, hey, hey we're brown, we're black.
Speaker 3: Wait, that's like anyway, we're broad a mission, hey, Mandy.
Speaker 1: I mean we are equal opportunity to all shades of melanin. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a safe space for your skin tone.
Speaker 3: Yes, So I had to borrow somebody this week, Mandy.
Speaker 1: Ooh juicy, do tell? And I love that, I know,
Speaker 1: because that's so hard for you, I.
Speaker 2: Know, Oh my gosh. And I was really proud of
Speaker 2: myself because it was a really good lesson. It wasn't
Speaker 2: one of my you know, like it was somebody brand new.
Speaker 2: She literally only worked a day. Isn't that I've never
Speaker 2: had to do that before?
Speaker 1: What did she do to get fired? And one day?
Speaker 3: I know?
Speaker 2: Well, so I've been looking for and I hope she
Speaker 2: doesn't listen, and she does listen. Hey girl, I've been
Speaker 2: looking for an executive admin for a long time. I've
Speaker 2: got two women on the team that kind of like
Speaker 2: tag team and help, but they have other positions on
Speaker 2: the team. So it's like the three of us being
Speaker 2: my executive admin who we named Michelle and so. But
Speaker 2: I mean, and they do a great job but you know,
Speaker 2: like I said, they have other positions on the team,
Speaker 2: so I really need someone dedicated to me. So we
Speaker 2: thought we found someone. She's super nice, she was an
Speaker 2: admin before, and I just thought that it was going
Speaker 2: to be a fit. But I learned a lesson in
Speaker 2: that I really have to kind of try people on
Speaker 2: for size. So I gave her one assignment, which was
Speaker 2: to do a PowerPoint presentation. I gave it to her
Speaker 2: nine o'clock in the morning. Like the email system was down,
Speaker 2: so there was no emails that had to be done.
Speaker 2: So literally that was it one assignment and then by
Speaker 2: the end of the day it wasn't done.
Speaker 3: But that's not why it was like, this is not
Speaker 3: going to be a fit. It wasn't done.
Speaker 2: And so I gave her a temple and said, here's
Speaker 2: something that I've made, but it's not good, but here
Speaker 2: are all the slides that I need. So I'm just
Speaker 2: showing you kind of like what I made, which is
Speaker 2: similar to kind of what I want, but something good. Oh,
Speaker 2: I do Parapoint all day every day. I eat Parapoint
Speaker 2: for breakfast, no problem. So by five I get a message, Hey,
Speaker 2: I just shared the Parapoint. You know, the draft with
Speaker 2: someone on the team before I send it to you,
Speaker 2: And I was like, you know, it's five girl, just
Speaker 2: go ahead and send it on over.
Speaker 3: I'm sure it's fine.
Speaker 2: Just so a few tweaks here and there because it
Speaker 2: was due the next day for me, I had to
Speaker 2: submit it. When I tell you made it, I had
Speaker 2: to open it three times. It was my exact parapoint. Oh,
Speaker 2: the exact like when I tell you the exact It
Speaker 2: was the same slides. Just hey, here's the new title
Speaker 2: and here's some new like the new bullets that I
Speaker 2: gave you, like copy and painte, like a ten minute
Speaker 2: copy and Paine job. And I honestly even that, I
Speaker 2: was like, that's fine. And I was like, you know what,
Speaker 2: maybe you know I wasn't clear. I actually don't like
Speaker 2: my paraporint because I'm not good at parapoint. I just
Speaker 2: think it looks so rudimentary, like what I've made. So
Speaker 2: maybe you thought that's what I wanted. That's not what
Speaker 2: I wanted that I know you do a better job.
Speaker 2: Can you just send me like how you would do it?
Speaker 2: And she's like, oh, okay, well here's the thing. This
Speaker 2: is like verbatim due to the current time constraints. I
Speaker 2: don't want to promise that I'm going to be able
Speaker 2: to get it done in time. I'm like, time constraints,
Speaker 2: what what do you I was like, well what, and
Speaker 2: then gave me a list of things that she had
Speaker 2: to do instead, not not list of things for me,
Speaker 2: but like list of things in her life that were
Speaker 2: going to take precedence that day.
Speaker 3: Which is normally fine.
Speaker 2: But this is a project I gave at nine am,
Speaker 2: and I don't know that there's an easier, easier assignment
Speaker 2: than a PowerPoint.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm shocked.
Speaker 2: I honestly was like, I got that due to the
Speaker 2: current time constraints. I don't think I'm going to almost like.
Speaker 3: Well I'm busy girl, That's what I read like.
Speaker 2: And I was like what, And then I said, you
Speaker 2: know what, to me, be fair because today was her
Speaker 2: first day. I'm sure the other team members gave her
Speaker 2: a ton of things to do because they had been
Speaker 2: itching for me to get admin.
Speaker 3: So I'm calling with other team members like hey.
Speaker 2: I even asked her, you know, did my COEO give
Speaker 2: you assignments to other people? Everyone, including her, said no,
Speaker 2: there were no other assignments assigned, and so I'm like,
Speaker 2: so this is from nine to five.
Speaker 3: This is the one thing that you did.
Speaker 2: I just I didn't know what to say, and you
Speaker 2: know how you know, and you're like, I was like, well,
Speaker 2: maybe I'll give it another day, but you.
Speaker 3: Know, and I said, Tiffany, this is not a fit.
Speaker 2: And old Tiffany would keep on someone that's not a
Speaker 2: fit for a year and be miserable because I would
Speaker 2: feel overwhelmed because I'd be doing double work. But new
Speaker 2: Tiffany said, you've been asking to grow. This is your
Speaker 2: opportunity to do what you already know you need to do.
Speaker 2: This is not going to be a fit that It's
Speaker 2: not about the assignment not being done. It's the unwillingness
Speaker 2: to take take ownership of the misstep and then fix it. Hey,
Speaker 2: ba fan, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll
Speaker 2: be right back.
Speaker 3: You know. We let her go. She of course she
Speaker 3: was up there.
Speaker 2: I I we did it in writing, but I actually
Speaker 2: had a call and the thing that kind of was
Speaker 2: off putting. She sent me a letter saying I feel
Speaker 2: like she said something like, I think it's unfair that
Speaker 2: the new girl got this assignment with these time constraints.
Speaker 3: The new girl. This is not high school. We were
Speaker 3: picking on you and hazing you, like and I just
Speaker 3: like I thought.
Speaker 1: About it kind of school because you gave her a
Speaker 1: power point, you gave her eight hours to do it,
Speaker 1: so like.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you didn't know. I felt so bad, Honestly I did.
Speaker 2: And I still feel really bad because she was a
Speaker 2: really nice woman. But like and that, you know, I
Speaker 2: was like, well, is there a reason why she's like, well,
Speaker 2: I had a couple of calls with people on the
Speaker 2: team and there was just a lot going on, and
Speaker 2: I said, honestly, that was that was the lightest it's
Speaker 2: ever going to be as an adamin, Like two phone
Speaker 2: calls and a power point, it's never gonna get lighter.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like, you know, you can handle it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And like I said, I felt so bad because
Speaker 2: I you know, it was you know, she just felt
Speaker 2: like I didn't give her enough of a chance, and
Speaker 2: I said, no, I gave you a chance. You're asking
Speaker 2: for another chance, and I just don't think that I
Speaker 2: can do that.
Speaker 3: So yeah, but it was really hard. I mean, I'm
Speaker 3: still kind of reeling from.
Speaker 2: It because I've never let go of somebody that quickly,
Speaker 2: and it just felt really it didn't feel good and
Speaker 2: it felt really bad because I just felt like that
Speaker 2: I wish I would have vetted so I wouldn't have
Speaker 2: disappointed you know, someone that I know, she really wanted
Speaker 2: the job.
Speaker 3: But yeah, so that was hard, but it was it
Speaker 3: was a good lesson.
Speaker 1: Being nice is one of it is it is a
Speaker 1: very important quality you have to want to work with people.
Speaker 1: But I have also learned that hard working butt head
Speaker 1: is also super valuable every once in a while, or
Speaker 1: just a hard working person who you know, forget if
Speaker 1: they forget, if you want to grab drinks with them
Speaker 1: after work, like do they get their work done and
Speaker 1: they can rely on them like that is also really valuable.
Speaker 1: Now like firing someone into four hours, that's pretty savage.
Speaker 1: But I know, but I have heard multiple times, like
Speaker 1: you need to. You make a mistake, you acknowledge it
Speaker 1: quickly and you get out like don't And this is
Speaker 1: I mean, she caught you.
Speaker 3: This is a new year. Knew you.
Speaker 1: You're heading into forty, like you said, wanting to be
Speaker 1: more assertive and stick up for yourself. And you know,
Speaker 1: too bad, she caught you in this moment in your life.
Speaker 1: Then you don't suffer ridiculousness anymore. And I'm really proud
Speaker 1: of you.
Speaker 3: Oh my goodness. I was like, yo, even now my
Speaker 3: stomach is like a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, No, it was hard, like I said it was,
Speaker 2: it was hard, and because like, yes, I've been in
Speaker 2: situations where I've known that someone had to go from
Speaker 2: the very beginning and I've kept them for two years
Speaker 2: because I just felt so bad and I just said, yeah,
Speaker 2: I didn't want to do that anymore.
Speaker 3: But so yeah, I was like, whoof?
Speaker 2: So I mean, but I learned good lessons about and
Speaker 2: even honestly, I I'm you know, cause I know you
Speaker 2: are looking for writers.
Speaker 3: I don't know, how do you how do you bet?
Speaker 3: Knowing I thought I bet it till.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't know, Like I need some trips and
Speaker 2: like take you know, like about how do you really
Speaker 2: because people could say whatever, but when it's time to
Speaker 2: do the work, how do you know someone's really going
Speaker 2: to do the work and work autonomously?
Speaker 1: You know, Well, we're big on tests. We're big on
Speaker 1: uh interview process, rigorous interview process, and then at least
Speaker 1: a test where you have to do the thing that
Speaker 1: we're hiring you to do. Whether you're a writer or
Speaker 1: an editor, there's like a very and I try to
Speaker 1: make the tests really tough because it weeds out people
Speaker 1: who are just casually applying and it shows me that
Speaker 1: if you're motivated enough to do this, you know, on
Speaker 1: your weekend time or after work or whatever, you probably
Speaker 1: want this job. And then once I get the test back,
Speaker 1: because we're in content business, I don't I used to
Speaker 1: personally hire every single writer. Now I have editors who
Speaker 1: hire their own writers, but I tell them, you need
Speaker 1: to do a really tough edit on that person, like
Speaker 1: unnecessarily tough almost. I mean point out things that are
Speaker 1: that are that are you know that you could be better,
Speaker 1: that they could be better at doing, but really be
Speaker 1: tough on them because they need to know what a
Speaker 1: tough edit feels like, and you need to suss out
Speaker 1: how can they take it because the biggest thing for
Speaker 1: me that turns me off from writers is when they
Speaker 1: can't take feedback. And the best writers often are the
Speaker 1: worst people to work with because they get very precious
Speaker 1: about their words, and editors too. There's a lot of egos.
Speaker 1: So that's my way of like sussing out someone's ego.
Speaker 1: I'm looking for like ego and can they take feedback?
Speaker 1: Can they take criticism because they're going to get it
Speaker 1: all day, air day on this team and they can't
Speaker 1: be super precious about it. And I feel like for you,
Speaker 1: like you should develop like what is like what is
Speaker 1: the test for an executive admin? And can you put
Speaker 1: And I always put a time limit on it, you know,
Speaker 1: however many hours I think is reasonable to see if
Speaker 1: they can do it on time. And I think that's
Speaker 1: important too. So if you came up with like the
Speaker 1: executive admin stress test, you got to do a PowerPoint.
Speaker 1: You need to draft two emails you would draft to
Speaker 1: a client who said this to me, like create like
Speaker 1: a scenario for them. I did that when I was
Speaker 1: hiring my number two. That was a really tough hire.
Speaker 1: So finding someone who wants to have a senior role
Speaker 1: but not be the senior role, and basically someone who
Speaker 1: can answer to it because what I do all day
Speaker 1: is problem solve. People bring their problems to me. I
Speaker 1: help them figure out how to fix them. That's like
Speaker 1: my main job. Now. What I did is I came
Speaker 1: up with the seven most common conflicts that I've popped
Speaker 1: up in the last I don't know six months that
Speaker 1: I could think of the really difficult questions I was asked,
Speaker 1: the really sticky conflicts I got into and I and
Speaker 1: I literally wrote, here's a scenario, what would your approach
Speaker 1: be and had them write a response like tell me
Speaker 1: how they would have approached situation. And that helped me
Speaker 1: weed out a lot of people.
Speaker 2: No, I like that because I said that, I said,
Speaker 2: you know that what I should have done is that
Speaker 2: I should have done like a paid kind of like
Speaker 2: two or three day work along so I can actually
Speaker 2: see you in action, you know, Yeah, because I you know,
Speaker 2: because because that was like it's hard to kind of
Speaker 2: tell because you know, everyone's amazing when you interview them,
Speaker 2: but like to actually see you when they're like, Okay,
Speaker 2: the emails are coming in and could you confirm my
Speaker 2: makeup on Tuesday?
Speaker 3: And could you make sure you know no.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean it was a good lesson and
Speaker 2: I'm happy for the lesson, although I'm not happy that
Speaker 2: you know that I disappointed someone.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think you learn from it, and
Speaker 1: I think you're right a paid like it's almost like
Speaker 1: having them freelance for a little while, which I think
Speaker 1: makes so much sense.
Speaker 3: We do.
Speaker 1: And by the way, people are listening and they're like, damn,
Speaker 1: this sounds like a lot of work, you know for
Speaker 1: a job interview. This is like a lot. It's putting
Speaker 1: a lot of work on people. We do pay for
Speaker 1: our edit and writing tests, so we can pay for
Speaker 1: your time and value it. But it's cheap to pay
Speaker 1: a few hundred bucks up front and then not hire
Speaker 1: someone who will be a complete disaster later. You know,
Speaker 1: we can eat that cost. It's like my was it
Speaker 1: Maya Angelou who said when someone shows you who they are,
Speaker 1: I believe in the first time.
Speaker 2: Ah, yes, yes, I know, I know, yeah I was.
Speaker 2: I wish you could see my face. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 2: I'm like reliving in the horror.
Speaker 1: I feel that I feel it. Well, that happens.
Speaker 3: What's up with you?
Speaker 1: This is uncomfortable, isn't it?
Speaker 3: It is? It is?
Speaker 2: But you know it's also good because I know we
Speaker 2: have so many, so many listeners that I kind of
Speaker 2: hit us up about like what can you do to like,
Speaker 2: you know, get a raise, or to negotiate or to
Speaker 2: you know, to find a new job. And so hopefully
Speaker 2: that is that's helpful that you know, folks are looking
Speaker 2: for people who can do the work with for the
Speaker 2: most part, minimal interference, that you're not going to need
Speaker 2: a lot of hand holding. And also too, I think
Speaker 2: that most people who are hiring or looking for someone
Speaker 2: are okay with mistakes being made, but they're not okay
Speaker 2: with excuses.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1: And I also think you have to identify the roles
Speaker 1: on your team where you are will you do you
Speaker 1: will tolerate a learning curve, and you will tolerate mistakes,
Speaker 1: And there's some roles where you are very like you're
Speaker 1: like way less tolerant, and then you hi. It's kind
Speaker 1: of like it's like when you identify what's the entry level,
Speaker 1: what's mid level, and how much handhold they do I
Speaker 1: expect this person to need.
Speaker 3: Because like customer support, Like let's just say this was
Speaker 3: a customer support role. Honestly, it wouldn't have been a
Speaker 3: big deal.
Speaker 2: It would have been like especially if this person was
Speaker 2: like a millennial, it'd be like, hey, because we we
Speaker 2: we hire young people a lot, and sometimes they come
Speaker 2: in and they do a little misstep and but we're
Speaker 2: here to coach and guide you and customer support there's
Speaker 2: a lot.
Speaker 3: Of room for growth.
Speaker 2: Or if you're on the you're on the social media
Speaker 2: team where it's like, well that's you know, that tone
Speaker 2: is probably not the kind.
Speaker 3: Of post that we want. But these are places where
Speaker 3: there's space.
Speaker 2: But but you know, like I cannot coach the CFO
Speaker 2: like this. You have to know, like DIRS is going
Speaker 2: to need this paperwork.
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
Speaker 2: Like there's certain certain roles on a team where you know,
Speaker 2: and my executive admin honestly is is I mean arguably
Speaker 2: one of the most important roles on the entire team,
Speaker 2: because it is it's what keeps me to be able
Speaker 2: to like navigate all that we have to do. And
Speaker 2: so there isn't much room for not much room for error,
Speaker 2: but there's not much room for coaching. You have to
Speaker 2: come with a lot of the skill set already there,
Speaker 2: and then we show you kind of like what our
Speaker 2: specialty skills are that are necessary.
Speaker 3: But you have to come with a lot of that
Speaker 3: stuff yourself. Like I said, if this was customer support,
Speaker 3: she would still be here, but not in this role.
Speaker 2: I was like, yike, I don't because quite honestly, it's stressful.
Speaker 2: I hired an admin a few years ago and it
Speaker 2: didn't work out. And the level of stress when I
Speaker 2: tell you it was like going to a therapist as
Speaker 2: like it was so I felt like I was having
Speaker 2: a nervous breakdown, and I realized part of it was
Speaker 2: I was not receiving the proper support and.
Speaker 3: I was so overwhelmed. I remember even my.
Speaker 2: Business part of Jabrill he said at the time, He's like, Tiffany,
Speaker 2: I'm worried about you because he was in like Thailand, whatever.
Speaker 3: He's like, I messaged you at four am. You respond.
Speaker 3: I messaged you at one pm. You respond.
Speaker 2: I messaged you at midnight because Gabril's always all around
Speaker 2: the world.
Speaker 3: You respond.
Speaker 2: He said, I don't know that I've ever messaged you.
Speaker 2: Then less six months that you have not responded within
Speaker 2: ten minutes. That worries me. When are you sleeping? And
Speaker 2: I couldn't because I was doing my job and her job,
Speaker 2: and I just was like the flashback to that, and
Speaker 2: I said, I can't go back there. Honestly, I'm trying
Speaker 2: to have a baby and I'm supposed to be wusa
Speaker 2: and zen and not stressed. And that's what I was
Speaker 2: thinking to myself, that like that me getting the right
Speaker 2: proper assistance is critical, not just professionally, but personally too.
Speaker 1: So all right, I feel for this first listener, she
Speaker 1: wants to remain anonymous, and you'll find out why. She
Speaker 1: has a question about her friends and traveling. I wonder
Speaker 1: if we know where.
Speaker 3: This is going? Eh?
Speaker 1: All right, so she says, here's my question. We'll call
Speaker 1: her Sarah. I love to travel with my friends, but
Speaker 1: they often tend to split to plan trips that go
Speaker 1: far outside my budget. My budget for trips each year
Speaker 1: is three thousand dollars, which, along with miles, is enough
Speaker 1: for two big trips a year and two to four
Speaker 1: small domestic trips. Right now, my friends are planning a
Speaker 1: trip that's totally nearly six thousand dollars, and they aren't
Speaker 1: interested in any of my travel on a budget hacks.
Speaker 1: They want to spend money on things that I just
Speaker 1: don't value, like a luxury hotel. This has happened before
Speaker 1: when I've tried to plan trips with them. I love
Speaker 1: them and I want to travel with them. How can
Speaker 1: I make that happen? What can I do to get
Speaker 1: them to try my idea of budget travel? Thank you?
Speaker 1: I really feel this is a really common uh. I
Speaker 1: feel like everyone in their life has has had the
Speaker 1: friends who want to go, you know, go big for
Speaker 1: a certain trip. You know, it's anyone who's ever been
Speaker 1: a bridesmaid, you know, the bachelorette party comes along, and
Speaker 1: it's always freaking awkward because every you know, some people
Speaker 1: want to go to Vegas and some people are like
Speaker 1: not financially set to go to Vegas, and yeah, it's
Speaker 1: really difficult. So first and foremost you are not alone,
Speaker 1: Miss Sarah.
Speaker 3: Well, here's the thing. All my friends know I'm cheap,
Speaker 3: so they're like, girl.
Speaker 1: I mean it is kind of like in your name.
Speaker 2: No, well, I mean it definitely has, because I would say,
Speaker 2: like my best friend Dream is definitely more so the
Speaker 2: fancy traveler than I am, so the true fizz. Drina
Speaker 2: and I really don't go on that many trips together.
Speaker 2: I mean now I'm a little I'm a little bit
Speaker 2: more flexible. But for a while we did it. It
Speaker 2: didn't mean we weren't friends. It didn't mean we didn't
Speaker 2: hang out.
Speaker 3: We did.
Speaker 2: It doesn't didn't mean we didn't talk on the phone.
Speaker 2: It just meant when I traveled. I used to actually
Speaker 2: used to travel every year with a friend of my
Speaker 2: friend of mine named Madeline and Madeleine had a similar
Speaker 2: traveling profile. Like Madeline was super low key, you know
Speaker 2: she was. It was all about the budget. And so
Speaker 2: I remember three or four years in a row, me
Speaker 2: and Madeline went on a trip every year, and honestly,
Speaker 2: Drena didn't feel any kind of way about it because
Speaker 2: she knew she didn't want to travel in that way.
Speaker 2: And then every once in a while, the way something
Speaker 2: would come up with the way I wanted to travel
Speaker 2: was similar in the way that Drina wanted to travel,
Speaker 2: and we would do that. So it's okay not to
Speaker 2: travel with your friends. It doesn't make them less of
Speaker 2: your friends. Like it was crazy because Madeleine actually lives
Speaker 2: in Newark, where I live, and when I tell you,
Speaker 2: I never see Madeline in Newark.
Speaker 3: But then once a year we'd be like going to Paris.
Speaker 3: This here, let's do it. See what's my travel buddy.
Speaker 2: And so I'm also part of this travel group brown girls,
Speaker 2: kind of travel group on a Facebook called No Madness,
Speaker 2: No Madness, And it's great because you can find other
Speaker 2: travel folks who want to travel like you. And I've
Speaker 2: met so many amazing No Madness Tribe members. So that
Speaker 2: would be my suggestion that you don't. If they want
Speaker 2: to travel lucks, there's nothing wrong with that. Let them
Speaker 2: travel LUs And if you don't, there's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 2: Find someone who fits your travel profile and travel with
Speaker 2: them and then be friends with your friends.
Speaker 3: But at home and in person.
Speaker 1: No, I couldn't agree more. I mean, you're letting them,
Speaker 1: You're letting their habits make you feel bad for your
Speaker 1: Like I want you to stay on track. The fact
Speaker 1: that you have a travel budget for the year and
Speaker 1: you have it broken down by two big trips and
Speaker 1: two domestic trips. First of all, doing that for three
Speaker 1: thousand dollars, that's amazing. You should be really proud, and
Speaker 1: they should be coming to you for travel tips. Why
Speaker 1: wouldn't you want to save even if you have the
Speaker 1: money to go lux But you know, I want to
Speaker 1: keep the peace with them. I think you're better off
Speaker 1: just bowing out of these group trips if they're not
Speaker 1: going to work to you know, fit your budget. And
Speaker 1: I know I kind of get what you're saying, but
Speaker 1: I also feel like they're kind of not being good
Speaker 1: friends if they're not going to try and you know,
Speaker 1: try and compromise a little bit so that you feel comfortable.
Speaker 1: Why wouldn't you want your friend to feel comfortable on
Speaker 1: a trip. So I agree with Tiffany on that front.
Speaker 1: I recently I wonder if I wonder how you guys
Speaker 1: will feel about this, especially U tiff. So I recently,
Speaker 1: I've been on this whole, like pre baby bucket list
Speaker 1: thing where I want to do see all the Broadway
Speaker 1: shows and do my baby moon and all that kind
Speaker 1: of stuff. And I invited two really good girlfriends to
Speaker 1: see Mulan Rouge on Broadway, which I'm really excited about,
Speaker 1: and they told me, here's our budget, and it turned
Speaker 1: out tickets were above that price point. I personally kicked
Speaker 1: in more money so that we can get better seats
Speaker 1: because I am a Broadway snob and I only like
Speaker 1: to sit where I like to sit, and where I
Speaker 1: like to sit was just not in that price range.
Speaker 1: But rather than make them feel bad, like I had
Speaker 1: points on my card and I knew, I felt comfortable
Speaker 1: just kicking in more money so we can all have
Speaker 1: a better experience. And I just did that so that
Speaker 1: I can be happy they don't feel bad about it.
Speaker 1: I use my points, I don't care. And that's how
Speaker 1: when I've been on the other side. Doesn't happen all
Speaker 1: the time where I'm the kind of the one who
Speaker 1: wants to spend more. I'm like, okay, fine, I'll kick
Speaker 1: in more because I want you guys to come along
Speaker 1: with me, and you know, you're the people I want
Speaker 1: to see the show with. Yeah, have you done that before?
Speaker 1: Do you think that that was the right thing to do?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well I've actually had friends do that for me
Speaker 2: when I'm like, like, I have my my other fancy friend.
Speaker 3: His name israw and that's how he is.
Speaker 2: And so we would I would say, at least once
Speaker 2: a month we would go out to dinner, and so
Speaker 2: Cabrel would be like, oh, let's go here, and I'm like,
Speaker 2: Cabra the prize. He's like, I got it, and I'd
Speaker 2: be like wait. But so what it did, though, was
Speaker 2: that it showed me that there were some things we're
Speaker 2: spending a little extra money on.
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker 2: So Cabral has taught me that I'm still the budgetnista,
Speaker 2: but I'm the budgetnissa that will sometimes splurge on luxurious
Speaker 2: things for the experience of it.
Speaker 3: So there's value in both.
Speaker 2: So you know, and as a result, I have been
Speaker 2: splurged on other people because of that lesson. I learned
Speaker 2: from Cabral that sometimes it's okay to, like, you know,
Speaker 2: pay a little extra because Cabral is always, always, always
Speaker 2: willing to pay a little extra for the experience.
Speaker 1: And honestly, and it's about the experience. And it's also
Speaker 1: like when you're the friend who maybe who wants to
Speaker 1: invest more in an experience and you're like, you want
Speaker 1: to share the experience with someone. It's not fun to
Speaker 1: be the one who wants to spend money on a
Speaker 1: luxury trip and then you go by yourself, like you
Speaker 1: want to bring people along with you. So I think, anyway,
Speaker 1: that's not really where this listener, Sarah is at on
Speaker 1: the side of the equation. But honestly, if you have
Speaker 1: told them respectfully and upfront about your financial issues and
Speaker 1: they're not willing to bend, you're either going to have
Speaker 1: to sacrifice your own finances and your travel plan for
Speaker 1: the year to to you know, to match what they
Speaker 1: want to do, or you're gonna have to just bow
Speaker 1: it out, bow out of this trip. And you have
Speaker 1: to ask yourself what's more important to you, you know,
Speaker 1: keeping your own financial plan on track. I hope. So
Speaker 1: we're going on this luxury trip, or maybe you decide
Speaker 1: this trip sounds so phenomenal, you're going to take the plunge,
Speaker 1: go on the expensive trip, and then maybe scale back
Speaker 1: your travel plans for the next couple of years as
Speaker 1: a result. If that doesn't sound like a fair trade off,
Speaker 1: then I think you know what you got to do.
Speaker 1: It's just not always the most fun decision to make.
Speaker 3: Do you want to take one more questions? Do you
Speaker 3: think we have some time?
Speaker 1: Definitely? Let's take a question. Let's see does she want
Speaker 1: to be anonymous? Now? Listener? This is on from Instagram.
Speaker 1: Oh I didn't even mention to you guys. If you forgot,
Speaker 1: we're on Instagram at brand Andbition podcast. You can send
Speaker 1: us a DM there to ask your question, or hit
Speaker 1: us up via email by going to brandambispodcast dot com
Speaker 1: and clicking ask us anything. So those question is from
Speaker 1: listener Vanessa the mistre buy her bank account. She says,
Speaker 1: I have two bank accounts. One has a direct deposit
Speaker 1: and the other account I use for online bill payment.
Speaker 1: This bank charges a ten dollars monthly maintenance fee, and
Speaker 1: the bank says I can avoid the fee if I
Speaker 1: make a minimum of ten transactions per month. The ten
Speaker 1: transactions can be point of sale or online bill pay.
Speaker 1: What's the best way to make what's the best way
Speaker 1: for me to make twenty qualifying transactions that won't cause
Speaker 1: me to overspend? Because she has two accounts and she
Speaker 1: has to make ten transactions on each of them to
Speaker 1: avoid this ten dollars per month fee, she continues, I
Speaker 1: tend to use cash for a lot of my purchases
Speaker 1: so that I don't get carried away with swiping my
Speaker 1: card and overspend. I need your help, Vanessa.
Speaker 3: Ooh girl, So she's got two different banks or two
Speaker 3: different bank account.
Speaker 1: The same bank, two different accounts with which both will
Speaker 1: charge her ten dollars a month if she's not swiping
Speaker 1: her card basically.
Speaker 3: Ten twenty dollars.
Speaker 1: Yes, we just tell her to get out of that bank, right,
Speaker 1: just Lee, there's better banks, Vanessa, move from.
Speaker 3: The gets out upgrade? Yes?
Speaker 2: No, yeah, honestly, yeah, that bank is wild like which
Speaker 2: I mean, are they really?
Speaker 3: Because most of these banks are like.
Speaker 2: The worst to be all the way candid, But I
Speaker 2: think a quick Google search can show can find because
Speaker 2: usually sometimes a bank will just say if you have
Speaker 2: a deposit right, like I know, sometimes you can avoid
Speaker 2: that get if you get your your paycheck direct deposit
Speaker 2: into that account.
Speaker 1: Probably some of them have like you have to be
Speaker 1: a minimum amount, you know, if you have direct deposit
Speaker 1: up to a certain amount. She'd have to look at
Speaker 1: her bank's fine print because she does say she's using
Speaker 1: one of them to deposit her paycheck through and the
Speaker 1: other one for online bill pay, but she uses cash
Speaker 1: so much because she wants to avoid overspending. So you
Speaker 1: need to find an account that fits your profile. You
Speaker 1: need to find a bank that doesn't charge a monthly
Speaker 1: maintenance fees for keeping a low balance, that won't charge
Speaker 1: you ATM fees when you withdraw money, because it seems
Speaker 1: like you use cash a lot, and there's a lot
Speaker 1: of options out there. I mean I use Ally and
Speaker 1: the other day I just love going to a badiga
Speaker 1: ATM now because I'm like, yes, I will you know
Speaker 1: pay that three dollars fee because Ally is going to
Speaker 1: pick that up for me.
Speaker 2: I was just gonna say, I'm literally doing it. I
Speaker 2: did a Google search best free checking accounts, and Allies
Speaker 2: definitely one of them. There's Radius chime simple. These are
Speaker 2: so checking account.
Speaker 1: Yeah, those are a couple of new ones via or
Speaker 1: is it VO? I think it's v O v I
Speaker 1: A a v io. They are a new bank, a
Speaker 1: newer bank that's like really kicking the competitions, but with
Speaker 1: no fees and high high rates on savings. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: say you know again, I will post a link to
Speaker 1: a couple of places you can look for alternative bank accounts.
Speaker 1: Even I bet your local credit union has a better
Speaker 1: deal than the bank that you're with. Now, there's better options,
Speaker 1: I would say, get out of there now, versus trying
Speaker 1: to figure out how to like change your spending habits
Speaker 1: to fit their needs so they don't charge you money.
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm, because it is just encouraging you to spend when.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's the whole point they want you to
Speaker 3: do that. We're not trying to do that.
Speaker 1: Nope, A thank you for your question again. We're on
Speaker 1: Instagram at Brandonbision podcast or hit us up at Brandebision
Speaker 1: podcast dot com. Ask us anything.
Speaker 3: Yes, Now it's time to boost a break for all
Speaker 3: our family. Will you boost? Will you break? What will
Speaker 3: you do? Man? I feel like that was a good one.
Speaker 1: That was. It was on tune I think and everything.
Speaker 1: It was good.
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm gonna do a boost.
Speaker 1: I might do to a quick too, for quick too.
Speaker 1: For so one, I want to shout out to my
Speaker 1: workplace bestie. Who do you have a workplace bestie? You
Speaker 1: probably dream is your bestie and you work together. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's not a traditional workplace bestie, but I recently came
Speaker 1: across this the study by Gallup. Maybe it was a survey,
Speaker 1: but their research showed people who have workplace best eats.
Speaker 1: So having a best friend at work actually helps you
Speaker 1: do better over your whole your whole career. It's about
Speaker 1: having support, someone to bounce ideas off of, and feeling
Speaker 1: like you're more secure in a professional setting. I wholeheartedly agree. Agree.
Speaker 1: Like I my best my workplace, one of my first
Speaker 1: one of my best friends. I met at my first
Speaker 1: job in New York City and she has been like
Speaker 1: she was my lifeline for that job for so long.
Speaker 1: So just shout outs. If you have a workplace best
Speaker 1: you give them a shoot him a text, tell them
Speaker 1: how much you appreciate them, how much you love them,
Speaker 1: et cetera. And my second boost is gonna be I
Speaker 1: listened so last week, Tiffany asked me. You know, when
Speaker 1: someone asked you that question, they follow up with you
Speaker 1: on something that you know you should do, but you
Speaker 1: get a little defensive about it, and you because you
Speaker 1: know you haven't done it yet. And last week you
Speaker 1: asked me if I contacted my financial planner to tell
Speaker 1: her about, you know, what's happening in my life. And
Speaker 1: you know, I'm only thirty weeks into this pregnancy, and
Speaker 1: my financial planner has no idea. So I emailed Helen
Speaker 1: last week and let her know what was happening, and
Speaker 1: we have a call scheduled for next week to talk
Speaker 1: to I don't know why I was putting it off.
Speaker 1: I think I've just felt like, well, the money part,
Speaker 1: I got that down, like like as far as like
Speaker 1: a five two nine plan, I know what that stuff is.
Speaker 1: I'll figure it out. But the more I got to
Speaker 1: thinking about it then where I'm like, maybe we should
Speaker 1: get our life insurance looked at. We need to. It'll
Speaker 1: just feel good to get the financial stamp of approval
Speaker 1: from Helen. You know.
Speaker 2: It's like you said, sometimes like lately, I've been leaning
Speaker 2: into something that I call financial wholeness, which is like
Speaker 2: it's not just I've got money in the bank, you know.
Speaker 2: It's like you said, like I found, like through my
Speaker 2: own financial planner, like I'm severely underinsured.
Speaker 3: I'm like I need a secession plan. That did something
Speaker 3: happened to me? What happens to the businesses. So it's
Speaker 3: like I feel like, yes, I know I've got money saved,
Speaker 3: but that's not enough for me to have like a
Speaker 3: holistic view of like what I need to do with
Speaker 3: my money, like I want, you know.
Speaker 2: So that's what I like about, you know, having someone else,
Speaker 2: an expert, kind of come in and help me look
Speaker 2: at all aspects of my finances.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I'm proud of you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm going to get that life insurance right, going
Speaker 1: to get my will set and that. Just thinking about
Speaker 1: the will, I was like, wait, who's gonna who would
Speaker 1: get the child? And then of course I'm hormonal, so
Speaker 1: I start crying thinking about us dying. It's really sad. Well,
Speaker 1: yes that is any other pregnant women listen, like, because
Speaker 1: I have confirmed us with two friends of mine. They
Speaker 1: confirm it's you have really dark and twisty thoughts when
Speaker 1: you're in your third trimester, Like I imagine our deaths
Speaker 1: in several different ways, like all the time. It's it's
Speaker 1: very sad. The hormones, man, the horrorone.
Speaker 3: Yeah, hormones are something else. I tell you.
Speaker 1: They're the devil, is what they are. Okay, you go
Speaker 1: booster break.
Speaker 2: I'm going to boost, But first I'm going to send
Speaker 2: a little shout out to Dream, my bestie.
Speaker 3: Well she's actually right now getting married.
Speaker 2: I couldn't go because Zica is real and my IVF
Speaker 2: doctor was like, sis, so we've come this far, we're
Speaker 2: about to do another cycle and I need you not
Speaker 2: to get Zica. So it was sad, but you know,
Speaker 2: I just I couldn't take the risks. So it's like
Speaker 2: I'm looking at all the pictures and stuff, but I
Speaker 2: want to shout her out and say her and her
Speaker 2: she's been with her her boo KB since they were
Speaker 2: like fourteen fifteen, and they're such a cute couple. They've
Speaker 2: got adult baby who's not a baby, he's four. But yeah,
Speaker 2: so they're awesome and just happy wedding.
Speaker 3: It looks amazing. My sisters are there.
Speaker 2: So and then I want to just get a boost
Speaker 2: to Today is my business partner Jabrill's birthday and there
Speaker 2: are some people in your life that are pivotal, Like
Speaker 2: they came into your life and your life is not
Speaker 2: the same, whether in a terrible way or an amazing way.
Speaker 3: And honestly, I have to.
Speaker 2: Say that Jabril is a pivotal he when I look
Speaker 2: back as to when my life took a turn, he
Speaker 2: is one of the people.
Speaker 3: It's like Jirell, my husband.
Speaker 2: You know, like my you know, I don't know, like
Speaker 2: my college best friend, you know what I mean. But Jabrill,
Speaker 2: my business partner, is definitely one of those people. Not
Speaker 2: that I wouldn't have been successful on my own, but
Speaker 2: the truth of that there is I didn't think I
Speaker 2: didn't think I deserved to be or that I don't know,
Speaker 2: man just have.
Speaker 3: This weird sense of overconfidence. Well they're just like, well,
Speaker 3: but it is amandy.
Speaker 2: When I tell you, like Jabril, I mean when I
Speaker 2: first met Dbrill, I mean I was barely scraping by
Speaker 2: and he was like, yeah, we're gonna make a few
Speaker 2: million dollars.
Speaker 3: And I was like, Okay, crazy person, I don't know
Speaker 3: what are you talking about. And now that's what the
Speaker 3: company does. And I remember him saying, yeah, wait till
Speaker 3: we get to a million dollars a month, and I'm.
Speaker 2: Like, that doesn't these crazy words and like November, we
Speaker 2: are on track to make that in November.
Speaker 3: And it's just.
Speaker 2: It's both definitely annoying that he's right, but also it's
Speaker 2: really he has really taught me to look beyond myself
Speaker 2: and my own perceived limitations, and so that's what I
Speaker 2: really like. Men in general just tend to think like that,
Speaker 2: it seems like, and so Jabrill always has like and
Speaker 2: so the other day, because he's already glossed over a
Speaker 2: million dollars a month and he's like, yeah, I can't
Speaker 2: wait till we get to our million dollar day.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, what sor what are you talking about?
Speaker 2: But now I'm deep enough in it that I know
Speaker 2: that that is more than just a possibility, we can
Speaker 2: do it. And so I'm just really grateful, not because
Speaker 2: of the money, but because Jabrill has helped me to
Speaker 2: unlock like the superpower in me that says that it's possible,
Speaker 2: it's more than possible, it's probable, and I put in
Speaker 2: the work and it's you know, we're capable of doing
Speaker 2: these things.
Speaker 3: And so I'm just grateful for him coming into my life, because,
Speaker 3: like I.
Speaker 2: Said, I feel like, if not, I would be Tiffany
Speaker 2: that still works equally as hard but doesn't get as
Speaker 2: far ahead because I just couldn't see it not for
Speaker 2: me anyway, you know.
Speaker 3: So happy birthday, Jabrill. You're the dopest.
Speaker 2: If you want to, you know, feel bad about your life,
Speaker 2: go ahead and follow him on Instagram.
Speaker 3: He's Jabril eight. It's a eighty eight. I think Jibril eight.
Speaker 3: He traveled. He doesn't even live anywhere. Jabrill like lives
Speaker 3: the world.
Speaker 2: He's really one of those people, you know, like the
Speaker 2: fake people you see online and you're like, yeah, right,
Speaker 2: you travel to all these different countries and don't really
Speaker 2: live anywhere and like have this amazing life. Now that's
Speaker 2: debrill in real life, it's so Jabril eight.
Speaker 3: Like that. Literally I could be talking to Jabrill.
Speaker 2: He's like, I'm in China, and then the next week
Speaker 2: when we have our team meeting, I'm.
Speaker 3: Like, is that a giraffe? Yeah, I've been Zimbabwe.
Speaker 2: You're like, what, Like, we all aspire to be Jabrill
Speaker 2: when we grow up, and he's so easy going and chill,
Speaker 2: but he's a beast in business. So happy birthday to you.
Speaker 2: My brother from another mother. I am grateful for you
Speaker 2: and I love you like direct deposit.
Speaker 1: No should we all. I wish we all had a
Speaker 1: jabrill in our lives. And it may not be a guy,
Speaker 1: but I'm telling you, my little brother. I hope he
Speaker 1: doesn't listened to this podcast. He is so obnoxious sometimes
Speaker 1: because all you know, For example, I got I got
Speaker 1: a job offer and he was and I told him
Speaker 1: what it was, and I thought I was, you know,
Speaker 1: being the big sister, like very impressive. He's like, You're
Speaker 1: gonna ask for equity or no? And I was like
Speaker 1: I was not. I was not gonna ask for equity.
Speaker 3: But me now you know, it's crazy.
Speaker 2: I remember the first time he did that. We work
Speaker 2: with the company. He was like, so we really like equity.
Speaker 2: And I'm looking at him like bruh, like your wilent
Speaker 2: and they were like, you know what, okay, And he
Speaker 2: looked at me like like Tiffany, now I deserve it,
Speaker 2: And I just, ah, can you imagine to be a
Speaker 2: mad I just.
Speaker 1: I hate it. But you need you need people with
Speaker 1: forget if it's a man or you need a man
Speaker 1: or a woman. You need some balls in your life
Speaker 1: to like push you in business for real, you need
Speaker 1: a hype man, you need a hype woman, whoever it is,
Speaker 1: to think bigger than you.
Speaker 3: I exactly.
Speaker 2: And there are definitely are women out there who definitely
Speaker 2: carry that with them, but I just for me, it
Speaker 2: just was difficult to see past that. So yep, Like
Speaker 2: I you know, if you're a woman who rocks out
Speaker 2: like that, I'm like, oh my god, Like what you know,
Speaker 2: how did you get untrained?
Speaker 3: Cause I feel like girls.
Speaker 2: Are talking to be polite and quiet and small and
Speaker 2: not to go for it because that's that's unlady like
Speaker 2: and not feminine, you know.
Speaker 1: And it's trying to get equal pay, like we can't
Speaker 1: even we can't even dream of getting like the dollar
Speaker 1: to the dollar for the you know, for what a
Speaker 1: man earns. And now it's like so thinking beyond that.
Speaker 1: You're right, We're just we have to We need people
Speaker 1: who think differently to rewire the way that we perceive
Speaker 1: ourselves beautiful.
Speaker 3: I don't know. I love the show. It just gets
Speaker 3: better and better.
Speaker 2: I love when y'all stalking on the street and you're
Speaker 2: not even like budgets anymore.
Speaker 3: They're like that ambition.
Speaker 1: I'm like, whoah, you know, I get recognized too sometimes,
Speaker 1: but please try. Could you please not catch me at
Speaker 1: like six o'clock when I'm sweaty trying to catch the
Speaker 1: train though, that's when it always happens. I'm like, yeah, yes,
Speaker 1: it is me.
Speaker 3: Uh. And then they forced a hug on meet. They're like,
Speaker 3: heard you hate hugs.
Speaker 1: Here you go girl, Okay, I feel bad for encouraging
Speaker 1: that behavior.
Speaker 3: No, no, honestly, I don't mind. It has made me
Speaker 3: like a more of a huggy person. And they're like
Speaker 3: one from Andy. I'm like, she's not getting this thing.